JP2003214524A - Torque converter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To machine the whole of the inner periphery of the hub of a side cover from the inner end side, and thus to simply hold a radial bearing while reducing the number of processes and in turn, a cost. <P>SOLUTION: In a torque converter wherein a radial bearing 14 and a one-way clutch 13 are coaxially and adjacently situated, and a hub 16a of an output gear 16 is coupled to the outer end of the turbine shaft 6, the inner peripheral surface of the hub 5h of the side cover 5 consists of a large inner peripheral surface 37a on the base end side and a small inner peripheral surface 37b on the tip side connected thereto through an annular step part 37c. An outer lace 14a of the radial bearing 14 is axially nipped between an annular step part 37c and a snap ring 18 locked at the large inner peripheral surface 37a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pump impeller connected to an input shaft, a turbine impeller connected to the pump impeller and connected to a turbine shaft, and integrally connected to the pump impeller. And a side cover for covering the turbine impeller, a radial bearing for holding the hub and the turbine shaft concentrically between the hub of the side cover and the turbine shaft passing through the hub, and a reverse shaft for the turbine shaft. A one-way clutch, which connects the turbine shaft and the side cover when a load is applied, is coaxially adjacent to the output shaft, and the hub of the output gear is connected to the outer end of the turbine shaft. The present invention relates to improvement of a torque converter provided with a sealing means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Such a torque converter is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
It is already known as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-241530.

[0003]

In such a torque converter, when a reverse load is transmitted from the output gear to the turbine shaft during deceleration of the vehicle, the one-way clutch directly connects the turbine shaft and the side cover. The load is transmitted directly from the turbine shaft to the side cover, and from the pump impeller to the crankshaft, and there is no slip between the turbine impeller and the pump impeller, and a good engine braking effect is obtained. be able to. Moreover, since the radial bearing adjacent to the one-way clutch is interposed between the turbine shaft and the hub of the side cover to ensure the concentricity of the two, a sprag of the one-way clutch, etc., is secured between the two. The load received by the clutch element is equalized, the durability of the clutch can be improved, and the working oil in the torque converter is prevented from leaking from the inner peripheral surface of the hub of the side cover by the sealing means. be able to.

By the way, in the conventional torque converter,
The one-way clutch and the radial bearing are arranged so as to sandwich the annular protrusion formed in the intermediate portion of the inner peripheral surface of the hub of the side cover, and the outer race is held between the annular protrusion and the hub of the side cover to hold the bearing. Since it is sandwiched in the axial direction by the retaining ring that is locked to the peripheral surface, the inner peripheral surface of the hub of the side cover is machined from both ends in the axial direction of the hub due to the presence of the annular protrusion in the middle part of the inner peripheral surface. There is no choice but to do so, and there are many man-hours, and it is difficult to reduce costs.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is possible to process the entire inner peripheral surface of the hub of the side cover from the inner end side, thereby reducing the man-hours and the cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide the torque converter that can easily hold the radial bearing while achieving the above.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a pump impeller connected to an input shaft, and a turbine impeller connected to the pump impeller and connected to a turbine shaft. , A side cover that is integrally connected to the pump impeller and covers the turbine impeller, and the hub and the turbine shaft are concentric between the hub of the side cover and the turbine shaft that penetrates the hub. The radial bearing to be held and the one-way clutch that connects the turbine shaft and the side cover when a reverse load acts on the turbine shaft are coaxially adjacent to each other, and the hub of the output gear is connected to the outer end of the turbine shaft. In a torque converter in which a sealing means is provided between the output gear and the hub of the side cover, the inner peripheral surface of the hub of the side cover has a large inner diameter surface on the base end side, The outer race of the radial bearing, which is configured to have a step with a small-diameter inner peripheral surface on the tip side and is connected to the surface via an annular step, and the outer race of the radial bearing fitted to the large-diameter inner peripheral surface, is connected to the annular step and the large step. An output gear hub is axially sandwiched by a retaining ring locked to the inner diameter surface, the output gear hub is relatively rotatably fitted to the small diameter inner surface, and sealing means is provided between the fitting surfaces. This is the first feature.

According to this first feature, the inner peripheral surface of the hub of the side cover has a large-diameter inner peripheral surface on the base end side and a small-diameter inner surface on the tip end side for mounting the radial bearing and the one-way clutch. Since the stepped surface and the peripheral surface are formed, the entire stepped inner peripheral surface can be machined from the inner end side at once, the man-hours can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

Moreover, since the annular step portion between the large-diameter inner peripheral surface and the small-diameter inner peripheral surface is used for axially retaining the outer race of the radial bearing, the retaining structure is simple and the cost is further reduced. Can be achieved.

Moreover, since the sealing means is provided between the small-diameter inner peripheral surface and the hub of the output gear which is rotatably fitted thereto, the sealing means can be downsized.
The load on the sealing means can be reduced and its durability can be improved.

In addition to the first feature of the present invention, the seal means is an annular seal groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the hub of the output gear, and the seal means is mounted on the seal groove to form the small diameter inner peripheral surface. A second feature is that the seal ring is elastically intimately contacted, and the contact force of the seal ring with respect to the small-diameter inner peripheral surface is increased by the centrifugal force acting on the seal ring.

According to the second feature, the close contact force of the seal ring with respect to the small-diameter inner peripheral surface increases in accordance with the increase in the rotation speed of the hub of the side cover and the output gear, and the high speed rotation of the torque converter. At this time, it is possible to effectively prevent the rising internal pressure from leaking.

