JP2002195290A - Multiple-disk clutch device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multiple-disk clutch device capable of effectively preventing the transmission loss of turning moment caused by a slip without lowering the operability of a clutch pedal or enlarging the structure of the clutch device in the axial direction. SOLUTION: The multiple-disk clutch device 1 that angages or disengages the crankshaft 2 of an engine with/from the input shaft 3 of the transmission for power transmission, comprises a center boss 14 which is rotated integrally with the input shaft 3, a ring gear 18 fitted onto the center boss 14, a disk support member 4 having a buffering means which transmits the turning moment acting on the ring gear 18 to the center boss 14, shock absorbed through the buffer, and a plurality of inner clutch disks 5 which are mounted on the ring gear 18 freely movably in the axial direction while inhibiting the relative rotation to each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-plate clutch device for intermittently transmitting power from an engine to a transmission.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a clutch device for intermittently transmitting power from an engine to a transmission, a clutch plate assembly having a buffer means and a clutch plate fixed thereto is assembled to an input shaft of the transmission and rotated together with a crankshaft. A pressure plate is provided on a clutch housing, and a clutch plate is sandwiched between the pressure plate and a receiving surface of the clutch housing facing the pressure plate to transmit the rotational force of the engine to the transmission.

However, in such a friction clutch, slippage occurs between the clutch plate and the pressure plate when the load is high and the output is high, even though the clutch is connected. There is a problem that performance and running performance are reduced. In particular, with the recent increase in engine output, such a phenomenon has become noticeable.

Therefore, in order to prevent such a slip phenomenon, as in a clutch device 100 shown in FIG.
3 are provided, two outer clutch plates 105 are provided between the clutch plates 103 of the two clutch plate assemblies 104, and the outer clutch plate 1 is provided.
05 and a pressure plate 106 are provided on a clutch housing 108 which rotates together with the crankshaft 107 so as to be axially movable and non-rotatable, and the pressure plate 106 and the clutch housing 1 facing the pressure plate 106 are provided.
08, the clutch plate 103 and the outer clutch plate 105 are sandwiched between the receiving surfaces 109, and the rotational force is transmitted through the two clutch plates 103, thereby increasing the friction contact area.
A configuration configured to prevent transmission loss of rotational force due to slippage has also been put to practical use.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-103370, a first inner clutch plate is fixed to an input plate of a clutch plate assembly, and a cylindrical engaging portion projecting laterally is fixed to the input plate. The second inner clutch plate is assembled to the cylindrical engagement portion so as to be axially movable and non-rotatable, and the rotational force is transmitted through the two inner clutch plates, thereby increasing the friction pressure contact area and causing slippage. There has been proposed one configured to prevent transmission loss of rotational force.

[0006]

However, in the clutch device 100, the clutch plate assembly 104 is relatively large in the axial direction. There is a problem that the device interferes with the transmission case, and it has been difficult to assemble three or more sets of clutch plate assemblies 104 to more reliably prevent transmission loss of rotational force. In addition, since the buffer means is provided in each of the clutch plate assemblies, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the clutch device is increased and the weight is increased.

On the other hand, in the clutch device described in the above publication, two inner clutch plates can be assembled to one buffering means, so that the manufacturing cost and weight of the clutch device can be reduced. However, in this clutch device, it is not assumed that three or more inner clutch plates are assembled, and the number of the inner clutch plates is increased to more reliably prevent transmission loss of rotational force. Was difficult. In addition, since the second inner clutch plate is supported by the cylindrical engagement portion formed by press-forming a metal plate, the play between the cylindrical engagement portion and the second inner clutch plate causes the clutch operability. And there is a problem that durability is reduced.

