JPS63180729A - Viscous fluid coupling - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control the quantity of viscous fluid into an operation chamber so as to improve performance by providing a divider plate between a rotor and an output member, and providing an opening/closing valve which sets the opening area of an oil passage provided on the divider plate to be small at the low temperature. CONSTITUTION:A divider plate 11 is provided between a rotor 1 and a cover 4 serving as an output shaft so as to form a reserve chamber 6, and furthermore, an operation chamber 5 sealed with a labyrinth is formed between the rotor 1 and the divider 11. In addition, an oil passage hole 14 is formed on the outer periphery portion of the divider plate 11, and then, there is provided a valve 9 for opening/closing the oil passage hole 14 by means of a temperature sensing member 7 through a rod 8 so as to control the quantity of viscous fluid which flows into the operation chamber 5 from the reserve chamber 6. Therefore, it is possible to transmit torque in accordances with the inflow quantity of viscous fluid into the operation chamber 5 so as to enable continuously linear control, thereby improving performance without either complicated structure or increase in weight and cost.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a viscous fluid coupling that can be used in a cooling fan of an automobile engine, etc.

(Prior Art) Various viscous fluid couplings have been proposed in the past, and one example will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

In FIG. 7, rotor 1 is fixed to shaft 2 (input shaft), and case 3 or case 3 and cover 4 (output shaft)
A working chamber 5a or 5b is formed between the two, and torque is transmitted from the input side to the output side by filling the working chamber 5a or 5b with viscous fluid. 6 is a storage chamber, 7 is a temperature sensitive member, and rod 8
The viscous fluid between the working chamber 5 and the storage chamber 6 is connected to the valve 9 via the rod 8, and rotates at the temperature detected by the temperature sensitive member 7, and opens and closes the valve 9 via the rod 8. control and control the torque transmission from the input side to the output side. However, in the conventional device shown in FIG. 7, when stopped,
Since the viscous fluid accumulates in the lower part of the joint due to gravity, not only the storage chamber 6 but also the working chamber 5 are filled with viscous fluid as shown in Fig. 9. When restarting, the viscous fluid filled in the working chamber 5 prevents the input. Torque is transmitted from the output side to the output 2'' side, and a so-called drag phenomenon occurs in which the fan rotates at high speed until the viscous fluid is collected from the working chamber 5 to the storage chamber 6.

In order to prevent this drawback, conventionally, as shown in FIG.
In addition, a second storage chamber 6' is provided at a position corresponding to the back surface of the rotor 1.
By providing a working chamber 5 in which the working chambers 5a or 5b are integrated, the viscous fluid at the time of stoppage is stored in the storage chamber 6, the working chamber 5, and the storeroom 6', and the liquid level height h at the time of stoppage is lower than that of the conventional one. It has been proposed that the capacity of the second storage chamber 6' is lower than that of the product, thereby solving the conventional problems.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the viscous fluid coupling shown in FIG. 7, the liquid level increases when stopped, and the viscous fluid filling the working chamber 5 transmits torque from the input side to the output side. During this period, the fan rotates at high speed until the viscous fluid is collected from the working chamber 5 to the storage chamber 6, a so-called drag phenomenon.

Although the conventional viscous fluid coupling shown in FIG. 8 can solve the problem in the case shown in FIG. 7, it is difficult to control the output to be switched in three stages depending on the ambient temperature, and only two-stage control is possible: on and off. As a result, there were problems such as a high operating rate when the switch was turned on, fan noise generated when switching between on and off, a reduction in engine output due to a large horsepower loss, and a reduction in fuel efficiency.

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems.

[Structure of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) Therefore, the present invention provides a viscous fluid coupling with
A second storage chamber is provided at a position opposite to the rotor and the working chamber, and is located between the rotor and the output member, is fixed to the output member to form the storage chamber, and is connected to the working chamber from the storage chamber. A divider plate is provided for controlling the inflow amount of viscous fluid, an oil passage hole is formed in the divider plate, a valve is provided for opening and closing the oil passage hole, and the oil passage hole is formed by the hollow hole of the valve. This structure is such that the area of the overlapping openings relative to the temperature is smaller at low temperatures than at high temperatures, and this is used as a means to solve the problem.

(Function) When the operation starts, the valve is rotated in response to the temperature sensitive member, increasing or decreasing the overlapping opening area formed by the hollow hole and the oil passage hole, and increasing the amount of viscous fluid flowing from the storage chamber to the working chamber. control.

In other words, when the overlapping opening area is large, a large amount of viscous fluid flows into the working chamber, and torque transmission from the input side also becomes large. Further, when the overlapping opening area is small, only a small amount of viscous fluid flows into the working chamber, and the torque transmission from the input side becomes small. In this way, it is possible to make the characteristics of the temperature sensed by the temperature-sensitive member linear, and by reducing the output to the minimum level as necessary, it is possible to eliminate large fan noise, large horsepower losses, and reduced fuel efficiency. .

(Embodiments) The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments of the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a rotor 1 is locked to a shaft 2 (input shaft), and a gear cutout corresponding to the direction of rotation is formed on the outer periphery of the rotor 1. The case 3 is rotatably supported by the shaft 2 via a bearing IO, and is locked to a cover 4 (output shaft) by a screw 12. Further, the case 3 forms a second storage chamber 6' between the case 3 and the rotor 1. A divider plate 11 is fixed to the cover 4 by screws 13, and forms a storage chamber 6 and an operating chamber 5 between it and the rotor 1 by a labyrinth. Further, the valve 9 is locked to the temperature sensitive member 7 via the rod 8, and is rotated by the movement of the temperature sensitive member 7 with respect to the temperature, and the valve 9 is rotated by the oil passage hole 14 of the divider plate 11 and the hollow hole 20 of the valve 9. Silicone oil (viscous fluid) between the storage chamber 6 and the working chamber 5 is formed by forming a polymerization opening and increasing or decreasing the area of the polymerization opening.
The amount of inflow is controlled, and the torque transmission from the input side to the output side is controlled.

When the engine is stopped, the silicone oil is stored in the storage chamber 61, the working chamber 5, and the second storage chamber 6' by gravity, as shown in FIG. Next, when the operation starts, the silicone oil spreads in the viscous fluid joint in a circumferential manner due to the centrifugal force of rotation, and the silicone oil spreads in the viscous fluid joint in a circumferential manner, causing the working chamber 5 and the second
It is collected into the storage room 6 from the storage room 6'. At this time, the silicone oil recovered from the second storage chamber 6' is recovered to the storage chamber 6 with a slight torque transmission. In addition, the silicone oil recovered from the working chamber 5 is smaller than the conventional one by the capacity of the second storage chamber 6', as shown by h' in FIG. Transmission can be reduced. As described above, it is possible to eliminate the drag phenomenon that occurs when starting up a viscous fluid joint.

Next, the operation starts, and the valve 9 performs a rotational displacement due to the temperature sensitivity of the temperature sensitive member 7, and the hollow hole 20 and the oil passage hole 1 are rotated.
The amount of silicone oil flowing from the storage chamber 6 to the working chamber 5 is controlled by increasing or decreasing the area of the polymerization opening formed by the storage chamber 6 . In other words, when the overlapping opening area is large, a large amount of silicone oil flows into the working chamber 5, and the torque transmission from the input side also becomes large. Further, when the overlapping opening area is small, only a small amount of silicone oil flows into the working chamber 5, and the torque transmission from the input side becomes small. In this way, it is possible to control torque transmission according to the temperature sensed by the temperature sensitive member 7, and to make the characteristic of the output rotation speed relative to the temperature sensed by the temperature sensitive member 7 linear as shown in Fig. 3. By suppressing the output to the minimum level, it is possible to eliminate large fan noise, large horsepower loss, and reduction in fuel efficiency.

In addition, the oil passage hole 1 provided in the divider plate 11
It is obvious that the same effect can be obtained even if the shape of the hole 4 is made to be the same shape as the hollow hole 20 described above and the valve 9 is used to open and close the valve 9. Here, regarding Fig. 2, oil passage hole 1
4 and the hollow hole 20. The oil passage hole 14 is a rectangular hole formed on the divider plate 11 and extending in the radial direction. Correspondingly, a trapezoidal hollow hole 20 with one side inclined is formed. The hollow hole 20 has two slopes on one inclined side, and the first slope 21 located on the inside in the radial direction has a gentle slope in the radial direction and is short. Moreover, the slope 22 of the second stage on the outside is steeper (and longer) than the slope 21 of the first stage.

Now, when the ambient temperature is low, that is, the valve 9 is set to f81 in Fig. 2.
When in this position, the hollow hole 20 does not overlap the oil passage hole 14, and the valve 9 closes the hole 14. The temperature sensitive member 7 senses the temperature rise at low temperature and turns the valve 9 on (b
When rotated to the 1st position, the first stage slope 21 crosses the outer edge of the oil passage hole 14, and an opening 23 is formed at the portion where the hollow hole 20 and the hole 14 overlap. In addition, since the first stage slope 21 has a gentle slope, the opening 21 is
The area increase rate with respect to the rotation angle of the valve 9, that is, with respect to the temperature rise, becomes small. When the ambient temperature further rises and reaches the temperature range, the slope 22 of the two-step surface will close to the oil passage hole 14.
crosses the outer edge of the opening 23, and the area increase rate of the opening 23 becomes large.

