Vehicle drive device

By overlapping components in a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface and attaching the connector to the capacitor module, the vehicle drive device achieves a compact design with effective insulation, addressing the size and insulation challenges of conventional devices.

JP7613096B2Active Publication Date: 2025-01-15AISIN CORP
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2020215443
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2020-12-24
Publication Date
2025-01-15
Estimated Expiration
2040-12-24

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Conventional vehicle drive devices have a housing member that is larger in size due to the arrangement of components overlapping vertically, and ensuring insulation between the AC connector and the housing member is challenging.

Method used

The components, including the first and second power converters, circuit board, and capacitor module, are arranged to overlap in a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface, with the connector attached to the capacitor module, reducing the horizontal size of the housing member and facilitating insulation.

Benefits of technology

This arrangement reduces the size of the housing member while ensuring necessary insulation distances, allowing for a more compact design and improved electromagnetic shielding.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

To make it easy to ensure the required insulation distance between a connector and peripheral members thereof and to reduce the size of an accommodating member.SOLUTION: The vehicle driving device includes: an accommodating member forming an accommodation chamber; a first power converter that drives a first motor; a second power converter that drives a second motor different from the first motor; a circuit board on which the second power converter is mounted; a capacitor module that includes a smoothing capacitor electrically connected to the first power converter and the second power converter; and a connector for electrically connecting between the second power converter and the second motor. The first power converter, the circuit board, and the capacitor module are accommodated in the accommodation chamber in a manner that overlaps with each other viewed in the direction perpendicular to the board surface of the circuit board, and the connector overlaps with the capacitor module and attached to the capacitor module viewed in the direction perpendicular to the board surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2
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Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] There is known a vehicle drive device in which a first power converter that drives a main machine (a rotating electric machine for driving wheels), a second power converter that drives an auxiliary machine (a pump motor), and a capacitor module are arranged so as to overlap each other when viewed in the vertical direction within an accommodation chamber formed by an accommodation member. In this vehicle drive device, an AC connector associated with the second power converter (a connector for electrically connecting the second power converter with the pump motor and a power source) is provided on a side wall of the accommodation member above the capacitor module in the vertical direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-223946 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, although various components are arranged so as to overlap in the vertical direction in the housing chamber, there is room for further miniaturization of the size of the housing member in the direction intersecting the vertical direction. Also, the AC connector is attached to the housing member (e.g., a metal housing), and it is necessary to ensure the necessary insulation between the AC connector and the housing member.

[0005] Therefore, in one aspect, an object of the present disclosure is to reduce the size of the housing member while making it easier to ensure the necessary insulation distance between the connector and its peripheral members. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In one aspect, a storage member that forms a storage chamber; a first power converter that drives a first motor; a second power converter that drives a second motor different from the first motor; a circuit board on which the second power converter is mounted; a capacitor module including a smoothing capacitor electrically connected to the first power converter and the second power converter; a connector for electrically connecting the second power converter and the second motor, the first power converter, the circuit board, and the capacitor module are accommodated in the accommodation chamber in a manner overlapping one another when viewed in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the circuit board; A vehicle drive device is provided, in which the connector overlaps the capacitor module when viewed in the direction and is attached to the capacitor module. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect, the present disclosure makes it possible to reduce the size of the housing member while making it easier to ensure the necessary insulation distance between the connector and its peripheral members. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of an overall configuration of a motor drive system for an electric vehicle. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a main portion of a vehicle drive device; [Diagram 3] 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the inverter case section taken along a plane passing through a water channel forming portion. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view taken along the arrow V1 in FIG. 2. [Figure 5A] 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a connector arrangement according to a comparative example. [Figure 5B] 13 is a schematic plan view illustrating a connector arrangement according to a comparative example. FIG. [Figure 6]10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating an example of a method for attaching a connector. [Figure 7] 7 is a schematic plan view taken along the arrow V3 in FIG. 6. 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 intended to be limiting, and shapes and the like in the drawings may be partially exaggerated for the sake of explanation.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a motor drive system 1 for an electric vehicle. The motor drive system 1 is a system that drives a vehicle by driving a main motor 5 using electric power from a high-voltage battery BT1. Note that the electric vehicle may have any type or detailed configuration as long as it runs by driving the main motor 5 using electric power. Electric vehicles typically include hybrid vehicles in which the power source is an engine and the main motor 5, and electric vehicles in which the power source is only the main motor 5. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, a vehicle refers to a vehicle in which the motor drive system 1 is mounted.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the motor drive system 1 includes a high-voltage battery BT1, a smoothing capacitor 3, a main inverter 4, a main motor 5, and an inverter control device 6.

