IP Library Granted Patent US 12665461
Granted Patent B2
US 12665461 · App. 18/599,557 · Granted Jun 23, 2026

Drive device and drive device unit

Inventors: Shun Sugita (Kariya-city, JP); Masaharu Sakai (Kariya-city, JP); Kazutoshi Nishinakamura (Kariya-city, JP); Jiro Hayashi (Kariya-city, JP)
Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
H02K5/04B64D27/34B64D27/357H02K7/14H02K9/22B64C29/0016
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12665461
App. No.
18/599,557
Granted
Jun 23, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An EDS includes a motor housing and an inverter housing. The inverter housing includes inverter fins. The motor housing includes motor fins and motor guide plates. The motor fins and the motor guide plates are provided on an outer peripheral surface. Each of the motor guide plates is aligned with the motor fins along the outer peripheral surface. The motor guide plate guides air sent by a blower fan in a circumferential direction to flow toward the motor fins and the inverter fins. The motor guide plate is bent in a convex shape to bulge toward an upstream side in an axial direction.

Claims (57)

1 . A drive device configured to drive a rotor of a flight vehicle to rotate the rotor, the drive device comprising:

a heat generator configured to generate heat when driven to rotate the rotor;

a housing accommodating the heat generator and having an outer peripheral surface extending along a rotation axis of a fan, the fan configured to send air;

a radiation fin extending along the outer peripheral surface in an axial direction in which the rotation axis extends, and configured to release the heat from the heat generator to a gas that flows along the outer peripheral surface due to rotation of the fan;

a guide portion aligned with the radiation fin along the outer peripheral surface, and configured to guide the gas in a circumferential direction of the rotation axis to flow toward the radiation fin; and

an obstacle provided on the outer peripheral surface and configured to restrict the gas from flowing in the axial direction, wherein

the guide portion is provided to cover the obstacle from an upstream side.

2 . The drive device according to claim 1 , wherein

the guide portion has a guide surface that is bent to bulge toward an upstream side in the axial direction and extends toward the radiation fin in the circumferential direction.

3 . The drive device according to claim 2 , wherein

a plurality of the radiation fins are arranged in the circumferential direction, and

the guide surface spans two of the radiation fins adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction.

4 . The drive device according to claim 3 , wherein

the guide portion is connected to each of the two radiation fins spanned by the guide surface.

5 . The drive device according to claim 1 , wherein

the housing includes

a first housing including a first coupling portion, and

a second housing including a second coupling portion, aligned with the first housing in the axial direction, and fixed to the first housing by coupling the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion to each other, and

the guide portion is provided to cover the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion as the obstacle from an upstream side with the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion.

6 . The drive device according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a downstream blocking portion provided on a downstream side in the axial direction with respect to an upstream fin that is the radiation fin and configured to block flow of the gas in the axial direction, wherein

the guide portion is a separation guide portion provided at a position away from the downstream blocking portion toward the upstream fin and configured to guide, on the downstream side of the upstream fin, the gas in the circumferential direction to be separated from the downstream blocking portion.

7 . A drive device configured to drive a rotor of a flight vehicle to rotate the rotor, the drive device comprising:

a heat generator configured to generate heat when driven to rotate the rotor;

a housing accommodating the heat generator and having an outer peripheral surface extending along a rotation axis of a fan, the fan configured to send air;

a radiation fin extending along the outer peripheral surface in an axial direction in which the rotation axis extends, and configured to release the heat from the heat generator to a gas that flows along the outer peripheral surface due to rotation of the fan; and

a guide portion aligned with the radiation fin along the outer peripheral surface, and configured to guide the gas in a circumferential direction of the rotation axis to flow toward the radiation fin, wherein

the outer peripheral surface includes

a first region in which a plurality of the radiation fins are provided and to which the heat from the heat generator is to be released by the plurality of radiation fins, and

a second region aligned with the first region in the circumferential direction, and

the guide portion is provided at a position overlapped with the second region in the axial direction and to guide the gas in the circumferential direction to flow toward the first region.

8 . The drive device according to claim 7 , wherein

the first region is a high heat region to which the heat from the heat generator is to be applied,

the second region is a low heat region aligned with the high heat region in the circumferential direction, such that a separation distance between the heat generator and the low heat region is larger than a separation distance between the heat generator and the high heat region, and

the guide portion is provided at a position overlapped with the low heat region in the axial direction to guide the gas in the circumferential direction to flow toward the high heat region.

9 . The drive device according to claim 8 , wherein

the high heat region is a fin region in which the radiation fin is provided, and

the low heat region is a finless region in which no radiation fin is provided.

10 . The drive device according to claim 1 , wherein

the guide portion includes a housing guide portion included in the housing and provided on the outer peripheral surface.

11 . The drive device according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a housing cover having an inner peripheral surface opposed to the outer peripheral surface and attached to the housing to cover the radiation fin from an outer peripheral side.

12 . The drive device according to claim 11 , wherein

the guide portion includes a cover guide portion provided on the inner peripheral surface.

13 . A drive device unit to be mounted on a flight vehicle, the drive device unit comprising:

a drive device configured to drive a rotor of the flight vehicle to rotate the rotor; and

a fan configured to rotate about a rotation axis to send a gas and aligned with the drive device along the rotation axis, wherein

the drive device includes

a heat generator configured to generate heat when driven to rotate the rotor,

a housing accommodating the heat generator and having an outer peripheral surface extending along the rotation axis of the fan, the fan configured to send air,

a radiation fin extending along the outer peripheral surface in an axial direction in which the rotation axis extends, and configured to release the heat from the heat generator to the gas that flows along the outer peripheral surface due to rotation of the fan, and

a guide portion aligned with the radiation fin along the outer peripheral surface, and configured to guide the gas in a circumferential direction of the rotation axis to flow toward the radiation fin, and

an obstacle provided on the outer peripheral surface and configured to restrict the gas from flowing in the axial direction, and

the guide portion is provided to cover the obstacle from an upstream side.

14 . The drive device unit according to claim 13 , further comprising:

a shroud aligned with the housing along the rotation axis and covering the fan from a radially outer side of the rotation axis, wherein

the guide portion includes a shroud guide portion provided on an inner peripheral surface of the shroud.