JP2515867Y2 - Coupling device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Purpose of the Invention] [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a coupling device for transmitting power by viscous resistance of a fluid, and particularly to a power transmission device and a differential limiting device of a vehicle. The present invention relates to a coupling device that is suitable for transmitting power from an engine and limiting a differential.

[Conventional technology]

In a four-wheel drive vehicle in which driving force is transmitted from the drive system to the front wheels and the rear wheels, if the brakes are applied during traveling, the front wheels may be locked due to load movement in the vehicle traveling direction. When the front wheels are locked, the rear wheels to which the driving force is directly transmitted from the front wheel axle are also locked and the rear wheels are over-braked, so that the running stability of the vehicle is impaired.

In order to solve this problem, the idea of arranging a coupling device (hereinafter referred to as "viscus coupling") for differentially rotating the front wheel axle and the rear wheel axle as a differential between the front wheel and the rear wheel has been devised. -203 publication.

The viscous coupling is formed between a relatively rotatable first shaft and a second shaft, a working chamber in which a viscous fluid is sealed, and a plurality of viscous couplings arranged in the working chamber and connected to the first shaft. Of the first resistance plate, a plurality of second resistance plates arranged alternately in opposition to the first resistance plate and connected to the second shaft, and the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate. It is composed of an opening that penetrates the front and back.

By arranging the coupling device configured as described above between the front wheel axle and the rear wheel axle, even if the front wheels are locked by applying a brake and moving the load in the traveling direction, the first resistance plate and the Since the second resistance plate rotates relative to each other and a small torque is transmitted to the rear wheel side, excessive braking on the rear wheel side can be prevented.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

However, in a four-wheel drive vehicle that uses the above-described conventional coupling device as a differential between the front wheels and the rear wheels, when a brake is applied and the vehicle is locked during high speed traveling, the first resistance plate connected to the front wheel axle and the rear wheels are engaged. A so-called hump state occurs in which the second resistance plate connected to the axle is bonded.

That is, during high-speed traveling, the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate in the working chamber rotate at high speed, and the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate rotate relatively at high speed by applying a brake, The viscous fluid disappears from between these, the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate are bonded, and a so-called hump state occurs. Therefore, the front wheel axle and the rear wheel axle are directly connected to each other, which causes a rapid torque change on the rear wheel side, resulting in excessive braking and impairing running stability.

On the other hand, there has been proposed a differential limiting device that limits the differential rotation of the left and right axles by using the viscous coupling having the above configuration as a differential limiting device for a front-wheel drive vehicle such as an FF vehicle or a front-wheel steering vehicle.

However, there is a difference in the rotational speeds of the left and right wheels while the vehicle is traveling or during cornering, and the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate are differentially rotating in the working chamber. Therefore, there is no viscous fluid between the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate, and the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate are adhered to each other to be in a hump state. In this case, since the left and right axles rotate integrally, there is a problem that the torque changes abruptly, smooth turning cannot be performed, and traveling performance is poor.

Therefore, the conventional coupling device has a problem that viscous fluid disappears from between the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate, a hump state occurs, and traveling performance is poor.

In view of the above facts, the present invention has an object to provide a coupling device in which a hump state does not occur.

[Structure of the Invention] [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a viscous fluid is sealed between a first shaft and a second shaft that are relatively rotatable and sealed. A working chamber and a first working chamber located in the working chamber.
A plurality of first resistance plates that are connected to the shaft and rotate together with the first shaft; and a plurality of first resistance plates that are alternately opposed to the first resistance plates and that are arranged in the working chamber and that are connected to the second shaft and are connected to the second shaft. A coupling device comprising: a rotating second resistance plate; and an opening formed in at least one of the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate and penetrating through the front and back surfaces thereof, wherein the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate are provided. At least one opening of the openings formed in the resistance plate, or at the edge of the opening formed in one of the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate, the first resistance of the opening formation. The chamfer is formed so that both ends in the rotation direction and both ends in the thickness direction of the plate or the second resistance plate have the same sectional shape.

[Action]

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, for example, the rotational driving force is transmitted to the first shaft, the first shaft rotates, and the viscous fluid sealed in the working chamber causes the viscous fluid to rotate in the direction of rotation of the first resistance plate. Flow in the same direction occurs. Due to the rotation of the viscous fluid, a sliding frictional force is applied to the second resistance plate, and the second resistance plate rotates in the same direction as the first resistance plate. As a result, the second shaft rotates with the first shaft, and the rotational driving force transmitted to the first shaft is transmitted to the second shaft.