As another method for preventing the clutch from slipping at the time of connection, it is conceivable to increase the urging force of the diaphragm spring for pressing the pressure plate against the clutch plate. However, when disconnecting the clutch, it is necessary to depress the clutch pedal against the urging force of the diaphragm spring.Therefore, if the urging force of the diaphragm spring is set large as described above, the operability of the clutch pedal will decrease. Another problem arises.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-plate clutch device capable of effectively preventing a transmission loss of rotational force due to slippage without lowering the operability of a clutch pedal or making the clutch device large in the axial direction. It is to provide.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems and Action Thereof As a result of the inventor's intensive study to increase the number of clutch plates and prevent transmission loss of rotational force due to slippage, the above-mentioned clutch plate assembly has a buffering means. Focusing on the fact that the clutch plate is much larger in the axial direction than the clutch plate, the clutch plate assembly is divided into buffer means and clutch plates, and a plurality of clutch plates are assembled to one buffer means. By reducing the operability of the clutch pedal and increasing the frictional contact area of the clutch plate without reducing the size of the clutch device in the axial direction, it is possible to prevent the transmission loss of torque due to slippage. Thus, the present invention has been completed.

A clutch device according to the present invention is a multi-plate clutch device for intermittently transmitting power from a crankshaft of an engine to an input shaft of a transmission, comprising: a center boss rotating integrally with the input shaft; A ring member exterior to the boss,
A disk support member having buffer means for buffering a rotational force acting on the ring member and transmitting the rotational force to the center boss; a plurality of inner clutch plates provided on the ring member so as to be movable in the axial direction and relatively non-rotatable; An outer clutch plate disposed between the inner clutch plates, the outer clutch plate being provided in the clutch housing rotating with the crankshaft so as to be axially movable and relatively non-rotatable; Operating means for switching to the state.

[0012] In this clutch device, a plurality of clutch plates composed of the inner clutch plate and the outer clutch plate are pressed against each other to transmit the rotational force of the crankshaft to the input shaft. This makes it possible to prevent slippage of the clutch plate at the time of high load and high output, and to effectively prevent deterioration in acceleration performance and running performance due to transmission loss of rotational force. In addition, since the rotational force applied to the input shaft is buffered by the shock absorber, the shock generated at the time of sudden clutch operation, sudden start, sudden acceleration, or sudden acceleration or vibration generated during half-clutch is absorbed by the shock absorber as in the conventional clutch device. In addition to greatly reducing the load acting on the drive system such as the transmission, differential gear, drive shaft, clutch device, etc., when converting natural vibration from the engine, for example, reciprocating motion of a piston in a reciprocating engine into rotational motion. Since the generated natural vibration can be absorbed by the buffer means, transmission of the vibration to the various drive systems as described above can be reduced, and generation of unpleasant vibration and noise can be suppressed.

Further, the disk support member is composed of a center boss, a ring member and a buffer, and a plurality of inner clutch plates are provided on the ring member so as to be movable in the axial direction and relatively non-rotatable. It is possible to easily increase the number of inner clutch plates while sufficiently securing the assembly strength of the inner clutch plates with respect to the above. In addition, since the inner clutch plate and the outer clutch plate can be closely arranged, the number of clutch plates can be increased while minimizing the size of the clutch device in the axial direction of the input shaft as much as possible. Therefore, it is possible to easily incorporate a maximum of 4 to 5 inner clutch plates into an existing clutch device. In addition, since it is not necessary to provide a plurality of buffer means, it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost and an increase in weight of the clutch device as much as possible.

Here, any one of the plurality of inner clutch plates may be fixed to a ring member. In this case, although backlash occurs between the center boss and the input shaft, backlash does not occur between the inner clutch plate fixed to the ring member and the ring member. Can be reduced as much as possible. In addition, it is possible to reliably prevent the ring member from moving in the axial direction and falling off from the inner clutch plate while the clutch is disconnected.

A restricting portion may be formed between the pair of adjacent outer clutch plates so as to contact the ring member with the inner clutch plate to restrict the relative movement of the ring member and the inner clutch plate in the axial direction. In this case, backlash occurs between the center boss and the input shaft, and between the ring member and the inner clutch plate, so that the operability of the clutch is slightly reduced, but the ring member moves in the axial direction and the inner clutch plate is moved. The problem of falling off from the device can be reliably prevented with a simple configuration.

[0016] A ring gear may be formed on an outer peripheral portion of the ring member, and a tip of the ring gear may be cut off at a portion other than the restricting portion, so that the restricting portion may be formed on the outer peripheral portion of the ring gear so as to project. In this case, it is possible to form the restricting portion without providing a separate member or performing special processing.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the multi-plate clutch device 1 includes a crankshaft 2 and an input shaft 3 between an engine crankshaft 2 and a transmission input shaft 3.
And a plurality of inner clutch plates 5 provided on the input shaft 3 via the disk support member 4 so as to be movable in the axial direction and non-rotatable relative to each other.
And an outer clutch plate 6 disposed between adjacent inner clutch plates 5, wherein the outer clutch plate 6 is provided in a clutch housing 7 that rotates with the crankshaft 2, and is provided so as to be axially movable and relatively non-rotatable. An operating means 8 for switching the two clutch plates 5, 6 in the axial direction between a connection state in which the clutch plates 5 are in contact with each other and a separated state in which the clutch plates 5 and 6 are separated from each other, is configured as follows.

As shown in FIG. 1, a substantially disc-shaped flywheel 10 is fixed to the right end of the crankshaft 2 with bolts, and a substantially cylindrical housing protruding rightward near the outer periphery of the flywheel 10. An annular cover member 12 extending toward the inner peripheral side of the housing 11 is fixed to a right end portion of the housing 11. The clutch housing 7 includes a flywheel 10, a housing 11, and a cover member 12, is fixed to a right end of the crankshaft 2, and is configured to rotate integrally with the crankshaft 2.

The left end of the input shaft 3 is inserted into the clutch housing 7 and is rotatably mounted on the center of the right end of the crankshaft 2.
Inside, a spline shaft portion 13 is formed near the left end of the input shaft 3.

The disk support member 4 has a center boss 14 which is axially movable and non-rotatably fitted to the spline shaft portion 13 of the input shaft 3, a non-axially movable and fixed angle with the center boss 14. The ring gear 18 is provided as a ring member which is provided so as to be relatively rotatable within the range of the above. Note that the fitting structure between the center boss 14 and the input shaft 3 may be a spline fitting or a fitting structure using a key and a key groove, as long as the fitting structure is relatively movable in the axial direction and cannot be relatively rotated. , Any fitting structure can be adopted.

The buffer means will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in the figure, a substantially disk-shaped flange portion 15 extending outward is provided at a middle portion of the center boss 14, and a rectangular hole-shaped accommodation hole 16 is provided at a middle portion of the flange portion 15 in the radial direction. Six damper springs 17 made of a compression coil spring are mounted in each of the receiving holes 16 at intervals. A ring gear 18 is externally fitted to the flange portion 15 so as to be relatively rotatable by a predetermined angle, and substantially disk-shaped connecting plates 19 are provided on both left and right sides of the flange portion 15. The ring gear 18 is connected by rivets 20, and the relative movement of the ring gear 18 in the axial direction with respect to the center boss 14 is restricted by the left and right connecting plates 19. At the position corresponding to the accommodation hole 16, the left and right connecting plates 19 have square hole-shaped restriction holes 21 which are narrower than the diameter of the damper spring 17 and have substantially the same length as the accommodation hole 16.
Is formed, and the outer peripheral portion of the damper spring 17 is
The abutment of the damper spring 17 from the housing hole 16 is prevented by abutting the edge of the first hole. The outer peripheral portion of the damper spring 17 always projects outward from the regulating hole 21, and both ends of the damper spring 17 always face the edge of the regulating hole 21. The rotational force acting on the ring gear 18 is transmitted to the center boss 14 via the connecting plate 19 and the damper spring 17, and the rotational force from the ring gear 18 to the center boss 14 varies.
That is, the fluctuation of the rotational force from the inner clutch plate 5 to the input shaft 3 is caused by the relative rotation of the connecting plate 19 and the flange portion 15, and the damper spring 17 is compressed between the rim of the accommodation hole 16 and the rim of the restriction hole 21. Is buffered.

However, any structure can be used as the buffering means as long as the fluctuation of the rotational force of the inner clutch plate 5 can be buffered and transmitted to the input shaft 3. For example, the number of the damper springs 17 may be changed, or a damper spring 17 provided with an elastic member such as a synthetic resin, a synthetic rubber, a disc spring, or a tension spring may be used. Also, both connecting plates 19
The two connecting plates 19 at the contact portion between
A connecting layer 19a made of molybdenum or the like having excellent abrasion resistance is formed on the connecting plate 19 and the center boss 1.
Seizure and galling between the four may be prevented. Furthermore,
The flange portion 15 of the center boss 14 and the boss portion externally fitted to the input shaft 3 may be divided and integrated by rivets or the like.

Three first inner clutch plates 5A are fitted to the ring gear 18 so as to be axially movable and relatively non-rotatable. One second inner clutch plate 5A is attached to the end of the ring gear 18 on the flywheel 10 side. If the clutch plate 5B is a bolt or screw,
It is fixed by welding or the like. By fixing one second inner clutch plate 5B to the ring gear 18 in this manner, the ring gear 18 can be moved relative to the inner clutch plate 5 in a state where the multi-plate clutch device 1 is assembled as shown in FIG. The ring gear 18 is restricted from moving in the axial direction, and the ring gear 18 is prevented from falling off from the inner clutch plate 5. Further, since the second inner clutch plate 5B is fixed to the ring gear 18, backlash between the ring gear 18 and the inner clutch plate 5 is prevented, and the operability of the clutch is improved. However, in the present embodiment, the left inner clutch plate 5 is fixed to the ring gear 18, but the same effect can be obtained by fixing the inner clutch plate 5 at any position to the ring gear 18. In addition, although a ring member including the ring gear 18 is employed, any ring-shaped member that is relatively movable in the axial direction and is relatively non-rotatably fitted to the first inner clutch plate 5A may be used. The first inner clutch plate 5A can be provided via any fitting structure such as a fitting structure using a groove.
A ring member that fits inside can be adopted.

An annular outer clutch plate 6 is provided between adjacent inner clutch plates 5, and slits 11 a extending in the axial direction at regular intervals in the circumferential direction are formed in the housing 11, and three outer clutch plates 6 are provided. A fitting projection 22 that fits into the slit 11a is formed on the outer periphery of the outer clutch plate 6. The outer clutch plate 6 is axially movable in the housing 11 by fitting the slit 11a and the fitting projection 22, and It is assembled so that it cannot rotate relatively. Outer clutch plate 6
The fitting structure between the housing 11 and the housing 11 may be any fitting structure such as a spline fitting or a fitting structure using a key and a key groove, as long as the fitting structure is relatively movable in the axial direction and relatively non-rotatable. Structure can be adopted.

The number of the inner clutch plates 5 can be arbitrarily set, and the number of the outer clutch plates 6 is set to be one less than the number of the inner clutch plates 5, but the number of the inner clutch plates 5 is set to five or more. Then, since these clutch plates 5 and 6 cannot be assembled in the existing housing 11, it is preferable to set 2 to 4 clutch plates. In particular, as in the multi-plate clutch device 1A shown in FIG.
When the number of the inner clutch plates 5 is set to three and the number of the outer clutch plates 6 is set to two, both the clutch plates 5 and 5 can be used without changing the configuration of the existing clutch housing 7 at all.
6 can be assembled. That is, in the multi-plate clutch device 1 shown in FIG. 1 using four inner clutch plates 5 as shown in FIG. 6, the flywheel 10 is connected to the flywheel of the conventional clutch device. The multi-plate clutch device 1A had to be configured in a flat shape compared to the wheels.
Then, let alone the housing 11, the cover member 12, and the operation means 8, the flywheel 10A can adopt the same shape as the conventional clutch device.

Next, the operation means 8 for switching the clutch plates 5 and 6 between the connected state and the disconnected state will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the flywheel 10 faces the second inner clutch plate 5B. An annular pressure ring 24 for operating the inner clutch plate 5 toward the flywheel 10 is provided between the cover member 12 and the inner clutch plate 5, and an outer peripheral portion of the pressure ring 24 is provided between the cover member 12 and the inner clutch plate 5. A fitting projection 25 that fits into the slit 11a of the housing 11 is formed.
Numeral 4 is attached to the housing 11 so as to be movable in the axial direction and not to rotate relatively. A diaphragm spring 26 is fixed to the left side of the cover member 12 via a plurality of support pins 27, and the outer peripheral portion of the diaphragm spring 26 is pressed against the operation portion 24 a of the pressure ring 24, and the pressure ring is pressed by the urging force of the diaphragm spring 26. As the clutch 24 is constantly urged toward the clutch plates 5 and 6, the clutch plates 5 and 6 are sandwiched between the pressure ring 24 and the receiving surface 23, and the clutch is held in a connected state.

On the right side of the diaphragm spring 26, an operation member (not shown) is provided on the input shaft 3 so as to be movable in the axial direction. When the clutch pedal is depressed, the operation member moves to the left and the inner periphery of the diaphragm spring 26 is moved. Is operated to the flywheel 10 side,
The diaphragm spring 26 warps around the support pin 27, and the outer peripheral portion of the diaphragm spring 26 is separated from the operating portion 24a of the pressure ring 24, so that the clutch is disengaged.

Next, the operation of the multi-plate clutch device 1 will be described. The torque of the crankshaft 2 is transmitted to the three outer clutch plates 6 and the pressure ring 24 via the clutch housing 7 that rotates integrally therewith. And the state where the clutch pedal is depressed,
That is, when the clutch is disengaged, the outer clutch plate 6 and the inner clutch plate 5 are separated from each other and the outer clutch plate 6
Is not transmitted to the inner clutch plate 5, but in a state where the clutch pedal is not depressed, that is, in a state where the clutch is connected, the receiving surface is pressed by the urging force of the diaphragm spring 26. The outer clutch plate 6 and the inner clutch plate 5 are sandwiched between the pressure ring 23 and the pressure ring 24, and the receiving surface 23, the pressure ring 24 and the outer clutch plate 6 are pressed against the inner clutch plate 5, so that the crankshaft 2 The rotational force is transmitted to the inner clutch plate 5, and further transmitted from the inner clutch plate 5 to the input shaft 3 in a state where the fluctuation of the rotational force is absorbed via the buffer means. In the multi-plate clutch device 1, since a plurality of inner clutch plates 5 and outer clutch plates 6 are used, a sufficient friction contact area of the clutch can be ensured, so that the slip of the clutch plate at the time of high load and high output is prevented. As a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the acceleration performance and the traveling performance due to the transmission loss of the rotational force.

Further, by disposing a plurality of inner clutch plates 5 on the outer periphery of one ring gear 18, the inner clutch plate 5 and the outer clutch plate 6 can be formed without increasing the size of the multi-plate clutch device 1 in the axial direction. Can be assembled in the clutch housing 7. In particular, FIG.
When the number of inner clutch plates 5 is set to three and the number of outer clutch plates 6 is set to two as in the multi-plate clutch device 1A shown in FIG. This is preferable because both clutch plates can be assembled.

Further, the first inner clutch plate 5A is fitted to the ring gear 18 of the disk supporting member 4 so as to be relatively movable in the axial direction and to be relatively non-rotatable.
Backlash occurs between the inner clutch plate 5A and the ring gear 18, but backlash occurs between the second inner clutch plate 5B and the ring gear 18 because the second inner clutch plate 5B is fixed to the ring gear 18. do not do. Therefore, the inner clutch plate 5 and the ring gear 18
The occurrence of backlash between the two is prevented, and the operability of the clutch is improved.

Incidentally, in the multi-plate clutch devices 1 and 1A,
Although the second inner clutch plate 5B is fixed to the ring gear 18, the plurality of inner clutch plates 5 are axially moved relative to the ring gear 18B in the same manner as the first inner clutch plate 5A, as in the multiple disc clutch device 1B shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a ring gear 18B is provided between a pair of adjacent outer clutch plates 6 as shown in FIGS.
The protruding restricting portion 30 is formed at each tooth tip of the ring gear 18 so as to contact the inner clutch plate 5 to restrict the relative movement of the ring gear 18B and the inner clutch plate 5 in the axial direction.
By moving B to the right in FIG. 4, for example, it is possible to prevent a problem that the ring gear 18B falls off from the inner clutch plate 5 at the left end. Such a restricting portion 30 can be formed by assembling a separate member to the ring gear. For example, a ring gear in which teeth having the same cross-sectional shape as the restricting portion 30 are formed over the entire width is manufactured, and a position corresponding to the restricting portion 30 of the ring gear is manufactured. It can be easily formed by cutting off other tooth tips by cutting or the like. The formation position of the restricting portion 30 is determined by a pair of adjacent outer clutch plates 6.
It can be provided at any position of the ring gear 18B if it is between them. Further, the configuration in which the ring gear is prevented from falling off from the inner clutch by the restricting portion 30 can be similarly applied to a disk support member in which the buffer means is omitted.

