Electrical generator or motor structure – Dynamoelectric – Rotary
Patent
1997-10-02
1998-10-13
Stephan, Steven L.
Electrical generator or motor structure
Dynamoelectric
Rotary
310 58, 310 83, H02K 919, F16H 5704
Patent
active
058216537
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a drive apparatus for an electric vehicle and, more particularly, to lubricating means of a drive apparatus for an electric vehicle combining a motor and a gear section for transmitting the drive force of the motor to wheels.
BACKGROUND ART
As one form of drive apparatuses for electric vehicles, there is a type of apparatus that combines a motor and a gear section for transmitting the drive force of the motor to wheels. In this type of drive apparatus, the gear section must be lubricated whether the motor is cooled by air or cooled by oil. Normally, since the gear section of the drive apparatus including a differential gear must be provided with a sufficient amount of lubricating oil for the next start during stoppage of the vehicle, it is necessary that the oil level in the gear case be high so that the entire differential gear case is immersed in the oil. In contrast, during the running of the vehicle, since the lubricating oil is sufficiently distributed to each part of the gear section, there is no need to keep the oil level high in the gear case as mentioned above. On the contrary, the oil level needs to be reduced to a minimum required level, in order to reduce the stirring loss of the gear section. In view of such circumstances, the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,413 discloses a technology that adjusts the oil level in the gear case as discussed above, by supplying oil to and discharging oil from an oil reservoir disposed in an upper portion of the gear case.
For drive apparatuses for electric vehicles, there is a strong demand for weight reduction and size reduction, considering electric power consumption reduction for a travel distance increase and the problem of installation of the apparatus in a vehicle. Viewing the aforementioned technology from this standpoint, the technology has problems of an weight increase of the drive apparatus caused by an increased size of the gear case since the oil reservoir is disposed in the gear case requiring an oil reservoir space in addition to the space needed to accommodate the gear section.
Accordingly, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a drive apparatus for an electric vehicle that has a light-weight and compact-size construction and enables reduction of the stirring loss of the gear section during the running of the vehicle while securing a sufficient amount of lubricating oil during stoppage of the vehicle without requiring an additional oil reservoir.
In addition, it is a second object of the present invention to enable the circulation of lubricating oil for achieving the above object without allowing the circulation to cause a drive loss.
Furthermore, it is a third object of the present invention to cool a motor while maintaining an appropriate oil level in the motor chamber during the running of the vehicle and preventing a stirring loss due to the rotation of the rotor.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
To achieve the aforementioned first object, the present invention is characterized by comprising a motor including a stator and a rotor having a rotor shaft that is rotatable inside the stator, a gear section for transmitting the rotation of the rotor shaft to a wheel, and a case for accommodating said motor and the gear section, wherein the case has a partition that separates a motor chamber for accommodating said motor and a gear chamber for accommodating said gear section, and the partition has an orifice that connects a lower portion of said motor chamber and said gear chamber, and supplying means is provided for supplying oil from said gear chamber into said motor chamber in accordance with rotation of said gear section.
In the above-described construction, oil is supplied from the gear chamber into the motor chamber by the supplying means in accordance with the rotation or revolution of the gear section or the motor during the running of the vehicle. The oil supplied to the motor chamber is then returned to the gear chamber through the orifice of the partition. In this
Hasebe Masahiro
Kinto Yoshio
Sasaki Yoshihiko
Takenaka Masayuki
Wakuta Satoru
Aisin Aw Co. Ltd.
Jones Judson H.
Stephan Steven L.
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