Vehicular drive device

Abstract

To accomplish, in a rotary electric machine that includes a winding field-magnetic rotor to which power is supplied by a non-contact scheme, downsizing of a power supply device while causing a support member to support a circuit board at the rotor side.SOLUTION: A disclosed vehicular drive device includes: a stator; a winding field-magnetic rotor; and a power supply device that supplies power to the winding field-magnetic rotor by a non-contact scheme. The power supply device includes: a support member that rotates together with the winding field-magnetic rotor; and a circuit board supported by a support member. The circuit board includes: a positive-electrode-side circuit electrically connected to the positive-electrode side of a coil; a negative-electrode-side circuit electrically connected to the negative-electrode side of the coil; an insulation region between the positive-electrode-side circuit and the negative-electrode-side circuit; and one or more notches or holes in the insulation region. The support member includes one or more protrusions in the axial direction capable of being engaged with the one or more notches or holes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle drive device. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art With respect to a non-contact type power supply device for a non-contact type wound-field motor, a technique is known in which a circuit board on which a rectifier circuit is mounted is supported by a support member in the form of a metal housing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Patent Publication No. 2022 / 136549 Brochure Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, since the multiple positioning holes are provided at positions on the circuit board that avoid the rectifier circuit, the area on the circuit board where the circuit can be mounted is likely to be restricted. As a result, as in the above-mentioned conventional technology, the axial size of the entire power supply device including the rectifier circuit and the support member tends to become large, for example, by using the axial wall portion (opening collar) of the support member (housing) to place the rectifier element (diode).

[0005] Therefore, in one aspect, the present disclosure has an object to reduce the size of a power supply device in a rotating electric machine having a wound field rotor that receives power in a non-contact manner, while supporting a circuit board on the rotor side on a support member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In one aspect, a rotor includes a stator; a wound field rotor on which a coil is wound; a power supply device provided between a power source and the winding field rotor and configured to supply power to the winding field rotor in a non-contact manner; The power supply device includes: a support member that is provided on the wound field rotor in a manner to rotate integrally with the wound field rotor and has an annular or circular shape when viewed in the axial direction; a circuit board having an annular or circular shape supported by the support member and overlapping with the support member when viewed in the axial direction; the circuit board has a positive side circuit electrically connected to the positive side of the coil, a negative side circuit electrically connected to the negative side of the coil, an insulating region between the positive side circuit and the negative side circuit, and one or more notches or holes in the insulating region; There is provided a drive device for a vehicle, wherein the support member has one or more axial protrusions engageable with one or more of the notches or holes. Effect of the Invention

[0007] In one aspect, according to the present disclosure, in a vehicle drive device including a wound field rotor that receives power in a non-contact manner, it is possible to reduce the size of the power supply device while supporting the circuit board on the rotor side on a support member. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram showing a vehicle drive system including a drive device for a rotating electric machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a part of a cross section of a rotating electric machine; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of a structure of a circuit board and a support member as viewed in the axial direction. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Each embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the dimensional ratios in the drawings are merely examples and are not limiting, and shapes and the like in the drawings may be partially exaggerated for the sake of explanation. In addition, in the drawings, for ease of viewing, reference symbols may be given to only some of the parts that exist in a plurality of parts with the same attribute.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a vehicle drive system 1 including a drive device 5 for a rotating electric machine according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a part of a cross section of a rotating electric machine 3.

[0011] The vehicle drive system 1 has a dual power supply configuration including a low-voltage battery 2A and a high-voltage battery 2B, and includes a vehicle drive device 1 A. The vehicle drive device 1A includes a rotating electric machine 3 and a drive device 5.

[0012] The low-voltage battery 2A is, for example, a lead battery, and has a rated voltage of, for example, 12V.

[0013] The high-voltage battery 2B is, for example, a lithium-ion battery, and has a rated voltage significantly higher than that of the low-voltage battery 2A, for example, a rated voltage of 40 V or more. In this embodiment, as an example, the rated voltage of the high-voltage battery 2B is 300 V or more. The high-voltage battery 2B may be in the form of a fuel cell or the like.

[0014] The rotating electric machine 3 is of a wound field type and includes a rotor 310 having a rotor coil 316 wound around a rotor core 312. As shown in Fig. 2, the rotor core 312 has teeth 3122 protruding radially outward, and a conductor wire forming the rotor coil 316 is wound around the teeth 3122. A stator 320 is provided on the radially outer side of the rotor 310. The stator coil 322 is wound around the teeth 3210 of the stator core 321, as shown in Fig. 2.

