JP2023148131A - Vehicle drive device - Google Patents

Abstract

To achieve a technique for facilitating setting of supply amount of cooling water to an oil cooler to desired amount according to an occasional situation when supplying cooling water to both of the oil cooler for cooling oil stored in a case with the cooling water together with a rotary electric machine and an inverter cooling section for cooling an inverter unit with the cooling water.SOLUTION: A cooling water passage 4 includes: a first water passage 41 which connects a radiator 5 and an inverter cooling section 7; a second water passage 42 which connects the inverter cooling section 7 and an oil cooler 6; a third water passage 43 which connects the oil cooler 6 and the radiator 5; and a bypass water passage 49 which connects the second water passage 42 and the third water passage 43. In a branch section 90 in which the bypass water passage 49 is branched from the second water passage 42, a flow rate control valve 91 is provided to control the ratio of cooling water C flowing toward the oil cooler 6 in the second water passage 42 to cooling water C flowing from the second water passage 42 to the bypass water passage 49.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle drive device.

An example of a vehicle drive device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-276364 (Patent Document 1). Hereinafter, in the description of the background art, the symbols shown in parentheses are those of Patent Document 1. The vehicle drive device of Patent Document 1 includes an internal combustion engine (110) and an electric motor (120) as a power device. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for integrating cooling devices for an internal combustion engine (110) and an electric motor (120).

As described in paragraphs 0019, 0027, etc. of Patent Document 1, in the vehicle drive device of Patent Document 1, the flow rate of the cooling water adjusted by the flow rate adjustment valve (210) is adjusted by the electric motor (120). It is supplied to the motor and inverter to cool them. In this way, in the vehicle drive device of Patent Document 1, the valve that adjusts the amount of cooling water supplied to the electric motor and the valve that adjusts the amount of cooling water supplied to the inverter are common valves that control the flow rate. It is considered as a regulating valve (210). Therefore, the amount of cooling water supplied to the electric motor and the amount of cooling water supplied to the inverter cannot be adjusted independently.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-276364

Although Patent Document 1 does not specifically describe a method for cooling a rotating electrical machine (an electric motor in Patent Document 1) using cooling water, for example, a method for cooling a rotating electrical machine with oil housed in a case together with the rotating electrical machine It is conceivable that the oil after cooling of the rotating electric machine and the cooling water are exchanged with heat in an oil cooler to cool the oil. With such a configuration, if you want to increase the oil temperature in the case, for example immediately after turning on the vehicle, it is necessary to reduce the amount of cooling water supplied to the oil cooler, and the oil in the case increases. If you want to lower the temperature or recover a lot of heat from the oil in the case, it is necessary to increase the amount of cooling water supplied to the oil cooler. The amount changes depending on the situation at the time. On the other hand, basically, a large amount of cooling water is supplied to the inverter cooling unit that cools the inverter unit (inverter in Patent Document 1) in order to cool the inverter unit that generates heat as the rotating electric machine is driven. is required.

As described above, in the vehicle drive device of Patent Document 1, the amount of cooling water supplied to the rotating electrical machine and the amount of cooling water supplied to the inverter unit cannot be adjusted independently. Therefore, in the vehicle drive device of Patent Document 1, if the above-mentioned method of cooling the rotating electric machine is adopted, the amount of cooling water supplied to the oil cooler and the amount of cooling water supplied to the inverter cooling section are independently controlled. cannot be adjusted. Therefore, the adjustable range of the amount of cooling water supplied to the oil cooler is limited to the range in which the amount of cooling water supplied to the inverter cooling section can be maintained at an appropriate amount. It is difficult to set the supply amount to a desired amount depending on the situation at the time.

Therefore, when supplying cooling water to both the oil cooler, which uses cooling water to cool the oil housed in the case together with the rotating electric machine, and the inverter cooling section, which cools the inverter unit with cooling water, it is necessary to It is desired to realize a technology that can easily adjust the amount of water supplied to a desired amount depending on the situation at the time.

