JP2024042447A - one way clutch - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a one-way clutch that can improve assembly and reduce weight without damaging the cage. [Solution] The cage 9 includes an annular plate 21 arranged on a central axis C, and on one axial side surface of the annular plate 21, a plurality of bearing portions 31 that support an outer ring inner peripheral surface 13 and a number of cam member holding portions 23 that hold a predetermined number of cam members 7 (two or more) at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction are provided in the same number as the bearing portions 31, the plurality of bearing portions 31 are respectively arranged at diagonal positions with equal angles in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis C, the plurality of cam member holding portions 23 are respectively arranged at angular positions with equal angles in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis C, the plurality of bearing portions 31 and the plurality of cam member holding portions 23 are respectively arranged alternately in the circumferential direction, and the annular plate 21 is characterized in that a plurality of cutout portions 43, 45 extending in the radial direction are formed. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a one-way clutch used for torque transmission in vehicles and industrial machines.

Conventionally, in one-way clutches equipped with a mechanism for transmitting rotational power in one direction and locking rotational power in the opposite direction, there are some in which a retainer, which is one of the components, has a bearing function (for example, Patent Document (see 1).
The retainer (retainer ring) of the one-way clutch of Patent Document 1 supports the outer ring and the inner ring concentrically, and also has a notch extending in the axial direction in consideration of ease of assembly when inserting the outer and inner rings. are provided at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-208506

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for lighter weight equipment or devices mounted on vehicles and the like. Therefore, as a method for reducing the weight of devices such as automatic transmissions in which a one-way clutch is used, the use of resin for a retainer, which is a component of the one-way clutch, is being considered.
However, when considering using resin for the cage of the one-way clutch in Patent Document 1, due to its shape, there is little stress relaxation in the radial direction in the cage, and when assembling the outer and inner rings to the cage, or when using automatic gear shifting as a one-way clutch. There is a concern that the cage may be damaged when it is assembled into equipment such as machines or industrial machinery.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a one-way clutch that can improve ease of assembly and reduce weight without damaging the retainer.

In order to solve the above problems, the one-way clutch according to the present invention includes:
Inner circle and
an outer ring disposed concentrically on the central axis of the inner ring;
a plurality of cam members interposed between the inner ring and the outer ring and used to transmit torque between the inner ring and the outer ring;
a holding member for holding the plurality of cam members;
A one-way clutch comprising a spring member that biases the plurality of cam members to a non-torque transmission position,
The holding member includes an annular plate disposed on the central axis, and a plurality of bearing portions supporting the inner circumferential surface of the outer ring, and two or more predetermined bearing portions on one axial surface of the annular plate. the same number of holding parts as the bearing parts are provided for holding the number of said cam members at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction;
The plurality of bearing parts are arranged at equiangular diagonal positions in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis, and the plurality of holding parts are arranged in equiangular angular positions in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis. are placed respectively in
The plurality of bearing parts and the plurality of holding parts are arranged alternately in the circumferential direction,
The annular plate is characterized in that a plurality of notches extending in the radial direction are formed.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a one-way clutch that can improve ease of assembly and reduce weight without damaging the retainer.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the one-way clutch according to the embodiment as viewed from one side in the axial direction. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the one-way clutch according to the embodiment when viewed from the radial direction. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a one-way clutch according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing the state of a cam member of the one-way clutch according to the embodiment, with FIG. 4(a) showing a no-load state and FIG. 4(b) showing a torque-loaded state. FIG. 5(a) is a perspective view of the cage, and FIG. 5(b) is a side view of the cage.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a one-way clutch according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment will be described by taking as an example a one-way clutch of a type in which the inner ring is on the drive side and torque is transmitted from the inner ring to the outer ring.

First, the direction related to the one-way clutch in this embodiment will be defined. In this embodiment, the "center axis C" refers to the center axis of the one-way clutch, that is, the center axes of the outer ring and the inner ring, and the axial direction, radial direction, and circumferential direction refer to the axial direction, radial direction, Refers to the circumferential direction. Regarding the axial direction, in each figure of FIGS. 1 and 4, the front direction of the paper is defined as one axial direction, and the direction of the back of the paper is defined as the other axial direction, and in FIGS. 2 and 5(b), the left side of the paper is defined as the axial direction. The right side of the paper is assumed to be the other side in the axial direction. Regarding the circumferential direction, in each of FIGS. 1 and 4, one circumferential direction is defined as the direction of rotation clockwise toward the plane of the paper, and the other circumferential direction is defined as the direction of rotation counterclockwise toward the plane of the paper.

