Search

EP-4742510-A1 - DRIVE UNIT

EP4742510A1EP 4742510 A1EP4742510 A1EP 4742510A1EP-4742510-A1

Abstract

A drive unit to be mounted on a vehicle is unitized with an inverter, a motor configured to receive electric power from the inverter, and a gear box having a shaft gear provided on a shaft of the motor. The drive unit comprises a gear chamber provided in the gear box for accommodating the shaft gear having a diameter smaller than an outer diameter dimension of the motor, and an accommodating chamber provided in the gear box and formed as a space different from the gear chamber due to a dimensional difference between the outer diameter dimension of the motor and an outer diameter dimension of the shaft gear. At least a part of components of the inverter is accommodated in the accommodating chamber.

Inventors

  • FUKUHARA, YUSUKE
  • SATO, SEIICHI

Assignees

  • Nissan Motor Co. Ltd

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20230707

Claims (8)

  1. A drive unit to be mounted on a vehicle, the drive unit comprising: an inverter; a motor configured to receive supply of electric power from the inverter; a gear box having a shaft gear provided on a shaft of the motor, the inverter, the motor, and the gear box being unitized; a gear chamber provided in the gear box and configured to accommodate the shaft gear having a diameter smaller than an outer diameter dimension of the motor; and an accommodating chamber provided in the gear box and formed as a space different from the gear chamber due to a dimensional difference between the outer diameter dimension of the motor and an outer diameter dimension of the shaft gear, wherein at least a part of components of the inverter is accommodated in the accommodating chamber.
  2. The drive unit according to claim 1, wherein in a state of being mounted on the vehicle, various gears including the shaft gear are arranged in a horizontal direction in the gear box, and the accommodating chamber is located below the shaft gear and is disposed at a portion at a corner side of the gear box.
  3. The drive unit according to claim 1, wherein the gear box is provided with a refrigerant passage configured to allow a refrigerant for cooling the inverter accommodated in the accommodating chamber to flow therethrough.
  4. The drive unit according to claim 3, wherein the refrigerant passage is provided in a partition wall that separates the gear chamber and the accommodating chamber.
  5. The drive unit according to claim 4, wherein a reservoir part for lubricating oil for lubricating the shaft gear is provided on a surface of the partition wall on a gear chamber side.
  6. The drive unit according to claim 3, wherein the components accommodated in the accommodating chamber include a semiconductor device constituting the inverter, and the semiconductor device is disposed in a state of abutting against the refrigerant passage.
  7. The drive unit according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the components accommodated in the accommodating chamber include a semiconductor device constituting the inverter, and the semiconductor device is disposed in a state of abutting against the partition wall.
  8. The drive unit according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the components accommodated in the accommodating chamber include a heat generating component including a three-phase electrode part or a smoothing capacitor that connects the inverter and the motor.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a drive unit. BACKGROUND ART JP2017-184523A discloses a drive device. The drive device includes a left electric motor and a right electric motor. A speed reducer housing of a speed reducer unit is provided between the left electric motor and the right electric motor. An inverter housing of an inverter unit is provided on an upper portion of the speed reducer housing. The inverter housing accommodates components constituting an inverter. SUMMARY OF INVENTION PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION In the drive device, since the inverter unit is provided above the speed reducer unit, there is a problem that the size of the drive device is increased. The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a drive unit which may be downsized. MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM According to an aspect of the present invention, provided is a drive unit to be mounted on a vehicle, the drive unit including: an inverter; a motor configured to receive supply of electric power from the inverter; a gear box having a shaft gear provided on a shaft of the motor, the inverter, the motor, and the gear box being unitized; a gear chamber provided in the gear box and configured to accommodate the shaft gear having a diameter smaller than an outer diameter dimension of the motor; and an accommodating chamber provided in the gear box and formed as a space different from the gear chamber due to a dimensional difference between the outer diameter dimension of the motor and an outer diameter dimension of the shaft gear, in which at least a part of components of the inverter is accommodated in the accommodating chamber. In the drive unit, the accommodating chamber is formed in the gear box as a space different from the gear chamber due to a dimensional difference between the outer diameter dimension of the motor and the outer diameter dimension of the shaft gear. At least a part of the components of the inverter is accommodated in the accommodating chamber. Therefore, the drive unit may be downsized as compared with a case where all the components of the inverter are arranged outside the gear box. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [FIG. 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a drive unit according to the present embodiment, and illustrates a state in which a cover of a gear box is removed.[FIG. 2] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the drive unit according to the present embodiment, illustrating a state in which a motor housing is cut.[FIG. 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram used for describing the drive unit according to the present embodiment.[FIG. 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram used for describing a drive unit according to a first modification of the present embodiment.[FIG. 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a drive unit according to a second modification of the present embodiment, and illustrates a state in which a cover of a gear box is removed.[FIG. 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram used for describing a function of a reservoir part of the drive unit according to the second modification of the present embodiment.[FIG. 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram used for describing a function of cooling a semiconductor device of the drive unit according to the second modification of the present embodiment.[FIG. 8] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram used for describing a function of cooling a heat generating component of the drive unit according to the second modification of the present embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS <First Embodiment> Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a drive unit 10 according to the present embodiment, and illustrates a state in which a cover (not illustrated) of a gear box 12 is removed. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the drive unit 10 according to the present embodiment, illustrating a state in which a motor housing 14 is cut. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram used for describing the drive unit 10 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the drive unit 10 is used in, for example, an electric vehicle. The drive unit 10 is mounted on a vehicle and drives drive wheels provided in the vehicle. The drive unit 10 is disposed on a vehicle front F side and drives front wheels of the vehicle. The drive unit 10 includes an inverter 20, a motor 22 (see FIG. 2) that receives supply of electric power from the inverter 20, and the gear box 12 having a shaft gear 26 provided on a shaft 24 of the motor 22. The inverter 20, the motor 22 (see FIG. 2), and the gear box 12 are unitized. The drive unit 10 is disposed such that the shaft 24 extending from the motor 22 extends in a vehicle width direction W in a state of being mounted on a vehicle. In the drive unit 10, a differential gear 55 (see FIG. 3) that drives a drive shaft (not illustrated) that drives drive wheel