JP2012154415A - Stator supporting structure for torque converter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the axial size of a torque converter while sufficiently securing the oil amount of lubricating oil to be supplied from an oil pump into the torque converter without forming a groove in the side face of a stator.SOLUTION: A stator supporting structure is for the torque converter 1 as a premise and includes the stator 7, a stator shaft 92 for supporting the stator 7 via a one-way clutch 10, and a thrust bearing 16 provided between the stator shaft 92 and a turbine 6 in the axial direction, the one-way clutch 10 having an inner race 12 spline-fitted to the stator shaft 92. The inner race 12 whose inner spline 121 partially lacks teeth has a lacked tooth portion 121a. Herein, an oil passage OP2 is formed as a main oil passage which supplies the lubricating oil through the lacked tooth portion 121a and the inside of the thrust bearing 16 from the oil pump 3 into the torque converter 1.

Description

  The present invention relates to a stator support structure for a torque converter mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile.

  A torque converter generally has three types of impellers including a pump impeller, a turbine, and a stator. The pump impeller is connected to the crankshaft of the engine, and the turbine is connected to the output shaft to the transmission side. The pump impeller and the turbine are disposed to face each other, and a stator is disposed between them (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the support structure of the stator of the torque converter disclosed in Patent Document 1, a groove for oil introduction is formed in a retainer provided on the side of the one-way clutch, and torque is supplied from the oil pump through the groove in the one-way clutch. Lubricating oil is supplied into the converter.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a torque converter 100 conventionally known. A stator 101 installed between the pump impeller 5 and the turbine 6 is spline-fitted to a stator shaft 92 fixed to a transmission housing 91 via a one-way clutch 102. The one-way clutch 102 includes an outer race 102a that is press-fitted into the stator carrier 101a, an inner race 102b that is spline-fitted to the stator shaft 92, and a plurality of sprags or rollers disposed between the races 102a and 102b. The clutch member 102c which consists of these. The one-way clutch 102 is sandwiched between the stator carrier 101a and the retainer 103 in the axial direction. The stator carrier 101a is axially supported by the impeller hub 53 via a thrust bearing 104. The retainer 103 is supported in the axial direction on the turbine hub 63 via another thrust bearing 105.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, a plurality of grooves 101b extending radially in the radial direction are formed on one side surface of the stator 101 (stator carrier 101a), and the lubricating oil supplied from the oil pump 3 is It is mainly supplied into the torque converter 100 through the radial grooves 101b.

Japanese Patent No. 3494514

  By the way, in the torque converter 100, since the radial groove 101b is formed on the side surface of the stator 101, the thickness of the race 104a that forms the rolling surface of the needle 104b of the thrust bearing 104 is set to a general value. Then, the rolling surface may be deformed and undulated. In order to prevent such deformation, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the race 104a. However, this causes a problem that the axial dimension of the torque converter increases.

  Even in the stator support structure of the torque converter disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the oil introduction groove is formed in the retainer, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the retainer compared to the case where the groove is not formed. Similarly, there is a problem that the axial dimension of the torque converter increases.

  The present invention was devised in view of the above-described problems, and can sufficiently secure the amount of lubricating oil supplied from the oil pump into the torque converter without forming a groove on the side surface of the stator. As a result, an object of the present invention is to provide a stator support structure for a torque converter capable of reducing the axial dimension of the torque converter.

  As means for solving the above-described problems, the torque converter stator support structure of the present invention is configured as follows.

  That is, the stator support structure for a torque converter according to the present invention includes a pump impeller and a turbine that are disposed to face each other, a stator that is disposed between the pump impeller and the turbine, and the stator via a one-way clutch. A torque converter, comprising: a stator shaft to be supported; and a thrust bearing device interposed between the stator shaft and the turbine in an axial direction, wherein an inner race of the one-way clutch is splined to the stator shaft. The inner race has a missing tooth portion in which an inner spline is partially missing, and the oil pump is fed into the torque converter through the missing tooth portion and the thrust bearing device. The oil passage that supplies lubricating oil is formed as the main oil passage. It is characterized in that there. The main oil passage is an oil passage having the largest oil flow rate when there are a plurality of oil passages for supplying lubricating oil from the oil pump into the torque converter.

