초록 ▼

A sealant containment gasket is provided for use on an electric motor to be used in a moist environment. The inventive gasket includes a first upright wall that covers a power-supply opening in the motor with a wiring passageway and further includes a second upright wall, at least a portion of which

A sealant containment gasket is provided for use on an electric motor to be used in a moist environment. The inventive gasket includes a first upright wall that covers a power-supply opening in the motor with a wiring passageway and further includes a second upright wall, at least a portion of which is spaced away from the first upright wall. The walls of the gasket cooperate to form a pocket to receive wiring extending through the opening in the motor. The pocket also defines a cavity between the walls with a filling hole disposed along a top margin thereof. Liquid sealant is inserted into the cavity through the filling hole when the motor is disposed right-side-up and on its feet in the assembly position. The liquid sealant is contained within the pocket and forms a barrier around the wiring passageway to prevent moisture from entering the motor.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. An electric motor comprising: a rotor rotatable about an axis; a stator spaced radially from the rotor; a case presenting an internal motor chamber in which the stator and rotor are housed, with a power-supply opening defined in the case to provide wiring access to the motor

What is claimed is: 1. An electric motor comprising: a rotor rotatable about an axis; a stator spaced radially from the rotor; a case presenting an internal motor chamber in which the stator and rotor are housed, with a power-supply opening defined in the case to provide wiring access to the motor chamber, said power-supply opening being located along a side of the case and facing at least a substantially horizontal direction; motor wiring extending through the power-supply opening and into the motor chamber; and a gasket fastened to the case in a covering relationship with the power-supply opening, said gasket including a first upright wall that spans the power-supply opening and includes a wiring passageway snugly receiving the motor wiring therethrough, said gasket including a second upright wall at least partially spaced horizontally from the first upright wall to cooperatively define a pocket that receives the motor wiring extending through the wiring passageway, said pocket defining a cavity configured to hold a liquid sealant. 2. The electric motor as claimed in claim 1, said pocket presenting a filling hole, said filling hole being in communication with the cavity and thereby permitting liquid sealant to be introduced therein. 3. The electric motor as claimed in claim 2, said pocket presenting a top margin, said filling hole being located along the top margin of the pocket. 4. The electric motor as claimed in claim 3, said rotatable axis of the rotor being at least substantially horizontal. 5. The electric motor as claimed in claim 4, said case including downwardly extending feet for supporting the motor in a right-side-up orientation, with the rotor axis being horizontal, said pocket filling hole facing upwardly when the motor is in the right-side-up orientation. 6. The electric motor as claimed in claim 1; and a conduit box overlying the power-supply opening and surmounting the gasket, said conduit box providing a connection location outside the case for the motor wiring. 7. The electric motor as claimed in claim 6, fasteners securing the conduit box to the side of the case and clamping a portion of the gasket between the case and the conduit box. 8. The electric motor as claimed in claim 7, said fasteners comprising bolts that extend through generally aligned holes in the conduit box and in the gasket and into generally aligned threaded bolt-receiving holes in the case. 9. The electric motor as claimed in claim 6, said conduit box including a generally centrally disposed pocket receiving hole defined in a gasket engaging side thereof, said pocket receiving hole being shaped to generally correspond to the shape of the pocket such that the pocket of the gasket extends at least partially horizontally into the conduit box. 10. The electric motor as claimed in claim 1; and a liquid sealant contained within the pocket of the gasket to provide a moisture barrier around the motor wiring to prevent moisture from entering the motor chamber. 11. The electric motor as claimed in claim 10, said motor wiring including a plurality of wires, said wiring passageway comprising a plurality of X-shaped holes, each snugly receiving a respective one of the wires therethrough. 12. The electric motor as claimed in claim 11, said liquid sealant being sufficiently viscous so as to not pass through the X-shaped holes and thereby remain confined in the pocket. 13. The electric motor as claimed in claim 12, said liquid sealant comprising a hot melt sealant. 