KR20130072900A - Torque converter for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A torque converter for a vehicle is provided to allow designers to explore new designs by turning damper assemblies into modules by working area in a turbine damper structure where the turbine serves as the first inertia and improve productivity by simplifying manufacturing and making it easier to assemble and disassemble the relevant parts. CONSTITUTION: A front cover (1) is connected to a crank shaft of an engine and spins. An impeller (3) engages with and spins together with the front cover. A turbine (5) faces the impeller. Located between the impeller and the turbine, a stator (7) directs the flow of oil originating from the turbine to the impeller. A lock-up clutch (9) includes a piston (11) which directly connects the front cover and the turbine. A torsional damper (15) connected to the lock-up clutch absorbs vibrations and shocks occurring in the spin direction. The torsional damper comprises: an outer damper unit (17) which is a module connected to the lock-up clutch and the turbine at the same time and absorbs the vibrations and shocks occurring in the spin direction; and an inner damper unit (19) which is a separate module connected to the outer damper unit and the vibrations and shocks occurring in the spin direction.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a torque converter for a vehicle,

The present invention relates to a torque converter for a vehicle in which a damper is modularized for each operating region in a turbine damper in which a turbine acts as a primary inertia.

In general, the torque converter is installed between the engine of the vehicle and the transmission to transmit the driving force of the engine to the transmission using a fluid. This torque converter is a stator for increasing the rate of torque change by directing the impeller rotating by receiving the driving force of the engine, the turbine rotated by the oil discharged from the impeller, and the flow of oil flowing back to the impeller in the direction of rotation of the impeller. Include.

The torque converter is equipped with a lock-up clutch (also called a "damper clutch"), which is a means of directly connecting the engine to the transmission, as power transmission efficiency may be degraded if the load acting on the engine is increased. The lock-up clutch is disposed between the turbine and the front cover directly connected to the engine so that the rotational power of the engine can be directly transmitted to the transmission through the turbine.

This lockup clutch includes a piston that is axially movable on the turbine shaft. The piston is engaged with a friction material which is in friction contact with the front cover. The piston is fitted with a torsional damper capable of absorbing shock and vibration acting in the direction of rotation of the shaft when the friction material is engaged with the front cover.

The torsional damper described above is provided with springs along the rotational direction that can absorb the torsional torque when the lockup clutch is operated so that the driving force of the engine can be directly transmitted to the transmission through the turbine.

Conventional damper is a damper assembly is made of a single module is applied to a variety of models or when the performance improvement test is less freedom of design, disassembly assembly is inconvenient and there is a complicated manufacturing process.

Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to fabricate a damper assembly for each operating area in a turbine damper structure in which a turbine acts as a first inertia, thereby increasing design freedom and disassembling it. The present invention provides an automobile torque converter that is easy to assemble and that simplifies the manufacturing process to improve productivity.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention as described above, the present invention is a front cover, an impeller coupled to the front cover to rotate together, a turbine disposed in a position facing the impeller, located between the impeller and the turbine Stator for changing the flow of oil from the turbine to the impeller side, Lockup clutch with a piston directly connecting the front cover and the turbine, Torsional damper coupled to the lockup clutch to absorb the shock and vibration acting in the rotational direction Including,

The torsional damper is composed of one module, an outer damper unit coupled to the lock-up clutch and coupled to the turbine to absorb vibrations and shocks in a rotational direction, and an outer damper unit. It is coupled to provide a vehicle torque converter comprising an inner damper unit for absorbing vibration and shock in the rotation direction.

The outer damper unit and the inner damper unit may be connected in series to firstly absorb vibration and shock in a rotational direction from the outer damper unit and secondly to absorb vibration and shock in a rotational direction from the inner damper unit.

The outer damper unit may include a drive plate coupled to a turbine and freely rotating together with the turbine and coupled to the lockup clutch, and outer springs coupled to an outer circumferential side of the drive plate and absorbing vibration and shock in a rotational direction.

