JP3188665B2 - Torque converter and adjustment method thereof - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a torque converter, and more particularly, to a torque converter applicable to a three-element one-stage two-layer torque converter and a four-element one-stage two-layer torque converter. In this way, it is possible to maintain the transmission efficiency of engine power and dramatically improve high-speed driving performance without sacrificing low-medium-speed driving performance.
Also, the present invention relates to a torque converter capable of reducing loss of transmission power even when the engine speed is reduced to a low to medium speed state by accelerator control, and a method of adjusting the torque converter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the progress of the automobile industry and automobile technology, automatic transmissions have been increasingly employed for the purpose of reducing labor and fatigue when driving a vehicle and improving comfort. The demand for converters is also increasing. The main components of such a torque converter are a three-element, one-stage, two-layer torque converter including three elements of a pump impeller, a turbine impeller, and a single stator impeller;
There is a four-element one-stage two-layer torque converter in which a lock-up clutch is added to the three-element one-stage two-layer torque converter, and various technological developments are being actively conducted to improve the performance such as transmission efficiency.

[0003] Conventionally, torque converters having the same performance or the same characteristics are generally mounted on vehicles having different running performances for the purpose of reducing product costs and the like.

[0004]

However, there are two types of vehicles, one of which emphasizes high-speed driving performance, such as European cars, and the other, which emphasizes medium-to-low speed driving performance in consideration of city driving, such as conventional Japanese cars. In automobiles, the performance and characteristics required of the torque converter are different. Therefore, even if the torque converter is suitable for medium-to-low speed driving, in the case of a car equipped with a high-speed output type engine such as a current Japanese car, when starting and high-speed running are important due to the characteristics of the engine, And its performance or characteristics may be unsuitable. For example, the rotation speed (stall rotation speed) of the pump impeller when the turbine impeller starts to rotate after the pump impeller starts to rotate in association with the engine rotation is relatively low when emphasis is placed on medium-low speed running performance. Had become. However, in this case, when driving at high speed, that is, when the engine speed is high, the ratio (torque ratio) between the shaft torque of the pump impeller and the shaft torque of the turbine impeller rises too much beyond the engine characteristics, and the relative Had a descent effect. Therefore, there is a possibility that the acceleration performance and the fuel consumption performance, which are the constituent factors of the power performance of the vehicle equipped with the high-speed output type engine, are reduced.

Conventionally, a torque converter is subjected to a stall test, a measurement of end clearance of a turbine impeller, a pressure leak test of an outer shell composed of a housing case and a pump case, and a cleaning of the inside of the outer shell after the product is completed. However, no disassembly maintenance or performance adjustment by cutting the outer shell was performed. However, in order to improve the overall performance, it is preferable to adjust the pump impeller, the turbine impeller, the stator impeller, and the like according to the vehicle type or the required traveling characteristics.

Therefore, the present invention is to reduce the power transmission loss in the coupling range by increasing the stall rotation speed, and to greatly improve both the acceleration performance and the fuel consumption performance, which are constituent factors of the power performance of the vehicle. And a method of adjusting the torque converter.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a torque converter in which the angle of the blade on the outlet side of the flow path of the hydraulic oil of the pump impeller is set to be smaller than the existing angle in the counter-rotating direction from the radial direction. Tilted in the anti-rotation direction at an angle of 20 to 55 degrees , and further, on the inlet side of the hydraulic oil flow path of the turbine impeller
The angle of the blade from its radial direction to the same direction as the rotational direction.
It is inclined at an angle of about 10 degrees to 30 degrees .

[0008]

The torque converter according to the second aspect of the present invention further comprises a ratio of a chord length L of the blades of the stator impeller to a pitch T of the blades at the flow path outlet on an average streamline.
T / L = 1 to about 1.5.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for adjusting a torque converter, comprising the steps of: cutting a welded portion between a housing case and a case of a pump impeller to divide it into two; A first step of inclining the angle of the blade on the outlet side at an angle of about 20 to 55 degrees in the anti-rotational direction from the radial direction, and the angle of the blade on the inlet side of the flow path of the working oil of the turbine impeller, A blade shape adjusting step having a second step of inclining at an angle of about 10 to 30 degrees in the same direction as the rotation direction from the radial direction, and a cut portion of the housing case and the pump impeller case can be rejoined. When the end face machining step of machining the end face into a desired shape, and the thrust bearing between the pump impeller and the stator impeller is replaced with one having a predetermined thickness smaller according to the end face machining width in the end face machining step. A gap adjusting step of adjusting the gap between the pump impeller and the stator impeller by attaching an adjusting shim to the casing, and a rejoining step of rejoining the end faces of the housing case and the case of the pump impeller. It is.

In the torque converter adjusting method according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the blade shape adjusting step further includes a chord length L of the blade of the stator impeller and a pitch T on the average streamline of the blade at the outlet of the flow passage. And a third step of cutting a portion of the blades of the stator impeller on the pump impeller side so that the ratio of T / L becomes about 1 to 1.5.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The torque converter of this embodiment is of a three-element, one-stage, two-layer type, and has a basic configuration as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with a pump impeller 10 and a turbine impeller 20.
Are arranged facing each other, and a stator impeller 30 is arranged between the two. The overall configuration is the same as the conventional one, and as shown in FIG.
A peripheral portion of the housing case 41 directly connected to the (input shaft) and a peripheral portion of the pump case 11 of the pump impeller 10 are joined and fixed by welding or the like to form an outer shell having a predetermined internal space. Thus, the pump impeller 10 is driven to rotate in synchronization with the engine rotation via the housing case 41. Further, the pump impeller 10 is connected via a hub 12 at the center of the pump case 11 to
The drive shaft 7 (output shaft) of the auxiliary transmission having a planetary gear mechanism at the subsequent stage is loosely fitted around the drive shaft 7 and relatively rotates with the drive shaft 7 in a free state.

On the other hand, a turbine impeller 20 is spline-fitted to the tip of the drive shaft 7 via a hub 21 at the center, and the drive shaft 7 is integrated with the rotation of the turbine impeller 20. Are rotated at the same speed. A stator shaft 9 is fitted around the outer periphery of the drive shaft 7 so as to be relatively rotatable. A hub 31 at the center of the stator impeller 30 is fitted to the tip end of the stator shaft 9 via a one-way clutch 43, in the same direction as the rotation direction of the pump impeller 10 and the turbine impeller 20. Only it is rotatable. A thrust bearing 45 is interposed between the center of the pump impeller 10 and the center of the stator impeller 30 so that the two can be relatively rotated. The inside of the outer shell composed of the pump case 11 and the housing case 41 is controlled to be filled with hydraulic oil by a hydraulic mechanism (not shown).

Next, the construction of each of the pump impeller 10, the turbine impeller 20, and the stator impeller 30 will be described in detail.

First, the pump impeller 10 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG.
A large number of blades 13 are circumferentially arranged at predetermined intervals on the outer periphery of 2, and a flow path R1 of hydraulic oil extending from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side of the pump case 11 is formed between adjacent vanes 13. I have.
As a result, the pump impeller 10 rotates in a fixed direction D with the rotation of the engine, and the centrifugal force causes the inlet R11 located on the inner peripheral side of the flow path R1 to the outlet R located on the outer peripheral side.
The hydraulic oil is pressure-fed to 12 and discharged.
A rectifying ring 14 is provided at the center of the flow path R1 so as to rectify the hydraulic oil flowing through the flow path R1 to prevent turbulence. Further, the pump impeller 10 is
3, the tip of the outlet R12 side (the angle A1 of the blade 13 on the outlet side of the flow path R1) is inclined at an angle of about 10 degrees to 55 degrees in a direction opposite to the rotation direction D from the radiation direction r,
Particularly, the torque at the time of high-speed rotation is increased.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the turbine impeller 20 has a number of blades 23 on the inner surface of a turbine case 21a extending from a hub 21 corresponding to the blades 13 of the pump impeller 10. A hydraulic oil flow path R2 extending from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side is formed between the blades 23 so as to be circumferentially arranged at predetermined intervals and correspond to the hydraulic oil flow path R1 of the pump impeller 10. ing. Thereby, the turbine impeller 20
Flows hydraulic oil from the pump impeller 10 into an outlet R22 located on the inner peripheral side from an inlet R21 located on the outer peripheral side of the flow path R2, and the pump impeller 10
To form a circulation flow path R for hydraulic oil. A rectifying ring 24 is provided at the center of the flow path R2 to rectify the hydraulic oil flowing through the flow path R2 to prevent turbulence. Furthermore, the turbine impeller 20
Corresponding to the blade 13 angle of the pump impeller 10, the tip of the blade 23 on the inflow port R21 side (the angle A2 of the blade 23 on the inlet side of the flow path R2) is the same as the rotation direction D from the radiation direction r. In the direction at an angle of about 10 to 30 degrees,
Hydraulic oil from the pump impeller 10 is more efficiently received, and the torque ratio particularly at high speed rotation is increased.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the stator impeller 30 includes the pump impeller 10 and the turbine impeller 2.
0 blades 13 and 23 (the inner circumference side of the above-mentioned annular flow path R)
A large number of blades 32 are circumferentially arranged around the hub 31 at predetermined intervals corresponding to the portions, and the flow through the outlet R22 of the flow path R2 of the turbine impeller 20 and the flow path R1 of the pump impeller 10 is determined. A flow path R3 of hydraulic oil extending from the turbine impeller 20 side to the pump impeller 10 side is formed between the blades 32 so as to correspond to the inlet R11. Thereby, the stator impeller 30 changes the direction of the hydraulic oil circulating from the turbine impeller 20 to the pump impeller 10 by the pump impeller 10.
In the direction of urging. Further, the stator impeller 30 includes a chord length L of the blade 32 and a flow path R3.
The ratio of the blade 32 at the outlet to the pitch T on the average streamline is T / L = 1 to 1.5.

Next, the operation of the torque converter of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

First, when the engine starts operating and the crankshaft 5 rotates, the pump impeller 10 rotates via the housing case 41 in the rotation direction D at the same speed as the engine. Then, due to the centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the pump impeller 10, the hydraulic oil in the flow path R1 is discharged from the outlet R12 and is pressure-fed to the inlet R21 of the turbine impeller 20. At this time, the tip of the pump impeller 10 on the outlet R12 side of the blade 13 is inclined at an angle A1 of about 20 to 55 degrees from the radiation direction r in the direction opposite to the rotation direction D, so that the speed is particularly high. The torque during rotation increases.

The inlet R of the flow passage R2 of the turbine impeller 20
Hydraulic oil flowing into the turbine 21 is supplied to the blades 2 of the turbine impeller 20.
While applying a pressure in the rotation direction D to 3, it is guided through the flow path R 2 and discharged from the outlet R 22. At this time, the turbine impeller 20 raises the tip of the impeller 2 on the inflow port R21 side by about 10 degrees from the radial direction r in the same direction as the rotational direction D in accordance with the angle of the blade 13 of the pump impeller 10. Since it is inclined at an angle A2 of about 30 degrees, the hydraulic oil from the pump impeller 10 is efficiently received, and the torque ratio particularly during high-speed rotation increases. Therefore, the stall rotation speed increases,
When the pump impeller 10 has a high rotation speed, the turbine impeller 20 starts rotating and enters the converter range.

The outlet R of the flow path R2 of the turbine impeller 20
The hydraulic oil discharged from the nozzle 22 flows into the inlet R31 of the passage R3 of the stator impeller 30, and flows out from the outlet R32 toward the pump impeller 10. At this time, the flow direction R2 of the hydraulic oil discharged from the turbine impeller 20 and flowing in the direction to cancel the torque of the pump impeller 10 is changed by the impeller 32 of the stator impeller 30 to the pump impeller 10.
Is changed to the direction R3 in which the torque is increased. Further, the stator impeller 30 determines the ratio of the chord length L of the blade 32 to the pitch T on the average streamline of the blade 32 at the outlet of the flow path R3.
T / L = 1 to 1.5, and the conventional 0.5
It is assumed to be larger than 1.0. That is, the length L of the blades 32 of the stator impeller 30 is considerably shorter than the conventional one. Therefore, the passage time of the working oil in the stator impeller 30 becomes longer,
The loss of transmission power in a higher rotation range is reduced, and the torque increasing efficiency can be improved. Here, the flow action means the speed of the flow.

In other words, the torque converter constructed as described above operates in the converter range in the pump impeller 10.
In the maximum stall ratio state in which the turbine impeller 20 and the stator impeller 30 are stopped while rotating, the hydraulic oil discharged from the pump impeller 10 whose angle has been changed in a direction to increase the fluid energy retention by the hydraulic oil, In order to flow into the turbine impeller 20 whose angle has been changed in a direction to strongly receive the fluid pressure in the high rotation range, the turbine impeller 20
Starts rotation at a late stage. After colliding with the blades 23 of the turbine impeller 20 and turning the flow path R2, the operating oil discharged from the outlet R22 is discharged to the stator impeller 3
0, collides with the blades 32 of the stator impeller 30, and is discharged by the stator impeller 30 with the tip of the blade 32 on the inlet R31 side of the working oil shortened with a higher rotation and a rise in flow velocity. Then, the stator impeller 3
Hydraulic oil flowing out of the pump impeller 10
11 and the above steps are repeated.

In the converter range, the pump impeller 10 and the turbine impeller 20 are rotating, the stator impeller 30 is in a stopped state, and the turbine impeller 20 is rotated at half the rotational speed of the pump impeller 10. In this state, the operating oil discharged from the pump impeller 10 whose blade 13 angle has been changed retains energy and flows into the turbine impeller 20 in a direction for urging the turbine impeller 20 to rotate. Further accelerate the rotation of 20.
The hydraulic oil discharged from the turbine impeller 20 collides with the stator impeller 30 at a higher pressure than in the above case, and then returns to the pump impeller 10.

In this manner, the hydraulic oil flow path R is held in the direction of accelerating the rotation of the turbine impeller 20 until the converter range ends and the clutch point is reached and the coupling range is reached. Thereafter, in the coupling range, the torque converter operates in the state of the maximum torque ratio, similarly to a normal torque converter. At this time, the flow path of the hydraulic oil becomes as indicated by R33 in FIG. 6, and collides with the back surface of the blade 32 of the stator impeller 30, and the stator impeller 30 rotates in the rotation direction D via the one-way clutch 43. Thus, a decrease in the torque ratio is prevented.

Next, a method of adjusting the torque converter according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the method of adjusting the torque converter according to the present embodiment uses, for example, a conventional general-purpose torque converter.
In the above, the welded portion 42 between the housing case 41 and the pump case 11 of the pump impeller 10 is cut and divided into two parts. Next, in the blade shape adjusting step S2, the shape of at least one of the blades 13, 23, and 32 of the pump impeller 10, the turbine impeller 20, and the stator impeller 30 is adjusted. Specifically, in the first step, the angle of the blade 13 on the outlet side of the flow path R1 of the hydraulic oil of the pump impeller 10 is set to about 20 degrees from the radial direction r in the direction opposite to the rotational direction D.
It is inclined at an angle A1 of degrees to 55 degrees. Next, in the second step, the angle of the blade 23 on the inlet side of the flow path R2 of the hydraulic oil of the turbine impeller 20 is changed from the radial direction r in the same direction as the rotational direction D by an angle A2 of about 10 to 30 degrees. Incline. Then, in the third step, the stator impeller 30
Chord length L of the blade 32 and the blade 3 at the outlet of the flow path R3.
2 with the pitch T on the average streamline, T / L = 1 to 1.
A portion of the blade 32 of the stator impeller 30 on the side of the inlet R31 which is the pump impeller 10 side is cut so as to be about 5.

Subsequently, in the end face machining step S3, the cut portions of the housing case 41 and the pump case 11 of the pump impeller 10 are machined into a shape that can be rejoined. That is, the tip 11a of the pump case 11 is cut from the position indicated by the two-dot chain line. Then, in the interval adjusting step S4, the thrust bearing 45 between the pump impeller 10 and the stator impeller 30 is replaced with a thin one having a predetermined thickness according to the end face processing width in the end face processing step S3. At the same time, an adjustment shim is attached to the thrust bearing 45 to adjust the distance between the pump impeller 10 and the stator impeller 30. That is, the distance between the pump impeller 10 and the stator impeller 30 reduced by the end face processing is adjusted by replacing the thrust bearing 45 and providing an adjustment shim. In addition, it is preferable to use a needle roller bearing having a small thickness and being strong against external loads as a bearing to be replaced. Then, in the rejoining step S5, the housing case 41 and the end face of the pump case 11 of the pump impeller 10 are rejoined by welding or the like.

By such a method of adjusting the torque converter, the front-rear direction of the outer shell including the housing case 41 and the pump case 11 is widened, and the internal space is increased. For this reason, the gap between the stator impeller 20 and the housing case 41 increases, and hydraulic oil circulates from the pump impeller 10 to the turbine impeller 20 with a delay, so that the rotation of the pump impeller 10 and the turbine impeller 20 is synchronized. The timing is increased and the pressure is increased, so that power can be transmitted efficiently.

Here, the pump case 1 of the housing case 41 and the pump impeller 10 is used in the rejoining step S5.
In the case where the end face of the pump impeller 10 is rejoined by welding or the like, as shown in FIG. 11, the case where the pump case 11 of the pump impeller 10 covers the end face of the housing impeller 10 has been described. The housing case 41 may be joined so as to cover the end face of the pump case 11 of the vehicle 10.

In the above embodiment, three elements, one stage, two stages
The layer type torque converter has been described.
The present invention can also be embodied in a two-stage type torque converter, and has the same effect.

Further, the torque converter and the method of adjusting the torque converter according to the above-described embodiment can be naturally applied to an engine and a torque converter that rotate in the reverse direction.
It has the same effect.

[0033]

As described above, in the torque converter according to the first aspect of the present invention, the flow action and transmission power between the pump impeller and the turbine impeller in the converter range are increased, and the converter range is terminated for a long time. A coupling range can be provided, and energy loss in a high rotation range can be greatly reduced. Therefore, during high-speed running using the coupling range in a high-speed engine, the slip amount of the coupling range can be reduced, and the fuel efficiency can be improved. In addition, since the acceleration from the start running becomes higher as the flow action and the transmission power become higher, a good start acceleration performance without stress can be obtained. Moreover, in the generalization of high-speed driving accompanying the expansion of the current highway network, the present invention has a higher stall speed than before and enters the converter range at a higher speed, so that control at high speed becomes possible. Also, control becomes easier. Further, the difference between the engine rotation characteristics and the rotation of the transmission is reduced, and the shift shock is generally reduced. In addition, the turbine impeller is
In cooperation with the above, the above effects can be increased.

[0034]

In the torque converter according to the second aspect of the present invention,
The stator impeller cooperates with the pump impeller and the turbine impeller to further increase the same effect as the first aspect of the present invention.

According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention , for example, an existing general-purpose torque converter is improved or modified to provide a first aspect.
In addition, a torque converter having the effects described in the second aspect can be manufactured at low cost, and a torque converter having optimum performance can be provided according to a vehicle type, required power performance, and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a basic configuration of a torque converter and a flow path of hydraulic oil according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a basic configuration of a torque converter according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a torque converter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a blade angle of a pump impeller of a torque converter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a blade angle of a turbine impeller of a torque converter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a stator impeller of a torque converter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing blade lengths of a stator impeller of a torque converter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow state of hydraulic oil during operation of the torque converter according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a process chart showing a method of adjusting a torque converter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are explanatory views showing a main part of an outer shell in a torque converter adjusting method according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 10A shows a state before a dividing step, and FIG. (C) shows the state after the end face processing step.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Pump impeller 11 Pump case 13 Blade 20 Turbine impeller 23 Blade 30 Stator impeller 32 Blade 41 Housing case A1, A2 Angle D Rotation direction L Chord length r Radiation direction R1, R2, R3 Channel T pitch

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-49-62854 (JP, A) JP-A-9-42412 (JP, A) JP-A-52-131069 (JP, A) JP-A-53-1757 (JP) , A) Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-28022 (JP, B2) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F16H 41/26 F16H 41/28

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A large number of blades are circumferentially arranged at predetermined intervals,
A pump impeller that forms a flow path of hydraulic oil between the blades,
A turbine impeller having a plurality of blades circumferentially arranged at predetermined intervals facing the blades of the pump impeller and forming a flow path of hydraulic oil between the blades and the flow path of the pump impeller. And, between the pump impeller and the turbine impeller, a number of blades are arranged circumferentially in opposition to the inner peripheral side of the blades, and the direction of hydraulic oil flowing from the turbine impeller to the pump impeller is changed. A stator impeller that converts the direction of rotation of the pump impeller into a direction in which the impeller rotates. is inclined in the counter rotational direction at an angle of about 20 degrees to 55 degrees in the rotation direction from the direction, further, the flow path inlet side of the hydraulic oil of the turbine wheel blades
Increase the angle of the root from its radial direction by about 1 in the same direction as the rotational direction.
A torque converter characterized by being inclined at an angle of 0 to 30 degrees . 2. A chord length L of a blade of the stator impeller.
And a ratio of the pitch T on the average streamline of the blade at the outlet of the flow passage to T / L = 1 to about 1.5.
The torque converter according to claim 1 . 3. A dividing step of cutting a welded portion between a housing case and a pump impeller case to divide the housing case and a pump impeller case into two parts; A first step of inclining at an angle of about 20 to 55 degrees in the anti-rotation direction, and changing the angle of the blade on the inlet side of the passage of hydraulic oil of the turbine impeller by about 10 degrees in the same direction as the rotation direction from the radial direction. A blade shape adjusting step having a second step of inclining at an angle of degrees to 30 degrees, an end face processing step of processing an end face of a cut portion of the housing case and the pump impeller case into a rejoinable shape, The thrust bearing between the pump impeller and the stator impeller is replaced with a thin type having a predetermined thickness in accordance with the end face processing width in the end face processing step, and an adjustment shim is attached to the thrust bearing. S A method of adjusting a torque converter, comprising: an interval adjusting step of adjusting an interval between the rotor and a theta impeller; and a rejoining step of rejoining end surfaces of the housing case and the pump impeller case. 4. The step of adjusting the blade shape further includes the step of: adjusting the ratio of the chord length L of the blades of the stator impeller to the pitch T of the blades at the flow path outlet on the average streamline, T / L = 1 to 1 A third step of cutting a portion of the blades of the stator impeller on the side of the pump impeller so as to be about 0.5.
The method for adjusting a torque converter according to claim 3 .