JP2018021612A - Lubricant circulator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively remove foreign matters contained in a lubricant.SOLUTION: A lubricant circulator comprises: a ring gear 43 which is rotated by power from a power source; a housing 41 which accommodates the ring gear 43, and can store the lubricant at a bottom part 41A so that a part of the ring gear 43 is immersed into the lubricant, and in which an opening hole 41B is formed at a position higher than a liquid level of the lubricant at a prescribed time on the outside of a radial direction of a range in which the ring gear 43 upwardly rotates at normal rotation; and a foreign matter collection part 60 which communicates with the inside of the housing 41 via the opening hole 41B of the housing 41, and in which a foreign matter accumulation chamber 61 extending downwardly rather than the opening hole 41B is formed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a lubricating oil circulation device that circulates lubricating oil, and more particularly to a technique for collecting foreign matters such as metal powder in lubricating oil.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a lubricating oil circulation device that circulates lubricating oil, for example, a differential device (final drive device) mounted on a vehicle is known. In the differential device, a lubricating oil for lubricating a gear mechanism, a bearing, and the like is enclosed in a housing and circulated.

  In the differential device, the gear mechanism and the like are worn, so that foreign matters such as metal powder generated by wear are mixed in the lubricating oil. If such foreign matter is mixed in the lubricating oil, the gears, bearings, oil seals, etc. may be damaged, and their life may be reduced.

  For example, by disposing a barrier member that prevents oil flow due to rotation of the rotating part immediately below the rotating part of the final drive device, the rolling up of metal friction powder or the like is reduced, and the gear or bearing caused by the metal friction powder is reduced. There is known a technique capable of suppressing the consumption of the light (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2014-37855 A

  For example, according to the technique of Patent Document 1, the rolling-up of the metal friction powder is reduced by arranging the barrier member. However, immediately below the rotating part, the influence of the oil flow due to the rotation of the rotating part. Cannot be completely eliminated. Therefore, there is a possibility that the metal friction powder precipitated in the vicinity of the barrier member is wound up and supplied to each part.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said subject, and it aims at providing the technique which can remove the foreign material contained in lubricating oil effectively.

  In order to achieve the above object, a lubricating oil circulation device according to an aspect of the present invention accommodates a ring gear rotated by power from a power source and the ring gear so that a part of the ring gear is immersed in the lubricating oil at the bottom. And a housing in which an opening is formed at a position higher than a predetermined liquid level of the lubricating oil on a radially outer side in a range in which the ring gear rotates upward during normal rotation. And a foreign matter collecting part in which a foreign matter accumulation chamber is formed which communicates with the inside of the housing through the opening of the housing and extends downward from the opening.

  In the lubricating oil circulation device, the opening may be formed so as to extend from one side of the rotating surface of the ring gear to the other side of the rotating surface via the radially outer side.

  Further, in the lubricating oil circulation device, the foreign matter collecting unit may have a drain mechanism that can discharge foreign matter in the foreign matter storage chamber to the outside.

  Further, in the lubricating oil circulation device, the foreign matter collecting unit may be configured separately from the housing and connectable to the outside of the housing.

  According to the present invention, foreign substances contained in lubricating oil can be collected effectively.

1 is a partial cross-sectional view in a vertical direction of a final drive device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a typical lineblock diagram showing a part of vehicles provided with a final drive device concerning one embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, based on an accompanying drawing, a final drive device as an example of a lubricating oil circulation device concerning one embodiment of the present invention is explained. The same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view in the vertical direction of a final drive device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a part of a vehicle including a final drive device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The front, rear, left, right, upper, and lower portions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are indicated by arrows in the figure.

  The vehicle 10 is a rear biaxial drive vehicle including two drive shafts (rear front shaft and rear rear shaft) as rear wheels. A final drive device 40, which is an example of a lubricating oil circulation device mounted on the rear front shaft of the vehicle 10, includes an input shaft 21 connected to one end of a propeller shaft to which a driving force of an engine (not shown) is transmitted, and an input shaft 21 And an output shaft 22 having one end connected to a propeller shaft (not shown) that transmits driving force to the rear rear shaft, a drive pinion 42 disposed in parallel to the input shaft 21, and the input shaft 21. And a gear mechanism 30 capable of transmitting the drive force to the output shaft 22 and the drive pinion 42 while allowing the differential.

  The input shaft 21 is rotatably supported on the housing 41 by a bearing 24. The housing 41 is formed by, for example, fixing a plurality of members by welding, bolts, or the like. A predetermined amount of lubricating oil (diff oil) is enclosed in the housing 41. The bottom 41A of the housing 41 is usually in a state where a part of the lubricating oil is always stored.

  The output shaft 22 is rotatably supported on the housing 41 by bearings 25 and 26. The drive pinion 42 is rotatably supported on the housing 41 by bearings 51 and 52.

