JP2005083471A - Lubricating device for vehicular drive mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sufficiently supply oil to lubrication required portions by pumping the oil with the rotation of an output shaft system gear independently of the operation/non-operation of an oil pump. <P>SOLUTION: In a vehicular drive mechanism, a gear storage space S of the output shaft system gear for the drive mechanism stored in a case 9 is encircled by a peripheral wall 93 and an end wall 94 and an opening portion 94a open to a case space outside the gear storage space is provided at the upper part of a case portion holding oil at a level to immerse the output shaft system gear so that the oil pumped with the rotation of the output shaft system gear is supplied through the opening portion to the case space outside the gear storage space. The upper side face of the opening portion and the inner face of the peripheral wall form a continuous face ranging from the gear storage space beyond the end wall outside the storage space. At the lower part of the face outside the gear storage space, gutters 90a, 90b are provided for trapping the oil flowing down from the inner face of the peripheral wall. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a lubricating device for a vehicular automatic transmission or a vehicular drive device, and more particularly to a lifting device for the lubricating device.

  Conventional automatic vehicle transmissions and hybrid vehicle drive devices are generally lubricated by oil (ATF: automatic transmission fluid) supplied by the operation of an oil pump that is always connected to the engine shaft. Therefore, since the oil pump is also operating in a state where the engine shaft is rotating, the friction of the friction engagement elements incorporated in the transmission and the driving device (collectively referred to as the driving device in this specification). Sufficient oil is always supplied to each part of the mechanism including the material (engagement part and bearing part of each gear). However, lubrication when the vehicle is being towed or when the vehicle is running with the engine stopped is only lifting by the gear of the output shaft system.

By the way, the friction material of the friction engagement element, apart from the gear meshing part and the bearing part, may cause seizure due to an increase in contact temperature and deterioration of efficiency due to an increase in drag torque if lubrication is insufficient. Therefore, it is necessary to supply sufficient oil. In this regard, in the conventional drive device, since the oil pump is driven by the engine, when the engine is stopped, the engine is stopped even when the vehicle is being pulled, especially when the engine is stopped, such as a hybrid vehicle, when the engine is stopped. Oil is not supplied to the friction material. In this case, it is expected that the shaft will be lifted by the rotation of the gear of the output shaft system. However, it is generally separated from the part where the friction material and oil are lifted by the case wall, and the distance between the part where the lifting is expected. Therefore, it is impossible to supply sufficient oil by rake. In order to solve these problems, conventionally, as a lubricating device for an automatic transmission for a vehicle, in addition to an oil pump driven by rotation of an engine shaft, it is driven when the vehicle is towed (specifically, a differential case Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which another oil pump (driven by rotation) is provided, and the two oil pumps are selectively used by utilizing fluctuations in the oil level when the vehicle is running and when it is towed.
JP 2001-165286 A

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 requires installation of a new oil pump in addition to the engine-driven oil pump, and the complexity of the mechanism cannot be denied. In general, it is sufficient that the amount of oil is secured for lubrication, and no hydraulic pressure is required. Therefore, if a sufficient amount of oil can be supplied by rotation of the gear of the output shaft system, it can be a more desirable solution to the above problem.

  The present invention has been devised in view of the above-described circumstances, and the friction material of the friction engagement element can be obtained by pumping up the oil by the rotation of the output shaft gear regardless of the operation / non-operation of the oil pump. The main object is to provide a lubricating structure capable of supplying sufficient oil to necessary lubricating parts including

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a case portion that surrounds a gear housing space of an output shaft gear of a drive device housed in a case with a peripheral wall and an end wall and maintains an oil level in which the output shaft gear is immersed. An opening that opens to the space inside the case outside the gear housing space is provided in the upper part of the end wall, and oil that is swept up by the rotation of the output shaft gear is supplied to the space inside the case outside the gear housing space through the opening. In a lubricating device for a vehicle drive device,
The upper side surface of the opening and the upper inner surface of the peripheral wall are surfaces continuous in the case axial direction from the gear housing space to the outside of the housing space beyond the end wall, and below the gear housing space of the surface Further, the present invention is characterized in that a trough for collecting oil flowing down from the inner surface of the peripheral wall is provided. It is preferable that the soot in the above configuration extends in the case inner space outside the gear housing space to the end of the case in the axial direction of the driving device and communicates with an oil passage leading to an oil supply site. And when the said drive device is provided with a friction engagement element, let the said oil path be an oil supply oil path to the friction material of a friction engagement element. More specifically, the friction engagement element is disposed in a cover portion that covers an end surface of the case, and the flange communicates with an oil passage formed in a wall of the cover portion, and the oil passage is frictionally engaged. It is set as the structure opened to the supply site | part with respect to the friction material of an element.

  Next, when a planetary gear set is disposed in the case inner space outside the gear housing space at the same axial position as the case axial direction position of the end wall, oil flowing along the end wall in the gear housing space is allowed to flow through the end wall. It can also be possible to supply drops to the planetary gear set through the opening. In any of the above configurations, the output shaft gear can be a diff ring gear of a differential device.

  In the configuration described in claim 1, the upper side surface of the opening portion of the end wall enclosing the gear housing space and the upper inner surface of the peripheral wall are continuously connected in the case axial direction from the gear housing space to the outside of the gear housing space. By providing a surface for collecting oil flowing down from the inner surface of the peripheral wall below the outside of the gear housing space, the surface is swept up by the rotation of the output shaft gear and adheres to the upper part of the peripheral wall The oil flows through the end wall and the outside of the gear housing space due to the continuity between the upper surface of the opening and the upper portion of the peripheral wall, so that a large amount of oil can be smoothly supplied to the space in the case outside the gear housing space. Then, by collecting this oil with a scoop and flowing it through an oil passage leading to the necessary lubrication site, it is possible to sufficiently supply the oil to each required mechanism site. In addition, since the oil supply is performed by the output shaft gear that is always in a rotating state when the vehicle is traveling, it can be realized regardless of whether the oil pump is operated or not.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, oil can be appropriately supplied to an element that requires lubrication disposed in the space inside the case outside the gear housing space through the oil passage.

  Next, in the configuration of the third aspect, sufficient oil is supplied to the friction material of the friction engagement element separated from the output shaft gear by the end wall by utilizing the rotation of the output shaft gear. be able to. Therefore, according to this configuration, when the oil pump is not operated, the friction material of the friction engagement element, which may cause seizure due to an increase in contact temperature or deterioration of efficiency due to an increase in drag torque, when lubrication is insufficient. Can also supply enough oil.

  Furthermore, in the configuration according to claim 4, when the friction material of the friction engagement element is disposed at the position farthest in the axial direction with respect to the output shaft gear, the rotation using the output shaft gear is effective. Oil supply is possible.

  Next, in the configuration described in claim 5, not only the elements separated from the output shaft gear in the axial direction but also the output shaft gear and the case axial position are adjacent to each other, but are separated by the end wall. Oil can be supplied by direct dripping to the planetary gear set that has not been able to supply sufficient oil by frying. In particular, this oil supply is effective when a specific element of the planetary gear set rotates at a higher speed than during normal driving by reverse driving from the output shaft side when the vehicle is towed.

  In the configuration of the sixth aspect, the above-described effects can be achieved in the transaxle type driving device in which the differential device is incorporated in the case of the driving device.

  The output shaft gear in the present invention is preferably a large-diameter gear in order to obtain a sufficient lifting effect, and in a transaxle type drive device, it is preferably a diffring gear. In this case, the gear housing space is a space for housing the differential device and the counter gear mechanism. Further, when the drive device is a hybrid vehicle drive device, the lubrication site is preferably a meshing portion between the friction material of the friction engagement element and the planetary gear.

  The present invention will be described by taking, as an example, a three-axis transaxle type hybrid vehicle drive device in which a motor and a generator are incorporated in a common drive device case together with a differential device. This drive device is arranged coaxially with the rotor shaft of the generator so as to show the side surface from which the front case on the side connected to the engine (hereinafter, this side is referred to as the front side of the drive device) is removed in FIG. The main shaft 3 is connected to the engine shaft and mounted on the vehicle in a coaxial relationship. On the main shaft 3, a planetary gear set, a one-way clutch, a generator, and a friction engagement element that do not appear in the drawing are arranged on the back side as viewed from the drawing, and are arranged in a vehicle parallel state with the main shaft 3 in the vehicle mounted state. The differential shaft 50 of the differential device disposed below (lower left in FIG. 1) is disposed, and the rotor shaft 10 of the motor 1 disposed so as to circumscribe the generator and the case wall is disposed on the front and above the differential shaft 50. The counter shaft 80 is arranged between these three axes.

