Drive device

Abstract

This drive device comprises: a motor having a rotor and a stator; a control device electrically connected to the stator; a housing having a motor housing for accommodating the motor therein and a control device housing for accommodating the control device therein; a first path through which a first fluid flows; a second path through which a second fluid flows; and a heat exchanger. The housing has a storage part in which the second fluid is stored. The first path has a first heat exchange path section provided in the heat exchanger and a control device cooling section for cooling the control device. The second path has a second heat exchange path section provided in the heat exchanger, a motor cooling section for cooling the motor, a first connecting path section for connecting the storage part and the second heat exchange path section, and a second connecting path section for connecting the second heat exchange path section and the motor cooling section. The heat exchanger is located inside the control device housing. An axial direction in which a central axis extends is a direction orthogonal to the vertical direction. At least a part of the heat exchanger is located below an end part on the upper side of the stator.

Description

Drive unit

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 674,436 filed in the United States on July 23, 2024, U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 680,615 filed in the United States on August 8, 2024, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-208847 filed in Japan on November 29, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art A structure for cooling a motor with a fluid such as a cooling liquid is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-154257

[0004] A drive unit having the above-described structure may be provided with a control unit electrically connected to the stator of the motor, a path through which a fluid that cools the control unit flows, and a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the fluid that cools the control unit and the fluid that cools the motor. In this case, depending on the arrangement of the heat exchanger, the paths through which each fluid flows may become long, resulting in an increase in the size of the entire drive unit.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, one object of the present invention is to provide a drive device that can prevent an increase in size.

[0006] One aspect of the drive device of the present invention includes a motor having a rotor rotatable about a central axis extending in the axial direction and a stator facing the rotor with a gap therebetween, a control device electrically connected to the stator, a housing including a motor housing that accommodates the motor and a control device housing that accommodates the control device, a first path through which a first fluid flows, a second path through which a second fluid flows, and a heat exchanger. The housing has a reservoir for storing the second fluid. The first path includes a first heat exchange path portion provided in the heat exchanger and a control device cooling portion that cools the control device. The second path includes a second heat exchange path portion provided in the heat exchanger, a motor cooling portion that cools the motor, a first connection path portion connecting the reservoir portion and the second heat exchange path portion, and a second connection path portion connecting the second heat exchange path portion and the motor cooling portion. The heat exchanger is located inside the control device housing. The central axis extends in an axial direction perpendicular to the up-down direction. At least a portion of the heat exchanger is located below an upper end of the stator.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the drive device from becoming large.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a drive unit according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a drive unit according to the first embodiment, taken along line II-II in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a view of a portion of the drive unit according to the first embodiment, as seen from above. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a heat exchanger according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a portion of a control device housing and a heat exchanger according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view showing a mounting surface of the heat exchanger according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion of the drive unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a drive unit according to a second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a drive unit according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a drive unit according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a drive unit according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a drive unit according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a drive unit according to a seventh embodiment. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a drive unit according to an eighth embodiment.

[0009] In the drawings, an XYZ coordinate system is appropriately shown as a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. In the XYZ coordinate system, the Z axis direction is the up-down direction. The side toward which the Z axis arrow points (+Z side) is the upper side, and the opposite side of the Z axis arrow (-Z side) is the lower side. The X axis direction is a direction perpendicular to the Z axis direction and corresponds to the front-to-rear direction of a vehicle in which the drive unit 100 in the following embodiments is installed. In the following embodiments, the side toward which the X axis arrow points (+X side) is the front side of the vehicle, and the opposite side of the X axis arrow (-X side) is the rear side of the vehicle. The Y axis direction is a direction perpendicular to both the X axis direction and the Z axis direction and corresponds to the left-to-right direction of the vehicle, i.e., the vehicle width direction. In the following embodiments, the side toward which the Y axis arrow points (+Y side) is the left side of the vehicle, and the opposite side of the Y axis arrow (-Y side) is the right side of the vehicle.

[0010] The positional relationship in the front-rear direction is not limited to the positional relationship in the following embodiment, and the +X side may be the rear side of the vehicle and the -X side may be the front side of the vehicle. In this case, the +Y side is the right side of the vehicle and the -Y side is the left side of the vehicle. In addition, in this specification, the "parallel direction" includes a substantially parallel direction, and the "orthogonal direction" includes a substantially orthogonal direction.

[0011] In the following embodiments, the center axis J1 shown in the drawings as appropriate is a virtual axis extending in a direction intersecting the up-down direction. More specifically, the center axis J1 extends in the Y-axis direction, which is perpendicular to the up-down direction, i.e., in the left-right direction of the vehicle. The direction in which the center axis J1 extends is the axial direction of the motor in the following embodiments. The axial direction in which the center axis J1 extends is perpendicular to the up-down direction. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, a direction parallel to the center axis J1 will be simply referred to as the "axial direction," a radial direction centered on the center axis J1 will be simply referred to as the "radial direction," and a circumferential direction centered on the center axis J1 will be simply referred to as the "circumferential direction." In the following description, the left side (+Y side) of the axial direction will be referred to as the "one axial side," and the right side (-Y side) of the axial direction will be referred to as the "other axial side." The up-down direction is, for example, the vertical direction, and the front-rear direction and left-right direction (axial direction) are, for example, horizontal directions perpendicular to the vertical direction. In the following embodiments, the front-to-rear direction (X-axis direction) corresponds to the "orthogonal direction" that is orthogonal to both the axial direction and the up-down direction. The rear side (-X side) corresponds to "one side of the orthogonal direction," and the front side (+X side) corresponds to "the other side of the orthogonal direction."

[0012] First Embodiment A drive unit 100 according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 , is mounted on a vehicle and rotates an axle shaft DS. The vehicle on which the drive unit 100 is mounted is a vehicle powered by a motor, such as a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV), or an electric vehicle (EV). As shown in FIG. 1 , the drive unit 100 includes a motor 10, a gear mechanism 20, a housing 30, a control device 40, a pump 50, and a heat exchanger 60. The housing 30 accommodates the motor 10, the gear mechanism 20, the control device 40, and the heat exchanger 60. The housing 30 includes a motor housing 31 that accommodates the motor 10, a gear housing 32 that accommodates the gear mechanism 20, and a control device housing 33 that accommodates the control device 40.

[0013] The motor 10 includes a rotor 11 rotatable about a central axis J1 extending in the axial direction and a stator 12 facing the rotor 11 with a gap therebetween. The rotor 11 includes a motor shaft 13 disposed along the central axis J1 and a rotor core 14 fixed to the motor shaft 13. In this embodiment, the motor shaft 13 is a hollow shaft. The motor shaft 13 is substantially cylindrical and extends axially about the central axis J1. The motor shaft 13 has openings on both axial ends. The motor shaft 13 axially penetrates a first partition wall portion 34a (described later). One axial end (+Y side) of the motor shaft 13 is located inside the gear housing 32. Although not shown, a magnet is fixed to the rotor core 14.

[0014] The stator 12 is located radially outside the rotor 11. The stator 12 is annular and surrounds the rotor 11. The stator 12 includes a stator core 15 and a plurality of coils 16. The plurality of coils 16 are attached to the stator core 15. The stator core 15 is located radially outside the rotor core 14. The stator core 15 is disposed radially opposite the rotor core 14 with a gap between them. The stator core 15 is formed by stacking a plurality of plate members, such as electromagnetic steel plates, in the axial direction. The stator 12 includes a coil end 16a that protrudes from the stator core 15 toward one axial side (+Y side) and a coil end 16b that protrudes from the stator core 15 toward the other axial side (-Y side). The coil end 16a includes a portion of the plurality of coils 16 that is located on one axial side of the stator core 15. The coil end 16b includes a portion of the plurality of coils 16 that is located on the other axial side of the stator core 15.

[0015] The gear mechanism 20 is connected to the motor 10. The gear mechanism 20 is connected to a portion of the motor shaft 13 of the rotor 11 that is located inside the gear housing 32. The gear mechanism 20 transmits the rotation of the rotor 11 to the axle shafts DS of the vehicle. The gear mechanism 20 has a reduction gear 21 connected to the rotor 11 and a differential gear 22 connected to the reduction gear 21. The rotation of the rotor 11 is transmitted to the axle shafts DS of the vehicle via the reduction gear 21 and the differential gear 22 in this order.

[0016] The reduction gear 21 has a gear shaft 21b, a pinion gear 21c, a counter gear 21d, and a counter gear 21e. That is, the gear mechanism 20 has the gear shaft 21b, the pinion gear 21c, the counter gear 21d, and a counter gear 21e.

[0017] The gear shaft 21b is rotatable about an intermediate axis J2 extending in the axial direction. In this embodiment, the intermediate axis J2 is an imaginary axis extending parallel to the central axis J1. As shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate axis J2 is provided at a position different from the central axis J1 when viewed in the axial direction. The intermediate axis J2 is located above the central axis J1. The intermediate axis J2 is located rearward (toward the -X side) of the central axis J1. As shown in FIG. 1, the gear shaft 21b extends in the axial direction. In this embodiment, the gear shaft 21b has a substantially cylindrical shape extending in the axial direction with the intermediate axis J2 as its center. The gear shaft 21b is rotatable about the intermediate axis J2.

[0018] The pinion gear 21c is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the motor shaft 13. The pinion gear 21c is rotatable about the central axis J1. The counter gear 21d and the counter gear 21e are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the gear shaft 21b. The counter gear 21d and the counter gear 21e are rotatable about the intermediate axis J2. The counter gear 21d meshes with the pinion gear 21c. The counter gear 21e is located on one axial side (+Y side) of the pinion gear 21c and the counter gear 21d. The outer diameter of the counter gear 21d is larger than the outer diameter of the pinion gear 21c. The outer diameter of the counter gear 21e is smaller than the outer diameter of the counter gear 21d.

[0019] The differential device 22 has a ring gear 22a. That is, the gear mechanism 20 has the ring gear 22a. The ring gear 22a is rotatable around an output axis J3 extending in the axial direction. In this embodiment, the output axis J3 is an imaginary axis extending parallel to the central axis J1. As shown in FIG. 2 , the output axis J3 is located at a position different from the central axis J1 and the intermediate axis J2 when viewed in the axial direction. The output axis J3 is located below the intermediate axis J2. For example, the output axis J3 is located at the same position as the central axis J1 in the up-down direction. The output axis J3 may be located above the central axis J1 or below the central axis J1. The output axis J3 is located rearward (toward the −X side) of the central axis J1 and the intermediate axis J2. That is, the output axis J3 is located rearward and spaced apart from the central axis J1.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1 , the ring gear 22a meshes with the counter gear 21e. The lower end of the ring gear 22a is located lower than the lower end of the pinion gear 21c and the lower ends of the counter gears 21d and 21e. The lower end of the ring gear 22a is immersed in oil O stored in the gear housing 32. As the ring gear 22a rotates, the oil O is scooped up. The scooped up oil O is supplied to, for example, the reduction gear 21 and the differential gear 22 as lubricating oil. The outer diameter of the ring gear 22a is larger than the outer diameter of the pinion gear 21c and the outer diameters of the counter gears 21d and 21e. In this embodiment, the ring gear 22a has the largest outer diameter of the multiple gears provided in the gear mechanism 20.