14. The electric motor as claimed in claim 1, said second upright wall being spaced entirely from the first upright wall, said gasket including a generally horizontally extending interconnecting wall that interconnects the first and second upright walls. 15. The electric motor as claimed in claim 14, said pocket presenting a filling hole that is in communication with the cavity and thereby permitting liquid sealant to be introduced therein, said filling hole being defined primarily in an upper section of the interconnecting wall. 16. The electric motor as claimed in claim 14, said second upright wall including a wiring passageway that snugly receives the motor wiring therethrough, such that the motor wiring extends through both the first and second walls. 17. The electric motor as claimed in claim 14, said second upright wall being generally circular in shape and said interconnecting wall being generally cylindrical in shape. 18. The electric motor as claimed in claim 1, said gasket including separate first and second panels, with the first and second upright walls being defined by the first and second panel, respectively. 19. The electric motor as claimed in claim 18, said first panel being flat and including a central wall portion that spans the power-supply opening and a circumscribing flange portion, said second panel including a flat outer flange portion and a central pocket-defining portion, said pocket-defining portion including an end wall spaced laterally from the central wall portion of the first panel and an interconnecting wall that extends laterally between the end wall and central wall portion. 20. The electric motor as claimed in claim 19, said case presenting a flat gasket-engaging surface circumscribing the power-supply opening, said flange portions of the gasket being placed flushly against the gasket-engaging surface, with the flange portion of the first panel being interposed between the flange portion of the second panel and the gasket-engaging surface. 21. A gasket for covering a horizontally facing power-supply opening located on the side of an electric motor case, wherein wiring from the motor chamber extends through the power-supply opening, said gasket comprising: a first upright wall that is configured to span the power-supply opening and includes a wiring passageway configured to snugly receive the motor wiring therethrough, a second upright wall that is at least partially spaced horizontally from the first upright wall to cooperatively define a pocket for receiving the motor wiring, said pocket defining a cavity configured to hold a liquid sealant. 22. The gasket as claimed in claim 21, said pocket presenting a filling hole, said filling hole being in communication with the cavity and thereby permitting liquid sealant to be introduced therein. 23. The gasket as claimed in claim 22, said pocket presenting a top margin, said filling hole being located along the top margin of the pocket. 24. The gasket as claimed in claim 21, said wiring passageway comprising a plurality of X-shaped holes, each configured to snugly receive a respective motor wire therethrough. 25. The gasket as claimed in claim 21, said second upright wall being spaced entirely from the first upright wall, said gasket including a generally horizontally extending interconnecting wall that interconnects the first and second upright walls. 26. The gasket as claimed in claim 25, said pocket presenting a filling hole that is in communication with the cavity and thereby permitting liquid sealant to be introduced therein, said filling hole being defined primarily in an upper section of the interconnecting wall. 27. The gasket as claimed in claim 25, said second upright wall including a wiring passageway configured to snugly receive the motor wiring therethrough, such that the gasket permits motor wiring to extend through both the first and second walls. 28. The gasket as claimed in claim 25, said second upright wall being generally circular in shape and said interconnecting wall being generally cylindrical in shape. 29. The gasket as claimed in claim 21, said gasket including separate first and second panels, with the first and second upright walls being defined by the first and second panel, respectively. 30. The gasket as claimed in claim 29, said first panel being flat and including a central wall portion configured to span the power-supply opening and a circumscribing flange portion, said second panel including a flat outer flange portion and a central pocket-defining portion, said pocket-defining portion including an end wall spaced laterally from the central wall portion of the first panel and an interconnecting wall that extends laterally between the end wall and central wall portion. 31. The gasket as claimed in claim 30, said flange portions of the gasket being configured for flush placement against the motor case, with the flange portion of the first panel being interposed between the flange portion of the second panel and the case. 32. The gasket as claimed in claim 31, said flange portions being provided with a plurality of aligned fastener-receiving holes for facilitating securement of the gasket to the motor case.