JP2842165B2 - Vehicle differential device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle differential device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Differential devices in the case of FF or FR-based 4WD can be divided into three types: a center differential device, a front differential device, and a rear differential device. When the vehicle turns, the front differential device imparts a rotational speed difference to the left and right driving wheels on the front side to transmit an equal driving force to both driving wheels, while the rear differential device operates similarly to the rear differential device, as in the front differential device. A difference in the number of revolutions is given to the left and right driving wheels to transmit a uniform driving force to both driving wheels. Therefore, the rotational speed difference between the left and right drive wheels is absorbed during the turning travel, and the slip of the wheels is prevented, so that a smooth traveling is possible.

On the other hand, a center differential device is
The driving force output from the transmission is distributed to the front differential device and the rear differential device by giving a difference in the number of rotations, and an even driving force is transmitted to the front and rear driving wheels. In general, a differential device uses a bevel gear, and includes a differential case that rotates around a drive shaft, four pinion gears built in the differential case, and a pair of side gears that mesh with the pinion gears. .

Each pinion gear is supported by a pinion shaft, and the pinion shaft is connected between a differential case and a shaft holder externally fitted to the drive shaft. Therefore, the pinion gear
It can revolve around the drive shaft together with the differential case while rotating around the pinion shaft.

[0005] The driving force is input from a differential case, whereby the differential case is rotated around a drive shaft. The rotation of the differential case causes the pinion gear to revolve around the drive shaft, and the side gear is rotated by the revolution of the pinion gear. And
By the rotation of the pinion gear, a rotation speed difference is given to the rotation of each side gear, and a driving force is output from each side gear.

[0006]

As described above, in the differential device of the type in which the shaft holder is fitted around the drive shaft, the thickness of the support portion of the shaft holder is thin, and the support area between the shaft holder and the pinion shaft is small. Can not secure enough. Therefore, it is indispensable to use four pinion gears in order to prevent the pinion shaft from tilting with respect to the shaft holder, and to prevent the pinion gear and the side gear from contacting each other due to the shaft tilting. Therefore, reducing the weight of the device itself by reducing the number of pinion gears has a problem in supporting rigidity between the pinion shaft and the shaft holder.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has as its object to reduce the weight and cost by reducing the number of pinion gears. It is an object of the present invention to provide a differential device for a vehicle, which can improve the support rigidity of the gears and improve the gear contact between gears.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a vehicle differential device according to the present invention comprises:
A differential case that rotates around the drive shaft, two pairs of first and second shafts disposed in pairs inside the differential case such that inner ends thereof face each other, and each of the pair of first shafts are supported. In a differential device for a vehicle including a pinion gear and a pair of side gears meshing with both pinion gears, a shaft holder that is externally fitted to the drive shaft in the differential case and supports an inner end of each shaft, The thickness of the shaft holder on the second shaft side is made thicker than the thickness of the first shaft side, so that the support area between the second shaft and the shaft holder is increased.

[0009]

According to the differential device for a vehicle configured as described above, the supporting area between the second shaft and the shaft holder can be increased by the thickness of the second shaft side of the shaft holder.

[0010]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention.
It will be described in detail based on. 1 and 2 show a differential device 2 for a vehicle to which the present invention is applied. This differential device 2 is, for example,
This is a center differential device mounted on an FF or FR-based 4WD vehicle, and is generally incorporated together in a transmission (not shown) case.

The differential device 2 includes a differential case 4 and a differential case 4
Gear and pinion shaft 1 housed inside
2, 14 and a side gear 16 and the like.
The differential case 4 includes a case body 6, a case cover 8, and the like, and is arranged rotatably around a drive shaft, that is, a center shaft 18.

The case cover 8 is rotatably connected to a center shaft 18.
The ring gear 20 to which the drive output from the transmission is input is connected. The case body 6 is rotatably disposed around a center shaft 18. And
The case cover 8 is fixed to the case body 6 with bolts.

As shown in FIG.
A set of pinion shafts, that is, a pair of first pinion shafts 12 (first shafts) and a pair of second pinion shafts 14 (second shafts) are provided. on the other hand,
The shaft holder 15 is externally fitted to the center shaft 18 via a first output shaft 22, and the first and second pinion shafts 12, 14 are arranged such that their inner ends face each other. 6 and shaft holder 1
5 and supported. The first output shaft 2
2 is rotatably fitted on the center shaft 18. Further, the pair of first pinion shafts 12 and the pair of second pinion shafts 14 are in a positional relationship perpendicular to each other.

The first pinion shaft 12 is supported by a pinion gear 10, and the second pinion shaft 14 is not supported by a pinion gear 14. Reference numeral 11 in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a lock pin for fixing each of the pinion shafts 12 and 14 to the case main body 6. In FIG.
A schematic exploded view of each of the pinion shafts 12, 14, the shaft holder 15, and the pinion gear 10 is shown, and their positional relationships are embodied.

According to FIGS. 2 and 3, the shaft holder 15 has a long block shape, and the thickness of the side on which the second pinion shaft 14 is supported is such that the first pinion shaft 12 is supported. It is formed thicker than the wall thickness on the other side. The support area between the second pinion shaft 14 and the shaft holder 15 is as large as the thickness of the shaft holder 15. Therefore, the support rigidity of the second pinion shaft 14 to the shaft holder 15 is very strong.

As shown in FIG. 1, inside the differential case 4, a pair of side gears 16 are vertically meshed with each pinion gear 10. The pair of side gears 16 are disposed so as to face each other. One side gear 16 is non-rotatably connected to the first output shaft 22, and the other side gear 16 is fitted on the first output shaft.
The other side gear 16 is connected to the first output shaft 22.
It is non-rotatably connected to a second output shaft 24 that is rotatably fitted on the outside.

Although not shown, the first output shaft 2
Reference numeral 2 denotes an input side of a front differential device (not shown), and the second output shaft 24 transmits a drive output to an input side of a rear differential device (not shown). Here, the operation of the differential device 2 will be described. The differential case 4 receives the driving force from the transmission, and
Rotate around. With this, each pinion gear 1
0 revolves around the center shaft 18. Then, both side gears 16 are rotated by the revolution of the pinion gear 10. When the pinion gear 10 rotates while revolving, the side gear 16 performs a differential rotation with a predetermined rotation speed difference.

According to the differential device described above, the second pinion shaft 14 and the shaft holder 15
And the support area of the second pinion shaft 14
And the rigidity of support for the shaft holder 15 has been strengthened.
When the differential case 4 is rotated, the pinion shafts 12 and 14 can be prevented from falling down with respect to the shaft holder 15. Thereby, the tooth contact between the pinion gear 10 and each side gear 16 can be favorably maintained, and the number of the pinion gears 10 can be reduced to two. In addition, since the number of the pinion gears 10 is two, the weight of the apparatus itself and the cost can be reduced.

The above-described differential device is not limited to the center differential device, but can be applied to front and rear differential devices.

[0020]

As described above, in the vehicle differential device according to the present invention, the thickness of the shaft holder on the second shaft side is formed larger than the thickness of the first shaft side. The support area between the shaft and the shaft holder is increased, so that the rigidity of the support of the second shaft on the shaft holder is increased, the shaft can be prevented from falling down on the shaft holder, and the contact between the pinion gear and the side gear can be reduced. It can be good. As a result, the number of pinion gears can be reduced to two, which provides excellent effects such as reduction of the weight and cost of the differential device itself.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a differential device.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of the differential device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Differential device 4 Differential case 6 Case cover 8 Case body 10 Pinion gear 12 First pinion shaft 14 Second pinion shaft 15 Shaft holder 16 Side gear 18 Center shaft 20 Ring gear 22 First output shaft 24 Second output shaft

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) F16H 48/08

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A differential case that rotates around a drive shaft, two pairs of first and second shafts arranged inside the differential case such that inner ends thereof face each other, and a pair of first shafts. A differential device for a vehicle, comprising: a pinion gear supported by a shaft; and a pair of side gears meshing with the two pinion gears, respectively. The differential device is externally fitted to the drive shaft in the differential case and supports the inner end of each shaft. A vehicle comprising a shaft holder, wherein the thickness of the shaft holder on the second shaft side is formed to be thicker than the thickness of the first shaft side to increase the support area between the second shaft and the shaft holder. Differential equipment.