A vehicle drive device according to the present disclosure includes a drive unit including a rotating electrical machine and a drive transmission mechanism that transmits the driving force of the rotating electrical machine to wheels, an inverter unit that drives and controls the rotating electrical machine, and the drive unit. a drive case that accommodates oil for cooling and lubricating the drive unit; a cooling channel through which cooling water circulates; a radiator that performs heat exchange between the cooling water and outside air and cools the cooling water; An oil cooler that performs heat exchange between the oil and the cooling water to cool the oil, and an inverter cooling section that performs heat exchange between the inverter unit and the cooling water to cool the inverter unit. In the vehicle drive device, the cooling waterway includes a first waterway that connects the outlet of the radiator and the inverter cooling section, a second waterway that connects the inverter cooling section and the oil cooler, and a second waterway that connects the inverter cooling section and the oil cooler; A branching section where the bypass waterway branches from the second waterway, comprising a third waterway that connects the oil cooler and the inlet of the radiator, and a bypass waterway that connects the second waterway and the third waterway. A flow rate control valve is provided to control the ratio of the cooling water flowing through the second waterway toward the oil cooler and the cooling water flowing from the second waterway to the bypass waterway.

According to this configuration, the cooler inflow ratio, which is the ratio of cooling water flowing toward the oil cooler through the second water channel, out of the total amount of cooling water flowing into the branch part from the inverter cooling part, is adjusted by the flow control valve. be able to. Therefore, if the desired amount of cooling water supplied to the oil cooler is small, the cooler inflow rate should be lowered, and if the desired amount of cooling water supplied to the oil cooler is large, the cooler inflow rate should be increased. In this way, the amount of cooling water supplied to the oil cooler can be set to a desired amount depending on the situation at the time while maintaining the amount of cooling water supplied to the inverter cooling section at an appropriate amount.

As described above, according to this configuration, both the oil cooler that uses cooling water to cool the oil housed in the case (drive case) together with the rotating electric machine, and the inverter cooling section that cools the inverter unit with cooling water, When supplying cooling water, it is easy to set the amount of cooling water supplied to the oil cooler to a desired amount depending on the situation at the time.

Note that, according to this configuration, the temperature of the cooling water flowing into the inlet of the radiator can also be adjusted by adjusting the cooler inflow ratio. Therefore, the radiator and its peripheral equipment can be protected by controlling the radiator so that the amount of heat that exceeds the limit of the heat dissipation performance of the radiator is not supplied to the radiator.

Further characteristics and advantages of the vehicle drive device will become clear from the following description of an embodiment with reference to the drawings.

A schematic diagram showing a simplified overall configuration of a vehicle drive device according to an embodiment. A schematic diagram showing a simplified overall configuration of a vehicle drive device according to an embodiment. Flowchart showing a method of controlling a flow rate control valve according to an embodiment

An embodiment of a vehicle drive device will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle drive device 100 includes a drive unit 1, an inverter unit 2, a drive case 3, a cooling channel 4, a radiator 5, an oil cooler 6, and an inverter cooling section 7. We are prepared.

The drive unit 1 includes a rotating electrical machine 10 and a drive transmission mechanism 13 that transmits the driving force of the rotating electrical machine 10 to wheels W (wheels W of a vehicle on which the vehicle drive device 100 is mounted). The rotating electrical machine 10 includes a stator 12 fixed to the drive case 3 and a rotor 11 rotatably supported by the stator 12. The rotating electric machine 10 is electrically connected to a power storage device such as a battery or a capacitor via an inverter unit 2, and receives power from the power storage device for power running, or generates power using the inertial force of the vehicle or the like. Electric power is supplied to the power storage device to store the power. The drive unit 1 includes at least a rotating electric machine 10 as a driving force source for the wheels W. Note that in this specification, the term "rotating electric machine" is used as a concept that includes a motor (electric motor), a generator (generator), and, if necessary, a motor/generator that functions as both a motor and a generator. There is.

