Patent ID: 8058849

Claim:
A vehicle drive mechanism comprising: a power transmission mechanism which has a rotary electric motor, and a gear mechanism for transmitting mechanical power from said rotary electric motor to a drive shaft disposed coaxially with an output shaft of said rotary electric motor; and a control unit formed of a plurality of elements and controlling an operation of said rotary electric motor, wherein at least a part of said elements which form said control unit is disposed on a periphery of at least one of said rotary electric motor, said drive shaft, and said gear mechanism, and at least a part of said elements which form said control unit is provided on an outer periphery of one of said gear mechanism and said rotary electric motor, a radius of the one of said gear mechanism and said rotary electric motor measured from said drive shaft being smaller than a radius of the other of said gear mechanism and said rotary electric motor measured from said drive shaft, wherein the elements which form said control unit include a capacitor having a plurality of cells, each of said cells having an inner peripheral surface and an outer peripheral surface, and wherein a length of said outer peripheral surface in a circumferential direction of said drive shaft is made larger than a length of said inner peripheral surface in the circumferential direction of said drive shaft.