JPH02309022A - Hydraulic gear coupling - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accomplish a hydraulic gear coupling in simple structure, facilitate its manufacture, and reduce likelihood of troubles by furnishing an aux. working space around a main working space provided at an input shaft, accommodating a main working gear on the output shaft in this main working space and an aux. working gear meshing therewith in said aux. working space, and filling the two spaces with a working oil. CONSTITUTION:A main working space 20 concentrical with an input shaft 14 is provided in No.1 casing 12a, which is formed in a single piece with the input shaft 14. An aux. working space 22 is provided around this main space 20, in which a main working gear 24 shall be installed, and in meshing therewith an aux. working gear 26 is arranged. In No.2 casing 12b, on the other hand, a through hole 30 is formed, which admits penetration of an output shaft 16 oil-tightly with an oil seal 38, and to this output shaft 16 the main working gear 24 is fixed, wherein the two working spaces 20, 22 are filled with a working oil as oil-tight agent. This achieves the object of invention from a laser number of parts, in a simple structure, and through easy manufacture, wherein the risk of troubles is minor and the power transmission is made with quick response.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to shaft power transmission couplings, and more particularly to shaft power transmission couplings that utilize fluid pressure provided by the pumping action of a plurality of gears to transfer power from a rotating input shaft. This relates to a hydraulic gear coupling that transmits power to the output shaft with slight slip.

The hydraulic gear car and pull of the present invention can be used very effectively, for example, as a coupling for transmitting power from an engine to wheels in an automobile.

For example, in a car, it can be used as a limited slip differential for a differential that transmits power from the engine to the wheels, or to optimize the distribution of driving force to each wheel in a four-wheel drive car. In recent years, viscous couplings have been frequently used as power transmission couplings, ie, center differentials.

In a viscous coupling, high viscosity silicone oil is sealed in the working chamber where the inner plate and the inner plate are combined, and torque is transmitted between the two plates using the shear resistance of the silicone oil that exists between the two plates. It is something to be done.

However, the silicone oil used in viscous couplings does not have lubricating properties, and it is known that when the inner plate and outer plate come into complete surface contact, a so-called hump phenomenon occurs, in which they become stuck. There is. Furthermore, silicone oil deteriorates after long-term use, resulting in a problem in that the performance of the viscous coupling deteriorates.

Recently, a hydraulic coupling 1 as shown in FIG. 7 has been proposed and put into practical use. The hydraulic coupling 1 includes a rotor 3 connected to a drive shaft 2, and a cam ring 4 disposed surrounding the rotor 3.
I'm appeasing myself. The rotor 3 incorporates a plurality of vanes 5 that can be moved in and out in the radial direction, and a working chamber 6 is formed between the rotor 3 and the cam ring 4, and a check ball valve ( Hydraulic oil is supplied and circulated through the pump (not shown).

For example, when this hydraulic coupling l is installed as a center differential in a four-wheel drive vehicle, and the front wheels and rear wheels are running steadily with no difference in rotational speed, the rotor 3 and cam ring 4 will rotate as one unit. However, no torque is transmitted from the rotor 3 to the cam ring 4.

For example, when a difference in rotational speed occurs between the front wheels and the rear wheels, the vane 5 located in the working chamber presses the working oil in the direction of the arrow, and the working chamber contains a high pressure section 6a and a low pressure section 6b.
A part of the working oil in the working chamber that is generated passes through an orifice formed in the vane from the high pressure section 6a to the low pressure section 6b.
However, torque is transmitted from the rotor 3 to the cam ring 4 according to the pressure difference between the high pressure section 6a and the low pressure section 6b.

A hydrorittor coupling 22 having such a configuration has a large number of parts, an extremely complicated structure, is difficult to manufacture, and requires frequent maintenance and inspection when used for a long period of time.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a device that has a simple structure with a small number of parts, is easy to manufacture, has very few failures even during long-term use, and minimizes the need for maintenance and inspection. Our goal is to provide high-performance, highly reliable hydraulic gear couplings.

- The above object is achieved by the hydraulic gear chassis ring according to the present invention. In summary, the present invention has a main operating space that is integrally connected to an input shaft, and has a main operating space in the center coaxially with the input shaft, and a plurality of sub-actuators around the main operating space. a casing in which a space is formed, and an output shaft arranged on the same axis as the input shaft and extending through the casing into the casing in a liquid-tight manner, and integrally connected to the main shaft. a main working gear rotatably disposed in a working space; a sub-working gear disposed in a sub-working space to mesh with the main working gear and rotatably attached to the casing; is a hydraulic gear coupling characterized by being filled with hydraulic oil.