[0012] The high-voltage battery BT1 is any power storage device that stores power and outputs a DC voltage, and may include a capacitive element such as a nickel-metal hydride battery, a lithium-ion battery, an electric double-layer capacitor, etc. The high-voltage battery BT1 is typically a battery with a rated voltage of more than 100 V, for example, 288 V.

[0013] The main inverter 4 drives the main motor 5. The main inverter 4 includes U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase arms arranged in parallel between a positive line and a negative line. The U-phase arm includes a series connection of switching elements (IGBT: Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) Q1 and Q2 in this example, the V-phase arm includes a series connection of switching elements (IGBT) Q3 and Q4 in this example, and the W-phase arm includes a series connection of switching elements (IGBT) Q5 and Q6 in this example. Diodes D11 to D16 are arranged between the collector and emitter of each of the switching elements Q1 to Q6 so as to pass a current from the emitter side to the collector side. The switching elements Q1 to Q6 may be other switching elements than IGBTs, such as MOSFETs (metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors).

[0014] The main motor 5 is, for example, a three-phase AC motor, and one end of each of the three coils of the U, V, and W phases is commonly connected at a neutral point. The other end of the U-phase coil is connected to a midpoint M1 of the switching elements Q1 and Q2, the other end of the V-phase coil is connected to a midpoint M2 of the switching elements Q3 and Q4, and the other end of the W-phase coil is connected to a midpoint M3 of the switching elements Q5 and Q6. A smoothing capacitor 3 is connected between the collector of the switching element Q1 and the negative line.

[0015] The inverter control device 6 is connected to various sensors such as a current sensor (not shown) that detects the current flowing through the main motor 5. The inverter control device 6 controls the main inverter 4 based on sensor information from the various sensors. The inverter control device 6 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a main memory (all not shown), and the various functions of the inverter control device 6 are realized by reading a control program recorded in the ROM or the like into the main memory and executing it by the CPU. The main inverter 4 may be controlled in any manner, but basically, two switching elements Q1 and Q2 associated with the U phase are turned on / off in opposite phases to each other, two switching elements Q3 and Q4 associated with the V phase are turned on / off in opposite phases to each other, and two switching elements Q5 and Q6 associated with the W phase are turned on / off in opposite phases to each other.

[0016] 1, a cutoff switch SW1 for cutting off the power supply from the high voltage battery BT1 is provided between the high voltage battery BT1 and the smoothing capacitor 3. The cutoff switch SW1 may be configured with a semiconductor switch, a relay, or the like. The cutoff switch SW1 is normally on, and is turned off, for example, when a vehicle collision is detected. The on / off switching of the cutoff switch SW1 may be achieved by the inverter control device 6, or may be achieved by another control device.

[0017] In this embodiment, the motor drive system 1 further includes an auxiliary inverter 4B and an auxiliary motor 5B as shown in FIG. 1. The auxiliary motor 5B forms an auxiliary. In this embodiment, as an example, the auxiliary motor 5B forms an electric oil pump that discharges oil to be supplied to the main motor 5. The auxiliary motor 5B may be connected to the high-voltage battery BT1 together with the corresponding auxiliary inverter 4B in a parallel relationship with the main motor 5 and the main inverter 4. In a modified example, the auxiliary motor 5B may be a motor that does not have an auxiliary function for the main motor 5 (for example, a compressor motor for an air conditioner).

