Internal Oil Pump Chamber in Drive Device Case
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drive device designs require high fluid-tightness between components of the oil pump chamber, leading to increased complexity and manufacturing costs due to the need for precise sealing to prevent oil leakage.
Innovation Solution
The oil pump chamber is positioned internally within the case, allowing oil leakage into the case internal space, reducing the required fluid-tightness between components and eliminating the need for sealing members, with passages formed by recesses in the mating surfaces of the cover and pump covers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the pump chamber is formed on the outer surface of the case with bonding between cover and oil pump cover, then the oil pump can be mounted externally, but high fluid-tightness is required for bonding which increases the number of parts and complicates the manufacturing process
Solution Approach 1:
The pump chamber is inverted from the conventional external formation to internal formation within the case body. The cover portion now forms the outer surface of the pump chamber while the case inner surface forms the inner surface, eliminating the need for separate oil pump cover bonding and its associated sealing requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The case and cover portion are merged to jointly form the pump chamber boundaries. The case inner surface and cover outer surface together define the pump chamber, eliminating the need for a separate oil pump cover component and reducing the number of bonding interfaces requiring sealing.
2Reliability
If high fluid-tightness bonding is used to prevent oil leakage from the pump chamber, then sealing is improved, but the number of parts increases and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The case and cover portion are merged to jointly form the pump chamber boundaries. The case inner surface and cover outer surface together define the pump chamber, eliminating the need for a separate oil pump cover component and reducing the number of bonding interfaces requiring sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The separate oil pump cover component is extracted/eliminated from the design. The pump chamber is reconfigured to use the case inner surface and cover outer surface as boundaries, removing the need for the additional cover component that would require sealing.
3Reliability
If high fluid-tightness bonding is used to prevent oil leakage from the pump chamber, then sealing is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The case and cover portion are merged to jointly form the pump chamber boundaries. The case inner surface and cover outer surface together define the pump chamber, eliminating the need for a separate oil pump cover component and reducing the number of bonding interfaces requiring sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The separate oil pump cover component is extracted/eliminated from the design. The pump chamber is reconfigured to use the case inner surface and cover outer surface as boundaries, removing the need for the additional cover component that would require sealing.
Data Source
AI summary
A drive device in which a driving force transfer mechanism is accommodated in a case that includes a main body portion having an opening portion and a cover portion attached to the opening portion, and the cover portion is provided with an oil pump. The drive device is configured with a pump cover attached to a case inner surface of the cover portion, which forms an inner surface of the case, such that the pump cover is accommodated in a case internal space surrounded by the main body portion and the cover portion. A pump chamber of the oil pump is formed by a recess that is formed in at least one of a mating surface of the cover portion and a mating surface of the pump cover in a bonding portion between the cover portion and the pump cover.