The drive transmission mechanism 13 includes various members (eg, shafts, gear mechanisms, belts, chains, etc.) that transmit rotation at the same speed or at variable speeds. The drive transmission mechanism 13 includes, for example, a transmission that changes the speed of the rotation transmitted from the rotating electric machine 10 and transmits it to the wheels W. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the drive transmission mechanism 13 is configured to transmit the driving force of the rotating electric machine 10 to a pair of wheels W (for example, a pair of left and right front wheels or a pair of left and right rear wheels). Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 1, the drive transmission mechanism 13 includes an output differential gear mechanism that distributes input rotation to the pair of wheels W.

The inverter unit 2 is a unit that drives and controls the rotating electric machine 10. The inverter unit 2 includes an inverter (inverter circuit) that converts power between DC power and AC power. The inverter is, for example, a power module in which a plurality of elements (switching elements, etc.) are modularized. The inverter unit 2 may further include parts associated with the inverter. Parts associated with the inverter include, for example, a control board on which a control device for controlling the inverter is mounted, a smoothing capacitor that smoothes the voltage between positive and negative poles on the DC side of the inverter, and the like.

The drive case 3 is a case that accommodates the drive unit 1 and oil L for cooling and lubricating the drive unit 1. Inside the drive case 3, a circulation path for oil L is formed that passes through the drive unit 1 (specifically, the rotating electric machine 10 and the drive transmission mechanism 13) and the oil cooler 6. For example, the heat generating parts are cooled by the oil L supplied to the heat generating parts of the rotating electric machine 10, such as the coil end portions (not shown) of the coils wound around the stator 12 that protrude from the stator 12. Further, the oil L supplied to the parts to be lubricated, such as gears and bearings in the drive transmission mechanism 13, lubricates the parts to be lubricated. Although it is possible to circulate the oil L only by scraping the oil L with a gear, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the oil L is circulated using an oil pump 96. ing.

The radiator 5 is a device (heat exchanger) that cools the cooling water C by exchanging heat between the cooling water C and the outside air (here, the atmosphere). The cooling water channel 4 is formed to pass through the radiator 5. The radiator 5 cools the cooling water C by transmitting the heat of the cooling water C flowing through the cooling water channel 4 to the outside air. The radiator 5 is provided, for example, at the front of the vehicle.

The oil cooler 6 is a device (heat exchanger) that cools the oil L by exchanging heat between the oil L and the cooling water C. A cooling water channel 4 and an oil channel through which oil L flows are formed so as to pass through an oil cooler 6. The oil cooler 6 cools the oil L by transmitting the heat of the oil L flowing through the oil path to the cooling water C flowing through the cooling water channel 4 .

The inverter cooling unit 7 is a device that performs heat exchange between the inverter unit 2 and the cooling water C to cool the inverter unit 2. The inverter unit 2 includes a heat sink (for example, a heat radiation fin) for releasing heat generated in the inverter unit 2, and the inverter cooling section 7 includes a water channel formed in the heat sink. The cooling water channel 4 is formed so as to pass through the above-mentioned water channel provided in the inverter cooling section 7. The inverter cooling unit 7 cools the inverter unit 2 by transmitting the heat of the inverter unit 2 (specifically, the heat sink) to the cooling water C.