  This drive device adopts a gear train configuration as shown by a skeleton in FIG. In the planetary gear set 4 composed of three elements, the carrier 42 is connected to the main shaft 3, the sun gear 41 is connected to the rotor shaft 20 of the generator 2, and the ring gear 43 is connected to the rotor shaft 10 of the motor 1 via the counter gear mechanism 8. It is configured to be drivingly connected to the differential ring gear 51 of the differential device 5. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 81 is a drive gear connected to the ring gear 43 that is rotatable on the main shaft 3, 82 is a driven gear fixed on the counter shaft 80 that meshes with this, and 83 is a drive gear 14 on the rotor shaft 10 of the motor 1. , A driven gear fixed on the countershaft 80 that meshes with the diffring gear 51, and a differential drive pinion gear fixed on the countershaft that meshes with the diffring gear 51. In this gear train, the brake 6 composed of a frictional engagement element having a wet multi-plate structure for preventing the idling of the generator 2 as appropriate locks the rotor shaft 20 to the drive device case 9. A one-way clutch 7 provided on the end side for preventing reverse rotation of the engine is provided between the planetary gear set 4 and the generator 2 so that the reverse rotation of the carrier 42 is locked by being locked to the drive device case 9. .

  Since such a gear train configuration is adopted, a hydraulic circuit (not shown) having an oil pump driven by the rotation of the carrier 42 as a hydraulic pressure generation source mainly for the engagement / release operation by the hydraulic pressure of the friction engagement element of the brake 6. ), And each part of the mechanism is lubricated and cooled using oil discharged from a regulator valve of the hydraulic circuit. 3 schematically shows an oil passage configuration for cooling and lubrication of each part of the mechanism. The motor 1 and the generator are generated by oil from a supply oil passage connected to an oil pump through a regulator valve of a hydraulic circuit. 2 is cooled, and lubrication and cooling of each part of the mechanism are performed. A supply oil passage (indicated by OP in a white arrow indicating that the supply source is an oil pump) includes a motor oil sump 91 and a generator oil sump 92 provided at the top of the drive unit case 9. And is connected to the oil passage in the rotor shaft 20 of the generator 2. From both oil sumps 91 and 92, oil can be dripped from oil holes 91a and 92a toward the coil ends 12 and 22 of the motor 1 and the generator 2, and the rotor shaft of the generator 2 connected to the supply oil path via an orifice. From the oil passage 20, oil can be sprayed to the coil end 22 of the generator 2 by centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the rotor 23. Further, oil is supplied from the oil passage in the rotor shaft 20 to the meshing portion of the planetary gear set through the oil passage in the sun gear 41. The oil passage in the rotor shaft 10 of the motor 1 is configured to be supplied with oil from an oil reservoir 91 through an orifice, and the oil in the oil passage in the rotor shaft 10 is subjected to centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the shaft. The coil end 12 can be supplied. In FIG. 3, the oil supply to the brake 6 via the rotor 23 is for cooling and lubrication of the friction material, and the oil supply indicated by a thick arrow is separately supplied from the hydraulic circuit to the hydraulic servo of the brake 6. This means that the oil supply is made. Further, the supply destinations that are not particularly described are those that reach the bearings of each mechanism.

  In addition to the oil supply from the hydraulic circuit, the oil swept up by the rotation of the differential ring 51 (see FIG. 1) of the differential device 5 according to the subject of the present invention (DIFF and (Noted) is also circulated in the drive case. The oil generated by the lifting is supplied to the shaft end of the rotor shaft 23 and mainly used for cooling the brake friction material when the rotation of the generator 2 is stopped. The oil after cooling and lubrication of each part is collected below the drive unit case 9. The oil level in the drive device case 9 is approximately equal to the position of the differential shaft 50 because the drive device uses the lifting by the rotation of the ring gear 51 of the differential device 5 as an auxiliary to the oil circulation as described above. Set to match.

  In this example, the case 9 that accommodates the drive device configured as described above includes the motor 1, the generator 2, the planetary gear set 4, and the one-way clutch 7 as shown in FIG. A main case 9A that surrounds the rear side of the differential device 5 and the counter gear mechanism 8 and supports the rear end of the shaft, and surrounds the front side of the differential device 5 and the counter gear mechanism 8, and the front end of the shaft. And a rear cover 9B that accommodates the brake 6 as a friction engagement element and supports the rear end of the rotor shaft of the motor 1 and the generator 2. Therefore, in this example, the case portion that encloses the accommodation space of the diff ring gear 51 as the output shaft gear of the drive device accommodated in the case 9 and maintains the oil level in which the gear is immersed is the peripheral wall 93 of the main case 9A and As shown in FIG. 1, the end wall 94 and the front case have the same peripheral wall and end wall. The space is generally triangular in cross section, and an opening 94a of the end wall 94 is provided on the back side of the main case 9A. Is provided with eaves 90a and 90b (see FIG. 6) for collecting oil that is swept up by the rotation of the diff ring gear 51. This opening 94a is a three-phase power line terminal for connecting the inverter of the drive unit control unit attached to the mounting portion shown as an inclined plane inclined downward to the right in FIG. 1 and the motor in the drive unit case 9 and the three phases of the motor. It is provided as a space for winding connection work, and the periphery of the opening 94a excluding the portion in contact with the peripheral wall 93 is reinforced by a hook-shaped surrounding wall extending into the gear housing space. In FIG. 1, the opening 94a and the opening aligned in the inclined plane direction are also provided for the same purpose and are a space for generator connection work having the same surrounding wall structure.

  1 and FIG. 6, the output shaft gear of the drive device housed in the case 9 is the diffring gear 51 as described above, and the gear housing is constructed. The space S is surrounded by the peripheral wall 93 and the end wall 94, and an opening 94a that opens to the space in the case outside the gear housing space S is provided on the upper part of the end wall 94 of the case portion that maintains the oil level in which the differential ring gear 51 is immersed. This is applied to a portion that supplies oil swept up by the rotation of the differential ring gear 51 to the case internal space outside the gear housing space S through the opening 94a. And according to this invention, as shown in FIG. 6, the upper side surface of the opening part 94a and the upper inner surface of the peripheral wall 93 are continued in the case axis direction extending from the gear housing space S to the outside of the housing space beyond the end wall 94. A flange 90 for collecting oil flowing down from the inner surface of the peripheral wall 93 is provided below the gear housing space on the surface. The term “continuity” as used herein means continuity in the case axis direction, and does not preclude the presence of protrusions or steps in the circumferential direction of the case.

  The flange 90 extends in the case internal space outside the gear housing space to the ends of the cases 9A and 9B in the axial direction of the drive device, and communicates with an oil passage 95 that leads to an oil supply site. Since the drive device of this example includes the brake 6, the oil passage 95 is an oil supply oil passage to the friction material of the brake 6. The brake 6 is disposed in a rear cover 9B that covers the rear end surface of the main case 9A, the flange 90b communicates with an oil passage 95 formed in the wall of the rear cover 9B, and the oil passage 95 is supplied to the friction material of the brake 6. Open to the site.

  Further, in this example, as shown in FIG. 7, the planetary gear set 4 is disposed in the case inner space outside the gear housing space at the same axial position as the case axial direction position of the end wall 94, and the generator is disposed in the gear housing space S. The surrounding wall bordering the opening is blocked from flowing in the direction of the peripheral wall 93, and oil flowing along the end wall 94 can be supplied dropwise to the planetary gear set 4 through the opening 94 b of the end wall 94. This oil supply path is indicated by arrows in FIG.

  In the lubricating device having the above configuration, the oil that keeps a predetermined oil level in the lower part of the accommodating space is swept up as shown by the arrow in the drawing by the clockwise rotation of the diff ring gear 51 as shown in FIG. Attached to the inner surface of the peripheral wall 93 of the case 9. The oil adhering to the peripheral wall travels through the continuity between the upper surface of the opening 94a and the upper portion of the peripheral wall 93, and flows out of the gear housing space beyond the end wall 94 as shown by the arrow in FIG. Oil can be smoothly supplied to the space in the case outside the gear housing space. Then, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 4, this oil is collected by the main case side gutter 90 a and flows to the rear cover side gutter 90 b along the wall surrounding the outer periphery of the generator, and finally in FIG. 5. As shown by the arrow, the oil flows into the oil passage in the wall of the rear cover 9B. Thus, the oil that has entered the oil passage in the wall finally flows out of the rear cover 9B from an oil hole that opens near the circumference of the rotor shaft of the generator (the position of this opening is shown in FIG. 5). The subsequent flow of oil to the friction material of the brake 6 is indicated by arrows in FIG. 6, passes through the bearing that supports the rotor shaft of the generator 2, and the gap between the friction material support portion of the rear cover 9 </ b> B and the rotor rear end. To reach the brake friction material.