[0018] The auxiliary inverter 4B drives the auxiliary motor 5B. The auxiliary inverter 4B has a circuit configuration similar to that of the main inverter 4 described above, but the electrical characteristics (rated current, withstand voltage, etc.) of the switching elements Q1 to Q6 and the like may be different. The auxiliary inverter 4B may have a lower rated current, withstand voltage, etc. than the main inverter 4, and can be mounted on a circuit board 60 as described later. Note that the switching elements Q1 to Q6 and the like forming the main inverter 4 are not mounted on a circuit board, but are arranged as an inverter module separately from the circuit board (circuit board 60 described later).

[0019] 1, the motor drive system 1 further includes an inverter control device 6B that controls the auxiliary motor 5B. The auxiliary motor 5B may be controlled in any manner, but may basically be controlled in such a manner that two switching elements Q1, Q2 associated with the U phase are turned on / off in opposite phases, two switching elements Q3, Q4 associated with the V phase are turned on / off in opposite phases, and two switching elements Q5, Q6 associated with the W phase are turned on / off in opposite phases. Some or all of the functions of the inverter control device 6B may be realized by the inverter control device 6.

[0020] The inverter control device 6B and the inverter control device 6 operate based on power from a low-voltage battery BT2 of the vehicle. The low-voltage battery BT2 is a power source with a rated voltage significantly lower than that of the high-voltage battery BT1. The low-voltage battery BT2 has a rated voltage of, for example, 12 V. In a modified example, the inverter control device 6B and / or the inverter control device 6 may be operable based on power from the high-voltage battery BT1 (for example, based on a backup power source generated by power from the high-voltage battery BT1).

[0021] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the motor drive system 1 does not include a DC / DC converter, but a DC / DC converter may be provided between the high-voltage battery BT1 and the main inverter 4.

[0022] Next, the arrangement of the main inverter 4 and the auxiliary inverter 4B and the connector 841 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and subsequent figures.

[0023] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the arrangement of the main inverter 4 and the auxiliary inverter 4B, and is a diagram that shows a schematic cross section of a main part of the vehicle drive device 100. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross section of the inverter case part 20 when cut on a plane passing through the water channel forming part 70. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view seen along the arrow V1 in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, a Z direction (an example of a first direction) and a Z1 side and a Z2 side along the Z direction are defined. In this embodiment, the Z1 side is the upper side, and the Z2 side is the lower side, but in a modified example, the vehicle drive device 100 may be mounted on the vehicle in another direction. In addition, in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, an X direction and a Y direction that are perpendicular to the Z direction and perpendicular to each other are defined. In the following, "top view" refers to a view seen in the Z direction, which is a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface. In the following, "horizontal direction" (an example of a second direction) refers to a direction that intersects with the Z direction and is an arbitrary direction in the XY plane.

[0024] The vehicle drive device 100 includes an inverter case section 20 on the upper part of the case 2. The inverter case section 20 is formed of, for example, aluminum. The inverter case section 20 may be formed of a plurality of case members. A part or the whole of the inverter case section 20 may be integral with the case 2, or may be separate from the case 2 and attached to the case 2. The case 2 forms a chamber SP1 in which the main motor 5 and a drive transmission mechanism (not shown) not shown in FIG. 2 are housed. The drive transmission mechanism is provided in a power transmission path connecting the main motor 5 and the wheels, and transmits the rotational torque of the main motor 5 to the wheels. The drive transmission mechanism may include a counter gear mechanism, a differential gear mechanism, or the like.