For the sake of convenience, the direction of rotation of the one-way clutch will be described as the direction of rotation of the inner ring relative to the outer ring, but the rotation of the outer ring and the rotation of the inner ring are relative to each other. For example, if the inner ring can rotate clockwise, the outer ring can also rotate counterclockwise. Even if the inner ring and the outer ring rotate in the same direction, if the rotational speeds of the outer ring and the inner ring are different, the outer ring and the inner ring can be said to rotate in one direction relative to each other.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a one-way clutch 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from one axial side.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing the one-way clutch 1 according to the embodiment as viewed from the radial direction.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the one-way clutch 1 according to the embodiment.
In addition, the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 5 are shown by virtual lines in FIG. 2, and are omitted in FIGS.
4A and 4B are enlarged cross-sectional views of essential parts showing the states of the cam member 7 of the one-way clutch 1 according to the embodiment, with FIG. 4A showing the no-load state and FIG. 4B showing the torque-loaded state.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the one-way clutch 1 according to the present embodiment has an inner ring 3 and an outer ring 5 arranged concentrically on a central axis C, and an inner ring 3 and an outer ring 5 arranged between the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 5. a ring-shaped retainer 9 for holding the plurality of cam members 7; (see FIG. 4) is provided with a spring member 15 for biasing it in a direction in which it comes into contact in a non-torque transmitting state. In this embodiment, the spring member 15 is a garter spring.

The plurality of cam members 7 are torque transmission members that transmit torque from the inner ring 3 to the outer ring 5 by engaging with the inner ring outer peripheral surface 11 and the outer ring inner peripheral surface 13. The cam member 7 is a columnar member with a curved peripheral surface. As shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), the cross-sectional shape of the cam member 7 bulges outward from a semicircular portion 17 and a straight line connecting both ends of the arc of the semicircular portion 17. It has a shape that combines the bulging portion 19. The bulging part 19 has a gentle mountain shape with a rounded top, and has one end of the outline of the bulging part 19 and one end of the arc of the semicircular part 17, and the other end of the outline of the bulging part 19 and the semicircular part. The other ends of the 17 arcs are smoothly continuous. The cam member 7 is configured such that the length of the straight line connecting the top of the bulging portion 19 and the bottom of the arc of the semicircular portion 17 is shorter than the length of the straight line connecting the vicinity of both ends of the arc of the semicircular portion 17. is formed.

5(a) is a perspective view showing the appearance of the cage 9, and FIG. 5(b) is a side view of the cage 9.
In this embodiment, the cage 9 is entirely made of resin. The cage 9 includes an annular plate 21 disposed on the other axial side of the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 5 on the central axis C, and a plurality of annular plates 21 that protrude in one axial direction from one axial surface of the annular plate 21. The cam member holding portion 23 is provided. In this embodiment, four cam member holding parts 23 are formed.

Next, the structure of one cam member holding part 23 will be explained, but the structure of the other cam member holding parts 23 is also similar.
The cam member holding portion 23 includes a plurality of pillar portions 25 that protrude from one axial surface of the annular plate 21 toward one axial direction and are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and one axial end of the plurality of pillar portions 25. and an arcuate flange portion 27 connecting the two. Therefore, the cam member holding portion 23 is formed in a partially cylindrical shape. In this embodiment, four pillar portions 25 are formed. As shown in each figure in FIG. 4, the cross-sectional shape of the pillar portion 25 is a rectangle consisting of sides extending in the radial direction and sides extending in the circumferential direction. It is a rectangle with long sides extending in the circumferential direction and short sides extending in the circumferential direction. The inner peripheral side surface of each column part 25 and the inner peripheral side surface of the flange part 27 are smoothly continuous and arranged on one virtual cylindrical surface centered on the central axis C.

The cam member holding portion 23 has three windows 29 formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction and penetrating in the radial direction by the four pillar portions 25, the flange portion 27, and the annular plate 21 portion. Specifically, each window 29 is defined by a pair of circumferentially adjacent pillars 25, and a portion of the flange 27 and annular plate 21 that face each other in the axial direction between the pair of pillars 25. has been completed. One cam member 7 is swingably held in each window portion 29, as will be described later.