[0015] The driving device 5 includes a microcomputer 50 (hereinafter referred to as “microcomputer 50”) and an electric circuit section 60.

[0016] The microcomputer 50 may be realized as, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The microcomputer 50 is connected to various electronic components (other ECUs and sensors) in the vehicle via a network 6 such as a CAN (Controller Area Network).

[0017] The microcomputer 50 receives various commands such as control commands from a higher-level ECU (not shown) via the network 6. Based on the control commands, the microcomputer 50 controls the rotating electric machine 3 via the electric circuit unit 60. The microcomputer 50 operates based on power from the low-voltage battery 2A.

[0018] The electric circuit section 60 includes a smoothing capacitor 62, a power conversion circuit section 63, a power supply circuit section 64, and a power receiving circuit section 65. The power supply circuit section 64 and the power receiving circuit section 65, together with a transformer Tr, form a power supply device 90 that supplies power to the rotor coil 316 in a non-contact manner. The transformer Tr has a primary coil 741 and a secondary coil 742. The primary coil 741 and the secondary coil 742 may be wound around a core (not shown) of any shape.

[0019] The smoothing capacitor 62 is provided between the high potential side line 20 and the low potential side line 22 of the high voltage battery 2B. Both ends of the smoothing capacitor 62 may be connected to a resistor R0 for passive discharge.

[0020] The power conversion circuit unit 63 is in the form of an inverter, and forms, for example, a three-phase bridge circuit. The power conversion circuit unit 63 supplies three-phase AC power to the stator 320 of the rotating electric machine 3 under the control of a microcomputer 50 described later. The power conversion circuit unit 63 is connected between the high potential side line 20 and the low potential side line 22 in a manner in which it is in parallel with the smoothing capacitor 62. The power conversion circuit unit 63 includes switching elements SW3 of a high potential side arm and switching elements SW4 of a low potential side arm.

[0021] The power supply circuit section 64 includes a bridge circuit section 641 and a drive circuit section 642 .

[0022] The bridge circuit unit 641 is connected in parallel with the smoothing capacitor 62 and the resistor R0 for passive discharge between the high potential side line 20 and the low potential side line 22. The bridge circuit unit 641 is in the form of a full bridge circuit, and includes switching elements SW1-1 and SW1-2 and switching elements SW2-1 and SW2-2.

[0023] The switching elements SW1-1 and SW1-2 are connected in series between the high potential side line 20 and the low potential side line 22. One end of the rotor coil 316 is connected between the switching elements SW1-1 and SW1-2. The switching elements SW2-1 and SW2-2 are connected in series between the high potential side line 20 and the low potential side line 22 in a manner that they are in parallel with the switching elements SW1-1 and SW1-2. The other end of the rotor coil 316 is connected between the switching elements SW2-1 and SW2-2. Hereinafter, for the sake of distinction, the configuration related to the switching elements SW1-1 and SW2-1 of the switching elements SW1-1, SW1-2, SW2-1, and SW2-2 may be referred to as the "high potential side" and the configuration related to the switching elements SW1-2 and SW2-2 may be referred to as the "low potential side".

[0024] The switching elements SW1-1, SW1-2, SW2-1, and SW2-2 are switched between on and off states via the drive circuit unit 642. The switching elements SW1-1, SW1-2, SW2-1, and SW2-2 change the state of current flow to the rotor coil 316 under the control of the drive circuit unit 642. The switching elements SW1-1, SW1-2, SW2-1, and SW2-2 are, for example, IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors), but may be of other types such as MOSFETs (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors).

[0025] The drive circuit unit 642 supplies power to the rotor coil 316 via the power receiving circuit unit 65 by driving the gates of the switching elements SW1-1, SW1-2, SW2-1, and SW2-2 based on a control signal from the microcomputer 50.

[0026] The power receiving circuit section 65 includes a rectifier circuit 652 .

[0027] The rectifier circuit 652 is electrically connected between the transformer Tr and the rotor coil 316. The rectifier circuit 652 rectifies the current (drive current) on the secondary side of the transformer Tr and supplies the rectified current to the rotor coil 316. The rectifier circuit 652 may be a diode bridge circuit as shown in FIG.

[0028] Next, the structures of a circuit board 91 on which the rectifier circuit 652 is mounted and a support member 92 will be described as part of the structure of the power supply device 90, mainly with reference to FIG.

[0029] In the following description, the axial direction refers to the direction in which the central axis I of the rotor 310 (see FIG. 3, etc.) extends, and the radial direction refers to the radial direction centered on the central axis I. Therefore, the radially outer side refers to the side away from the central axis I from that position, and the radially inner side refers to the side toward the central axis I from that position. Additionally, the axially outer side refers to the side away from the axial center of the rotor 310 from that position, and the axially inner side refers to the side closer to the axial center of the rotor 310 from that position. Additionally, the circumferential direction corresponds to the direction of rotation around the central axis I.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a plan view seen in the axial direction, which is a schematic diagram showing an example of the structure of the circuit board 91 and the support member 92 on which the rectifier circuit 652 is mounted. In FIG. 3, for ease of viewing, the insulating region 914 is hatched, and the outline of the circuit board 91 is shown by a thick line G. In FIG. 3, the resin part 70 is omitted so that the components sealed in the resin part 70, which will be described later, can be seen. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 3. Note that in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the wiring pattern on the circuit board 91 is omitted.

[0031] When viewed in the axial direction, the circuit board 91 has an annular shape about a central axis I. That is, the circuit board 91 has an annular shape having a central hole centered on the central axis I. In this case, a shaft (not shown) of the rotor 310 may be inserted into the central hole of the circuit board 91.

[0032] The above-mentioned rectifier circuit 652 is mounted on the circuit board 91. In this embodiment, the rectifier circuit 652 includes a positive circuit 6521 and a negative circuit 6522.

[0033] One end of the positive circuit 6521 is electrically connected to the high potential side of the power supply (see P in FIG. 1) via a transformer Tr or the like, and the other end is electrically connected to the rotor coil 316. More specifically, one end of the positive circuit 6521 is connected to a terminal 6511 (FIG. 1) of the secondary coil 742 via a terminal 65210 (FIG. 1). In addition, the other end of the positive circuit 6521 is connected to a terminal 3161 (FIG. 1) of the rotor coil 316 via a positive terminal 65211 (FIGS. 1 and 3).

[0034] As shown in FIG. 3, the positive circuit 6521 extends in the circumferential direction over an angular range of about 180 degrees of the entire circumference of the circuit board 91.

[0035] The negative circuit 6522 has one end electrically connected to the low potential side of the power supply (see N in FIG. 1) via a transformer Tr or the like, and the other end electrically connected to the rotor coil 316. More specifically, the negative circuit 6522 has one end connected to the terminal 6512 (FIG. 1) of the secondary coil 742 via a terminal 65220 (FIG. 1). The negative circuit 6522 has the other end connected to the terminal 3162 (FIG. 1) of the rotor coil 316 via a negative terminal 65221 (FIGS. 1 and 3).

[0036] 3, the negative side circuit 6522 extends in the circumferential direction over an angular range of about 180 degrees, which is different from the angular range of the positive side circuit 6521, over the entire circumference of the circuit board 91. In this manner, in this embodiment, the positive side circuit 6521 and the negative side circuit 6522 each extend in the circumferential direction over an angular range of just under 180 degrees diagonally opposite each other.

[0037] In the circuit board 91, an insulating region 914 is formed between the positive electrode side circuit 6521 and the negative electrode side circuit 6522 in the circumferential direction. The insulating region 914 is formed to ensure a necessary electrical insulation distance L1 (see FIG. 3) between the positive electrode side circuit 6521 and the negative electrode side circuit 6522. In this embodiment, the insulating region 914 is formed at both ends of the positive electrode side circuit 6521 in the circumferential direction (both ends of the negative electrode side circuit 6522 in the circumferential direction).

[0038] In this embodiment, the circuit board 91 has a notch 916 in the insulating region 914. In this embodiment, the notch 916 is provided in each of the two insulating regions 914 on both ends of the positive pole side circuit 6521 in the circumferential direction. However, in a modified example, the notch 916 may be provided on only one side of the two insulating regions 914.

[0039] The notch 916 may be formed on the outer periphery of the circuit board 91 in a manner that opens radially outward. The shape of the notch 916 is arbitrary, and for example, in this embodiment, the notch 916 has a rectangular shape that is long in the radial direction when viewed in the axial direction. However, the shape of the notch 916 may be other shapes (for example, a circle, etc.).

[0040] The support member 92 is made of, for example, a metal material. For example, the support member 92 may be made of aluminum or the like, which has good heat dissipation properties. In this case, the heat of the circuit board 91 can be efficiently dissipated to the outside.

[0041] The support member 92 has an annular shape around the central axis I when viewed in the axial direction. That is, the support member 92 has an annular shape having a central hole centered on the central axis I. In this case, the support member 92 is fitted to a shaft (not shown) of the rotor 310 by press-fitting or the like, so that the support member 92 can rotate integrally with the rotor 310. However, in a modified example, the support member 92 may have a circular shape centered on the central axis I (i.e., a shape without a central hole). In this case, the support member 92 may be fixed to the rotor 310 via an end cover (a member that covers the rotor coil 316 from the axial outside) of the rotor 310 or the like, or may be formed integrally with the end cover. Note that in such a modified example, the circuit board 91 may also have a circular shape centered on the central axis I (i.e., a shape without a central hole).

[0042] The support member 92 supports the circuit board 91. The support member 92 has an axial protrusion 921 that can be engaged with the notch 916 of the circuit board 91. The protrusion 921 and the notch 916 extend in overlapping radial ranges. The protrusion 921 and the notch 916 may have a positioning function when the circuit board 91 is assembled to the support member 92. In this embodiment, two protrusions 921 are provided corresponding to the two notches 916. However, the number of the notches 916 and the protrusions 921 is arbitrary.

[0043] The protruding portions 921 are provided at circumferential positions (diagonal positions) corresponding to the two protruding portions 921, respectively. This allows the protruding portions 921 to be formed in a manner that does not impair the rotational balance of the rotor 310.

[0044] A radially inner portion of the protrusion 921 corresponds to the shape of the notch 916 when viewed in the axial direction, and may be slightly smaller than the shape of the notch 916. In this case, when the circuit board 91 is slightly displaced in the circumferential direction relative to the support member 92, the protrusion 921 engages with the notch 916 in the circumferential direction. Also, when the circuit board 91 is slightly displaced in the radial direction relative to the support member 92, the protrusion 921 engages with the notch 916 in the radial direction. In this way, the radial and circumferential displacements of the circuit board 91 relative to the support member 92 can be appropriately restrained.

[0045] In this manner, according to this embodiment, the circuit board 91 can be appropriately supported by the support member 92 by utilizing the cutout 916 formed in the insulating region 914 of the circuit board 91. That is, the engagement between the cutout 916 of the circuit board 91 and the protrusion 921 of the support member 92 reduces the degree of freedom of displacement of the circuit board 91 with respect to the support member 92.

[0046] Here, the insulating region 914 of the circuit board 91 is an area that is essentially necessary, and there is no deterioration in insulating performance due to the cutout 916. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the cutout 916 can be provided without making the size of the circuit board 91 larger than necessary. As a result, the power supply device 90 can be made smaller in size.

[0047] In this embodiment, the support member 92 forms a bottomed accommodation space S1 that accommodates the circuit board 91. That is, as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the support member 92 has a peripheral wall portion 925 located on the radially inner side when viewed in the circumferential direction, a peripheral wall portion 926 located on the radially outer side, and a bottom portion 927 that connects one axial end side of each of the peripheral wall portions 925, 926 to each other. In this case, the accommodation space S1 is formed surrounded by each of the peripheral wall portions 925, 926 and the bottom portion 927. Note that in this case, the accommodation space S1 is annular when viewed in the axial direction, and one axial side (the side opposite to the bottom portion 927) is open in the axial direction.

[0048] The housing space S1 of the support member 92 houses the circuit board 91 and also houses the resin part 70. The resin part 70 has a function of sealing the circuit board 91 in the housing space S1. The resin part 70 may be formed, for example, by molding a resin material into the housing space S1 in which the circuit board 91 is disposed. Note that the resin part 70 may seal the entire protruding part 921, or may be provided in a manner in which only a part of the protruding part 921 is exposed.

[0049] Providing the resin part 70 makes it possible to appropriately restrain the axial displacement of the circuit board 91 relative to the support member 92. Providing the resin part 70 also makes it possible to prevent oil (e.g., oil for cooling or lubrication) that may be supplied to the rotating electric machine 3 from getting on the elements on the circuit board 91. This makes it unnecessary to provide a cover member or the like that closes the accommodation space S1, thereby making it possible to reduce the number of parts.

[0050] In this way, according to this embodiment, the circuit board 91 can be appropriately supported by the support member 92 by utilizing the accommodation space S1 formed by the support member 92. That is, since the circuit board 91 can be sealed by the resin portion 70, the degree of freedom of displacement of the circuit board 91 relative to the support member 92 can be reduced. For example, since the axial displacement of the circuit board 91 relative to the support member 92 can be restrained by the resin portion 70, coupled with the engagement between the notch 916 of the circuit board 91 and the protruding portion 921 of the support member 92 described above, various displacements of the circuit board 91 relative to the support member 92 can be effectively reduced.

