JP2017223206A - Vane pump - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vane pump that facilitates lubricant to be spread over the entire pump chamber.SOLUTION: A vane pump 1 includes: a housing 2 for partitioning a pump chamber A; a feed passage L0 for supplying working fluid and lubricant to the pump chamber A; a rotor 3 disposed in the pump chamber A and rotatable about a prescribed rotation axis X; and a vane 4 disposed in the rotor 3 and partitioning the pump chamber A into a plurality of operation chambers A1, A2, inside thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vane pump driven by, for example, an automobile engine.

  As disclosed in Patent Document 1, the pump chamber of the vane pump has a suction hole and a discharge hole that are spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction. The pump chamber has an oil hole for supplying lubricating oil. A rotatable vane is disposed in the pump chamber. As the vane rotates, air is sucked into the pump chamber through the suction hole, compressed in the pump chamber, and discharged from the pump chamber through the discharge hole. Lubricating oil is also discharged from the pump chamber through the discharge hole together with air.

JP 2012-67730 A

  As the vane rotates, the pressure in the vicinity of the suction hole becomes low and the pressure in the vicinity of the discharge hole becomes high in the pump chamber. For this reason, it is necessary to improve the sealing performance in the vicinity of the discharge hole. Therefore, the oil hole is disposed in the vicinity of the discharge hole. However, in this case, the rotational direction of the vane is in a direction from the suction hole toward the discharge hole, so that the lubricating oil is difficult to spread throughout the pump chamber. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vane pump in which lubricating oil is easy to spread throughout the pump chamber.

  In order to solve the above problems, a vane pump according to the present invention includes a housing that divides a pump chamber therein, a supply passage that supplies a working fluid and lubricating oil to the pump chamber, and a predetermined rotating shaft that is disposed in the pump chamber. And a vane that is disposed on the rotor and divides the pump chamber into a plurality of working chambers.

  According to the vane pump of the present invention, the working fluid and the lubricating oil can be supplied to the pump chamber via the common supply path. Further, the lubricating oil can be diffused by utilizing the rotation of the vanes. Therefore, the lubricating oil can be distributed throughout the pump chamber.

It is radial direction sectional drawing of the vane pump which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is the II-II direction sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view in a frame III in FIG. 2.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the vane pump of the present invention will be described. In FIG. 1, the radial direction sectional drawing of the vane pump of this embodiment is shown. FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view in the II-II direction of FIG. FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view in the frame III of FIG. 1 corresponds to a cross section taken along the line II in FIG.

<Vane pump configuration>
First, the structure of the vane pump of this embodiment is demonstrated. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the vane pump 1 includes a housing 2, a rotor 3, a vane 4, a check valve 5, and a supply path L <b> 0.

(Housing 2)
The housing 2 is fixed to a side surface of the engine (not shown). The housing 2 includes a housing body 20 and an end plate 21. The housing body 20 includes a pump part 20A and a cylinder part 20B. The pump portion 20A has a bottomed elliptical cylindrical shape that opens to the front side. The pump part 20 </ b> A includes a peripheral wall part 200, a bottom wall part 201, and a flange part 202. A pump chamber A is defined inside the pump unit 20A. The peripheral wall 200 has an elliptical cylindrical shape. A supply tube 200 b is projected from the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 200. A supply hole 200a is disposed inside the supply cylinder 200b. The supply hole 200a is disposed at the downstream end of a supply path L0 described later. The bottom wall 201 is disposed at the rear end (one axial end) of the peripheral wall 200. The bottom wall 201 is provided with a discharge hole 201a. The discharge hole 201a passes through the bottom wall portion 201 in the front-rear direction (axial direction). The discharge hole 201a can be opened and closed by a reed valve (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2, the flange portion 202 is formed at the front end (the other end in the axial direction) of the peripheral wall portion 200.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cylinder part 20B has a cylindrical shape. The cylinder part 20B extends to the rear side of the bottom wall part 201. The front end of the cylindrical portion 20B opens to the front surface (inner surface) of the bottom wall portion 201. A small-diameter surface 204, a step surface 205, and a large-diameter surface 206 are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 20B from the rear side toward the front side. The large-diameter surface 206 has a recessed oil retaining portion 206a. The oil retaining portion 206 a is disposed directly below the large diameter surface 206. The oil retaining portion 206a has a groove shape extending in the front-rear direction.