The four cam member holding parts 23 each having such a configuration are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the circumference of one virtual circle centered on the central axis C when viewed from the axial direction. Therefore, the inner circumferential surface of each columnar section 25 and the inner circumferential surface of each flange section 27 of the four cam member holding sections 23 are arranged on one virtual cylindrical surface centered on the central axis C. ing.

The retainer 9 is further provided with a plurality of quadrangular columnar bearings 31 that protrude from one axial surface of the annular plate 21 in one axial direction. The same number of bearing parts 31 as the cam member holding parts 23 are formed. Therefore, in this embodiment, four bearing portions 31 are formed. The bearing portions 31 and the cam member holding portions 23 are arranged alternately in the circumferential direction. Specifically, one bearing portion 31 is arranged between circumferentially adjacent cam member holding portions 23 . Therefore, the plurality of cam member holding parts 23 and the plurality of bearing parts 31 are arranged alternately on the circumference of one virtual circle centered on the central axis C when viewed from the axial direction. With such a configuration, the four bearing portions 31 are positioned at equal diagonal positions in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis C when viewed from the axial direction, that is, in the present embodiment, at 90° diagonal positions in the circumferential direction. They are placed at different angular positions. Similarly, the four cam member holding portions 23 are located at equal angular positions in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis C when viewed from the axial direction, that is, in the present embodiment, at 90° angular positions in the circumferential direction. are located respectively.

The inner peripheral surface of the bearing portion 31 is disposed on a virtual cylindrical surface different from the inner peripheral surface of the cam member holding portion 23, i.e., the inner peripheral surface of each column portion 25 and the inner peripheral surface of the flange portion 27. These multiple cam member holding portions 23 and multiple bearing portions 31 are disposed between the inner ring outer peripheral surface 11 and the outer ring inner peripheral surface 13. The inner ring 3 is disposed on the inner diameter side of the bearing portion 31 and the cam member holding portion 23, as shown in FIG. 2.

The bearing portion 31 supports the outer ring 5 on an outer circumferential surface 33. The outer circumferential surface 33 of the bearing portion 31 may be a curved surface having a radius of curvature different from the radius of curvature of the inner circumferential surface 13 of the outer ring 5. A flange portion 35 that projects radially outward is formed at one axial end of the bearing portion 31 . Further, a portion of the annular plate 21 that extends radially outward from a portion where the plurality of cam member holding portions 23 and the plurality of bearing portions 31 are formed forms a flange portion 22 . In the retainer 9, the flange portion 22 of the annular plate 21 fits into a circumferential groove 37 formed on the inner circumferential surface 13 of the outer ring, and the flange portion 35 of the bearing portion 31 is in contact with one end surface of the outer ring 5 in the axial direction. placed facing each other in the direction. Thereby, the retainer 9 is fixed to the inner circumferential side of the outer ring 5 so that it cannot move in the axial direction with respect to the outer ring 5 and cannot rotate relative to the outer ring 5 in the circumferential direction.

The plurality of cam members 7 are fitted from the outer diameter side in one-to-one correspondence to the window portions 29 of the retainer 9, with their axial directions coinciding with the axial direction of the one-way clutch 1. Thereby, the plurality of cam members 7 are held in the circumferential direction by the retainer 9. A plurality of cam members 7 are held in one cam member holding portion 23 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. In this embodiment, one cam member holding portion 23 holds three cam members 7 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Both end surfaces of the cam member 7 in the axial direction are located inside the axially opposing portions of the flange portion 27 and the annular plate 21 of the window portion 29 of the retainer 9. That is, the axial dimension of the cam member 7 is smaller than the axial dimension of the window portion 29. As shown in FIG. 4(a), in the cam member 7, in a no-load state, the semicircular portion 17 faces the inner ring 3 side, the bottom of the semicircular portion 17 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface 11 of the inner ring, and the cam member 7 is bulged. The portion 19 faces the outer ring 5 side, and the top of the bulged portion 19 is in contact with the inner circumferential surface 13 of the outer ring.

