JPH07293591A - Hub clutch - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the exhaust of foreign matters and to provide good responsiveness by providing a cover for forming an air chamber, a filter placed between spaces among the openings of the radial side part of the cover and an air space, and a cap having a declined part. CONSTITUTION:A pressure chamber 91 and an air chamber 93 are formed at both the sides of a diaphragm 81. A ring-like filter 95 is placed between a housing 53 and a cover 55, Spaces 99 are formed between the radial side part 97 of the cover 55 and the filter 95. A plurality of the spaces 99 and openings 101 communicating with an outer part are formed at the radial side part 97 in the peripheral direction. A cap 103 is fixed to the cover 55. A conical declined part is formed on the cap 103 in the centrifugal direction of the openings 101. Foreign matters penetrated into the spaces 99 are jumped out from the openings 101 to the outer part with centrifugal force to collide with the declined part 105 of the cap 103, and are scattered in the arrow mark 117 direction. Thus no re-invasion from the openings 101 is observed. Therefore, air is freely admitted and emitted by roughening the meshes of the filter 95. No movement of the diaphragm 81 is inhibited, highly retaining the responsiveness of a hub clutch 19.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is a four-wheel drive (4WD).
The present invention relates to a hub clutch that connects and disconnects a drive axle and wheels in a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art 4 W is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-238516.
A hub clutch for connecting and disconnecting a drive axle and a wheel in vehicle D is described.

FIG. 6 shows a hub clutch 20 having a similar structure.
1, the hub clutch 201 includes a slide gear 209 that engages and disengages the drive gear 205 on the drive axle 203 side and the housing 207 on the wheel side. The slide gear 209 is connected to the actuator 211 and the spring 21.
The hub clutch 201 is connected and disconnected by moving the hub clutch 201 as shown in FIG.

A cover 215 is provided at the end of the housing 207.
The inside of the housing 207 and the cover 215 is screwed by the diaphragm 217 to the actuator 211.
And an air chamber 219. The air chamber 219 communicates with the outside via a filter 221 so as not to hinder the operation of the actuator 211.

[0005]

This hub clutch 20 is to be solved.
In No. 1, since the communication between the air chamber 219 and the outside is performed by the screw portion 223, foreign matter such as muddy water, sand, and pebbles that once entered is difficult to be carried out even if it is water. Therefore, the conventional filter 221 has a fine mesh so that air can pass but water cannot pass, and the ventilation resistance is considerably large, which deteriorates the responsiveness of the actuator 211.
Further, if the eyes are thin, the water will not drain easily, and if the attached water freezes, the air will not escape and the internal pressure of the air chamber 219 will rise, causing the actuator 211 to malfunction. Furthermore, the screw part 223
In the structure in which the air flows, the screw portion 223 is likely to be clogged, so that the user may remove the cover 215 for cleaning, which is not preferable for maintaining a normal function. Further, the screwed cover 215 requires a large number of man-hours such as caulking at the time of assembling to prevent the cover 215 from coming off due to vibration during traveling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a hub clutch having a structure in which the foreign matter can be easily discharged, the responsiveness is good, and the cover does not fall off to the atmosphere.

[0007]

A hub clutch according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a housing having a gear portion and fixed to a wheel hub, a drive gear on a drive axle side, and a housing and a drive driven by meshing with these gears. A slide gear that is movable to a connection position for connecting the gear and a connection release position for releasing the connection, an urging member that urges the slide gear to one of the two positions, and an image inside the housing via a diaphragm. An actuator for moving the slide gear to the other of the two positions against the biasing member when pressure is applied, a cover fixed to the housing with a bolt to form an air chamber between the diaphragm and the cover, An opening provided on a radial side portion of the filter, a filter arranged between the air chamber and a space formed between the opening and the filter, and the filter is discharged from the opening by centrifugal force. It is characterized by comprising a cap having an inclined portion splashing axially foreign matter collision.

The hub clutch of the second invention is the hub clutch of claim 1, wherein the cap and the cover are integrally formed.

In the hub clutch of the third invention, a housing having a gear portion and fixed to the wheel hub, a drive gear on the drive axle side, and a coupling for coupling the housing and the drive gear by meshing with these gears. A position and a slide gear that is movable to a connection release position where this connection is released, an urging member that urges the slide gear to one of the two positions, and a pressure that is defined within the housing via a diaphragm. Then, an actuator for moving the slide gear to the other of the two positions against the biasing member, a cover fixed to the housing with a bolt to form an air chamber between the diaphragm, and a radial side portion of the cover. An inclined portion provided, a filter disposed between the air chamber and a space provided between the inclined portion and the inclined portion by a centrifugal force provided on the cover. Characterized by comprising an opening for discharging the collision splashed skipped foreign substances to the outside.

