JP2009096429A - Motor-driven wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a motor-driven wheel capable of suppressing a damage to a wiring for supplying electric power to an in-wheel motor thereof. <P>SOLUTION: The motor-driven wheel 1 comprises a wheel disc 100, the in-wheel motor partially accommodated in the wheel disc 100 and driving or being driven by the wheel disc 100, and a cable 500A supplying electric power to the in-wheel motor. The in-wheel motor includes a casing 410, and a terminal box 440 disposed in such a manner as to protrude from that portion of an outer surface of the casing 410 which is opposed to an inner surface of the wheel disc 100 and with the cable 500A connected thereto. The terminal box 440 is disposed on the forward side of a vehicle with respect to the casing 410, and the cable 500A is connected to the terminal box 440 from therebelow. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric wheel, and more particularly, to an electric wheel provided with an in-wheel motor that is at least partially housed in a wheel.

Conventionally, an electric wheel driven by an in-wheel motor is known. Such an electric wheel is described, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-271909 (Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-271909 A

  In patent document 1, the wiring is connected from the upper side with respect to the wiring box provided in the vehicle front side. In this case, there is a concern that the foreign matter may collide with the wiring and damage the wiring when the foreign matter adheres to the inside of the wheel.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electric wheel in which damage to wiring for supplying electric power to an in-wheel motor is suppressed.

  An electric wheel according to the present invention is an electric wheel provided in a vehicle, the wheel, an in-wheel motor that is at least partially housed in the wheel, drives the wheel, or is driven by the wheel, and an in-wheel motor. And a power supply cable for supplying electric power. The in-wheel motor includes a casing, a rotating electrical machine housed in the casing, and a terminal box that is provided so as to protrude from a portion of the outer surface of the casing facing the inner surface of the wheel and to which a power feeding cable is connected. The power feeding cable is connected to the terminal box from the downstream side in the rotational direction of the wheel when the vehicle moves forward with respect to the terminal box.

  In one aspect, the terminal box is provided on the vehicle front side with respect to the casing, and the power feeding cable is connected to the terminal box from below with respect to the terminal box.

  In another aspect, the terminal box is provided on the vehicle rear side with respect to the casing, and the power feeding cable is connected to the terminal box from above with respect to the terminal box.

  According to the above configuration, by connecting the power supply cable to the terminal box from the downstream side in the rotational direction of the wheel when the vehicle moves forward with respect to the terminal box, the vehicle has moved forward with foreign matter fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the wheel. Even in this case, since the foreign matter collides with the terminal box before the power supply cable and is crushed, damage to the power supply cable is suppressed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in an electric wheel, damage to the electric power feeding cable which supplies electric power to an in-wheel motor can be suppressed.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Note that the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof may not be repeated.

  Note that in the embodiments described below, when referring to the number, amount, and the like, the scope of the present invention is not necessarily limited to the number, amount, and the like unless otherwise specified. In the following embodiments, each component is not necessarily essential for the present invention unless otherwise specified. In addition, when there are a plurality of embodiments below, it is planned from the beginning to appropriately combine the configurations of the embodiments unless otherwise specified.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electric wheel according to first and second embodiments of the present invention to be described later. Referring to FIG. 1, electric wheel 1 is provided in a vehicle, and includes wheel disc 100, wheel hub 200, joint 300, in-hole motor 400, inverter 500, brake rotor 600, A brake caliper 700, an upper arm 800, and a lower arm 900 are provided.

  The in-wheel motor 400 includes a casing 410, a motor 420, a planetary gear 430 as a speed reduction mechanism, and a terminal box 440.

  The wheel disc 100 has a substantially cup shape including a disc portion 110 and a rim portion 120. A tire (not shown) is fixed to the outer edge of the rim portion 120 of the wheel disc 100. Wheel disc 100 is formed to receive wheel hub 200, joint 300, part or all of in-wheel motor 400, brake rotor 600 and brake caliper 700. The wheel disc 100 is coupled to the wheel hub 200 by fastening the disc portion 110 to the wheel hub 200 with a hub bolt.

  The wheel hub 200 is connected to the output shaft of the in-wheel motor 400 via the joint 300.

  The brake rotor 600 is arranged such that the inner peripheral end is fixed to the outer peripheral end of the wheel hub 200 and the outer peripheral end passes through the brake caliper 700. Brake caliper 700 includes a brake piston and a brake pad. The brake pad sandwiches the outer peripheral end of the brake rotor 600.

  When brake oil is supplied to the brake caliper 700, the brake pad is pressed by the brake piston, the outer peripheral end of the brake rotor 600 is sandwiched by the brake pad, and the electric wheel 1 is braked.

Next, the configuration of the in-hole motor 400 will be described.
The casing 410 is arranged on the left side of the wheel hub 200 in the drawing, and houses the motor 420 and the planetary gear 430. The casing 410 is supported by the upper arm 800 and the lower arm 900 via ball bearings 800A and 900A.

  The motor 420 includes a rotor 421 and a stator 422. Stator 422 includes a stator core and a stator coil. The stator core is fixed to the casing 410. The stator coil is wound around the stator core. When motor 420 is a three-phase motor, the stator coil includes a U-phase coil, a V-phase coil, and a W-phase coil. The rotor 421 is arranged on the inner peripheral side of the stator core and the stator coil.

  Planetary gear 430 includes a sun gear 431, a pinion gear 432, a ring gear 433, and a planetary carrier 434.

  The terminal box 440 is provided so as to protrude from the outer surface of the casing 410. The stator coil is electrically connected to inverter 500 through terminal box 440 and cable 500A. The cable 500A is connected to the terminal box 440 at the connection portion 500B. The cable 500A drawn from the terminal box 440 can be fixed to the upper arm 800 or the lower arm 900, for example. In FIG. 1, the terminal box 440 is provided on the upper side of the casing 410, but the position where the terminal box 440 is provided is appropriately changed.

  The rotating shaft of the motor 420 is connected to the sun gear shaft. The sun gear shaft is connected to the sun gear 431 of the planetary gear 430. The sun gear shaft is rotatably supported. The pinion gear 432 meshes with the sun gear 431 and is rotatably supported. Ring gear 433 is fixed to casing 410. Planetary carrier 434 is connected to pinion gear 432 and is spline-fitted to the output shaft. The planetary carrier 434 is rotatably supported.

  When an alternating current is supplied from the inverter 500 to the stator 422, the rotor 421 rotates and the motor 420 outputs a predetermined torque. Then, the output torque of the motor 420 is transmitted to the planetary gear 430 through the sun gear shaft. The planetary gear 430 changes the output torque received from the sun gear shaft by the sun gear 431 and the pinion gear 432, that is, shifts (decelerates) and outputs it to the planetary carrier 434. The planetary carrier 434 transmits the output torque of the planetary gear 430 to the output shaft, and the output shaft rotates the wheel hub 200 and the wheel disc 100 at a predetermined rotation speed via the joint 300. Thereby, the electric wheel 1 rotates at a predetermined rotation speed.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the connection direction of the terminal box 440 and the cable 500A in the electric wheel 1 according to the first embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2, in electric wheel 1 according to the present embodiment, terminal box 440 projects from the front side surface of casing 410 outward in the radial direction of wheel disk 100 (that is, in front of the vehicle). Provided. The cable 500A is connected to the connecting portion 500B from the lower side of the terminal box 440.

  In FIG. 2, an arrow DR1 means the direction of rotation of the wheel disc 100 when the vehicle moves forward. Accordingly, the connecting portion 500B is located on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the wheel disc 100 when the vehicle moves forward in the terminal box 440.

  Foreign matter may adhere to the inner surface of the wheel disc 100. For example, when the vehicle is parked in a cold region, the ice 1000 may adhere to the inner surface of the rim portion 120 of the wheel disc 100.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the connection direction of the terminal box 440 and the cable 500A in the electric wheel 1 according to the comparative example. Referring to FIG. 4, in electric wheel 1 according to this comparative example, terminal box 440 is provided so as to protrude from the front side surface of casing 410 toward the front of the vehicle, and cable 500 </ b> A is located above terminal box 440. To the connecting portion 500B. That is, in the comparative example of FIG. 4, the connecting portion 500 </ b> B is located on the upstream side in the rotational direction of the wheel disk 100 when the vehicle moves forward in the terminal box 440.

  In the comparative example of FIG. 4, when the vehicle is advanced with the ice 1000 fixed to the inner surface of the wheel disc 100, the wheel disc 100 rotates in the arrow DR1 direction, and the ice 1000 moves in the arrow DR1000 direction. As ice 1000 moves in the direction of arrow DR1000, ice 1000 collides with cable 500A. As a result, there is a concern that the cable 500A is damaged. That is, in the motor-driven wheel 1 according to the comparative example of FIG. 4, the cable 500A and the connecting portion 500B (connector portion) may be damaged by the foreign matter fixed to the inner surface of the wheel disc 100 colliding with the cable 500A when the vehicle moves forward. Concerned.

  On the other hand, in the electric wheel 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the connection portion 500 </ b> B of the cable 500 </ b> A to the terminal box 440 is used to rotate the wheel disk 100 when the vehicle moves forward in the terminal box 440. Therefore, even if the wheel disk 100 is rotated in the vehicle forward direction while ice is fixed to the inner surface of the wheel disk 100, the ice 1000 will be in the terminal box before it collides with the cable 500A. It collides with 440 and is crushed. In addition, it is preferable to provide the unevenness | corrugation and protrusion (ice breaking part) which accelerate | stimulate crushing of the ice 1000 at the time of the ice 1000 colliding in the side surface (side surface 440A) on the opposite side to the connection part 500B in the terminal box 440.

  As a result, damage to the cable 500A and the connecting portion 500B due to the collision of the ice 1000 is suppressed. Further, by providing the connection portion 500B below the terminal box 440, even if the ice 1000 falls off the wheel disk 100 and falls above the terminal box 440, the terminal box 440 allows the cable 500A and the connection portion 500B to be connected. Can be protected.

  In the structure shown in FIG. 2, the wheel disk 100 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow DR1 when the vehicle moves backward, and the ice 1000 collides with the cable 500A and the connection portion 500B before the terminal box 440. Become. However, in general, the rotational speed of the wheel disc 100 is likely to be higher when the vehicle is moving forward than when the vehicle is moving backward, and therefore, as in the present embodiment rather than focusing on the collision of the ice 1000 when the vehicle moves backward. The cable 500A can be more effectively protected by paying attention to the collision of the ice 1000 when the vehicle moves forward.

  The above contents are summarized as follows. That is, the electric wheel 1 according to the present embodiment includes a wheel disc 100, an in-wheel motor 400 that is partly housed in the wheel disc 100, and that drives the wheel disc 100 or is driven by the wheel disc 100, and an in-wheel. And a cable 500 </ b> A as a “feed cable” for supplying electric power to the motor 400. The in-wheel motor 400 is provided so as to protrude from a casing 410, a motor 420 as a “rotating electric machine” housed in the casing 410, and a portion facing the inner surface of the wheel disk 100 on the outer surface of the casing 410. And a terminal box 440 to which 500A is connected. The cable 500 </ b> A is connected to the terminal box 440 from the downstream side in the wheel rotation direction (arrow DR <b> 1 direction) when the vehicle moves forward with respect to the terminal box 440. More specifically, the terminal box 440 is provided on the vehicle front side with respect to the casing 410, and the cable 500 </ b> A is connected to the terminal box 440 from the lower side with respect to the terminal box 440.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the connection direction of the terminal box 440 and the cable 500A in the electric wheel 1 according to the second embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3, in motor-driven wheel 1 according to the present embodiment, terminal box 440 projects from the side surface on the rear side of casing 410 outward in the radial direction of wheel disk 100 (that is, on the rear side of the vehicle). Provided. The cable 500A is connected to the connection portion 500B from the upper side of the terminal box 440. That is, also in the present embodiment, connection portion 500B is located on the downstream side in the rotation direction (arrow DR1 direction) of wheel disk 100 when vehicle advances in terminal box 440.

  Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the connecting portion 500B of the cable 500A to the terminal box 440 is positioned on the downstream side of the terminal box 440 in the rotational direction of the wheel disk 100 when the vehicle advances. For this reason, even if the wheel disk 100 is rotated in the vehicle forward direction while ice is fixed to the inner surface of the wheel disk 100, damage to the cable 500A and the connecting portion 500B due to the collision of the ice 1000 is suppressed.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

It is the figure which showed the structure of the electric wheel which concerns on Embodiment 1, 2 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the connection direction of the terminal box and electric power feeding cable in the electrically-driven wheel which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the connection direction of the terminal box and electric power feeding cable in the electrically-driven wheel which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the connection direction of the terminal box and electric power feeding cable in the electric wheel which concerns on a comparative example.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric wheel, 100 Wheel disc, 110 Disc part, 120 Rim part, 200 Wheel hub, 300 Joint, 400 In-hole motor, 410 Casing, 420 Motor, 421 Rotor, 422 Stator, 430 Planetary gear, 431 Sun gear, 432 Pinion gear, 433 Ring gear, 434 planetary carrier, 440 terminal box, 440A side, 500 inverter, 500A cable, 500B connection, 600 brake rotor, 700 brake caliper, 800 upper arm, 800A ball bearing, 900 lower arm, 900A ball bearing, 1000 ice.

Claims (3)

An electric wheel provided in a vehicle,
Wheels,
An in-wheel motor that is at least partially housed in the wheel and drives or is driven by the wheel;
A power supply cable for supplying power to the in-wheel motor,
The in-wheel motor is provided to protrude from a casing, a rotating electrical machine housed in the casing, and a portion of the outer surface of the casing facing the inner surface of the wheel, and a terminal box to which the feeding cable is connected Including
The power feeding cable is an electric wheel connected to the terminal box from a downstream side in a rotation direction of the wheel when the vehicle moves forward with respect to the terminal box.   The electric wheel according to claim 1, wherein the terminal box is provided on a vehicle front side with respect to the casing, and the power feeding cable is connected to the terminal box from a lower side with respect to the terminal box.   The electric wheel according to claim 1, wherein the terminal box is provided on a vehicle rear side with respect to the casing, and the power feeding cable is connected to the terminal box from above with respect to the terminal box.

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