The cooling water channel 4 is a water channel in which cooling water C circulates. As shown in FIG. 1, the cooling water channel 4 is provided with a water pump 97 (here, an electric pump), and the water pump 97 circulates the cooling water C in the cooling water channel 4. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the water pump 97 is provided in the first water channel 41.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cooling waterway 4 includes a first waterway 41 that connects the outlet 51 of the radiator 5 and the inverter cooling section 7, and a second waterway 42 that connects the inverter cooling section 7 and the oil cooler 6. , a third waterway 43 that connects the oil cooler 6 and the inlet 52 of the radiator 5, and a bypass waterway 49 that connects the second waterway 42 and the third waterway 43. The bypass waterway 49 connects the second waterway 42 and the third waterway 43 without using the oil cooler 6. Then, at a branching part 90 where the bypass waterway 49 branches from the second waterway 42, cooling water C flows from the second waterway 42 toward the oil cooler 6, and cooling water C flows from the second waterway 42 to the bypass waterway 49. A flow rate control valve 91 is provided to control the ratio. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a check valve 98 for regulating the flow of oil L to the upstream side is provided upstream of the confluence of the bypass waterway 49 in the third waterway 43. In addition, in this specification, "upstream side" means the upstream side along the flow of the cooling water C, and "downstream side" means the downstream side along the flow of the cooling water C.

In this way, the inverter cooling unit 7, the flow control valve 91, and the oil cooler 6 are arranged in this order from the radiator 5 toward the downstream side along the flow of the cooling water C in the cooling water channel 4. The flow rate control valve 91 controls the flow rate of the cooling water C flowing to the oil cooler 6 and the flow rate of the cooling water C flowing to the bypass waterway 49 (a waterway for returning the cooling water C to the radiator 5 by bypassing the oil cooler 6). control the proportion of

Here, of the total amount of cooling water C flowing from the inverter cooling section 7 to the branching section 90, the ratio of the cooling water C flowing toward the oil cooler 6 through the second water channel 42 is defined as the cooler inflow ratio. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the direction in which the cooling water C flows in the cooling water channel 4 is indicated by an arrow. FIG. 1 shows a case where the cooler inflow rate is low (for example, 0%), and FIG. 2 shows a case where the cooler inflow rate is high (for example, 100%).

As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the vehicle drive device 100 is provided with a waste heat recovery device 92 that is provided in the middle of the third water channel 43 and recovers heat by heat exchange with the cooling water C. . In the example shown in FIG. 1, the waste heat recovery device 92 is provided downstream of the confluence of the bypass waterway 49 in the third waterway 43. The heat recovered by the waste heat recovery device 92 is used in a heat utilization device 94 mounted on the vehicle. Examples of the heat utilization device 94 include a vehicle interior heating device and a temperature controller for a battery (for example, the battery as the power storage device described above).

As described above, in this embodiment, the vehicle drive device 100 further includes a waste heat recovery device 92 that is provided in the middle of the third water channel 43 and recovers heat by heat exchange with the cooling water C. According to this configuration, the waste heat from the inverter unit 2 and the drive unit 1 is recovered by the waste heat recovery device 92 on the upstream side of the inlet port 52 of the radiator 5, and the recovered heat is transferred to the equipment ( For example, it can be used in vehicle interior heating equipment, battery temperature regulators, etc.). According to this configuration, as the cooler inflow ratio is increased, the amount of heat given by the oil cooler 6 to the cooling water C flowing through the third water channel 43 can be increased, and the amount of heat given to the cooling water C flowing through the third water channel 43 can be increased. The amount of heat given can be increased. Therefore, it is easy to provide the necessary amount of heat to the waste heat recovery device 92 according to the vehicle situation (in other words, the vehicle request).

As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the vehicle drive device 100 includes a heat transfer device 93 that transfers heat from the rotating electrical machine 10 to the drive case 3. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the heat transfer device 93 is a device that transfers the heat of the coil end portion of the rotating electric machine 10 to the drive case 3. In this case, the heat transfer device 93 is configured using, for example, a non-conductive member (eg, resin, etc.) arranged so as to be in contact with both the coil end portion and the drive case 3.

Thus, in this embodiment, the vehicle drive device 100 further includes the heat transfer device 93 that transfers the heat of the rotating electrical machine 10 to the drive case 3. According to this configuration, even when the cooler inflow rate is lowered, the heat generated in the rotating electrical machine 10 can be appropriately radiated from the drive case 3. Therefore, even in a situation where the amount of heat generated from the rotating electrical machine 10 is relatively large, it is easy to maintain the temperature of the rotating electrical machine 10 within an appropriate range and reduce the cooler inflow rate.