  FIG. 8 shown last is a graph of the result of measuring the oil flow rate at the supply site to the brake friction material in order to verify the effect of this configuration. In the figure, the horizontal axis is the vehicle speed, the vertical axis is the lubrication flow rate, the flow rate obtained by this configuration is marked by ■, and the flow rate obtained by the conventional configuration with only the opening (the wall surface is not continuous and no flaw is provided) Is indicated by ▲. Naturally, the effect of this configuration becomes more significant as the vehicle speed increases, and a flow rate improvement of 527% was observed at the maximum measured vehicle speed.

  As described above in detail, according to the hybrid vehicle drive device of this embodiment, the oil swept up by the rotation of the diff ring gear 51 and adhered to the upper portion of the peripheral wall 93 is the continuity between the upper surface of the opening 94a and the upper portion of the peripheral wall 93. As a result, the oil flows over the end wall 94 and flows out of the gear housing space, so that a large amount of oil can be smoothly supplied to the space in the case outside the gear housing space. Then, the oil is collected by the trough 90, and is supplied to the oil passage 95 leading to the friction material of the brake 6 where lack of lubrication is the most problematic, so that the oil can be sufficiently supplied to the friction material. In addition, since the oil supply is performed by the diff ring gear 51 that is always in a rotating state when the vehicle is running, it can be realized regardless of whether the oil pump is operated or not, and lubrication of the drive device when the vehicle is towed or when the engine is stopped. Works effectively.

  The present invention is widely applicable to an automatic transmission for a vehicle and a drive device for a hybrid vehicle. In addition, the present invention is not necessarily based on the assumption that the engine-driven oil pump is stopped, but can be used as an energy-saving technique for assisting oil supply when the oil pump is driven and reducing the pump drive load. is there.

It is the side view which looked at the hybrid vehicle drive device of the example from the connecting side to the engine in the axial direction with the front case removed. It is a skeleton figure which shows the gear train of a drive device also including an engine. It is a circuit diagram which shows typically the oil way composition of a drive device. It is the side view which removed the rear cover and looked at the drive device in the axial direction. It is the side view which looked at the drive device from the inner surface side of the rear cover. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a graph which shows the improvement of the oil supply effect by drought.

Explanation of symbols

S Gear housing space 4 Planetary gear set 5 Differential device 6 Brake (friction engagement element)
9 Case 9B Rear cover (cover part)
51 Defring gear (output shaft gear)
90 ９３ 93 peripheral wall 94 end wall 94a opening 94b opening 95 oil passage

Claims (6)

A gear housing space of the output shaft gear of the drive device housed in the case is surrounded by a peripheral wall and an end wall, and the gear housing space is provided above the end wall of the case portion that holds the oil level in which the output shaft gear is immersed. In a lubricating device for a vehicle drive device that includes an opening that opens to an outer space inside the case and supplies oil that is swept up by rotation of the output shaft gear to the inner space of the case outside the gear housing space through the opening.
The upper side surface of the opening and the upper inner surface of the peripheral wall are surfaces continuous in the case axial direction from the gear housing space to the outside of the housing space beyond the end wall, and below the gear housing space of the surface And a lubricating device for a vehicle drive device, wherein a trough for collecting oil flowing down from the inner surface of the peripheral wall is provided.   2. The vehicle drive device lubrication according to claim 1, wherein the flange extends in an inner space of the case outside the gear housing space to an end portion of the case in an axial direction of the drive device, and communicates with an oil passage leading to an oil supply site. apparatus.   The lubricating device for a vehicle drive device according to claim 2, wherein the drive device includes a friction engagement element, and the oil passage is an oil supply oil passage to a friction material of the friction engagement element.   The friction engagement element is disposed in a cover portion that covers an end surface of the case, and the flange communicates with an oil passage formed in a wall of the cover portion, and the oil passage is supplied to the friction material of the friction engagement element. The lubricating device of the vehicle drive device of Claim 3 which opens to a site | part.   A planetary gear set is disposed in the case inner space outside the gear housing space at the same axial position as the case axial direction position of the end wall, and the oil that flows along the end wall in the gear housing space flows through the opening of the end wall to the planetary gear. The lubricating device for a vehicle drive device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the vehicle can be supplied dropwise to the set.   The said output shaft system gear is a lubricating device of the vehicle drive device of any one of Claims 1-5 which is a diff ring gear of a differential apparatus.

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