Strut J Next, the hydraulic gear coupling according to the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings.

An embodiment of a hydraulic gear coupling 10 according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. According to this embodiment, the hydraulic gear coupling 10 is connected to and driven by, for example, an automobile engine. Casing 1 that is rotationally driven by a propeller shaft (not shown), etc.
In this embodiment, the casing 12 is arranged on the same axis as the first casing 12a, which has a generally cylindrical shape and includes an input shaft connected to the propeller shaft, and the input shaft 14. It consists of a second casing 12b positioned on the output shaft 16 side, and both are fixed together with bolts.

Inside the casing 12, there are five main working spaces 20 in the center co-centered with the input shaft 14, and around the main working spaces 20,
A plurality of sub-operating spaces 22, six in this embodiment, are formed. A main operating gear 24 is arranged in the main operating space 20,
A sub-working gear 26 is arranged in the sub-working space 22 so as to mesh with the main working gear 24 .

To explain further, the first casing 12a has a recess 28 formed in its center, communicating with the main working space 20, and the second casing 12b has a through hole 30 formed in its center. be done. A bearing 32 is disposed in the recess 28 and rotatably supports a central shaft 34 of the main operating gear 24. An output shaft 16 is integrally formed on the second casing 12b side of the main operating gear 24, and the output shaft 16 is rotatably supported by a bearing 36 disposed in a through hole 30 of the second casing 12b. Furthermore, an oil seal 38 is disposed adjacent to the bearing 36 in the through hole 30 to prevent the working oil filled in the casing from flowing out along the output shaft 16, as will be described later. be done.

The auxiliary working gear 26 provided in the auxiliary working space 22 is a first
A rotating shaft 46.48 thereof is rotatably supported in a bearing hole 40.42 formed in the second casing.

According to the present invention, the casing 12 is filled with working oil, and therefore the main working space 20 and the working chamber space 22 are filled with working oil.

As the working oil, lubricating oils such as mineral oil 1 and synthetic oil can be suitably used.

Next, the operation of the hydraulic gear coupling according to the present invention will be explained using an example in which the hydraulic gear coupling according to the present invention is installed as a center differential in a four-wheel drive vehicle.

It is assumed that an input shaft 14 integrally formed with the casing 12 is connected to the front wheels of the automobile driven by the driving force from the engine, and an output shaft 16 is connected to the rear wheels.

Now, when the front wheels and the rear wheels are running steadily with no difference in rotational speed, the input shaft 14 and the output shaft 16 rotate as if they are integrally connected without any difference in rotational speed. In other words, the auxiliary operating gear 26 attached to the casing 12 does not rotate relative to the main operating gear 24 with which the auxiliary operating gear 26 meshes, and the auxiliary operating gear 26 is in a fixed state as if it were fixed. 12 and the main operating gear 24 rotate together. Therefore, no torque is transmitted from the input shaft 14 to the output shaft 16.

For example, if the front wheels slip, the rotational speed of the front wheels increases, and a difference in rotational speed occurs between the front wheels and the rear wheels.
As shown in FIG. ti42, the gear starts rotating quickly in the clockwise direction, and a difference in rotation speed occurs between the casing 12 and the main operating gear 24.

When a difference in rotational speed occurs between the casing 12 and the main operating gear 24 in this way, the auxiliary operating gear 26 attached to the casing 12 rotates around the main operating gear 24 in the same direction as the casing 12. Now start rotating clockwise as indicated by the arrow.

In FIG. 3, due to the rotation of the auxiliary operating gear 26.

The working oil in the auxiliary working chamber 22 is fed to a meshing start region A between the auxiliary working gear and the main working gear, where the auxiliary working chamber 22 and the second working chamber 2σ are in communication, and is compressed in the region A. ,
The pressure in area A is increased. On the other hand, in the area B where the auxiliary working chamber 22 and the main working chamber 20 communicate with each other, and where the meshing of the auxiliary working gear and the main working gear ends, the hydraulic oil is supplied to the auxiliary working gear 26. Since the area is fed into the chamber 22, the pressure in the area B decreases.

In this way, a force corresponding to the pressure difference between the mesh start region A and the mesh end region B acts as a reaction force on the south surface of the sub-operating gear 26, and the rotational speed of the main operating gear 24 and the sub-operating gear 26 is increased. In the direction of decreasing the difference, that is, the input shaft 14 and the output shaft 16
The differential between the two is limited, and torque is transmitted.

That is, when the front wheels start spinning due to slipping or the like, the drive is transmitted to the rear wheels and four-wheel drive is started.

According to the present invention, the working oil brought to high pressure in the meshing start region A is supplied to the gap 50 between the main working gear 24 and the main working chamber 20, and the gap 50 between the auxiliary working gear 26 and the auxiliary working chamber 22.
2. Alternatively, it flows to the low pressure region B through the gap 54 between the main operating gear 24 and the auxiliary operating gear 26, and this becomes the rotational speed difference between the input shaft 14 and the output shaft 16, that is, the amount of slip.

Therefore, by adjusting the amount of each void, the slip amount of the coupling of the present invention can be set to an appropriate value.

For example, it is also possible to actively form flow paths for the working oil in the casing 12, the main working gear 24, the auxiliary working gear V-26, etc.

As understood from the above description, according to the present invention, the transmitted power can be arbitrarily designed by arbitrarily selecting the height of each of the two working gears and/or the number of sub-working gears.

Figures 4 to 6 compare the various performances of the hydraulic gear coupling ()iGCU) according to the present invention with conventional viscous couplings (VCU) and hydraulic couplings (HCU). This is a graph showing

Referring to FIG. 4, compared to conventional viscous couplings and hydraulic couplings, the hydraulic gear coupling according to the present invention has a high torque in a region where the rotational speed difference between the input shaft and the output shaft, that is, the differential is small. It can be seen that the torque transmission is large in the region where the transmission force is small and the differential is large.

This means that there is little energy loss when torque transmission is not required, and that large torque can be transmitted immediately when torque transmission is necessary.

From FIG. 4, it can be seen that the hydraulic gear coupling of the present invention is superior to conventional viscous couplings and hydraulic couplings in terms of torque transmission performance.

Figure 55 shows the temperature rise of each coupling when the transmitted torque is constant. It shows that there are few.

The small temperature rise has the advantage that a wider range of choices can be made of metal materials, sealing materials, hydraulic oil, etc. that can be used when designing the coupling. Furthermore, when designed with the same materials, the hydraulic gear coupling according to the present invention can be used under more severe conditions than conventional viscous couplings and hydraulic couplings.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the difference in rotational speed over time during constant torque transmission, that is, the amount of slitting. Show that you are better than the ring.

In the above embodiment, the main operating gear and the auxiliary operating gear are illustrated and explained as spur gears, but gears of any shape such as a tk1+ or a double gear can also be used.
Further, depending on the case, the auxiliary operating gear may be formed in the shape of a cocoon-shaped rotor, and the main operating gear may be formed in the shape of a rotor having a groove that meshes with the cocoon-shaped rotor. Therefore, in this specification, the term "operating gear" also refers to these gears, cocoon-shaped rotors, and the like.

The hydraulic gear coupling according to the present invention configured as described below has the advantage of having a small number of parts, a simple structure, and being easy to manufacture.
Even during long-term use, there are extremely few failures, the need for maintenance and inspection can be minimized, and a high-performance, highly reliable shaft power transmission coupling can be coupled.

In addition, the hydraulic gear coupling of the present invention has faster response in power transmission than similar couplings of the same type, and the amount of slip between the input shaft and output shaft is simply the same as that of each operating gear. Clear the air gap between it and the working chamber! l'l! ! This has the advantage that it can be designed arbitrarily. The hydraulic oil also has the advantage that any lubricating oil can be used.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of a hydraulic gear coupling according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 1--H in FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially detailed sectional view similar to FIG. 2. Figures 4, 5, and 6 compare the performance of the hydraulic gear car/pulling (HGCU) according to the present invention with conventional viscous couplings (V CU) and hydroliter couplings (HCU). This is a graph of the case. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional hydraulic coupling. 12: Casing 14: Input shaft 16: Output shaft 20: Main working chamber 22; Sub working chamber 24: Main working gear 26: Sub working gear Figure 3 Rotation speed difference time (minutes) Figure 6 Time (minutes)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) It is integrally connected to the input shaft, and has a main operating space in the center concentrically with the input shaft, and a plurality of sub-working spaces around the main operating space. A casing and an output shaft arranged on the same axis as the input shaft, penetrating through the casing and projecting into the casing in a liquid-tight manner, and integrally connected to the output shaft, and rotatable in the main working space. a main working gear disposed in the casing, and a sub-working gear disposed in the sub-working space to mesh with the main working gear and rotatably attached to the casing;
A hydraulic gear coupling characterized in that the casing is filled with hydraulic oil.