Further, in addition to the second feature, the present invention has an elasticity in which the seal ring has one abutment and is provided with a radial tension which is larger than the small diameter inner peripheral surface in a free state. A third feature is that the seal ring is composed of a ring body, and the end face of the seal ring facing the abutment is inclined with respect to the axis or the radial line of the ring.

According to the third feature, by widening the abutment, the output gear can be easily mounted in the seal groove of the hub, and the close contact force of the seal ring with the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter can be achieved. It is possible to surely increase the rotational speeds of the hub of the side cover and the output gear as the rotational speeds increase.

Further, since the end face of the seal ring facing the abutment is inclined with respect to the axis or the radial line of the ring, the leakage of the working oil from the abutment can be suppressed as much as possible.

In addition to any one of the first to third features, the present invention further provides a hub for fitting the output gear to the hub of the turbine shaft and the side cover, and a radial direction from the outer periphery of one end of the hub. The arm of the side cover is formed of a toothed rim that extends in the axial direction so as to overhang from the outer peripheral end of the arm to the side cover side and forms an annular recess between the hub and the side cover. The outer peripheral surface is composed of a large-diameter portion on the base end side having a diameter substantially the same as the annular recess and a small-diameter portion on the tip side, the small-diameter portion inside the annular recess and the large-diameter portion outside the recess. The fourth feature is that the rim-side corners of the annular recesses are rounded.

According to the fourth feature, by disposing the small diameter portion of the hub of the side cover in the annular recess of the output gear,
The toothed rim width can be sufficiently secured, and the torque converter can be made compact in the axial direction.

Moreover, although the annular recess and the large diameter portion of the hub of the side cover are formed to have substantially the same diameter, the radius of curvature is provided at the rim side corner of the annular recess without interference with the large diameter portion. It is possible to add a large roundness to avoid stress concentration on the corners and to contribute to improving the durability of the output gear.

The hub of the side cover, which is composed of the large diameter portion on the base end side and the small diameter portion on the tip end side, has a reasonable wall thickness corresponding to the load, and both weight reduction and strength are achieved. Can be satisfied.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on an embodiment of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the torque converter of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part 2 in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part 3 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 shows a part of the seal ring in FIG. A broken perspective view, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is 6 of FIG.
8 is an enlarged view of the part, FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the manufacturing process of the pump impeller, FIG.
1 is an enlarged view of part 8 of FIG. 1, FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of a manufacturing process of a turbine impeller, FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 1, FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 12-1 in FIG.
FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line 13-13 of FIG.

First, in FIG. 1, a torque converter T as a hydraulic power transmission device mounted on a small vehicle such as a motorcycle or a buggy vehicle comprises a crankshaft 1 of an engine as an input shaft and a driven gear of a multi-stage auxiliary transmission. Intervention with 17. The torque converter T includes a pump impeller 2 and
A turbine impeller 3 having an outer peripheral portion opposed to the outer peripheral portion,
A stator impeller 4 is provided between the inner peripheral portions of the three impellers, and a circulation circuit C for transmitting power by working oil is defined between the three impellers 2, 3 and 4. A side cover 5 that covers the outer surface of the turbine impeller 3 is integrally connected to the pump impeller 2 by welding. Pump impeller 2
The hub 2h is spline-fitted to the crankshaft 1, and is sandwiched by an annular shoulder portion 1a on the outer periphery of the crankshaft 1 and a nut 15 screwed to the crankshaft 1. In this way, the pump impeller 2 is fixed to the crankshaft 1.

The stator impeller 4 is made of a light alloy such as Al alloy, and its hub 4a has a small-diameter inner peripheral surface 35a and a large-diameter inner peripheral surface 35b with a central partition wall 34 interposed therebetween. An iron sleeve 36 press-fitted into the small-diameter inner peripheral surface 35a is spline-coupled to the inner end of the stator shaft 7. By using the press-fitting sleeve 36 made of iron in this way, the connection between the light alloy stator impeller 4 and the stator shaft 7 can be strengthened.

The stator shaft 7 is supported on the crank shaft 1 via a pair of left and right radial needle bearings 8, 8 '. A part of the hub 2h of the pump impeller 2 is arranged in the large-diameter inner peripheral surface 35b, and the thrust bearing 9 is interposed between the hub 2h and the partition wall 34.

The turbine impeller 3 is fitted and welded to the inner end of the turbine shaft 6 surrounding the stator shaft 7, and the turbine shaft 6 is provided with a radial ball bearing 10 and a radial needle bearing 11 on the outer circumference of the stator shaft 7. It is rotatably supported via. At that time, the radial ball bearing 10 is arranged on the inner end side of the turbine shaft 6, and the radial needle bearing 11 is arranged on the outer end side thereof.

A hub 5h surrounding the turbine shaft 6 is welded to the side cover 5. During the welding, the inner peripheral surface of the side cover 5 is fitted to the stepped portion of the stepped flange 85 formed at the base end portion of the hub 5h. An annular groove 86 having a trapezoidal or V-shaped cross section with the fitting surface as the groove bottom is formed on the outer surface of the side cover 5 and the flange 85, and the annular groove 86 forms the side cover 5 and the flange 85. They are TIG or MIG welded to each other. The weld is indicated by reference numeral 87. When the welding is performed in this manner, the welded portion 87 extends over the side cover 5 and the flange 85 over a wide range, and the welding strength can be increased.

