US 11,738,628 B2
Vehicle drive apparatus
Naoya Jinnai, Kariya (JP); Nozomu Takahashi, Kariya (JP); and Hiroaki Sanji, Kariya (JP)
Assigned to AISIN CORPORATION, Kariya (JP)
Filed by AISIN CORPORATION, Aichi (JP)
Filed on Mar. 3, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/685,921.
Application 17/685,921 is a division of application No. 17/637,865, previously published as PCT/JP2020/036902, filed on Sep. 29, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-237142 (JP), filed on Dec. 26, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0185107 A1, Jun. 16, 2022
Int. Cl. B60K 17/12 (2006.01); B60K 1/00 (2006.01); F16H 57/02 (2012.01); F16H 3/72 (2006.01); H02K 7/116 (2006.01); B60K 17/16 (2006.01); F16H 1/06 (2006.01); F16H 48/08 (2006.01); B60L 53/10 (2019.01); B60L 53/20 (2019.01)
CPC B60K 1/00 (2013.01) [B60K 17/12 (2013.01); B60K 17/16 (2013.01); B60K 17/165 (2013.01); B60L 53/10 (2019.02); B60L 53/20 (2019.02); F16H 1/06 (2013.01); F16H 3/728 (2013.01); F16H 48/08 (2013.01); F16H 57/02 (2013.01); H02K 7/116 (2013.01); B60K 2001/001 (2013.01); F16H 2057/02034 (2013.01); F16H 2057/02052 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle drive apparatus comprising:
a rotating electrical machine;
a pair of output members that are drivingly coupled to a pair of wheels respectively;
a transmission mechanism that transmits driving force between the rotating electrical machine and the pair of output members;
an inverter device that controls driving of the rotating electrical machine, and
a case housing the rotating electrical machine and the inverter device, wherein
the rotating electrical machine and the pair of output members are separately placed on two axes that are parallel to each other,
the transmission mechanism is provided with an output gear that is drivingly coupled to at least one of the pair of output members and that is placed coaxially with the pair of output members,
a direction in which the rotating electrical machine and the inverter device are arranged side by side in an axial view that is along an axial direction is defined as a first direction,
a direction that is perpendicular to both the 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,
the case is provided with a first case portion and a second case portion joined to the first case portion in the axial direction,
the rotating electrical machine and at least a portion of the first output member is held in a first holding chamber enclosed by the first case portion and the second case portion, and
at least a portion of the inverter device is held in a second holding chamber formed at an outer side of the first holding chamber at the first case portion.