The semicircular portion 17 of the cam member 7 has a circumferential surface that contacts the pair of pillars 25 forming the window 29 of the retainer 9, and a portion of the semicircular portion 17 of the cam member 7 passes through the window 29 of the retainer 9 to form the pair of pillars. It protrudes more inwardly than 25. In this manner, the pair of pillars 25 of the retainer 9 are arranged in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the cam member 7, so that the cam member 7 is held by the window portion 29 of the retainer 9 and attached to the inner ring outer circumferential surface 11. Make steady contact. With such a configuration, the cam member 7 can swing in sliding contact with the pair of pillars 25 of the retainer 9, and its movement in the axial direction is restricted by the flange 27 and the annular plate 21.

As shown in FIG. 3, each cam member 7 is formed with a groove 39 extending in the circumferential direction of the inner ring 3 or the outer ring 5 at its radially outer portion in the assembled state. The groove 39 is formed in the axial center of the radially outer portion of the cam member 7, passes through the radially outer portion in the circumferential direction, and has a depth that reaches near the center of the cam member 7. Furthermore, a groove 41 extending in the circumferential direction is also formed in the radially outer portion of the bearing portion 31 . The groove 41 is formed in the axially central portion of the radially outer portion of the bearing portion 31 , penetrates the radially outer portion in the circumferential direction, and has a depth that reaches near the center of the bearing portion 31 .

One annular spring member 15 is mounted through the groove 39 of each cam member 7 and the groove 41 of each bearing portion 31. The spring member 15 urges each cam member 7 inward. The bottom surface of the groove 39 of the cam member 7 is formed at an angle such that the cam member 7 swings in the direction in which it comes into contact with the outer circumferential surface 11 of the inner ring and the inner circumferential surface 13 of the outer ring when the spring member 15 applies a biasing force toward the inner diameter side. It is formed into a mountain shape. Therefore, each cam member 7 is urged inward by the elastic force of the spring member 15, so that it is constantly in contact with the outer circumferential surface 11 of the inner ring and the inner circumferential surface 13 of the outer ring. The contact state of each cam member 7 with the inner ring outer circumferential surface 11 and the outer ring inner circumferential surface 13 by the spring member 15 is a torque non-transmission state. In this way, the spring member 15 urges each cam member 7 to the torque non-transmission position.

The annular plate 21 and the flange portion 22 of the retainer 9 are provided with cutout portions 43 which are spaces extending approximately radially with a predetermined width at portions on one circumferential side and the other circumferential side of each bearing portion 31, respectively. is provided. These two notches 43 form a pair. Therefore, the cage 9 is formed with four pairs of two notches 43, that is, eight notches 43. The two notches 43 forming a pair are formed in parallel. The notch portion 43 opens on the outer diameter side of the flange portion 22 of the annular plate 21 and extends to a radially inner position than the cam member holding portion 23 . Further, the annular plate 21 is further provided with a notch 45, which is a space that opens on the inner diameter side of the annular plate 21 and extends approximately radially with a predetermined width to a radial position near the cam member holding portion 23. Four are formed at equal intervals in the direction. The same number of notches 45 as the bearing parts 31 are formed. The four notches 45 and the bearing portions 31 are arranged alternately in the circumferential direction. That is, the notch portion 45 is formed in the intermediate portion of the bearing portions 31 adjacent in the circumferential direction when viewed from the axial direction.

The retainer 9 is made of resin and has notches 43 and 45 formed therein, so that it can be elastically deformed in the radial direction. Specifically, when an external force is applied in the radial direction, the widths of the notches 43 and 45 change, causing elastic deformation. With such a configuration, it is possible to improve the ease of assembling the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 5 to the cage 9, and to prevent damage to the cage 9. In addition, the one-way clutch 1 of the present embodiment can improve the ease of assembly when the retainer 9 is elastically deformed in the radial direction, and when it is assembled into devices such as automatic transmissions and industrial machinery. Damage to the retainer 9 can be prevented.

Next, the operating state of the one-way clutch 1 according to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be explained.
In the no-load state shown in FIG. 4(a), the cam member 7 is in contact with the inner ring outer circumferential surface 11 and the outer ring inner circumferential surface 13 due to the elastic force of the spring member 15, but is not engaged to enable torque transmission. . When torque is applied to the inner ring 3 from this state, the cam member 7 swings in the direction in which the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 5 are engaged to enable torque transmission. That is, as shown in FIG. 4(b), when the inner ring 3 rotates clockwise in FIG. 4(b), the cam member 7 in contact with the inner ring outer peripheral surface 11 rotates counterclockwise, that is, swings. move. By swinging in this manner, the cam member 7 engages with the outer circumferential surface 11 of the inner ring and the inner circumferential surface 13 of the outer ring, and torque is transmitted from the inner ring 3 to the outer ring 5 by this engagement.