[0025] The inverter case section 20 forms a chamber SP3. The inverter case section 20 has a side wall section 21 extending in the vertical direction, and the side wall section 21 separates the chamber SP3 from the outside on the side of the chamber SP3 (in a direction intersecting the vertical direction). That is, the side wall section 21 extends so as to surround the chamber SP3 in a top view. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the lower part of the side wall section 21 is formed by a side wall section 21b formed on the upper part of the case 2. The chamber SP3 formed by the inverter case section 20 accommodates an inverter module MJ. The inverter module MJ is a module that incorporates the main inverter 4 and the water channel forming section 70 described above with reference to FIG. 1. The inverter module MJ may further include a capacitor module 30 integrally. The inverter module MJ is attached to the inverter case section 20.

[0026] The lower side of the inverter case unit 20 is closed by a bottom portion 211, and the upper side is open. The upper opening of the inverter case unit 20 is covered by a lid member 25. The chambers SP3 and SP1 are adjacent to each other in the vertical direction via the bottom portion 211 of the inverter case unit 20, and the bottom portion 211 of the inverter case unit 20 may form a peripheral wall portion of the case 2 that forms the chamber SP1.

[0027] The cover member 25 is provided on the upper part of the inverter case part 20. The cover member 25 may be fastened to the upper part of the inverter case part 20 by a bolt or the like. The cover member 25 may form a part of the side wall part 21 of the inverter case part 20. The cover member 25 may be formed of a metal such as aluminum. In this case, EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) measures for the inverter module MJ can be appropriately realized, and problems such as spatial resonance can be reduced. The cover member 25 may be formed with a water passage (not shown) for cooling the converter chip 64 and the like. In this case, the water passage in the cover member 25 may be connected to a cooling water passage 72 described later. The chamber SP3 is isolated from the chamber SP1 by the bottom part 211 of the inverter case part 20 except for a part through which wiring (such as wiring between the main motor 5 and the inverter module MJ) is passed.

[0028] 2, the smoothing capacitor 3 (capacitor module 30), the main inverter 4 (inverter module MJ), the inverter control device 6, and the inverter control device 6B (circuit board 60) are arranged in the room SP3. The smoothing capacitor 3 (capacitor module 30) and the main inverter 4 (inverter module MJ) may be attached to the inverter case section 20. The inverter control device 6 and the inverter control device 6B (circuit board 60) may be attached to the inverter case section 20 or the lid member 25.

[0029] The smoothing capacitor 3 is arranged in the chamber SP3 in the form of a capacitor module 30 whose periphery is sealed with resin or the like. That is, the capacitor module 30 is in a form in which the smoothing capacitor 3 is covered with resin (an example of an insulating material). The resin also has the function of sealing a part of the wiring bus bar (see bus bar 80 in FIG. 2) and enhancing the insulation of the wiring bus bar. In this embodiment, the capacitor module 30 is provided below the water channel forming portion 70, which will be described later. The smoothing capacitor 3 may be arranged at the lowest side in the chamber SP3.

[0030] The main inverter 4 may be in the form of a module in which the above-mentioned various semiconductor elements (switching element Q1, etc.) and a portion of the wiring bus bar (not shown) are sealed with resin, etc. The main inverter 4 is provided below the circuit board 60.

[0031] The main inverter 4 may include a water channel forming portion 70 in the form of an inverter module MJ, as shown in FIG. 2. A part or the whole of the water channel forming portion 70 may be integral with the inverter case portion 20, or may be separate from the inverter case portion 20 and attached to the inverter case portion 20. As shown in FIG. 3, a cooling water channel 72 is formed in the water channel forming portion 70. The cooling water channel 72 may be a space portion as shown in FIG. 3, or may be partitioned by a plurality of fins, grooves, or the like. Although not shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a pipe or the like for supplying / discharging cooling water may be connected to the cooling water channel 72.

