Claims:We claim:

1. A cover for a motor made of molded plastic, comprising:

- at least one flow channel for guiding liquid or semisolid away from the motor

2. A cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flow channel is connected to an outlet through which the liquid or semi solid flows outwards

3. A cover as claimed in claim 2, wherein the flow channel has a slope to direct the fluid or semi solid towards the outlet

4. A cover as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising of one or more holes below the cover to drain the liquid or semi solid received from the one or more flow channels

5. A cover as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the cover is placed in a manner that the total area of the motor is covered completely

6. A cover as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the cover has one or more rib structures with thickness and / or radius variation over at least part of the cover

7. A cover as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the cover is used to cover the motor in a washing machine

Dated this __th day of July 2019

Ajai Kumar Jain
For Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Ltd

To,
The Controller of Patents
The Patent Office, Mumbai , Description:Motor Cover

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention generally relates to a cover for a motor. More particularly, the present invention relates to a motor cover for appliances where the motor needs to be protected from coming in contact with any unwanted materials or substances

BACKGROUND OF THE RELATED ART

In most appliances, motors are an essential unit which drive the equipment needed for the appliance to work. The motor is an important unit of the device as it converts the electrical energy from the power source into mechanical energy which then makes the connected necessary parts move to perform the task required. For example, there are electric motors in the refrigerator, washing machine, clothes dryer, hair dryer, vacuum cleaner, blender, mixer, etc

Therefore, the longevity and correct efficient functioning is very necessary to maintain the appliance in good shape and use it for as long as possible. Spillage results in the motor becoming faulty and affects its performance. Appliances which make use of liquids or even in some cases solids, run the risk of material or substances inadvertently reaching the motor and causing it to either stop working or working at subpar performance.

To take care of this issue, there are known solutions which consist of using a sheet metal part to cover the motor. However, this approach has proved to be ineffective as it does not cover the motor entirely or properly thereby resulting in damage to the motor

For example, semi-automatic washing machines consist of an electric motor, a spinning bellow and a drying basket. The spinning bellow holds the drying basket in place and it acts as a joint between the drying basket and the electric motor. The combination of above mentioned parts acts an assembly which is used for the cloth drying function.

In conventional semi-automatic machines, a sheet metal part is used to cover the electric motor. However, this conventional metal cover doesn’t house the electric motor completely. Since the electric motor is not covered completely, there is possibility of water leakage from the spinning bellow towards the electric motor which eventually directly gets in contact with electric motor and can damage it

Conventional metal covers use a CRCA sheet where the major technical challenge is manufacturing the required design features. For example, providing a desirable shape, size, profile and achieving dimensional stability is challenging in case of the conventional sheet metal cover. Providing all the necessary features in a sheet metal cover requires additional secondary operations which calls for higher cycle time, resource and cost

Therefore, there exists a need for a motor cover which addresses at least the abovementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

It is an object of the present subject matter to provide a motor cover which covers it in entirety

It is another object of the present subject matter to provide a motor cover which protects it from premature failure by directing leakage of material and/or substances away from it

It is another object of the present subject matter to provide a motor cover which saves the warranty cost of the electric motor.

It is another object of the present subject matter to provide a motor cover which saves the service cost of the electric motor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like components throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a semi-automatic washing machine in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

FIGURES 2a and 2b illustrate a top view and an exploded view of a motor cover respectively in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.

FIGURE 3a illustrates the top view of a conventional metal motor cover

FIGURE 3b illustrates the top view of a motor cover the top view of a grinding mechanism in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

The embodiments of the present subject matter are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present subject matter is not limited to these embodiments which are only provided to explain more clearly the present subject matter to the ordinarily skilled in the art of the present disclosure. In the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals are used to indicate like components.

Described herein is a cover for a motor comprising at least one channel having a slope for guiding liquid or semisolid away from the motor through an outlet of the at least one channel. The cover is located above the motor and covers the motor completely thereby preventing flow of liquid or semisolid towards the motor.

Figure 1 shows an example of an appliance in which this motor cover can be used. It depicts a semi-automatic washing machine comprising a cloth drying basket 110, a twin tub 120, a spin bellow 130, a motor cover 140 and a motor 150. The cloth drying basket 110 comprises of a container which holds the wet cloth load ready for spinning / drying operation. The twin tub 120 is an enclosure which encapsulates the cloth drying basket 110. The spin bellow 130 is assembled on the twin tub 120 and holds the cloth drying basket 110 in place and acts as a flexible joint between the cloth drying basket 110 and the electric motor 150. The motor cover 140 is assembled on the motor 150 with screws which hold the braking mechanism. This mechanism engages and disengages as per the requirement. The motor 150 provides the required circular motion to the cloth drying basket 110 thereby removing water by centrifugal force. As shown, the motor cover 140 is located above the motor 150 thereby covering the motor 150

Referring to figures 3a and 3b, figure 3a shows a top view of a conventional metal motor cover which covers the motor only partially whereas figure 3b shows a top view of a motor cover covering the motor completely in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 3a, parts (150A) of the motor are not covered and are exposed which can easily come in contact of liquids such as water or semi solids which has leaked from, for example in the case of a washing machine, from the spinning bellow and twin tube. On the contrary, as shown in fig. 3b, the motor cover covers the motor completely leaving no part exposed. Advantageously, the basic size of the motor cover of the present disclosure is greater than the conventional motor covers, which ensures that the total area of the motor is covered thereby preventing entry of any spillage. This mechanism eventually results in the prevention of motor failure/product failure.

Also, as the motor cover of the present disclosure is made of molded plastic, complex shapes can be given to the motor cover which is difficult to achieve in the conventional metal covers.

Figures 2a and 2b show a top view and an exploded view of a motor cover respectively in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an exemplary embodiment, the motor cover is made of molded plastic material. Advantageously, since the motor cover is made up of molded plastic, it gives flexibility of constructing intricate water directing features on it. In conventional CRCA covers, due to material thickness and process constraints it is not possible to provide flow channels. In the present disclosure, since the motor cover is made of molded plastic, it is possible to make channels to divert the liquid or material falling onto the cover, away from the motor. It provides strengthened ribs, have thickness variation & radius variation throughout the cover to support the structure thereby increasing the assembly reliability in usage.

As shown in figure 2b, the motor cover (140) with a brake assembly is fixed on the motor with plurality of screws (140A). A brake lever set consisting of a brake lever (140B), a brake shoe and a spring is fixed by riveting it with the motor cover (140). In an embodiment, the brake lever set activates/deactivates the braking action with the help of the spring (140D) and a brake wire assembly connected to Spin Side Lid . A connector (140E) for spin shaft is fixed on the motor shaft with a bolt set, which acts as coupling between the motor and the appliance unit connected to it

In an embodiment, at least one flow channel (142, 144) is provided on the motor cover. As shown in figure 2a, in an exemplary embodiment, two flow channels (142; 144) are provided on the motor cover. As shown, in case there is spillage over the motor cover, it will be guided through the channels away from the motor and disposed off through the outlets (146; 148) of the respective channels. The channels also have slopes to ensure that the spillage in the channels is guided towards the respective outlets and eventually disposed away from the motor through the outlets. Spillage flows from the channels away from motor and eventually gets drained from away from the appliance with the help of drain holes provided below the motor. This avoids any contact with the motor and protects it from failure

In an embodiment, the motor cover as described hereinabove can be retrofitted in the existing appliance. Further, in an embodiment, the appliance is a semi-automatic washing machine.

While the present invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modification may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.