[0021] The pinion gear 21c, counter gears 21d and 21e, and ring gear 22a are gears that can rotate around gear axes that extend in the axial direction. The gear axis of the pinion gear 21c is the center axis J1. The gear axes of the counter gears 21d and 21e are the middle axis J2. The gear axis of the ring gear 22a is the output axis J3. In this embodiment, the output axis J3 is the gear axis that is located furthest rearward (negative X side) in the front-to-rear direction (X-axis direction) that is perpendicular to both the axial direction and the up-down direction among the gear axes of the multiple gears included in the gear mechanism 20.

[0022] The motor shaft 13 may not have a portion located inside the gear housing 32. In this case, the gear mechanism 20 may have a gear shaft connected to one axial end (+Y side) of the motor shaft 13. In this case, the gear shaft extends axially and is rotatable about the central axis J1. In this case, the pinion gear 21c is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the gear shaft. The gear mechanism 20 may be any mechanism capable of transmitting the rotation of the rotor 11 to the axle shaft DS. For example, the gear mechanism 20 may be a mechanism that transmits the rotation of the rotor 11 to the axle shaft DS via three or more gear shafts and gears provided on each gear shaft, or may be a mechanism that includes a planetary gear mechanism. The number of gears included in the gear mechanism 20 is not particularly limited as long as it is one or more.

[0023] In the housing 30 of this embodiment, the motor housing 31 and the gear housing 32 are arranged side by side in the axial direction. The gear housing 32 is located on one axial side (+Y side) of the motor housing 31. The gear housing 32 is connected to one axial side of the motor housing 31. The control device housing 33 is located above the motor housing 31 and the gear housing 32. The control device housing 33 is connected to the upper sides of the motor housing 31 and the gear housing 32.

[0024] The housing 30 has a housing main body 30a, a motor cover 30b, a gear cover 30c, a cylindrical member 17, and a lid member 33b. In this embodiment, the housing 30 is composed of the housing main body 30a, the motor cover 30b, the gear cover 30c, the cylindrical member 17, and the lid member 33b. The housing main body 30a, the motor cover 30b, the gear cover 30c, the cylindrical member 17, and the lid member 33b are separate from one another.

[0025] The housing main body 30a has a first peripheral wall portion 30d, a second peripheral wall portion 30e, and a wall portion 34. In this embodiment, the motor housing 31 is composed of a first partition wall portion 34a of the wall portion 34, which will be described later, the first peripheral wall portion 30d, the motor cover 30b, and the cylindrical member 17. In this embodiment, the gear housing 32 is composed of the wall portion 34, the second peripheral wall portion 30e, and the gear cover 30c.

[0026] The first peripheral wall portion 30d is cylindrical and opens to the other axial side (-Y side). A wall portion 34 is provided at the end of the first peripheral wall portion 30d on one axial side (+Y side). The motor 10 is located radially inward of the first peripheral wall portion 30d. The opening on the other axial side of the first peripheral wall portion 30d is closed by a motor cover 30b fixed to the end of the first peripheral wall portion 30d on the other axial side. The motor cover 30b covers the motor 10 from the other axial side. A bearing that rotatably supports the end of the motor shaft 13 on the other axial side is held on the surface on the one axial side of the motor cover 30b.

[0027] The second circumferential wall portion 30e is cylindrical and opens to one axial side (+Y side). A wall portion 34 is provided at the end of the second circumferential wall portion 30e on the other axial side (-Y side). The opening on the one axial side of the second circumferential wall portion 30e is closed by a gear cover 30c fixed to the end of the second circumferential wall portion 30e on the one axial side. The gear cover 30c has a lid portion 30f that covers the gear mechanism 20 from the one axial side, and a third circumferential wall portion 30g that protrudes from the radial outer edge of the lid portion 30f to the other axial side. The end of the third circumferential wall portion 30g on the other axial side is connected to the end of the second circumferential wall portion 30e on the one axial side.

[0028] The wall portion 34 constitutes a wall portion located on the other axial side (-Y side) of the wall portions constituting the gear housing 32. The second circumferential wall portion 30e protrudes from the radial outer edge of the wall portion 34 toward one axial side (+Y side). The wall portion 34 has a first partition wall portion 34a that axially separates the interior of the motor housing 31 from the interior of the gear housing 32. The first partition wall portion 34a constitutes a wall portion located on one axial side of the wall portions constituting the motor housing 31. The motor housing 31 has the first partition wall portion 34a. The first partition wall portion 34a has a through hole 34b that axially penetrates the first partition wall portion 34a. As shown in FIG. 2, the wall portion 34 protrudes rearward (-X side) from the motor housing 31. A through hole 32a through which the axle DS passes in the axial direction is provided in a portion of the wall portion 34 located rearward from the motor housing 31.

[0029] The tubular member 17 has a cylindrical shape surrounding the central axis J1. More specifically, the tubular member 17 has a generally cylindrical shape centered on the central axis J1 and open on both axial sides. As shown in FIG. 1 , the tubular member 17 is located radially inside the first circumferential wall portion 30d. The tubular member 17 is fitted to the radially inside of the first circumferential wall portion 30d. The tubular member 17 may be fitted to the radially inside of the first circumferential wall portion 30d by clearance fit, may be fitted to the radially inside of the first circumferential wall portion 30d by shrink fit, or may be press-fitted to the radially inside of the first circumferential wall portion 30d. A spiral groove 17a extending spirally around the central axis J1 is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the tubular member 17. The radially outer opening of spiral groove 17a is closed by the inner circumferential surface of first circumferential wall portion 30d, thereby forming a first motor cooling portion 91e, which will be described later. Note that grooves other than spiral, such as grooves that meander in the axial or circumferential direction, may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of tubular member 17. Furthermore, the first motor cooling portion 91e may be formed by a hole formed in first circumferential wall portion 30d without providing tubular member 17, or the first motor cooling portion 91e may be formed by a hole formed in tubular member 17.

[0030] The cylindrical member 17 is located radially outside the motor 10. The cylindrical member 17 surrounds the motor 10. The stator 12 is fixed to the radially inside of the cylindrical member 17. The outer peripheral surface of the stator core 15 contacts the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 17. The stator core 15 may be press-fitted radially inside the cylindrical member 17, or may be fitted radially inside the cylindrical member 17 by shrink fitting.

[0031] In this embodiment, the gear housing 32 has a reservoir 39 in which oil O is stored. That is, the housing 30 has the reservoir 39. The oil O is used as a refrigerant to cool the motor 10. The oil O is also used as a lubricant for the reduction gear 21 and the differential gear 22. For example, it is preferable to use a relatively low-viscosity oil equivalent to automatic transmission lubricant (ATF: Automatic Transmission Fluid) as the oil O to function as both a refrigerant and a lubricant. In this embodiment, the oil O corresponds to the "second fluid." The reservoir 39 is provided in a lower portion of the gear housing 32. As shown in FIG. 2, the gear housing 32 protrudes rearward (toward the -X direction) from the motor housing 31.

[0032] The housing main body 30a has a storage section 33a. In this embodiment, the control device housing 33 is composed of the storage section 33a and a lid member 33b. The storage section 33a is box-shaped and open at the top. The storage section 33a has a bottom 35 and a side wall 33c. In this embodiment, the bottom 35 extends along a plane perpendicular to the up-down direction. A portion of the bottom 35 is formed by the upper portion of the first peripheral wall 30d and the upper portion of the second peripheral wall 30e. The protrusion 35a of the bottom 35, formed by the upper portion of the first peripheral wall 30d, protrudes upward beyond the portions of the bottom 35 adjacent to the protrusion 35a on both sides in the front-to-rear direction (X-axis direction). When viewed in the axial direction, the protrusion 35a has an arc shape that is convex upward. The side wall 33c protrudes upward from the outer peripheral edge of the bottom 35. As shown in Fig. 3, the side wall portion 33c is frame-shaped when viewed in the vertical direction. That is, the side wall portion 33c is generally annular when viewed in the vertical direction. As shown in Fig. 2, the cover member 33b is fixed to the upper end of the side wall portion 33c. The cover member 33b closes the upper opening of the storage portion 33a.

[0033] The control device 40 is housed inside the control device housing 33. The control device 40 controls the motor 10. The control device 40 is electrically connected to the stator 12 via a conductive member such as a bus bar (not shown). More specifically, the control device 40 is electrically connected to the coil 16 of the stator 12 via a conductive member such as a bus bar (not shown). In this embodiment, the control device 40 is fixed to the lower surface of the cover member 33b. The lower surface of the cover member 33b is part of the inner surface of the control device housing 33. The lower surface of the cover member 33b is the upper portion of the inner surface of the control device housing 33. In other words, in this embodiment, the control device 40 is attached to the upper portion of the inner surface of the control device housing 33. Although not shown, the control device 40 has an inverter circuit that supplies power to the coil 16 of the stator 12. The control device 40 has a portion located above the motor 10. At least a portion of the control device 40 overlaps with the motor 10 when viewed in the vertical direction.

[0034] The control device 40 may include an electronic component that adjusts voltage and an electronic component that distributes current. Examples of the electronic component that adjusts voltage include an on-board charger (OBC) and a DC / DC converter. The on-board charger is, for example, a device that converts AC voltage supplied from an external source via a plug provided on the control device 40 into DC voltage and charges a battery (not shown). The battery (not shown) supplies power to the drive unit 100. The DC / DC converter is, for example, a device that converts voltage supplied from a battery (not shown) to the drive unit 100 and charges another low-voltage battery. The control device 40 may include both an on-board charger and a DC / DC converter as electronic components that adjust voltage, or may include only one of the on-board charger and the DC / DC converter. Note that the DC / DC converter may be, for example, a device that boosts voltage supplied from a battery (not shown) to the drive unit 100 and supplies the voltage to other electronic components. The electronic component that distributes the current is, for example, a power distribution unit (PDU). The power distribution unit distributes the current supplied to the drive device 100 from a battery (not shown) to various electrical components in the vehicle.

[0035] In this embodiment, the pump 50 is an electric pump. The oil O in the reservoir 39 is sucked up by the pump 50 and sent to the motor 10. The pump 50 is fixed to the housing 30. In this embodiment, the pump 50 is fixed to the gear housing 32. More specifically, the pump 50 is fixed to a lower portion of the outer surface of the gear housing 32 that is located on the front side (+X side). At least a portion of the pump 50 is located forward of the central axis J1. This allows the pump 50 to be positioned at a distance from the output axis J3 in the fore-and-aft direction. This allows the pump 50 to be positioned at a distance from the axle shaft DS in the fore-and-aft direction, preventing the pump 50 from contacting the axle shaft DS. Therefore, there is no need to displace the pump 50 vertically relative to the axle shaft DS to avoid contact, which facilitates the vertical miniaturization of the drive unit 100. In this embodiment, the entire pump 50 is located forward of the central axis J1. In this embodiment, at least a portion of the pump 50 is located below the central axis J1. In this embodiment, the entire pump 50 is located below the central axis J1. Also, as shown in FIG. 2 , in this embodiment, at least a portion of the pump 50 overlaps with the motor 10 when viewed in the axial direction. Therefore, it is easier to reduce the size of the drive unit 100 in the front-to-rear direction compared to when the entire pump 50 is located forward (+X side) of the motor 10. Note that the pump 50 is not limited to an electric pump. For example, the pump 50 may be a mechanical pump.