  According to the stator support structure of the torque converter having such a configuration, the flow rate of the lubricating oil passing through the gap between the inner race and the stator shaft is increased by partially missing the inner spline of the inner race. As a result, a main oil passage for supplying lubricating oil from the oil pump to the torque converter is formed through the missing tooth portion and the thrust bearing device, and the torque converter has no radial grooves or the like on the side surface of the stator. It is possible to ensure a sufficient flow rate of the lubricating oil supplied to the. As a result, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the thrust bearing device race and the like, and the axial dimension of the torque converter can be reduced.

  According to the stator support structure for a torque converter of the present invention, it is possible to sufficiently secure the amount of lubricating oil supplied from the oil pump into the torque converter without forming a groove on the side surface of the stator or the like. As a result, the axial dimension of the torque converter can be reduced, and the vehicle can be reduced in weight and cost.

It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnected and represented the stator support structure of the torque converter which concerns on embodiment of this invention by the plane containing an axis line. It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnected and represented the state which the stator shaft and the inner race mutually spline-fitted on the plane orthogonal to an axis. It is the X section enlarged view of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the stator support structure of the torque converter which concerns on other embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is the figure which showed the one-way clutch and its periphery. (A) is sectional drawing which shows the stator support structure of the torque converter which concerns on a prior art example. (B) is the Y section enlarged view of (a).

  Hereinafter, a stator support structure for a torque converter according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a torque converter 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, where NN denotes a rotation center line of the output shaft 8 and the like. The torque converter 1 includes a front cover 2 fixed to a member on the input side (engine side) and an impeller shell 51 fixed to an outer peripheral wall 21 of the front cover 2 to form a hydraulic oil chamber (lubricating oil chamber). ing. The torque converter 1 includes a pump impeller 5, a turbine 6, and a stator 7. The pump impeller 5 is connected to the crankshaft (not shown) side of the engine, and the turbine 6 is connected to the output shaft 8 to the transmission side. The pump impeller 5 and the turbine 6 are disposed to face each other, and a stator 7 is disposed between them.

  The impeller blade 52 of the pump impeller 5 is fixed in the impeller shell 51. An impeller hub 53 is integrally formed on the rotation center line side of the impeller shell 51.

  The turbine 6 includes a turbine shell 61 and a plurality of turbine blades 62 fixed in the turbine shell 61. The rotation center side end portion of the turbine shell 61 is fixed to the flange 63 a of the turbine hub 63 with a plurality of rivets 64. The turbine hub 63 is spline fitted to the output shaft 8.

  The stator 7 is disposed near the rotation center line between the pump impeller 5 and the turbine 6, is provided on the outer diameter side of the stator carrier 71 and the stator carrier 71, and is returned to the impeller 5 from the turbine 6. And a plurality of stator blades 72 for adjusting the oil direction. The stator 7 is supported on the stator shaft 92 via the one-way clutch 10. The stator shaft 92 is fixed to a transmission housing 91.

  The one-way clutch 10 includes an outer race 11, an inner race 12, and a clutch member 13 disposed between the races 11 and 12. The outer race 11 is press-fitted from one axial side of the stator carrier 71. A substantially annular retainer 14 is fitted to the axial end of the outer race 11.