The inner damper unit is integrally coupled to the first cover plate and the first cover plate provided with first spring insertion grooves for elastically supporting one end of the outer springs provided in the outer damper unit and inserting the spring in the circumferential direction. The second cover plate provided with the second spring insertion grooves corresponding to the first spring insertion grooves, the third spring insertion grooves disposed between the first cover plate and the second cover plate and the outer spring are disposed in the circumference It is accommodated in the driven plate, the first spring insertion groove, the second spring insertion groove and the third spring insertion groove arranged in a direction and disposed in the circumferential direction and compressed by the first cover plate and the second cover plate. It may include inner springs for transmitting a driving force to the driven plate. .

The driven plate is preferably connected to the spline hub to transmit the driving force.

The outer damper unit may be provided with outer springs in the circumferential direction, the inner damper unit may be provided with inner springs in the circumferential direction, and the outer springs may have a smaller elastic force than the inner springs.

Preferably, the outer damper unit is provided with outer springs in the circumferential direction, the inner damper unit is provided with inner springs in the circumferential direction, and the inner springs are disposed at a smaller radius than the radius in which the outer springs are disposed. .

The torsional damper may have a turbine acting as a primary inertia when the lockup clutch is activated or deactivated, and driving force may be transmitted to the transmission through the outer damper unit, the inner damper unit, a driven plate, and a spline hub. .

The lockup clutch may include a core plate disposed between the front cover and the piston to transfer driving force to the outer damper unit, and friction materials coupled to both surfaces of the core plate.

Piston drive plate is coupled to the shaft connected to the front cover,

The piston and the piston drive plate are preferably connected by leaf springs.

The piston drive plate is preferably disposed between the piston and the torsional damper.

Preferably, the leaf springs are arranged along the circumferential direction to connect the piston and the piston drive plate with riveted joints.

As described above, the present invention provides a structure that can be assembled after the turbine is operated as a first inertia and the outer damper unit and the inner damper unit are modularized, respectively, so that various damping characteristics can be easily designed, thereby increasing design freedom. Simple assembly and reduced manufacturing process has the effect of improving productivity.

1 is a half sectional view of a torque converter for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a state in which an outer damper unit and an inner damper unit of a tonic damper are combined to explain an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an exploded view illustrating the conventional damper shown in FIG. 2 into an outer damper unit and an inner damper unit.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an exploded view of the damper shown in FIG. 2.
5 is a view for explaining a structure that can increase the frictional contact performance of the dual type lock-up clutch to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 6 is a view showing the shape of a leaf spring, which is a main part of FIG. 5.
7 is a diagram illustrating an operation process of a torque converter according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the specification.

1 is a cross-sectional view for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, showing a torque converter.

The torque converter according to the embodiment of the present invention has a front cover (1) connected to the crankshaft on the engine side to rotate, a position facing the impeller (3) and the impeller (3) connected to and rotated together with the front cover (1). And a stator 7 positioned between the impeller 3 and the turbine 5 to change the flow of oil coming out of the turbine 5 and transfer it to the impeller 3 side. The stator 7 delivering oil to the impeller 3 side has the same center of rotation as the front cover 1. And the lockup clutch 9, which is used as a means for directly connecting the engine and the transmission, is disposed between the front cover 1 and the turbine 5.

The lockup clutch 9 is formed in a substantially disk shape and has a piston 11 that can move in the axial direction.

And the piston 11 is coupled to the friction material 13 in friction contact with the front cover (1).

In addition, the lockup clutch 9 is coupled with a torsional damper 15 that absorbs the torsional force acting in the rotational direction of the shaft and attenuates vibration when the friction material 13 is in close contact with the front cover 1. do.

3, the damper 15 includes an outer damper unit 17 and an inner damper unit 19. As shown in FIG.

The outer damper unit 17 is connected to receive the driving force through the lock-up clutch 9. The outer damper unit 17 is coupled to the turbine 5. That is, the turbine 5 can operate as primary inertia when the outer damper unit 17 is connected with the turbine 5 while the lockup clutch 9 is activated or deactivated.

The outer damper unit 17 primarily absorbs vibrations and shocks in the rotational direction when the lockup clutch 9 operates.

In addition, the inner damper unit 19 is connected to the outer damper unit 17 to attenuate the vibration and the impact in the rotation direction in the secondary. The inner damper unit 17 is connected to the spline hub 23 that transmits the driving force to the transmission while absorbing vibrations and shocks in the rotational direction and transmits the driving force.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the outer damper unit 17 consists of one module. In addition, the inner damper unit 19 also includes a module different from the outer damper unit 17.

The above-described outer damper unit 17 and the inner damper unit 19 are connected in series to operate sequentially.

Hereinafter, the structures of the outer damper unit 17 and the inner damper unit 19 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

The outer damper unit 17 includes a drive plate 25 and outer springs 27.

The drive plate 25 is coupled to the turbine 5. The drive plate 25 is connected to the lockup clutch 9 so that the driving force can be transmitted when the lockup clutch 9 operates.

The drive plate 25 extends with its outer circumferential side bent in a direction parallel to the rotation axis direction. The outer circumferentially extending portion of the drive plate 25 is provided with a plurality of engaging grooves 25a and engaging projections 25b to be engaged with the lockup clutch 9.

The outer springs 27 are arranged at regular intervals along the circumferential direction on the edge side of the drive plate 25. That is, the outer springs 27 are disposed in the inner portion of the engaging groove 25a and the engaging protrusion 25b provided in the drive plate 25.

The outer springs 27 may cut a portion of the drive plate 25 and bend to form an accommodating portion, and arrange the outer springs 27 in the circumferential direction.

The inner damper unit 19 includes a first cover plate 29, a second cover plate 31, a driven plate 33, and inner springs 35.

The first cover plate 29 and the second cover plate 31 may be coupled to face each other to rotate integrally. The driven plate 33 is disposed between the first cover plate 29 and the second cover plate 31.

The first cover plate 29 is elastically supported by the outer spring 27 and has the same center of rotation as the drive plate 25.

The first cover plate 29 extends with the outer circumferential front end thereof bent in a direction parallel to the rotation axis, and the protruding portions 29a are provided at regular intervals.

The protrusion 29a of the first cover plate 29 may be supported by one end of the outer spring 27 to receive a driving force transmitted through the outer spring 27.

The first cover plate 29 is provided with first spring insertion grooves 29b in which a plurality of inner springs 35 are arranged at regular intervals along the circumferential direction. Inner springs 35 are disposed in the first spring insertion groove 29b of the first cover plate 29.

That is, the inner springs 35 are also arranged in the circumferential direction. In this case, the inner springs 35 are preferably disposed at a portion located inside the rotation center when the outer springs 27 are disposed.

On the other hand, the elastic force of the inner spring 35 is made larger than the elastic force of the outer spring (27). That is, the elastic force of the outer springs 27 is made smaller than the elastic force of the inner spring 35 so that the outer springs 27 are first compressed to absorb vibrations and shocks in the rotational direction, and then the inner springs 35 are compressed to rotate in the rotational direction. It can absorb vibration and shock.

The second cover plate 31 is integrally coupled with the first cover plate 29 and provided with a second spring insertion groove 31a corresponding to the first spring insertion groove 29b.

The driven plate 33 is provided with third spring insertion grooves 33a through which the inner spring 35 can be fitted along the circumferential direction.

That is, inner springs 35 are disposed in the third spring insertion groove 33a provided in the driven plate 33, and the first spring insertion groove 29b and the second cover plate 31 of the first cover plate 29 are disposed. By the second spring insertion groove 31a of the inner spring 35 can maintain the posture without being separated.

The driven plate 33 is fixedly coupled to the spline hub 23 for transmitting the driving force to the transmission by rivets or the like. Therefore, the driving force transmitted to the driven plate 33 may be directly transmitted to the transmission through the spline hub 23.

The inner springs 35 may transmit the driving force to the driven plate 33 while being compressed in the rotational direction by the first cover plate 29 and the second cover plate 31.

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the outer spring 27 and the inner spring 35 are preferably made of a compression coil spring.

Meanwhile, the lockup clutch 9 includes a core plate 37 disposed between the front cover 1 and the piston 11 and transmitting a driving force to the drive plate 25 of the outer damper unit 17.

And the lock-up clutch 9 is made of a double-sided friction contact type in which the friction material 13 is coupled to both sides of the core plate 37.

The piston drive plate 39 is coupled to the shaft 1a (shown in FIG. 1) connected to the front cover 1 (shown in FIG. 5 and the cross section of the leaf spring cut in the axial direction). The piston drive plate 39 and the piston 11 are connected along the circumferential direction by the leaf springs 41.

The piston drive plate 39 is integrally coupled with the front cover 1 and rotates together to press the piston 11 so that the friction material 13 disposed on the front cover 1 side closely adheres to the inside of the front cover 1. Another friction material 13 arranged on the piston 11 side is in close contact with the piston 11.

The piston drive plate 39 is preferably arranged between the piston 11 and the torsional damper 15.

The leaf spring 41 which connects the front cover 1 and the piston drive plate 39, as shown in FIG. 6, is made of a thin elastic body and has a substantially rectangular or oval shape.

The leaf spring 41 may be bent by an elastic force and coupled to the front cover 1 and the piston drive plate 39 by rivets. In addition, the leaf spring 41 may be bent in two stages as shown in FIG. 6 to be riveted to the front cover 1 and the piston drive plate 39.

The leaf springs 41 may rotate together with the piston 11 without restricting the movement of the piston 11 in the axial direction by applying an elastic force in the axial direction.

Such leaf springs 41 are preferably arranged along the circumferential direction to connect the piston 11 and the piston drive plate 39.

On the other hand, on the inner circumferential surface side of the first cover plate 29, a locking projection 29c is provided in a direction parallel to the rotation axis, and the drive plate 25 is provided with a long groove 25c in which the locking projection 29c is inserted in the rotational direction. Can be. Therefore, the engaging protrusion 29c is inserted into the long groove 25c to serve as a stopper. Such a stopper can protect the outer spring 27 by limiting the relative rotational movement of the drive plate 25 to prevent the outer spring 27 from being excessively compressed.

Referring to the operation of the torque converter according to an embodiment of the present invention made in detail as follows.

First, an example in which the lockup clutch 9 of the torque converter is operated so that the driving force of the engine is directly connected to the transmission without passing through the impeller 3 will be described.

When the piston 11 moves in the direction of the front cover 1 by hydraulic pressure (working pressure), the friction materials 13 are in close contact with the front cover 1 and the piston 11, respectively. This is the state in which the lockup clutch 9 operates. Then, the driving force transmitted to the front cover 1 is transmitted to the drive plate 25 through the friction material 13 and the core plate 37.

At this time, since the drive plate 25 is coupled to the turbine 3, the turbine 3 acts as a mass body and acts as a primary inertia. The turbine 3 rotates with the drive plate 25 and no driving force is transmitted to the spline hub 23 directly through the turbine 3.

Subsequently, the drive plate 25 is rotated to compress the outer spring 27. At this time, since the outer spring 27 has a smaller elastic force than the inner spring 35, a compression action occurs first and thus absorbs vibration and shock in the rotational direction first.

After the outer spring 27 is compressed, the first cover plate 29 and the second cover plate 31 rotate. The inner springs 35 are compressed while the first cover plate 29 and the second cover plate 31 rotate. The inner springs 35 are compressed to absorb vibrations and shocks in the rotational direction in a secondary manner.

As the inner springs 35 are compressed, the driving force transmitted through the inner spring 35 is transmitted to the driven plate 33. The driving force transmitted to the driven plate 33 is transmitted to the transmission through the spline hub 23.

In the present invention operating as described above, the outer damper unit 17 and the inner damper unit 19 are connected in series and sequentially operate as shown in FIG. 7.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the outer damper unit 17 and the inner damper unit 19 are each modularized in the structure in which the turbine 5 operates as the primary inertia, so that the outer spring 27 or the inner spring 35 may be modularized. By changing only one design, the torsional damper characteristics can be changed, increasing design freedom.