[0036] The heat exchanger 60 is provided with a portion of a first path 91 (described later) and a portion of a second path 92 (described later). In the heat exchanger 60 of this embodiment, heat exchange occurs between water W flowing in the first path 91 and oil O flowing in the second path 92. In this embodiment, the water W corresponds to the "first fluid." In this embodiment, the control device 40 and the motor 10 are cooled by the water W flowing in the first path 91. The motor 10 is cooled by the oil O flowing in the second path 92. The oil O flowing in the second path 92 is cooled in the heat exchanger 60 by heat exchange with the water W flowing in the first path 91. In this embodiment, the heat exchanger 60 is an oil cooler that cools the oil O.

[0037] In this specification, the term "path through which a fluid flows" may refer to any configuration as long as a flow of the fluid can occur. The term "path through which a fluid flows" includes not only a flow path through which a fluid flows, but also a path through which a fluid moves by being ejected, a path through which a fluid moves by being stirred up by gears or the like, and the like.

[0038] The heat exchanger 60 is located inside the control device housing 33. Therefore, the heat exchanger 60 can be disposed close to the control device 40 housed inside the control device housing 33 and the motor 10 having a stator to which the control device 40 is electrically connected. This allows the first path 91 through which water W flows to cool the control device 40 and the second path 92 through which oil O flows to cool the motor 10 to pass through the heat exchanger 60, while shortening the path length of each path. This makes it easy to reduce the area of ​​the housing 30 where the first path 91 and the second path 92 are provided, thereby preventing the housing 30 from becoming larger. This prevents the drive unit 100 from becoming larger. Furthermore, because the heat exchanger 60 is housed inside the control device housing 33, the drive unit 100 can be prevented from becoming larger compared to when the heat exchanger 60 is located outside the housing 30. Furthermore, by shortening the path lengths of the first path 91 and the second path 92, pressure loss occurring when fluid flows through each of the first path 91 and the second path 92 can be reduced. Furthermore, because the water W flowing through the first path 91 can cool the oil O flowing through the second path 92 in the heat exchanger 60, the oil O flowing through the second path 92 can be easily used to cool the motor 10. In this embodiment, the water W flowing through the first path 91 cools not only the control device 40 but also the motor 10. Therefore, the motor 10 can be cooled by both the water W flowing through the first path 91 and the oil O flowing through the second path 92. This allows the motor 10 to be more efficiently cooled. Furthermore, while achieving a structure in which the motor 10 is cooled by fluid flowing through two paths, the path lengths of the two paths can be shortened as described above. Therefore, a structure in which the motor 10 is efficiently cooled by fluid flowing through two paths can be realized while preventing the drive unit 100 from becoming larger.

[0039] In this embodiment, at least a portion of the heat exchanger 60 is located below the upper end of the stator 12. Therefore, compared to when the entire heat exchanger 60 is located above the stator 12, it is easier to arrange the upper end of the control device housing 33 that houses the heat exchanger 60 below. This makes it possible to prevent the drive unit 100 from becoming larger in the vertical direction. Furthermore, compared to when the entire heat exchanger 60 is located above the stator 12, it is easier to arrange the heat exchanger 60 closer to the stator 12 in the vertical direction. This makes it easier to shorten the path lengths from the heat exchanger 60 to the portions that cool the motor 10 in each of the first path 91 and the second path 92. This makes it easier to prevent the drive unit 100 from becoming larger in size.

[0040] In this embodiment, at least a portion of the heat exchanger 60 is located below the upper end of the stator 12 and above the lower end of the stator 12. In other words, the heat exchanger 60 has a portion that is located at the same position as the stator 12 in the vertical direction. Therefore, it is easier to arrange the upper end of the control device housing 33 lower than when the entire heat exchanger 60 is located above the stator 12, and it is easier to arrange the lower end of the control device housing 33 higher than when the entire heat exchanger 60 is located below the stator 12. This further reduces the vertical size of the housing 30 and the drive unit 100. Furthermore, it is easier to arrange the heat exchanger 60 closer to the stator 12 in the vertical direction than when the entire heat exchanger 60 is located above or below the stator 12. This makes it easier to shorten the path length from the heat exchanger 60 to the portion that cools the motor 10 in each of the first path 91 and the second path 92. Therefore, the size of the drive device 100 can be further prevented from increasing.

[0041] In this embodiment, a portion of the heat exchanger 60, including its lower end, is located below the upper end of the stator 12 and above the lower end of the stator 12. The lower end of the heat exchanger 60 is located above the lower end of the stator 12. The upper end of the heat exchanger 60 is located above the upper end of the stator 12. The upper end of the heat exchanger 60 is the uppermost portion of the stator 12. In this embodiment, the upper end of the stator 12 includes a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the stator core 15 that is located directly above the central axis J1. The lower end of the stator 12 is the lowermost portion of the stator 12. In this embodiment, the lower end of the stator 12 includes a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the stator core 15 that is located directly below the central axis J1.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 3 , at least a portion of the heat exchanger 60 is located closer to the other axial side (−Y side) than the end of the stator 12 on one axial side (+Y side), and is also located closer to the one axial side than the end of the stator 12 on the other axial side. Therefore, it is easier to arrange the end of the control device housing 33 on one axial side than when the entire heat exchanger 60 is located on one axial side of the stator 12. Also, it is easier to arrange the end of the control device housing 33 on the other axial side than when the entire heat exchanger 60 is located on the other axial side of the stator 12. As a result, it is possible to prevent the control device housing 33 from becoming larger in the axial direction, and it is also possible to prevent the drive unit 100 from becoming larger in the axial direction.

[0043] In the present embodiment, the portion of the heat exchanger 60 on the other axial side (-Y side) is located further axially than the end of the stator 12 on one axial side (+Y side), and is also located further axially than the end of the stator 12 on the other axial side. The end of the heat exchanger 60 on one axial side is located further axially than the end of the stator 12 on one axial side. The end of the heat exchanger 60 on the other axial side is located further axially than the end of the stator 12 on the other axial side. The end of the stator 12 on one axial side is the portion of the stator 12 located furthest to the one axial side. In the present embodiment, the end of the stator 12 on one axial side includes the end of the coil end 16a on one axial side. The end of the stator 12 on the other axial side is the portion of the stator 12 located furthest to the other axial side. In the present embodiment, the end of the stator 12 on the other axial side includes the end of the coil end 16b on the other axial side.

[0044] The entire heat exchanger 60 is disposed at a different position from the motor 10 when viewed in the vertical direction. In other words, the entire heat exchanger 60 does not overlap with the motor 10 when viewed in the vertical direction. Therefore, the drive unit 100 can be prevented from becoming larger in the vertical direction compared to when at least a portion of the heat exchanger 60 overlaps with the motor 10 when viewed in the vertical direction.

[0045] In this embodiment, the heat exchanger 60 is located rearward (negative X-axis direction) from the motor 10. As shown in FIG. 2 , at least a portion of the heat exchanger 60 is located between the central axis J1 and the output axis J3 in the front-rear direction (X-axis direction). Therefore, compared to when the entire heat exchanger 60 is located rearward (negative X-axis direction) from the output axis J3, the control device housing 33 housing the heat exchanger 60 can be prevented from protruding rearward from the output axis J3. Furthermore, compared to when the entire heat exchanger 60 is located forward (positive X-axis direction) from the central axis J1, the control device housing 33 housing the heat exchanger 60 can be prevented from protruding forward from the central axis J1. Therefore, even when the heat exchanger 60 is located inside, the control device housing 33 can be prevented from increasing in size in the front-rear direction, and the drive unit 100 can be prevented from increasing in size in the front-rear direction.

[0046] In this specification, the phrase "a certain object is located between a first object and a second object in a certain direction" refers to a position of the certain object between the positions of the first object and the second object in a certain direction. For example, the phrase "at least a portion of the heat exchanger 60 is located between the central axis J1 and the output axis J3 in the front-rear direction" refers to a position of at least a portion of the heat exchanger 60 between the positions of the central axis J1 and the output axis J3 in the front-rear direction. In this embodiment, the phrase "at least a portion of the heat exchanger 60 is located between the central axis J1 and the output axis J3 in the front-rear direction" refers to a position of at least a portion of the heat exchanger 60 between the imaginary lines L1 and L3 in the front-rear direction, as viewed in the axial direction. The imaginary line L1 is an imaginary line that passes through the central axis J1 and extends vertically, as viewed in the axial direction. The imaginary line L3 is an imaginary line that passes through the output axis J3 and extends in the vertical direction when viewed in the axial direction.

[0047] In this embodiment, the front (+X side) portion of the heat exchanger 60 is located between the center axis J1 and the output axis J3 in the front-to-rear direction. The rear (-X side) portion of the heat exchanger 60 is located rearward (toward the -X side) of the output axis J3. In this embodiment, the entire heat exchanger 60 is located rearward of the middle axis J2. In this embodiment, the heat exchanger 60 overlaps with the output axis J3 when viewed in the vertical direction. Therefore, the heat exchanger 60 overlaps with the axle DS when viewed in the vertical direction. Even when the heat exchanger 60 is located in this position, because the heat exchanger 60 is housed within the control device housing 33, even if a stone is thrown from the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling, the stone is prevented from hitting the heat exchanger 60. Therefore, damage to the heat exchanger 60 by flying stones is prevented. In this embodiment, for example, even if a stone is thrown from the road surface, the bottom 35 located below the heat exchanger 60 can block the stone. The bottom portion 35 has a portion that overlaps with the output axis J3 and the axle shaft DS when viewed in the up-down direction.

[0048] 4 , the heat exchanger 60 has a heat exchanger main body 61 and an attachment portion 62. The heat exchanger main body 61 is a portion where heat exchange occurs between the water W flowing in the first path 91 and the oil O flowing in the second path 92. The attachment portion 62 is a portion that is attached to the control device housing 33. The attachment portion 62 is connected to the lower surface of the heat exchanger main body 61. When viewed in the vertical direction, the outer edge of the attachment portion 62 is located outside the outer edge of the heat exchanger main body 61 and surrounds the outer edge of the heat exchanger main body 61.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 5 , the heat exchanger 60 is fixed to the bottom 35 of the control device housing 33. The bottom 35 has a mounting surface 36 to which the heat exchanger 60 is attached. The mounting surface 36 is a part of the upper surface of the bottom 35. The mounting surface 36 is a part of the inner surface of the control device housing 33. That is, the inner surface of the control device housing 33 has the mounting surface 36 to which the heat exchanger 60 is attached. In this embodiment, the mounting surface 36 is a surface that faces upward and is a surface that is perpendicular to the up-down direction. The mounting surface 36 is a part of the inner surface of the control device housing 33 that is located on the lower side. That is, in this embodiment, the heat exchanger 60 is attached to a part of the inner surface of the control device housing 33 that is located on the lower side. In this embodiment, the mounting surface 36 is located above a part of the upper surface of the bottom 35 that is provided around the mounting surface 36.

[0050] In this embodiment, the mounting portion 62 is fixed to the mounting surface 36 via a sealing member 64. The sealing member 64 is, for example, a plate-shaped metal gasket. The lower surface of the sealing member 64 contacts the mounting surface 36. The upper surface of the sealing member 64 contacts the lower surface of the mounting portion 62. The provision of the sealing member 64 prevents fluid flowing into or out of the heat exchanger 60 from leaking between the heat exchanger 60 and the mounting surface 36 into the control device housing 33. The sealing member 64 may be any member that can seal the gap between the heat exchanger 60 and the mounting surface 36. The sealing member 64 may be composed of, for example, multiple types of sealing members. The method of fixing the heat exchanger 60 to the mounting surface 36 is not particularly limited. The heat exchanger 60 is fixed to the mounting surface 36 by, for example, multiple bolts.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 2 , at least a portion of the heat exchanger 60 overlaps with the control device 40 when viewed in the vertical direction. Therefore, compared to when the entire heat exchanger 60 does not overlap with the control device 40 when viewed in the vertical direction, the control device housing 33 that houses the heat exchanger 60 and the control device 40 can be prevented from increasing in size in the axial direction and the front-to-rear direction. Therefore, the drive unit 100 can be further prevented from increasing in size in the axial direction and the front-to-rear direction. In this embodiment, the entire heat exchanger 60 overlaps with the control device 40 when viewed in the vertical direction. Note that only a portion of the heat exchanger 60 may overlap with the control device 40 when viewed in the vertical direction.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 4 , the heat exchanger 60 has a first heat exchange path portion 91c and a second heat exchange path portion 92d. The first heat exchange path portion 91c is a part of the first path 91. The first heat exchange path portion 91c is a flow path through which water W flows. The second heat exchange path portion 92d is a part of the second path 92. The second heat exchange path portion 92d is a flow path through which oil O flows. The heat exchanger 60 has a first opening 63a, a second opening 63b, a third opening 63c, and a fourth opening 63d. The first opening 63a, the second opening 63b, the third opening 63c, and the fourth opening 63d open to the lower surface of the heat exchanger 60. In this embodiment, the lower surface of the heat exchanger 60 is the lower surface of the mounting portion 62.

[0053] In this embodiment, the first opening 63a is one end of the first heat exchange path portion 91c and serves as an inlet for the first heat exchange path portion 91c. In this embodiment, the second opening 63b is the other end of the first heat exchange path portion 91c and serves as an outlet for the first heat exchange path portion 91c. Water W flows into the first heat exchange path portion 91c through the first opening 63a, and the water W flowing through the first heat exchange path portion 91c flows out of the first heat exchange path portion 91c through the second opening 63b. In this embodiment, the third opening 63c is one end of the second heat exchange path portion 92d and serves as an inlet for the second heat exchange path portion 92d. In this embodiment, the fourth opening 63d is the other end of the second heat exchange path portion 92d and serves as an outlet for the second heat exchange path portion 92d. The oil O flows into the second heat exchange path portion 92d from the third opening 63c, and the oil O flowing in the second heat exchange path portion 92d flows out of the second heat exchange path portion 92d from the fourth opening 63d.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 6 , the first opening 63a and the third opening 63c are arranged side by side with a gap in the axial direction (Y-axis direction). The first opening 63a is located on the other axial side (-Y side) of the third opening 63c. The second opening 63b and the fourth opening 63d are arranged side by side with a gap in the axial direction. The second opening 63b is located on one axial side (+Y side) of the fourth opening 63d. The first opening 63a and the fourth opening 63d are arranged side by side with a gap in the front-to-rear direction (X-axis direction). The first opening 63a is located forward (+X side) of the fourth opening 63d. The second opening 63b and the third opening 63c are arranged side by side with a gap in the front-to-rear direction. The second opening 63b is located rearward (-X side) of the third opening 63c. The axial distance between the first opening 63 a and the third opening 63 c is larger than the front-rear distance between the first opening 63 a and the fourth opening 63 d. The axial distance between the second opening 63 b and the fourth opening 63 d is larger than the front-rear distance between the second opening 63 b and the third opening 63 c.

[0055] In the present embodiment, of the first opening 63a, the second opening 63b, the third opening 63c, and the fourth opening 63d, the two openings, the second opening 63b and the fourth opening 63d, are "two first ends" that are arranged side by side with a gap in the direction along the mounting surface 36. In the present embodiment, of the first opening 63a, the second opening 63b, the third opening 63c, and the fourth opening 63d, the two openings, the first opening 63a and the third opening 63c, are "two second ends" that are arranged side by side with a gap in the direction along the mounting surface 36.

[0056] The mounting surface 36 is provided with a first recess 37a, a second recess 37b, a third recess 37c, and a fourth recess 37d. The first recess 37a, the second recess 37b, the third recess 37c, and the fourth recess 37d are recessed downward from the mounting surface 36. The first recess 37a is connected to a first opening 63a, which is one end of the first heat exchange path portion 91c. The second recess 37b is connected to a second opening 63b, which is the other end of the first heat exchange path portion 91c. The first recess 37a and the second recess 37b form part of the first path 91. Water W flows through the first recess 37a and the second recess 37b. The third recess 37c is connected to a third opening 63c, which is one end of the second heat exchange path portion 92d. The fourth recess 37d is connected to a fourth opening 63d, which is the other end of the second heat exchange path portion 92d. The third recess 37c and the fourth recess 37d form part of the second path 92. The oil O flows through the third recess 37c and the fourth recess 37d.

[0057] The first recess 37a and the second recess 37b are grooves extending in a plane parallel to the mounting surface 36 when viewed in the up-down direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 36. Therefore, heat exchange can be performed between the water W flowing through the first recess 37a and the second recess 37b, which are grooves, and the oil O flowing through the heat exchanger 60. This improves the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger 60. In this embodiment, the plane parallel to the mounting surface 36 is a plane perpendicular to the up-down direction. Note that the first recess 37a, the second recess 37b, the third recess 37c, and the fourth recess 37d may all be grooves, or any one or more of the first recess 37a, the second recess 37b, the third recess 37c, and the fourth recess 37d may be grooves.

[0058] In this embodiment, the first recess 37a and the second recess 37b extend in a direction inclined relative to both the front-to-rear direction (X-axis direction) and the axial direction (Y-axis direction) when viewed in the up-down direction. The first recess 37a and the second recess 37b are positioned toward the other axial side (-Y side) as they move toward the front side (+X side). The first recess 37a and the second recess 37b are arranged side by side with a gap in the axial direction. The first recess 37a is positioned toward the other axial side of the second recess 37b. In this embodiment, the first recess 37a and the second recess 37b extend parallel to each other when viewed in the up-down direction. The front end of the first recess 37a on the other axial side overlaps with and is connected to the first opening 63a when viewed in the up-down direction. The rear end of the second recess 37b on the rear side (-X side) and one axial side (+Y side) overlaps with and is connected to the second opening 63b when viewed in the up-down direction. The extending direction of the first recess 37 a and the extending direction of the second recess 37 b may be different from each other when viewed in the vertical direction. The first recess 37 a and the second recess 37 b may be grooves of any shape as long as they extend in a plane parallel to the mounting surface 36 when viewed in the vertical direction.

[0059] The third recess 37c is circular when viewed in the vertical direction. The third recess 37c overlaps with and is connected to the third opening 63c when viewed in the vertical direction. The front (+X side) and other axial end (-Y side) of the first recess 37a and the third recess 37c are arranged side by side with a gap in the axial direction. The third recess 37c is located on one axial side (+Y side) of the front and other axial end of the first recess 37a. The front and other axial end of the second recess 37b is located axially between the front and other axial end of the first recess 37a and the third recess 37c. The front and other axial end of the second recess 37b is located between the first opening 63a and the third opening 63c when viewed in the vertical direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 36, i.e., between their second ends. The axial distance between the front end and the other axial end of the second recess 37b and the third recess 37c is smaller than the axial distance between the front end and the other axial end of the first recess 37a and the front end and the other axial end of the second recess 37b.

[0060] The fourth recess 37d is circular when viewed vertically. The fourth recess 37d overlaps with and is connected to the fourth opening 63d when viewed vertically. The rear (-X side) end of the second recess 37b on one axial side (+Y side) and the fourth recess 37d are arranged side by side with a gap in the axial direction. The fourth recess 37d is located on the other axial side (-Y side) of the rear end of the second recess 37b on one axial side. The rear end of the first recess 37a on one axial side is located axially between the rear end of the second recess 37b on one axial side and the fourth recess 37d. The rear end of the first recess 37a on one axial side is located between the second opening 63b and the fourth opening 63d when viewed vertically perpendicular to the mounting surface 36, i.e., between their first ends. The axial distance between the rear end of the first recess 37a on one axial side and the fourth recess 37d is smaller than the axial distance between the rear end of the second recess 37b on one axial side and the rear end of the first recess 37a on one axial side.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 1 , the drive unit 100 includes a first path 91 through which water W flows as a first fluid. The first path 91 includes a control device cooling section 91a, a third connection path section 91b, a first heat exchange path section 91c, a fourth connection path section 91d, and a first motor cooling section 91e. As described above, the first heat exchange path section 91c is provided in the heat exchanger 60. In this embodiment, the water W flowing through the first path 91 flows through the control device cooling section 91a, the third connection path section 91b, the first heat exchange path section 91c, the fourth connection path section 91d, and the first motor cooling section 91e, in this order. In this embodiment, the water W flows into the control device cooling section 91a from outside the drive unit 100. The water W flowing through the first path 91 flows out of the drive unit 100 from the first motor cooling section 91e. In addition, in the first path 91, the water W may flow from the first motor cooling section 91e toward the control device cooling section 91a.

[0062] The control device cooling section 91a is a portion of the first path 91 that cools the control device 40. In this embodiment, the control device cooling section 91a is a flow path provided in a wall portion that constitutes the control device housing 33. The control device cooling section 91a is provided in the cover member 33b. The control device 40, which is fixed to the lower surface of the cover member 33b, is cooled by water W flowing through the control device cooling section 91a.

[0063] The third connection path portion 91b is a portion of the first path 91 that connects the control device cooling portion 91a and the first heat exchange path portion 91c. As shown in Fig. 2, in this embodiment, the third connection path portion 91b is a flow path provided in a wall portion that constitutes the control device housing 33. Therefore, an increase in the number of parts of the drive unit 100 can be suppressed compared to, for example, when the third connection path portion 91b is constituted by piping or the like.

