JP2010203406A - Water pump - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a water pump enabling reduction in the size and power consumption. <P>SOLUTION: This water pump 10 is constituted so as not to transmit torque to a driven side rotary body 30 from a driving side rotary body 20 by separating a driving side clutch member 24 and a driven side clutch member 33 when carrying an electric current to a coil 15, and to transmit the torque to the driven side rotary body 30 from the driving side rotary body 20 by engaging the driving side clutch member 24 and the driven side clutch member 33 by magnetic force when the electric current is not carried to the coil 15. The driven side clutch member 33 is provided with a crest part 33a having tapered engaging surfaces 33b and 33c, and the driving side clutch member 24 is provided with a trough part 24d having tapered engaging surfaces 24e and 24f, and the trough part 24d is dividedly constituted so as to sandwich the crest part 33a when the electric current is not carried to the coil 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a water pump that transmits a rotational force from a driving side rotating body to a driven side rotating body via a clutch.

  A water-cooled engine is provided with a water pump for circulating cooling water in a cooling system. As this type of water pump, a driving side rotating body including a water pump pulley that receives a driving force of an engine as a driving source and a driven side rotating body including a pump impeller disposed in a pump vortex chamber are provided. In some cases, transmission of the rotational force from the driving side rotating body to the driven side rotating body is performed via a clutch (for example, see Patent Document 1). Then, by switching between the connected state and the disconnected state of the clutch, the transmission / non-transmission of the rotational force from the driving side rotating body to the driven side rotating body is switched to switch between the driving state and the stopping state of the water pump. Yes.

  As a means for switching the connection state and the disengagement state of the clutch to electrical (electromagnetic), for example, there is one described in Patent Document 2. Specifically, by separating the driving side clutch member and the driven side clutch member when the coil is energized, the clutch is disengaged, and when the coil is not energized, the driving side clutch member and the driven side clutch member are engaged, The clutch is engaged.

JP-A-11-006433 Special table 2008-52085 gazette

  By the way, when it is set as the structure which a plane contacts a clutch, there are concerns about the following points. Since the contact area of the clutch is reduced, it is necessary to increase the size of the clutch in order to secure the necessary rotation transmission force, and the mountability deteriorates. Further, the cost is increased. There is also a concern that the power consumption increases when the clutch is electrically and electromagnetically engaged / disengaged.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a water pump that can be miniaturized and can reduce power consumption.

  In the present invention, means for solving the above-described problems are configured as follows. That is, the present invention is a water pump, which is disposed in a driving side rotating body that rotates by transmission of a driving force from a driving source, a driving side clutch member provided in the driving side rotating body, and a pump vortex chamber. A driven-side rotating body having a pump impeller and a driven-side clutch member provided on the driven-side rotating body, and driving-side rotation by separating the driving-side clutch member and the driven-side clutch member when the coil is energized. While transmitting no rotational force from the body to the driven side rotating body, the driving side clutch member and the driven side clutch member are engaged by the magnetic force when the coil is not energized, so that the rotating force is transmitted from the driving side rotating body to the driven side rotating body. Configured to communicate. One of the drive-side clutch member and the driven-side clutch member is provided with a convex portion having a tapered engagement surface, and the other of the drive-side clutch member and the driven-side clutch member is provided with a tapered engagement. A concave portion having a mating surface is provided, and the concave portion is configured to be divided so as to sandwich the convex portion when the coil is not energized.

  According to the above configuration, the engagement surfaces of the drive side clutch member and the driven side clutch member are tapered, and the engagement surface of the convex portion is sandwiched by the engagement surface of the concave portion. Compared with the structure which contacts, a contact area is expanded and a frictional force (engagement force) is increased. Thereby, the transmission performance of the rotational force from the driving side rotating body to the driven side rotating body can be improved. And even if the magnetic force of the magnet which engages a drive side clutch member and a driven side clutch member is small, a rotational force can be reliably transmitted from a drive side rotary body to a driven side rotary body. For this reason, it is not necessary to use an expensive magnet having a strong magnetic force, and the cost can be reduced. In addition, the magnet can be reduced in size, and the water pump itself can be reduced in size. In addition, power consumption associated with coil energization can be reduced.

