Drive Module Oil Housing for Lubricant Slosh Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In drive module assemblies, the lubricant tends to slosh and move to one side during intense driving maneuvers, leading to reduced lubricant volume in the sump, which prevents effective lubrication and cooling, causing overheating of components like electric motors and performance degradation.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an oil housing within the drive module assembly that retains a significant portion of the lubricant, with features like a retaining projection and adjustable engagement with the housing bottom surface to maintain lubricant distribution and prevent excessive flow, ensuring continuous lubrication and cooling even during intense maneuvers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the drive module assembly uses a conventional housing design without an oil housing, then the structure is simpler and manufacturing is easier, but the lubricant sloshes to one side during intense driving maneuvers, causing the sump to become drier than desired and the pump to be unable to pull sufficient lubricant
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into a main housing and a separate oil housing that is disposed within the housing interior. The oil housing defines an oil housing interior that is configured to retain a portion of the lubricant, effectively dividing the lubricant storage function from the main housing structure. This segmentation allows the lubricant to be retained in a specific zone (the oil housing interior) regardless of the vehicle's orientation or intensity of maneuvers, ensuring the pump can always access sufficient lubricant without requiring the entire housing to be redesigned.
2Ease of operation
If the lubricant is allowed to move freely in the housing interior, then the lubricant can reach all components for cooling and lubrication, but during intense driving maneuvers the lubricant quickly moves to one side, causing some portions of the housing interior to become dryer than desired
Solution Approach 1:
The oil housing acts as an intermediary structure between the lubricant and the pump. By disposing the oil housing within the housing interior and configuring it to retain a portion of the lubricant, the oil housing serves as a buffer that ensures continuous lubricant supply to the pump regardless of lubricant movement in the main housing interior. The pump can reliably pull lubricant from the oil housing interior even when the lubricant has sloshed to opposite sides of the main housing, thus maintaining continuous lubrication without restricting lubricant's ability to distribute when needed.
3Temperature
If the electric motor is lubricant cooled, then the cooling efficiency is improved, but when the lubricant sloshes and moves around, the lubricant may migrate to a corner where it is not able to be used, resulting in overheating of the electric motor
Solution Approach 1:
The oil housing introduces a new spatial dimension for lubricant retention within the housing interior. Rather than relying solely on the lubricant's ability to reach the motor through free movement in the main housing interior, the oil housing creates a dedicated retention zone that ensures lubricant availability in a different spatial configuration. This dimensional change in lubricant management ensures that even when lubricant migrates to corners or sides of the main housing interior during intense maneuvers, the pump can still access lubricant from the oil housing interior to maintain motor cooling efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures a continuous supply of lubricant to the pump, maintaining effective lubrication and cooling of components, reducing the risk of overheating and performance degradation, and allowing for efficient manufacturing and flexible placement of the oil housing.
Implementation Method 1
an oil housing disposed in the housing interior between the first housing wall and the second housing wall. The oil housing defines an oil housing interior that is configured to retain a portion of the lubricant
Implementation Method 2
Lubricant in the drive module assembly is used to lubricate and cool various components, such as the gear train, during use of the drive module assembly
Implementation Method 3
Lubricant in the drive module assembly is used to lubricate and cool various components, such as the gear train
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A drive module assembly includes a housing defining a housing interior for containing a lubricant. The housing interior has a first interior side adjacent a first housing wall of the housing and a second interior side spaced from the first interior side and adjacent a second housing wall of the housing. The drive module assembly also includes an input shaft extending along an input axis and coupled to the housing and configured to receive rotational torque from a power source, a gear train rotatably coupled to the input shaft, and an output shaft rotatably coupled to the gear train. The drive module assembly further includes an oil housing disposed in the housing interior between the first housing wall and the second housing wall. The oil housing defines an oil housing interior that is configured to retain a portion of the lubricant.