  The stator carrier 71 is supported relative to the impeller hub 53 via a thrust bearing 15 (hereinafter also referred to as “pump impeller side thrust bearing 15”) as a thrust bearing device. The retainer 14 is supported by the turbine hub 63 via a thrust bearing 16 (hereinafter also referred to as “turbine-side thrust bearing 16”) as a thrust bearing device so as to be relatively rotatable. Radial grooves are not provided on the side surfaces of the stator carrier 71 in this embodiment, unlike the stator 101 according to the conventional example described with reference to FIG. For this reason, even if a thin one is used as the race 15a of the thrust bearing 15, the needle transfer surface is not deformed and undulated.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the inner race 12 and the stator shaft 92. As shown in FIG. 2, the inner race 12 has an inner spline 121 partially lacking teeth to form a missing tooth portion 121a. In the inner race 12 illustrated in FIG. 2, four missing tooth portions 121a are provided at equal intervals. In these missing tooth portions 121a, the clearance from the stator shaft 92 is large as shown in FIG.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, from the oil pump 3 (see FIG. 1) to the torque converter 1 (hydraulic oil chamber), as shown by the arrow A, the pump impeller side thrust bearing 15 In addition to the oil passage OP1 that passes through the oil passage, as shown by the arrow B, the lubricating oil is supplied from the oil pump 3 side through the oil passage OP2 that passes through the missing tooth portion 121a and the turbine side thrust bearing 16. In the present embodiment, since the flow passage cross-sectional area is set so that the flow rate of the lubricating oil in the oil passage OP2 is larger than that in the oil passage OP1, the oil passage OP2 is lubricated from the oil pump 3 into the torque converter 1. This is the main oil passage with the largest lubricating oil flow rate among the oil passages for supplying oil.

  According to the stator support structure of the torque converter described above, the following operational effects are achieved. That is, by partially missing the inner spline 121 of the inner race 12, the lubricating oil is actively circulated through the missing tooth portion 121 a, and the lubricating oil passing through the gap between the inner race 12 and the stator shaft 92. The main oil passage OP2 described above is formed by increasing the flow rate. Thus, the amount of lubricating oil supplied into the torque converter 1 can be sufficiently secured without providing the radial grooves 101b on the side surfaces like the stator 101 according to the conventional example described with reference to FIG. It becomes like this. Further, since it is not necessary to provide a radial groove on the side surface of the stator 101, the needle transfer surface is not deformed and undulated even if a thin one is used as the race 15a of the thrust bearing 15, and the shaft of the torque converter 1 is prevented. Reduction of the direction dimension and cost reduction of the thrust bearing 15 can be achieved.

<Other embodiments>
FIG. 4 employs a thrust washer 16A in place of the turbine-side thrust bearing 16 in the above-described embodiment. The thrust washer 16A is substantially annular. On the surface of the thrust washer 16A on the turbine hub 63 side, a plurality of oil passage grooves 161 that connect the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface are formed. Further, the retainer 14A fitted to the outer race 11 and the inner race 12 is formed with a hole 141 into which a convex portion 162 protruding from the surface of the thrust washer 16A on the side opposite to the turbine hub 63 is fitted. A plurality of the holes 141 and the convex portions 162 are formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.

  Such a torque converter stator support structure also provides the same operational effects as the above-described embodiment. That is, from the oil pump 3 (see FIG. 1) to the torque converter 1 (hydraulic oil chamber), as shown by the arrow B, in addition to the oil path OP1, from the oil pump side, the missing tooth portion 121a and the thrust washer 16A. Lubricating oil is supplied through an oil passage OP2 passing through. Thus, the amount of lubricating oil supplied into the torque converter 1 can be sufficiently secured without providing the radial grooves 101b on the side surfaces like the stator 101 according to the conventional example described with reference to FIG. Similarly, the axial dimension of the torque converter 1 can be reduced and the cost of the thrust bearing 15 can be reduced.

  The present invention is applicable to, for example, a stator support structure for a torque converter mounted on an automobile.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Torque converter 3 Oil pump 5 Pump impeller 6 Turbine 7 Stator 10 One-way clutch 12 Inner race 16 Turbine side thrust bearing (thrust bearing device)
16A Thrust washer (Thrust bearing device)
121 Inner spline 121a Missing tooth portion 92 Stator shaft OP2 Main oil passage

Claims (1)

A pump impeller and a turbine arranged facing each other;
A stator disposed between the pump impeller and the turbine;
A stator shaft that supports the stator via a one-way clutch;
A thrust bearing device interposed between the stator shaft and the turbine in the axial direction;
With
In the stator support structure of the torque converter in which the inner race of the one-way clutch is splined to the stator shaft,
The inner race has a missing tooth part in which the inner spline is partially missing,
A torque converter stator support structure, wherein an oil passage for supplying lubricating oil from an oil pump into a torque converter through the toothless portion and the thrust bearing device is formed as a main oil passage.