Drive unit

Abstract

This technology provides a way to suppress the complexity of the refrigerant supply unit configuration in a drive unit. [Solution] The drive unit comprises a motor having a plurality of coils wound around a stator core, a plurality of power lines extending from the plurality of coils and each having a terminal at its end, a terminal block holding the terminals of the plurality of power lines, and a refrigerant supply unit that injects refrigerant toward each of the plurality of power lines held by the terminal block. Each of the plurality of power lines has a refrigerant flow path that guides the refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply unit toward the motor.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a drive unit equipped with a motor.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a drive unit. This drive unit includes a motor having a plurality of coils wound around a stator core, a plurality of power lines extending from the plurality of coils and having terminals at their respective tips, a terminal block holding the terminals of the plurality of power lines, and a refrigerant supply unit that injects refrigerant toward each of the plurality of power lines held by the terminal block.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the drive unit as described above, when cooling the motor and the terminal block provided in the drive unit using refrigerant, it is necessary to provide a refrigerant supply unit for supplying refrigerant to each of them respectively. Therefore, there is a problem that the configuration of the refrigerant supply unit becomes complicated and the amount of refrigerant to be supplied also increases.

[0005] In view of the above, this specification provides a technique for suppressing the complication of the configuration of the refrigerant supply unit that supplies refrigerant to the motor and the terminal block in the drive unit.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The disclosures herein are embodied in a drive unit. The drive unit comprises a motor having a plurality of coils wound around a stator core; a plurality of power lines extending from the plurality of coils, each having a terminal at its end; a terminal block for holding the terminals of the plurality of power lines; and a refrigerant supply unit for injecting refrigerant toward each of the plurality of power lines held by the terminal block. Each of the plurality of power lines has a refrigerant flow path for guiding the refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply unit toward the motor.

[0007] In the configuration described above, a refrigerant flow path is provided for each of the multiple power lines. The refrigerant flow path guides the refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply unit to the power lines toward the motor. With this configuration, refrigerant can be supplied to both the terminal block and the motor from a common refrigerant supply unit, allowing for a simpler refrigerant supply unit configuration. Furthermore, compared to a configuration where refrigerant is supplied to both the terminal block and the motor separately, the amount of refrigerant required for cooling can also be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This diagram shows the configuration of the drive unit 2 in the embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows a cross-sectional view of the power line 20 of the drive unit 2 in the embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The drive unit 2 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The drive unit 2 of this embodiment can be used in various types of electric vehicles as a drive source for driving the wheels. For example, the drive unit 2 may be installed in a battery electric vehicle (BEV).

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, the drive unit 2 comprises a motor 10, multiple power lines 20, a terminal block 30, and a refrigerant supply unit 40. Although not shown, these components are housed within the casing of the drive unit 2. The casing is sealed with a refrigerant, such as lubricating oil, and is configured to cool the inside of the casing by circulating the refrigerant.

[0011] The motor 10 comprises a rotor 12 and a stator 14. The stator 14 comprises a stator core 16 and a plurality of coils 18 wound around the stator core 16. The specific configuration of the motor 10 is not particularly limited. For example, the motor 10 is a three-phase AC motor, and the plurality of coils 18 include three-phase coils of U, V, and W.

[0012] Multiple power lines 20 extend from multiple coils 18 of the motor 10. As mentioned above, the multiple coils 18 include three-phase coils of U, V, and W. Therefore, the multiple power lines 20 also include three-phase power lines of U, V, and W. Each of the multiple power lines 20 has a terminal 20b at its end. The terminals 20b are fixed to the terminal block 30, for example, by bolts. The base end 20a of each power line 20 may be directly connected to the corresponding coil 18, or it may be configured to be detachable via terminals or the like.

[0013] Each of the multiple power lines 20 is provided with a refrigerant flow path 22. The refrigerant flow path 22 guides the refrigerant 42 supplied from the refrigerant supply unit 40 toward the motor 10. The specific configuration of the refrigerant flow path 22 is not particularly limited. For example, in this embodiment, the power line 20 is provided with a groove extending along the longitudinal direction of the power line 20, as shown in Figure 2, and this groove constitutes the refrigerant flow path 22.

[0014] The terminal block 30 is configured to be connectable to a PCU (POWER CONTROL UNIT) or power supply (not shown) for supplying power to the motor 10. The terminal block 30 includes a base 32 made of an insulating material. The base 32 is provided with multiple holding parts 34 for holding each terminal 20b of the multiple power lines 20. The specific configuration of the terminal block 30 and its holding parts 34 is not particularly limited. For example, the terminal block 30 has multiple power lines connected to the PCU or power supply, and these power lines are arranged in the multiple holding parts 34. As a result, each terminal 20b of the multiple power lines 20 is electrically connected to the power line by being attached to the holding parts 34 of the terminal block 30.

[0015] The refrigerant supply unit 40 is located at the end of the pipeline through which the refrigerant 42 flows, and injects the refrigerant toward the terminal block 30. Here, the direction in which the refrigerant is injected by the refrigerant supply unit 40 is adjusted to match the positions of the multiple power lines 20. Specifically, the refrigerant supply unit 40 is configured to inject the refrigerant toward the vicinity a of each terminal 20b of the multiple power lines 20 held by the terminal block 30. In this embodiment, the refrigerant supply unit 40 is located vertically above the terminal block 30, and the refrigerant 42 is injected vertically from the upper side downwards. The specific configuration and arrangement of the refrigerant supply unit 40 are not particularly limited.

[0016] The refrigerant 42 injected toward the vicinity a of the terminal 20b of the power line 20 flows into the refrigerant flow path 22 provided in the power line 20 and circulates along the refrigerant flow path 22 toward the motor 10. After that, the refrigerant 42 that reaches the base end 20a on the opposite side of the power line 20 is transmitted to the plurality of coils 18 connected to the base end 20a. Further, the refrigerant 42 is transmitted from the plurality of coils 18 to the stator core 16 and the rotor 12, and the refrigerant 42 spreads throughout the motor 10. Thereby, the refrigerant 42 injected toward the vicinity a of the terminal 20b of the power line 20 reaches the terminal block 30 and the motor 10, and can cool the entire terminal block 30 and the motor 10. According to the configuration of the present embodiment, since there is no need to provide the refrigerant supply unit 40 for each of the terminal block 30 and the motor 10, the configuration of the refrigerant supply unit 40 can be simplified. Also, the amount of the refrigerant 42 required for cooling the terminal block 30 and the motor 10 can be reduced.

[0017] The specific type and characteristics of the refrigerant 42 are not particularly limited. Although it is an example, the refrigerant 42 used in the present embodiment may be an oily liquid used for cooling a known electric motor or the like.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0018] 2: Drive unit 10: Motor 12: Rotor 14: Stator 16: Stator core 18: Coil 20: Power line 20a: Base end 20b: Terminal 22: Refrigerant flow path 30: Terminal block 32: Pedestal 34: Holding part 40: Refrigerant supply unit 42: Refrigerant a: Vicinity

Claims

[Claim 1] A motor having multiple coils wound around a stator core, Multiple power lines extending from the aforementioned multiple coils, each having a terminal at its end, A terminal block for holding the terminals of the plurality of power lines, A refrigerant supply unit that injects refrigerant toward each of the multiple power lines held by the terminal block, It is equipped with, Each of the aforementioned plurality of power lines is provided with a refrigerant flow path that guides the refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply unit toward the motor. Drive unit.

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