Transaxle test device and test method

Abstract

To ensure the quality of a completed transaxle without increasing the size and cost of the test equipment or increasing mechanical loss.SOLUTION: A first motor 101 and a second motor 102 mounted on a transaxle 100 are connected to each other so as to be capable of transmitting power therebetween. Then, electric power is supplied to the first motor 101 to rotate it, and the rotational driving force is transmitted to the second motor 102 to cause the second motor 102 to perform regenerative operation. In this state, an inspection of the transaxle 100 is performed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a testing device and a testing method for a transaxle of a vehicle that uses a motor as a drive source. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 listed below shows a driving test device for a motor (EV motor) and an inverter (EV inverter) provided in a hybrid vehicle (HEV). Specifically, a prime mover (AC dynamo) provided in the test device is connected to the output shaft of the EV motor, and the EV motor is driven by the prime mover while applying a load similar to that of an actual vehicle, thereby performing a performance test on the EV motor and the EV inverter. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-35380 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The above-mentioned test equipment requires a prime mover and prime mover inverter to apply a load to the EV motor, which leads to an increase in size and cost of the test equipment. In particular, when testing multiple EV motors simultaneously using one test equipment to shorten test time, the same number of prime movers as EV motors are required, which significantly increases the size and cost of the test equipment. In addition, in this case, the output shaft of each EV motor and the rotating shaft of each prime mover must be connected via couplers such as chains or sprockets, which increases mechanical loss.

[0005] Furthermore, EV motors and EV inverters that are found to be normal by the above test equipment must be assembled into a transaxle in that combination. If they are assembled into a transaxle in a different combination, assembly errors will occur, and the quality of the finished transaxle cannot be guaranteed.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to guarantee the quality of a completed transaxle without increasing the size and cost of the testing equipment or increasing mechanical loss. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides a testing device for a transaxle equipped with a motor and an inverter, the testing device having a power supply that supplies power to a first motor and a second motor mounted on the same transaxle or different transaxles, and a connecting part that connects the first motor and the second motor to each other in a powerable manner.

[0008] The present invention also provides a method for testing a transaxle equipped with a motor and an inverter, comprising the steps of: connecting a first motor and a second motor mounted on the same transaxle or different transaxles so that power can be transmitted between them; and inspecting the transaxle while supplying power to the first motor to rotate it and transmitting this rotational driving force to the second motor to operate the second motor in regenerative mode.

[0009] As described above, in the present invention, the first motor and the second motor are connected to each other so that power can be transmitted between them. In this case, by supplying power to the first motor to rotate it and using this rotational driving force to regenerate the second motor, it is possible to test the transaxle while applying a load to the first motor. This eliminates the need to provide the test equipment with a prime mover and prime mover inverter to apply a load to the first motor, thereby contributing to a smaller and less expensive test equipment. Furthermore, by using the rotational driving force of the first motor to regenerate the second motor and using this power to drive the first motor, energy savings can be achieved. Furthermore, in the present invention, the transaxle is tested with the motor and inverter installed, eliminating any mismatch in the motor-inverter combination after testing and ensuring quality.

[0010] The first motor and the second motor are mounted, for example, on the same transaxle. For example, the transaxle of a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) having an engine and a motor as a drive source for the wheels is equipped with a motor for driving the wheels and a motor for generating electricity using the rotational driving force of the engine. The HEV transaxle is set in a test device, and one of the two types of motors can be designated as the first motor and the other as the second motor.

[0011] The first motor and the second motor are mounted on, for example, different transaxles. For example, a transaxle of an electric vehicle (BEV) that has only a motor as a drive source for the wheels is equipped with only a motor for driving the wheels. Two BEV transaxles can be set in a test device, with the motor of one BEV transaxle being the first motor and the motor of the other BEV transaxle being the second motor. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] As described above, according to the present invention, the quality of the completed transaxle can be guaranteed without increasing the size and cost of the device or increasing mechanical loss. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a test device for an HEV transaxle according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a testing device for a BEV transaxle according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a side view of a conveyor line including a testing device for a BEV transaxle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] 1 shows a transaxle testing device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The testing device 1 of this embodiment is a device for testing a transaxle 100 for a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) that has an engine and a motor as drive sources for driving the wheels.

