JP4977961B2 - Lubricating oil cooling device for power transmission mechanism - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lubricating oil cooling device for a power transmission mechanism, and more particularly to a lubricating oil cooling device for a power transmission mechanism mounted on a vehicle.

Conventionally, a lubricating oil cooling device for a power transmission mechanism is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-5318 (Patent Document 1).
No. 5-5318

  The prior art discloses a structure in which lubricating oil for lubricating a differential gear is taken out from the upstream side and input to the downstream side through a cooling device.

  However, such a device has a problem that the high-temperature lubricating oil before being taken out and the low-temperature lubricating oil introduced into the differential gear through the cooling device are mixed, resulting in a reduction in cooling efficiency.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a lubricating oil cooling device for a power transmission device with high cooling efficiency.

A lubricating oil cooling device for a power transmission mechanism according to the present invention partitions a case in which components to be lubricated with lubricating oil are stored, an internal space of the case, defines first and second chambers, An oil pump and an oil cooler that allow the lubricating oil to move between the second chambers, and take out and cool the lubricating oil from the second chamber and supply the cooled lubricating oil to the first chamber The case includes a third chamber different from the first and second chambers, and the lubricating oil supplied to the first chamber passes through the third chamber. The parts are sent to the second chamber, the parts include a differential ring gear provided in the first chamber, and the circulation device stops the circulation of the lubricating oil according to the state of the lubricating oil. The lubrication oil in the third chamber is supplied to the second chamber, and the lubrication in the second chamber is performed. There is supplied to the first chamber, the lubricating oil in the first chamber is returned to the third room pushed up by the ring gear.

  In the lubricating oil cooling device for a power transmission mechanism configured as described above, the first space and the second chamber are provided in the internal space, and the lubricating oil taken out from the second chamber is cooled to the first chamber. Supplied. As a result, the lubricating oil supplied to the first chamber is prevented from being immediately mixed with the lubricating oil in the second chamber, and the cooled cold lubricating oil is immediately removed and prevented from being cooled again. be able to. As a result, a lubricating oil cooling device for a power transmission mechanism with high cooling efficiency can be provided.

  Preferably, the partition wall has a hole communicating the first and second chambers.

  Preferably, the lubricating oil outlet in the second chamber is positioned lower than the lubricating oil supply port in the first chamber in the vertical direction.

  According to the present invention, a lubricating oil cooling device for a power transmission mechanism with high cooling efficiency can be provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a lubricating oil cooling device for a power transmission mechanism according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a lubricating oil cooling device 1 for a power transmission mechanism according to a first embodiment of the present invention has a transaxle case 2 as a housing. In the transaxle case 2, a first room 10, a second room 20, a third room 30, and a fourth room 40 are provided. A differential mechanism is housed in the first chamber 10, and the differential mechanism includes a pinion gear 43, a ring gear 11 that meshes with the pinion gear 43, and a differential case 12 attached to the ring gear 11. The pinion gear 43, the ring gear 11, and the differential case 12 are lubricated with the lubricating oil 100. Specifically, the lubricating oil 100 is accumulated at the bottom of the transaxle case 2, and the ring gear 11 scoops up the accumulated lubricating oil. The differential case 12 and the pinion gear 43 are lubricated by the lubricated oil.

  An input shaft 47 and an output shaft 44 are disposed in the transaxle case 2, and a gear is provided between the input shaft 47 and the output shaft 44 to constitute a constantly meshing transmission.

  The second room 20 is provided so as to be surrounded by the first room 10. The boundary between the first chamber 10 and the second chamber 20 is a partition wall 21, and the partition wall 21 is shaped along the orbit of rotation of the differential case 12 so as not to hinder the rotation of the differential case 12. . The second chamber 20 is provided with an oil strainer 111 that is an outlet of the lubricating oil, and the lubricating oil is sent to the outside from the oil strainer 111. The lubricating oil 100 sent to the outside is cooled and returned to the transaxle case 2 again.

  The third room 30 is provided adjacent to the first room 10 and the second room 20. An output shaft 44 passes through the third chamber 30. Lubricating oil 100 is also stored at the bottom of the third chamber 30. The third room 30 and the first room 10 are partitioned by a partition wall 31. A hole 35 is provided in the partition wall 31, and the oil receiver 32 is positioned so as to penetrate the hole 35. The oil receiver 32 plays a role of receiving the lubricating oil lifted up by the ring gear 11 and introducing the lubricating oil 100 into the third chamber 30 and the fourth chamber 40. A hole 33 is provided in the bottom surface of the oil receiver 32, and the lubricating oil 100 is supplied from the hole 33 to the third chamber 30.

  The third chamber 30 may not be provided with a transmission (gear pair). Further, a reduction gear having a constant gear ratio may be provided so as to reduce the input (rotational driving force) by the input shaft 47 and increase the torque. Further, a motor or generator mechanism for assisting the rotation of the input shaft 47 may be provided in the third chamber 30.

  A hole 36 for communicating the third chamber 30 and the second chamber 20 is provided in the lower portion of the partition wall 31. Due to the presence of the hole 36, the lubricating oil 100 in the third chamber 30 is sent to the second chamber 20, and the lubricating oil 100 is sucked out by the oil strainer 111 in the second chamber 20.

  The fourth room 40 is provided adjacent to the third room 30. The fourth room 40 and the third room 30 are partitioned by a partition wall 41, and a hole 42 is provided at the bottom of the partition wall 41. The third room 30 and the fourth room 40 communicate with each other through the hole 42. A hole 45 is provided in the upper part of the partition wall 41, and the oil receiver 32 reaches the fourth chamber 40 through the hole 45, and the lubricating oil 100 is supplied to the fourth chamber 40 by the oil receiver 32. Is done.

  In FIG. 1, the fourth chamber 40 is provided with a constantly meshing transmission, but the fourth chamber 40 includes other types of automatic or manual transmissions, power distribution devices, actuators, Various mechanisms such as a motor / generator can be provided. Moreover, no power transmission device may be provided.

  The oil receiver 32 has a bowl shape, and connects the first room 10, the third room 30, and the fourth room 40 by penetrating the holes 35 and 45. The oil receiver 32 is inclined so that the lubricating oil 100 in the first chamber 10 flows toward the fourth chamber 40, and the lubricating oil 100 moves toward the third or fourth chamber 30, 40 according to the inclination angle. Flowing. An oil supply port 121 is provided in the first chamber 10. The lubricating oil supplied from the oil supply port 121 is accumulated at the bottom of the first chamber 10, and the lubricating oil 100 accumulated at the bottom is pumped up by the ring gear 11 and sent to the oil receiver 32. A part of the lubricating oil 100 sent to the oil receiver 32 flows to the third chamber 30 through the hole 33, and the remaining portion flows to the fourth chamber 40. The lubricating oil 100 in the third and fourth chambers 30 and 40 is sent to the second chamber 20 through the hole 36, and the foreign matter is removed by the oil strainer 111 and sent to the outside. The lubricating oil 100 sent to the outside is cooled and supplied to the transaxle case 2 from the oil supply port 121 again.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. Referring to FIG. 2, transaxle case 2 has a “D” shape, and various components are arranged in its internal space. In the first chamber 10, a ring gear 11 and a differential case 12 constituting a differential device are positioned. A ring gear 11 is attached to the differential case 12. The differential case 12 holds a pinion shaft and a pinion gear. Note that the differential case 12 does not hold the pinion shaft, and a differential device that does not use the pinion shaft may be employed. The rotation of the differential case 12 is transmitted to the drive shaft 46.

  Partition walls 21 and 22 are provided so as not to contact the differential case 12 and the ring gear 11, and the partition walls 21 and 22 define the second chamber 20. The second room 20 is located below the first room 10 and is connected to the first room 10 through a hole 23. The second room 20 is connected to the third room through the hole 36. The second chamber 20 is provided with an oil strainer 111 as an oil outlet. An oil supply port 121 is provided above the oil strainer 111. The direction indicated by the arrow G in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a downward direction in the vertical direction, and comparing the oil supply port 121 and the oil strainer 111 that is the oil outlet, the oil strainer 111 is more vertically than the oil supply port 121. Provided on the lower side.

  A hole 35 is provided so as to face the ring gear 11, and the lubricating oil 100 is sent to another room through the hole 35.

  The lubricating oil 100 in the transaxle case 2 is circulated by a circulation device 150. The circulation device 150 includes an oil strainer 111 for taking out the lubricating oil 100 in the transaxle case 2, an oil pump 110 for sending the lubricating oil taken out by the oil strainer 111 to the oil cooler 120, and oil for cooling the sent lubricating oil by the atmosphere. The cooler 120 and an oil supply port 121 that supplies the lubricating oil cooled by the oil cooler 120 into the transaxle case 2 again. In FIG. 2, the oil pump 110 is provided between the oil cooler 120 and the oil strainer 111. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the oil pump 110 is provided between the oil supply port 121 and the oil cooler 120. May be.

  That is, a lubricating oil cooling device 1 for a power transmission mechanism according to the present invention partitions a transaxle case 2 as a case in which a part to be lubricated with the lubricating oil 100 is stored, and an internal space of the transaxle case 2, Partition walls 21 and 22 that define the first and second chambers 10 and 20 and allow the lubricant oil 100 to move between the first and second chambers 10 and 20, and the lubricant oil 100 from the second chamber 20. And a circulation device 150 that supplies the cooled lubricating oil 100 to the first chamber 10 after cooling. The partition wall 22 has a hole 23 communicating with the first chambers 10 and 20. The oil strainer 111 serving as the outlet for the lubricating oil 100 in the second chamber 20 is positioned below the oil supply port 121 in the first chamber 10 in the vertical direction. The transaxle case 2 is provided with a third chamber 30 different from the first and second 10 and 20, and the lubricating oil 100 supplied to the first chamber 10 passes through the third chamber 30. To the second room 20.

  In this embodiment, the lubricating oil in the power transmission mechanism is taken out from the upstream side and returned to the downstream side through the cooling device, and the partition wall 21 as a partition wall that separates the lubricating oil outlet and the supply port. , 22 are provided. The separation partition is provided with a hole. When the oil cooler 120 for cooling the lubricating oil is added, the oil pump 110 for circulating the lubricating oil is required. Since this oil pump 110 is necessary only when the temperature of the lubricating oil 100 becomes high, the oil pump 110 does not always operate mechanically, but employs a type that can be turned on and off such as electric. be able to. Thereby, fuel consumption and power performance can be improved. However, in this case, it is required to satisfy both the necessity of minimizing the influence on the lubrication in the unit due to the ON / OFF of the oil pump 110 and the necessity of efficient cooling. In the present invention, by providing another room in one room and appropriately arranging the input and output positions of oil (lubricating oil 100), it is possible to achieve both the above-described problems.

  In a system in which the oil pump 110 is driven only when necessary, the lubrication state inside the unit changes depending on whether the oil pump 110 is turned on or off. For this reason, it is necessary to devise a lubrication method that can cope with both conditions. Specifically, a separator or strainer is added. In addition, considerable development effort such as conformity evaluation is required.

  Furthermore, in order to minimize the influence of on / off of the oil pump 110, it is necessary to make the input and output parts of the lubricating oil 100 as close as possible and to provide the lubricating oil inlet and outlet in the same room. However, there is a possibility that the lubricating oil 100 before cooling (hot lubricating oil) and the lubricating oil 100 after cooling after passing through the oil cooler 120 (cold lubricating oil) are mixed in the same room. Therefore, although it is possible to efficiently cool the oil cooler 120 supplied with the lubricating oil 100 heated as much as possible, the lubricating oil 100 at a low temperature is lubricated, and the effect of the cooling device is sufficiently exhibited. Can not. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the size of the oil cooler 120 and improve the capacity of the oil pump 110. In order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, the first chamber 10 and the second chamber 20 are separately provided with an inlet and an outlet for lubricating oil. In the present invention, the lubricating oil 100 is taken out from the upstream of the lubricating oil flow by the oil strainer 111 and supplied to the oil cooler 120. The lubricating oil 100 is returned to the next downstream. The room (second room 20) for taking out the lubricating oil 100 and the room 10 for supplying the lubricating oil 100 are separated. A hole 36 for introducing lubricating oil from a third chamber 30 which is a room adjacent to the second chamber 20 for taking out the lubricating oil is provided. Lubricating oil 100 is supplied from the third chamber 30 to the second chamber 20 through the hole 36. A hole 23 is provided to connect the first chamber 10 for supplying the lubricating oil 100 and the second chamber 20 for discharging the lubricating oil 100. When the oil pump 110 is not operated, the lubricating oil 100 is supplied from the second chamber 20 to the first chamber 10 through the hole 23.

  When the oil pump 110 and the oil cooler 120 constituting the circulation device 150 are operated, the lubricating oil 100 in the third chamber 30 is sent to the second chamber 20, and further, the lubricating oil is transferred from the oil strainer 111 to the oil cooler 120. And the lubricating oil is supplied to the first chamber 10.

  When the oil pump 110 and the oil cooler 120 constituting the circulation device 150 are not operated, the lubricating oil 100 in the third chamber 30 is supplied to the second chamber 20 through the hole 36, and the second chamber Twenty lubricating oils 100 are supplied to the first chamber 10 through the holes 23. The lubricating oil 100 in the first chamber 10 is pumped up by the ring gear 11. The lubricating oil pumped up by the ring gear 11 is returned to the adjacent third chamber 30.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the oil receiver. Referring to FIG. 3, the oil receiver 32 has a “U” shape, and a hole 33 is provided at the bottom thereof, and the lubricating oil falls from the hole 33 toward the third chamber 30. The holes 33 may have a vertically long shape or a horizontally long shape, and may be arranged in a staggered manner.

  In the lubricating oil cooling device 1 of the power transmission mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, the first chamber 10 for inputting the lubricating oil 100 and the lubricating oil for outputting the lubricating oil are output. Since the second chamber 20 is separated, the lubricating oil 100 before and after cooling is not mixed. As a result, the cooling efficiency is increased.

  Further, the lubricating oil 100 returned from the oil cooler 120 is only returned to the next path, and has less influence on the flow of the lubricating oil 100 and lubrication.

  When the amount of the lubricating oil 100 circulated by the oil cooler 120 is large, the lubricating oil may accumulate in the first chamber 10 where the lubricating oil 100 is returned, and the balance of the lubricating oil in each chamber may be lost. However, since the ring gear 11 has a larger diameter than the other gears, a larger amount of the lubricating oil 100 is agitated than the other gears. Therefore, an oil receiver 32 is provided so that the lubricating oil 100 pumped out by the ring gear 11 is supplied to the adjacent third chamber 30, and the lubricating oil 100 pumped up by the ring gear 11 is supplied to the adjacent third chamber 30. The structure is returned to the room 30. As a result, cooling can be performed without breaking the balance of the lubricating oil in each room.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a lubricating oil cooling device for a power transmission mechanism according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the lubricating oil for the power transmission mechanism according to the first embodiment is that third chamber 30 is provided with second chamber 20. Different from the cooling device 1. The second room 20 and the third room 30 are partitioned by partition walls 21 and 22, and the partition wall 22 is provided with a hole 23 that connects the second room 20 and the third room 30. The lubricating oil 100 in the second chamber 20 and the third chamber 30 moves to each other through the hole 23.

  The lubricating oil cooling device 1 of the power transmission mechanism according to the second embodiment configured as described above has the same effect as the lubricating oil cooling device 1 of the power transmission mechanism according to the first embodiment.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the embodiment shown here can be variously modified. First, various devices such as a differential gear, a reduction gear, a manual or automatic transmission, a motor / generator, a power distribution device, and the like are provided as devices provided in the first chamber 10, the third chamber 30, and the fourth chamber 40. Can be adopted.

  Further, the present invention can be used as a unit for driving front wheels or rear wheels.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  The present invention can be used, for example, as a lubricating oil cooling device for a power transmission mechanism mounted on a vehicle.

It is a schematic diagram of the lubricating oil cooling device for the power transmission mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing along the II-II line | wire in FIG. It is a perspective view of an oil receiver. It is a schematic diagram of the lubricating oil cooling device of the power transmission mechanism according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. It is sectional drawing along the VV line in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  1 Lubricating oil cooling device for power transmission mechanism, 2 transaxle case, 10 first chamber, 11 ring gear, 12 differential case, 20 second chamber, 21, 22, 31, 41 partition wall, 23, 35, 36, 42 holes, 30 third chamber, 32 oil receiver, 40 fourth chamber, 100 lubricating oil, 110 oil pump, 111 strainer, 120 oil cooler, 150 circulation device.

Claims (3)

A case for storing parts to be lubricated with lubricating oil;
A partition wall that partitions the internal space of the case, defines first and second chambers, and allows movement of lubricating oil between the first and second chambers;
A circulation device including an oil pump and an oil cooler that takes out and cools the lubricating oil from the second chamber and supplies the cooled lubricating oil to the first chamber;
The case is provided with a third chamber different from the first and second chambers, and the lubricating oil supplied to the first chamber passes through the third chamber and the second chamber. Sent to the room
The component includes a ring gear of a differential device provided in the first chamber, and the circulation device stops the circulation of the lubricating oil according to the state of the lubricating oil, and when the circulation device is stopped, the third chamber Is supplied to the second chamber, the lubricating oil in the second chamber is supplied to the first chamber, and the lubricating oil in the first chamber is lifted up by the ring gear to be used in the third chamber. The lubricating oil cooling device of the power transmission mechanism is returned to the room .   The lubricating oil cooling device for a power transmission mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the partition wall has a hole communicating with the first and second chambers.   The lubricating oil cooling device for a power transmission mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the lubricating oil outlet in the second chamber is located vertically below the lubricating oil supply port in the first chamber. .

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