  Further, when the engaging surfaces of the driving side clutch member and the driven side clutch member are engaged with each other, if the concave portion is divided, a gap is formed between the divided surfaces. For this reason, it becomes easy to discharge | emit a foreign material and a water | moisture content from the clearance gap outside, and it becomes possible to remove the foreign material and a water | moisture content adhering to each engaging surface. Thereby, abrasion of each engaging surface by foreign material mixing can be suppressed. In addition, slipping due to moisture adhesion can be prevented, and a reduction in the transmission efficiency of the rotational force from the driving side rotating body to the driven side rotating body can be suppressed.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that an angle formed by the engagement surfaces of the convex portion is set larger than an angle formed by the engagement surfaces of the concave portion.

  According to this configuration, when the engaging surfaces of the driving side clutch member and the driven side clutch member engage with each other, the convex portion is less likely to be recessed due to the wedge effect, thereby further increasing the frictional force (engagement force). . As a result, the rotational force can be efficiently transmitted from the driving side rotator to the driven side rotator, and the water pump can be further reduced in size, cost, power consumption, and the like.

  According to the present invention, the frictional force (engagement force) of the drive side clutch member and the driven side clutch member is increased as compared with the configuration in which the drive side clutch member and the driven side clutch member are in contact with each other on the plane. The transmission performance of the rotational force from the rotating body to the driven side rotating body can be improved. As a result, the water pump can be reduced in size and power consumption can be reduced.

It is sectional drawing which shows the water pump which concerns on embodiment, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the state at the time of electricity supply of a coil. It is sectional drawing which shows the water pump which concerns on embodiment, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the state at the time of the non-energization of a coil.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In this embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle water pump that is mounted on an automobile engine and operates by receiving a driving force from the engine will be described.

  First, the overall configuration of the water pump 10 will be described with reference to FIG. Since the water pump 10 has a substantially symmetric configuration with respect to the rotation center C1, only the configuration of the upper half of the water pump 10 is shown in FIG.

  The water pump 10 is disposed, for example, on the front surface of the engine (a surface on the front side of the vehicle in the case of a vertically mounted engine and a surface on the side of the vehicle in the case of a horizontally mounted engine). In the water pump 10, a water pump housing 11 is integrally attached to a timing chain case (case member) 12 provided on the front side of the engine by bolts 13. A coil 15 is attached to the water pump housing 11 via a bracket 16. The coil 15 is connected to a control device through a wiring (not shown), and when the coil 15 is energized, a magnetic field is generated around it.

  The water pump 10 includes a drive side rotary body 20 provided with a water pump pulley 21 and a driven side rotary body 30 provided with a pump impeller (rotor) 31. Transmission of torque (torque) to the body 30 is performed via the clutch mechanism CL1. The driving side rotating body 20 and the driven side rotating body 30 are rotatably supported by the water pump housing 11, respectively.

  The drive-side rotator 20 includes a water pump pulley 21, a drive-side casing 22, a magnet 23, and a drive-side clutch member 24, which are configured to rotate integrally around a horizontal axis. . The drive-side rotator 20 has a substantially rotationally symmetric shape around its horizontal axis.

  An auxiliary machine belt 14 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the belt winding portion 21 a of the water pump pulley 21. The auxiliary machine belt 14 is stretched over pulleys provided in various auxiliary machines in addition to a crank pulley (not shown) attached to the crankshaft of the engine. For this reason, when the engine is driven, the rotational driving force of the crankshaft of the engine is transmitted to each auxiliary machine via the auxiliary machine belt 14 and also to the water pump pulley 21. Rotate around the horizontal axis.

  The drive side casing 22 is formed in a substantially “H” shape in cross-sectional view. Specifically, the drive-side casing 22 includes a substantially cylindrical inner cylindrical portion 22a and an outer cylindrical portion 22b extending in the axial direction (rotational axis direction), and a radially extending inner cylindrical portion 22a and an outer cylindrical portion 22b. A ring-shaped radial portion 22c to be connected is integrally provided. The inner cylinder part 22a and the outer cylinder part 22b are arranged at a predetermined interval, and the radial part 22c is arranged between the inner cylinder part 22a and the outer cylinder part 22b.

  The inner cylinder portion 22a is rotatably supported by the water pump housing 11 via a ball bearing 25. The outer cylinder portion 22b is provided integrally with the water pump pulley 21. A ring-shaped magnet (permanent magnet) 23 is embedded in the radial portion 22c. The magnetic force of the magnet 23 is set to a value that can be canceled by a magnetic field generated by energization of the coil 15.