  The gear mechanism 30 includes a gear 31, a spider 32, a pair of pinion gears 33, a side gear 34, and a cage 35. The gear 31 is provided so as to be rotatable relative to the input shaft 21. The gear 31 is meshed with a gear 53 fixed to the drive pinion 42. Further, the gear 31 meshes with the pair of pinion gears 33 by the side gear 31A. The side gear 34 is fixed to the output shaft 22 so as to be integrally rotatable. Further, the side gear 34 meshes with a pair of pinion gears 33. The pair of pinion gears 33 are rotatably inserted into spiders 32 fixed to a cage 35 fixed to the input shaft 21 so as to be integrally rotatable.

  Left and right drive shafts 15 and 16 are connected to the final drive device 40, and left and right drive wheels 17 and 18 are attached to the tips of the left and right drive shafts 15 and 16, respectively. The final drive device 40 receives engine driving force from the input shaft 21 and distributes the driving force to the left and right drive shafts 15 and 16 via the gear mechanism 30 and the drive pinion 42 to the left and right drive wheels 17 and 18. Communicate.

  In the present embodiment, when the vehicle 10 is positioned horizontally, the final drive device 40 has a central axis of the drive pinion 42 with respect to the horizontal direction (front and rear directions) as shown in FIG. The vehicle 10 is mounted in a tilted state such that the rear side is lowered. Here, when the vehicle 10 is stationary in a horizontal state (stationary state), the level of the lubricating oil level in the housing 41 of the final drive device 40 is as shown by line A in FIG. When the vehicle 10 is traveling in a horizontal state (traveling state), the level of the lubricating oil is lower than the line A in FIG. A state in which the final drive device 40 is mounted on the horizontal vehicle 10 is referred to as a mounted state.

  A drive pinion gear 42A is provided at one end of the drive pinion 42, and a ring gear 43 is engaged with the drive pinion gear 42A. The ring gear 43 is fixed to the differential cage 44 by a bolt (not shown). In the differential cage 44, a pair of left and right side gears 45, 46 are splined to the left and right drive shafts 15, 16, respectively. Further, two pairs of differential pinion gears 47 and 48 (a pair is not shown in FIG. 2) mesh with the side gears 45 and 46. The differential pinion gears 47 and 48 are rotatably inserted into a spider 49 fixed to the differential cage 44. The differential cage 44, the side gears 45 and 46, the differential pinion gears 47 and 48, and the spider 49 constitute a differential mechanism that can transmit a driving force while allowing the differential to the left and right drive wheels 17 and 18.

  When the vehicle 10 travels forward (during normal rotation), the ring gear 43 and the differential cage 44 rotate in the counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow R in FIG. 1, and are indicated by the arrow R in FIG. Rotate forward from behind through the front side of the drawing. Here, the rotation direction of the ring gear 43 and the differential cage 44 during forward travel is referred to as a normal rotation direction.

  The final drive device 40 has a pump 54 for sucking the lubricating oil stored in the bottom 41A of the housing 41 and supplying it to a predetermined portion (for example, an oil passage 21A formed at the center of the input shaft 21). .

  An opening 41B is formed at a position higher than the stationary liquid level of the lubricating oil on the radially outer side (the rear side of the housing 41) in the range in which the ring gear 43 rotates upward during normal rotation of the housing 41. The opening 41 </ b> B of the housing 41 is formed so as to extend from one side (left side) of the rotating surface of the ring gear 43 to the radially outer side to the other side (right side) of the rotating surface of the ring gear 43. .

  On the rear side of the housing 41, a foreign matter collecting unit 60 is externally attached by, for example, a bolt or welding (not shown). The foreign matter collecting section 60 is formed with a foreign matter accumulation chamber 61 that communicates with the inside of the housing 41 through the opening 41B. The foreign material accumulation chamber 61 communicates with the inside of the housing 41 through the entire opening 41B, and is formed to extend below the opening 41B. The foreign matter accumulation chamber 61 is a room for accumulating foreign matters (metal powder, sand, etc.) scattered from the inside of the housing 41 through the openings 41B. A drain mechanism (for example, a drain hole 63 and a drain bolt 62) for discharging the foreign matter accumulated in the foreign matter accumulation chamber 61 to the outside is provided at the rear end of the lower surface of the foreign matter collection unit 60. Therefore, by removing the drain bolt 62 from the drain hole 63 and discharging only a small amount of lubricating oil in the foreign matter accumulation chamber 61, the foreign matter accumulated in the foreign matter accumulation chamber 61 can be easily discharged to the outside. , Wasteful consumption of lubricating oil can be suppressed.