[0064] The third connection path portion 91b includes a first flow path portion 91f, a second flow path portion 91g, a third flow path portion 91h, and a first recess 37a. The first flow path portion 91f is provided in the cover member 33b. The second flow path portion 91g is provided in the side wall portion 33c. In other words, a portion of the third connection path portion 91b is provided in the side wall portion 33c, which is one of the walls constituting the control device housing 33 and is located perpendicular to the vertical direction. This facilitates connecting the control device cooling unit 91a, which cools the control device 40 attached to the upper portion of the inner surface of the control device housing, and the first heat exchange path portion 91c, which is provided in the heat exchanger 60 attached to the lower portion of the inner surface of the control device housing, via the third connection path portion 91b without the need for additional components such as piping. In this embodiment, the second flow path portion 91g is provided in a portion of the side wall portion 33c located on the rear side (-X side). The third flow path portion 91h is provided in the bottom portion 35. The entire third connection path portion 91b may be provided on the side wall portion 33c.

[0065] The first flow path portion 91f connects the control device cooling portion 91a and the second flow path portion 91g. The second flow path portion 91g connects the first flow path portion 91f and the third flow path portion 91h. The third flow path portion 91h connects the second flow path portion 91g and the first recess 37a. The first recess 37a connects the third flow path portion 91h and the first heat exchange path portion 91c. In this embodiment, the portion formed by the first flow path portion 91f, the second flow path portion 91g, and the third flow path portion 91h is the portion of the third connection path portion 91b that connects the control device cooling portion 91a and the first recess 37a.

[0066] In this embodiment, the third flow path portion 91h extends in the front-to-rear direction (X-axis direction). As shown in FIG. 7 , the front (+X-side) end of the third flow path portion 91h is connected to the rear (-X-side) end of the first recess 37a on one axial side (+Y-side). As described above, the rear and one axial end of the first recess 37a is located between the two first ends, the second opening 63b and the fourth opening 63d. That is, in this embodiment, the portion of the first path 91 connecting the control device cooling portion 91a and the first recess 37a is connected to the groove-like first recess 37a between the second opening 63b and the fourth opening 63d, i.e., between the two first ends, when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 36. This allows water W to flow through the groove-like first recess 37a from the third flow path portion 91h to one end of the first heat exchange path portion 91c. Therefore, heat exchange occurs between the water W flowing in the first recess 37a and the oil O flowing in the heat exchanger 60, and the heat exchange efficiency in the heat exchanger 60 can be further improved.

[0067] The fourth connection path portion 91d is a portion of the first path 91 that connects the first heat exchange path portion 91c and the first motor cooling portion 91e. The fourth connection path portion 91d includes the second recess 37b and a fourth flow path portion 91i. The fourth flow path portion 91i is a portion of the fourth connection path portion 91d that connects the first motor cooling portion 91e and the second recess 37b. The fourth flow path portion 91i extends forward from the end of the second recess 37b on the front side (+X side) and the other axial side (-Y side) to connect to the first motor cooling portion 91e. As described above, the end of the second recess 37b on the front side and the other axial side is located between the first opening 63a and the third opening 63c, which are the two second ends, when viewed in the up-down direction. That is, in this embodiment, the fourth flow path portion 91i of the fourth connection path portion 91d, which connects the first motor cooling portion 91e and the second recess 37b, is connected to the groove-shaped second recess 37b between the first opening 63a and the third opening 63c, i.e., between the two second ends, when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 36. In other words, the first path 91 has a portion that connects to the groove-shaped second recess 37b between the two second ends when viewed in the vertical direction. This allows water W to flow in the groove-shaped second recess 37b between the other end of the first heat exchange path portion 91c and the fourth flow path portion 91i. Therefore, heat exchange occurs between the water W flowing in the second recess 37b and the oil O flowing in the heat exchanger 60, further improving the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger 60.

[0068] As shown in FIG. 2 , the fourth flow path portion 91i extends in a direction inclined vertically relative to the front-to-rear direction (X-axis direction). The fourth flow path portion 91i is positioned lower as it approaches the front (+X side). The front and lower end of the fourth flow path portion 91i is connected to the first motor cooling portion 91e. The fourth flow path portion 91i is provided in a wall portion that constitutes the housing 30. In this embodiment, the fourth flow path portion 91i is formed by a hole that connects the internal space of the control device housing 33 and the internal space of the motor housing 31. For example, an operator can create the fourth flow path portion 91i by drilling a hole from the internal space of the control device housing 33 using a tool such as a drill.

[0069] In this specification, the term "workers, etc." includes the workers who perform each task and the equipment, etc. Each task may be performed by the worker alone, by the equipment alone, or by both the worker and the equipment.

[0070] The first motor cooling portion 91e is a portion of the first path 91 that cools the motor 10. The first motor cooling portion 91e is provided radially between the first circumferential wall portion 30d and the tubular member 17. In this embodiment, the first motor cooling portion 91e has a spiral shape extending around the central axis J1. Note that the first motor cooling portion 91e may have a shape that snakes in the axial or circumferential direction. In this embodiment, the water W flowing within the first motor cooling portion 91e flows from one axial side (+Y side) to the other axial side (-Y side) while flowing in a spiral shape around the central axis J1.

[0071] As shown in FIG. 7 , the first motor cooling portion 91e has an inlet portion 91j and an outlet portion 91k. The inlet portion 91j is one end of the first motor cooling portion 91e and is the portion through which the water W flows in. The outlet portion 91k is the other end of the first motor cooling portion 91e and is the portion through which the water W flows out. The inlet portion 91j is the portion of the first motor cooling portion 91e to which the fourth connection path portion 91d is connected. In this embodiment, the inlet portion 91j is located on one axial side (+Y side) of the outlet portion 91k. The inlet portion 91j is located axially between the first opening 63a and the third opening 63c, i.e., between the second ends thereof. Therefore, by connecting the fourth flow path portion 91i, which is connected to the first motor cooling portion 91e, of the fourth connection path portion 91d to the second recess 37b between the first opening 63a and the third opening 63c when viewed in the vertical direction, the fourth flow path portion 91i can be brought closer to the inlet portion 91j in the axial direction. This shortens the flow path length of the fourth flow path portion 91i, thereby reducing the number of steps and time required to form the fourth flow path portion 91i by drilling using a tool such as a drill. As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the inlet portion 91j is located below the central axis J1.

[0072] The water W flowing through the first motor cooling section 91e cools the motor 10 located radially inside the first motor cooling section 91e. More specifically, heat from the stator 12 is transferred to the water W inside the first motor cooling section 91e via the cylindrical member 17 that constitutes the first motor cooling section 91e, thereby cooling the stator 12. The water W flowing through the first motor cooling section 91e flows out of the drive unit 100 from the outlet 91k. The water W that has flowed out of the drive unit 100 is cooled, for example, by a radiator (not shown) mounted on the vehicle, and then flows back into the control device cooling section 91a of the first path 91.

[0073] As shown in FIG. 1 , the drive unit 100 includes a second path 92 through which oil O, serving as a second fluid, flows. In the present embodiment, the second path 92 is a path through which the oil O circulates within the drive unit 100. The second path 92 includes a reservoir 39, a first connection path portion 92a, a second heat exchange path portion 92d, a second connection path portion 92e, a second motor cooling portion 92m, and a return path portion 92q. As described above, the second heat exchange path portion 92d is provided in the heat exchanger 60. In the present embodiment, the oil O flowing through the second path 92 flows through the reservoir 39, the first connection path portion 92a, the second heat exchange path portion 92d, the second connection path portion 92e, the second motor cooling portion 92m, and the return path portion 92q in this order, and returns to the reservoir 39 from the return path portion 92q. The direction in which the oil O flows in the second path 92 is not particularly limited.

[0074] The first connection path portion 92a is a portion of the second path 92 that connects the reservoir 39 and the second heat exchange path portion 92d. A pump 50 is provided in the first connection path portion 92a. The oil O in the reservoir 39 is sucked up by the pump 50 and then sent to the second heat exchange path portion 92d. In this embodiment, the pump 50 circulates the oil O within the second path 92. The first connection path portion 92a includes a fifth path portion 92b, a pump 50, and a sixth path portion 92c. The fifth path portion 92b is a portion of the first connection path portion 92a that connects the reservoir 39 and the pump 50. The sixth path portion 92c is a portion of the first connection path portion 92a that connects the pump 50 and the second heat exchange path portion 92d. The fifth path portion 92b and the sixth path portion 92c are flow paths provided in the wall portion that constitutes the housing 30. At least a portion of the sixth flow path portion 92c is provided in the first partition wall portion 34a. In the present embodiment, a portion of the sixth flow path portion 92c is provided in the first partition wall portion 34a. The portion of the sixth flow path portion 92c that is provided in the first partition wall portion 34a extends from the lower side to the upper side within the first partition wall portion 34a.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 2 , the sixth flow path portion 92c extends upward and rearward (toward the −X direction) from the pump 50 toward the heat exchanger 60. The sixth flow path portion 92c is positioned rearward as it extends upward. The sixth flow path portion 92c extends from the pump 50, passing below the central axis J1, to the heat exchanger 60. That is, at least a portion of the sixth flow path portion 92c passes below the central axis J1. The pump 50 is preferably disposed below the central axis J1 to shorten the flow path length of the fifth flow path portion 92b. By disposing at least a portion of the sixth flow path portion 92c connecting the pump 50 and the second heat exchange path portion 92d below the central axis J1, it is possible to dispose at least a portion of the pump 50 below the central axis J1, while easily connecting the pump 50 and the heat exchanger 60, which is disposed on the opposite side of the pump 50 in the front-to-rear direction across the central axis J1, via the sixth flow path portion 92c. Furthermore, by passing the sixth flow path portion 92c below the central axis J1, the path length of the sixth flow path portion 92c can be prevented from increasing compared to when the sixth flow path portion 92c is configured to pass above the central axis J1. This facilitates reducing the pressure loss of the oil O flowing through the sixth flow path portion 92c. The end of the sixth flow path portion 92c connected to the second heat exchange path portion 92d is the third recess 37c, which is connected to the third opening 63c. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7 , the third recess 37c and the third opening 63c are aligned with the first partition wall portion 34a in the front-rear direction (X-axis direction). At least a portion of the third recess 37c and the third opening 63c are axially positioned at the same position as the first partition wall portion 34a. Therefore, the pump 50 and the second heat exchange path portion 92d can be connected by the sixth flow path portion 92c, at least a portion of which is provided in the first partition wall portion 34a, without bending the sixth flow path portion 92c in the axial direction. This facilitates simplifying the molding process of the sixth flow path portion 92c. In addition, in this embodiment, the axial distances between the third recess 37c and the third opening 63c and the reservoir portion 39 can be shortened, thereby preventing the flow path length of the sixth flow path portion 92c from becoming long. This facilitates reducing the pressure loss of the oil O flowing through the sixth flow path portion 92c.

[0076] The second connection path portion 92e is a portion of the second path 92 that connects the second heat exchange path portion 92d and the second motor cooling portion 92m. In this embodiment, the second connection path portion 92e is a flow path provided in the wall portion of the housing 30. As shown in FIG. 7 , the second connection path portion 92e includes a seventh flow path portion 92f, a branch portion 92k, a first branch path portion 92g, and a second branch path portion 92h. The seventh flow path portion 92f connects the fourth opening 63d and the branch portion 92k. In this embodiment, the seventh flow path portion 92f extends in a direction inclined with respect to both the front-rear direction and the axial direction when viewed in the up-down direction. The seventh flow path portion 92f is positioned toward the other axial side (-Y side) as it approaches the front side (+X side). The rear side (-X side) and one axial side (+Y side) end of the seventh flow path portion 92f is the fourth recess 37d and connects to the fourth opening 63d. The front end of the seventh flow path portion 92f on the other axial side is connected to a branch portion 92k.

[0077] The branch portion 92k is a portion of the second path 92 that branches the seventh flow path portion 92f into the first branch path portion 92g and the second branch path portion 92h. The branch portion 92k opens on the outer surface of the control device housing 33 facing the other axial side (-Y side). Therefore, an operator can easily create the branch portion 92k by drilling holes from the outside of the control device housing 33 using a tool such as a drill. Furthermore, an operator can easily create the seventh flow path portion 92f and the first branch path portion 92g that connect to the branch portion 92k by inserting a tool such as a drill into the inside of the branch portion 92k. In this embodiment, the branch portion 92k opens on the other axial side surface 35b of the bottom portion 35. The other axial side surface 35b of the bottom portion 35 is covered from the other axial side by the motor cover 30b. The motor cover 30b is located away from the other axial side surface 35b of the bottom portion 35.

[0078] The first branch path 92g has a portion extending from the branch portion 92k to one axial side (+Y side). In the present embodiment, the first branch path 92g is provided across the bottom 35 and the first partition wall 34a. In the present embodiment, the portion of the first branch path 92g provided on the bottom 35 is the portion extending from the branch portion 92k to one axial side. At least a portion of the portion of the first branch path 92g extending from the branch portion 92k to one axial side is located between the heat exchanger 60 and the motor 10 in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction. Therefore, the first branch path 92g can be positioned closer to the motor 10 than the heat exchanger 60 and can extend further axially than the motor 10. This shortens the path length from the branch portion 92k to the second motor cooling portion 92m. In the present embodiment, at least a portion of the first branch path 92g extending from the branch portion 92k to one axial side is located in the front-rear direction between the heat exchanger 60 and the motor 10. In the present embodiment, almost the entire portion of the first branch path 92g extending from the branch portion 92k to one axial side is located in the front-rear direction between the heat exchanger 60 and the motor 10.

[0079] In this embodiment, the first branch path 92g extends obliquely in the front-to-rear direction with respect to the axial direction when viewed in the up-down direction. The first branch path 92g is positioned closer to the front (+X side) as it approaches one axial side (+Y side). The first branch path 92g extends from the branch portion 92k to one axial side and forward.

[0080] The second branch path portion 92h has a portion extending from the branch portion 92k toward the other axial side (-Y side). In this embodiment, the portion of the second branch path portion 92h extending from the branch portion 92k toward the other axial side is the eighth flow path portion 92r. In this embodiment, the eighth flow path portion 92r extends parallel to the axial direction. The eighth flow path portion 92r may extend at an angle relative to the axial direction. In this embodiment, the eighth flow path portion 92r is formed by a pipe member inserted into the branch portion 92k from the other axial side. The pipe member forming the eighth flow path portion 92r extends in the axial direction. The pipe member forming the eighth flow path portion 92r is located axially between the surface 35b on the other axial side of the bottom portion 35 and the motor cover 30b. The end of the pipe member forming the eighth flow path portion 92r on one axial side (+Y side) is fixed within the opening of the branch portion 92k. The end of the pipe member forming the eighth flow path portion 92r on the other axial side is fixed to the motor cover 30b. The pipe member is made of, for example, resin. The pipe member may also be made of a material other than resin. As shown in FIG. 1 , the second branch path portion 92h has a ninth flow path portion 92s provided in the motor cover 30b. The other axial end of the eighth flow path portion 92r is connected to the ninth flow path portion 92s. The eighth flow path portion 92r may be configured in any manner. For example, the eighth flow path portion 92r may be configured by a cylindrical portion extending from the motor cover 30b toward the branch portion 92k.

[0081] As shown in FIG. 7 , at least a portion of the second connection path portion 92e overlaps with a portion of the first path 91 connecting the first heat exchange path portion 91c and the first motor cooling portion 91e, i.e., the fourth connection path portion 91d, in a vertical view. Therefore, compared to a case where the entire second connection path portion 92e does not overlap with the fourth connection path portion 91d in a vertical view, the housing 30 can be prevented from increasing in size in the axial and front-rear directions. This further reduces the size of the drive unit 100. In this embodiment, a portion of the first branch path portion 92g provided on the bottom 35 overlaps with the fourth flow path portion 91i in a vertical view. As shown in FIG. 2 , the second connection path portion 92e passes above a portion of the first path 91 connecting the first heat exchange path portion 91c and the first motor cooling portion 91e, i.e., the fourth connection path portion 91d. In this embodiment, the portion of the first branch path portion 92g that is provided on the bottom portion 35 passes above the fourth flow path portion 91i.

[0082] The second motor cooling section 92m is a portion of the second path 92 that cools the motor 10. As shown in Figure 1, the second motor cooling section 92m has a plurality of supply ports 92i, a plurality of supply ports 92j, a shaft passage section 92t, and a core passage section 92p. The plurality of supply ports 92i, 92j open to the inner surface of the motor housing 31.

[0083] The multiple supply ports 92i are connected to a portion of the first branch path 92g that is provided in the first partition wall 34a. The oil O flowing through the first branch path 92g is supplied to the interior of the motor housing 31 through the multiple supply ports 92i. The oil O flowing through the first branch path 92g is sprayed into the motor housing 31 through the multiple supply ports 92i. In this embodiment, the multiple supply ports 92i open on the inner surface of the motor housing 31 on the other axial side (-Y side) of the first partition wall 34a. The multiple supply ports 92i open on the other axial side. The multiple supply ports 92i include, for example, a supply port 92i that opens toward the stator 12 and a supply port 92i that opens toward the rotor core 14 of the rotor 11. The oil O sprayed from each supply port 92i may be supplied only to the stator 12, only to the rotor 11, or both to the stator 12 and the rotor 11. The multiple supply ports 92i may include a supply port 92i that opens toward a portion other than the stator 12 and the rotor 11. Only one supply port 92i may be provided. In this case, the oil O injected from one supply port 92i may be supplied only to the stator 12, only to the rotor 11, or to both the stator 12 and the rotor 11. Furthermore, the one supply port 92i may open toward a portion other than the stator 12 and the rotor 11.

[0084] The multiple supply ports 92j are connected to a ninth flow path portion 92s of the second branch path portion 92h that is provided in the motor cover 30b. A portion of the oil O flowing in the second branch path portion 92h is supplied to the interior of the motor housing 31 through the multiple supply ports 92j. A portion of the oil O flowing in the second branch path portion 92h is sprayed into the motor housing 31 through the multiple supply ports 92j. In this embodiment, the multiple supply ports 92j open on one axial side (+Y side) of the motor cover 30b of the inner surface of the motor housing 31. The multiple supply ports 92j open on one axial side. The multiple supply ports 92j include, for example, a supply port 92j that opens toward the stator 12 and a supply port 92j that opens toward the rotor core 14 of the rotor 11. The oil O sprayed from each supply port 92j may be supplied only to the stator 12, only to the rotor 11, or both to the stator 12 and the rotor 11. The multiple supply ports 92j may include a supply port 92j that opens toward a portion other than the stator 12 and the rotor 11. Only one supply port 92j may be provided. In this case, the oil O injected from one supply port 92j may be supplied only to the stator 12, only to the rotor 11, or to both the stator 12 and the rotor 11. Furthermore, the one supply port 92j may open toward a portion other than the stator 12 and the rotor 11.

[0085] When supplying oil O to the motor 10 from the supply ports 92i, 92j opening on the inner surface of the motor housing 31 as described above, supplying oil O to the motor 10 from as high a position as possible makes it easier to supply oil O to a wide area of ​​the motor 10. As described above, the second connection path portion 92e passes above the fourth connection path portion 91d. This makes it easier to position the second connection path portion 92e above the motor 10. This makes it easier to supply oil O that flows from the second connection path portion 92e to the supply ports 92i, 92j to the upper portion of the motor 10. This makes it easier to supply oil O to a wide area of ​​the motor 10, making it easier to cool the motor 10.

[0086] The shaft flow passage 92t is provided inside the hollow motor shaft 13. The shaft flow passage 92t extends in the axial direction. The other axial end (-Y side) of the shaft flow passage 92t is connected to the ninth flow passage 92s. A portion of the oil O flowing through the second branch path 92h flows into the shaft flow passage 92t from the other axial end (-Y side) of the shaft flow passage 92t. Within the shaft flow passage 92t, the oil O flows to one axial side (+Y side). A portion of the oil O within the shaft flow passage 92t flows into the core flow passage 92p via a hole 13a provided in the motor shaft 13. The hole 13a is a hole that penetrates the motor shaft 13 radially from the inner circumferential surface to the outer circumferential surface. A plurality of holes 13a are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction.

[0087] The core flow passage portion 92p is provided in the rotor core 14. The oil O flowing through the core flow passage portion 92p is sprayed radially outward from both axial ends of the rotor core 14 by the centrifugal force generated when the rotor 11 rotates. The oil O sprayed radially outward from the core flow passage portion 92p is supplied to the coil ends 16a, 16b. The remaining oil O flowing through the shaft flow passage portion 92t flows into the gear housing 32 from an end on one axial side (+Y side) of the motor shaft 13 and returns to the reservoir 39. The rotor 11 is cooled by the oil O flowing through the shaft flow passage portion 92t and the oil O flowing through the core flow passage portion 92p.

[0088] The oil O injected from the supply ports 92i, 92j and supplied to the motor 10, and the oil O injected from the core flow path portion 92p and supplied to the motor 10, return from the motor housing 31 to the reservoir 39 via the return path portion 92q. The return path portion 92q includes a through hole 34b provided in the first partition wall portion 34a. The return path portion 92q may include a path other than the through hole 34b as a path for returning the oil O from the motor housing 31 to the reservoir 39.

[0089] Below, embodiments different from the above-described embodiments will be described. In the following description of each embodiment, the same configurations as those described above in the description of each embodiment may be omitted by appropriately assigning the same reference numerals. Furthermore, parts corresponding to the respective parts of the configurations described above in the description of each embodiment may be assigned the same names but different reference numerals, and differences from the above-described configurations may be described, while similar configurations to the above-described configurations may be omitted. Note that, as the configurations whose description is omitted in each of the following embodiments, configurations similar to the configurations described above in the description of each embodiment may be adopted within the scope of not being inconsistent.

[0090] Second Embodiment As shown in FIG. 8 , in the housing 230 of the drive unit 200 of this embodiment, the control device housing 233 protrudes both forward (+X side) and rearward (−X side) from the motor housing 31. The heat exchanger 260 of this embodiment is located inside the portion of the control device housing 233 that protrudes forward from the motor housing 31. The heat exchanger 260 is located on the opposite side (+X side) of the central axis J1 in the front-rear direction (X axis direction) from the side where the output axis J3 is located (−X side). In other words, the heat exchanger 260 is located forward (+X side) from the central axis J1 and the output axis J3. The other configurations of the drive unit 200 are similar to those of the drive unit 100 of the first embodiment.

[0091] 9 , in a housing 330 of a drive unit 300 of this embodiment, a control device housing 333 is located on the other axial side (−Y side) of a motor housing 331. The housing 330 of this embodiment does not have a motor cover 30b. In this embodiment, the opening on the other axial side of the first peripheral wall portion 30d is closed by the control device housing 333.

[0092] The control device housing 333 has a storage portion 333a and a cover member 333b. The storage portion 333a is box-shaped and opens on the other axial side (-Y side). The opening on the other axial side of the storage portion 333a is closed by the cover member 333b. The control device 340 is fixed to the surface on one axial side (+Y side) of the cover member 333b. The storage portion 333a has a bottom 335 and a side wall 333c. The bottom 335 is a wall portion located on one axial side of the walls constituting the storage portion 333a. The side wall 333c protrudes from the radial outer edge of the bottom 335 to the other axial side.

[0093] The bottom 335 extends along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction. The bottom 335 constitutes a wall portion on the other axial side of the motor housing 331 and a wall portion on one axial side (+Y side) of the control device housing 333. In this embodiment, the bottom 335 is a second partition portion that axially separates the interior of the control device housing 333 from the interior of the motor housing 331. The bottom 335 constitutes a part of the motor housing 331. In other words, the motor housing 331 has the bottom 335 as a second partition portion.

[0094] In this embodiment, the heat exchanger 360 is fixed to the bottom 335, which is the second partition wall. This makes it easy to arrange the heat exchanger 360 close to the motor 10. This makes it easy to shorten the path lengths from the heat exchanger 360 to each motor cooling unit in the first path 91 and the second path 92, which are not shown in FIG. 9 . The heat exchanger 360 is fixed to a surface on the other axial side (-Y side) of the bottom 335. The control device 340 is fixed to a surface on one axial side (+Y side) of the cover member 333b. The other configurations of the drive device 300 are similar to the other configurations of the drive device 100 in the first embodiment.

[0095] Fourth Embodiment As shown in FIG. 10 , in the housing 430 of the drive unit 400 of this embodiment, the control device housing 433 is located on the rear side (−X side) of the motor housing 31. The control device housing 433 overlaps the upper portion of the gear housing 32 when viewed in the axial direction. The entire control device housing 433 is located above the output axis J3. In this embodiment, the heat exchanger 460 is fixed to a lower wall portion of the control device housing 433. In this embodiment, the entire heat exchanger 460 is located below the upper end of the stator 12 and above the lower end of the stator 12. This prevents the control device housing 433, which houses the heat exchanger 460, from protruding vertically relative to the motor housing 31. This further prevents the drive unit 400 from becoming larger. The other configurations of the drive unit 400 are similar to those of the drive unit 100 of the first embodiment.

[0096] Fifth Embodiment As shown in FIG. 11 , in a drive unit 500 according to this embodiment, a heat exchanger 560 is fixed to a wall portion located on the front side (+X side) of the wall portions constituting the control device housing 433. The front wall portion of the wall portions constituting the control device housing 433 is a second partition wall portion 433d that separates the interior of the control device housing 433 from the interior of the motor housing 31 in the front-rear direction (X-axis direction). The second partition wall portion 433d constitutes a part of the motor housing 31. The motor housing 31 includes the second partition wall portion 433d. The heat exchanger 560 is fixed to the rear side (−X side) surface of the second partition wall portion 433d. Because the heat exchanger 560 is fixed to the second partition wall portion 433d, it is easy to position the heat exchanger 560 close to the motor 10. This makes it easy to shorten the path lengths from the heat exchanger 560 to the respective motor cooling units in the first path 91 and the second path 92 (not shown in FIG. 11 ). The heat exchanger 560 is disposed above and away from a portion of the inner surface of the control device housing 433 that is located on the lower side. The heat exchanger 560 is disposed below and away from a portion of the inner surface of the control device housing 433 that is located on the upper side.

[0097] In this embodiment, the entire heat exchanger 560 is located in the front-rear direction (X-axis direction) between the center axis J1 and the output axis J3, which is the gear axis located furthest rearward (negative X side). In other words, when viewed in the axial direction, the entire heat exchanger 560 is located between the imaginary lines L1 and L3 in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the heat exchanger 560 does not protrude rearward from the output axis J3, making it easier to further reduce the size of the control device housing 433 in the front-rear direction. This further prevents the drive unit 500 from becoming larger. The other configurations of the drive unit 500 are similar to those of the drive unit 400 in the fourth embodiment.

[0098] Sixth Embodiment As shown in FIG. 12 , in the housing 630 of the drive unit 600 of this embodiment, the control device housing 633 is located below the motor housing 31. In this embodiment, the heat exchanger 660 is fixed to the uppermost wall portion of the control device housing 633. The uppermost wall portion of the control device housing 633 is a second partition wall 633d that vertically separates the interior of the control device housing 633 from the interior of the motor housing 31. Because the heat exchanger 660 is fixed to the second partition wall 633d, it is easy to position the heat exchanger 660 close to the motor 10. This makes it easy to shorten the path lengths from the heat exchanger 660 to each motor cooling unit in the first path 91 and the second path 92 (not shown in FIG. 12 ). The second partition wall 633d forms part of the motor housing 31. The motor housing 31 has the second partition wall 633d. The heat exchanger 660 is fixed to the lower surface of the second partition wall 633d. In this embodiment, the entire heat exchanger 660 is located below the stator 12. Other configurations of the drive device 600 are similar to other configurations of the drive device 100 in the first embodiment.

[0099] Seventh Embodiment As shown in FIG. 13 , in the housing 730 of the drive unit 700 of this embodiment, the control device housing 733 is located on the rear side (−X side) of the motor housing 31. The control device housing 733 overlaps with the gear housing 32 when viewed in the axial direction. The control device housing 733 overlaps with the output axis J3 when viewed in the axial direction. In this embodiment, the axle DS passes through the interior of the control device housing 733 in the axial direction. In this embodiment, the heat exchanger 760 is fixed to a lower wall portion of the walls constituting the control device housing 733. In this embodiment, the entire heat exchanger 760 is located below the output axis J3. A portion of the heat exchanger 760, including its lower end, is located below the lower end of the stator 12. An upper portion of the heat exchanger 760 is located above the lower end of the stator 12 and below the upper end of the stator 12. The other configurations of the drive unit 700 are similar to those of the drive unit 100 of the first embodiment.

[0100] 14 , in a drive device 800 of this embodiment, at least a portion of a heat exchanger 860 is located above the gear housing 32. This makes it easy to shorten the path length of the portion of the second path 892 from the reservoir 39 provided in the gear housing 32 to the heat exchanger 860. In this embodiment, a portion of the heat exchanger 860 on one axial side (+Y side) is located above the gear housing 32, and a portion of the heat exchanger 860 on the other axial side (−Y side) is located above the motor housing 31. The heat exchanger 860 overlaps with the motor housing 31 and the gear housing 32 when viewed in the up-down direction.

[0101] In this embodiment, the second motor cooling portion 892m of the second path 892 has multiple supply passage portions 892u. The multiple supply passage portions 892u are connected to a portion of the second connection path portion 92e that is located on the bottom 35. The multiple supply passage portions 892u extend downward from the portion of the second connection path portion 92e that is located on the bottom 35. The multiple supply passage portions 892u radially penetrate the cylindrical member 17 from the outer peripheral surface to the inner peripheral surface. The lower ends of the multiple supply passage portions 892u open to an upper portion of the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 17. The multiple supply passage portions 892u include a supply passage portion 892u whose lower end opens toward the coil end 16a and a supply passage portion 892u whose lower end opens toward the coil end 16b. The oil O in the multiple supply passage portions 892u is supplied into the motor housing 31 from the lower ends of the supply passage portions 892u. The oil O in the plurality of supply passage portions 892u is injected from the radially outer side toward the coil ends 16a, 16b. More specifically, the oil O in the plurality of supply passage portions 892u is injected from above toward the coil ends 16a, 16b. The other configurations of the drive unit 800 are similar to the other configurations of the drive unit 100 in the first embodiment.

[0102] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and other configurations and methods may be adopted within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention. The first fluid and the second fluid may be any fluid. The first fluid and the second fluid may be the same fluid. For example, the first fluid and the second fluid may be water. For example, the first fluid and the second fluid may be oil. The heat exchanger may be located inside the control device housing and at least a portion thereof may be located below the upper end of the stator. The heat exchanger may be composed of multiple heat exchange units. In the multiple heat exchange units, heat exchange between the respective fluids is performed. For example, the multiple heat exchange units may be located apart from each other. When the heat exchanger is composed of multiple heat exchange units, the above-described arrangement relationship of the heat exchangers only needs to be satisfied for at least one of the multiple heat exchange units. Furthermore, when the heat exchanger is composed of multiple heat exchange units, as long as heat exchange between the first fluid and the second fluid is performed in at least one heat exchange unit, heat exchange between any fluids may be performed in the other heat exchange units. Furthermore, the drive unit may include, in addition to the heat exchanger described above, at least one second heat exchanger different from the heat exchanger. The second heat exchanger may be arranged in any manner, and may be arranged outside the control device housing. The first path may have any configuration as long as it includes a first heat exchange path portion and a control device cooling portion. The motor cooling portion provided in the first path may be any path that can cool the motor. The motor cooling portion provided in the first path may be a portion that cools the motor by directly supplying the first fluid to the motor, for example by spraying it onto the motor. The first path does not need to include a motor cooling portion that cools the motor. The second path may have any configuration as long as it includes a second heat exchange path portion, a motor cooling portion, a first connection path portion, and a second connection path portion. The motor cooling portion provided in the second path may be any path that can cool the motor. The motor cooling portion provided in the second path may be a flow path arranged around the motor, and the motor may be indirectly cooled by the second fluid flowing through the flow path.The control device housing may have a plurality of storage compartments, in which case the control device may be arranged separately inside the plurality of storage compartments.

[0103] The drive device does not need to have a gear mechanism connected to the motor. The use of the drive device is not particularly limited. For example, the drive device may be mounted on a vehicle for a purpose other than rotating an axle, or may be mounted on equipment other than a vehicle. The drive device may also be a generator. In other words, the motor may have the functions of both a motor and a generator.

[0104] The present technology can be configured as follows: (1) A motor including a rotor rotatable about a central axis extending in an axial direction and a stator facing the rotor with a gap therebetween, a control device electrically connected to the stator, a housing including a motor housing that accommodates the motor therein and a control device housing that accommodates the control device therein, a first path through which a first fluid flows, a second path through which a second fluid flows, and a heat exchanger, wherein the housing has a storage portion in which the second fluid is stored, and the first path includes a first heat exchange path portion provided in the heat exchanger, and a control device housing that accommodates the control device. a control device cooling unit that cools a control device, the second path including a second heat exchange path portion provided in the heat exchanger, a motor cooling unit that cools the motor, a first connection path portion connecting the storage portion and the second heat exchange path portion, and a second connection path portion connecting the second heat exchange path portion and the motor cooling unit, the heat exchanger being located inside the control device housing, the axial direction in which the central axis extends being perpendicular to the up-down direction, and at least a portion of the heat exchanger being located below an upper end of the stator. (2) The drive device described in (1), wherein at least a portion of the heat exchanger is located below an upper end of the stator and above a lower end of the stator. (3) The drive device described in (1) or (2), wherein at least a portion of the heat exchanger is located on the other axial side of one axial end of the stator and on one axial side of the other axial end of the stator. (4) The drive device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the entire heat exchanger is disposed at a position different from the motor when viewed in the up-down direction. (5) The drive device according to any one of (1) to (4), further comprising: a gear mechanism connected to the motor, the gear mechanism having at least one gear rotatable about a gear axis extending in an axial direction, the gear axis of the at least one gear being located furthest to one side in an orthogonal direction that is orthogonal to both the axial direction and the up-down direction, the gear axis being located away from one side of the central axis, and at least a part of the heat exchanger being located between the central axis and the gear axis located furthest to the one side in the orthogonal direction.(6) The drive device according to (5), wherein the entire heat exchanger is located between the central axis and the gear axis line located furthest on the one side in the orthogonal direction. (7) The drive device according to (5) or (6), further comprising: a pump provided in the first connection path portion, the housing having a gear housing that accommodates the gear mechanism therein, the motor housing having a first partition wall that separates an interior of the gear housing from an interior of the motor housing, at least a portion of the pump being located on the other side of the central axis in the orthogonal direction, and at least a portion of a portion of the first connection path portion that connects the pump to the second heat exchange path portion being provided in the first partition wall and passing below the central axis. (8) The drive device according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the motor housing has a second partition wall that separates an interior of the control device housing from an interior of the motor housing, and the heat exchanger is fixed to the second partition wall. (9) The drive device according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein the first path has a third connection path portion connecting the control device cooling portion and the first heat exchange path portion, and the third connection path portion is provided on a wall portion constituting the control device housing. (10) The drive device according to (9), wherein the control device is attached to an upper portion of an inner surface of the control device housing, the heat exchanger is attached to a lower portion of the inner surface of the control device housing, at least a portion of the heat exchanger overlaps with the control device when viewed in a vertical direction, and at least a portion of the third connection path portion is provided on a side wall portion of a wall portion constituting the control device housing that is located in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction. (11) A drive device according to any one of (1) to (10), wherein the inner surface of the control device housing has a mounting surface to which the heat exchanger is attached, and the mounting surface is provided with a first recess to which one end of the first heat exchange path portion is connected, a second recess to which the other end of the first heat exchange path portion is connected, a third recess to which one end of the second heat exchange path portion is connected, and a fourth recess to which the other end of the second heat exchange path portion is connected, and at least one of the first recess, the second recess, the third recess, and the fourth recess is a groove extending in a plane parallel to the mounting surface when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface.(12) The drive unit described in (11), wherein two of one end of the first heat exchange path portion, the other end of the first heat exchange path portion, one end of the second heat exchange path portion, and the other end of the second heat exchange path portion are two first ends arranged side by side with a gap in a direction along the mounting surface, the first recess is a groove extending in a plane parallel to the mounting surface when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface, the portion of the first path connecting the control device cooling portion and the first heat exchange path portion has the first recess and a portion connecting the control device cooling portion and the first recess, and the portion of the first path connecting the control device cooling portion and the first recess is connected to the first recess between the two first ends when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface. (13) The drive unit according to (11) or (12), wherein two of the one end of the first heat exchange path portion, the other end of the first heat exchange path portion, and the one end of the second heat exchange path portion and the other end of the second heat exchange path portion are two second ends arranged side by side at an interval in a direction along the mounting surface, the second recess is a groove extending in a plane parallel to the mounting surface when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface, and the first path has a portion connecting to the second recess between the two second ends when viewed in the direction perpendicular to the mounting surface. (14) The drive unit according to any one of (1) to (13), wherein the second connection path portion has a branch portion, a first branch path portion having a portion extending from the branch portion to one axial side, and a second branch path portion having a portion extending from the branch portion to the other axial side, and at least a part of the portion of the first branch path portion extending from the branch portion to one axial side is located between the heat exchanger and the motor in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction. (15) The drive device according to (14), wherein the branch portion opens onto a surface of the outer surface of the control device housing that faces the other axial side.

[0105] The configurations and methods described in this specification can be combined as appropriate within the scope of not being mutually contradictory.

[0106] 10...motor, 11...rotor, 12...stator, 20...gear mechanism, 30, 230, 330, 430, 630, 730...housing, 31, 331...motor housing, 32...gear housing, 33, 233, 333, 433, 633, 733...controller housing, 33c, 333c...side wall portion, 34a...first partition wall portion, 36...mounting surface, 37a...first recess, 37b...second recess, 37c...third recess, 37d...fourth recess, 39...storage section, 40, 340...control device, 50...pump, 60, 260, 360, 460, 560, 660, 760, 860...heat exchanger, 63a...first opening (second end), 63b...second opening (first end), 63c...third opening (second end), 63 d...fourth opening (first end), 91...first path, 91a...controller cooling section, 91b...third connection path section, 91c...first heat exchange path section, 92, 892...second path, 92a...first connection path section, 92d...second heat exchange path section, 92e...second connection path section, 92g...first branch path section, 92h...second branch path section, 92k...branch section, 92m, 892m ...second motor cooling section (motor cooling section), 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800...drive device, 335...bottom (second partition wall), 433d, 633d...second partition wall, J1...center axis (gear axis), J2...intermediate axis (gear axis), J3...output axis (gear axis), O...oil (second fluid), W...water (first fluid)

Claims

1. A motor having a rotor rotatable about a central axis extending in the axial direction and a stator facing the rotor with a gap therebetween; a control device electrically connected to the stator; a housing having a motor housing that accommodates the motor therein and a control device housing that accommodates the control device therein; a first path through which a first fluid flows; a second path through which a second fluid flows; and a heat exchanger, wherein the housing has a storage section in which the second fluid is stored, the first path having: a first heat exchange path section provided in the heat exchanger; and a control device cooling section that cools the control device, the second path having: a second heat exchange path section provided in the heat exchanger; a motor cooling section that cools the motor, a first connection path section connecting the storage section and the second heat exchange path section; and a second connection path section connecting the second heat exchange path section and the motor cooling section, wherein the heat exchanger is located inside the control device housing, an axial direction in which the central axis extends is a direction perpendicular to a vertical direction, and at least a portion of the heat exchanger is located below an upper end of the stator.

2. The drive unit according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the heat exchanger is located below an upper end of the stator and above a lower end of the stator.

3. A drive unit as described in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the heat exchanger is located on the other axial side of the end of the stator on one axial side, and is also located on the one axial side of the end of the stator on the other axial side.

4. The drive device according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger as a whole is disposed at a position different from that of the motor when viewed vertically.

5. A drive device as described in claim 1, comprising a gear mechanism connected to the motor, the gear mechanism having at least one gear rotatable around a gear axis extending in the axial direction, the gear axis of the at least one gear being located furthest to one side in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to both the axial direction and the up-down direction, being positioned away from the central axis to one side, and at least a portion of the heat exchanger being located between the central axis and the gear axis located furthest to one side in the orthogonal direction.

6. A drive unit according to claim 5, wherein the entire heat exchanger is located between the central axis and the gear axis located furthest to one side in the orthogonal direction.

7. A drive unit as described in claim 5, comprising a pump provided in the first connection path portion, wherein the housing has a gear housing that accommodates the gear mechanism therein, the motor housing has a first partition portion that separates the interior of the gear housing from the interior of the motor housing, at least a portion of the pump is located on the other side of the central axis in the perpendicular direction, and at least a portion of the first connection path portion that connects the pump and the second heat exchange path portion is provided in the first partition portion and passes below the central axis.

8. The drive unit according to claim 1, wherein the motor housing has a second partition wall that separates the interior of the control device housing from the interior of the motor housing, and the heat exchanger is fixed to the second partition wall.

9. A drive unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the first path has a third connection path portion connecting the control device cooling portion and the first heat exchange path portion, and the third connection path portion is provided in a wall portion constituting the control device housing.

10. A drive unit as described in claim 9, wherein the control device is attached to an upper portion of the inner surface of the control device housing, the heat exchanger is attached to a lower portion of the inner surface of the control device housing, at least a portion of the heat exchanger overlaps with the control device when viewed in the vertical direction, and at least a portion of the third connection path portion is provided on a side wall portion of the wall portion constituting the control device housing that is located in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction.

11. A drive unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the inner surface of the control unit housing has a mounting surface to which the heat exchanger is attached, and the mounting surface is provided with: a first recess to which one end of the first heat exchange path portion is connected; a second recess to which the other end of the first heat exchange path portion is connected; a third recess to which one end of the second heat exchange path portion is connected; and a fourth recess to which the other end of the second heat exchange path portion is connected; and at least one of the first recess, the second recess, the third recess, and the fourth recess is a groove extending in a plane parallel to the mounting surface when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface.

12. A drive unit as described in claim 11, wherein two of one end of the first heat exchange path portion, the other end of the first heat exchange path portion, one end of the second heat exchange path portion, and the other end of the second heat exchange path portion are two first ends arranged side by side at a distance in a direction along the mounting surface, the first recess is a groove extending in a plane parallel to the mounting surface when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface, a portion of the first path connecting the control device cooling portion and the first heat exchange path portion includes the first recess and a portion connecting the control device cooling portion and the first recess, and the portion of the first path connecting the control device cooling portion and the first recess is connected to the first recess between the two first ends when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface.

13. A drive device as described in claim 11, wherein two of the one end of the first heat exchange path portion, the other end of the first heat exchange path portion, and the one end of the second heat exchange path portion and the other end of the second heat exchange path portion are two second ends arranged side by side at a distance in a direction along the mounting surface, the second recess is a groove extending in a plane parallel to the mounting surface when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface, and the first path has a portion connected to the second recess between the two second ends when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface.

14. A drive device as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the second connection path portion has a branch portion, a first branch path portion having a portion extending from the branch portion to one side in the axial direction, and a second branch path portion having a portion extending from the branch portion to the other side in the axial direction, and at least a portion of the portion of the first branch path portion extending from the branch portion to one side in the axial direction is located between the heat exchanger and the motor in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction.

15. The drive unit according to claim 14, wherein the branched portion opens onto the outer surface of the control unit housing facing the other axial side.

Images