For example, when the coupling device of the present invention is used for power transmission of a four-wheel drive vehicle, a viscous fluid is separated from these by virtue of the chamfering of the opening provided on at least one of the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate. Since the viscous fluid is constantly guided between the two, there is no hump state during high differential rotation.

Therefore, since the front wheel axle and the rear wheel axle are not directly connected, even if the front wheel is locked while the brake is applied during high-speed traveling, the rear wheel is not over-braked and the running stability may be impaired. Absent.

In addition, for example, when the coupling device of the present invention is used for a front wheel drive of a front-wheel drive vehicle or a front wheel steering vehicle of a differential device, even if differential rotation occurs, the chamfer formed in the opening causes the viscous fluid to move to the first position. Since it is guided between the resistance plate and the second resistance and always exists, the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate are not in a hump state, and a rapid torque change can be prevented.
You can turn smoothly.

〔Example〕

Next, an embodiment of a coupling device according to the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “viscus coupling”) will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11.

First Embodiment A first embodiment is an example in which the viscous coupling 21 according to the present invention is used as a differential between a front wheel and a rear wheel of a four-wheel drive vehicle.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of a vehicle equipped with the viscous coupling 21. When the engine 1 is driven, the transfer 5 is driven via the transmission 3. By driving the transfer 5, the power from the engine is branched to the propeller shafts 7 and 9.

The power from the engine branched to the propeller shafts 7 and 9 is transmitted to the front wheels 11 and the rear wheels 13, respectively. The front wheel 11 passes through the front wheel differential unit 15 from the front wheel side propeller shaft 7, and through the left and right front wheel axles 17 to the engine 1
The power from is transmitted and driven.

The rear wheel 13 is driven by the driving force transmitted from the engine 1 from the rear wheel side propeller shaft 9 via the viscous coupling 21, the rear wheel differential 19 and the rear wheel axle 23.

The viscous coupling 21 arranged between the rear wheel side propeller shaft 9 and the rear wheel differential 19 has an input shaft 27.
And when there is a slight difference in the number of revolutions between the output shaft 39 and
It has a characteristic of transmitting a slight torque, and has a function of transmitting an extremely large torque to a large rotational speed difference.

FIG. 1 shows a partial cross section of the viscous coupling 21. In FIG. 1, the right side of the drawing shows the input side on the front side in the vehicle front-rear direction (the direction of arrow A in the figure), and the left side of the drawing shows the output side on the rear side in the vehicle front-rear direction.

The flange yoke 25 connected to the rear wheel side propeller shaft 9 via a joint (not shown) is connected to the input shaft 27 with bolts 29. One side of a cylindrical outer cylinder 31 is fitted on the outer periphery of the input shaft 27 and is integrated by welding or the like. The flange yoke 25, the input shaft 27, and the outer cylinder 31 constitute a first shaft, and are arranged coaxially with a second shaft described later.

Spline grooves 33 are formed at a plurality of locations along the axial direction (the direction of arrow A in the figure and the opposite direction) on the entire inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 31. Into the spline groove 33, the tooth portion 37 formed on the entire outer circumference of the input shaft side clutch plate 43 (see FIG. 3) which is the first resistance plate is fitted. Therefore, the input side clutch plate 43 is movable in the axial direction of the outer cylinder 31.

Further, a slightly large circular hole 43a is formed in the center of the input shaft side clutch plate 43 so as not to come into contact with the outer circumference of a sleeve 41 fitted into an output shaft 39 described later.

The input shaft side clutch plate 43 is provided with eight circular holes 44 penetrating the front and back sides at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Further, a slit 46 is formed by connecting the circular hole 44 and the circular hole 43a and penetrating the front and back. The circular hole 44 and the slit 46 form an opening.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), the inner peripheral edge of the circular hole 44 is chamfered so that both ends of the rotation mode and both ends in the thickness direction of the input side clutch plate 43 have the same shape. The inclined portion 43c is formed.

As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the slit 46 is chamfered at the edges of the input shaft clutch plate 43 so that both ends in the rotational direction and both ends in the thickness direction are chamfered to form an inclined part 43 b. Has been done.

As shown in FIG. 1, this input shaft side clutch plate 43
Are arranged in the working chamber 55 so as to be opposed to an output shaft side clutch plate 35 (see FIG. 5) which will be described later and are alternately combined. Further, a positioning spacer 45 for keeping the gap between the input shaft side clutch plates 43 at a predetermined gap f is inserted and arranged between the input shaft side clutch plates 43 so as not to contact the outer periphery of the output shaft side clutch plates 35. There is. A flange 47 on the first shaft side is fitted into the outer cylinder 31 at the final end of the resistance plates combined in this way, and a stopper 49 for preventing separation is provided.