  A drive side clutch member 24 is held in the drive side casing 22. More specifically, the drive-side clutch member 24 can transmit power to and from the driven-side clutch member 33 in a space 26 surrounded by the inner cylinder portion 22a, the outer cylinder portion 22b, and the radial portion 22c. Is housed in. A plurality (for example, eight) of driving side clutch members 24 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

  The drive-side clutch member 24 has a configuration in which clutch plates 24a and 24b divided into two in the radial direction are connected by a spring 24c. Both of the two clutch plates 24a and 24b are formed in a triangular shape on the front end side (left end side in FIG. 1) in a sectional view. The two clutch plates 24a and 24b are arranged so that triangular troughs (concave portions) 24d are formed by the surfaces 24e and 24f facing each other on the tip side of the two clutch plates 24a and 24b. The surfaces 24e and 24f forming the valley portion 24d are engaging surfaces that engage with the driven side clutch member 33, and a transmission surface that transmits the rotational force from the driving side rotating body 20 to the driven side rotating body 30; It has become. The engagement surfaces 24e and 24f of the valley portion 24d are subjected to surface processing for increasing the friction coefficient.

  The urging force of the spring 24c acts in the direction in which the two clutch plates 24a and 24b are brought close to each other. In the disconnected state of the clutch mechanism CL1, the two clutch plates 24a and 24b are in contact with each other by the urging force of the spring 24, and the angle of the valley portion 24d formed by the engagement surfaces 24e and 24f of the two clutch plates 24a and 24b. Is α.

  The two clutch plates 24a and 24b are provided so as to be movable in the radial direction in the space 26, and can be tilted so that the front end side is slightly larger than the rear end side (right end side in FIG. 1). (See FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 2, in the connected state of the clutch mechanism portion CL1, the clutch plate 24a moves radially outward to contact the outer cylinder portion 22b, and the clutch plate 24b moves radially inner to move the inner cylinder. It comes in contact with the portion 22a.

  A bracket 16 that supports the coil 15 is accommodated in the other space 27 of the drive-side casing 22 surrounded by the inner cylindrical portion 22a, the outer cylindrical portion 22b, and the radial direction portion 22c. That is, the drive-side clutch member 24 and the coil 15 are disposed in spaces 26 and 27 on both sides in the axial direction with the magnet 23 interposed therebetween. The drive-side casing 22 is not in contact with the bracket 16.

  The driven-side rotating body 30 includes a pump impeller 31, a shaft member 32, a driven-side clutch member 33, and a support plate 34, and these are configured to rotate integrally around a horizontal axis. . The driven-side rotator 30 has a substantially rotationally symmetric shape around its horizontal axis.

  The pump impeller 31 is disposed in a pump vortex chamber 12 b formed by a recessed portion 12 a provided on the surface of the timing chain case 12. By the rotation of the pump impeller 31, the cooling water in the pump vortex chamber 12b is sent out to the cooling water passage of the engine, whereby the cooling water is circulated.

  The pump impeller 31 is integrally attached to one end 32 a of the shaft member 32. The shaft member 32 is rotatably supported by the water pump housing 11 via a ball bearing 35. An annular mechanical seal 36 is disposed in the region between the pump impeller 31 and the ball bearing 35 and around the shaft member 32, and the mechanical seal 36 provides an outer periphery of the shaft member 32. This prevents the cooling water from leaking.

  A flange portion 34a is provided on the outer periphery of the other end portion 32b of the shaft member 32, and a support plate 34 for supporting the driven side clutch member 33 is attached to the flange portion 34a. The support plate 34 is configured as a disc spring and can be displaced in the axial direction of the water pump 10 (see FIG. 2).

  A ring-shaped driven clutch member 33 is attached to the outer end portion of the support plate 34. The driven-side clutch member 33 is composed of a magnet (permanent magnet), and is arranged so that an attractive force acts between the driven clutch member 33 and the magnet 23 described above. The magnetic force of the magnet 23 and the driven clutch member 33 causes the driven clutch member 33 to engage the drive clutch member 24 against the spring force of the support plate 34 by the attractive force acting between the magnets 23 and 33. Is set to a possible value.