At this time, the inner circumferential surface 13 of the outer ring 5 is supported by four bearings 31 that are provided on the cage 9 and are respectively arranged at 90° angle positions in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis C. , the retainer 9 and the outer ring 5 stably rotate together with the inner ring 3. Further, the plurality of cam members 7 are held by four cam member holding parts 23 that are respectively arranged at angular positions of 90° in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis C, and each cam member holding part 23 has three cam member holding parts 23. Since two cam members are held, the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 5 are stably engaged in the circumferential direction. As a result, the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 5 rotate stably.

On the other hand, when the inner ring 3 rotates counterclockwise from the no-load state shown in FIG. Idle against. Therefore, in this state, no torque is transmitted from the inner ring 3 to the outer ring 5.

As explained above, in the one-way clutch 1 of this embodiment, the retainer 9 is made of resin, so it is possible to reduce the weight of the one-way clutch 1 and the automatic transmission, etc. (not shown) in which the one-way clutch 1 is incorporated. can do. Furthermore, since the bearing portion 31 that supports the inner circumferential surface 13 of the outer ring 5 is formed in the cage 9, there is no need to provide a bearing for supporting the outer ring 5 as a separate component from the cage 9. Therefore, an increase in the axial dimension of the one-way clutch 1 can be suppressed, and the installation space for the one-way clutch 1 can be reduced, and the number of parts can be reduced, which can contribute to reducing the weight of the one-way clutch 1. Further, as described above, when assembling the inner ring 3 and the outer ring 5 to the retainer 9, or when assembling the one-way clutch 1 to a device such as an automatic transmission or industrial machinery, it is possible to improve the ease of assembling, and Damage to the retainer 9 can be prevented.

Note that the one-way clutch 1 of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate. In the above embodiment, an example of the one-way clutch 1 that transmits torque from the inner ring 3 to the outer ring 5 is shown, but the present invention may be applied to a one-way clutch that transmits torque from the outer ring 5 to the inner ring 3. Further, the number of bearing portions 31 and cam member holding portions 23 can be appropriately set depending on the size, torque capacity, etc. of one-way clutch 1. Further, the number of cam members 7 held by one cam member holding portion 23 can also be set as appropriate. Moreover, the number of notches 43 and 45 can also be changed as appropriate.

1 One-way clutch 3 Inner ring 5 Outer ring 7 Cam part 9 Cage 11 Inner ring outer peripheral surface 13 Outer ring inner peripheral surface 15 Spring member 21 Annular plate 23 Cam member holding part 29 Window part 31 Bearing part 43, 45 Notch part

Claims (5)

Inner circle and
an outer ring disposed concentrically on the central axis of the inner ring;
a plurality of cam members interposed between the inner ring and the outer ring and used to transmit torque between the inner ring and the outer ring;
a holding member for holding the plurality of cam members;
A one-way clutch comprising a spring member that biases the plurality of cam members to a non-torque transmission position,
The holding member includes an annular plate disposed on the central axis, and a plurality of bearing portions supporting the inner circumferential surface of the outer ring, and two or more predetermined bearing portions on one axial surface of the annular plate. the same number of holding parts as the bearing parts are provided for holding the number of said cam members at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction;
The plurality of bearing parts are arranged at equiangular diagonal positions in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis, and the plurality of holding parts are arranged in equiangular angular positions in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis. are placed respectively in
The plurality of bearing parts and the plurality of holding parts are arranged alternately in the circumferential direction,
The one-way clutch is characterized in that the annular plate is formed with a plurality of notches extending in the radial direction. The one-way clutch according to claim 1, wherein the holding member is made of resin. The plurality of notches are a plurality of first notches that open radially outward of the annular plate, and a plurality of second notches that open radially inward of the annular plate. The one-way clutch according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The one-way clutch according to claim 3, wherein the first notch is formed adjacent to the bearing. The one-way clutch according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of second notches and the plurality of bearings are arranged alternately in the circumferential direction.

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