JPH0532689Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a torque converter with a lock-up clutch used in automobiles and the like.

(Prior art and its problems) Generally, in a torque converter with a lock-up clutch, the hydraulic pressure in a hydraulic chamber formed between a piston clutch plate and a front cover is transferred to a hydraulic oil chamber formed between a piston clutch plate and a turbine. The clutch is connected and disconnected by increasing and decreasing the oil pressure relative to the hydraulic pressure of the clutch.

However, in the conventional torque converter with a lock-up clutch, the piston clutch plate has a gap between its outer periphery (for example, the cylindrical wall extending toward the turbine side at the outer periphery) and the surrounding wall of the front cover extending toward the turbine side. Because of this, when the clutch is connected by reducing the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic chamber relative to the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic chamber, centrifugal force flows out from the gap between the impeller outlet and the turbine inlet. The hydraulic oil flowing into the hydraulic chamber flows into the hydraulic chamber through the gap between the outer circumferential edge and the peripheral wall, so that the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic chamber quickly decreases relative to the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic oil chamber. There have been cases where it has become difficult to connect and operate the lock-up clutch in response to the driving conditions of the vehicle. To resolve this,
Although it is possible to narrow the gap between the outer peripheral edge and the peripheral wall, it is difficult and troublesome to form the entire piston clutch plate or the entire front cover with high dimensional accuracy.

(Purpose of the invention) The present invention is a torque converter with a lock-up clutch in which the piston clutch plate is provided with a gap between its outer periphery and the peripheral wall of the front cover. It is an object of the present invention to prevent hydraulic oil from flowing into a hydraulic chamber and to quickly perform a clutch connecting operation.

(Structure of the invention) The invention consists of a torque converter main body having an impeller, a turbine, and a stator, a front cover that is connected to the impeller and constitutes an input section of the torque converter, and a torque converter body that is arranged between the front cover and the turbine. Equipped with lockup clutch,
In a torque converter with a lock-up clutch, in which the piston clutch plate of the lock-up clutch is provided with a gap between its outer peripheral edge and the peripheral wall of the front cover extending toward the turbine side, the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the front cover or the impeller This torque converter with a lock-up clutch is characterized in that a baffle plate is provided on the inner surface of a peripheral wall extending toward the front cover side on the outer periphery of the shell, near the opening surface of the gap on the turbine side when the clutch is connected.

(Function) Most of the hydraulic oil that flows out from the gap between the impeller outlet and the turbine inlet and flows into the turbine side of the gap between the outer peripheral edge of the piston clutch plate and the peripheral wall of the front cover. will collide with the baffle plate. Therefore, the hydraulic oil hardly flows into the gap between the outer peripheral edge and the peripheral wall.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a partial vertical sectional view showing a torque converter with a lock-up clutch according to the present invention. The front cover 1 is a member that constitutes an input section of a torque converter, and is connected to an output section of an engine (not shown). A front cover 1 includes an end wall 3 extending approximately in the radial direction of an output shaft 2 (only the center line is shown).
and a peripheral wall 5 extending from the outer periphery of the end wall 3 toward the torque converter main body 4 side. As is well known, the torque converter main body 4 includes an impeller 6, a turbine 7, and a stator 8, and the tip of the peripheral wall 5 is fixed to the shell 25 of the impeller 6.

A lock-up clutch 10 is arranged between the end wall 3 and the turbine 7. The clutch 10 includes a piston clutch plate 11, an output member 12, and a damper spring 13. The piston 11 is formed by integrally forming an annular plate portion 11a extending generally in the radial direction of the torque converter, and a cylindrical peripheral wall 11b extending approximately parallel to the peripheral wall 5 toward the turbine 7 along the outer periphery of the plate portion 11a. The piston 11 has a cylindrical peripheral wall 11b with a gap 10 with respect to the peripheral wall 5.
0. Also, the plate portion 11a
A friction facing 1 is provided on the surface on the end wall 3 side of the outer periphery of the
5 is attached. The output member 12 is the piston 11
It is a plate member of a bent structure located between the turbine 7 and the turbine 7, and integrally includes a main body 12a, a claw portion 12b, and a protrusion 12c. The damper spring 13 is arranged adjacent to the piston 11 and the output member 12, and connects them in the circumferential direction.

In order to connect the piston 11 and the damper spring 13, a connecting member 19 is fixed to the outer circumference of the piston 11 with a rivet 18. The connecting member 19 is a plate-like member having a plurality of bent claws, and holds the damper spring 13 from the outside and inside in the radial direction.
3 in the circumferential direction. Further, the main body 12a of the output member 12 is seated in close contact with a portion of the back surface of the turbine shell 26 (the surface opposite to the impeller 6) near the outer periphery. The claw portion 12b is attached to the main body 1
2a extends radially outward of the torque converter, and is further bent and extends axially toward the damper spring 13 side.
The connecting member 19 is engaged with the connecting member 19 from the opposite side. The protrusion 12c extends from the outer periphery of the main body 12a toward the outer periphery of the turbine shell 26, and is in close contact with the back surface of the turbine shell 26.

The interior of the torque converter can be divided into three types of chambers: an internal chamber 20, a hydraulic oil chamber 21, and a hydraulic chamber 22.

The internal chamber 20 is a space surrounded by an impeller shell 25 and a turbine shell 26, and rotational force is transmitted from the impeller 6 to the turbine 7 via the hydraulic oil filled therein. In order to supply and discharge hydraulic oil to and from the internal chamber 20, an inlet oil passage 31 and an outlet oil passage 32 are formed on both sides of a one-way clutch 30 built into the inner periphery of the stator 8. The hydraulic oil chamber 21 is a space formed between the piston 11 and the turbine shell 26.

The hydraulic chamber 22 is a space formed between the piston 11 and the end wall 3, and in order to control the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic chamber 22, a control oil passage 35 communicating with the inner circumference of the hydraulic chamber 22 is connected to the turbine hub 17. It is formed between the inner peripheral part of the end wall 3. This control oil passage 35 is connected to the output shaft 2
It is connected to an external hydraulic control mechanism (not shown) via an internal oil passage or the like.

A baffle plate 50 is provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall 5 near the opening surface 100a of the gap 100 on the turbine 7 side when the clutch is connected. Baffle board 5
0 is a disc-shaped member whose inner diameter is a cylindrical peripheral wall 11
This member has a size approximately equal to the inner diameter of b. The baffle plate 50 is provided parallel to and opposite to the opening surface 100a, and there is a space between them that is large enough to allow the hydraulic oil in the hydraulic chamber 22 to flow out into the hydraulic oil chamber 21 through the gap 100 when the clutch is disengaged. separated by intervals. The baffle plate 50 is attached such that its outer peripheral edge is adhered to the inner surface of the peripheral wall 5 or fitted into a groove formed on the inner surface of the peripheral wall 5.

In the above structure, the connection/disconnection operation of the clutch is performed as follows.

That is, when hydraulic oil is supplied from the control oil passage 35 to the hydraulic chamber 22 to increase the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic chamber 22 relative to the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic oil chamber 21, the piston 11 is pushed by the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic chamber 22, Friction facing 1
5 separates from the end wall 3 and the clutch is disconnected. At this time, the hydraulic oil flows from the hydraulic chamber 22 through the gap 100, the hydraulic oil chamber 21, and the internal chamber 20, and is discharged from the outlet oil passage 32. Conversely, inlet oil path 3
When hydraulic oil is supplied from 1 to increase the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic oil chamber 21 relative to the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic chamber 22, the piston 11 is moved into the hydraulic chamber 22 by the hydraulic oil pressure in the hydraulic oil chamber 21.
is pushed toward the end wall 3 while discharging the hydraulic fluid from the control oil passage 35, the friction facing 15 comes into pressure contact with the end wall 3, and the clutch is connected. As a result, the rotational force of the end wall 3 is transmitted from the friction facing 15 to the piston 11, and from the piston 11 to the connecting member 19,
It is transmitted to the turbine 7 via the damper spring 13 and the output member 12, and is transmitted from the turbine hub 17 to the output shaft 2.

The above-mentioned clutch connecting operation is then quickly performed as follows. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 1.

That is, the opening surface 1 of the gap 100 on the inner surface of the peripheral wall 5
Since a baffle plate 50 is provided in the vicinity of 00a, as shown by the arrow in FIG. Most of the hydraulic oil flowing into the portion on the 7 side collides with the baffle plate 50. Therefore, the flow of the hydraulic oil flowing from the gap 200 to the gap 100 into the gap 100 is suppressed, and in the clutch engagement operation, the hydraulic oil in the hydraulic chamber 22 quickly flows to the point where the friction facing 15 comes into pressure contact with the end wall 3. The oil is then discharged from the control oil passage 33, and the clutch connection operation is performed immediately.

(Effect of the invention) As described above, according to the invention, since the baffle plate 50 is provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall 5 near the opening surface 100a of the gap 100, the hydraulic oil flowing from the gap 200 operates to connect the clutch. At times, it is possible to prevent oil from flowing into the hydraulic chamber 22 through the gap 100,
Clutch connection operation can be performed quickly. Moreover, since it is only necessary to attach the baffle plate 50, the structure is simple.

(Another Embodiment) The baffle plate 50 may be attached to the inner surface of a peripheral wall 25a extending toward the front cover 1 at the outer periphery of the impeller shell 25.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the baffle plate 50 may be provided to face the opening surface 100a obliquely, that is, to be inclined toward the front cover 1 in the axial direction from the outer circumference to the inner circumference. In this case, the gap is 20
The hydraulic oil flowing out from the piston 10 and flowing toward the gap 100 collides with the baffle plate 50 as shown by the arrow, changes the flow direction, and heads toward the surface of the piston 11 on the turbine 7 side. Therefore, the piston 11 is pushed more strongly toward the end wall 3. Therefore, according to this, the hydraulic oil flowing out from the gap 200 in the gap 1
00 can be suppressed and the piston 11
Since the clutch can be pressed more strongly toward the end wall 3, the clutch can be connected more quickly than in the embodiment described above.

It goes without saying that the structure of the present invention in which the baffle plate 50 is provided can also be applied to a torque converter equipped with a lock-up clutch 10 having no cylindrical peripheral wall 11b.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional partial view showing the torque converter with a lock-up clutch of the present invention, and Fig.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the main part showing a torque converter with a lock-up clutch according to another embodiment of the present invention. 1... Front cover, 4... Torque converter main body, 5... Peripheral wall (of the front cover), 6...
... Impeller, 7 ... Turbine, 8 ... Stator, 10 ... Lock-up clutch, 11 ... Piston clutch plate, 11b ... Cylindrical peripheral wall, 25a
...Peripheral wall (of impeller shell), 50...Baffle plate, 100,200...Gap.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The lock-up clutch includes a torque converter main body having an impeller, a turbine, and a stator, a front cover connected to the impeller and forming an input section of the torque converter, and a lock-up clutch disposed between the front cover and the turbine. In a torque converter with a lock-up clutch in which the piston clutch plate of the clutch is provided with a gap between its outer peripheral edge and the peripheral wall of the front cover extending toward the turbine side, the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the front cover or the impeller shell is A torque converter with a lock-up clutch, characterized in that a baffle plate is provided on the inner surface of a peripheral wall extending toward the front cover side at the outer periphery, near the opening surface of the gap on the turbine side when the clutch is connected.