  The end plate 21 seals the flange portion 202 from the front side. An O-ring 92 is interposed between the end plate 21 and the flange portion 202. As shown in FIG. 1, the end plate 21 is fixed to the flange portion 202 by a plurality of bolts 90 and a plurality of nuts (not shown).

(Rotor 3)
The rotor 3 includes a rotor main body 30 and a shaft portion 31. The rotor body 30 has a bottomed cylindrical shape. The rotor body 30 includes a peripheral wall portion 300 and a bottom wall portion 301. The peripheral wall 300 has a cylindrical shape. The peripheral wall 300 is accommodated in the pump chamber A. As shown in FIG. 1, a part of the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall part 300 is in contact with a part of the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall part 200. The peripheral wall portion 300 is eccentric with respect to the peripheral wall portion 200. The front end surface of the peripheral wall portion 300 is in sliding contact with the rear surface (inner surface) of the end plate 21. The peripheral wall portion 300 includes a pair of rotor groove portions 300a. The pair of rotor groove portions 300a are arranged to face each other in the diameter direction, that is, to face each other by 180 °. The pair of rotor groove portions 300a penetrates the peripheral wall portion 300 in the diameter direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom wall portion 301 seals the opening on the rear end side of the peripheral wall portion 300. The rear surface of the bottom wall 301 is in contact with the step surface 205.

  The shaft portion 31 extends to the rear side of the bottom wall portion 301. The shaft portion 31 is disposed on the radially inner side of the cylindrical portion 20B. The shaft portion 31 is connected to a camshaft (not shown) of the engine via a coupling (not shown). The shaft part 31 is rotatable around its own axis. That is, the rotor 3 can rotate in a predetermined rotation direction θ (counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1) about the rotation axis X extending in the front-rear direction.

(Vane 4)
As shown in FIG. 1, the vane 4 has a rectangular plate shape. The vane 4 is accommodated in the pump chamber A. The vane 4 can rotate together with the rotor 3. The vane 4 can reciprocate in the diametrical direction along the pair of rotor grooves 300a. The vane 4 can partition the pump chamber A into a plurality of working chambers A1 and A2 according to the rotation angle.

(Check valve 5, supply path L0)
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the supply path L0 includes a suction path L1, an oil path L2, and a combined path L3. The suction passage L1 communicates with a booster device 95 of the brake device. The oil passage L <b> 2 communicates with an engine-side oil passage (an oil passage disposed in the engine) 96. The suction passage L1 and the oil passage L2 merge in the supply cylinder 200b, that is, in the supply hole 200a. The combined flow path L3 is disposed in the supply hole 200a. As shown in FIG. 2, the outlet of the supply hole 200 a opens at the center in the front-rear direction of the pump chamber A. As shown in FIG. 1, in the pump chamber A, the outlet of the supply hole 200a faces the left side (the rotation direction θ of the vane 4). Air and lubricating oil are continuously supplied to the pump chamber A from the outlet of the supply hole 200a. Air is included in the “working fluid” concept of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the check valve 5 is arranged in the suction path L1. The check valve 5 is disposed at the radially outer end of the supply cylinder 200b. The check valve 5 includes a holder 50, a valve body 51, and a spring 52. The holder 50 has a stepped cylindrical shape. The holder 50 includes a small diameter part 500, a step part 501, and a large diameter part 502 from the right side (upstream side) to the left side (downstream side). The large diameter portion 502 is disposed at the radially outer end of the supply cylinder 200b. The valve body 51 is accommodated in the large diameter portion 502. An annular spring seat 200c is formed at the radially outer end of the supply tube 200b. The inlet of the supply hole 200a is disposed inside the ring of the spring seat 200c. The spring 52 is interposed between the valve body 51 and the spring seat 200c. In the valve open state, a gap is secured between the valve body 51 and the step portion 501. Air flows in the direction from the booster 95 toward the pump chamber A through the gap. Here, when air tries to flow in a direction from the pump chamber A toward the booster 95, the valve body 51 is seated on the stepped portion 501. That is, the valve opening state is switched to the valve closing state. Thus, the check valve 5 allows air flow only in the direction from the booster 95 toward the pump chamber A.

<Vane pump movement>
Next, the movement of the vane pump of this embodiment will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 2, when the vane pump 1 is driven, the rotor 3 and the vane 4 rotate about the rotation axis X in a predetermined rotation direction θ. The vane 4 moves in the C-shaped (crescent-shaped) pump chamber A from the suction side end (C-shaped one end) Aa to the discharge side end (C-shaped other end) Ab. As the vane 4 moves, the volumes of the plurality of working chambers A1 and A2 shown in FIG. Along with the volume change, the working chambers A1 and A2 suck air from the booster 95 through the suction passage L1 and the combined passage L3. In addition, the working chambers A <b> 1 and A <b> 2 suck the lubricating oil from the engine side oil passage 96 through the oil passage L <b> 2 and the combined passage L <b> 3. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the check valve 5 is in an open state. The sucked air is compressed by the working chambers A1 and A2, and is discharged to the outside from the working chambers A1 and A2 through the discharge hole 201a. The sucked lubricating oil spreads from the suction side end Aa to the discharge side end Ab of the working chambers A1 and A2. The used lubricating oil is discharged to the outside from the working chambers A1 and A2 through the discharge hole 201a together with air.

<Effect>
Next, the effect of the vane pump of this embodiment is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 2, according to the vane pump 1 of this embodiment, air and lubricating oil can be supplied to the pump chamber A via the supply path L0. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the supply hole 200 a, that is, the supply path L <b> 0 opens near the suction side end Aa of the pump chamber A. On the other hand, the discharge hole 201a is open near the discharge side end Ab of the pump chamber A. For this reason, lubricating oil can be spread over the whole circumferential direction of the pump chamber A using the rotation of the vane 4. Further, the lubricating oil can be spread over the entire circumferential direction of the pump chamber A against the pressure difference between the vicinity of the suction side end Aa (low pressure) and the vicinity of the discharge side end Ab (high pressure).

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the pump chamber A, the outlet of the supply hole 200a faces the left side (the rotation direction θ of the vane 4). For this reason, the supply direction of the lubricating oil and the rotation direction θ of the vane 4 coincide with each other. Also in this respect, the lubricating oil can be spread over the entire circumferential direction of the pump chamber A.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the check valve 5 is disposed in the suction path L1. For this reason, it is possible to prevent air or lubricating oil from flowing back through the suction passage L1. Further, the check valve 5 is not disposed in the oil passage L2. For this reason, when the vane 4 rotates in the reverse direction (for example, when starting on a slope with a manual transmission vehicle), the lubricating oil and air can be released to the oil passage L2. For this reason, compared with the case where lubricating oil (incompressible fluid) retains in the pump chamber A at the time of vane 4 reverse rotation, the load added to the vane 4 can be made small. Further, it is not necessary to dispose a mechanism for lubricating oil leakage during reverse rotation of the vane 4 (for example, the discharge hole 201d indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 1) in the vane pump 1. Therefore, the vane pump 1 can be shared for a plurality of types of transmissions (manual transmission, automatic transmission, etc.).

  Further, according to the vane pump 1 of the present embodiment, the single vane 4 is disposed along the pair of rotor groove portions 300a of the rotor 3 so as to be reciprocally movable in the diametrical direction. For this reason, compared with the vane pump of the type in which a large number of vanes 4 are arranged radially on the rotor 3, in the case of the vane pump 1 of the present embodiment, a large load is easily applied to the vanes 4 during the reverse rotation of the vanes 4. In this regard, as described above, when the vane 4 rotates in the reverse direction, the lubricating oil can be released to the oil passage L2. For this reason, the load added to the vane 4 at the time of vane 4 reverse rotation can be made small. As described above, the vane pump of the present invention is suitable for the vane pump 1 of the type in which the vane 4 reciprocates across the rotor 3 in the diameter direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the supply path L <b> 0 includes a supply hole 200 a that opens at the center in the front-rear direction of the pump chamber A. For this reason, compared with the case where the supply hole 200a is opened to the front end and the rear end of the pump chamber, the lubricating oil can be spread over the entire front and rear direction of the pump chamber A.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an oil retaining portion 206 a is recessed in a portion directly below the large diameter surface 206. For this reason, lubricating oil can be stored when the vane pump 1 is driven. Accordingly, the lubricating oil can be quickly supplied from the oil retaining portion 206a to the sliding interface between the housing 2 and the rotor 3 at the time of re-drive after the vane pump 1 is stopped.

  Further, the lubricating oil is continuously supplied to the pump chamber A through the oil passage L2 and the combined passage L3. For this reason, compared with the case where lubricating oil is intermittently supplied to the pump chamber A, the sealing performance of the pump chamber A can be improved.

<Others>
The embodiment of the vane pump of the present invention has been described above. However, the embodiment is not particularly limited to the above embodiment. Various modifications and improvements that can be made by those skilled in the art are also possible.

  For example, the shape or the like of the check valve 5 (shape, size, position, number of arrangement, etc.) is not particularly limited. The check valve 5 may be disposed in the suction path L1. For example, the check valve 5 may be disposed at a point P1 (pipe connected to the supply cylinder 200b), a point P2 (inside the supply cylinder 200b), or the like shown in FIG. Further, the shape or the like of the oil retaining portion 206a is not particularly limited. For example, the oil retaining portion 206a may be disposed on the sliding interface between the housing 2 and the rotor 3 (for example, the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 31 of the rotor 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 20B of the housing 2).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the direction of the outlet of the supply hole 200a when viewed from the front side (axial direction) is not particularly limited. For example, the elliptical tangential direction Y and the radial direction Z of the pump chamber A (the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 200) may be used. As shown in FIG. 1, when the outlet of the supply hole 200a faces a predetermined supply angle α (tangential direction Y ± 90 ° or less), it is easy to spread the lubricating oil over the entire circumferential direction of the pump chamber A. Further, the position of the outlet of the supply hole 200a is not particularly limited. For example, the outlet of the supply hole 200a may be opened on the front surface of the bottom wall portion 201.

  The type of working fluid is not particularly limited. Gas (nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, etc.), liquid, etc. may be sufficient. Moreover, the kind of vane pump 1 is not specifically limited. For example, the vane pump of the present invention may be embodied as a type of vane pump in which a large number of vanes 4 are arranged radially on the rotor 3.

1: vane pump, 2: housing, 3: rotor, 4: vane, 5: check valve, 20: housing body, 20A: pump section, 20B: cylinder section, 21: end plate, 30: rotor body, 31: shaft Part, 50: holder, 51: valve body, 52: spring, 90: bolt, 92: O-ring, 95: booster, 96: engine side oil passage, 200: peripheral wall part, 200a: supply hole, 200b: supply Cylinder, 200c: spring seat, 201: bottom wall portion, 201a: discharge hole, 201d: discharge hole, 202: flange portion, 204: small diameter surface, 205: step surface, 206: large diameter surface, 206a: oil retaining portion, 300: peripheral wall portion, 300a: rotor groove portion, 301: bottom wall portion, 500: small diameter portion, 501: step portion, 502: large diameter portion, A: pump chamber, A1: working chamber, Aa: suction side end, Ab : Discharge side end, L0: supplied Road, L1: suction passage, L2: the oil passage, L3: combined channel, X: rotation axis, Y: tangential, Z: radial, alpha: feed angle, theta: the direction of rotation

Claims (3)

A housing that defines a pump chamber inside;
A supply path for supplying working fluid and lubricating oil to the pump chamber;
A rotor disposed in the pump chamber and rotatable about a predetermined rotation axis;
A vane disposed in the rotor and dividing the pump chamber into a plurality of working chambers;
Vane pump with. The supply path includes a suction path through which the working fluid flows, an oil path through which the lubricating oil flows, and a merge path through which the suction path and the oil path merge.
The vane pump according to claim 1, further comprising a check valve disposed in the suction path.   The vane pump according to claim 1, wherein the supply path has a supply hole that opens at a central portion in an axial direction of the pump chamber.

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