A one-way clutch 13 and a radial ball bearing 14 are provided between the inner peripheral surface of the hub 5h of the side cover 5 and the outer peripheral surface of the turbine shaft 6 in the axial direction with the former 13 on the stator impeller 4 side. Is located adjacent to. The hub 16h of the output gear 16 for driving the driven gear 17 is connected to the outside of the radial ball bearing 14 and the hub 16h is rotatable relative to the inner peripheral surface of the hub 5h of the side cover 5. The first sealing means 48 is provided between the fitting surfaces. These structures will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG.

The hub 5h of the side cover 5 has its tip extending axially outward from the base end welded to the side cover 5, and its inner peripheral surface is a large-diameter inner peripheral surface 37a on the base end side. The large-diameter inner peripheral surface 37a is stepped with a small-diameter inner peripheral surface 37b that is connected to the outer end of the large-diameter inner peripheral surface 37a via an annular step portion 37c. The small-diameter inner peripheral surface 37b has a large axial length. Inner surface 37
It is set as small as half or less of the axial length of a. The stepped inner peripheral surface is machined at once from the base end side of the hub 5h. The large-diameter inner peripheral surface 37a is provided with a deep annular locking groove 40 in the center and a shallow annular locking groove 41 near the base end.

The outer peripheral surface of the hub 5h is composed of a large-diameter portion 38a on the base end side and a small-diameter portion 38b connected to the large-diameter portion 38a via a tapered portion 38c.

On the other hand, the turbine shaft 6 disposed inside the hub 5h of the side cover 5 has its tip protruding outward of the hub 5h, and the outer peripheral surface of the turbine shaft 6 is
It is composed of a large-diameter portion 39a on the base end side and a small-diameter portion 39b on the tip side that is continuous with the large-diameter portion 39a via an annular step 39c. It is arranged at a position substantially corresponding to the stop groove 40. Further, a tapered surface 49 is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the annular step portion 39c.

The outer race 14a of the radial ball bearing 14 is fitted to the large-diameter inner peripheral surface 37a of the hub 5h of the side cover 5, and is also locked to the annular step portion 37c and the deep annular locking groove 40. The inner ring 14b is axially sandwiched by the retaining ring 18, and the small diameter portion 39b of the turbine shaft 6 is fitted to the inner race 14b thereof. The small diameter portion 39c of the turbine shaft 6 is fitted to the outer end portion of the small diameter portion 39b. The inner race 14b is axially sandwiched by the hub 16h of the output gear 16.

An annular retainer 13 of the one-way clutch 13.
a is a shallow annular locking groove 41 of the hub 5h of the side cover 5.
The large number of sprags 13b, 13b, ... Locked on the retainer 13a are retained on the large diameter inner peripheral surface 37 of the hub 5h.
It is interposed between a and the large diameter portion 39a of the turbine shaft 6. When the large-diameter portion 39a is fitted into the one-way clutch 13, the tapered surface 49 of the annular step portion 39c guides the fitting, so that the one-way clutch 13 can be easily attached regardless of the presence of the annular step portion 39c. Can be done. The one-way clutch 13 is configured to be in an on state so as to directly connect the turbine shaft 6 and the hub 5h of the side cover 5 when a reverse load is applied to the turbine shaft 6.

Referring again to FIG. 1, an outer cylinder 19 adjacent to the outer surface of the output gear 16 is integrally formed on the stator shaft 7, and an inner cylinder 20 surrounded by the outer cylinder 19 is an outer cylinder 19.
Are rotatably fitted to each other via a radial needle bearing 24, and a free wheel 23 is interposed between the inner and outer cylinders 20 and 19. The inner cylinder 20 has a flange 20a at one end thereof, and the flange 20a is fixed to a fixing pin 22 provided on a fixed structure 21 such as a crankcase.
The outer end surface is supported by a positioning stopper 21a protruding from the fixed structure 21. The end surface of the outer cylinder 19 is supported by the flange 20a via the thrust bearing 25.

As the radial needle bearing 24, a needle roller having a relatively large diameter is used in consideration of the load on the inner cylinder 20.
A washer 33 is interposed between the radial needle bearing 8'adjacent to the one end side thereof to avoid interference between the bearings 24, 8 '.

The rotation of the crankshaft 1 is transmitted to the pump impeller 2 by the operation of the engine, and when it is rotated, the oil filling the circulation circuit C in the torque converter T is as shown in FIG. Pump impeller 2 as indicated by the arrow
Rotating torque of the pump impeller 2 is transmitted to the turbine impeller 3 while circulating the turbine impeller 3 → stator impeller 4 → pump impeller 2 to drive the output gear 16 from the turbine shaft 6. At this time, if the torque amplifying action is generated between the pump impeller 2 and the turbine impeller 3, the reaction force accompanying it is borne by the stator impeller 4 and the stator impeller 4
Is locked by the locking action of the freewheel 23.
Supported by 2.

When the torque amplifying action is finished, the stator impeller 4 is rotated in the same direction as the pump impeller 2 and the turbine impeller 3 while idling the free wheel 23 by reversing the torque direction received by the stator impeller 4.

When a reverse load is transmitted from the drive gear 16 to the turbine shaft 6 during deceleration of the vehicle, the one-way clutch 13 is turned on and the turbine shaft 6 and the side cover 5 are directly connected. The transmission directly from the turbine shaft 6 to the side cover 5, and then from the pump impeller 2 to the crankshaft 1. Therefore, a good engine braking effect can be obtained without causing slippage between the turbine impeller 3 and the pump impeller 2.

Moreover, the radial ball bearing 14 adjacent to the one-way clutch 13 is interposed between the turbine shaft 6 and the hub 5h of the side cover 5 to ensure the concentricity of the both 6 and the hub 5h. A large number of sprags 13b of the one-way clutch 13 between the both 6 and the hub 5h,
The loads received by 13b ... Are equalized, and the durability of the clutch 13 can be improved. The radial ball bearing 14 axially connects the turbine shaft 6 and the hub 5h of the side cover 5 in cooperation with the output gear 16 fixed to the turbine shaft 6, so that the crankshaft 1 has a simple structure. The assembly of the torque converter T can be configured before mounting to the crankshaft 1. Therefore, when mounting to the crankshaft 1, the hub 2h of the pump impeller 2 is slap-line fitted to the crankshaft 1 and fixed by the nut 15. By simply performing the above, positioning of the entire torque converter T in the axial direction can be performed.

Further, referring to FIG. 2, the coupling structure of the turbine shaft 6 and the output gear 16 will be described in detail.

The output gear 16 includes a hub 16h, an arm 16a extending radially from the outer end of the hub 16h,
A rim 16r with teeth extending axially from the outer peripheral end of the arm 16a so as to overhang to the side cover 5 side.
And a turbine shaft 6 on the inner peripheral surface of the hub 16h.
The small diameter portion 39b is lightly press-fitted, and the fitting surfaces of the hub 16h and the outer end surface of the turbine shaft 6 are welded to each other by a laser beam. Reference numeral 42 indicates the laser beam welded portion. The press-fitting depth of the turbine shaft 6 into the inner peripheral surface of the hub 16h is easily and accurately defined by the hub 16h contacting the annular step 39c via the inner race 14b of the radial ball bearing 14. Thus, the output gear 16 is connected to the turbine shaft 6,
Inner race 1 of radial ball bearing 14 at the same time
4b is axially held by the annular step 39c and the hub 16h, which simplifies the holding structure.

By the way, since the press-fitting of the turbine shaft 6 into the hub 16h of the output gear 16 is a light press-fitting, a relatively small press-fitting load is sufficient. Therefore, the distortion of the turbine shaft 6 due to press fitting can be suppressed as much as possible even if the hollow turbine shaft 6 does not have a special thick wall. Moreover, since the light press-fitting portion is firmly joined to the entire circumference by the laser beam welded portion 42, it is possible to sufficiently compensate for the insufficient coupling strength of the turbine shaft 6 and the output gear 16 due to the light press-fitting.
The light press-fitting portion can be surely sealed. Also, since laser beam welding has relatively little heat input, there is no concern about thermal strain in each part.

In the output gear 16, between the hub 16h and the rim 16r, an annular recess 43 having a diameter substantially the same as that of the large diameter portion 38a of the hub 5h of the side cover 5 is defined, and the annular recess 43 on the rim 16r side. Is rounded at the corner 43a. The small diameter portion 38b of the hub 5h of the side cover 5 is inside the annular recess 43, and the hub 5h is outside the annular recess 43.
The large-diameter portions 38a of h are arranged respectively. By doing so, the width of the rim 16r of the output gear 16, that is, the tooth width can be sufficiently secured, and the torque converter T can be made compact in the axial direction. Also, the rim 1 of the annular recess 43
The radius of curvature of the rounded corner 43a on the 6r side can be set sufficiently large without being interfered with by the large-diameter portion 38a of the hub 5h of the side cover 5, so that the corner 43a It is possible to improve the durability of the output gear 16 by avoiding the stress concentration.

Next, the oil supply and lubrication system for the torque converter T and the seal structure thereof will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, in FIG. 1, the crankshaft 1 is provided with a supply oil passage 31 passing through the axial center thereof, and an inlet hole 26 and an outlet hole 27 extending from the supply oil passage 31 in the radial direction. The oil passage 31 has an inlet hole 26 and an outlet hole 27.
An orifice 32 is formed which intervenes in between.

The supply oil passage 31 has one end connected to the discharge port of the oil pump 30 driven by the crankshaft 1, and the other end connected to a lubricating portion (not shown) of the engine. The inlet hole 26 includes the radial needle bearing 8, the radial oil groove 44 of the partition wall 34 of the hub 4a of the stator impeller 4, and the axial oil groove 45 of the large-diameter inner peripheral surface 35b.
The outlet hole 27 communicates with the circulation circuit C via (see FIGS. 11 and 13), and the outlet hole 27 is formed in the annular oil passage 29 formed between the opposed peripheral surfaces of the crankshaft 1 and the turbine shaft 6 and the stator shaft 7. The lateral hole 28 provided and the radial ball bearing 1
It communicates with the circulation circuit C via 0 and.

As shown in FIG. 2, the hub 1 of the output gear 16
The outer peripheral surface of 6h is relatively rotatably fitted to the small diameter inner peripheral surface 37b of the hub 5h of the side cover 5. At that time, a seal ring 47 that is elastically brought into close contact with the small-diameter inner peripheral surface 37b is attached to an annular seal groove 46 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the hub 16h of the output gear 16. The seal groove 46 and the seal ring 47 constitute the first sealing means 48,
The oil that lubricates the radial ball bearing 14 is prevented from leaking to the outside.

The seal ring 47, as shown in FIG.
In addition to having one abutment 47a, the hub 5 is in a free state.
It is composed of an elastic ring body provided with a radial tension having a diameter larger than that of the small-diameter inner peripheral surface 37b of h, and its end face facing the abutment 47a is inclined with respect to the axis or the radial line of the ring 47. . When mounting the seal ring 47 in the seal groove 46, the abutment 47a is opened widely, the hub 16h of the output gear 16 is inserted into the seal ring 47, and the opening force to the ring 47 is released.
7 can be mounted in the seal groove 46 by its own restoring force.

Second sealing means 52 is provided outside the radial needle bearing 11 on the peripheral surfaces of the stator shaft 7 and the turbine shaft 6 facing each other. The second sealing means 52, like the first sealing means 48, has an annular seal groove 50 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the stator shaft 7.
And a seal ring 51 that is mounted in the seal groove 50 and elastically comes into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the stator shaft 7,
The oil that lubricates the radial needle bearing 11 is prevented from leaking to the outside.

Since the crankshaft 1 drives the oil pump 30 during its rotation, the oil pump 30 continues to pump oil to the oil supply passage 31. A part of the oil passes through the orifice 32 and the rest flows into the circulation circuit C in the torque converter T while lubricating the radial needle bearing 8 and the thrust bearing 9 through the inlet hole 26 to fill the inside thereof. After that, the radial ball bearing 10 and the radial needle bearing 11 are lubricated, and sequentially pass through the lateral hole 28, the annular oil passage 29, and the outlet hole 27, flow out to the downstream side of the supply oil passage 31, and merge with the oil that has passed through the orifice 32. Then, it goes to the lubrication part of the engine (not shown).

Further, a part of the oil in the circulation circuit C moves to the side cover 5 side from the facing gap of the outer peripheral portions of the pump impeller 2 and the turbine impeller 3, and lubricates the one-way clutch 13 and the radial ball bearing 14. Be used for. Part of the oil that has entered the annular oil passage 29 passes through the gap between the crank shaft 1 and the stator shaft 7 to lubricate the radial needle bearings 8 ′, 24 and the free wheel 23.

By the way, the oil that lubricates the one-way clutch 13 and the radial ball bearing 14 is blocked by the light press-fitting portion between the turbine shaft 6 and the hub 16h of the output gear 16 and the annular laser beam welding portion 42. It is prevented from leaking to the outside by being blocked by the first sealing means 48 between the hubs 5h and 16h of the cover 5 and the output gear 16.

In particular, the first sealing means 48 is the output gear 1
An annular seal groove 46 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the hub 16h of No. 6
And a seal ring 47 which is mounted in the seal groove 46 and elastically comes into close contact with the small-diameter inner peripheral surface 37b of the hub 5h of the side cover 5, the seal ring 47 is
The centrifugal force generated by rotating together with the side cover 5 tends to increase the diameter due to the action, thereby increasing the close contact force with respect to the small diameter inner peripheral surface 37b. Further, the hydraulic pressure in the torque converter T presses the inner surface of the seal ring 47 to bring the ring 47 into close contact with the outer inner surface of the seal groove 46. As a result, when the torque converter T rotates at high speed, it is possible to effectively prevent the leak of the internal hydraulic pressure that rises.

Further, the seal ring 47 is one abutment 47.
Since it is composed of an elastic ring body having a and outward tension in the radial direction, the seal groove 4 of the hub 16h of the output gear 16 is expanded by expanding the abutment 47a.
6 can be easily mounted, and the close contact force of the seal ring 47 with respect to the small-diameter inner peripheral surface 37b can be reliably increased according to the increase in the rotation speed of the hub 5h of the side cover 5 and the output gear 16. You can

Furthermore, by inclining the end face of the seal ring 47 facing the joint 47a with respect to the axis or the radial line of the ring 47, the leakage of the working oil from the joint 47a can be suppressed as much as possible.

The inner peripheral surface of the hub 5h of the side cover 5 has a large-diameter inner peripheral surface 37a on the base end side for mounting the radial ball bearing 14 and the one-way clutch 13 and a small-diameter inner peripheral surface on the front end side. Since 37b and step are configured,
This makes it possible to machine the entire stepped inner peripheral surface from one end side at once, reducing man-hours and contributing to cost reduction.

Moreover, since the annular step portion 37c between the large diameter inner peripheral surface 37a and the small diameter inner peripheral surface 37b is used for axially retaining the outer race 14a of the radial ball bearing 14, the retaining structure is simple. The cost can be further reduced.

In addition, the first sealing means 48 is provided between the small-diameter inner peripheral surface 37b and the hub 16h of the output gear 16 which is rotatably fitted thereto, whereby the small-diameter of the first sealing means 48 is provided. The first sealing means 48
The load on the can be reduced and its durability can be increased.

The second sealing means 52 interposed between the crankshaft 1 and the turbine shaft 6 also exerts a sealing function similar to that of the first sealing means 48, and the oil that lubricates the radial needle bearing 11 is exposed to the outside. Leaks can be effectively prevented.

Further, the hub 5h of the side cover 5 composed of the large diameter portion 38a on the base end side and the small diameter portion 38b on the tip end side is
Since it has a reasonable wall thickness corresponding to the load, both weight reduction and strength can be satisfied.

Next, the pump impeller 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5 to 7.

The pump impeller 2 has a bowl-shaped and annular shell 2s, this shell 2s, a large number of blades 2b, 2b ..., which are brazed to fixed positions on the inner surface of this shell 2s, and the inner surface of the shell 2s. Brazed these blades 2
It is composed of a retainer plate 2r that presses radially inner ends of b, 2b ..., A core 2c that connects the intermediate portions of all the blades 2b, 2b ..., and a hub 2h that is welded to the inner peripheral edge of the shell 2s.

The shell 2s is formed with a large number of positioning recesses 55, 55 ... Arranged in the circumferential direction.
The positioning protrusions 56 formed on the inner ends of the blades 2b in the radial direction are engaged therewith.

On the other hand, the retainer plate 2r is arranged so as to press the positioning projections 56 of all the blades 2b, 2b ... Further, the retainer plate 2r is provided with positioning notches 57, 57 ... For engagement with the blades 2b.

A positioning projection 58 is formed on each blade 2b at an edge facing the core 2c, and a positioning hole 59 with which the positioning projection 58 engages is formed in the core 2c.

When brazing the shell 2s, the blades 2b, 2b ... and the retainer plate 2r to the shell 2s, first, as shown in FIG. 7 (A), the blades 2b, 2b ... And retainer plate 2
After setting r, an annular or annular array of protrusions 60 raised on one side near the inner peripheral edge of the retainer plate 2r is resistance welded to the inner side of the shell 2s to temporarily fix the retainer plate 2r to the shell 2s. Then, braze in this state. By doing so, the brazing work can be performed easily and accurately.

After the brazing, as shown in FIG. 7B, the inner peripheral end of the retainer plate 2r up to the vicinity of the welded portion of the protrusion 60 is cut together with the inner surface of the shell 2s to form the retainer plate 2r. In addition, an escape hole 61 having a larger diameter than the inner peripheral surface of the shell 2s is formed.

On the other hand, a large diameter portion 62 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the hub 2h.
And a small diameter fitting portion 64 connected to the outer end of the large diameter portion 62 via an annular step portion 63. While the small diameter fitting tubular portion 64 is fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the shell 2s, , The large diameter portion 62 is inserted into the escape hole 61, and the annular step portion 63
The inner surface of the shell 2s is pressed against. On the outer surface of the shell 2s and the hub 2h, an annular groove 65 having a trapezoidal cross section or a V-shape with the fitting portion of the shell 2s and the hub 2h formed is formed. TIG or MIG welding is performed on the entire circumference. The welded portion 66 formed at this time fills the annular groove 65, and the shell 2
The inner side surface of s reaches the annular stepped portion 63 of the hub 2b with which it abuts.

In the illustrated example, the annular groove 65 has a trapezoidal cross section in which the bottom surface extends from the fitting surface of the hub 2b and the shell 2s to the shell 2s side. In this way, the groove bottom of the annular groove 65 comes close to the inner side surface of the shell 2s in a relatively wide range, and when welding in the annular groove 65, the welded portion 66 is connected to the hub 2b with relatively little heat input. Annular step 63
Can be reached reliably.

Thus, the shell 2 is cut by cutting after brazing.
Since the brazing material 67 is surely removed from the exposed inner surface of s, the hub 2b and the shell 2s are subsequently welded to each other so that the welded portion 66 contacts the inner surface of the shell 2s.
Even when it reaches the annular stepped portion 63 of b, the situation in which the brazing material is not eluted and mixed into the welded portion 66 does not occur, the defective rate of welding is drastically reduced, and the brazing work is easy. It is possible to improve the manufacturing efficiency.

Moreover, the welded portion 66 of the hub 2b and the shell 2s fills the annular groove 65 and reaches the annular stepped portion 63 of the hub 2b with which the inner side surface of the shell 2s abuts, whereby the inner peripheral end of the shell 2s is reached. Since the entire portion is welded to the hub 2b, the welding strength can be significantly increased.

Next, the turbine impeller 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1, 8 and 9.

Similar to the pump impeller 3, the turbine impeller 3 has a bowl-shaped and annular shell 3s, the shell 3s, and a large number of blades 3b, 3b brazed to fixed positions on the inner surface of the shell 3s. The retainer plate 3r, which is brazed to the inner surface of the shell 3s and presses the inner ends of the blades 3b, 3b in the radial direction, all the blades 3b, 3
The core 3c for connecting the intermediate parts of b ..., the reinforcing plate 70 brazed to the back surface of the retainer plate 3r, and the turbine shaft 6 welded to the inner peripheral edge of the shell 3s, the reinforcing plate 70 being the shell. 3s and retainer plate 3r
Is thicker than. The structures of the shell 3s, the retainer plate 3r, and the core 3c are basically the same as those of the pump impeller 2, and the description thereof will be omitted.

When brazing the shell 3s, the blades 3b, 3b, ..., The retainer plate 3r and the reinforcing plate 70 to each other, first, as shown in FIG. 9 (A), the blade 3b, 3b ... Group and the retainer plate 3r are arranged, and the reinforcing plate 70 is superposed on the back surface of the retainer plate 3r. At the same time, the protrusions 71 and 72 of an annular or annular arrangement formed on both side surfaces of the retainer plate 3r near the inner peripheral end are resistance-welded to the side surfaces of the shell 3s and the reinforcing plate 70 to form the retainer plate 3r and the reinforcing plate 70. Temporarily fix to the shell 3s, and braze in this state.

After the brazing, as shown in FIG. 9B, the shell 3s, the retainer plate 3r and the reinforcing plate 70 are formed.
The inner peripheral edge portion of is cut to the vicinity of the welded portion of the protrusions 71 and 72, and the fitting inner peripheral surface 73 is formed there.

On the other hand, at the inner end portion of the turbine shaft 6, as shown in FIG. 8, a connecting cylindrical portion 74 surrounding the radial ball bearing 10 and a radial direction outward from the root of the connecting cylindrical portion 74. The positioning flange 75 is formed, the connecting cylindrical portion 74 is fitted to the fitting inner peripheral surface 73, and the shell 3s is pressed against the positioning flange 75. In this state, the shell 3s is reinforced with the outer peripheral surface of the connecting cylindrical portion 74. Board 7
The intersection with the outer surface of 0 is TIG or MIG welded over the entire circumference. Reference numeral 76 indicates the welded portion.

By the way, since the reinforcing plate 70 is relatively thick, a sufficient space is secured between the welded portion 76 and the brazed portion between the retainer plate 3r and the reinforcing plate 70, and the welded portion 76 is welded. The heat does not melt the brazing material 67 of the brazing portion, and therefore, the welding failure of the welding portion 76 due to the elution of the brazing material 67 can be avoided.

Next, referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, the thrust bearing 9 provided between the hubs 2h and 4h of the pump impeller 2 and the stator impeller 4 will be described in detail.

The thrust bearing 9 has a large number of needle rollers 78, 78 ... Arranged in an annular shape, and a large number of windows 79a for holding the needle rollers 78, 78.
An annular retainer 79 having 79a, and an annular thrust plate 80 made of a steel plate that supports one side surface of the needle rollers 78, 78 ... Group. The thrust plate 80 is integrally formed with a cylindrical portion 80a fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the retainer 79 so as to be relatively rotatable.
A plurality of retaining claws 80b facing the outer surface of the retainer 79 are formed by crimping the tip edge of the retainer radially outward. In this way, the thrust bearing 9 has the thrust plate 80 incorporated therein as one element thereof. On the outer periphery of the thrust plate 80, one or a plurality of rotation stopping pieces 80c are integrally provided so as to project.

When the thrust bearing 9 is inserted into the large-diameter inner peripheral surface 35b of the hub 4h of the stator impeller 4, the thrust plate 80 is the partition wall 3 of the hub 4h made of light alloy.
4, the anti-rotation piece 80c has a large diameter inner peripheral surface 35b.
Is engaged with the axial oil groove 45 formed in the. Further, the pump impeller 2 is provided on the other side surface of the needle rollers 78, 78.
Hub 2h is hit. The axial oil groove 45 also serves as a rotation stop groove corresponding to the rotation stop piece 80c. Therefore, when the pump impeller 2 and the stator impeller 4 rotate relative to each other, the thrust plate 80 rotates integrally with the hub 4h of the stator impeller 4 while the needle roller 7
It is possible to directly receive the thrust load from 8, 78 ... and prevent the wear of the light alloy hub 4h.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1, 12 and 13, the thrust bearing interposed between the end surface of the outer cylinder 19 on the outer circumference of the free wheel 23 and the flange 20a of the inner cylinder 20 on the inner circumference of the free wheel 23. 25 will be described in detail.

Like the thrust bearing 9, the thrust bearing 25 also has a large number of needle rollers 81, 81 ...
An annular retainer 82 having a large number of windows 82a, 82a for holding 1, 81, ..., And needle rollers 81, 81.
It consists of a steel plate and an annular thrust plate 83 which supports one side surface of the group. The retainer 8 is attached to the thrust plate 83.
A cylindrical portion 83a is formed integrally with the outer peripheral surface of the second cylindrical member 83a so that the cylindrical portion 83a is rotatable relative to the outer peripheral surface of the retainer 82. The retaining claws 83b are formed. In this way, the thrust bearing 83 is assembled with the thrust plate 83 as one element thereof.

When the thrust bearing 25 is interposed between the end surface of the outer cylinder 19 and the flange 20a of the inner cylinder 20, the thrust plate 83 is loosely fitted to the outer circumference of the inner cylinder 20. Abut on the end surface of the outer cylinder 19 having a small area. Therefore, when the outer cylinder 19 and the inner cylinder 20 are relatively rotated, the thrust plate 83 directly receives the thrust load from the needle rollers 81, 81 ... It is possible to prevent the wear of the end face of the area.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the resistance welding of each part may be spot welding that does not use a protrusion, instead of projection welding that uses a protrusion as shown in the figure.

[0083]

As described above, according to the first feature of the present invention, the inner peripheral surface of the hub of the side cover has a large-diameter inner peripheral surface on the base end side for mounting the radial bearing and the one-way clutch. Since the surface and the small-diameter inner peripheral surface on the tip side are stepped, the entire stepped inner peripheral surface can be machined from one end side at a time, reducing man-hours and cost. Can contribute to. Moreover, since the annular step portion between the large-diameter inner peripheral surface and the small-diameter inner peripheral surface is used for axially retaining the outer race of the radial bearing, the retaining structure is simple and the cost can be further reduced. You can In addition, since the sealing means is provided between the small-diameter inner peripheral surface and the hub of the output gear that is rotatably fitted thereto, the diameter of the sealing means can be reduced and the load on the sealing means can be reduced. ， It can improve its durability.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the close contact force of the seal ring constituting the sealing means with respect to the small-diameter inner peripheral surface increases as the rotational speed of the hub of the side cover and the output gear increases. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent leakage of the internal pressure that rises when the torque converter rotates at high speed.

Further, according to the third feature of the present invention, the seal ring has an abutment, and in the free state, the elastic ring is provided with a radial tension that is larger than the small diameter inner peripheral surface. Since it is composed of a body, it is possible to easily attach the output gear to the seal groove of the hub by widening the abutment, and moreover, the close contact force of the seal ring with the inner surface of the small diameter is applied to the hub and the output of the side cover. It can be reliably increased as the number of rotations of the gear increases. Further, the end face of the seal ring facing the abutment is inclined with respect to the axis or the radial line of the ring, so that the leak of the working oil from the abutment can be suppressed as much as possible.

Furthermore, according to the fourth feature of the present invention,
By arranging the small diameter part of the hub of the side cover in the annular recess of the output gear, the toothed rim width can be sufficiently secured and the torque converter can be made compact in the axial direction. Moreover, although the annular recess and the large diameter portion of the hub of the side cover are formed to have substantially the same diameter, the radius of curvature is large at the rim side corner of the annular recess without being interfered with by the large diameter portion. It becomes possible to add a roundness to avoid stress concentration on the corners and contribute to the improvement of the durability of the output gear. In addition, the hub of the side cover, which consists of the large diameter portion on the base end side and the small diameter portion on the tip end side, will have a reasonable thickness corresponding to the load, and will satisfy both weight reduction and strength. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a torque converter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part 2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part 3 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view in which a part of the seal ring in FIG. 3 is cut away.

5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG.

6 is an enlarged view of part 6 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the manufacturing process of the pump impeller.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of part 8 in FIG.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of the manufacturing process of the turbine impeller.

10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIG.

11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11-11 of FIG.

12 is a sectional view taken along line 12-12 of FIG.

13 is a sectional view taken along line 13-13 of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

T ... Torque converter 1 ... Input shaft (crank shaft) 2 ... Pump impeller 3 ... Turbine impeller 5 ... Side cover 5h: Side cover hub 6 ... Turbine shaft 13-one-way clutch 14 ... Radial bearing 14a ... Outer race 14b ... Inner race 16 Output gear 16a ... arm 16h ... Hub 16r ... ・ Toothed rim 37a ... Large inner diameter surface of hub 5h 37b ... ・ Inner peripheral surface of small diameter of hub 5h 37c .... Annular step between the large diameter inner peripheral surface and the small diameter inner peripheral surface 38a ...- Large diameter part of the outer peripheral surface of the hub 5h 38b .... small diameter part of the outer peripheral surface of the hub 5h 43 ... Annular recess 43a ... Corner 46 ... Seal groove 47 ... Seal ring 47a ... 48 ... Sealing means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pump impeller (2) connected to an input shaft (1), and a turbine impeller (3) connected to the pump impeller (2) and connected to a turbine shaft (6). The pump impeller (2) is integrally provided with a side cover (5) for covering the turbine impeller (3), and the hub (5h) of the side cover (5) and the hub (5h) are provided. These hubs (5h) are connected to the turbine shaft (6) that penetrates them.
And a radial bearing (14) that holds the turbine shaft (6) concentrically, and a one-way clutch (13) that connects the turbine shaft (6) and the side cover (5) when a reverse load acts on the turbine shaft (6). ) And are coaxially adjacent to each other, and the hub (16) of the output gear (16) is attached to the outer end of the turbine shaft (6).
h) is coupled and a sealing means (48) is provided between the output gear (16) and the hub (5h) of the side cover (5).
In the torque converter provided with, the inner peripheral surface of the hub (5h) of the side cover (5) is a large-diameter inner peripheral surface (37a) on the base end side, and an annular step portion is formed on the large-diameter inner peripheral surface (37a). (37c) continuous small diameter inner peripheral surface (37c)
b) and the outer race (14a) of the radial bearing (14) fitted to the large diameter inner peripheral surface (37a) of the annular race (37c) and the large diameter inner periphery. The hub (16h) of the output gear (16) is fitted in the small diameter inner peripheral surface (37b) so as to be relatively rotatable, by being sandwiched in the axial direction by the retaining ring (18) locked to the surface (37a). A torque converter characterized in that a sealing means (48) is provided between the fitting surfaces. 2. The torque converter according to claim 1, wherein the sealing means (48) is an annular seal groove (4) formed on the outer peripheral surface of the hub (16h) of the output gear (16).
6) and a seal ring (4) which is mounted in the seal groove (46) and elastically comes into close contact with the small diameter inner peripheral surface (37b).
7) and the close contact force of the seal ring (47) with respect to the small diameter inner peripheral surface (37b) is the seal ring (4).
A torque converter characterized by being increased by a centrifugal force acting on 7). 3. The torque converter according to claim 2, wherein the seal ring (47) is provided with a single joint (47).
a), and in the free state, the small diameter inner peripheral surface (3
7b) is composed of an elastic ring body having a larger radial tension than that of 7b), and the end face of this seal ring (47) facing the abutment (47a) is to the axis or radius line of the ring (47). A torque converter characterized by being inclined. 4. The torque converter according to claim 1, wherein the output gear (16) is fitted to the turbine shaft (6) and the hub (5h) of the side cover (5). ), An arm (16a) extending radially from the outer circumference of one end of the hub (16h), and an axially extending hub (16h) from the outer circumferential end of the arm (16a) to the side cover (5) side. ) With a toothed rim (16r) defining an annular recess (43) between the annular cover and the outer peripheral surface of the hub (5h) of the side cover (5) on the proximal side. It is composed of a large diameter portion (38a) having substantially the same diameter as the concave portion (43) and a small diameter portion (38b) on the tip side, and the small diameter portion (38b) is the annular concave portion (43)
A large diameter portion (38a) is arranged inside and outside the recess (43) respectively, and a corner (43a) on the rim (16r) side of the annular recess (43) is rounded. Torque converter.