[0032] The water channel forming part 70 is formed of a material with good thermal conductivity such as aluminum. The water channel forming part 70 preferably has an upper surface that abuts against the lower heat dissipation surface of the main inverter 4 (one example of the range of the heat dissipation surface is shown by a dashed line SC1 in FIG. 3) as shown in FIG. 2. The water channel forming part 70 preferably has a lower surface that faces the upper heat dissipation surface of the capacitor module 30 as shown in FIG. 2. This allows the main inverter 4 and the capacitor module 30 to be cooled simultaneously and efficiently by the cooling water passing through the cooling water channel 72 in the water channel forming part 70. Note that a heat conductive member or material such as a thermal sheet may be disposed between the water channel forming part 70 and the capacitor module 30.

[0033] The inverter control device 6 and the inverter control device 6B are realized by a circuit board 60. In this embodiment, the circuit board 60 is realized by a single board. Note that the circuit board 60 may be realized by two or more boards separated in the vertical or horizontal direction.

[0034] The circuit board 60 may be, for example, a rigid type and a multi-layer board. The circuit board 60 is, for example, rectangular, but may be another shape. The circuit board 60 overlaps the inverter module MJ and the capacitor module 30 in a top view. The circuit board 60 may be substantially the same size as the capacitor module 30 in a top view, or may be significantly smaller than the capacitor module 30.

[0035] Various electronic components that form the inverter control device 6 are mounted on the circuit board 60. For example, on the circuit board 60, drive circuits that drive the switching elements Q1 to Q6, a microcomputer, a power supply circuit, and the like are mounted.

[0036] Further, on the circuit board 60, a converter chip 64 is mounted together with various electronic components forming the inverter control device 6B. The converter chip 64 forms the auxiliary inverter 4B. That is, the converter chip 64 includes switching elements Q1 to Q6 and diodes D11 to D16 of the auxiliary inverter 4B. The converter chip 64 is in the form of one integrated circuit chip, but may be realized in the form of a combination of two or more integrated circuit chips. The converter chip 64 may incorporate a drive circuit (gate driver circuit) for the auxiliary inverter 4B. The converter chip 64 may also incorporate a circuit section having a specific function such as an overcurrent protection function and other related elements. The converter chip 64 may be, for example, a surface mount type, and may be in the form of an IPM (Intelligent Power Module). The converter chip 64 may be mounted on the upper surface of the circuit board 60 (i.e., the surface facing the cover member 25) as shown in FIG. 2.

[0037] A harness 84 is electrically connected to the circuit board 60. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the harness 84 is electrically connected to the lower surface of the circuit board 60, but the harness 84 may be electrically connected to the upper surface of the circuit board 60. The harness 84 is a high-voltage harness, and at one end (circuit board 60 side), terminals 814, 815 (see FIG. 1) electrically connected to the smoothing capacitor 3 and terminals 816, 817, 818 (see FIG. 1) electrically connected to the auxiliary motor 5B via a connector 841 described later are formed. In FIG. 2, the other end (lower end) of the harness 84 is not shown.

[0038] The other end (lower end) of the harness 84 extends to a connector 841 as shown in Fig. 4. In this case, the harness 84 may extend to the capacitor module 30 through, for example, the circuit board 60, the inverter module MJ, and a wiring space WS1 (see Fig. 3) on the side of the smoothing capacitor 3. The wiring space WS1 extends in a manner passing through a part of the above-mentioned space SP30.

[0039] As described above, the connector 841 is connected to a portion of the lower end side of the harness 84. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 4, the harness 84 includes wiring 840(U), 840(V), and 840(W) for three-phase current and wiring 840(P) and 840(N) for power supply, and the wiring 840(U), 840(V), and 840(W) for three-phase current are connected to the connector 841. The connector 841 forms terminals 8411, 8412, and 8413 (see Fig. 1) electrically connected to the auxiliary motor 5B.

