Electrically driven vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016229293-A1
Application number	US-201415021821-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 17, 2014
Priority date	Sep 19, 2013
Publication date	Aug 11, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electrically driven vehicle includes a battery, front and rear motors, front and rear inverters, and a distributor. The front motor and the front inverter are arranged in a front region of the vehicle. The front inverter is configured to convert battery electric power into an alternating-current electric power, and supply the alternating-current electric power to the front motor. The rear motor and the rear inverter are arranged in a rear region of the vehicle. The rear inverter is configured to convert battery electric power into an alternating-current electric power, and supply the alternating-current electric power to the rear motor. The distributor is configured to distribute the electric power of the battery to the front inverter and the rear inverter. One of the rear inverter and another device that is attached to and removed from the vehicle together with the rear inverter is provided with the distributor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An electrically driven vehicle comprising:
a battery; a front motor arranged in a front region of the vehicle, the front motor being configured to drive front wheels; a front inverter arranged in the front region of the vehicle, the front inverter being configured to convert an electric power of the battery into an alternating-current electric power and supply the alternating-current electric power to the front motor; a rear motor arranged in a rear region of the vehicle, the rear motor being configured to drive rear wheels; a rear inverter arranged in the rear region of the vehicle, the rear inverter being configured to convert an electric power of the battery into an alternating-current electric power and supply the alternating-current electric power to the rear motor; and a distributor configured to distribute the electric power of the battery to the front inverter and the rear inverter, one of the rear inverter and another device being provided with the distributor, and the another device being attached to and removed from the vehicle together with the rear inverter.

2 . The electrically driven vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the rear motor is an auxiliary drive source that supplements a driving force of the front motor.

3 . The electrically driven vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein
a maximum output of the rear motor is smaller than a maximum output of the front motor.

4 . The electrically driven vehicle according to claim 2 or 3 , further comprising:
a fuse that is arranged in an electric power supply path between the distributor and the rear inverter.

5 . The electrically driven vehicle according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a choke coil arranged in the electric power supply path between the distributor and the rear inverter, wherein the front inverter includes: a step-up circuit configured to step up a voltage of the battery; and an inverter circuit configured to convert an output of the step-up circuit into an alternating current, and an input voltage and an output voltage of the rear inverter are equal to the voltage of the battery.

6 . The electrically driven vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the battery is arranged between the front inverter and the rear inverter in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

7 . The electrically driven vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a first power cable connected to a terminal of the battery and a terminal of the distributor; and a second power cable connected to the terminal of the distributor and a terminal of the front inverter, wherein a length of the first power cable is shorter than a length of the second power cable.

8 . The electrically driven vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
a distance between the battery and the rear inverter is shorter than a distance between the battery and the front inverter.

9 . An electrically driven vehicle comprising:
a battery; a front motor arranged in a front region of the vehicle, the front motor being configured to drive front wheels; a front inverter arranged in the front region of the vehicle, the front inverter being configured to convert an electric power of the battery into an alternating-current electric power and supply the alternating-current electric power to the front motor; a rear motor arranged in a rear region of the vehicle, the rear motor being configured to drive rear wheels; a rear inverter arranged in the rear region of the vehicle, the rear inverter being configured to convert an electric power of the battery into an alternating-current electric power and supply the alternating-current electric power to the rear motor; and a distributor configured to distribute the electric power of the battery to the front inverter and the rear inverter, one of the front inverter and another device being provided with the distributor, and the another device being attached to and removed from the vehicle together with the front inverter.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Seo Yusuke
• Kusaka Hiroto

Classifications

• B60K6/52 Primary

  Driving a plurality of drive axles, e.g. four-wheel drive · CPC title

• B60Y2200/91

  Electric vehicles · CPC title

• B60Y2200/92

  Hybrid vehicles · CPC title

• Y10S903/906

  Motor or generator · CPC title

• B60Y2400/61

  Arrangements of controllers for electric machines, e.g. inverters · CPC title