[0051] Particularly in this embodiment, since the circuit board 91 has the above-mentioned cutout 916, the resin portion 70 can reach the inside of the cutout 916. This increases the bonding strength between the circuit board 91 and the resin portion 70, and also reduces the possibility of a decrease in the bonding strength (such as peeling) between the circuit board 91 and the resin portion 70. Therefore, in this embodiment, the circuit board 91 can be fixed to the support member 92 with high reliability similar to that of fixing the circuit board 91 to the support member 92 with bolts, without fixing the circuit board 91 to the support member 92 with bolts.

[0052] Incidentally, during operation of the rotating electric machine 3, the circuit board 91 rotates together with the rotor 310, and thus centrifugal force acts on the circuit board 91. In consideration of this point, among various elements and components mounted on the circuit board 91, elements and components having a relatively large mass may be disposed at substantially the same circumferential position as the protruding portion 921. This is because the circuit board 91 is more likely to deform radially outward at the circumferential position where the elements and components having a relatively large mass are disposed than at other circumferential positions. In this case, the protruding portion 921 can reduce the radially outward deformation of the circuit board 91. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the circumferential extension ranges of the positive electrode side terminal 65211 and the protruding portion 921 on one side overlap, and the circumferential extension ranges of the negative electrode side terminal 65221 and the protruding portion 921 on the other side overlap. Even if the mass of the positive terminal 65211 and the negative terminal 65221 is relatively large, the radially outward deformation of the circuit board 91 can be effectively reduced by the protrusion 921. As a result, the amount of deformation of the circuit board 91 can be reduced, and the possibility of a decrease in the bonding strength (such as peeling) between the circuit board 91 and the resin part 70 can also be reduced.

[0053] Although each embodiment has been described above in detail, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the claims. In addition, it is also possible to combine all or a plurality of the components of the above-described embodiments.

[0054] For example, in the embodiment described above, the circuit board 91 is provided with the notch 916, but as described above, a hole (an axial through hole) may be provided instead of or in addition to the notch 916. In this case, a similar effect can be obtained by fitting a protrusion corresponding to the protrusion 921 into the hole. Also, in this case, by arranging the hole on the radial outside of an element or component with a relatively large mass, it is possible to reduce deformation of the circuit board 91 caused by centrifugal force as described above.

[0055] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the protruding portion 921 is integrally formed as a part of the support member 92, but it may be a separate piece of material and joined to a support member corresponding to the support member 92. In this case, the separate piece of material forming the protruding portion may be made of an insulating material such as a resin material. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 1A...vehicle drive device, 3...rotating electric machine, 320...stator, 310...rotor (wound field rotor), 316...rotor coil (coil), 90...power supply device, 91...circuit board, 914...insulating area, 916...notch, 92...support member, 921...protruding portion, 6521...positive circuit, 65211...positive terminal, 6522...negative circuit, 65221...negative terminal, 70...resin portion, S1...accommodating space

Claims

1. A stator; a wound field rotor on which a coil is wound; a power supply device provided between a power source and the winding field rotor and configured to supply power to the winding field rotor in a non-contact manner; The power supply device includes: a support member that is provided on the wound field rotor in a manner to rotate integrally with the wound field rotor and has an annular or circular shape when viewed in the axial direction; a circuit board having an annular or circular shape supported by the support member and overlapping with the support member when viewed in the axial direction; the circuit board has a positive side circuit electrically connected to the positive side of the coil, a negative side circuit electrically connected to the negative side of the coil, an insulating region between the positive side circuit and the negative side circuit, and one or more notches or holes in the insulating region; A vehicle drive device, wherein the support member has one or more axial protrusions that can engage with one or more of the notches or holes.

2. 2. The vehicle drive device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a positive terminal electrically connected to the coil in the positive circuit and a negative terminal electrically connected to the coil in the negative circuit is circumferentially arranged to overlap one or more of the axial protrusions.

3. The vehicle drive device according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more cutouts have a shape that opens radially outward.

4. the support member defines a bottomed accommodation space for accommodating the circuit board; The vehicle drive device according to claim 1 , wherein the power supply device further includes a resin portion that covers the circuit board and is disposed in the housing space of the support member.

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