[0040] The connector 841 is attached to the lower part of the capacitor module 30. Therefore, the connector 841 is disposed between the capacitor module 30 and the bottom part 211 of the inverter case part 20 in the up-down direction. In this case, wiring from the connector 841 to the auxiliary motor 5B is facilitated. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the connector 841 may be electrically connected to the auxiliary motor 5B via a connect 842 and a harness 8421 disposed in the chamber SP1.

[0041] In this embodiment, the connector 841 overlaps with the capacitor module 30 in top view as shown in Fig. 4. This makes it possible to reduce the horizontal size of the inverter case section 20 compared to a comparative example (see Figs. 5A and 5B) in which the connector 841 is arranged without overlapping with the capacitor module 30.

[0042] Specifically, in Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B, the arrangement of the connector 841 and the inverter case section 20' according to the comparative example are shown in the same views as Fig. 2 and Fig. 4, respectively. In this case, the connector 841 is attached to the bottom 211' of the case 2' (corresponding to the bottom 211 of this embodiment shown in Fig. 2). That is, the connector 841 is arranged in the chamber SP3' in a manner that does not overlap with the capacitor module 30 in a top view. According to such a comparative example, as can be seen by comparing Figs. 2 and 4 and Figs. 5A and 5B, the space SP30' between the inverter case section 20' and the capacitor module 30 and the horizontal size of the inverter case section 20' tend to be large due to the arrangement of the connector 841.

[0043] In contrast, according to this embodiment, the connector 841 is disposed in the chamber SP3 in a manner overlapping with the capacitor module 30 in a top view, and therefore it is possible to prevent the horizontal size of the inverter case unit 20 from becoming large due to the arrangement of the connector 841. That is, compared to the comparative example (see FIGS. 5A and 5B), the horizontal size of the inverter case unit 20 can be reduced. Note that the layout and size of the inverter case unit 20 are restricted by the relationship with the peripheral components, and therefore the degree of freedom in design can be increased by reducing the horizontal size of the inverter case unit 20.

[0044] In this embodiment, preferably, the connector 841 entirely overlaps the capacitor module 30 in top view. In this case, there is no need to provide a local recess (a recess that recesses in a direction that increases the horizontal size) in the side wall 21 of the inverter case 20 to ensure a necessary insulation distance for the connector 841. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to minimize the horizontal size of the inverter case 20.

[0045] In other words, in this embodiment, the connector 841 is not disposed in the space SP30 (see FIG. 4) between the side wall portion 21 of the inverter case portion 20 and the capacitor module 30, so that the space SP30 can be minimized over the entire circumference of the side wall portion 21. That is, in the horizontal direction, the space SP30 can be made smaller than the mounting space for the connector 841 (or the size of the connector 841). Also, in this embodiment, the capacitor module 30 is covered with resin, so that it is easy to ensure an insulation distance, and the space SP30 can be made relatively small. Therefore, the space SP30 may be minimized from the viewpoint of ensuring various mounting and wiring spaces (for example, the wiring space WS1). The space SP30 is a part of the chamber SP3, and extends in a range in the Z direction corresponding to the extension range of the capacitor module 30 in the Z direction.

[0046] Incidentally, the capacitor module 30 tends to become larger as the smoothing capacitor 3 becomes larger in size in response to the increased output of the main motor 5. When the horizontal size of the capacitor module 30 increases, the horizontal size of the inverter case section 20 also tends to increase accordingly.

[0047] In this regard, according to this embodiment, as described above, the space SP30 between the inverter case section 20 and the capacitor module 30 is minimized, so that the horizontal size of the inverter case section 20 can be minimized according to the horizontal size of the capacitor module 30. In this way, according to this embodiment, the horizontal size of the inverter case section 20 can be minimized in a manner according to the horizontal size of the capacitor module 30.