[0016] The transaxle 100 has a first motor 101 for driving the wheels, a second motor 102 for generating electricity using the rotational driving force of the engine, a differential 103 connected to a rotating shaft 101a of the first motor 101, left and right rotating shafts 105 and 106 attached to the differential 103, and an inverter 104 electrically connected to the first motor 101 and the second motor 102. An end of the rotating shaft 102a of the second motor 102 and ends of the rotating shafts 105 and 106 are exposed to the outside of the casing of the transaxle 100.

[0017] During normal driving of a vehicle incorporating the transaxle 100, the first motor 101 operates in power running mode, driving the wheels with power supplied from a battery. On the other hand, during engine braking of the vehicle, the first motor 101 operates in regenerative mode, generating electricity using an external force reversely input to the rotating shaft 101a. The second motor 102 normally operates in regenerative mode, generating electricity by rotating the rotating shaft 102a with the rotational driving force of the engine, but operates in power running mode to drive the starter when the engine is started. As described above, both the first motor 101 and the second motor 102 can be operated in both power running mode and regenerative mode.

[0018] The test device 1 has a power supply 2 electrically connected to the inverter 104 of the transaxle 100, a connecting portion 3 that connects the first motor 101 and the second motor 102 of the transaxle 100 so that power can be transmitted between them, and a differential lock 6 that regulates the differential of the differential device 103.

[0019] The power supply 2 includes, for example, an AC power supply and a converter that converts it into DC.

[0020] The connecting portion 3 has a sprocket 4a attached to the end of the rotating shaft 105, a sprocket 4b attached to the rotating shaft 102a of the second motor 102, and a chain 5 stretched across both sprockets 4a and 4b.

[0021] As shown in Figure 1, with transaxle 100 set in testing equipment 1, a test is first performed with first motor 101 as the drive motor and second motor 102 as the generator motor. Specifically, by supplying power to first motor 101 via power source 2 and inverter 104 to rotate and drive rotating shaft 101a, rotating shaft 102a of second motor 102 is rotated and driven via differential gear 103, rotating shaft 105, sprocket 4a, chain 5, and sprocket 4b. At this time, differential movement of differential gear 103 is restricted by differential lock 6.

[0022] As described above, when the first motor 101 is rotationally driven while being coupled to the second motor 102 so as to be capable of transmitting power, a rotational resistance is applied to the first motor 101 due to the resistance to rotate the rotary shaft of the second motor 102. At this time, the rotational resistance applied to the first motor 101 can be adjusted by supplying power to the second motor 102 via the power supply 2 and the inverter 104 as necessary and applying torque to the second motor 102 in a forward direction (a direction that reduces the rotational resistance) or a reverse direction (a direction that increases the rotational resistance).

[0023] For example, when first motor 101 is driven to rotate, power is supplied to second motor 102 to apply torque in the opposite direction, and a rotational resistance equivalent to that experienced when an actual vehicle is being driven is applied to first motor 101, thereby enabling testing of transaxle 100 under conditions equivalent to those experienced when an actual vehicle is being driven. For example, noise during driving can be inspected by measuring the volume of sound generated from transaxle 100 while driving first motor 101 to rotate with a rotational resistance equivalent to that experienced when an actual vehicle is being driven, as described above.

[0024] In addition, the power generation performance of the second motor 102 can be tested by rotating the first motor 101 without supplying power to the second motor 102 and measuring the amount of power generated (voltage) per rotation of the second motor 102 at this time.

[0025] In addition, by supplying the power generated by regenerative operation of the second motor 102 to the first motor 101 via the inverter 104, the power supplied from the power source 2 to rotate the first motor 101 can be reduced, thereby achieving energy savings.

[0026] Next, a test is performed using the second motor 102 as the drive motor and the first motor 101 as the generator motor. Specifically, power is supplied to the second motor 102 via the power supply 2 and the inverter 104 to rotate the rotating shaft 102a, which in turn rotates the rotating shaft 101a of the first motor 101 via the sprocket 4b, the chain 5, the sprocket 4a, the rotating shaft 105, and the differential 103.

[0027] At this time, the rotational resistance applied to the second motor 102 can be adjusted by supplying power to the first motor 101 via the power supply 2 and the inverter 104 and applying torque in the forward direction (to reduce the rotational resistance) or the reverse direction (to increase the rotational resistance).

[0028] For example, by supplying power to the first motor 101 and adjusting the torque, a rotational resistance equivalent to that experienced when the engine's starter is driven is applied to the second motor 102, and the volume of the sound generated from the transaxle 100 can be measured to check the noise generated when the engine is started.

[0029] In addition, the performance of the rotation sensor can be inspected by driving the second motor 102 to rotate without supplying power to the first motor 101, and calculating the deviation between the actual rotation speed of the first motor 101 at this time and the rotation speed of the rotating shaft 101a of the first motor 101 measured by the rotation sensor.

[0030] Furthermore, by supplying the power generated by regeneratively operating the first motor 101 to the second motor 102 via the inverter 104, the power supplied from the power source 2 to rotate the second motor 102 can be reduced, thereby achieving energy savings.

[0031] As described above, in this embodiment, the first motor 101 and the second motor 102 provided in the transaxle 100 are motively connected to each other, and one is used as the drive motor and the other as the generator motor to test the transaxle 100. In this case, there is no need to provide the test device 1 with a prime mover and a prime mover inverter for applying resistance to each of the motors 101, 102, which allows the test device 1 to be made smaller and less expensive.

[0032] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the transaxle 100 equipped with the first motor 101, the second motor 102, and the inverter 104 is set in the test device 1 and tested. Therefore, if the transaxle 100 is determined to be a good product in this test, the combination of the first motor 101, the second motor 102, and the inverter 104 will not be changed thereafter, and the quality of the transaxle 100 can be guaranteed.

[0033] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but redundant explanations of points similar to those of the above-described embodiment will be omitted.

[0034] In the above embodiment, the first motor 101 and the second motor 102 are mounted on the same transaxle 100, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied even when these motors are mounted on different transaxles. For example, Fig. 2 shows a test device 1 for testing a first transaxle 200 equipped with a first motor 201 and a second transaxle 300 equipped with a second motor 301. These transaxles 200, 300 are for electric vehicles (BEVs) that have only a motor as a drive source for driving the wheels.

[0035] First transaxle 200 has a first motor 201 for driving the wheels, a first differential 202 connected to a rotating shaft 201a of first motor 201, left and right rotating shafts 204, 205 attached to differential 202, and a first inverter 203 electrically connected to first motor 201. Second transaxle 300 has a second motor 301 for driving the wheels, a second differential 302 connected to a rotating shaft 301a of second motor 301, left and right rotating shafts 304, 305 attached to differential 302, and a second inverter 303 electrically connected to second motor 201. During normal vehicle driving, motors 201, 301 operate in power running mode, driving the rotating shafts with power supplied from the battery, and during engine braking of the vehicle, operate in regenerative mode, generating electricity using an external force reversely input to the rotating shafts.

[0036] The test device 1 has a power supply 2 electrically connected to the first inverter 203 and the second inverter 303, a connecting portion 3 that connects the first motor 201 and the second motor 301 so that power can be transmitted between them, and a differential lock 6 that regulates the differential between each differential device 202, 302.

[0037] The connecting portion 3 includes a sprocket 4c attached to the end of the rotating shaft 204 of the first transaxle 200, a sprocket 4d attached to the end of the rotating shaft 304 of the second transaxle 300, an intermediate shaft 7, sprockets 4e and 4f attached to both ends of the intermediate shaft, and a chain 5 stretched between sprockets 4c and 4e and between sprockets 4d and 4f.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 2 , with the first and second transaxles 200, 300 set in the test apparatus 1, a test is first performed with the first motor 201 as the drive motor and the second motor 301 as the generator motor. Specifically, power is supplied from the power source 2 via the first inverter 203 to the first motor 201 to rotate it. This rotates the rotating shaft 301a of the second motor 301 via the first differential 202, rotating shaft 204, sprocket 4c, chain 5, sprocket 4e, intermediate shaft 7, sprocket 4f, chain 5, sprocket 4d, rotating shaft 304, and second differential 302. At this time, differential movement of the differentials 202, 302 is restricted by the differential lock 6.