  The driven-side clutch member 33 is formed in a triangular shape on the front end side (right end side in FIG. 1) in a sectional view. And the angle of the peak part (convex part) 33a of the front end side of the driven side clutch member 33 is set to (beta). The surfaces 33b and 33c that form the mountain portion 33a are engaging surfaces that engage with the driving side clutch member 24, and a transmission surface that transmits the rotational force from the driving side rotating body 20 to the driven side rotating body 30. It has become. The engagement surfaces 33b and 33c of the peak portion 33a are subjected to surface processing for increasing the friction coefficient.

  In the water pump 10 configured as described above, the rotational force is transmitted from the driving side rotating body 20 to the driven side rotating body 30 via the clutch mechanism CL1. In this embodiment, the clutch mechanism portion CL1 is configured by the coil 15, the magnet 23, the driving side clutch member 24, the driven side clutch member 33, and the like.

  When the coil 15 is energized, the clutch mechanism CL1 switches to a non-transmission state (disconnection state) in which the rotational force is not transmitted from the driving side rotating body 20 to the driven side rotating body 30, and the water pump 10 switches to a stopped state. . On the other hand, when the coil 15 is not energized, the state is switched to a transmission state (connection state) in which rotational force is transmitted from the driving side rotating body 20 to the driven side rotating body 30, and the water pump 10 is switched to the driving state. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIGS.

  First, when the coil 15 is energized, a magnetic field is generated around the coil 15, and the magnetic field of the magnet 23 is canceled (or weakened) by this magnetic field. Then, the driven clutch member 33 as a magnet is not attracted to the magnet 23 side, so that the driven clutch member 33 is separated from the driving clutch member 24 by the spring force of the support plate 34 as shown in FIG. The engagement surfaces 24e and 24f of the valley portion 24d of the side clutch member 24 and the engagement surfaces 33b and 33c of the peak portion 33a of the driven clutch member 33 are brought into a non-contact state, so that the friction force does not act. As a result, the engagement between the drive side clutch member 24 and the driven side clutch member 33 is released. That is, the clutch mechanism part CL1 is in a disconnected state (released state). For this reason, even if the water pump pulley 21 rotates, the drive-side rotator 20 idles, and the rotational force is not transmitted to the driven-side rotator 30, and the water pump 10 is stopped.

  On the other hand, when the coil 15 is not energized, the magnetic field as described above is not generated around the coil 15, so that the magnetic field of the magnet 23 is not canceled (or not weakened). For this reason, as shown in FIG. 2, the driven clutch member 33 is pulled toward the magnet 23 against the spring force of the support plate 34. Then, the engagement surfaces 24e and 24f of the valley portion 24d of the driving side clutch member 24 and the engagement surfaces 33b and 33c of the peak portion 33a of the driven side clutch member 33 are brought into contact with each other, and a frictional force acts. . Thereby, the drive side clutch member 24 and the driven side clutch member 33 are engaged. That is, the clutch mechanism part CL1 is in a connected state (engaged state). And if the water pump pulley 21 rotates, the rotational force of the drive side rotary body 20 will be transmitted to the driven side rotary body 30 via the clutch mechanism part CL1, and the water pump 10 will be in a drive state.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the valley portion 24 d of the drive side clutch member 24 is divided and configured to sandwich the peak portion 33 a of the driven side clutch member 33 when the coil 15 is not energized. . In this case, the engaging surfaces 33b and 33c of the peak portion 33a are sandwiched between the engaging surfaces 24e and 24f of the valley portion 24d by the biasing force of the spring 24c. According to this configuration, the following effects can be obtained.

  Compared with the configuration in which the driving side clutch member 24 and the driven side clutch member 33 are in contact with each other on a flat surface, the contact area is increased and the frictional force (engagement force) is increased. Thereby, the transmission performance of the rotational force from the driving side rotating body 20 to the driven side rotating body 30 can be improved. Even if the magnetic force of the magnet 23 that engages the drive side clutch member 24 and the driven side clutch member 33 is small, the rotational force can be reliably transmitted from the drive side rotary body 20 to the driven side rotary body 30. For this reason, it is not necessary to use an expensive magnet having a strong magnetic force, and the cost can be reduced. Further, the magnet can be reduced in size, which can contribute to the reduction in size of the water pump 10 itself. In addition, power consumption accompanying energization of the coil 15 can also be reduced.

  Here, since the angle β of the peak portion 33a of the driven side clutch member 33 is set larger than the angle α of the valley portion 24d of the drive side clutch member 24 (β> α), the engagement surface of the valley portion 24d When 24e, 24f and the engaging surfaces 33b, 33c of the ridge 33a are engaged, the ridge 33a is difficult to engage with the valley 24d due to the wedge effect, whereby the frictional force (engagement force) is further increased. Thereby, it becomes possible to efficiently transmit the rotational force from the driving side rotating body 20 to the driven side rotating body 30, and the water pump 10 can be further reduced in size, cost, power consumption, and the like.

  Further, when the engagement surfaces 24e and 24f of the valley portion 24d of the drive side clutch member 24 engage with the engagement surfaces 33b and 33c of the peak portion 33a of the driven side clutch member 33, the valley portion 24d of the clutch member 24 is engaged. Is divided, a gap 28 is formed between the two clutch plates 24a and 24b. For this reason, foreign matters and moisture are easily discharged from the gap 28, and foreign matters and moisture attached to the engaging surfaces 24e, 24f, 33b, and 33c can be removed. That is, foreign matter and moisture adhering to the engaging surfaces 24e, 24f, 33b, and 33c are gathered together in the gap 28 and discharged to the outside through the gap 28, thereby collecting foreign matter on the engaging surfaces 24e, 24f, 33b, and 33c. Prevents and drains well. Thereby, abrasion of each engaging surface 24e, 24f, 33b, 33c by foreign material mixing can be suppressed. In addition, slipping and the like due to moisture adhesion can be prevented, and a decrease in the transmission efficiency of the rotational force from the driving side rotating body 20 to the driven side rotating body 30 can be suppressed.

-Other embodiments-
In the above embodiment, the driving side clutch member 24 is provided with a valley (concave portion) 24d, and the driven side clutch member 33 is provided with a mountain portion (convex portion) 33a. The driving side clutch member 24 may be provided with a crest (convex portion) and the driven side clutch member 33 may be provided with a trough (concave portion).

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the cross-sectional shape of the valley portion 24d of the driving side clutch member 24 and the peak portion 33a of the driven side clutch member 33 is a triangular shape has been described. If it is a recessed part and a convex part which have, shapes other than a triangle may be sufficient.

  In the above embodiment, the driven clutch member 33 itself is a magnet. However, a separate magnet may be provided integrally with the driven clutch member 33.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a vehicle water pump that is mounted on an automobile engine and operates by receiving a driving force from the engine has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to water pumps used for purposes other than those for automobiles. Further, the drive source of the water pump is not limited to the engine (internal combustion engine), but may be one that receives a driving force from an electric motor (electric motor).

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a water pump that transmits a rotational force from a driving side rotating body to a driven side rotating body via a clutch. Specifically, the present invention is useful as a water pump that can be reduced in size and can reduce power consumption.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Water pump 12b Pump vortex chamber 15 Coil 20 Drive side rotary body 23 Magnet 24 Drive side clutch member 24a, 24b Clutch plate 24c Spring 24d Valley (concave part)
24e, 24f Engagement surface 30 Driven side rotating body 31 Pump impeller 33 Driven side clutch member 33a Mountain part (convex part)
33b, 33c engagement surface CL1 clutch mechanism

Claims (2)

A driving-side rotating body that is rotated by transmitting a driving force from a driving source, a driving-side clutch member provided in the driving-side rotating body, a driven-side rotating body having a pump impeller disposed in a pump vortex chamber; A driven-side clutch member provided on the driven-side rotating body,
While the drive side clutch member and the driven side clutch member are separated from each other when the coil is energized, the rotational force is not transmitted from the drive side rotary body to the driven side rotary body.
In the water pump configured to transmit the rotational force from the driving side rotating body to the driven side rotating body by engaging the driving side clutch member and the driven side clutch member by magnetic force when the coil is not energized,
One of the drive side clutch member and the driven side clutch member is provided with a convex portion having a tapered engagement surface,
The other of the driving side clutch member and the driven side clutch member is provided with a concave portion having a tapered engagement surface, and the concave portion is divided and configured to sandwich the convex portion when the coil is not energized. A water pump characterized by The water pump according to claim 1,
The water pump is characterized in that an angle formed by the engaging surfaces of the convex portion is set larger than an angle formed by the engaging surfaces of the concave portion.

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