Next, the adjustment of the cooler inflow rate by the flow rate control valve 91 will be explained. In this vehicle drive device 100, the cooling water channel 4 is configured to supply cooling water C to both the oil cooler 6 and the inverter cooling section 7. The vehicle drive device 100 adjusts the cooler inflow rate using the flow rate control valve 91, thereby lowering the cooler inflow rate when the desired supply amount of the cooling water C to the oil cooler 6 is small. When the desired amount of cooling water C supplied to the oil cooler 6 is large, by increasing the cooler inflow ratio, the amount of cooling water C supplied to the inverter cooling section 7 is maintained at an appropriate amount, and the oil cooler The amount of cooling water C supplied to the cooling water C can be set to a desired amount depending on the situation at the time. In particular, in this embodiment, since the vehicle drive device 100 includes the waste heat recovery device 92, by adjusting the amount of cooling water C supplied to the oil cooler 6, waste heat (for example, from the drive case 3 to the atmosphere) can be removed. The balance between heat reuse (heat recovery by the waste heat recovery device 92) and heat reuse (heat recovery by the waste heat recovery device 92) can be controlled.

In this embodiment, the adjustment of the cooler inflow rate by the flow rate control valve 91 is performed by control by the control device 8 (specifically, by controlling the actuator of the flow rate control valve 91). That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle drive device 100 includes a control device 8 that controls a flow rate control valve 91. The control device 8 includes an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as a core component, and also includes a storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory) that can be referenced by the arithmetic processing unit. ing. Each function of the control device 8 is realized by software (program) stored in a storage device such as a ROM, hardware such as a separately provided arithmetic circuit, or both thereof. The arithmetic processing unit included in the control device 8 operates as a computer that executes each program.

As described above, in this embodiment, the vehicle drive device 100 includes the waste heat recovery device 92. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the control device 8 recovers waste heat from an equipment control device 9 that controls equipment (heat utilization equipment 94) that utilizes the heat recovered by the waste heat recovery device 92. Configured to receive requests. Note that the control device 8 and the device control device 9 are at least conceptually distinct, and do not necessarily need to be physically distinguished. That is, the control device 8 and the device control device 9 may have a common hardware configuration. Further, the device control device 9 may be at least a part of an integrated control device that integrally controls the entire vehicle.

In this embodiment, the control device 8 controls the cooler inflow rate based on the temperature of the oil L. As shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the vehicle drive device 100 includes an oil temperature sensor 95 that detects the temperature of the oil L, and the control device 8 controls, based on the detection result of the oil temperature sensor 95, Obtain the temperature of oil L. The oil temperature sensor 95 measures, for example, the temperature of the oil L before being cooled by the oil cooler 6 (for example, the temperature of the oil L flowing into the oil cooler 6, or the temperature of the oil L after cooling the rotating electrical machine 10). is provided to detect. Note that, unlike such a configuration, the control device 8 may also be configured to acquire the temperature of the oil L (estimated temperature) based on a temperature that is correlated with the temperature of the oil L. In this case, the vehicle drive device 100 includes a sensor that detects a temperature correlated with the temperature of the oil L, and the control device 8 acquires the temperature (estimated temperature) of the oil L based on the detection result of the sensor. . The temperature correlated with the temperature of the oil L can be, for example, the temperature of the cooling water C discharged from the oil cooler 6. Thus, in this specification, the "temperature of the oil L" is used as a concept that includes an estimated temperature based on a temperature that is correlated with the temperature of the oil L.

In this embodiment, the control device 8 controls the cooler inflow rate when the temperature of the oil L is equal to or higher than a predetermined warm air threshold than when the temperature of the oil L is below the warm air threshold. Make it expensive. The warm-up threshold is set, for example, in correspondence with the lower limit of the temperature range of the oil L that allows the drive unit 1 to operate properly. In other words, the warm-up threshold is set, for example, in accordance with the upper limit of the temperature range of the oil L that requires warming the drive unit 1 .