The position C1 in FIG. 2 shows a state in which the entire oil passage hole 14 is exposed as the hollow hole 20 at high temperatures.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, a partition plate 16 is provided on the second storage chamber 6' side of the rotor 1 to separate the working chamber 5 and the second storage chamber 6'.
By forming the orifice hole 17 on the outer periphery, it is possible to control the flow rate of the silicone oil recovered from the second storage chamber 6' to the storage chamber 6, and to promote reduction of the drag phenomenon that occurs during startup. Note that the pressure relief hole 15 provided in the rotor 1 facilitates recovery of silicone oil from the second storage chamber at the time of restart, and is extremely important in the present invention. The pressure relief hole 15 is located at a position where the viscous fluid joint is inner than the liquid level of the rotating silicone oil, that is, at a position where it is not immersed in the silicone oil, to prevent leakage from the working chamber 5 to the second storage chamber 6' during operation. It is necessary to make sure that there is no such thing. Further, when the partition plate 16 is provided, it goes without saying that a pressure relief hole IB is required. This pressure relief hole 18 is the pressure relief hole 1
5, the pressure relief hole 15 does not need to be located inner than the liquid level of the rotating silicone oil. On the other hand, when the pressure relief hole 18 is located on the outer periphery of the pressure relief hole 15, it is desirable that the pressure relief hole 18 be located on the inner periphery of the rotating silicone oil liquid level and on the outer periphery of the stopped silicone oil liquid level.

Further, the hollow holes 20 may be formed in either the divider plate 11 or the pulp 9, and the same effect can be obtained with various shapes as shown in FIG.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the present invention is configured as explained in detail above,
During shutdown, the viscous fluid can be stored in the storage chamber, the working chamber, and the second storage chamber. Therefore, the liquid level height h' can be lowered according to the capacity of the second storage chamber, and problems such as fan noise during startup, poor heater effectiveness, and engine warm-up at low temperatures can be solved. FIG. 5 shows a characteristic diagram at low temperature of the present invention A and conventional B, where NP is the input rotation speed and Nf is the output rotation speed. After time has elapsed, both A and B have a low rotational speed and there is no noise problem, but immediately after starting, conventional B has a high rotational speed and the above-mentioned problem occurs. In the present invention A, the rotation speed is such that there is almost no problem as described above even immediately after starting.

In addition, in the present invention, the area of the overlapping opening formed by the oil passage hole and the hollow hole is increased or decreased depending on the temperature, and in order to control the amount of viscous fluid flowing from the storage chamber to the working chamber, from the input side to the output side. Torque transmission is performed with a capacity that corresponds to the amount of viscous fluid flowing from the storage chamber to the working chamber.This enables continuous and linear control, as opposed to the conventional two-step on/off control, and allows The conventional problems can be solved by temporarily transmitting the minimum amount of torque accordingly.

Therefore, in the present invention, compared to the conventional technology, the structure is not complicated (the increase in weight and cost can be suppressed, the influence on the surrounding parts such as when mounted on a vehicle is small, and the performance is equivalent to or higher than that of the conventional technology. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a viscous fluid joint showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the detected temperature of the temperature sensitive member and the output rotation speed of the present invention and the conventional one, Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the liquid level height at the time of stop in Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is Low-temperature starting characteristic diagrams for the present invention and the conventional one; FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing various shapes of hollow holes in the valve; FIGS. 7 and 8 are side sectional views showing conventional viscous fluid couplings, respectively; Figure 9 is the 7th
It is an explanatory view showing the liquid level height at the time of stop in a figure. Explanation of the main parts of the diagram 1 - Rotor 2 - Shaft (human power shaft) 3 - Case 4 - Cover (output shaft) 5 - Working chamber 6 -
Storage chamber 7 - Temperature sensitive member 8 - Rondo 9 - Pulp 11 - Divider plate 14 -
Oil passage hole 20-hollow hole 1 Fig. 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] In the viscous fluid coupling, a second storage chamber is provided at a position opposite to the rotor and the working chamber of the storage chamber, and is located between the rotor and the output member and is fixed to the output member to form the storage chamber. In addition, a divider plate is provided to control the amount of viscous fluid flowing into the working chamber from the storage chamber, an oil passage hole is formed in the divider plate, a valve is provided for opening and closing the oil passage hole, and the oil passage hole and A viscous fluid joint characterized in that the area of the overlapping opening formed by the hollow hole of the valve with respect to temperature is smaller at low temperatures than at high temperatures.