Vehicle Drive Layout With Overlapping Gear and Side-Mounted Inverter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle drive apparatuses have large dimensions in an axial view due to the placement of power electronic devices over both electric motors and transmission apparatuses, necessitating a reduction in size while maintaining functionality.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle drive apparatus is designed with a rotating electrical machine and output members on parallel axes, where the transmission mechanism includes an output gear coaxially coupled to the output members, and the inverter device is placed alongside the rotating electrical machine, allowing for overlapping placement regions to reduce the apparatus's size in both directions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the power electronic device is placed over both the electric motor and the transmission apparatus, then the control function is achieved, but the dimensions of the entire drive unit in axial view become relatively large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensional reconfiguration by changing the placement arrangement from a two-dimensional overlay (power electronic device over motor and transmission) to a three-dimensional distributed arrangement (output members on parallel axes with inverter alongside the motor). This allows the power electronic device to be positioned in a different spatial dimension, reducing the axial footprint while maintaining control functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the drive unit into functionally independent modules: the rotating electrical machine, the transmission mechanism with output gear, the output members on parallel axes, and the inverter device. This segmentation allows each component to be optimally positioned in space, with the inverter placed alongside the motor rather than overhead, reducing overall axial dimensions while preserving control functions.
2Productivity
If the output gear is placed coaxially with the output members, then the power transmission efficiency is improved, but the space occupation in axial view increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by utilizing parallel axes for the output members instead of conventional coaxial arrangement. The output gear remains coaxially coupled to the output members on the second axis, maintaining efficient power transmission, while the entire transmission system is positioned on a separate axis from the motor, allowing the inverter to be placed alongside the motor without interfering with the gear transmission path. This dimensional separation reduces axial footprint while preserving transmission efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A transmission mechanism is provided with an output gear drivingly coupled to at least one of a pair of output members and placed coaxially with the pair of output members. A direction in which a rotating electrical machine and an inverter device are arranged side by side in an axial view is defined as a first direction. A direction perpendicular to both an axial direction and the first direction is defined as a second direction. A first output member that is one of the pair of output members is placed between the rotating electrical machine and the inverter device in the first direction, at a position in the second direction where both the rotating electrical machine and the inverter device are placed. The output gear is placed in such a manner as to overlap each of the rotating electrical machine and the inverter device in the axial view.