The hub clutch according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is the hub clutch according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 3, wherein the cover and the housing are fastened together to the wheel hub with bolts.

[0011]

According to the hub clutch of the first aspect of the present invention, even if foreign matter such as sand or rainwater enters the space through the opening provided on the radial side surface of the cover, such foreign matter is discharged from the opening by the centrifugal force and the cap is removed. It does not collide with the inside of the opening again because it collides with the inclined part of the and is splashed in the axial direction of the opening. Also, the third
In the hub clutch of the invention, centrifugal force causes foreign matter to collide with the inclined portion provided on the radial side surface of the cover and discharges the foreign matter through the opening.

In this way, the foreign matter that has entered, especially the water content, is immediately carried out from the opening to the outside. Therefore, unlike the conventional example, it is possible to make the eyes of the filter coarse enough to allow water to pass therethrough, and the air flow resistance is correspondingly increased. Is reduced, the change in the internal pressure of the air chamber is suppressed to a low level, and the response of the actuator is improved.
Further, since the filter has a coarse mesh, the water drains well, the adhesion of water is prevented, and the filter is not clogged due to freezing of water. In addition, since the cover is bolted, unlike the conventional screw-on type, the number of assembling steps required to prevent the cover from falling due to vibration is reduced, removal by the user is prevented, and normal function is maintained. Further, the rainwater that has entered the space or the water that has passed through the filter when subjected to centrifugal force is washed to prevent clogging of the filter and maintain high air permeability.

The second invention is the hub clutch of the first invention in which the cap is formed integrally with the cover, and the number of parts and the cost are reduced.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is the hub clutch of the first, second and third aspects of the present invention, in which the cover and the housing are fastened together to the wheel hub with bolts, and a cover-dedicated bolt is unnecessary.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the fourth invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment is the invention of claim 1 having the features of claim 4. FIG. 1 shows this embodiment, and FIG. 5 shows a power system of a vehicle using this embodiment. The left and right directions are the left and right directions in this vehicle and FIG. Further, members and the like not given reference numerals are not shown.

As shown in FIG. 5, this power system includes an engine 1, a transmission 3, a transfer 5, a 2WD-4WD switching mechanism 7 arranged in the transfer 5, a front wheel propeller shaft 9, a front differential 11 (front wheel side). Differential device), front axles 13, 15, hub clutches 17, 19, left and right front wheels 21, 23, rear wheel side propeller shaft 25, rear differential 27 (rear wheel side differential device), rear axle 29, 31, left and right rear wheels 33, 35, and the like.

The driving force of the engine 1 is transmitted from the transmission 3 to the rear differential 27 through the transfer 5 and the propeller shaft 25, and distributed to the left and right rear wheels 33 and 35. Further, when the switching mechanism 7 and the hub clutches 17 and 19 are connected, the driving force is transferred from the transfer 5 through the propeller shaft 9 and the front differential 11 to the left and right front wheels 21 ,.
23, and the vehicle enters the 4WD state.

When the connection of the switching mechanism 7 is released, the front wheels 21,
Reference numeral 23 is separated from the engine 1, and the vehicle enters the 2WD (two-wheel drive) state. At this time, the connection of the hub clutches 17 and 19 is also released, and vibration, noise, wear, etc. due to the accompanying rotation of the driving force transmission system on the front wheel side is prevented.

Next, an embodiment will be described by taking the hub clutch 19 on the right front wheel 23 side as an example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hollow spindle 3
A wheel hub 43 is supported on the outer periphery of 7 via bearings 39 and 41. The spindle 37 is connected to the vehicle body via a suspension. A seal 4 for preventing air leakage is provided between the spindle 37 and the wheel hub 43.
5 are arranged. A brake disc 47 is fixed to the wheel hub 43 with bolts 49, and a wheel wheel of the front wheel 19 is fixed with bolts 51. The housing 53 and the cover 55 are fastened together to the wheel hub 43 with six bolts 57 as shown in FIG. An O-ring 59 is arranged between the wheel hub 43 and the housing 53 to prevent air leakage.

The front axle 15 (driving axle) is a spindle 37.
And a drive gear 61 is spline-connected to the right end portion thereof. A seal 63 for preventing air leakage is arranged between the axle 15 and the spindle 37. The axle 15 is supported by the spindle 37 via a bearing 65. The drive gear 61 is supported by the housing 53 via a bearing 67 and a centering member 69, and prevents the tip of the axle 15 from swinging. The centering member 69 is fixed to the inner circumference of the housing 53 with a retaining ring 71.

The spline portion 7 is provided on the inner circumference of the housing 53.
A slide gear 75 is connected via 3 so as to be movable in the axial direction. The slide gear 75 can be engaged with and disengaged from the drive gear 61. When the slide gear 75 moves to a coupling position where it meshes with the drive gear 61 as in the lower half of FIG. 1, the hub clutch 19 is coupled (lock) and the front wheel 23 is attached to the axle 15. When it is connected and moves to a connection release position where the engagement with the drive gear 61 is released as in the upper half of FIG. 1, the hub clutch 19 is released (free) and the front wheel 23 is disconnected from the axle 15. Free rotation state.

The spline portion 73 is provided with toothless portions at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and these toothless portions are provided to the arm 79 of the retainer 77.
Has penetrated. Both ends of the slide gear 75 are sandwiched by the arm 79 and are connected to the retainer 77. The outer edge of the diaphragm 81 is airtightly fixed to the inner circumference of the housing 53 by a support ring 83. Diaphragm 81
The inner edge portion of the is hermetically sandwiched between the retainer 77 and the plate 85. The retainer 77 is fixed to the plate 85 by a claw 87. Between the cover 55 and the plate 85, a shift spring 89 (urging member) for urging the slide gear 75 to the connecting position via the retainer 77 is arranged.

A pressure chamber 91 (actuator) and an air chamber 93 are formed on the left and right sides of the diaphragm 81, respectively. A ring-shaped filter 95 is arranged between the housing 53 and the cover 55, and the cover 55
A space 99 is formed between the radial side portion 97 and the filter 95. In the radial side portion 97, a plurality of openings 101 are formed in the circumferential direction for communicating the space 99 with the outside. A cap 103 is fixed to the cover 55, and a conical inclined portion 105 is formed in the cap 103 in the centrifugal direction of the opening 101. The filter 95 has a relatively coarse mesh so that water can pass through.

The pressure chamber 91 includes an axle 15 and a spindle 3
Air pressure (positive pressure) is sent from an engine-driven air pump 113 via an air flow path 107 between the seven, an orifice 109 provided in the spindle 37, and an air hose 111 as shown by an arrow 115. When air pressure is sent to the pressure chamber 91, the shift spring 89 bends and the slide gear 75 moves to the connecting position. When the pressure supply to the pressure chamber 91 is stopped, the slide gear 75 is moved to the connecting position by the urging force of the shift spring 89. Move to.

The foreign matter having entered the space 99 jumps out of the opening 101 by the centrifugal force, collides with the inclined portion 105 of the cap 103, is bounced off in the direction of the arrow 117, scatters, and reenters the opening 101 again. Absent. Since foreign matter, especially water, is easily discharged to the outside, the filter 95 can be coarse enough to allow water to pass, unlike the conventional example. Therefore, as the volume of the pressure chamber 91 changes, air can freely flow in and out of the air chamber 93 and does not hinder the movement of the diaphragm 81, so that the responsiveness of the hub clutch 19 is kept high.

The filter 95 is the rainwater that has entered the space 99,
Alternatively, since it is washed with rainwater or the like that passes by centrifugal force to prevent clogging, air permeability is kept high. or,
Since the coarse filter 95 has good drainage, clogging due to freezing of adhered water is also prevented. Further, by disposing the cap 103 so as to face the opening 101, foreign matter is prevented from directly jumping into the opening 101 from the outside.

Since the cover 55 is fastened together with the housing 53 to the wheel hub 43 together with the bolts 57, unlike the screw-on type cover, it does not fall off due to vibration and is prevented from being removed by the user, and the normal function is maintained. it can.
Moreover, a dedicated bolt for fixing the cover 55 is not required.

If the cap 103 is formed integrally with the cover 55 (structure of the second invention), the number of parts is reduced and the cost is reduced.

Next, a second embodiment of the fourth invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. This embodiment is the invention of claim 3 having the characteristics of claim 4. This embodiment is the hub clutch 119, 121 of the vehicle of FIG. Example 1 above
Members having the same functions as 7, 19 are given the same reference numerals.

Hereinafter, the hub clutch 121 on the right front wheel 23 side
Will be described as an example.

A housing 53 and a cover 123 are fixed to the wheel hub 43 with six bolts 57 as shown in FIG. 4, and an air chamber 125 is formed between the cover 123 and the diaphragm 81. There is. A filter 95 is arranged between the housing 53 and the cover 123, and a space 129 is formed between the radial side portion 127 of the cover 123 and the filter 95. Also, this radial side portion 12
7, a conical inclined portion 131 is formed, and the inclined portion 131
A plurality of openings 133 are formed in the circumferential direction on the left side of.

