JPH112304A - Impeller blade of impeller in torque converter, impeller of torque converter, torque converter, and method of fixing impeller blade on impeller shell of torque converter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide such an impeller blade that the positioning and the fixing of the impeller blade on an impeller shell can be surely and easily performed. SOLUTION: An impeller blade 11 is mounted in an impeller shell 10 of a torque converter having an embossed recessed part 20a, an impeller blade main unit 11a and an outer side blade tab 21 are provided. The outer side blade tab 21 is protruded to a side of the impeller shell 10 from the impeller blade main unit 11a. In this outer side blade tab 21, a protrusion 21a is formed, the protrusion 21a is brought into contact with the embossed recessed part 20a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an impeller blade of an impeller of a torque converter, an impeller of a torque converter, a torque converter, and a method of fixing an impeller blade to an impeller shell of a torque converter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A torque converter has three types of impellers (impeller, turbine, and stator) inside a hydraulic oil chamber.
This is a device that transmits torque from the input-side rotating body to the output-side rotating body using hydraulic oil. The impeller is an impeller shell,
It has a number of impeller blades radially arranged on the inner surface of the impeller shell, and an annular impeller core fixed inside the impeller blades.

[0003]

In a conventional impeller, a plurality of recesses are formed in an impeller shell by embossing, and a plurality of protrusions (an impeller shell side tab and an impeller core side tab) are formed in an impeller blade. The impeller core is set after the side tab is aligned with the recess, and the impeller core side tab of the impeller blade is caulked to the impeller core.

However, recently, the shape of the impeller blade has been complicated in order to improve the performance of the torque converter. Depending on the shape of the impeller blade, when the impeller core side tab of the impeller blade is caulked to the impeller core, the impeller blade and the impeller shell are not formed. May come off. In order to prevent this, it is conceivable to insert the impeller shell side tab of the impeller blade into the recess of the impeller shell and then caulk the vicinity of the recess with a punch or the like. However, adopting such a method increases the number of manufacturing steps.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an impeller blade, an impeller, a torque converter, and a method for fixing an impeller blade to an impeller shell, which can more reliably and easily position and fix the impeller blade to the impeller shell. It is in.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an impeller blade mounted on an impeller shell of a torque converter having a concave portion, the impeller blade including a blade body and a tab. The tab projects from the blade body toward the impeller shell of the torque converter. A projection is formed on the tab, and the projection of the tab comes into contact with the recess.

Here, since the tab is provided with a projection so that the tab is engaged with the concave portion, the degree of fixation of the impeller blade to the impeller shell is improved, and the positioning is more reliable. At the time of assembly, the impeller blade is prevented from coming off the impeller shell. In addition, since the fixing between the impeller blade and the impeller shell is reinforced by the engagement between the tab projection and the recess, the degree of adhesion between the impeller blade and the impeller shell can be reduced without performing a caulking process near the recess using a punch or the like. We can secure enough.

[0008] In the impeller blade according to the second aspect, in the impeller blade according to the first aspect, the sum of the thickness of the tab and the height of the projection is determined by the distance between the inner surfaces of the recesses of the impeller shell with which the tab abuts. Is also big. Here, when the tab of the impeller blade is inserted into the impeller shell, the tab is elastically deformed such that the sum of the thickness of the tab and the height of the projection matches the distance between the inner surfaces of the recessed portions. Therefore, the tab in the concave portion applies a force to the inner surface of the concave portion due to the elastic reaction force, and the tab of the impeller blade and the concave portion of the impeller shell are in pressure contact with each other. For this reason, even if a slight force acts, the impeller blade and the impeller shell do not come off. In other words, by crimping the impeller blade tab on the impeller core during the assembly of the impeller, even if some force is applied to the fixed portion between the impeller blade and the impeller shell (the impeller blade tab and the impeller shell recess), the impeller blade is It does not come off the impeller shell.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an impeller blade formed by pressing. In the impeller blade according to the first or second aspect, the projection of the tab is formed simultaneously with the pressing of the impeller blade. Here, projections are formed at the same time in the step of press forming the impeller blade, which has been indispensable conventionally. The formation of the projection can be easily performed by improving the press die so that the projection can be formed. As described above, by simultaneously performing the tab projections in the press forming for forming the shape of the entire impeller blade, the degree of adhesion between the impeller blade and the impeller shell can be improved without increasing the number of steps.

[0010] The impeller according to a fourth aspect includes an impeller shell, a plurality of impeller blades, and an impeller core. The impeller shell has a plurality of recesses. The impeller blade is according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The impeller core is fixed to a plurality of impeller blades. Here, since the impeller blade according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is employed, the displacement between the impeller blade and the impeller shell in the manufacture of the impeller is suppressed. For this reason, the performance failure rate of the manufactured impeller decreases.

