JP4758217B2 - Vehicle drive device and electric vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle drive device and an electric vehicle, and more particularly to a vehicle drive device and an electric vehicle that drive the vehicle by an in-wheel motor drive system.

  2. Description of the Related Art An in-wheel motor drive type electric vehicle in which an electric motor is incorporated in a wheel of a wheel is known. In such an in-wheel motor drive type electric vehicle, it is preferable to dispose the inverter in the vicinity of the wheel together with the electric motor from the viewpoint of simplifying the wiring cable and making the vehicle configuration compact.

  Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-29086 (Patent Document 1) discloses a vehicle drive device in which an inverter is provided in the vicinity of a wheel. This vehicle drive device is arranged in the order of an inverter, a motor, and a reduction gear from the position near the wheel of the wheel toward the inside of the vehicle.

According to this vehicle drive device, the size of the loop of the high-frequency current path can be made extremely small, and the generation of radiation noise caused by the high-frequency current can be suppressed as much as possible (see Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-29086 A JP 2002-252955 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-16040 JP 2004-161189 A JP 2002-337554 A JP 2002-186120 A

  However, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-29086 does not disclose a specific installation location of the inverter. If both the inverter and the motor are disposed in the wheel of the wheel, the inverter and the motor cause thermal interference with each other, so that the cooling performance of the inverter is deteriorated, and the operation reliability of the inverter may be impaired.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an in-wheel in which the power control device is disposed in the vicinity of the in-wheel motor and the cooling performance of the power control device is ensured. A motor drive type vehicle drive device is provided.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an in-wheel motor drive type electric vehicle in which the power control device is disposed in the vicinity of the in-wheel motor and the cooling performance of the power control device is ensured.

  According to this invention, the vehicle drive device includes an electric motor that is provided in the wheel of the wheel and drives the wheel, a power control device that controls electric power applied to the electric motor, and a suspension device that is provided between the wheel and the vehicle body. Is provided. The suspension device includes a suspension arm having one end connected to the wheel and the other end connected to the vehicle body. The power control device is fixed to the suspension arm.

  In the vehicle drive device according to the present invention, the electric motor for driving the vehicle is provided in the wheel. Since the power control device that controls the power supplied to the electric motor is fixed to the suspension arm, it sufficiently receives the traveling wind, and the suspension arm functions as a radiator of the power control device.

  Therefore, according to the vehicle drive device of the present invention, the power control device can be arranged in the vicinity of the in-wheel motor, and the cooling performance of the power control device can be sufficiently secured.

  Preferably, the suspension arm includes a lower arm and an upper arm disposed on an upper portion of the lower arm in the vehicle body vertical direction. The power control device is fixed to the upper arm.

  In this vehicle drive device, since the power control device is fixed to the upper arm of the suspension arm, the power control device can be kept away from the ground. In addition, the lower arm disposed between the ground and the upper arm functions as a protective member of the power control device against the scattered objects from the ground.

  Therefore, according to this vehicle drive device, the reliability of the power control device can be ensured.

More preferably, the power control device is fixed on the upper surface side of the upper arm.
In this vehicle drive device, since the power control device is fixed to the upper surface side of the upper arm of the suspension arm, the power control device can be further away from the ground. Furthermore, in addition to the lower arm, the upper arm also functions as a protective member of the power control device against scattered objects from the ground.

  Therefore, according to this vehicle drive device, the reliability of the power control device can be further improved.

Preferably, the suspension arm includes a heat radiating fin.
In this vehicle drive device, since the heat dissipating fins are provided on the suspension arm on which the power control device is fixed, the heat dissipation of the suspension arm that functions as a heat radiator of the power control device is improved.

Therefore, according to this vehicle drive device, the cooling performance of the power control device is improved.
Preferably, the electric motor is an AC electric motor. The power control device includes an inverter.

  According to the present invention, the electric vehicle is provided with a wheel, an electric motor that drives the wheel, an electric storage device, and an electric power supplied from the electric storage device to control the electric power supplied to the electric motor. And a suspension device provided between the wheel and the vehicle body. The suspension device includes a suspension arm having one end connected to the wheel and the other end connected to the vehicle body. The power control device is fixed to the suspension arm.

  In the electric vehicle according to the present invention, the vehicle is driven by the in-wheel motor drive format. And since the electric power control apparatus which controls the electric power given to the electric motor in a wheel is fixed to a suspension arm, while receiving a driving | running wind fully, a suspension arm functions as a heat radiator of an electric power control apparatus.

  Therefore, according to the electric vehicle according to the present invention, the power control device can be arranged in the vicinity of the in-wheel motor, and the cooling performance of the power control device can be sufficiently ensured.

Preferably, the electric vehicle further includes an internal combustion engine that generates a driving force of the vehicle.
Conventionally, in an electric vehicle (hybrid vehicle) equipped with an internal combustion engine, the electric motor and the power control device are mounted in the engine room. In this electric vehicle, the electric motor is disposed in the wheel of the wheel, and the electric power control is performed. The device is fixed to a suspension arm outside the engine room.

  Therefore, according to this electric vehicle, the freedom degree of the apparatus layout in an engine room improves. In addition, when the power control device is mounted, the space in the engine room, the guest room, and the cargo room is not sacrificed.

  According to this invention, since the power control device is fixed to the suspension arm, the power control device can be disposed in the vicinity of the in-wheel motor, and the cooling performance of the power control device can be ensured.

  In addition, since the electric motor is arranged in the wheel of the wheel and the power control device is fixed to the suspension arm outside the engine room, the space in the engine room, the passenger compartment and the cargo room is not sacrificed when the power control device is mounted. The degree of freedom of device layout in the engine room is improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will not be repeated.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an overall configuration of a hybrid vehicle shown as an example of an electric vehicle according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, hybrid vehicle 100 includes an engine ENG, front wheels FR and FL, a generator 20, a power storage device B, a power cable 12, inverters 14R and 14L, and three-phase cables 16R and 16L. Motor generators MGR and MGL, reduction gears 18R and 18L, rear wheels RR and RL, and an electronic control unit (hereinafter also referred to as “ECU”) 22 are provided.

  The power storage device B is connected to the power cable 12. The inverters 14R and 14L are connected to the power cable 12 in parallel with each other. Motor generators MGR and MGL are connected to inverters 14R and 14L via three-phase cables 16R and 16L, respectively. The output shafts of motor generators MGR and MGL are mechanically coupled to rear wheels RR and RL via reduction gears 18R and 18L, respectively.

  Engine ENG is mechanically coupled to front wheels FR and FL via a drive shaft. Generator 20 is mechanically coupled to the crankshaft of engine ENG and is connected to power storage device B through a power line.

  The power storage device B is a chargeable / dischargeable DC power source, and is composed of, for example, a secondary battery such as nickel metal hydride or lithium ion. The power storage device B supplies DC power to the inverters 14R and 14L via the power cable 12. In addition, the power storage device B is charged by receiving power from the generator 20. Furthermore, power storage device B is also charged by inverters 14R and 14L during regenerative braking using motor generators MGR and MGL. Note that a large-capacity capacitor may be used as the power storage device B.

  Inverter 14R converts DC power received from power storage device B into three-phase AC power based on signal PWMR from ECU 22, and outputs the converted three-phase AC power to motor generator MGR. Thereby, motor generator MGR is driven to generate a designated torque. Further, the inverter 14R converts the three-phase AC power generated by the motor generator MGR by receiving the rotational force from the rear wheel RR into the DC power based on the signal PWMR from the ECU 22 during the regenerative braking of the vehicle. DC power is output to power storage device B.

  Motor generator MGR is a three-phase AC motor, and is formed of, for example, a three-phase AC synchronous motor. Motor generator MGR generates driving torque for the vehicle by the three-phase AC power received from inverter 14R. Motor generator MGR generates three-phase AC power and outputs it to inverter 14R during regenerative braking of the vehicle.

  Reduction gear 18R transmits the output (torque and rotational speed) from motor generator MGR to rear wheel RR at a constant reduction ratio. As will be described later, motor generator MGR and reduction gear 18R are integrated and disposed in the wheel of rear wheel RR. That is, motor generator MGR and reduction gear 18R form a so-called in-wheel motor.

  The configuration of inverter 14L, motor generator MGL, and reduction gear 18L is similar to that of inverter 14R, motor generator MGR, and reduction gear 18R, respectively, and therefore description thereof will not be repeated.

  The engine ENG is mounted in an engine room in front of the vehicle. Engine ENG generates driving torque of the vehicle to drive front wheels FR and FL. Generator 20 generates power using an output from engine ENG based on a command from ECU 22, and outputs the generated power to power storage device B.

  ECU 22 generates signals PWMR and PWML for driving inverters 14R and 14L, respectively, and outputs the generated signals PWMR and PWML to inverters 14R and 14L, respectively. ECU 22 outputs an operation command to generator 20 when the state of charge (SOC) of power storage device B decreases.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a rear wheel RL in which the motor generator MGL shown in FIG. 1 is incorporated as an in-wheel motor. In FIG. 2, the wheel disc connected to the in-wheel motor and the tire provided on the outer edge of the rim portion of the wheel disc are not shown. Since the configuration of the rear wheel RR in which the motor generator MGR is incorporated as an in-wheel motor is the same as that of the rear wheel RL, the configuration of the rear wheel RL is representatively shown in FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 2, rear wheel RL includes an in-wheel motor IWML, a suspension arm 50, ball joints 56 and 58, and an inverter 14L. The suspension arm 50 includes an upper arm 52 and a lower arm 54.

  The in-wheel motor IWML includes a motor generator MGL, a reduction gear 18L, and a case. The motor generator MGL and the reduction gear 18L are integrated and housed in the case. Therefore, in FIG. 2, the motor generator MGL and the reduction gear 18L housed in the case are not shown. In-wheel motor IWML is coupled to upper arm 52 and lower arm 54 via ball joints 56 and 58, respectively.

  The upper arm 52 and the lower arm 54 are arranged in the vertical direction of the vehicle body so that the upper arm 52 is located above the lower arm 54. The upper arm 52 has one end connected to the ball joint 56 and the other end 60 connected to a vehicle body or a frame (both not shown) so that the upper arm 52 can rotate in the vertical direction of the vehicle body. The lower arm 54 has one end connected to the ball joint 58 and the other end 62 connected to the vehicle body or the frame so that the lower arm 54 can rotate in the vertical direction of the vehicle body. The lower arm 54 is connected to the vehicle body or the frame via a shock absorber (not shown). Thereby, the rear wheel RL is suspended from the vehicle body or the frame.

  The inverter 14L is fixed to the lower surface of the upper arm 52. Inverter 14L is connected to in-wheel motor IWML via three-phase cable 16L.

  In hybrid vehicle 100, inverter 14L is arranged in the vicinity of in-wheel motor IWML, so that three-phase cable 16L can be shortened. Further, by fixing inverter 14L to suspension arm 50, the movable range of three-phase cable 16L is narrowed, and the durability of three-phase cable 16L is improved.

  Furthermore, since the inverter 14L is not installed in the vehicle body or in the wheel but is installed on the suspension arm 50 arranged in the lower part of the vehicle body, the inverter 14L is sufficiently exposed to the outside air flowing in the lower part of the vehicle body when the vehicle is traveling. . Further, the upper arm 52 on which the inverter 14L is installed can also function as a radiator of the inverter 14L. Therefore, high cooling performance of the inverter 14L is ensured, and the inverter 14L can be cooled by air cooling.

  Further, since the inverter 14L is fixed to the upper arm 52 of the suspension arm 50, the inverter 14L can be moved away from the ground as compared with the case where the inverter 14L is fixed to the lower arm 54. Furthermore, the lower arm 54 disposed between the ground and the inverter 14L functions as a protective member that can protect the inverter 14L from scattered objects from the ground.

  Further, since the inverter 14L is installed on the upper arm 52 using the space between the upper arm 52 and the lower arm 54, the assemblability (installability) of the inverter 14L is good.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, since inverters 14R and 14L are fixed to suspension arm 50, three-phase cables 16R and 16L that connect inverters 14R and 14L to motor generators MGR and MGL, respectively, are shortened. can do. Further, since the movable range of the three-phase cables 16R and 16L is narrowed, the durability of the three-phase cables 16R and 16L is also improved.

  Furthermore, sufficient running wind is supplied to the inverters 14R and 14L, and the suspension arm 50 to which the inverters 14R and 14L are fixed also functions as a heat radiator for the inverters 14R and 14L. Sex can be secured.

  Further, regarding motor generators MGR and MGL and inverters 14R and 14L that are conventionally mounted in the engine room together with engine ENG, motor generators MGR and MGL are disposed in the wheel, and inverters 14R and 14L are fixed to suspension arm 50. Therefore, when the motor generators MGR and MGL and the inverters 14R and 14L are mounted on the vehicle, the space in the engine room, the cabin, and the cargo room is not sacrificed, and the degree of freedom of the device layout in the engine room is improved.

[Modification of Embodiment 1]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of rear wheel RL in the electric vehicle according to the modification of the first embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3, inverter 14 </ b> L is fixed on the upper surface of upper arm 52. The configuration of the rear wheel RR is the same as that of the rear wheel RL.

  In the modification of the first embodiment, the inverter 14L is further away from the ground than the first embodiment. Since the upper arm 52 is also arranged in addition to the lower arm 54 between the ground and the inverter 14L, the upper arm 52 also functions as a protective member that can protect the inverter 14L from scattered objects from the ground.

  Therefore, according to the modification of the first embodiment, the reliability of inverters 14R and 14L can be improved.

[Embodiment 2]
The electric vehicle according to the second embodiment includes rear wheels RRA and RLA instead of the rear wheels RR and RL in the configuration of the electric vehicle according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of rear wheel RLA in the electric vehicle according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the configuration of the rear wheel RRA and the rear wheel RLA is the same, and therefore the configuration of the rear wheel RLA is representatively shown in FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 4, rear wheel RLA includes a suspension arm 50A in place of suspension arm 50 in the configuration of rear wheel RL shown in FIG. The suspension arm 50A includes an upper arm 52A and a lower arm 54. Upper arm 52A has a heat radiating fin on the surface in the configuration of upper arm 52 in the first embodiment.

  That is, as described above, the upper arm 52A on which the inverter 14L is installed can function as a heat radiator of the inverter 14L. In the second embodiment, in order to further enhance the function of the upper arm 52A as a heat radiator, A heat dissipating fin is provided on the surface. Thereby, the heat of the inverter 14L is transmitted to the upper arm 52A, and is efficiently radiated to the outside air from the radiation fins provided on the surface of the upper arm 52A.

  Although not specifically shown, inverter 14L may be fixed on the upper surface of upper arm 52A, as in the modification of the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, since the heat radiation fin is provided on the upper arm 52A on which the inverter 14L is installed, the cooling performance of the inverter 14L is improved.

  In each of the above embodiments, the hybrid vehicle has been described as an example of the electric vehicle according to the present invention. However, the electric vehicle according to the present invention includes an electric vehicle (Electric Vehicle) that does not include the engine ENG. Further, instead of power storage device B or together with power storage device B, a fuel cell vehicle equipped with a fuel cell as a DC power source is also included in the electric vehicle according to the present invention.

  In the above description, motor generators MGR and MGL drive rear wheels RR and RL (RRA and RLA), respectively, but may drive front wheels FR and FL, respectively. Alternatively, a four-wheel drive type electric vehicle in which four wheels are driven by four motor generators may be used.

  In the above description, the case where the suspension system is the double wishbone system has been described. However, the suspension system may be other systems such as a strut system. In the suspension system such as the strut type that does not have an upper arm, the inverter is fixed to the lower arm.

  In the above, each of in-wheel motors IWMR, IWML corresponds to “electric motor” in the present invention, and each of inverters 14R, 14L corresponds to “power control device” in the present invention. Suspension arms 50 and 50A, ball joints 56 and 58, and a shock absorber (not shown) form a “suspension device” in the present invention, and engine ENG corresponds to “internal combustion engine” in the present invention.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description of the embodiments but by the scope of claims for patent, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the scope of claims for patent and all modifications within the scope.

1 is a functional block diagram showing an overall configuration of a hybrid vehicle shown as an example of an electric vehicle according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a rear wheel in which the motor generator shown in FIG. 1 is incorporated as an in-wheel motor. 6 is a perspective view of a rear wheel in an electric vehicle according to a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. It is a perspective view of the rear wheel in the electric vehicle by Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  12 power cable, 14R, 14L inverter, 16R, 16L three-phase cable, 18R, 18L reduction gear, 20 generator, 22 ECU, 50, 50A suspension arm, 52, 52A upper arm, 54 lower arm, 56, 58 ball joint, 100 Hybrid vehicle, B power storage device, MGR, MGL motor generator, ENG engine, FR, FL front wheel, RR, RL, RLA rear wheel, IWML in-wheel motor.

Claims (7)

An electric motor provided in a wheel of the wheel and driving the wheel;
A power control device for controlling power supplied to the motor;
A suspension device provided between the wheel and the vehicle body,
The suspension device includes a suspension arm having one end connected to the wheel and the other end connected to the vehicle body,
The power control device is fixed to the suspension arm ,
The suspension arm is
Lower arm,
An upper arm disposed on the lower arm of the lower arm in the vehicle body vertical direction,
The electric power control device is a vehicle drive device fixed to the upper arm . The vehicle drive device according to claim 1, wherein the power control device is fixed to a lower surface side of the upper arm. The vehicle drive device according to claim 1 , wherein the power control device is fixed to an upper surface side of the upper arm.   The vehicle drive device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the suspension arm includes a heat radiating fin. The electric motor comprises an AC electric motor,
The vehicle drive device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the power control device includes an inverter. Wheels,
An electric motor provided in a wheel of the wheel and driving the wheel;
A power storage device;
A power control device that receives power supplied from the power storage device and controls power supplied to the motor;
A suspension device provided between the wheel and the vehicle body,
The suspension device includes a suspension arm having one end connected to the wheel and the other end connected to the vehicle body,
The power control device is fixed to the suspension arm ,
The suspension arm is
Lower arm,
An upper arm disposed on the lower arm of the lower arm in the vehicle body vertical direction,
The electric power control device is an electric vehicle fixed to the upper arm .   The electric vehicle according to claim 6, further comprising an internal combustion engine that generates a driving force of the vehicle.

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