Since air can freely flow in and out through the opening 133 and the coarse filter 95, the change in the internal pressure of the air chamber 125 is suppressed to a low level, the operation of the pressure chamber 91 is not hindered, and the responsiveness of the hub clutch 121 is high. To be kept. Space 129
The foreign matter that has entered the container collides with the inclined portion 131 by the centrifugal force, is discharged to the outside from the opening 133 as shown by an arrow 135, and is scattered by the centrifugal force.

The coarse filter 95 prevents clogging due to the effect of washing rainwater that has entered the space 129 and rainwater that passes by receiving centrifugal force, and keeps air permeability high. Since the filter 95 has good drainage, clogging does not occur due to freezing of adhering water. Further, since the opening 133 is provided in the direction opposite to the end of the axle, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from jumping directly into the opening 101 during traveling.

Since the cover 123 is fastened together with the housing 53 to the wheel hub 43 with the bolts 57, the cover 123 does not fall off due to vibration and is prevented from being removed by the user.
Can maintain normal function. Further, a dedicated bolt for fixing the cover 123 is unnecessary.

The hub clutch of the present invention may be configured to be locked when air pressure is supplied to the actuator. The air pressure may be negative pressure.

[0037]

In the hub clutch of the first aspect of the present invention, an opening is provided in a cover which is bolted to the housing, and foreign matter is discharged by centrifugal force and then collides with the inclined portion of the cap to prevent re-entry. Further, in the hub clutch of the third invention, the cover bolted to the housing is provided with the inclined portion and the opening, and the foreign matter is applied to the inclined portion by centrifugal force and discharged to the outside from the opening. Since the foreign matter can be easily discharged in this way, the mesh of the filter can be coarsened to some extent, the air permeability is improved, and the responsiveness of the hub clutch is improved.

By making the filter coarse so that water can pass therethrough and providing a space between the filter and the cover, the effect of cleaning the filter with rainwater or the like can be obtained. In addition, the water does not adhere to the filter, and clogging of the filter due to freezing of the water is prevented.

Since the cover is bolted, it is possible to reduce the number of assembling steps for preventing the cover from falling off.

In the hub clutch of the second invention, the cap is integrated with the cover to reduce the number of parts. In the hub clutch of the fourth invention, the cover is fixed to the wheel hub by using the housing bolts to reduce the number of bolts.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of the fourth invention.

FIG. 2 is a view on arrow A in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the fourth invention.

FIG. 4 is a view on arrow B of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a skeleton mechanism diagram showing a power system of a vehicle using each embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 15 Front Axle (Drive Axle) 17, 19, 119, 121 Hub Clutch 43 Wheel Hub 53 Housing 55, 123 Cover 57 Bolt 61 Drive Gear 75 Slide Gear 81 Diaphragm 89 Shift Spring (Biasing Member) 91 Pressure Chamber (Actuator) 93 , 125 Air chamber 95 Filter 99,129 Space 101,133 Opening 103 Cap 105,131 Inclined part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A housing having a gear portion, which is fixed to a wheel hub, a drive gear on a drive axle side, a connecting position for connecting the housing and the drive gear by meshing with these gears, and this connection is released. And a biasing member that biases the slide gear to one of the two positions, and a biasing member that is defined by pressure inside the housing via a diaphragm. An actuator for moving the slide gear to the other of the two positions, a cover fixed to the housing with a bolt to form an air chamber between the diaphragm, and an opening provided on a radial side portion of the cover, A filter disposed between the air chamber and the space formed between the opening and the inclination for axially repelling foreign matter discharged from the opening by centrifugal force and colliding with the filter. A hub clutch, comprising: a cap having a portion. 2. The hub clutch according to claim 1, wherein the cap and the cover are integrally formed. 3. A housing having a gear portion and fixed to a wheel hub, a drive gear on the drive axle side, a connection position for connecting the housing and the drive gear by meshing with these gears, and this connection is released. And a biasing member that biases the slide gear to one of the two positions, and a biasing member that is defined by pressure inside the housing via a diaphragm. An actuator for moving the slide gear to the other of the two positions, a cover fixed to the housing with a bolt to form an air chamber between the diaphragm, and an inclined portion provided on the radial side of the cover. A filter provided between the air chamber and the space provided between the inclined portion and the foreign matter that is collided against the inclined portion by the centrifugal force and is bounced off by the centrifugal force. A hub clutch, characterized in that it has an opening for discharging the. 4. The hub clutch according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the cover and the housing are fastened together to the wheel hub by bolts.