Further, in the present embodiment, the control device 8 is set so that the temperature of the oil L is higher than the warm-up threshold and corresponds to the upper limit temperature at which the function of the rotating electric machine 10 can be maintained. When the temperature of the oil L is equal to or higher than the upper limit threshold of the rotating electric machine, the flow rate is controlled so as to make the cooler inflow rate higher than when the temperature of the oil L is equal to or higher than the warm temperature threshold and less than the upper limit threshold of the rotating electric machine. Control valve 91. The rotating electric machine upper limit threshold is, for example, a temperature range of the oil L in which demagnetization of the permanent magnet included in the rotating electric machine 10 (specifically, the rotor 11) does not occur (the function of the rotating electric machine 10 can be maintained). It is set corresponding to the upper limit of the temperature range of the oil L (an example). Note that there is a correlation between the temperature of the rotating electrical machine 10 and the temperature of the oil L inside the drive case 3, and based on this correlation, the temperature range of the oil L that can maintain the function of the rotating electrical machine 10 is determined. can be set.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the control device 8 receives a waste heat recovery request from the equipment control device 9, the control device 8 lowers the cooler inflow rate compared to the case where the temperature of the oil L is equal to or higher than the rotating electric machine upper limit threshold. The flow control valve 91 is controlled to increase the flow rate.

Thus, in this embodiment, the vehicle drive device 100 further includes the control device 8 that controls the flow rate control valve 91. Then, the control device 8 determines that the proportion of the cooling water C flowing toward the oil cooler 6 through the second water channel 42 out of the total amount of the cooling water C flowing from the inverter cooling part 7 to the branching part 90 is the cooler inflow proportion. When the temperature of oil L is above a predetermined warm air threshold, the cooler inflow rate is made higher than when the temperature of oil L is less than the warm air threshold, and the temperature of oil L reaches the warm air threshold. If the temperature is higher than the temperature value and is equal to or higher than the rotating electric machine upper limit threshold value set corresponding to the upper limit temperature at which the function of the rotating electric machine 10 can be maintained, the temperature of the oil L is warmed up. The flow control valve 91 is controlled so as to make the cooler inflow rate higher than when the flow rate is above the threshold and below the rotating electric machine upper limit threshold.

According to the above configuration, when the temperature of the oil L is below the warm air threshold, the temperature of the oil L is relatively quickly raised to the warm air threshold by lowering the cooler inflow rate, and the oil L temperature is lowered to the warm air threshold. When the temperature of oil L is equal to or higher than the upper limit threshold of the rotating electric machine, by increasing the cooler inflow rate, the temperature of the oil L can be relatively quickly lowered to a temperature below the upper limit threshold of the rotating electric machine. . Therefore, the cooler inflow rate can be appropriately adjusted according to the temperature of the oil L at any given time so that the temperature of the oil L is within a range where the drive unit 1 can exhibit its original performance.

Further, in the present embodiment, the vehicle drive device 100 further includes a waste heat recovery device 92 that is provided in the middle of the third water channel 43 and recovers heat by heat exchange with the cooling water C, and the control device 8 It is configured to receive a waste heat recovery request from the device control device 9 that controls the device (heat utilization device 94) that uses the heat recovered by the waste heat recovery device 92. When the control device 8 receives the waste heat recovery request, the control device 8 controls the flow rate control valve 91 to make the cooler inflow rate higher than when the temperature of the oil L is equal to or higher than the rotating electrical machine upper limit threshold. do.

According to the above configuration, waste heat from the inverter unit 2 and drive unit 1 is recovered by the waste heat recovery device 92 on the upstream side of the inlet port 52 of the radiator 5, and the recovered heat is utilized. It can be used in a heat utilization device 94 (for example, a vehicle interior heating device, a battery temperature controller, etc.). According to the above configuration, when the control device 8 receives a waste heat recovery request from the device control device 9, the heat utilization by the heat utilization device 94 is promoted by increasing the cooler inflow rate. I can do it.

Next, an example of a method for controlling the flow rate control valve 91 by the control device 8 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. In the example shown in FIG. 3, steps from step #02 onwards are repeatedly executed from the start of the vehicle until the end of the vehicle travel (step #01: Yes, step #09: No).

When the oil temperature (temperature of oil L) is less than the warm-up threshold (step #02: No), the control device 8 controls the cooler inflow rate to be a first rate (zero in this example). Controls the flow rate control valve 91. On the other hand, if the oil temperature is equal to or higher than the warm air threshold (step #02: Yes), the control device 8 controls the cooler inflow rate to be higher than the first rate (in this example, the second rate, which will be described later). The flow rate control valve 91 is controlled so as to achieve either the third ratio or the fourth ratio.

Specifically, if there is no waste heat recovery request from the equipment control device 9 (step #04: No) and the oil temperature is below the rotating electrical machine upper limit threshold (step #06: No), the flow rate control valve 91 is controlled so that the cooler inflow rate becomes a second rate (in this example, a rate expressed as "small") that is higher than the first rate. Further, if there is no waste heat recovery request from the equipment control device 9 (step #04: No) and the oil temperature is equal to or higher than the rotating electrical machine upper limit threshold (step #06: Yes), The flow rate control valve 91 is controlled so that the cooler inflow rate becomes a third rate (in this example, a rate expressed as "medium") that is higher than the second rate. In addition, when there is a waste heat recovery request from the equipment control device 9 (step #04: Yes), the control device 8 controls the cooler inflow rate to a fourth rate higher than the third rate (in this example, “ The flow control valve 91 is controlled so that the ratio is expressed as "large". In this way, in the example shown in FIG. 3, when the oil temperature is below the warm air threshold, the flow control valve 91 is set so that the cooler inflow rate becomes the first rate regardless of whether there is a waste heat recovery request. is controlled.

[Other embodiments]
Next, other embodiments of the vehicle drive device will be described.

(1) In the above embodiment, when the control device 8 receives a waste heat recovery request, the control device 8 increases the cooler inflow rate compared to when the temperature of the oil L is equal to or higher than the rotating electric machine upper limit threshold. The configuration for controlling the flow rate control valve 91 has been described as an example. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and when the control device 8 receives a waste heat recovery request, the controller 8 sets the same cooler inflow rate as when the temperature of the oil L is equal to or higher than the rotating electric machine upper limit threshold. The flow control valve 91 is controlled so that the flow rate control valve 91 is controlled so that the flow rate control valve 91 is controlled, or the flow rate control valve 91 is controlled so that the cooler inflow rate is lower than when the temperature of the oil L is equal to or higher than the upper limit threshold of the rotating electric machine. You can also do it. In the latter case, it is preferable that the cooler inflow rate is higher than that in the case where the temperature of the oil L is below the warm air threshold, for example. For example, the cooler inflow ratio in the latter case can be set to the above-mentioned second ratio, or a ratio between the above-mentioned second ratio and third ratio.

Further, the waste heat recovery request is classified into a plurality of levels depending on the amount of heat used by the heat utilization equipment 94, and when the control device 8 receives the waste heat recovery request, the received waste heat recovery Depending on the level of demand, the flow rate control valve 91 may be controlled such that the higher the amount of heat used, the higher the cooler inflow ratio. In this case, for example, the cooler inflow rate that is set when at least the level of the waste heat recovery request is the level with the highest amount of heat usage is set when the temperature of the oil L is equal to or higher than the upper limit threshold of the rotating electric machine. It is preferable to set it higher than the cooler inflow rate.

(2) In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the vehicle drive device 100 includes the heat transfer device 93 has been described as an example. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and the vehicle drive device 100 may be configured without the heat transfer device 93.

(3) In the embodiment described above, the vehicle drive device 100 is provided with the waste heat recovery device 92 as an example. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such a configuration, and the vehicle drive device 100 may be configured without the waste heat recovery device 92.

(4) Note that the configurations disclosed in each of the embodiments described above may be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments unless there is a conflict. combinations) are also possible. Regarding other configurations, the embodiments disclosed herein are merely illustrative in all respects. Therefore, various modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

1: Drive unit, 2: Inverter unit, 3: Drive case, 4: Cooling channel, 5: Radiator, 6: Oil cooler, 7: Inverter cooling section, 8: Control device, 9: Equipment control device, 10: Rotating electric machine , 13: Drive transmission mechanism, 41: First waterway, 42: Second waterway, 43: Third waterway, 49: Bypass waterway, 51: Outlet, 52: Inlet, 90: Branch, 91: Flow rate control valve , 92: Waste heat recovery device, 93: Heat transfer device, 100: Vehicle drive device, C: Cooling water, L: Oil, W: Wheel

Claims (5)

A drive unit including a rotating electrical machine and a drive transmission mechanism that transmits the driving force of the rotating electrical machine to wheels, an inverter unit that drives and controls the rotating electrical machine, and cooling and lubricating the drive unit and the drive unit. a drive case that accommodates the oil; a cooling waterway through which cooling water circulates; a radiator that performs heat exchange between the cooling water and outside air to cool the cooling water; and a heat exchanger between the oil and the cooling water. A vehicle drive device comprising: an oil cooler that cools the oil; and an inverter cooling section that cools the inverter unit by exchanging heat between the inverter unit and the cooling water,
The cooling waterway is
a first water channel connecting the outlet of the radiator and the inverter cooling section;
a second water channel connecting the inverter cooling section and the oil cooler;
a third water channel connecting the oil cooler and the inlet of the radiator;
a bypass waterway connecting the second waterway and the third waterway;
Equipped with
At a branch point where the bypass waterway branches from the second waterway, a ratio of the cooling water flowing through the second waterway toward the oil cooler and the cooling water flowing from the second waterway to the bypass waterway is determined. A vehicle drive device that is provided with a flow rate control valve. The vehicle drive device according to claim 1, further comprising a waste heat recovery device that is provided in the middle of the third water channel and recovers heat by heat exchange with the cooling water. The vehicle drive device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a heat transfer device that transfers heat from the rotating electric machine to the drive case. further comprising a control device that controls the flow rate control valve,
Out of the total amount of the cooling water flowing from the inverter cooling part to the branch part, the ratio of the cooling water flowing toward the second water channel toward the oil cooler is defined as a cooler inflow ratio,
The control device includes:
When the temperature of the oil is above a predetermined warm air threshold, the cooler inflow rate is made higher than when the oil temperature is less than the warm air threshold;
When the temperature of the oil is higher than the warm-up threshold and is equal to or higher than the rotating electric machine upper limit threshold set corresponding to the upper limit temperature at which the function of the rotating electric machine can be maintained; Claim: wherein the flow rate control valve is controlled so as to increase the inflow rate to the cooler compared to when the temperature of the oil is equal to or higher than the warm temperature threshold and lower than the upper limit threshold of the rotating electric machine. 4. The vehicle drive device according to any one of 1 to 3. Further comprising a waste heat recovery device that is provided in the middle of the third water channel and recovers heat by heat exchange with the cooling water,
The control device is configured to receive a waste heat recovery request from an equipment control device that controls equipment that uses heat recovered by the waste heat recovery device,
When the control device receives the waste heat recovery request, the control device controls the flow rate control valve to increase the inflow rate to the cooler compared to when the temperature of the oil is equal to or higher than the upper limit threshold of the rotating electric machine. The vehicle drive device according to claim 4 , wherein the vehicle drive device controls the vehicle drive device according to claim 4 .

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