GB2478523A

GB2478523A - Housing assembly arrangement

Info

Publication number: GB2478523A
Application number: GB1003680A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Martin Widmark
Original assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
Current assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
Priority date: 2010-03-05
Filing date: 2010-03-05
Publication date: 2011-09-14
Also published as: GB201003680D0

Abstract

An automotive transmission system, adjacent housing 120, 140 are relatively aligned and/or held together by an annular ring 150 which engages the sides of respective apertures 124, 144 in the housing walls. The ring 150 simultaneously serves as an outer bearing ring of a bearing for a rotary shaft which passes through the apertures. The bearing may be a tapered ball bearing. One housing may have a projecting circumferential rim 132 that is received in an inset region 146 of the other housing.

Description

Assenb1y Arrangement The present invention relates to the assembly of multi-component arrangements and to means for orienting and interconnecting the various components. In particular, it relates to an arrangement for aligning apertures in housing walls for the passage of a moving member, such as a rotary shaft in the transmission system of an engine.

In existing automotive transmission systems, the housings of the various components, e.g. the engine housing, the clutch housing and the transmission housing, are held in position relative to each other by dowel elements located in aligned bores in the housing walls. Precise tolerances are required for the locations of the bores, and also on the alignment of the transmission shafts of the system. Also, the insertion and alignment of the dowel elements contributes a relatively complicated and time-consuming process.

Aspects of the present invention seek to overcome or at least reduce one or more of the above problems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an arrangement comprising a first housing which accommodates a moving member and which has an aperture in a wall thereof, a second housing which accommodates a moving member and which has an aperture in a wall thereof, the apertures in the two housings being aligned, and a movable shaft element which passes through the aligned apertures and interconnects the moving members, wherein an annular member is provided which engages both the apertures to restrict relative movement thereof in at least some directions.

By using an annular member to relatively position the housings only a single, relatively simple operation is required. In addition there is a saving in regarding to the number of parts required in the assembly process.

Preferably a second annular member is located around the shaft element radially inwardly of the first-mentioned annular member, the annular members together forming a bearing for the shaft element.

Since a two-part bearing is normally required when a movable shaft element passes through an opening, the use of one of these parts as an alignment/connection member leads to a further saving in the number of parts and a shorter assembly process overall.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an engine housing a transmission system comprising at least first and second transmission housings accommodating respective moving members, the moving member(s) in the first housing being connected to the moving member(s) in the second housing by means of a rotary shaft, the shaft passing out of the first housing through a first aperture and into the second housing through a second aperture, a rotary bearing being provided for the shaft where it passes through the apertures, the rotary bearing comprising an outer bearing ring which engages both apertures.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a schematic view of a prior art assembly arrangement; and Figure 2 is a sectional view of an assembly arrangernentin accordance with the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows an assembly arrangement of a transmission housing or gear housing 20, a clutch housing 30 and an engine housing 40 of the transmission system 10 for an automotive engine.

Transmission housing 10 contains gears 12, 14 connected to a shaft 16 which passes through an aperture in housing wall 18 leading to clutch housing 30. The arrangement also comprises a final gear 22 and differential 24.

The clutch housing accommodates clutch 32 and has a first wall 34, with an aperture aligned with the aperture in wall 18, and a second wall 36. Clutch 32 has an input shaft 38 which is arranged to be connected to an output shaft 42 of the engine. Clutch housing wall 36 and engine housing wall 44 have aligned apertures for the connection of shafts 38 and 42.

Respective rotary bearings are provided for the shafts where they pass through the housing walls. The bearings include an inner bearing ring, which rotates with the shaft, and an outer bearing ring, which is fixed to the walls of the aperture in the respective housing wall.

To align the housings 20, 30, 40 with each other during assembly of the system, there are employed dowels or pin elements. Thus housings 20 and 30 are positioned relative to each other by dowels 52 and 54. Housings 30 and 40 are connected to each other by dowels 56 and 58. The dowels are secured in mutually aligned bores in the housing walls 18, 34, 36 and 44. Installation of the dowels is a time-consuming process and requires precise alignment of the transmission shafts 16, 18 and 42.

Turning now to Figure 2 there is shown an embodiment of* the present invention comprising an assembly arrangement 110 of two housings 120, 140. These can correspond to housings 20 and 30 or to housings 30 and 40 of Figure 1.

Housing 120 has a shaped wall 122 having a circular aperture 124 for passage of a rotary shaft (not shown). The aperture 124 comprises a first section 126 adjacent the interior of housing 120 and a second, wider section 128 adjacent housing 140 and separated from section 126 by a stepped portion 130 which defines an axially-facing surface. Section 128 is surrounded by a circumferential rim 132.

Housing 140 has a wall 142 which has a generally dished configuration to accommodate wall 122. Wall 142 has a circular aperture 144 for passage of the same shaft, the apertures 124, 144 being aligned and aperture 144 having the same diameter as aperture section 128. The outer surface of wall 142 has an inset region 146 around the aperture to receive the rim 132.

