JPS6242175Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to a clutch mechanism suitable for a kinetic energy recovery device for recovering kinetic energy possessed by a vehicle when the vehicle decelerates.

Conventionally, in vehicles such as automobiles, a hydraulic pump is connected to a part of the drive system such as the engine, and when the vehicle decelerates, the hydraulic pump is operated by the inertia of the vehicle, and the kinetic energy of the vehicle is used. A kinetic energy recovery device has been proposed in which the kinetic energy is stored and recovered in an accumulator in the form of hydraulic pressure. However, when connecting the above hydraulic pump to the drive system,
If the output shaft is simply connected to the output shaft of a drive system that is reversed in the forward and reverse directions, if the output shaft is reversed when the vehicle is moving backwards,
This is extremely inconvenient because the hydraulic pump would be reversed.

Conventionally, a hydraulic pump is connected to the output shaft of the drive system via an electromagnetic clutch, and the switch is turned on and off by the brake pedal, or based on signals from a torque detection sensor that detects forward and reverse rotation of the output shaft. The electromagnetic clutch was then engaged to prevent the hydraulic pump from reversing.

However, in such conventional devices,
Since the hydraulic pump was switched on and off using an electromagnetic clutch, the solenoid of the electromagnetic clutch had to be continuously energized while the hydraulic pump was operating, resulting in high power consumption and a complicated system configuration. Moreover, the use of a torque detection sensor is expensive, and there are also problems such as the possibility that the hydraulic pump may be reversed due to an erroneous signal from the sensor or switch.

This idea was made by focusing on the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it connects the power input shaft and the driven shaft via a helical gear, and One of the shafts is a shaft movable in the axial direction by a thrust force generated between the helical gears according to the power transmission direction of the input shaft, and the other shaft is an extension of the shaft movable in the axial direction. , an output shaft is disposed via a clutch that is connected and disconnected by the thrust force, and the clutch is connected and disconnected by movement of the shaft movable in the axial direction, and power is transmitted to the output shaft as appropriate. An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems by making it possible to prevent power from being transmitted to a hydraulic pump of a kinetic energy recovery device when the output shaft of a drive system rotates in reverse without using an electromagnetic clutch.

This invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a kinetic energy recovery device to which the clutch mechanism according to the present invention is applied.
is a drive system of a vehicle, and a clutch 3 is attached to an output shaft 2 rotated by the drive system 1, and a hydraulic pump 4 is connected to the drive system 1 via the clutch 3 in an intermittent manner. The hydraulic pump 4 is connected to the reserve tank 6 and the accumulator 7 via the electromagnetic switching valve 5 through conduits 8a, 8b and conduit 8, respectively.
c, 8d. The electromagnetic switching valve 5 shown in the figure shows the state at the time of energy recovery.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the clutch mechanism according to the present invention, in which teeth having a helix angle are formed on the input shaft 21 of the power rotated by the drive system of the vehicle on the engine side. A driven shaft 22 to which a helical gear 9a is fixed, and which is arranged parallel to the input shaft 21 and connected to the drive system of the vehicle on the drive wheel side.
A similar helical gear 9b is fixed to the helical gear 9b, and one of the helical gears 9a and 9b is engaged so as to be movable in the axial direction. On the other hand, an output shaft 23 which is a rotating shaft of the hydraulic pump 4 is disposed on an extension of the driven shaft 22, and the driven shaft 22 and the output shaft 23 are connected via the clutch 3. FIG. 4 shows a specific embodiment of the configuration shown in FIG. 2, in which the input shaft 21 is rotatably supported within the gear case 11 by ball bearings 12a and 12b. The output shaft 23 is a ball bearing 13
cylindrical portion 1 of the front wall of gear case 11 by a and 13b.
1a, the driven shaft 22 has its rear end supported by a ball bearing 14 in the gear case 11 so that its outer rail 14a can slide within the hole 11b of the gear case 11, and its front end coaxially within the output shaft 23. It is supported and allowed to move in the axial direction by an attached needle bearing 15.
The input shaft 21 and the driven shaft 22 are connected by helical gears 9a and 9b, and
A multi-plate clutch 3 is interposed between the front end of the driven shaft 22 and the rear end of the output shaft 23. In addition,
Here, it is assumed that the helical gear 9a twists in the left direction, and the helical gear 9b twists in the right direction.

Next, the action will be explained.

First, when the input shaft 21 is rotated clockwise by the drive system 1, power is transmitted to the driven shaft 22 via the helical gears 9a and 9b. At this time, helical gear 9
The action of the helix angles of a and 9b generates a thrust force that pushes gear 9a to the left in the figure and gear 9b to the right in the figure. Therefore, the gear 9b and the driven shaft 22 move slightly to the right, creating a gap in the multi-plate clutch 3, causing the clutch 3 to be in a disconnected state and no power being transmitted to the output shaft 23.

On the other hand, when the input shaft 21 is rotated to the left, the power (torque) transmission direction is reversed, so the helical gear 9a,
A thrust force in the opposite direction is generated between 9b and 9b, and the driven shaft 22 is moved to the left, and the clutch 3 is connected. Then, the rotational force of the input shaft 21 is transmitted to the output shaft 23, and the hydraulic pump 4 is rotated. Furthermore, since the tightening force of the clutch 3 is a thrust force that is proportional to the transmission force, the driving force of the hydraulic pump 4 is distributed according to the transmission force to the drive system of the vehicle on the drive wheel side, so it depends on the driving condition of the vehicle. The clutch engages and disengages with good response.

In the above embodiment, the driven shaft 22, which moves in the axial direction, is supported by the ball bearing 14 and the needle bearing 15, as described above, but the amount of movement required to engage and engage the clutch 3 is
Since it is approximately 0.2 mm, sufficient durability can be ensured even with the above-mentioned slidable support.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of another embodiment of the present invention, in which an output shaft 23 is disposed on an extension of the input shaft 21, and a clutch 3 is connected between the input shaft 21 and the output shaft 23.
is interposed. Even with this configuration, the input shaft 2
Due to the action of the helical gears 9a and 9b between the input shaft 1 and the driven shaft 22, the input shaft 21 is moved left and right according to the clockwise and counterclockwise rotations, and the clutch 3 is engaged and engaged.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the input shaft 21 and the driven shaft 22 are arranged parallel to each other. and the driven shaft 22 may not be strictly parallel.

As explained above, this invention connects a power input shaft and a driven shaft via a helical gear, and connects either the input shaft or the driven shaft according to the power transmission direction of the input shaft. The shaft is movable in the axial direction by the thrust force generated between the helical gears, and a clutch is connected and disconnected by the thrust force on the extension of the shaft movable in the axial direction. disposing an output shaft, and connecting the clutch by moving one of the input shaft or the driven shaft by a thrust force generated between the helical gears depending on the rotational direction of the input shaft; Since the structure is configured to shut off the power and transmit power to the output shaft as appropriate, when the output shaft of the drive system rotates in reverse, the power is transmitted to the driven side of the hydraulic pump of the kinetic energy recovery device, etc., without using other power such as an electromagnetic clutch. This makes it possible to reliably prevent the transmission of power, which makes the configuration simple and inexpensive, and because the force corresponding to the transmitted torque is directly used as the tightening force of the clutch, the responsiveness of clutch engagement and engagement is also improved. In addition to this, the clutch does not require any other power to engage and engage the clutch, so energy can be saved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a hydraulic circuit diagram showing an example of a kinetic energy recovery device to which the clutch mechanism according to the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of the clutch mechanism according to the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a A schematic configuration diagram showing another embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view showing a specific embodiment of the configuration shown in FIG. 2. 1... Drive system, 2... Output shaft of drive system, 3...
Clutch, 9a, 9b... Helical gear, 21...
Input shaft, 22...driven shaft, 23...output shaft.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A power input shaft and a driven shaft are connected via a helical gear, and either the input shaft or the driven shaft is connected between the helical gears depending on the power transmission direction of the input shaft. A shaft is movable in the axial direction by the generated thrust force, and an output shaft is disposed on an extension of the shaft movable in the axial direction via a clutch that is connected and disconnected by the thrust force,
A clutch mechanism characterized in that the clutch is connected and disconnected by movement of the shaft movable in the axial direction, and power is appropriately transmitted to the output shaft.