[0032]

According to the clutch device of the present invention, the clutch plate can be prevented from slipping at the time of high load and high output,
The ability to prevent the deterioration of acceleration performance and running performance due to transmission loss of rotational force can be prevented, and the load acting on the drive system of the transmission, differential gear, drive shaft, clutch device, etc. can be greatly reduced, like the conventional clutch device, The generation of unpleasant vibrations and noise can be suppressed, the number of inner clutch plates can be easily increased while ensuring sufficient assembly strength of the inner clutch plate to the disk support member, and the clutch device is large in the axial direction of the input shaft. It is possible to increase the number of clutch plates while minimizing the number of clutch plates, and to easily incorporate a multi-plate clutch device having a maximum of 4 to 5 inner clutch plates in the space where an existing clutch device is provided. Since there is no need to provide a plurality of buffer means, the manufacturing cost of the clutch device is reduced. It can be raised and minimizing the increase in weight, effects such as are obtained.

Here, when any one of the plurality of inner clutch plates is fixed to the ring member, backlash occurs between the center boss and the input shaft, but backlash occurs between the inner clutch plate and the ring member. Since this does not occur, a decrease in operability of the clutch due to backlash can be minimized. In addition, it is possible to reliably prevent the ring member from moving in the axial direction and falling off from the inner clutch plate while the clutch is disconnected.

When a restricting portion is formed between a pair of adjacent outer clutch plates to control the relative movement of the ring member and the inner clutch plate in the axial direction by contacting the inner clutch plate with the ring member, the clutch is caused by backlash. The operability of the ring member is slightly reduced, but the problem that the ring member moves in the axial direction and drops from the inner clutch plate can be reliably prevented by a simple configuration.

Further, when a ring gear is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the ring member and the tip of the ring gear is cut off at a portion other than the restricting portion, the restricting portion is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the ring gear so as to protrude. It is possible to form the restricting portion without performing special processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a multi-plate clutch device.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a multi-plate clutch device having another configuration.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a multi-plate clutch device having another configuration.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a ring gear used in the multi-plate clutch device.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional multi-plate clutch device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 multi-plate clutch device 2 crankshaft 3 input shaft 4 disk support member 5 inner clutch plate 5A inner clutch plate 5B inner clutch plate 6 outer clutch plate 7 clutch housing 8 operating means 10 flywheel 11 housing 11a slit 12 cover member 13 spline shaft Part 14 Center boss 15 Flange part 16 Housing hole 17 Damper spring 18 Ring gear 19 Connecting plate 19a Coating layer 20 Rivets 21 Restriction hole 22 Fitting protrusion 23 Receiving surface 24 Pressure ring 24a Operation part 25 Fitting protrusion 26 Diaphragm spring 27 Support Pin 1A Multi-plate clutch device 10A Flywheel 1B Multi-plate clutch device 18B Ring gear 30 Regulator

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A multi-plate clutch device for intermittently transmitting power from a crankshaft of an engine to an input shaft of a transmission, comprising: a center boss rotating integrally with the input shaft; and a ring member exteriorly provided on the center boss. A disk support member having a buffering means for buffering a rotational force acting on the ring member and transmitting the torque to the center boss; and a plurality of inner clutch plates provided on the ring member so as to be movable in the axial direction and non-rotatable relative to each other. An outer clutch plate disposed between the inner clutch plates, wherein the outer clutch plate is provided in a clutch housing that rotates with a crankshaft so as to be axially movable and relatively non-rotatable; And an operating means for switching between a divided state and a divided state. Multi-plate clutch device. 2. The multi-plate clutch device according to claim 1, wherein one of said plurality of inner clutch plates is fixed to a ring member. 3. A restricting portion for contacting the inner clutch plate with the ring member between the pair of adjacent outer clutch plates and restricting the relative movement of the ring member and the inner clutch plate in the axial direction. 3. The multi-plate clutch device according to 1 or 2. 4. A ring gear is formed on an outer peripheral portion of the ring member, and a tip of the ring gear is cut off at a portion other than the restricting portion, so that the restricting portion is formed in a protruding shape on the outer peripheral portion of the ring gear. Multi-plate clutch device.