The first shaft side member (input shaft 27, outer cylinder 31 and flange 4
7) is rotatably supported by bearings 51 and 53 on a sleeve 41 that is integrally fitted and inserted on the output shaft 39, and a clutch plate 43 on the input shaft side.
Also, seal members 57 and 59 are incorporated in the input shaft 27 and the flange 47 to prevent leakage of viscous fluid filled in the working chamber 55 in which the output shaft side clutch plate 35 is incorporated.

A viscous fluid such as silicon oil is hermetically sealed in the working chamber 55 by the seal members 57 and 59.

On the other hand, a spline groove 61 is formed in an output shaft 39 (partially omitted in the drawing) as a second shaft extending from the rear wheel differential 19 (see FIG. 2), and a sleeve 41 is formed.
Has been inserted. The sleeve 41 is fixed to the output shaft 39 by a nut 63 screwed into a screw portion 62 provided at the shaft end of the output shaft 39.

The bearing 51 has its axial movement restricted by a retaining ring 67 fitted in an annular groove 65 provided in the sleeve 41. Further, an adjusting ring 71 for axial positioning is inserted between the outer ring end surface of the bearing 51 and the fitting portion 69 of the flange yoke 25.

Further, on the outer circumference of the sleeve 41, a plurality of spline grooves 73 are provided along the axial direction in a range facing the spline grooves 33 provided on the outer cylinder 31. This spline groove 73
A plurality of teeth 75 provided on the entire inner circumference of the output shaft side clutch plate 35 (see FIG. 5), which is the second resistance plate, is fitted into the shaft. Therefore, when the sleeve 41 rotates, it rotates in the same direction.

The outer circumference of the output shaft side clutch plate 35 has a slightly smaller diameter so as not to come into contact with the positioning ring 45 (spacer 45) on the input shaft side. The output shaft side clutch plate 35 faces the above-mentioned input shaft side clutch plate 43 and is alternately combined with a gap therebetween.

As shown in FIG. 5, the output shaft-side clutch plate 35 has openings that are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, penetrating through the front and back of the output shaft-side clutch plate 35. A plurality of radial slits 36 are formed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), both ends in the rotational direction and both ends in the thickness direction of the output shaft side clutch plate 35 are chamfered to have the same shape at the edge of the radial slit 36,
The inclined portion 36a is formed. Therefore, when the input shaft side clutch plate 43 is rotated, the viscous fluid is guided to the output shaft side clutch plate 35 by being guided by the inclined portion 36a.

As the chamfer, a spherical surface portion 36b may be used as shown in FIG. 6 (b) instead of the inclined portion 36a.

 Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

The power of the engine 1 is transmitted to the input shaft 27 to rotate the input shaft side clutch plate 43. When the input shaft side clutch plate 43 rotates, a flow in the same direction as the input shaft clutch plate 43 occurs in the viscous fluid filled in the clearance between the clutch plates 35, 43 in the working chamber 55. Due to the flow of the viscous fluid, a rotational force is applied to the output shaft side clutch plate 35 to rotate in the same direction as the input shaft side clutch plate 43, and the output shaft 39 rotates in the same direction as the input shaft 27.

Therefore, the power from the engine 1 is transmitted to the rear wheel differential device 19 via the output shaft 39, and the rear wheel 13 is rotationally driven.

When the input shaft side clutch plate 43 rotates in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 3, the viscous fluid filled in the gap also flows in the same direction. The viscous fluid that has flowed in the same direction as the input shaft side clutch plate 43 gives the output shaft side clutch 35 a rotational force due to a sliding frictional force. Due to the rotational force due to this sliding friction, the output shaft side clutch plate 35
Rotate in the same direction.

At this time, since the inclined portion 36a is formed on the output shaft side clutch plate 35, the viscous fluid is guided in the direction of the arrow B in FIG. 7 between the output shaft side clutch plate 35 and the input shaft side clutch plate 43. Thus, even if the input shaft side clutch plate 35 rotates at a high speed, the input shaft side clutch plate 35 does not adhere to the output shaft side clutch 43 and the hump state does not occur.

Therefore, even if the front wheels 11 are locked by the load being applied and the rear wheels 13 are not locked, the running stability is not impaired.

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. In the second embodiment, the shape of the clutch plate on the output shaft side is different from that of the clutch plate 35 on the output shaft side of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8, the output shaft side clutch plate 77 is
A tooth portion 78 that is fitted into the spline groove 73 is provided on the entire inner circumference. Further, circular holes 79 are formed in the entire outer circumference at equal intervals. From these circular holes 79, slit toward the outer peripheral edge.
81 are formed respectively. The circular hole 79 and the slit 81 form an opening.

As shown in FIG. 9 (a), the inner peripheral end of the slit 81 is chamfered so that both ends in the thickness direction have the same shape, and an inclined part 81a is formed. Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, chamfers are formed on the inner peripheral edge of the circular hole 79 at both ends in the rotational direction and both ends in the thickness direction of the output shaft side clutch plate 77 to form inclined parts 79a. .

Also in the present embodiment, similarly to the above-described embodiment, when the brake is applied during high speed traveling, even if the input shaft side clutch plate 43 and the output shaft side clutch plate 77 rotate relative to each other, the inclined portions 79a, 81a.
As a result, the viscous fluid is guided between the input shaft side clutch plate 43 and the output shaft side clutch plate 77, so that the viscous fluid always exists between them.

Therefore, even if the front wheels 11 are locked, a small torque is generated on the output shaft 39 side, so that the rear wheels are not over-braked and the vehicle can run stably.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment will be described in which the coupling device according to the present invention is used in a front-wheel drive or front-wheel steering vehicle such as an FF vehicle. In FIG. 10, the coupling device 88 has the left and right axles 85 and 87.
FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a differential device 89 arranged therebetween.

A link gear 93 that meshes with a drive pinion (not shown) is fixed to the outside of the differential case 91 that is rotatably supported by a diff carrier (not shown). Also a differential case
Inside the 91, a pinion shaft 95 is fixed to the wall of the differential case. Further, a pinion gear 97 is rotatably supported on the pinion shaft 95, and the pinion gear 97 meshes with a side gear 99. Side gear 99
Is a connecting member that is splined to the left and right axles 85 and 87.
It is fixed to 101 and 103.

A working chamber 105 is formed between the connecting member 103 and the differential case 91. Viscous fluid is sealed in the working chamber 105.

In the working chamber 105, a plurality of internal gear clutch plates 107 having the same structure as the output shaft side clutch plate 35 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5 are spline-connected to the connecting member 103. Further, an external tooth clutch plate 109 having the same structure as the input shaft side clutch 43 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is arranged so as to alternately face the internal tooth clutch 107. This external tooth clutch plate 1
The 09 is spline-connected to the differential case 91 so as to be movable in the axial direction.

In the differential device 89 having the above-described configuration, the ring gear 93 rotates by the rotational driving force from the engine 1 transmitted to the drive pinion (not shown), and the differential case 91 rotates. Differential case
When 91 rotates, pinion shaft 95 and pinion gear
97 rotates in the same direction as the rotation, and side gear 99 rotates. As a result, power is transmitted to the axles 85, 87 via the connecting members 101, 103, and the axles 85, 87 rotate.

In this way, the power from the engine (not shown) is transmitted to the left and right wheels. In such a transmission state of the driving force, the inner tooth clutch plate 107 and the outer tooth clutch plate 109 are integrally rotated.

Further, when the vehicle turns left, for example, while the vehicle is traveling straight ahead, the road surface resistance of the left wheel becomes larger than the road surface resistance of the right wheel, so that resistance is added to the axle 85. As a result, the pinion gear 97 rotates, and the differential case 91 and the connecting member 103 relatively rotate. As a result, the axle 87 becomes
Since the vehicle rotates more, the vehicle can smoothly turn to the left. When one of the wheels, for example the left wheel, runs on muddy or ice, the road resistance of the right wheel becomes relatively larger than the road resistance on the left side. For this reason the pinion gear
When 97 rotates, the connecting member 103 rotates relative to the differential case 91.

When the connecting member 103 rotates relative to the differential case 91, the internal tooth clutch 107 in the working chamber 105 rotates relative to the external tooth clutch 109. In this case, the viscous fluid enclosed in the working chamber 105 imparts resistance to relative rotation with the differential case 91, and power is transmitted to the right axle. This allows the vehicle to escape from the muddy or ice.

Further, even when the vehicle is traveling, there is a difference in the rotational speeds of the left and right wheels. Therefore, the connecting member 103 or the connecting member 101 tries to rotate relative to the differential case 91, but the rotation is blocked by the clutch plates 107 and 109 and the viscous fluid. Therefore, the vehicle can travel stably.

In this case, when the vehicle runs at high speed, the internal tooth clutch plate
107 and the external tooth clutch plate 109 rotate at high speed. However, since the internal gear clutch plate 107 has the same structure as the output shaft side clutch plate 35 shown in FIG. 5, the slanted portion 36a formed at the edge of the slit 36 causes a viscous fluid to flow between the internal gear clutch plate 107 and the external tooth clutch plate 109. Will be guided. As a result, since the viscous fluid always exists between the internal gear clutch plate 107 and the external gear clutch plate 109, these do not adhere to each other and become a hump state.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11 (a), conventionally, when the vehicle traveled at a high speed and the rotation speed increased ΔN, a hump state occurred and a rapid change in the torque T occurred. However, according to the present embodiment,
As shown in FIG. 11 (b), the hump state does not occur even when the number of revolutions increases, that is, even when the vehicle runs at high speed, so that the torque T does not change suddenly.

As described above, according to the above embodiments, the first,
Since the clutch plate, which is the second resistance plate, does not adhere to the hump state, the torque does not change suddenly and the running performance is improved.

In addition, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned respective embodiments and can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the slits or circular holes that are openings are provided in both the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate, but the present invention is not limited to this, and openings are provided in at least one of the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate. Is formed, and a chamfer is formed at the edge of this opening.

Further, the chamfering of the edge of the opening is performed by the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate.
It may be formed in at least one of the openings formed in the resistance plate.

Further, the coupling device according to the present invention can be applied to all devices for transmitting power between the front wheel axle and the rear wheel side propeller shaft and for simply transmitting power other than the differential limiting device of the differential device.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the example of the slit and the circular hole has been described as the opening, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate may be used.
Any shape and any shape may be used as long as it is an opening penetrating the front and back of the resistance plate, and slits, circular holes, and openings of other shapes may be appropriately combined.

[Effect of the Invention] As described above, in the coupling device of the present invention,
At the edges of the openings of the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate, both ends in the rotation direction of the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate and both ends in the thickness direction of the first and second resistance plates. Since the chamfer is formed so that the parts have the same shape, a hump state does not occur, and a rapid torque change does not occur, so that an excellent effect that running performance is not deteriorated is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of a coupling device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an outline of a vehicle to which the coupling device according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. A plan view showing the shaft side clutch plate, FIG. 4 (a) is a plan view of FIG.
Sectional view taken along line IV (a) -IV (a), FIG. 4 (b) is a sectional view taken along line IV (b) -IV (b) of FIG. 3, FIG. Is a plan view showing the output shaft side clutch plate,
FIG. 6 (a) is a sectional view taken along line VI (a) -VI (a) in FIG. 5, and FIG. 6 (b) is a sectional view showing another example,
FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the relationship between the input shaft side clutch plate and the output shaft side clutch plate, FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the output shaft side clutch plate of the second embodiment, and FIG. 8 IX (a)
-Cross sectional view taken along line IX (a), FIG. 9 (b) is a sectional view taken along line IX (b) -IX (b) of FIG. 8, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the differential limiting device between axles, and FIG. 11 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the differential rotation speed and the torque when the conventional coupling device and the coupling device according to the present invention are applied. . 21 …… Viscous coupling 25 …… Flange yoke 27 …… Input shaft 31 …… Outer cylinder 35,77 …… Output shaft side clutch plate (second resistance plate) 36a, 36b …… Opening edge 39 …… Output shaft (Second shaft) 43 …… Input shaft side clutch plate (first resistance plate) 55, 105 …… Working chamber 107 …… Internal tooth clutch plate 109 …… External tooth clutch plate

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A working chamber formed between a relatively rotatable first shaft and a second shaft, in which a viscous fluid is sealed in a sealed state, and a working chamber disposed in the working chamber and connected to the first shaft. A plurality of first resistance plates that rotate together with the first shaft, and a second resistance that alternately faces the first resistance plates and is disposed in the working chamber, is connected to the second shaft, and rotates together with the second shaft. A coupling device, comprising: a plate; and an opening formed in at least one of the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate and penetrating the front and back sides, wherein the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate are formed. The opening of at least one of the openings, or the edge of the opening formed in one of the first resistance plate and the second resistance plate,
The coupling device is characterized in that chamfers are formed so that both ends in the rotation direction and both ends in the thickness direction of the first resistance plate or the second resistance plate having the opening portion have the same cross-sectional shape.