[0048] In other words, in this embodiment, it is possible to maximize the size of the capacitor module 30 that can be realized for an inverter case section 20 of a specific size (horizontal size). When the size of the capacitor module 30 is increased, the heat dissipation properties of the smoothing capacitor 3 and the wiring bus bar can be improved accordingly. Therefore, by efficiently increasing the size of the capacitor module 30, it may be possible to eliminate a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor) for monitoring the temperature of the smoothing capacitor 3.

[0049] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, as described above, the connector 841 is provided below the capacitor module 30, and therefore, unlike the case where the connector 841 is provided to the side of the capacitor module 30, the capacitor module 30 can be positioned between the connector 841 and the circuit board 60. This makes it possible to minimize the influence of noise (influence on the circuit board 60) that may be radiated from the connector 841 through which the three-phase AC current supplied to the auxiliary motor 5B flows. In other words, the capacitor module 30 can function as an electromagnetic shield between the connector 841 and the circuit board 60.

[0050] In this embodiment, the connector 841 is attached to the capacitor module 30. The method of attaching the connector 841 to the capacitor module 30 is arbitrary, but may be realized, for example, as shown in FIGS.

[0051] 6 and 7 are explanatory diagrams of an example of a method of attaching a connector 841 to a capacitor module 30, where FIG. 6 is a plan view showing part V2 of FIG. 4 in more detail, and FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view seen along the arrow V3 of FIG. 6.

[0052] 6 and 7, the connector 841 is fixed to the resin portion 31 of the capacitor module 30. Specifically, the resin portion 31 of the capacitor module 30 has a boss portion 311, and a bracket 85 that holds the connector 841 is fastened to the boss portion 311 by a fastener 86. In this case, the fastener 86 is in the form of a bolt having a washer portion 851, and may be fastened to the boss portion 311 via a washer 852.

[0053] 6 and 7, the connector 841 is fixed to the resin portion 31 of the capacitor module 30, so that the distance between the connector 841 and the capacitor module 30 can be minimized without considering the insulation distance between them. That is, the connector 841 can be fixed to the capacitor module 30 while ensuring the necessary insulation between the connector 841 and the capacitor module 30 without taking any special measures on the capacitor module 30 side or the connector 841 side.

[0054] Although each embodiment has been described in detail above, it is not limited to a specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the claims. It is also possible to combine all or a plurality of the components of the above-mentioned embodiments. Furthermore, among the effects of each embodiment, the effects related to the dependent claims are additional effects that are distinguished from the generic concept (independent claim). [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 20... inverter case part (housing member), 3... smoothing capacitor, 4... main inverter (first power converter), 4B... auxiliary inverter (second power converter), 5... main motor (first motor), 5B... auxiliary motor (second motor), 30... capacitor module, 31... resin part (insulating material part), 60... circuit board, 211... bottom, BT1... high voltage battery (power source), SP3... chamber (housing chamber), SP30... space

Claims

1. A storage member that forms a storage chamber; a first power converter that drives a first motor; a second power converter that drives a second motor different from the first motor; a circuit board on which the second power converter is mounted; a capacitor module including a smoothing capacitor electrically connected to the first power converter and the second power converter; a connector for electrically connecting the second power converter and the second motor, the first power converter, the circuit board, and the capacitor module are accommodated in the accommodation chamber in a manner overlapping one another when viewed in a first direction perpendicular to a board surface of the circuit board; The connector overlaps the capacitor module when viewed in the first direction and is attached to the capacitor module.

2. The housing member has a peripheral wall portion surrounding the housing chamber as viewed in the first direction, The vehicle drive device according to claim 1 , wherein a space between the peripheral wall portion and the capacitor module in a second direction intersecting the first direction is smaller than a mounting space of the connector in the second direction.

3. The vehicle drive device according to claim 1 , wherein the connector is provided on an opposite side to the circuit board with respect to the capacitor module in the first direction.

4. The capacitor module is configured to cover the smoothing capacitor with an insulating material, The vehicle drive device according to claim 1 , wherein the connector is fixed to a portion of the capacitor module made of the insulating material.

Citation Information

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