JPS6114384B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch, and in particular to a damper that selectively and mechanically connects an engine output shaft side and a torque converter output shaft side. This relates to the structure of a direct coupling clutch equipped with a mechanism.

[Conventional technology]

In general, a hydraulic torque converter converts the appropriate torque between a pump impeller connected to the engine output shaft, a turbine runner connected to an auxiliary transmission, and deflecting the flow of fluid from the turbine runner back to the pump impeller. It consists of a stator, and transmits power through fluid while performing appropriate torque conversion according to the rotational speed difference between the engine output shaft side and the input shaft of the auxiliary transmission.

In such a torque converter, even in a transmission state where the rotational speed of the turbine runner is closest to the rotational speed of the pump impeller, slippage inevitably exists between the pump impeller and the turbine runner. For this reason, the power transmission efficiency is lower than that of a direct transmission mechanism using an expansion mechanical clutch, which increases the fuel consumption rate of the automobile, resulting in considerable disadvantages from the viewpoint of resource conservation and exhaust gas purification measures. .

Therefore, the engine output shaft side and the output shaft side of the torque converter are selectively connected to the annular space formed by the inner surface of the housing, which is an input member for connecting the engine output shaft and the pump impeller, and the outer peripheral surface of the turbine runner. A hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch is known which is provided with a mechanically coupled direct coupling clutch. (For example, U.S. Patent No. 4138003
No. Specification).

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in the hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch configured as described above, the piston that controls the operation of the direct coupling clutch and the components of the damper mechanism are integrally attached, and the piston is attached to the inner surface of the housing (frictionally engaged). In order to separate from the surface), it is necessary to slide the spline portion in the axial direction with respect to the output shaft side member such as the turbine runner. However, when the direct coupling clutch operates (directly coupled), torque is transmitted, so the sliding resistance of the spline part is large, and the inside of the chamber on the side that separates the piston from the inner surface of the housing (the chamber on the release side of the direct coupling clutch) The piston cannot slide unless the hydraulic pressure reaches a large value.

For this reason, a situation arises in which the shift is completed before the direct coupling clutch is released, resulting in a large shock during the shift.

Further, there was a problem in that when the direct coupling clutch was released, loss occurred on the frictional engagement surface due to dragging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to reduce shocks during gear shifting by ensuring prompt release of the direct coupling clutch.

[Means for solving problems]

Therefore, the present invention adopts the following configuration as a means for solving the above-mentioned problems.

That is, the present invention provides a hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch in which an annular hub constituting a damper mechanism is fixed to an output shaft side member of the torque converter, and an annular plate that is frictionally engaged with this hub; A spring holding member placed on the back of the annular plate via a return spring and an annular piston are fastened with a plurality of rivets in a row, and the return spring is elastically restored to the transient state in which the direct coupling clutch moves from actuation to release. It is characterized in that the piston is configured to be detached from the inner surface of the housing by force.

Specifically, referring to FIGS. 1 to 4 as an example, the hydraulic torque converter 7 includes a housing 5, which is an input member for connecting the engine output shaft 1 and the pump impeller 8, and a pump impeller. a turbine runner 10 hydrodynamically coupled with 8 to transmit power to the output side 13 of the torque converter;
, a stator 11 for circulating fluid from the turbine runner 10 to the pump impeller 8, and a one-way clutch 18 for limiting the rotation direction of the stator 11.

The inner surface of the housing 5 and the turbine runner 10
A direct coupling clutch 22 is disposed in an annular space C formed by the outer peripheral surface of.

The direct coupling clutch 22 includes an annular piston 15 supported on the output shaft 13 of the torque converter and installed between the housing 5 and the turbine runner 10 and having a friction material 23 on the housing side, and an annular piston 15 on the output shaft side of the torque converter. an annular hub 26 fixed to the member 10 and having damper springs 25 accommodated in a plurality of holes 24 formed on the circumference;
Two annular plates 27 and 28 are frictionally engaged with both sides of the hub 26 and have a hole 29 into which a part of the damper spring 25 is inserted. The annular spring holding member 43 disposed via the return springs 44 and the notch groove 30 provided between the mutually adjacent holes 24 of the hub 26 pass through the piston 15 and the other annular plate 28.
and a plurality of rivets 31 that fasten the spring holding member 43 in a row.

The piston 15 is disengaged from the inner surface of the housing 5 by the elastic restoring force of the return spring 44 during a transition state in which the locking clutch 22 shifts from actuation to release.

[Effect]

According to the above-mentioned means, in the normal state where the direct coupling clutch 22 is released, the piston 15 is moved to the position shown in FIG. ), and the piston 15 is always separated from the inner surface of the housing 5.

Next, when hydraulic pressure is applied to the back of the piston 15, the piston 1 resists the return spring 44.
5 moves to the left in FIG. 1 (FIG. 3), and the friction material 23 of the piston 15 frictionally engages with the inner surface of the housing 5. As a result, the power from the engine output shaft 1 is mechanically transmitted to the torque converter output shaft 13 via the direct coupling clutch 22 without passing through the hydraulic torque converter 7.

Furthermore, in a transient state in which the direct coupling clutch 22 transitions from activation to release, the return spring 4
Due to the elastic restoring force of 4, the piston 5 is quickly separated from the inner surface of the piston 5.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 indicates the rear end of the engine output shaft, and a flywheel 2 is attached to the end surface of the rear end with a plurality of bolts 3. The flywheel 2 is connected to a housing generally designated 5 by a plurality of bolts 4, and the engine output shaft 1, the flywheel 2, and the housing 5 are integrally connected around an axis X-X. It is designed to be able to rotate.

The housing 5 houses the main parts of the hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch, and also constitutes the main transmission element, and the housing 5 is connected to the axis X-- with the engine output shaft 1 as its input shaft.
It is configured to be rotated around X. This housing 5 comprises a front end wall 6 connected to the flywheel 2 by bolts 4 as described above, and a pump impeller of a hydraulic torque converter located behind it and generally indicated by the reference numeral 7. It consists of a pump housing part 9 which constitutes a pump housing part 8.

The hydraulic torque converter 7 includes a turbine runner 10 and a stator 11, as is well known.
The turbine runner 10 includes a turbine disk 1 having a communication hole 40 extending obliquely in the axial direction on the same circumference.
2, this turbine disk 12 has an axis X-
Output shaft 13 of the torque converter extending along X
It is mounted on the top via a spline 14 so as to be slidable in the axial direction. The front end (the left end in the figure) of the output shaft 13 is fluid-tightly joined to a hub 21 (described later) mounted on the housing end wall 6 via an oil seal 16a. Further, the rear end portion (the right end portion in the figure) of the output shaft 13 is configured as an input shaft of a planetary gear transmission mechanism of an auxiliary transmission (not shown).

A circumferential groove 41 formed on the outer periphery of the hub 21 houses an oil seal 16b with a rectangular cross section attached to the piston 15, and the width of the circumferential groove 41 is equal to the width (width direction) of the rectangular cross section of the oil seal 16b. The depth of the circumferential groove 41 is sufficiently larger than the thickness of the rectangular cross section. Also,
The bottom surface of the circumferential groove 41 communicates with a plurality of holes 42 provided on the same side of the hub 21 on the turbine disk 12 side. These circumferential grooves 41 and holes 4
A communication hole 40 between the turbine runner 2 and the turbine disk 12 is designed to guide pressure oil between the turbine runner 10 and the stator 11. A stator shaft 17 is provided around the output shaft 1, and this stator shaft 17 is supported at its rear end (right end in the figure) by an outer housing (not shown) fixedly held from the vehicle body. There is. A stator 11 is mounted on a stator shaft 17 via a one-way clutch 18 so as to be rotatable in one direction. The rear end portion of the pump housing portion 9 that constitutes the pump impeller 8 is connected to a pump drive shaft 20 that is configured as a hollow shaft of the oil pump 19, and the oil pump 19 is driven by the rotation of the pump drive shaft 20. It's getting old.

Now, in the hydraulic torque converter 7 configured in this way, an annular space C having a substantially triangular cross section formed by the inner surface of the housing 5 and the outer circumferential surface of the turbine runner 10 has an engine output shaft 1 side and an annular space C having a substantially triangular cross section. A direct coupling clutch 22 is provided to selectively and mechanically connect the output shaft 13 side of the torque converter.

The direct coupling clutch 22 includes an annular piston 15 having a friction material 23, an annular hub 26, two annular plates 27 and 28, a damper spring 25, a return spring 44, and a spring holding member 43.
It is composed of etc.

The annular piston 15 is supported on the output shaft 13 via the aforementioned hub 21 so as to be able to move backward in the axial direction. An annular friction material 23 having a constant width is fixed with adhesive on the side facing the inner surface (friction surface) of 6. The space defined inside the housing 5 and the hydraulic torque converter 7 by the piston 15 is the space defined by the piston 15.
5 is divided into a chamber A located on one side (left side in the figure) and a chamber B located on the other side (right side in the figure).

As will be described later, a plurality of holes 2 formed on the circumference are provided in the upper left part (shoulder part) of the outer periphery of the turbine runner 10, which is the output shaft side member of the torque converter.
A hub 26 housing a damper spring (compression coil spring in this embodiment) 25 is fixed to 4 by welding. Annular plates 27 and 28 are arranged on both sides of the hub 26 and are frictionally engaged (partly with a gap).
Power is transmitted between the two (between both pleats 27, 28 and the hub 26) via a dapa spring 25 fitted into a hole 29 provided at 8.

One plate 27 has a friction surface that frictionally engages with the rear surface side of the hub 26, and a return spring (leaf spring in this embodiment) 44 that can be elastically deformed in the axial direction is attached to the rear surface of the plate 27. An annular spring holding member 43 is arranged. Further, the other plate 28 has a friction surface that frictionally engages with the front side of the hub 26 , and its inner peripheral edge is welded to the rear surface of the friction material 23 of the piston 15 .

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part taken along the - line in FIG. 1.

As shown in this figure, a plurality of holes 24 are formed tangentially on the same circumference of the hub 26, and both ends of the holes 24 are vertical.
A damper spring 25 is tangentially housed within the damper spring 4 . Furthermore, a plurality of cutout grooves 30 are provided between adjacent holes 24 in the hub 26, through which rivets 31, which will be described later, pass through. This notched groove 30 is a rectangular groove having circumferential and normal dimensions sufficiently larger than the diameter of the rivet 31. (Of course, the notch groove 30 may be a well-known arc-shaped hole). When the direct coupling clutch 22 reaches a predetermined torque in the operating state (directly coupled state), the rivet 31 comes into contact with the vertical wall of the notched groove 30. The hub 2 located within the notch groove 30 in the radial direction
Friction materials 32 and 33 are attached to both sides of 6 with adhesive.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the main part taken along the - line in FIG. 2.

As shown in this figure, the piston 15, plate 28, and spring holding member 43 are fastened together in this arrangement with a plurality of rivets 31, and the plate 27 is slidable in the axial direction by the rivets 31. possible guidance.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, which is a sectional view of the main part taken along the - line in FIG. It is mediated.
This return spring 44 is adapted to press the plate 27 against the friction material 32 of the hub 26, and is held by a rivet 45 at a position radially inward from the rivet 31. The friction materials 32 and 33 bonded to both surfaces of the hub 26 are strongly pressed by both plates 27 and 28. Further, the return spring 44 is elastically deformed in the axial direction when the direct coupling clutch 22 is in the operating state, and the return spring 44 is elastically deformed in the axial direction when the direct coupling clutch 22 is in the disengaged state.
is configured to separate from the inner surface of the housing end wall portion 6. That is, the force of the return spring 44 always acts to pull the piston 15 to the right in FIG.
3 and the inner surface of the housing end wall 6 is prevented from frictionally engaging. Furthermore, by connecting the plates 27, 28 and the hub 26 through the friction materials 32, 33 instead of connecting only the damper spring 25, hysteresis is imparted to the characteristics of the damper spring 25 to provide a damping action, and the piston 15 and the turbine The power transmission of the runner 10 is made smooth.

In such a configuration, when pressure oil is normally supplied to the chamber A from a hydraulic control device (not shown) through the oil passage 34 between the stator shaft 17 and the output shaft 13, the piston 15 moves toward the turbine runner. 10th side (1st
housing 5 and piston 1).
5 is disengaged as shown in FIG. As a result, the power from the engine output shaft 1 is transmitted to the auxiliary transmission via the hydraulic torque converter 7, that is, the housing 5 → the pump impeller 8 → the turbine runner 10 → the turbine disk 12 → the output shaft 13. At this time, the oil supplied to the chamber A is applied to the inner surface of the housing end wall 6 and the friction material 2 of the piston 15.
3 between the pump impeller 8 and the turbine runner 10, and as shown in FIG. By supplying the fluid between the torque converter 7 and the torque converter 7, the flow rate of the fluid circulating through the torque converter 7 is ensured when the torque converter 7 is released (when not directly connected).

Further, when pressure oil is supplied from the hydraulic control device to the chamber B through between the stator shaft 17 and the pump drive shaft 20 that drives the pump 19, the turbine runner 10
deformation toward the housing 5 side (leftward in Figure 1),
And due to the force due to the pressure difference between chamber A and chamber B,
The piston 15 moves to the left against the return spring 44, and the friction material 23 of the piston 15 frictionally engages with the inner surface of the housing end wall 6. As a result, the power from the engine output shaft 1 is transferred to the direct coupling clutch 2 without passing through the hydraulic torque converter 7.
2, that is, it is mechanically transmitted to the output shaft 13 via the housing 5 → friction material 23 → piston 15 → both plates 27, 28 → damper spring 25 → hub 26 → turbine runner 10 → turbine disk 12. There is. Furthermore, at this time, room A
The oil supplied therein is discharged through an oil passage 34.

In this way, the present invention fixes the annular hub 26 to the outer peripheral shoulder of the turbine runner 10, which is the output shaft side member of the torque converter, in a hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch, and fixes the piston 1
5, annular plate 28 and return spring 4
4 and the spring holding member 43 holding the clutch 4 are integrally fastened together with the rivets 31 in a row, the direct coupling clutch 22 is in a transient state in which it transitions from activation to release (oil passages 35 to 34 by the hydraulic control device).
2), the hub 26 fixed to the turbine runner 10 does not need to move in the axial direction, and the piston 15 is moved to the housing 5 by the elastic restoring force of the return spring 44.
quickly withdrawn from the inner world. That is, the friction material 2 fixed to the inner surface of the housing 5 and the piston 15
By ensuring the disengagement with 3 earlier than the rise in oil pressure in chamber A, prompt release of the direct coupling clutch 22 is ensured and shocks during gear shifting can be reduced.

Furthermore, when the direct coupling clutch 22 is released, the piston 15 is always separated from the inner surface of the housing 5 by the axial elastic force of the return spring 44, so there is no loss at the frictional engagement surface between the two. can be prevented from occurring.

Furthermore, by disposing the direct coupling clutch 22 in an annular space C having a substantially triangular cross section formed by the inner surface of the housing 5, which is an input member of the hydraulic torque converter 7, and the outer peripheral shoulder of the turbine runner 10, It can be designed compactly without increasing the dimensions too much.

5 and 6 show a hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Note that in FIGS. 5 and 6, parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 3 and 4 are designated by the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 3 and 4.

In this embodiment, the structure in which the separate return spring 44 and spring holding member 43 shown in FIGS. This is replaced by member 46.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, spring pieces 4 that act elastically as return springs are arranged at equal intervals on the inner circumferential side of the annular spring holding member 46.
7 are integrally molded. Note that 48 indicates a rivet hole.

In this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the previous embodiment, the number of parts can be reduced and the ease of assembly can be improved.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to ensure prompt release of the direct coupling clutch and reduce shocks during gear changes.

Furthermore, when the direct coupling clutch is released, it is possible to prevent loss from occurring at the frictional engagement surface between the friction material of the piston and the inner surface of the housing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the upper half of a hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part taken along the - line in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the main part taken along the - line in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the main part taken along the line - in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 3 of a hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch according to another embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a perspective view of essential parts of the spring holding member shown in FIG. 5. FIG. Explanation of symbols, 1...Engine output shaft, 5...Housing, 6...Housing end wall, 7...Hydraulic torque converter, 8...Pump impeller, 1
0... Turbine runner, 11... Stator, 13
... Output shaft of torque converter, 15 ... Annular piston, 18 ... One-way clutch, 22 ... Direct clutch, 23 ... Friction material of piston, 24 ...
...Hub hole, 25... Damper spring (compression coil spring), 26... Annular hub, 27,2
8...Annular plate, 29...Annular plate hole, 30...Notch groove, 31...Rivet, 4
3... Spring holding member, 44... Return spring (leaf spring), 46... Spring holding member, 47... Spring piece.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A housing that is an input member for connecting an engine output shaft and a pump impeller, and a turbine runner that is hydrodynamically connected to the pump impeller and transmits power to the output shaft of a torque converter. In a hydraulic torque converter comprising a stator that circulates fluid from the turbine runner to the pump impeller, and a one-way clutch that limits the rotational direction of the stator to one direction, the inner surface of the housing and the outer peripheral surface of the turbine runner A direct coupling clutch is disposed in the formed annular space, and the direct coupling clutch is supported on the output shaft of the torque converter, and is installed between the housing and the turbine runner, and has a friction material on the housing side. a piston; an annular hub fixed to the output shaft side member of the torque converter and having damper springs housed in a plurality of holes formed on the circumference; and a damper spring that is frictionally engaged with both surfaces of the hub. two annular plates having a hole into which a portion is inserted; an annular spring holding member disposed on the back surface of the one annular plate via a plurality of return springs that are elastically deformable in the axial direction; A plurality of rivets pass through notched grooves provided between adjacent holes in the hub, and fasten the piston, the other annular plate, and the spring retaining member in line, and actuate the direct coupling clutch. A hydraulic torque converter with a direct coupling clutch, characterized in that the piston is disengaged from the inner surface of the housing by the elastic restoring force of the return spring during a transition state from to to release.