A torque converter according to a fifth aspect includes a front cover, an impeller, a turbine, and a stator. The front cover is connected to a member on the engine side. The impeller according to claim 4 is fixed to the front cover, and forms an operating oil chamber together with the front cover. The turbine has turbine blades, is disposed facing the impeller in the hydraulic oil chamber, and is connected to a transmission-side member. The stator is disposed between the inner periphery of the impeller and the inner periphery of the turbine.

In this torque converter, the front cover and the impeller rotate by the rotation input from the engine side member. The rotation of the front cover and the impeller circulates the working oil in the working oil chamber by the impeller blades. The circulating hydraulic oil hits the turbine blade, and the members on the turbine and transmission sides rotate.

Here, since the impeller according to the fourth aspect is employed, the positioning accuracy and the degree of fixation between the impeller shell and the impeller blade are improved, and the variation in the performance of the torque converter is reduced. Therefore, the quality of the torque converter is stabilized. The method for fixing the impeller blade to the impeller shell of the torque converter according to claim 6 is a method including a preparation step and an insertion step. In the preparation step, an impeller shell having a plurality of recesses and a plurality of impeller blades having a tab formed with a projection abutting on the recess are prepared. In the inserting step, the tab is inserted into the recess against the frictional resistance between the tab and the projection and the recess, and the impeller shell and the impeller blade are engaged.

Here, the tab and the protrusion formed on the tab are inserted into the concave portion in a state of friction, that is, in a state of being pressed against the concave portion. Therefore, after insertion, the tab and the recess are in a state of being mechanically joined. In this way, if the projection is formed on the tab in the preparation step in advance, the impeller shell and the impeller blade can be fixed without using a method such as continuous welding or caulking using a punch or the like. As a result, the manufacturing cost can be reduced while maintaining the quality.

[0015]

FIG. 1 shows a torque converter 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the axis OO is the rotation axis of the torque converter 1, and an engine (not shown) is arranged on the left side of the figure, and a transmission (not shown) is arranged on the right side of the figure. In this torque converter 1, a hydraulic oil chamber filled with hydraulic oil is formed by a disk-shaped front cover 2 and an impeller shell 10 of an impeller 3 welded to an outer peripheral wall 2a of the front cover 2. I have.

In the hydraulic oil chamber, a torque converter body including an impeller 3, a turbine 4, and a stator 5;
A lock-up device 6 is provided. The front cover 2 is connected to a member on the engine side. The turbine 4
It is composed of a turbine shell 4a, a turbine blade 4b, and a turbine core 4c. The turbine shell 4a is arranged in the hydraulic oil chamber so as to face the impeller 3, and an inner peripheral portion of the turbine shell 4a is connected to a transmission-side member. Stator 5 is arranged between the inner peripheral portion of impeller 3 and the inner peripheral portion of turbine 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the impeller 3 includes an impeller shell 10, an impeller blade 11, and an impeller core 12. A plurality of impeller blades 11 are fixed inside the impeller shell 10, and an annular impeller core 12 is provided inside the impeller blade 11.
Has been fixed. 1, 4 and 5, the impeller shell 10 is a disk member having an arc-shaped cross section, and has a plurality of embossed portions 20 formed in a circumferential direction inside a radially intermediate portion. I have. The embossed portion 20 is formed in the circumferential direction, and the impeller blade 11 side is an embossed recess (recess) 20a. The width of the embossed recess 20a in the circumferential direction is smaller than the width in the radial direction, and the width in the circumferential direction is s2 (see FIG. 6).

The impeller blade 11 includes an impeller blade main body (blade main body) 11 a having a three-dimensional curved surface and blade tabs 21 and 31, and is arranged radially inside the impeller shell 10. An outer blade tab 21 is formed outside the impeller blade body 11a at a portion corresponding to the embossed portion 20 so as to protrude toward the impeller shell 10 from a curve of an outer periphery of the impeller blade body 11a. Outer blade tab 21
The width is gradually narrowed toward the tip, and arcuate shapes are formed on both side ends so as to be recessed inward from the curve of the outer periphery of the impeller blade main body 11a. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the outer blade tab 21 is formed with a protrusion 21 a that swells in the thickness direction of the outer blade tab 21. The height h1 of the projection 21a is the outer blade tab 2
1 is smaller than the plate thickness t1. The sum s1 of the height h1 of the protrusion 21a and the plate thickness t1 of the outer blade tab 21 is 0.05 mm to 0.1 mm larger than the circumferential width s2 of the embossed recess 20a.
A protrusion 21a is formed on the outer blade tab 21 so as to be larger by 2 mm. The inner blade tab 31 is formed so as to protrude more toward the impeller core 12 than the curve of the inner circumference of the impeller blade main body 11a.

A plurality of holes 12a are formed in the impeller core 12 in the circumferential direction. The inner blade tab 31 is inserted into the hole 12a. Next, a method for manufacturing the impeller 3 will be described. First, as a preparation step, an embossed portion 20 is formed on the impeller shell 10 in advance by embossing. The outer blade tab 21 and the inner blade tab 31 are formed on the impeller blade 11 by punching. When the impeller blade 11 is subjected to cold press forming, the outer blade tab 21
1a is formed in advance.

Next, as an insertion step, the impeller shell 1
A number of impeller blades 11 are inserted into and fixed to zero.
From the state shown in FIG. 4, the impeller blade 11 is assembled inside the impeller shell 10. This assembly is performed by inserting the outer blade tab 21 into the embossed recess 20a. 5 and 6 in which the outer blade tab 21 is inserted, the outer blade tab 21 and the projection 21a are positioned and fixed by being pressed against the circumferential side wall of the embossed recess 20a (see FIG. 6). At this time,
Height h1 of projection 21a and thickness t of outer blade tab 21
1 (see FIG. 3) is larger than the circumferential width s2 of the embossed recess 20a, so that the outer blade tab 21
Is inserted into the embossed recess 20a against friction with the circumferential side wall of the embossed recess 20a. Therefore, the outer blade tab 2 is set so that s1 and s2 match.
1 elastically deforms. As a result, the outer blade tab 21 in the embossed recess 20a applies a force to the circumferential side wall of the embossed recess 20a by its elastic reaction force, and the outer blade tab 21 and the embossed recess 20a are brought into pressure contact with each other. Therefore, the impeller blade 11 and the impeller shell 10 do not come off even if some force acts. As described above, the positioning accuracy of the impeller blade 11 is improved. Therefore, the interval between the impeller blades 11 is substantially constant.

Finally, the impeller core 12 is mounted inside the plurality of impeller blades 11. Impeller core 12
Is inserted into the inner blade tab 31 of the impeller blade 11. Then, the tip of the inner blade tab 31 is bent to fix them. Insertion of the hole 12a of the impeller core 12 into the inner blade tab 31 is easy because the distance between the impeller blades 11 is substantially constant and the backlash of the impeller blades 11 is small.

[0022]

According to the present invention, a simple method of providing a projection on the tab is adopted, and the tab is engaged with the recess, so that the positioning of the impeller blade with respect to the impeller shell becomes more reliable, and the impeller is more securely positioned. The degree of sticking of the blade to the impeller shell is improved, and the problem that the impeller blade comes off the impeller shell during assembly of the impeller can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a torque converter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a shape diagram of a tab of an impeller.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing one stage of an impeller assembly process.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing one stage of an impeller assembly process.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Torque converter 2 Front cover 3 Impeller 4 Turbine 4a Turbine blade 5 Stator 10 Impeller shell 11 Impeller blade 11a Impeller blade main body (blade main body) 12 Impeller core 20a Emboss concave part (dent part) 21 Outer blade tab (tab) 21a Projection h1 Projection Height s1 Sum of projection height and outer blade tab thickness s2 Circumferential width of embossed recess 20a (distance of inner peripheral surface of recess) t1 Plate thickness of outer blade tab (tab thickness)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An impeller blade mounted on an impeller shell of a torque converter having a recess, comprising: a blade body; and a projection abutting on the recess of the impeller shell, wherein the blade body is closer to the impeller shell than the blade body. A tab protruding from the impeller blade. 2. The impeller blade according to claim 1, wherein the sum of the thickness of the tab and the height of the projection is greater than the distance between the inner surfaces of the recesses of the impeller shell with which the tab abuts. 3. The impeller blade according to claim 1, wherein the projection is formed at the same time as the pressing. 4. A torque converter comprising: an impeller shell having a plurality of recesses; a plurality of impeller blades according to claim 1; and an impeller core fixed to the plurality of impeller blades. Impeller. 5. A front cover connected to a member on the engine side, an impeller according to claim 4, fixed to said front cover and forming a hydraulic oil chamber with said front cover, and a turbine blade, A turbine disposed opposite to the impeller in the hydraulic oil chamber and connected to a transmission-side member; and a stator disposed between an inner peripheral portion of the impeller and an inner peripheral portion of the turbine. Torque converter. 6. An impeller shell having a plurality of recesses,
A preparing step of preparing a plurality of impeller blades having tabs formed with protrusions that are in contact with the recesses; and placing the tabs in the recesses against frictional resistance between the tabs and the protrusions and the recesses. Inserting, inserting the impeller shell and the impeller blade to engage,
A method for fixing an impeller blade to an impeller shell of a torque converter including: