JPS635294B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a four-wheel drive vehicle, and particularly to a four-wheel drive vehicle with a horizontal engine.

In a four-wheel drive vehicle, an inter-axle differential is provided at a portion that divides the driving force from the power plant into the front axle and the rear axle in order to absorb the difference in rotational speed between the front axle and the rear axle that occurs when turning. Further, the front axle and the rear axle are respectively provided with a front wheel differential device and a rear wheel differential device for absorbing the rotational speed difference between the left and right wheels that occurs during turning.

However, in conventional four-wheel drive vehicles, as shown in, for example, JP-A-56-154328 and JP-A-57-41216, a differential between axles (a planetary gear in the former publication, a planetary gear in the latter), The inter-wheel differential (in the former publication, the intermediate differential device) and the inter-wheel differential device closer to the power plant (in the former publication, the final reduction gear on the front wheel side, in the latter publication, the front differential device) are on the same axis in the axle width direction. placed on the line. As a result, the dimensions of the transmission unit, which consists of the inter-axle differential device that is integrally provided in the power plant and the inter-wheel differential device on the power plant side, become larger in the vehicle body width direction. If there is no room in the directional dimensions, the engine compartment must protrude wide toward the passenger compartment in order to accommodate the transmission unit, and in vehicles with a power plant located at the front of the vehicle, it is difficult to drive. The space under the seat is narrower and maneuverability becomes more important.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems in conventional horizontally mounted four-wheel drive vehicles with an engine mounted horizontally. By arranging the transmission unit on the axis of the power plant, the dimension in the vehicle body width direction of the transmission unit consisting of the inter-axle differential device provided integrally with the power plant and the inter-wheel differential device on the power plant side is reduced. In particular, a bevel gear type differential device is used as the inter-axle differential device, and the input to the differential device and the output from the differential device to the inter-wheel differential device are connected to the inter-axle differential device. The space occupied by the transmission unit around the axis in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is made as small as possible. As a result, the unit can be accommodated in the tunnel provided in the center of the floor of the vehicle as it is or without the need for significant expansion of the tunnel, ensuring sufficient space for driving or living inside the vehicle. .

That is, the present invention provides a power plant in which a crankshaft of an engine and an input/output shaft of a transmission are arranged so as to extend in the width direction of a vehicle body; a first bevel gear provided at an output end of the transmission; a second bevel gear whose axis is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and is always meshed with the first bevel gear; a differential case; a pair of pinions supported by the case via a differential pinion shaft; and a pair of pinions meshed with these pinions. The differential case is a bevel gear type differential device configured with a side gear and a side gear, the axis of which is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and the differential case is connected to the second bevel gear via an input shaft on the axis that is connected to the differential pinion shaft. a third bevel gear connected to one side gear of the interaxle differential and disposed coaxially with the input shaft; and a third bevel gear whose axis is disposed in the width direction of the vehicle body. A fourth bevel gear that is always meshed with the third bevel gear, and an input member connected to the fourth bevel gear, and two output members connected to the axles of the pair of left and right wheels on the power plant side, respectively. a differential device, and a drive shaft that is connected to the other side gear of the inter-axle differential device, extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and drives the pair of left and right wheels on the side opposite to the power plant via the other inter-wheel differential device. It is characterized by being composed of. As a result, the transmission unit consisting of the inter-axle differential device provided integrally with the power plant and the inter-wheel differential device on the power plant side has an overall vertically elongated shape. and the output from the differential device to the inter-wheel differential device are both performed by an input shaft and a third bevel gear arranged on the axis of the inter-axle differential device, The space occupied by the transmission unit around the axis in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is reduced, and the above object is achieved.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the power plant 1 is arranged at the front of the vehicle body. The engine 2 and transmission 3 that make up this power plant 1 are
A crankshaft 4 in the engine 2, an input shaft 6 connected to the crankshaft 4 in the transmission 3 via a clutch 5, and the input shaft 6.
and an output shaft 8 with a transmission gear mechanism 7 interposed therebetween, both of which are disposed laterally so as to extend in the width direction of the vehicle body. The output section of the transmission 3 has a gear 9 parallel to the output shaft 8 and connected to the shaft 8.
A second output shaft 11 is connected to the power plant 1 through a second output shaft 10, and a first bevel gear 13 is provided at the output end of the second output shaft 11 for introducing power from the power plant 1 to a transmission unit 12 provided integrally with the plant 1. It is being

As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2, the transmission unit 12 is provided with an input shaft 14 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and a second bevel gear 15 provided at the end of the input shaft 14 on the power plant 1 side. is the first bevel gear 13
An inter-axle differential 16 is provided at the other end of the input shaft 14 and whose axis coincides with the shaft 14. This inter-axle differential device 1
6 includes a differential case 17, a differential pinion shaft 18 installed in the case 17 in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and a pair of pinions 19 and 20 made of bevel gears rotatably supported by the shaft 18. It is composed of a pair of side gears 21 and 22, which are also bevel gears, meshing with both pinions 19 and 20,
The above differential case 17 is the differential pinion shaft 18
It is connected to the end of the input shaft 14 via. A third bevel gear 24 is connected to the side gear 21 on the power plant 1 side of the inter-axle differential 16 via a sleeve 23 that is loosely fitted onto the input shaft 14. A fourth bevel gear 25 having an axis in the vehicle width direction is always meshed with the fourth bevel gear 25 .

The fourth bevel gear 25 is connected to an input member 27 of a front wheel differential 26 whose axis coincides with that of the fourth bevel gear 25 . In the illustrated embodiment, the front wheel differential device 26 includes a differential case 27, which is the input member, and a differential pinion shaft 28, which is installed inside the case 27 in a direction perpendicular to its axis. , a pair of pinions 29 and 30 formed of bevel gears rotatably supported on the shaft 28;
A bevel gear type differential device is used, which is comprised of a pair of side gears 31 and 32, which are also bevel gears, meshing with both pinions 29 and 30. The front wheel differential device 26 is connected to the power plant 1.
and the inter-axle differential device 16,
Left and right front wheels 35 and 36 on the power plant 1 side shown in FIG. 1 are connected to the two output members, that is, the pair of side gears 31 and 32, via left and right front axles 33 and 34, respectively.

On the other hand, a rear wheel drive shaft 37 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is connected to the side gear 22 of the inter-axle differential device 16 on the side opposite to the power plant 1 .
As shown in FIG. 1, the drive shaft 37 is connected to a propulsion shaft 38 that also extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and furthermore, left and right rear axles 40 that extend in the width direction of the vehicle body via a rear wheel differential 39. , 41 to the left and right rear wheels 42, 43 on the side opposite to the power plant 1.

According to the above configuration, the engine 2 generates
The output of the power plant 1 is output from the output shaft 8 of the transmission 3 after the reduction ratio is selected by the speed change gear mechanism 7 in the transmission 3.
The signal is input from the first bevel gear 13 to the transmission unit 12 via. In the transmission unit 12, the power from the power plant 1 about the axis in the vehicle width direction is transmitted to the second bevel gear 13, which is always meshed with the first bevel gear 13.
The bevel gear 15 generates power around the axis in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, which is input to the input shaft 14, and the differential case 1 of the inter-axle differential device 16 disposed on the shaft 14.
7 is driven via a differential pinion shaft 18. In the inter-axle differential device 16,
The input to the differential case 17 is divided into two, and the divided power is output from the side gear 21 on the side of the power plant 1 and the side gear 22 on the side opposite to the power plant.

The power output from the side gear 21 on the side of the power plant 1 is converted back into power around the axis in the width direction of the vehicle body by the third bevel gear 24 and the fourth bevel gear 25 that is constantly meshed with the third bevel gear 24. The signal is input to the differential case 27 of the front wheel differential 26, is further divided in the front wheel differential 26, and is driven from the left and right side gears 31, 32 to the left and right front wheels 35, 36 via the front axles 33, 34. do.

On the other hand, the power output from the side gear 22 on the side opposite to the power plant of the inter-axle differential device 16 is
A rear wheel drive shaft 37 and a propulsion shaft 3 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.
8 to the rear wheel differential device 39, and is further divided in the rear wheel differential device 39, and then transmitted to the left and right rear wheels 42, 4 via the rear axles 40, 41.
Drive 3.

However, according to the above configuration, the axis of the inter-axle differential 16 is in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and is disposed on a different axis from the front inter-wheel differential device 26, which has an axis in the width direction of the vehicle body. Both differential devices 16 and 26 are arranged substantially in the order of front wheel differential device 26 and inter-axle differential device 16 from the plant 1 side. Therefore, the transmission unit 12, which is provided integrally with the power plant 1 and includes the inter-axle differential device 16 and the front-wheel differential device 26, has an elongated shape with a small dimension in the width direction of the vehicle body. In particular, the inter-axle differential device 16 is a bevel gear type differential device that can reduce the dimension in the radial direction of rotation around the axis, that is, in the width direction of the vehicle body, and this
Since the transmission unit 12 is located on the side opposite to the power plant, the transmission unit 12 has a vertically elongated shape and becomes thinner toward the tip. Further, an input shaft 14 for transmitting the output of the power plant 1 to the inter-axle differential device 16 is disposed on the axis of the differential device 16, and the input shaft 14 is arranged on the axis of the differential device 16, and the input shaft 14 transmits the output of the power plant 1 to the inter-axle differential device 16. 2
Since the sleeve 23 and the third bevel gear 24 that transmit power to the input shaft 6 are arranged on the input shaft 14,
Input and output to and from the inter-axle differential device 16 are performed by members on the axis of the differential device 16. This further reduces the space occupied by the transmission unit 12 around its axis, making it possible to insert the unit 12, for example, into a tunnel provided vertically in the center of the floor of the vehicle body.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

In this second embodiment, an auxiliary transmission mechanism 102 is provided at the output section of a transmission 101 constituting a power plant, and a four-wheel drive/two-wheel drive switching mechanism 122 and a differential lock mechanism 114 are provided in a transmission unit 112.
It has been established. The sub-transmission mechanism 102 includes two high-speed and low-speed gears 104 and 105 fixed to an output shaft 103, and a second gear parallel to the output shaft 103.
The gear 104 is loosely fitted to the output shaft 106 and
2 for high and low speeds that are always meshed with 105 respectively.
gears 107 and 108, and the two gears 10 that are slidably provided on the second output shaft 106.
7 and 108 to the second output shaft 106. This allows, for example, transmission 10
Assuming that a gear ratio of four forward speeds and one reverse speed can be obtained between one input and output shaft, the output of the second output shaft 106, that is, the transmission unit via the first bevel gear 110 and the second bevel gear 111. The power input to 112 is switched to eight forward speeds and two reverse speeds.

Further, the differential lock mechanism 114 of the inter-axle differential device 113 in the transmission unit 112 extends the differential case 115 in the inter-axle differential device 113 onto the rear wheel drive shaft 116, and the extended portion is adjacent to the drive shaft 116. Spline 11 of the same diameter
7 and 118, and a sleeve 119 that can be switched from a state fitted on one spline 117 to a state fitted across both splines 117 and 118 by sliding in the A direction as shown in the figure. has been done. According to such a configuration, when the sleeve 119 is fitted to only one spline 117, the power input to the differential case 115 of the inter-axle differential 113 is transmitted to the pair of side gears 120, 121.
That is, the load is divided and transmitted to the front axle and the rear axle depending on the load acting on each.
9 is fitted across both splines 117 and 118, the differential case 11 of the inter-axle differential device 113
5 and one side gear 121, the differential function of the inter-axle differential device 113 is eliminated, and power is equally transmitted to the front and rear axles regardless of their respective loads. .

Furthermore, the four-wheel drive-two-wheel drive switching mechanism 122 is
A second drive shaft 123 is provided on an extension of the rear wheel drive shaft 116 connected to one side gear 121 in the inter-axle differential device 113, and both drive shafts 11
Splines 124 and 125 of the same diameter are provided adjacent to the opposing ends of the splines 124 and 123, and as shown in the figure, from the fitted state spanning both splines 124 and 125, one slides in the B direction. This configuration includes a sleeve 126 that can be switched to a state where it is fitted only to the spline 124 of the sleeve 126. Therefore, when the sleeve 126 is fitted across both splines 124 and 125, the drive shaft 116 and the second drive shaft 123 are connected, and the rotation from one side gear 121 of the inter-axle differential 113 Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via both drive shafts 116 and 123, but the sleeve 12
6 is slid to a state where it fits only on one spline 124, the drive shaft 116 and the second
The drive shaft 123 is disconnected, and power to the rear wheels is cut off, resulting in a two-wheel drive state with only the front wheels. Here, in the illustrated example, a spline 118 constituting the differential lock mechanism 114 provided on the drive shaft 116 is shown.
and a spline 124 that constitutes a four-wheel drive/two-wheel drive switching mechanism 122. However, the configuration of this embodiment other than the above is the same as that of the first embodiment, so this embodiment also has the following:
It becomes possible to accommodate the transmission unit without requiring a significant enlargement of the tunnel.

In the first and second embodiments described above, a bevel gear type differential device is used as the front wheel differential device 26, 127, but instead of this, a sun gear, a ring gear, and the like are used. A planetary gear type differential device may be used, which includes a planetary pinion that meshes with the two, and a pinion carrier that supports the pinion. In this case, the sun gear, ring gear,
One of the pinion carriers becomes an input member into which power is input from the inter-axle differential, and the other two
These act as output members that respectively drive a pair of left and right axles.

Moreover, although the above description is about an embodiment in which the power plant is disposed at the front of the vehicle body, the same configuration can be implemented even when the power plant is disposed at the rear of the vehicle body. In this case, the transmission units 12, 112 that are integrally provided in the power plant are comprised of an inter-axle differential and a rear wheel differential.

As described above, according to the present invention, the transmission unit as a whole includes an inter-axle differential device provided integrally with the power plant of a four-wheel drive vehicle and one inter-wheel differential device on the power plant side. It is configured in a vertically elongated shape, and in particular, the input to the inter-axle differential device and the output from the differential device to the inter-wheel differential device are arranged on the axis of the inter-axle differential device in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. Since this is done using a built-in member, the space occupied around the axis of the transmission unit is reduced, and the transmission unit can be accommodated in the tunnel provided in the center of the vehicle body floor as is or without the need for significant expansion. becomes possible. This prevents the interior space from being significantly sacrificed, and improves the comfort of the vehicle and the maneuverability when the power plant is located at the front of the vehicle body.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a main part of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a main part of a second embodiment of the invention. . 1...Power plant, 2...Engine, 3,
101...transmission, 13,110...
...First bevel gear, 15,111...Second bevel gear, 1
6,113... Inter-axle differential device, 17,115...
...Differential case, 18...Differential pinion shaft,
19,20...Pinion, 21,22,120,
121... Side gear, 24... Third bevel gear, 2
5... Fourth bevel gear, 26, 127... Inter-wheel differential device (front wheel differential device), 27... Input member (differential case), 31, 32... Output member (side gear), 33, 34 ...Axle (front axle), 35,3
6... Wheel (front wheel), 37,116... Drive shaft,
39... inter-wheel differential device (rear wheel differential device),
40, 41... Axle (rear axle), 42, 43...
Wheels (rear wheels).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A power plant arranged such that the crankshaft of the engine and the input/output shaft of the transmission extend in the width direction of the vehicle body, a first bevel gear provided at the output end of the transmission, and an axis line extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. A second bevel gear disposed in the gearbox and always meshing with the first bevel gear, a differential case, a pair of pinions supported by the case via a differential pinion shaft, and a pair of side gears meshing with these pinions. A bevel gear type differential device with an axis line arranged in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and a differential case in which the differential case is connected to the second bevel gear via an input shaft on the axis line which is connected to the differential pinion shaft. a third bevel gear connected to one side gear of the inter-axle differential device and disposed coaxially with the input shaft; a fourth bevel gear meshed with each other; an inter-wheel differential device in which an input member is connected to the fourth bevel gear and two output members are respectively connected to axles of a pair of left and right wheels on the power plant side; A drive shaft is provided that is connected to the other side gear in the inter-axle differential, extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and drives the pair of left and right wheels on the side opposite to the power plant via the other inter-wheel differential. A four-wheel drive vehicle characterized by: