JP3489937B2 - Damper mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bent leaf spring and a damper mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a vehicle, for example, a damper mechanism for absorbing torque fluctuations of an engine is provided between a member on the engine side and a member on the transmission side. The damper mechanism is incorporated in a clutch disc assembly, a flywheel assembly, or the like. The damper mechanism includes an input side member and an output side member that can rotate relative to each other, a coil spring arranged to limit the rotation when both members rotate relative to each other, and a friction resistance when both members rotate relative to each other. Alternatively, it includes a resistance generating mechanism that generates viscous resistance.

Such a damper mechanism requires a large space in the circumferential direction and the axial direction because of the structure of the coil spring which constitutes the damper mechanism. Therefore, it becomes difficult to incorporate the damper mechanism as described above into a front-wheel drive vehicle whose space in the axial direction is particularly limited.
The damper mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-174011 uses a bent leaf spring instead of the coil spring, thus achieving space saving. Bending leaf springs
It is a member formed by bending a plate member having a constant width into a wavy shape. The bent leaf spring includes a ring portion having an open ring portion and a lever portion connecting the open ring portions of the ring portions so that the plurality of ring portions act in series. The lever portion extends so as to open to both sides when viewed from the side of each ring portion, and has higher rigidity than the ring portion.

The bent leaf spring is arranged in an arc-shaped chamber formed by the input side member and the output side member, and transmits torque from the input side member to the output side member. Further, when the torsional vibration is transmitted to the input side member, the bending leaf spring is compressed in the rotation direction. Then, the opening angle of each lever portion becomes small, and a bending moment acts on the ring portion. as a result,
The ring portion and the lever portion bend in the same direction with the center portion (apex) of the ring as a fulcrum. When the twist angle increases,
The ends of the respective ring portions come into contact with each other, and thereafter, the rings are flexibly deformed with the ends as fulcrums. Elastic energy is dispersed and stored in the plurality of ring portions.

[0005]

The lever portion is set to have higher rigidity than the ring portion, and the plate thickness is uniform. Therefore, the lever portion cannot sufficiently store elastic energy. An object of the present invention is to enhance the ability of the entire bent leaf spring to store elastic energy.

[0006]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a damper mechanism including: an input side member; an output side member rotatably disposed on the input side member; and an input side member and an output side member. And a bent leaf spring elastically coupled in the direction. The bent leaf spring has a ring part having an open ring part, and a pair of lever parts having a rigidity higher than that of the extending ring part so that the distance between them expands outward from the ring open part. It has a leaf spring element. The leaf spring elements are connected in series so as to act in series. The lever portion has a portion having a smaller thickness than other portions of the lever portion . Due to this small thickness portion, the rigidity of the lever portion is lowered and the lever portion is easily bent, and the ability of the lever portion to store elastic energy is increased.

The damper mechanism according to claim 2 is an input device.
Side member and output arranged relative to the input side member for relative rotation
Side member, input side member and output side member are elastic in the rotation direction
And a bent leaf spring that is connected to each other. Bending leaf springs include a first row of ring portions and a second row of ring portions having ring-opening portions on opposite sides, a ring portion of the first row and a ring portion of the second row, which have higher rigidity than both ring portions. And a plurality of lever portions for connecting the. The lever portion is configured such that the ring portion of the first row and the ring portion of the second row are connected in series.
The ring-opening part of the ring part of the row and the ring-opening part of the ring part of the second row are connected. The lever portion has a portion having a smaller thickness than other portions of the lever portion . The small thickness portion reduces the rigidity of the lever portion and makes it easier to bend, and the ability of the lever portion to store elastic energy increases.

In the damper mechanism according to the third aspect, the central portion of the lever portion has a smaller thickness than both ends. For this reason, the rigidity of the lever portion is lowered and the lever portion is easily bent, and the ability to store elastic energy in the central portion of the lever portion increases. In the damper mechanism according to the fourth aspect, one end portion of the lever portion has a smaller thickness than the other end portion. Therefore, the rigidity of the lever portion is lowered and the lever portion is easily bent, and the ability to store elastic energy at one end of the lever portion is improved.

In the damper mechanism according to the fifth aspect, the central portion of the ring portion has a smaller thickness than the ring opening portion. For this reason, the rigidity of the lever portion is lowered and the lever portion is easily bent, and the ability of the ring portion to store elastic energy is improved.

[0010]

Clutch apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention shown in PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment FIGS. 1 and 2 mainly includes a flexible plate 3, the first flywheel 4, the damper mechanism 5 and the second The flywheel assembly 6 includes a flywheel 7, a clutch cover assembly 8 and a clutch disc assembly 10. An engine (not shown) is arranged on the left side of FIG. 1, and a transmission (not shown) is arranged on the right side.
Are arranged.

The flexible plate 3 is a disk-shaped plate member and has a high rigidity in the circumferential direction but is bendable in the bending direction. The flexible plate 3 has a disk-shaped plate member 26 fixed to the engine side on the inner peripheral portion by rivets 12. The plate member 26 has an annular throttle portion 26a that comes into contact with the outer circumference of the front end of the crankshaft 52. This improves the centering accuracy of the flexible plate 3 and the crankshaft 52. The inner peripheral portion of the flexible plate 3 is fixed to the crankshaft 52 on the engine side together with the plate member 26 and the washer 27 by a bolt (not shown).

An annular first flywheel 4 is fixed to the outer peripheral end of the flexible plate 3 by rivets (not shown). A ring gear 16 is fixed to the outer peripheral side of the first flywheel 4. The damper mechanism 5 mainly includes a first input plate 18, a second input plate 19, and 1.
It is composed of a pair of bent leaf springs 23 and a driven member 30.

The first input plate 18 is a disk-shaped plate member arranged on the side of the flexible plate 3. The inner peripheral portion of the first input plate 18 is an inner peripheral protruding portion 18b extending toward the transmission. The radial intermediate portion of the first input plate 18 is an annular convex portion that projects toward the engine, as is apparent from FIG. Second
The input plate 19 is a disc-shaped plate member arranged laterally of the first input plate 18. The outer peripheral portion of the second input plate 19 and the outer peripheral portion of the first input plate 18 are in contact with each other and are fixed to the first flywheel 4 by the rivets 31. A seal ring 32 is arranged between the outer peripheral portions of the first input plate 18 and the second input plate 19. The inner diameter of the second input plate 19 is larger than the inner diameter of the first input plate 18.

An annular space formed by the annular convex portion of the first input plate 18 and the second input plate 19 is a spring accommodating chamber 17. The driven member 30 has a disc portion 30a and a pair of engagement portions 30b integrally extending outward in the radial direction from the disc portion 30a. The engagement portion 30b is provided at a position facing each other in the radial direction, and the spring accommodation chamber 17
It extends inside. Also, the first and second input plates 1
8 and 19 have supporting portions 18a and 19a that project in the axial direction. The support portions 18a and 19a are formed so as to extend in the circumferential direction at three locations in the radial direction.

In this way, the engaging portion 24b and the supporting portion 1
The ring-shaped spring accommodating chamber 17 is divided into two arc-shaped chambers by 8a and 19a. The bent leaf spring 23 arranged in each arc chamber will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the bent leaf spring 23 is formed by extending a plate member having a predetermined width in a wavy shape and connecting a plurality of spring elements including ring portions 24 and 25 and a lever portion 26 in series. It becomes.

Outer ring portion 24 and inner ring portion 25
Are arranged alternately and have end portions 24a and 25a (opening portions) having small gaps in the circumferential direction on the opposite sides. The end portion 24a and the end portion 25a are connected to each other by a lever portion 26. Both ring parts 24 and 25 are
It has a variable cross section in which the thickness gradually decreases from the end portion toward the central portion, and is less rigid than the lever portion 26. The outer peripheral side ring portion 24 has a larger diameter than the inner peripheral side ring portion 25. The outer peripheral side ring portion 24 is slidable on the outer peripheral wall 18b.

The lever portion 26 extends so as to open to both sides when viewed from the side of the ring portions 24 and 25. The lever portion 26 is
The thickness gradually decreases from both ends toward the center. That is, the central portion of the lever portion 26 has a smaller thickness than both end portions. Both ends in the circumferential direction of the bent leaf spring 23 are
The engaging portion 30b and the supporting portions 18a and 19a are in contact with each other.

By using the bent leaf spring 23, characteristics of wide torsion angle and low rigidity can be obtained. In addition, the bent leaf spring 2
Since 3 has a resistance generating function, the structure is simplified. Also, due to the bent leaf spring 23, the axial dimension is significantly shorter than that of the coil spring. A solid powder lubricant made of molybdenum disulfide, for example, is enclosed in the spring chamber 17. The powdered solid lubricant is
It floats in the spring accommodating chamber 17 mixed with air, and adheres to the surfaces of the first input plate 18 and the second input plate 19, the driven member 30, and the bent leaf spring 23 that form the wall of the spring accommodating chamber 17. ing. Each sliding part is lubricated by this powdery solid lubricant.

The characteristics required as a powdered solid lubricant enclosed in the damper mechanism are as follows. (1) Low friction coefficient and good lubricity. (2) Good adsorption to each member (metal). (3) The adhesive force after adsorbing to each member is strong. Since the powdered solid lubricant does not disappear from the sliding portion, the lubricity can be maintained for a long time.

(4) Light weight and easy to scatter. (5) There is no self-condensing property. (6) Good heat resistance. (7) Not a harmful substance. Considering the properties of each solid lubricant shown in FIG. 3 from the above points, it is found that molybdenum disulfide is the most preferable from the viewpoint of adsorption and adhesive force. Further, molybdenum disulfide can be used under high load and is inexpensive. Tungsten disulfide is the second preferred.

The second flywheel 7 has an annular friction surface 7a on the transmission side. The second flywheel 7 is formed with a communication hole 7b that communicates both surfaces. The disk portion 30 a of the driven member 30 is fixed to the inner peripheral end of the second flywheel 7 by the rivet 29. The inner peripheral portions of the second flywheel 7 and the driven member 30 are supported by the inner peripheral protruding portion 18b of the first input plate 18 via bearings 28. The bearing 28 is a lubricant-sealed type, and seals between the inner peripheral portion of the first input plate 18 and the inner peripheral portions of the driven member 30 and the second flywheel 7.

The clutch cover assembly 8 is provided on the friction surface 7a side of the second flywheel 7. The clutch disc assembly 10 is arranged between the second flywheel 7 and the clutch cover 8. The clutch disc assembly 10 is connected to a transmission input shaft (not shown). Next, the operation will be described.

The torque is transmitted from the crankshaft 52 on the engine side to the first flywheel 4 via the flexible plate 3 and further to the output plate and the second second flywheel 7 via the damper mechanism 5. . When the torsional vibration is input to the damper mechanism 5, the first
The second input plates 18 and 19 and the driven member 30 cyclically rotate relative to each other, and the bending leaf spring 23 is compressed in the circumferential direction. Then, the opening angle of each lever portion 26 becomes small, and the ring portions 24 and 25 and the lever portion 26 bend in the same direction with the center portions (apex) of the ring portions 24 and 25 of the bent leaf spring 23 as fulcrums. At this time, the torsional rigidity is low.

As the relative angle increases, the ring portion 24,
The end portions 24a and 25b of 25 contact with each other, and thereafter, the ring portions 24 and 25 are flexibly deformed with the end portions 24a and 25a as fulcrums. At this time, the torsional rigidity is high. Elastic energy is dispersed and stored in the plurality of ring portions 24 and 25. In particular, each of the ring portions 24 and 25 has a small central portion (vertex) thickness and low rigidity, and therefore is easily deformed flexibly. As a result, the ability of the plurality of ring portions 24, 25 to store elastic energy is high. Furthermore, since the thickness of the central portion of the lever portion 26 is smaller than that of both ends and the rigidity is low, the lever portion 26 is easily bent and deformed. As a result, the ability of the lever portion 26 to store elastic energy is enhanced.

When the outer peripheral ring portions 24 and the inner peripheral ring portions 25 come into contact with each other, the compression of the bent leaf spring 23 is stopped. That is, after that, the first and second input plates 1
8, 19 and driven member 30 stop relative rotation.
At the time of relative rotation between the first and second input plates 18 and 19 and the driven member 30 described above, the bending leaf spring 23 is moved to the outer peripheral side by the centrifugal force, and the outer peripheral ring portion 2
4 slides on the outer peripheral wall 18b to generate friction. But,
Since the solid lubricant is attached, the outer peripheral ring portion 24 and the outer peripheral wall 18b are less likely to wear. Further, it is difficult for excessively large friction to occur at this friction generation portion. Bending leaf spring 2
Both ends of 3, and the sliding portions of the engaging portion 30b and the supporting portions 18a and 19a are also lubricated by the solid powder lubricant, and are less likely to wear.

Further, since the powdery solid lubricant has a strong adhesive force, it has a sealing property when it adheres to the gap. Therefore, the powdered solid lubricant does not leak from the spring accommodating chamber 17 to the outside, and maintenance such as supplying work is unnecessary. The damper mechanism may be used in devices other than the flywheel assembly. For example, it can be applied to a lockup device for a clutch disc assembly or a torque converter.

The type of solid lubricant is not limited to the above embodiment. Also, a plurality of types of solid lubricants may be mixed and used. The spring accommodating chamber 17 may be filled with a fluid such as grease or hydraulic oil. Lubrication is performed by this fluid. Further, viscous resistance is generated by the compression of the plurality of fluid-filled spaces formed by the bent leaf spring 23 and the spring accommodating chamber 17. Second Embodiment As shown in FIG. 5, the lever portion 26 includes an outer ring portion 2
The plate thickness at the 4th end is smaller than that at the inner ring end. As a result, the rigidity of the lever portion 26 is lowered and the lever portion 26 is easily bent, and the ability of the lever portion 26 to store elastic energy is improved.

[0028]

The bent leaf spring according to the present invention has a lever portion having a portion having a smaller thickness than other portions.
The small thickness portion reduces the rigidity of the lever portion and makes it easier to bend, increasing the ability of the lever portion to store elastic energy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a clutch device adopting a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of a flywheel assembly.

FIG. 3 is a table showing properties of solid lubricants.

FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged view of FIG. 2 and is a partial plan view of a bent leaf spring.

FIG. 5 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 in the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 first flywheel 5 Viscous damper mechanism 6 Flywheel assembly 7 Second flywheel 17 Spring chamber 23 Bent leaf spring

Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F16F 15/12-15/139 F16F 15/30 F16F 1/00-6/00

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An input side member, an output side member rotatably arranged on the input side member, and a bent leaf spring elastically connecting the input side member and the output side member in a rotational direction. The bending leaf spring extends to have a ring portion having an open ring portion in a part, and extends so as to widen the distance from the open ring portion toward the outside, and has a rigidity higher than that of the ring portion.
A thin leaf spring element having a pair of lever portions, wherein the thin leaf spring elements are connected so as to operate in series, and the lever portion has a portion having a smaller thickness than other portions of the lever portion. It has a damper mechanism. 2. An input side member, and an output side member rotatably arranged on the input side member.
And the input side member and the output side member are elastic in the rotation direction.
A bending leaf spring connected to the first bending portion, the bending leaf spring having a first row ring portion and a second row ring portion each having an open ring portion on opposite sides, and having a rigidity higher than those of the both ring portions. A plurality of lever parts connecting the first row ring part and the second row ring part, wherein the lever part is configured such that the first row ring part and the second row ring part are connected in series. Is connected to the ring-opening portion of the ring portion of the first row and the ring-opening portion of the ring portion of the second row, and the lever portion has a portion having a smaller thickness than other portions of the lever portion. It has a damper mechanism. 3. The damper mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the central portion of the lever portion has a smaller thickness than both ends thereof. 4. The damper mechanism according to claim 1, wherein one end portion of the lever portion has a smaller thickness than the other end portion. 5. The damper mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a central portion of the ring portion has a smaller thickness than the ring opening portion.