[0039] As described above, when the first motor 201 is rotationally driven while being coupled to the second motor 301 so as to be capable of transmitting power, a rotational resistance is applied to the first motor 201 due to the resistance to rotate the rotary shaft of the second motor 301. At this time, the rotational resistance applied to the first motor 201 can be adjusted as necessary by supplying power to the second motor 301 via the power supply 2 and the second inverter 303 to provide torque.

[0040] For example, when the first motor 201 is driven to rotate, power is supplied to the second motor 301 to give it torque in the opposite direction, and the noise generated from the first transaxle 200 is measured while applying a rotational resistance to the first motor 201 equivalent to that experienced when the vehicle is actually running, thereby enabling the noise generated during running to be inspected.

[0041] In addition, the power generation performance of the second motor 301 can be tested by rotating the first motor 201 without supplying power to the second motor 301 and measuring the amount of power generated (voltage) per rotation of the second motor 301 at this time.

[0042] In addition, the performance of the rotation sensor can be inspected by driving the first motor 201 to rotate without supplying power to the second motor 301 and calculating the difference between the actual rotation speed of the second motor 301 at this time and the rotation speed of the second motor 301 measured by the rotation sensor.

[0043] Furthermore, the electric power generated by the regenerative operation of the second motor 301 can be returned to the power source 2 via the second inverter 303 and used for charging, thereby achieving energy conservation.

[0044] Next, the same test as above is performed with the first motor 201 as the generator motor and the second motor 301 as the drive motor. The specific test content is the same as above except that the generator motor and the drive motor are swapped, so a detailed explanation will be omitted. As described above, the two transaxles 200, 300 can be inspected.

[0045] The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 illustrates a case where a test is performed while sequentially transporting transaxles on conveyor C. In this embodiment, a test is first performed with the motor of transaxle 200 as the drive motor and the motor of transaxle 300 as the generator motor. The specific test procedure is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. After this test is completed, sprockets 4c and 4d of connecting portion 3 of the test equipment are removed from rotating shafts 204 and 304 of transaxles 200 and 300. After conveyor C transports transaxles 200 to 400 in the direction of the arrow, sprocket 4c is attached to rotating shaft 304 of transaxle 300, and sprocket 4d is attached to rotating shaft 404 of transaxle 400. In this state, a test is performed with the motor of transaxle 300 as the drive motor and the motor of transaxle 400 as the generator motor. The specific test procedure is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. By repeating this procedure, tests can be performed sequentially on transaxles transported along conveyor C. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1 Test equipment 2 power supply 3 Connecting part 4a~4f sprocket 5 Chain 6. Diff-lock 7 Intermediate shaft 100, 200, 300 transaxle 101, 201 1st motor 102, 301 second motor 103, 202, 302 Differential device 104, 203, 303 inverters

Claims

1. A test device for a transaxle equipped with a motor and an inverter, A transaxle testing device having a power supply that supplies power to a first motor and a second motor mounted on the same transaxle or different transaxles, and a connecting portion that connects the first motor and the second motor so that power can be transmitted between them.

2. 2. The transaxle testing device according to claim 1, wherein the first motor and the second motor are mounted on the same transaxle.

3. 2. The transaxle testing device according to claim 1, wherein the first motor and the second motor are mounted on different transaxles.

4. A test method for a transaxle equipped with a motor and an inverter, comprising: a step of coupling a first motor and a second motor mounted on the same transaxle or different transaxles so as to be capable of transmitting power to each other; a step of supplying power to the first motor to rotate it, and transmitting this rotational driving force to the second motor to cause the second motor to operate in regenerative mode, and inspecting the transaxle while doing so.

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