JPH023070B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch.

a hydraulic torque converter that includes an input shaft, an output shaft, a pump impeller, a turbine runner, and a stator installed between the input shaft and the output shaft;
A hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch, which has a direct coupling clutch incorporated between the input shaft and the output shaft and selectively directly coupling the two, is already known as a device incorporated in the drive power transmission system of an automobile. . This type of torque converter with a hydraulic direct coupling clutch is designed to alleviate sudden changes in the transmitted torque that occur when the direct coupling clutch is engaged or released, and also to alleviate shocks caused by sudden acceleration or deceleration when driving with the direct coupling clutch. In order to do this, a rotary damper is usually installed in the middle of the torque transmission path.

Conventionally, the direct coupling clutch in a hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch is configured to be engaged after the vehicle reaches a relatively high speed or higher, and the rotary damper also The ratio of the transmitted torque to the resulting rotational strain is set to a relatively large value in order to transmit the necessary torque and provide a buffering effect as necessary. However, recently, in order to further improve fuel economy, the vehicle speed range in which the direct coupling clutch operates is being expanded to a lower vehicle speed range than in the past. In this way, the operating range of the direct coupling clutch has been greatly expanded to the low vehicle speed range, making it easier to shift gears during low-speed driving, sudden acceleration, or Torque fluctuations caused by sudden deceleration are transmitted to the vehicle through the engaged direct coupling clutch, which creates problems such as transmission noise, vehicle vibration, and noise, which did not occur in conventional automatic transmission vehicles. arise.

The present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems caused by the expansion of the operating range of the direct-coupled clutch of a hydraulic torque converter toward low vehicle speeds, and widens the torque range by improving the operating characteristics of a rotary damper. The rotary damper is effectively operated over a period of time, thereby reducing the direct transmission of torque fluctuations through the engaged direct coupling clutch even when the direct coupling clutch operating range is expanded, thereby reducing transmission noise. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch that reduces vehicle vibration and noise.

According to the present invention, the present invention provides a hydraulic torque converter that includes an input shaft, an output shaft, a pump impeller, a turbine runner, and a stator that are incorporated between the input shaft and the output shaft; A hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch that is incorporated between the output shafts and selectively directly connects the two, the direct coupling clutch includes a rotary damper in the middle of its torque transmission path, and the direct coupling clutch includes a rotary damper in the middle of its torque transmission path. has three plate-shaped disk elements that overlap each other in an annular zone along a circle having its center at its center of rotation, and a first disk element located in the middle has a predetermined length along the annular zone. A plurality of circular arc-shaped openings are cut out, and second and third disc elements located on both sides of the first disc element are located at positions corresponding to the openings of the first disc element. an annular flange extending a predetermined length parallel to the opening and having an edge bent in a direction away from the opening; The second and third disk elements are assembled on both sides of the first disk element with their openings and annular flange portions aligned with each other; coupled to each other so as to be rotatably displaceable about the rotation center with respect to the first disk element;
A helical compression spring is mounted within the aligned opening and an annular flange portion located on either side thereof and extending circumferentially therealong, at least one of the helical compression springs having one end thereof one end of the annular flange portion, and the other end of the annular flange portion abuts one end of the opening corresponding to the end opposite to the one end of the annular flange portion; One end abuts one end of the annular flange portion, and the other end is substantially separated from one end of the opening corresponding to the end of the annular flange portion opposite to the one end. This is achieved by a hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch.

According to the above-mentioned hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch, the rotary damper can alleviate or eliminate the transmission of sudden vibrational changes in torque through the direct coupling clutch when it is engaged. In addition, at this time, the rotary damper is in a state where the compression coil spring incorporated therein is engaged at both ends of the rotary damper with the disk element which is rotationally displaced relative to each other, and rotational displacement occurs between the two disk elements. a mechanism in which a compression coil spring is compressed as soon as the compression coil spring is pressed; As will be explained in detail later with reference to FIG. 6, the rotary damper has a mechanism that includes a compression coil spring that begins to be compressed after a certain degree of rotational displacement relative to each other. The damper has a characteristic that it is soft in a low operating range and harder in a relatively high transmission torque range, and exhibits more preferable damper characteristics over a wide transmission torque range. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, different attachment mechanisms for the compression coil springs are used to change the ratio of torque to rotational displacement in order to change the softness of the damper depending on the magnitude of the transmitted torque as described above. This can be achieved very easily by appropriately setting the length of the coil spring or the length of the aforementioned opening or annular flange, thereby creating a rotary damper having favorable damper characteristics over a wide transmission torque range. It becomes possible to incorporate it into an extremely limited narrow space area in a hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch.

The invention will now be described in detail by way of example embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of a hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch according to the present invention incorporating the improved rotary damper as described above, and FIG. - a partial side view of the first disk element and the third disk element;
The figure is a cross-sectional view of the disk element taken along the line - in FIG. 2, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views showing a main part at the periphery of the rotary damper cut away.

In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes an input shaft, which is rotated clockwise when viewed from the right side of FIG. 1 by an engine not shown in the figures. A flywheel 2 is connected to the input shaft 1, and a front cover 3 is attached to the flywheel 2.
are connected by bolts 4 so as to rotate together with the flywheel. The front cover 3 is connected to the peripheral edge of the pump impeller 5 at its peripheral edge. The pump impeller 5 is supported by a hollow shaft 6 concentric with the input shaft 1, which is adapted to drive a hydraulic pump 7. The hollow shaft 6 is disposed around a sleeve 9 that is fixedly supported by a torque converter housing 8, and is rotatably supported by a hub portion 8a of the housing 8 via a bearing element 10.

The output shaft 1 passes through the inside of the hollow shaft 6 and concentrically therewith.
1 is placed. A turbine runner 13 disposed opposite the pump impeller 5 in a fluid chamber 12 defined by the front cover 3 and the pump impeller 5 is connected to the output shaft 11 through a hub 14 for torque transmission. has been done. A stator 15 is provided between the pump impeller 5 and the turbine runner 3 and is supported by the sleeve 9 via a one-way clutch 16 for guiding the fluid flow back from the turbine runner to the pump impeller.

The hub 14 has a cylindrical surface 17 formed on its outer circumference, and a cylindrical inner circumferential surface 19 provided along the inner circumference of an annular piston element 18 disposed within the fluid chamber 12. are slidably engaged. An annular groove 20 is formed in the cylindrical inner peripheral surface 17 of the hub 14.
A seal ring 21 is fitted into the annular groove to maintain sealing between the cylindrical outer circumferential surface 17 of the hub 14 and the cylindrical inner circumferential surface 19 of the piston element 18. It's summery. A piston-shaped outer circumferential surface 22 is formed on the outer circumference of the piston element 18 , and the piston-shaped outer circumferential surface is disposed close to a cylindrical inner circumferential surface 23 formed on the circumferential edge of the front cover 3 . Thus the piston element 18
constitutes a piston that slides within an annular cylinder defined between the cylindrical inner circumferential surface 17 of the hub 14 and the cylindrical inner circumferential surface 23 of the front cover 3. An annular clutch lining 24 is provided on the inner surface of the front cover 3 facing the piston element 18 .

A disk element 26 is further secured to the hub 14 by a pin 25. An annular disk element 27 is arranged opposite to the peripheral edge of this disk element, and these two disk elements 26 and 2
7 are connected to each other by pins 28 extending parallel to their axes and spaced along their periphery. The pin 28 is inserted into the hole 45 of the disk element 26.
Both ends of the disc element 27 are supported by the holes 46 of the disc element 27, and the disc element 27 is rigidly connected to the disc elements at both ends. These disk elements 26 and 2
7, yet another annular disk element 29 is arranged rotatably relative to the disk elements 26 and 27 and the pin 28 connecting them.

The disk element 29 is provided with an arcuate hole 43 extending along an arc relative to its central axis at a position where it engages with the pin 28, and the pin 28 passes through the arcuate hole. In the illustrated embodiment, a spacer 44 is attached to the portion of the pin 28 that passes through the circular arc hole 43, and the spacer can rotate around the pin 28 like a roller. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the spacer 44 abuts on the inside of the arcuate hole 43 in the radial direction, and the abutment between the spacer 44 and the arcuate inner edge extends along the circumferential direction of the disk element 29. Disc element 29 is maintained concentrically with respect to disc elements 26 and 27 by simultaneous operations at multiple, isolated locations (in the illustrated embodiment, four locations, as more readily understood from FIG. 2). Ru.

Suitable friction elements may be interposed between the disc element 29 and the disc elements 26 and/or 27 to provide a damping force against the relative rotational movement between them, so that these elements Further, it is possible to prevent vibrations caused by repetition of the relative rotation in the forward and reverse directions in the rotary damper formed by combining the compression coil springs described below.

The disc element 29 is connected at its outer periphery to the outer periphery of the piston element 18, in particular in a torque transmitting relationship. A plurality of compression coil springs 30 and 30' are provided between the disk elements 26 and 27 and the disk element 29, spaced along their peripheries, thereby causing the disk elements 26 and 29 to
7 and 29 are provided with mutual rotational flexibility, so that these disc elements, pins and compression coil springs are connected to the piston element 18 and the hub 1.
It constitutes a rotary damper that acts between 4 and 4.

2 and 3 are a plan view and a sectional view showing the details of the disk element 26, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are views showing the combination of compression coil springs 30 and 30' at the peripheral edge thereof. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the included structure. As can be understood from these figures, the disk element 26 is formed with a plurality of holes (eight in the illustrated embodiment) symmetrically spaced around its axis. Furthermore, a plurality of (eight in the illustrated embodiment) are provided on the periphery of the disk element 26.
An annular flange portion 40 bulged along the circumferential arc portion of
and 40' are formed. In addition to the annular flange portion 40' shown in FIG. 2, there is one additional annular flange portion 40' located symmetrically with respect to the center of the disk element 26, so that there are two annular flange portions in total.
It is located at a specific location. Corresponding to the annular flange portions 40 and 40' of this disc element 26,
Similar annular flange portions 41 and 41' are formed on the disk element 27 along its circumference. The annular flanges 40, 40' and 41, 41' of these two disk elements are axially opposed to each other and bulge away from each other. Also, corresponding to these annular flanges 40, 40' and 41, 41', openings 42 and 4 are provided along the circumference of the disc element 29 located between the disc elements 26 and 27.
2' is formed. These openings 42 and 4
The aforementioned compression coil springs 30 and 30' are arranged inside 2', and both side edges thereof are connected to an annular flange 4.
0,40' and 41,41'.

In this case, when a relative rotational displacement as shown by arrows A and B in FIG. 4 occurs between the disk elements 26 and 27 and the disk element 29 in the assembled state as shown in FIG. 1, the compression coil The spring 30 has the right end 40a in FIG. 4 of the annular flange portion 40 of the disk element 26 and the corresponding annular flange portion 41 of the disk element 27 in FIG. The left end of the helical compression spring 30 in FIG.
One end of the opening 42' of the disk element 29 relative to the compression coil spring 30' is in contact with and supported by the left edge 42a in the figure, and an elastic reaction force is generated due to the compression of the compression coil spring 30. 42'a
are disposed a certain circumferential distance f from the opposite end of the compression coil spring 30', as shown in FIG. (and 27)
After a relative rotation has occurred between the disk element 29 and the disk element 29, the compression helical spring 30' is only compressed.

With this configuration, rotational strain (relative rotation angle between the disk elements 26 and 29) in the rotary damper incorporated between the disk elements 26 and 29 can be reduced.
The ratio between the transmitted torque (the torque acting between the disk elements 26 and 29) increases significantly beyond a certain torque value by increasing the transmitted torque, as shown in FIG. In Fig. 6, if torque T1 is the maximum transmission torque that the rotary damper should transmit, and displacement D1 is the rotational strain generated in the rotary damper at that time, then in the conventional rotary damper, the relationship between torque and rotational strain is As shown by the dashed line C in the figure, if the direct coupling clutch is engaged even when running at a low load (therefore generally at low speed) where the transmitted torque is T2, the rotational distortion of the rotary damper will be
The hardness is T2/Dc (=T1/
Corresponds to D1). In contrast, according to the present invention, the ratio of transmitted torque to rotational strain in the rotary damper is relatively small in the low torque range, and increases as the transmitted torque increases, For example, in the case shown in Fig. 6, the ratio of the transmission torque to the rotational strain of the rotary damper when the direct coupling clutch is operating at the transmission torque T2 is smaller than in the conventional case, such as T2/D2. This makes it possible to reduce the hardness of the rotary damper and better absorb shock and vibration at low torque.

In the fluid type torque converter with a direct coupling clutch shown in FIG. be introduced. This oil pressure is easily and uniformly transmitted to the inner surface of the piston element 22 through the extraction hole 47 provided in the disc element 26, thereby uniformly pressing the piston element 18 toward the front cover 3 and pushing the lining 24. Through front cover 3
The rotational power is transmitted from the input shaft 1 to the front cover 3, the piston element 18, the disk element 29, the compression coil spring 30 or 30 and 30',
It is mechanically transmitted to the output shaft 11 via the disk elements 26 and 27 and the hub 14. When the torque suddenly increases during the process of transmitting rotational power, the compression coil spring 30 or 30 and 30' is temporarily greatly compressed, absorbing the sudden increase in torque and causing a shocking change in the transmission of rotational power. Provides a buffering effect to prevent the occurrence of

Hydraulic pressure is supplied through an oil passage 33, and from this, the oil pressure is transmitted from a groove 34 formed in the output shaft 11 to a chamber 35,
When the piston element 18 is fed between the front cover 3 and the piston element 18 through the groove 37 of the washer 36, the piston element 18 is driven away from the front cover 3, and the engagement between the piston element and the lining 24 is released. The rotational power is transmitted from the input shaft 1 to the output shaft 11 via a hydraulic torque converter comprising a pump impeller 5, a turbine runner 13, and a stator 15.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with respect to one embodiment above, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various modifications can be made to this embodiment within the scope of the present invention. This will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing one embodiment of a hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the disk element 26 according to the arrow - in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 and 5 are exploded perspective views showing essential parts at the peripheral edge of the rotary damper, and FIG. 6 is a graph showing the operating characteristics of the rotary damper. be. 1-Input shaft, 2-Flywheel, 3-Front cover, 4-Bolt, 5-Pump impeller, 6
~Hollow shaft, 7~oil pump, 8~housing, 9~
sleeve, 10 - bearing element, 11 - output shaft, 12
~Fluid chamber, 13~Turbine runner, 14~Hub,
15~Stator, 16~One-way clutch, 1
7~Outer peripheral surface of hub, 18~Piston element, 19~
Inner circumferential surface of piston element, 20 - annular groove, 21 - seal ring, 22 - outer circumferential surface of piston element, 23
~Inner peripheral surface of outer edge of front cover, 24~Lining, 25~Pin, 26, 27~Disk element, 28~Pin, 29~Disc element, 30,3
0'~Compression coil spring, 32, 33~Oil passage, 34
~ oil groove, 35 ~ chamber, 36 ~ washer, 37 ~ groove,
40, 40', 41, 41' - annular flange part, 4
2, 42' - opening, 43 - circular arc hole, 44 - spacer, 45, 46 - hole, 47 - hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 an input shaft 1, an output shaft 11, a hydraulic torque converter that is incorporated between the input shaft and the output shaft and includes a pump impeller 5, a turbine runner 13, and a stator 15; A hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch is installed between the two and selectively directly couples the two, and the direct coupling clutch includes a rotary damper in the middle of its torque transmission path, and the rotary damper has a center of rotation. It has three plate-shaped disk elements 26, 27, 29 that overlap each other in an annular zone along a circle having a center at Arc-shaped openings 42, 4 extending a predetermined length
2' are cut out, and second and third disc elements 26 and 27 located on both sides of the first disc element are located at positions corresponding to the openings 42 and 42' of the first disc element. an annular flange portion 40, 4 having an edge extending a predetermined length parallel to the opening and bent in a direction away from the opening;
1, 40', 41', and the first,
The second and third disk elements sandwich the first disk element 29, and the second and third disk elements 26 and 27 are placed on both sides of the first disk element 29, with their openings and annular flange portions aligned with each other. the second and third disk elements are coupled to each other for rotational displacement about the center of rotation with respect to the first disk element, and the second and third disk elements are coupled to each other for rotational displacement about the center of rotation, and are located at the mutually aligned opening and on either side thereof. Compression coil springs 30, 30' are installed inside the annular flange portion and extend circumferentially along the annular flange portion.
At least one of the compression coil springs 30 has one end thereof in contact with one end 40a of the annular flange portion, and the other end thereof in contact with one end of the opening corresponding to the end opposite to the one end of the annular flange portion. 42a
At this time, at least another one of the compression coil springs 30' has one end thereof in contact with one end 40'a of the annular flange part, and the other end thereof in contact with the one end of the annular flange part. is substantially spaced apart from one end 42'a of said opening corresponding to the opposite end.