A tapered roller bearing for the shaft passing through apertures 124 and 144 comprises an outer bearing ring 150 and an inner bearing ring (not shown) associated with the shaft.

The outer bearing ring 150 has an outer diameter substantially equal to the internal diameter of aperture section 128 and aperture 144. The shape of aperture 124, and in particular the part between sections 126 and 128, is configured to provide adequate clearance for a bearing cage.

The outer diameter of ring 150 is selected to be a force fit into the aperture 144 and aperture section 128. Accordingly when the housings 120, 140 have been correctly positioned, ring 150 is urged axially into its position in Figure 2.

This serves to precisely align the apertures 124, 144 and to secure together the housings 120, 140.

An advantage of the above arrangement is that the number of components is reduced by using a bearing ring which is already present in the assembly and which replaces a plurality of dowels. Thus assembly is quicker and simpler.

In addition, because the bearing ring 150 is in contact with both housings 120, 140 at the internal walls 152, 154 of aperture section 128 and aperture 144 respectively, bearing forces are distributed between the housings; thus the bearing loads are shared by the housings.

Because dowels are not necessary between adjacent walls of the respective housings there may be a relatively large spacing between the housings as shown in Figure 2. This space provides relative ease of access to the system and enables any accumulation of heat to be dissipated by convection.

Various modifications may be made to the above-described arrangement. For example, ring 150 does not need to be a force fit in apertures 124, 144 and may be a relatively loose fit in one or both apertures; in this case, other means may be provided to hold the housings 120, 140 together.

Since ring 150 is part of a tapered roller bearing, it has a substantially triangular cross-sectional shape. However, the inner profile of the ring is not significant since it is its cylindrical outer shape which enables it to serve as a dowel.

Accordingly, ring 150 may be substantially square or rectangular in cross-section when it is the outer ring of a ball bearing.

The arrangement may be used in association with other types of bearings. For example, the shaft which passes through the arrangement may undergo longitudinal movements through the apertures instead of, or in addition to, rotary movements.

The arrangement may be used in any applications in which it is required to align openings or passageways through adjacent housings including those with stationary shafts or with no shaft at all. Thus ring 150 does not need to be a bearing ring.

The arrangement may be used in applications other than in the

automotive field.

Reference Numerals transmission system 10 gears 12, 14 shaft 16 housing wall 18 transmission housing 20 final gear 22 differential 24 clutch housing 30 clutch 32 housing walls 34, 36 input shaft 38 engine housing 40 output shaft 42 housing wall 44 dowels 52, 54, 56, 58 assembly arrangement 110 housing 120 housing wall 122 aperture 124 aperture sections 126, 128 stepped portion 130 rim 132 housing 140 housing wall 142 aperture 144 inset region 146 ring 150 internal walls 152, 154

Claims

CLAIMS1. An arrangement (110) comprising a first housing (120) which accommodates a moving member and which has an aperture (124) in a wall (122) thereof, a second housing (140) which accommodates a moving member and which has an aperture (144) in a wall (142) thereof, the apertures in the two housings being aligned, and a movable shaft element which passes through the aligned apertures and interconnects the moving tO members, wherein an annular member (150) is provided which engages both the apertures to restrict relative movement thereof in at least some directions.
2. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the annular member (150) restricts relative movement of the apertures (124, 144) in directtons perpendicular to the axes thereof.
3. An arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the annular member (150) restricts relative movement of the apertures (124, 144) in a direction parallel to the axes thereof.
4. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein a second annular member is located around the shaft element radially inwardly of the first-mentioned annular member (150) , the annular members together forming a bearing for the shaft element.
5. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the shaft element is a rotary shaft element.
6. An arrangement according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the bearing is a tapered roller bearing.
7. An arrangement according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the bearing is a ball bearing.
8. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the shaft element is capable of undertaking longitudinal movements.
9. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the annular member (150) is a force fit in one or both apertures (124, 144)
10. An arrangement according to any preceding claim wherein the annular member (150) engages an axially-extending wall surface (154) of one of the apertures (144) and both an axially-extending wall surface (152) and an axially-facing surface (130) of the other of the aperture (124)
11. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the first housing (120) has a projecting circumferential rim (132) which is received in an inset region (146) of the second housing (140).
12. A power transmission system comprising an arrangement (110) according to any preceding claim.
13. An engine housing a transmission system comprising at least first and second transmission housings (120, 140) accommodating respective moving members, the moving member(s) in the first housing being connected to the moving member(s) in the second housing by means of a rotary shaft, the shaft passing out of the first housing through a first aperture (124) and into the second housing through a second aperture (144), a rotary bearing being provided for the shaft where it passes through the apertures, the rotary bearing comprising an outer bearing ring (150) which engages both apertures.
14. An engine according to claim 13, wherein the first housing is an engine housing and the second housing is a clutch housing.
15. An engine according to claim 13, wherein the first housing is a clutch housing and the second housing is a gear or transmission housing.