Vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11465491-B2
Application number	US-202117343974-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 10, 2021
Priority date	Jul 1, 2020
Publication date	Oct 11, 2022
Grant date	Oct 11, 2022

Abstract

A drive unit has engines and a motor that are adjacent to each other in a longitudinal direction. The engines are provided with an engine oil path and a coolant path for cooling. The motor is provided with a motor cooling oil path for cooling. A first heat exchanger, in which engine oil and motor cooling oil exchange heat, and a second heat exchanger, in which a coolant and the motor cooling oil exchange heat, are provided. A second size in vertical and lateral directions of the motor is smaller than a first size in the vertical and lateral directions of each of the engines. The second heat exchanger is attached to an upper portion of a side circumferential portion of the motor, and the first heat exchanger is attached to a lower portion of the side circumferential portion of the motor.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle comprising:
a drive unit that is a drive source for travel of the vehicle and includes an engine and a motor arranged adjacent to each other in a first direction of the vehicle;
an engine oil path as a path of engine oil for cooling the engine;
a coolant path as a path of a coolant for cooling the engine;
a motor cooling oil path as a path of oil for cooling the motor;
a first heat exchanger by which the engine oil flowing through the engine oil path and the oil flowing through the motor cooling oil path exchange heat; and
a second heat exchanger by which the coolant flowing through the coolant path and the oil flowing through the motor cooling oil path exchange the heat, wherein
when the drive unit is seen in the first direction, the motor is formed to have a smaller size in a second direction, which is orthogonal to the first direction, than the engine, and
the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger are attached to a side circumferential portion of the motor.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the engine includes a piston and an engine housing that accommodates the piston,
the motor includes a rotor-and-stator and a motor housing that accommodates the rotor-and-stator,
the engine oil path and the coolant path are formed in the engine housing, and
the motor cooling oil path is formed in the motor housing.

3. The vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein
the first direction of the vehicle is a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and
the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger are attached in a mutually separated manner in a vertical direction to the side circumferential portion of the motor.

4. The vehicle according to claim 3 further comprising:
an ebullient cooler including:
a circulation path for circulating an ebullient cooling refrigerant, a boiling point of which is lower than that of the oil for cooling the motor;
an ebullient section that is disposed in the middle of the circulation path and in which the oil and the ebullient cooling refrigerant exchange heat; and
a condensation section that condenses the ebullient cooling refrigerant.

5. The vehicle according to claim 4 , wherein
the ebullient cooler further includes an ebullient cooler fan that is arranged adjacent to a lower portion of the condensation section and cools the condensation section by air, and
the ebullient cooler fan blows the air upward.

6. The vehicle according to claim 5 , wherein
the first direction of the vehicle is the longitudinal direction of the vehicle,
the motor is arranged adjacent to a rear side of the engine in the first direction, and
the condensation section and the ebullient cooler fan of the ebullient cooler are arranged adjacent to a rear side of the motor in the first direction.

7. The vehicle according to claim 6 , wherein
in the case where the first heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger, and the ebullient section of the ebullient cooler are seen in the first direction of the vehicle, the first heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger, and the ebullient section of the ebullient cooler are attached in a mutually separated manner to the side circumferential portion of the motor.

8. The vehicle according to claim 7 , wherein
the motor cooling oil path includes a first motor cooling oil path and a second motor cooling oil path that are different paths from each other,
in the first heat exchanger, the engine oil flowing through the engine oil path and the oil flowing through the first motor cooling oil path exchange heat,
in the second heat exchanger, the coolant flowing through the coolant path and the oil flowing through the second motor cooling oil path exchange heat, and
the vehicle further comprises:
an oil control valve for switching between the first motor cooling oil path and the second motor cooling oil path;
an engine coolant temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the engine; and
a controller for controlling the oil control valve on the basis of the temperature of the engine.

9. The vehicle according to claim 8 , wherein
each of the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger has a flat external shape in which a height in an attachment direction to the side circumferential portion of the motor is smaller than a length and a width in a direction that crosses the attachment direction.

10. The vehicle according to claim 6 , wherein
in the case where the first heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger, and the ebullient section of the ebullient cooler are seen in the first direction of the vehicle, the first heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger, and the ebullient section of the ebullient cooler are attached in a mutually separated manner to the side circumferential portion of the motor.

11. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the first direction of the vehicle is a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and
the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger are attached in a mutually separated manner in a vertical direction to the side circumferential portion of the motor.

12. The vehicle according to claim 11 , wherein
the motor cooling oil path includes a first motor cooling oil path and a second motor cooling oil path that are different paths from each other,
in the first heat exchanger, the engine oil flowing through the engine oil path and the oil flowing through the first motor cooling oil path exchange heat,
in the second heat exchanger, the coolant flowing through the coolant path and the oil flowing through the second motor cooling oil path exchange heat, and
the vehicle further comprises:
an oil control valve for switching between the first motor cooling oil path and the second motor cooling oil path;
an engine coolant temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the engine; and
a controller for controlling the switching means on the basis of the temperature of the engine.

13. The vehicle according to claim 11 , wherein
each of the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger has a flat external shape in which a height in an attachment direction to the side circumferential portion of the motor is smaller than a length and a width in a direction that crosses the attachment direction.

14. The vehicle according to claim 1 further comprising:
an ebullient cooler includes:
a circulation path for circulating an ebullient cooling refrigerant, a boiling point of which is lower than that of the oil for cooling the motor;
an ebullient section that is disposed in the middle of the circulation path and in which the oil and the ebullient cooling refrigerant exchange heat; and
a condensation section that condenses the ebullient cooling refrigerant.

15. The vehicle according to claim 14 , wherein
the ebullient cooler further includes an ebullient cooler fan that is arranged adjacent to a lower portion of the condensation section and cools the condensation section by air, and
the ebullient cooler fan blows the air upward.

16. The vehicle according to claim 14 , wherein
the motor cooling oil path includes a first motor cooling oil path and a second motor cooling oil path that are different paths from each other,
in the first heat exchanger, the engine oil flowing through the engine oil path and the oil flowing through the first motor cooling oil path exchange heat,
in the second heat exchanger, the coolant flowing through the coolant path and the oil flowing through the second motor cooling oil path exchange heat, and
the vehicle further comprises:
an oil control valve for switching between

Assignees

• Mazda Motor

Inventors

• Tanaka Hiroshi
• Ueno Satoshi
• Kinoshita Hiroshi
• Yonemori Kei

Classifications

• Y02T10/62

  Hybrid vehicles · CPC title

• B60K6/40 Primary

  characterised by the assembly or relative disposition of components · CPC title

• B60K2001/003

  with means for cooling the electrical propulsion units · CPC title

• B60K11/04 Primary

  Arrangement or mounting of radiators, radiator shutters, or radiator blinds · CPC title

• B60Y2306/05

  Cooling · CPC title