JP2004183707A - Drive plate for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drive plate for a vehicle comprising a ring gear fixed on the outside by welding, in which trouble of a weld part with an installation part of a torque converter is eliminated. <P>SOLUTION: In this drive plate for a vehicle to connect a crankshaft to the torque converter, a plate part 1A is coupled on the inside of a ring gear part 2 by welding. The weld part X of the plate part 1A with the ring gear part 2 is provided in a groove 16 recessed from other outer circumferential parts of the plate part 1A for a prescribed depth in composing the drive plate 10 for a vehicle. The groove 16 may be provided in the outer circumferential parts of the plate part 1A except for a part of the plate part 1A close to a boss 8 projected on the torque converter. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a drive plate for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a structure of a drive plate for a vehicle that connects a crankshaft of a vehicle engine and a torque converter mounted on an input portion of an automatic transmission.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, many vehicles, especially automobiles, have a structure that transmits rotation of an engine crankshaft to an axle via an automatic transmission. The automatic transmission is generally connected to the engine crankshaft through a torque converter, and the rotation of the crankshaft is transmitted to the torque converter via a drive plate attached to an end of the crankshaft. .
[0003]
A conventional vehicle drive plate is formed from a disc-shaped metal plate, and has a connection portion to a crankshaft of an engine formed in a center portion and a connection portion to a torque converter formed near an outer peripheral portion. I have. In addition, a ring-shaped member formed on the outer peripheral surface of the drive plate for the vehicle is formed with a gear that rotates with the pinion gear that rotates by the action of the self-motor when the engine is started and rotates the crankshaft of the engine. They are integrally fixed by fastening or the like.
[0004]
The outer peripheral part of the conventional drive plate has a dish shape curved toward the torque converter according to the shape of the shell of the torque converter, and the outer peripheral part of the drive plate is thickened to form an annular rim. The ring gear is integrally formed by rolling a gear on the outer peripheral surface of the rim portion.
[0005]
However, in the drive plate in which the ring gear is integrally formed by forming the annular rim portion by increasing the thickness of the outer peripheral portion of the drive plate and rolling the gear on the outer peripheral surface of the rim portion, the number of parts can be reduced. Although there is an advantage that the weight can be reduced, there is a disadvantage that the stiffness of the rim portion on which the gear is formed is weaker than the case where a ring-shaped member is used.
[0006]
For this reason, a drive plate is often used in which a drive plate made of a thin plate is fitted into the inner periphery of a thick ring gear, and the inner periphery of the ring gear and the outer periphery of the drive plate are welded to each other. For example, see Patent Document 2).
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2000-88077 (FIGS. 1 and 2)
[0008]
[Patent Document 2]
JP 2000-74175 A (FIG. 2B)
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional drive plate, the inner peripheral portion of the ring gear and the outer peripheral portion of the drive plate fitted inside the ring gear are joined by welding. In some cases, when the torque converter is mounted on the drive plate, the shell on the drive plate side of the torque converter, or the spacer inserted between the shell of the torque converter and the drive plate abuts on the raised weld, There is a problem in that the drive plate side shell of the torque converter and the drive plate are not parallel, and the drive plate has reduced strength and noise.
[0010]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object thereof is to fit a drive plate into an inner peripheral portion of a ring gear and weld an inner peripheral portion of the ring gear to an outer peripheral portion of the drive plate. In the flat plate type drive plate, the welded portion between the inner peripheral portion of the ring gear and the outer peripheral portion of the drive plate does not protrude from the regular welding range toward the center portion and does not rise to the torque converter side. It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle drive plate in which the weld does not abut on a drive plate side shell of the torque converter or a spacer inserted between the torque converter shell and the drive plate.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle drive plate according to claim 1 of the present invention is a vehicle drive plate that connects a crankshaft of an engine and a torque converter provided at an input portion of an automatic transmission. A ring gear portion having a gear formed on the outer peripheral portion thereof, and a plate portion made of sheet metal which is fitted inside the ring gear portion, a central portion is connected to the crankshaft, and an outer peripheral portion is connected to the torque converter, In a vehicle drive plate in which an inner peripheral portion of a ring gear portion and an outer peripheral portion of a plate portion are joined by welding, a weld portion of the plate portion with the ring gear portion is recessed by a predetermined depth with respect to another outer peripheral portion of the plate portion. It is characterized by having a concave portion.
[0012]
Further, in the vehicle drive plate according to the second aspect, the welded portion is an outer peripheral portion of the plate portion excluding the vicinity of the joint portion of the plate portion with the torque converter.
[0013]
According to such a vehicle drive plate of the present invention, the welded portion between the inner peripheral portion of the ring gear and the outer peripheral portion of the drive plate protrudes from the regular welding range toward the central portion and is directed toward the torque converter. Since the weld does not bulge and does not come into contact with the shell on the drive plate side of the torque converter or the spacer inserted between the shell of the torque converter and the drive plate, the drive plate and the torque converter are assembled. In this case, workability can be improved, and strength reduction and generation of abnormal noise due to displacement of the mounting position of the drive plate can be prevented.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings based on specific examples. Before that, the configuration of a drive plate for a vehicle to which the present invention is applied and its problems will be described with reference to FIGS. This will be described with reference to FIG.
[0015]
FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of a conventional vehicle drive plate (hereinafter simply referred to as a drive plate) 9 to which the present invention is applied. A drive plate 9 to which the present invention is applied is configured such that a plate portion 1 made of sheet metal is fitted inside a ring gear portion 2 having a gear 3 formed on an outer peripheral portion.
[0016]
FIG. 2 shows the drive plate 9 in a state where the plate part 1 made of sheet metal is fitted inside the ring gear part 2. A torque converter described later is located above the drive plate 9 shown in this figure, and a crankshaft is located below.
[0017]
The plate portion 1 is provided with a through hole 11 at the center thereof for inserting an end of the crankshaft, and the periphery of the through hole 11 is a coupling portion 12 with the crankshaft. A plurality of crankshaft mounting holes 13 are provided at predetermined intervals on a concentric circle in the joint 12 with the crankshaft. The vicinity of the outer peripheral portion of the plate portion 1 is a coupling portion 14 with a torque converter, and a plurality of torque converter mounting holes 15 are provided at predetermined intervals on a concentric circle. Further, the outer edge of the plate portion 1 is provided with a flange whose entire circumference is bent toward the crankshaft.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 1, the drive plate 9 is connected to the crankshaft by inserting and fastening the bolt 4 into the crankshaft mounting hole 13, and is inserted and fastened by inserting the bolt 5 into the torque converter mounting hole 15. It is connected to a torque converter.
[0019]
FIG. 3 shows a welded portion of the drive plate 9 in a state where the plate portion 1 made of sheet metal is fitted inside the ring gear portion 2. The drive plate 9 of the type in which the plate portion 1 made of sheet metal is fitted into the inside of the ring gear portion 2 has a boundary between the ring gear portion 2 and the plate portion 1 having a predetermined width at eight locations at predetermined intervals. They were joined by welding. In this example, the welding is performed at eight places, but it is appropriately set according to the size of the engine, the number of the torque converter mounting holes 13, and the like.
[0020]
FIG. 4 illustrates the connection between the drive plate 9 in which the ring gear portion 2 and the plate portion 1 are firmly joined by welding W, and the torque converter 6 of the vehicle. The shell 7 on the drive plate 9 side of the torque converter 6 is provided with a boss 8 having a spacer function so as to keep a predetermined distance between the torque converter 6 and the drive plate 9 at the time of coupling. A separate spacer may be inserted between the boss 8 and the drive plate 9. The boss 8 is provided with a female screw. With the boss 8 in contact with the coupling portion 14 of the drive plate 9 with the torque converter, the drive plate 9 is rotated to set the position of the torque converter mounting hole 15 to the boss. The torque converter 6 and the drive plate 9 are connected by inserting the bolt 5 into the female screw of the boss 8 through the torque converter mounting hole 15 in accordance with the female screw hole 8.
[0021]
In this case, if the welding W located at the boundary between the ring gear portion 2 and the plate portion 1 is normally performed as shown by the reference numeral W1, the failure of the boss 8 when the welding portion W1 is connected to the torque converter 6 may be caused. No. However, when the welding W located at the boundary between the ring gear portion 2 and the plate portion 1 enters into the range B of the joining portion of the boss 8 as shown by the reference numeral W2, the welding portion W1 When the torque converter 6 is coupled to the ring plate 9, the boss 8 may be obstructed, and the torque converter 6 may not be mounted parallel to the ring plate 9.
[0022]
Thus, the present invention provides a method for welding the welding W performed at the boundary between the ring gear portion 2 and the plate portion 1 outside the proper welding range. This realizes a drive plate 10 having a structure that does not hinder the boss 8 and the spacer during connection.
[0023]
FIGS. 5 to 7 show the basic structure of a drive plate 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those of the drive plate 9 described above with reference to FIGS. The reference numerals are attached. The drive plate 10 in this embodiment is configured such that a plate portion 1A made of sheet metal is fitted inside a ring gear portion 2 having a gear 3 formed on an outer peripheral portion. FIG. 5 shows a state before the plate portion 1A made of sheet metal is fitted inside the ring gear portion 2, and FIG. 6 shows a state after the plate portion 1A is fitted.
[0024]
A torque converter described later is located above the drive plate 10 shown in FIG. 6, and a crankshaft is located below.
[0025]
The plate portion 1A is provided with a through hole 11 for inserting an end of the crankshaft at the center thereof, and the periphery of the through hole 11 is a coupling portion 12 with the crankshaft. A plurality of crankshaft mounting holes 13 are provided at predetermined intervals on a concentric circle in the joint 12 with the crankshaft.
[0026]
The vicinity of the outer peripheral portion of the plate portion 1A is a coupling portion 14 with a torque converter, and a plurality of torque converter mounting holes 15 are also provided on the concentric circle at predetermined intervals. An arc-shaped portion along the outer peripheral portion of the outer peripheral portion of the plate portion 1A except for the peripheral portion of the torque converter mounting hole 15 is recessed by a predetermined depth with respect to the surface of the torque converter mounting hole 15. A groove 16 is provided. The depth of the groove 16 may be about the height of the weld bead when the plate portion 1A and the ring gear portion 2 are welded without the groove 16.
[0027]
In addition, a step portion of the groove 16 from the surface of the plate portion 1A can be formed on a slope. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the drive plate 10 is coupled to the crankshaft by inserting and fastening the bolt 4 into the crankshaft mounting hole 13 and inserting and fastening the bolt 5 in the torque converter mounting hole 15. Thus, it is connected to the torque converter.
[0028]
FIG. 7 shows a cross section of the drive plate 10 in a state in which the plate portion 1A made of sheet metal of this embodiment is fitted inside the ring gear portion 2. As shown in FIG. 4, in the conventional plate portion 1 made of sheet metal of the drive plate 9, the welding W protrudes toward the torque converter with respect to the surface around the torque converter mounting hole. On the other hand, in the drive plate 10 of this embodiment, welding is performed only within the range of the outer peripheral portion of the groove 16 of the plate portion 1A and the inner portion of the ring gear portion 2, and the torque converter mounting hole 15 of the outer peripheral portion of the plate portion 1A is formed. The periphery is not welded. Therefore, the welded portion W fits in the groove 16 of the plate portion 1A, and does not protrude from the groove 16 beyond the surface of the plate portion 1A toward the torque converter.
[0029]
Referring to FIG. 4, a description will be given of a connection between drive plate 10 in which ring gear portion 2 and plate portion 1A are firmly joined by welding W, and torque converter 6 of the vehicle. The shell 7 on the drive plate 10 side of the torque converter 6 is provided with a boss 8 having a spacer function so as to maintain a predetermined distance between the torque converter 6 and the drive plate 10 at the time of coupling. (A spacer may be inserted between the boss 8 and the drive plate 10.) The boss 8 is provided with a female screw, and the boss 8 is brought into contact with the coupling portion 14 of the drive plate 10 with the torque converter. In this state, the drive plate 10 is rotated to align the position of the torque converter mounting hole 15 with the female screw hole of the boss 8, and the bolt 5 is inserted through the torque converter mounting hole 15, and this is screwed into the female screw of the boss 8. , The torque converter 6 and the drive plate 9 are connected.
[0030]
In a state where the tip of the crankshaft is inserted into the through hole 11 of the plate portion 1A, the crankshaft is brought into contact with the coupling portion 12 of the plate portion 1A with the crankshaft, and is fixed to the plate portion 1A with the bolt 4. ing. In this state, the boss projecting from the center of the torque converter 6 is inserted into a recess provided on the crankshaft.
[0031]
In such a connection between the torque converter 6 and the drive plate 10, there is no welding portion around the connection portion between the boss 8 of the torque converter 6 and the plate portion 1 </ b> A, and the welding portion W is located in the groove 16. As a result, the welding portion W does not hinder the boss 8 and the spacer when the welding portion W is joined to the torque converter 6.
[0032]
That is, in this embodiment, even when the welding W performed at the boundary between the ring gear portion 2 and the plate portion 1A protrudes outside the appropriate welding range, the welding W protruding outside the range is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the ring plate 10. Since the ring plate 10 does not protrude from the formed groove 16 toward the ring plate 10, the boss 8 and the spacer do not hinder the coupling of the ring plate 10 with the torque converter 6.
[0033]
Further, by providing the groove 16 on the outer peripheral portion of the plate portion 1A, the rigidity of the outer peripheral portion of the plate portion 1A can be improved, so that the occurrence of cranking noise at the time of starting the engine can be reduced.
[0034]
In the embodiment described above, the groove 16 is provided continuously over the entire area between the adjacent torque converter mounting holes 15 of the plate portion 1A. However, the position where the groove 16 is provided is continuous in this area. It doesn't have to be a target. Further, the welding W is provided in the entire area in the groove 16, but may be performed at intervals.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the plate-shaped vehicle drive plate of the present invention, even if the welded portion between the inner peripheral portion of the ring gear and the outer peripheral portion of the drive plate rises toward the torque converter, the vehicle protrudes from the groove. Therefore, the welded portion does not come into contact with the shell including the boss on the drive plate side of the torque converter or the spacer inserted between the shell of the torque converter and the drive plate. This has the effect of improving workability when assembling and improving the rigidity of the drive plate.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view showing an assembled state of a ring gear portion and a plate portion constituting a drive plate for a vehicle to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vehicle drive plate showing a state where a plate portion is fitted inside a ring gear portion.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a drive plate for a vehicle, showing a welded portion between a ring gear portion and a plate portion.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating connection between a vehicle drive plate in which a ring gear portion and a plate portion are joined by welding, and a vehicle torque converter.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a drive plate for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing an assembled state of a ring gear portion and a plate portion.
6 is a perspective view of the vehicle drive plate showing a state where the plate portion is fitted inside the ring gear portion shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 5;
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 1A Plate portion 2 Ring gear portion 3 Gear 4, 5 Bolt 6 Torque converter 7 Converter shell 8 Spacer (boss)
9 Drive plate 10 to which the present invention is applied Drive plate 11 of the embodiment of the present invention 11 Through hole 12 Coupling portion 13 with crankshaft Crankshaft mounting hole 14 Coupling portion with torque converter 15 Torque converter mounting hole 16 Recess

Claims (2)

A ring gear section (10) for connecting a crankshaft of an engine and a torque converter (6) provided at an input section of an automatic transmission, wherein the ring gear section has a gear (3) formed on an outer peripheral portion thereof. 2) and a plate part (1A) made of sheet metal fitted into the inside of the ring gear part (2) and connected to the crankshaft at the center part and connected to the torque converter (6) near the outer peripheral part. And a vehicle drive plate (10) in which an inner peripheral portion of the ring gear portion (2) and an outer peripheral portion of the plate portion (1A) are joined by welding (W).
The welded portion (W) of the plate portion (1A) with the ring gear portion (2) is a concave portion (16) recessed by a predetermined depth with respect to the other outer peripheral portion of the plate portion (1A). A drive plate for a vehicle, comprising: The said weld part (W) is an outer peripheral part of the said plate part (1A) except the vicinity of the coupling part (12) of the said plate part (1A) with the said torque converter (6), The said part (1A). The drive plate for a vehicle according to 1.

Images