  According to the foreign matter collecting unit 60, the foreign matter blown to the opening 41B of the housing 41 by the ring gear 43 reaches the foreign matter accumulation chamber 61 through the opening 41B and is accumulated in the foreign matter accumulation chamber 61. Here, the lubricating oil also scatters in the foreign matter accumulation chamber 61 together with the foreign matter, but since the foreign matter has a larger specific gravity than the lubricating oil, it will settle in the lubricating oil in the foreign matter accumulation chamber 61. For this reason, when a large amount of lubricating oil accumulates in the foreign matter accumulation chamber 61, the lubricating oil may return into the housing 41 through the opening 41B, but the foreign matter has accumulated in the foreign matter accumulation chamber 61. Will remain. Thereby, the foreign material in the housing 41 can be reduced, and the foreign material can be effectively prevented from circulating.

  Next, the operation of the final drive device 40 will be described.

  When the vehicle 10 travels, the driving force from the engine is transmitted to the rear front shaft and the rear rear shaft by the final drive device 40 so as to be differential. In the final drive device 40, the driving force of the engine is transmitted from the input shaft 21 to the drive pinion 42 via the gears 31 and 53. When the drive pinion 42 rotates, the pinion gear 42A rotates, and the driving force is transmitted to the left and right driving wheels 17 and 18 via the ring gear 43 and the like.

  At this time, in a range where the ring gear 43 rotates upward, the lubricating oil is splashed up by the ring gear 43 and the like. At this time, since most of the foreign matter contained in the splashed lubricating oil has a larger specific gravity than the lubricating oil, most of the foreign matter is blown farther (in the outer diameter direction) to the inner wall of the housing 41. .

  At this time, a part of the foreign matter reaches the foreign matter accumulation chamber 61 through the opening 41B. As a result, foreign matter is accumulated in the foreign matter accumulation chamber 61, and relatively clean lubricating oil can be circulated to each part in the housing 41.

  As described above, according to the final drive device 40 according to the present embodiment, the ring gear 43 is opened at a position higher than the stationary liquid level of the lubricant oil radially outside the range in which the ring gear 43 rotates upward during normal rotation. A housing 41 in which a hole 41B is formed, and a foreign matter collecting section 60 in which a foreign matter storage chamber 61 is formed which communicates with the inside of the housing 41 through the opening 41B of the housing 41 and extends below the opening 41B. Since it did in this way, the foreign material which jumped up by the ring gear 43 and reached the foreign material storage chamber 61 via the opening 41B can be stored effectively. Thereby, relatively clean lubricating oil can be circulated in the housing 41.

  Further, according to the final drive device 40 according to the present embodiment, the foreign matter collecting unit 60 is configured separately from the housing 41 and can be externally attached to the housing 41. The foreign matter collecting unit 60 may be attached to the housing 41.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the final drive device 40 is mounted on the vehicle 10 by being inclined with respect to the horizontal plane so that the rear side of the drive pinion 42 is at a low position. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the drive pinion 42 It may be a final drive device mounted on the vehicle so as to be parallel to the horizontal plane.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the foreign material collection part 60 was formed separately from the member of the housing 41, this invention is not restricted to this, The foreign material collection part 60 (except the drain bolt 62) is attached to the housing 41. You may form integrally with the member to comprise.

  Further, in the above embodiment, as the lubricating oil circulation device, the final drive device 40 provided on the rear front shaft in the rear two-axis drive vehicle is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the lubricating oil circulation device is For example, it may be a rear drive final drive device, a vehicle final drive device with one rear shaft, a transmission that accommodates a plurality of gears, a transfer device that distributes driving force on the front and rear shafts, etc. In short, any device that circulates lubricating oil may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle 40 Final drive apparatus 41 Housing 41A Bottom part 41B Opening hole 42 Drive pinion 42A Drive pinion gear 43 Ring gear 44 Differential cage 54 Pump 60 Foreign material collection part 61 Foreign material storage chamber 62 Drain bolt 63 Drain hole

Claims (4)

A ring gear rotated by power from a power source;
The lubricating oil can be stored so that the ring gear is housed and a part of the ring gear is immersed in the lubricating oil at the bottom, and the lubricating oil is radially outside the range in which the ring gear rotates upward during normal rotation. A housing in which an opening is formed at a position higher than the liquid level at a predetermined time,
A foreign matter collecting portion in which a foreign matter accumulation chamber is formed which communicates with the inside of the housing through the opening of the housing and extends below the opening;
Lubricating oil circulation device comprising: 2. The lubricating oil circulation device according to claim 1, wherein the opening is formed so as to extend from one side of a rotating surface of the ring gear to the other side of the rotating surface via a radially outer side. 3. The lubricating oil circulation device according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter collecting unit has a drain mechanism that can discharge foreign matter in the foreign matter storage chamber to the outside.   4. The lubricating oil circulation device according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter collecting unit is configured separately from the housing and can be connected to the outside of the housing. 5.

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