Cooling structure for inverter and capacitor accommodated integrally with motor in housing of motor, motor unit with cooling structure, and housing

• US 8,148,859 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2007
• Issued: 04/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshida, Tadafumi, Yoshino, Masaki, Hotta, Yutaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Leung, Quyen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Truong, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US12/446,671
• Publication Number:
  US 20100013331A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,617 Days
• Field of Search: 310/52, 310/54, 310/64
• US Class Current: 310/54
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 11/0094 Structural association with other electrical or electronic devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 11/05 Rectifiers associated with casings, enclosures or brackets
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 5/203 specially adapted for liquids, e.g. cooling jackets

Abstract

Inside a housing, there are provided a motor generator (MG), an IPM, and a smoothing capacitor. Between the MG and the IPM, there is provided a cooler through which a coolant liquid flows, provided in an inclined manner to form contact with the top face of the IPM. Between the MG and the smoothing capacitor, there are provided a first communication channel through which an LLC flows from a region outside the housing into the cooler, brought into contact with a lateral face of the smoothing capacitor, and a second communication channel through which the LLC flows from the interior of the cooler to the region outside the housing.

Claims

1. A cooling structure for an inverter and a capacitor accommodated integrally with a motor in a housing of said motor, said cooling structure comprising:

a flow channel through which a coolant flows, provided between said motor and said inverter, and

a communication channel provided between said motor and said capacitor, establishing communication between said flow channel and a region outside said housing to allow flow of the coolant between said flow channel and the region outside said housing,

wherein the coolant comprises a liquid coolant,

wherein

said communication channel includes

a first communication channel through which said coolant flows from the region outside said housing into said flow channel, and

a second communication channel provided closer to said motor than said first communication channel, and through which said coolant flows from said flow channel out to the region outside said housing.

2. A cooling structure for an inverter and a capacitor accommodated integrally with a motor in a housing of said motor, said cooling structure comprising:

a flow channel through which a coolant flows, provided between said motor and said inverter, and

a communication channel provided between said motor and said capacitor, establishing communication between said flow channel and a region outside said housing to allow flow of the coolant between said flow channel and the region outside said housing

wherein the coolant comprises a liquid coolant,

wherein said flow channel includes

a first flow channel brought into contact with said inverter, and

a second flow channel provided closer to said motor than said first flow channel, at a downstream side of said first flow channel.