In addition, the embodiment of the present invention can be easily assembled and disassembled and the outer damper unit 17 and the inner damper unit 19 can be manufactured in a modular manner, thereby simplifying the production process and reducing the production cost.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, And it goes without saying that the invention belongs to the scope of the invention.

1. front cover, 3. impeller,
5. turbine, 7. stator,
9. Lockup Clutch, 11. Piston,
13. friction material, 15. torsional damper,
17. Outer damper unit, 19. Inner damper unit
23. Spline Hub,
25. Drive plate, 25a. Coupling groove, 25b. Engaging projection, 25c. Homepage,
27. outer spring,
29. First cover plate, 29a. Overhang, 29b. First spring insertion groove,
29c. Overhanging,
31. Second cover plate, 31a. Second spring insertion groove,
33. Driven plate, 33a. Third spring insertion groove,
35.inner spring, 37.core plate,
39. Piston drive plate, 41. Leaf spring

Claims (12)

A front cover, an impeller coupled to the front cover to rotate together, a turbine disposed at a position facing the impeller, a stator positioned between the impeller and the turbine to change the flow of oil from the turbine to the impeller side, the front A lock-up clutch having a piston directly connecting the cover and the turbine, a tonic damper coupled to the lock-up clutch to absorb shock and vibration acting in a rotational direction,
The local damper
Outer damper unit consisting of a single module coupled to the lock-up clutch and at the same time coupled to the turbine to absorb vibration and shock in the rotational direction,
Inner damper unit consisting of a module different from the outer damper unit and coupled to the outer damper unit to absorb vibrations and shocks in a rotational direction
Vehicle torque converter comprising a. The method according to claim 1,
The outer damper unit and the inner damper unit
A vehicle torque converter connected in series to firstly absorb vibration and shock in the rotational direction from the outer damper unit and secondly absorb vibration and shock in the rotational direction from the inner damper unit. The method according to claim 1,
The outer damper unit is
A drive plate coupled to the turbine and freely rotating with the turbine and connected to the lockup clutch,
Outer springs coupled to the outer circumferential side of the drive plate to absorb vibration and shock in the rotational direction
Vehicle torque converter comprising a. The method according to claim 1,
The inner damper unit
A first cover plate elastically supporting one end of the outer springs provided in the outer damper unit and provided with first spring insertion grooves into which the spring is inserted in the circumferential direction;
A second cover plate integrally coupled to the first cover plate and provided with second spring insertion grooves corresponding to the first spring insertion grooves;
A driven plate disposed between the first cover plate and the second cover plate and having third spring insertion grooves in which the outer spring is disposed in a circumferential direction;
The driving force is transmitted to the driven plate while being accommodated in the first spring insertion groove, the second spring insertion groove, and the third spring insertion groove and disposed in the circumferential direction and being compressed by the first cover plate and the second cover plate. Inner springs
Vehicle torque converter comprising a. The method of claim 4,
The driven plate is connected to the spline hub, the vehicle torque converter for transmitting a driving force. The method according to claim 1,
The outer damper unit is provided with outer springs in the circumferential direction, and the inner damper unit is provided with inner springs in the circumferential direction,
The outer springs have a smaller elastic force than the inner springs. The method according to claim 1,
The outer damper unit is provided with outer springs in the circumferential direction, and the inner damper unit is provided with inner springs in the circumferential direction,
And the inner springs are disposed at a smaller radius than the radius at which the outer springs are disposed. The method according to claim 1,
The local damper
And a turbine acting as a primary inertia when the lockup clutch is actuated or deactivated, and driving force is transmitted to the transmission through the outer damper unit, the inner damper unit, the driven plate, and the spline hub. The method according to claim 1,
The lockup clutch
A core plate disposed between the front cover and the piston and transmitting a driving force to the outer damper unit,
Friction materials coupled to both sides of the core plate
Vehicle torque converter comprising a. The method according to claim 1,
Piston drive plate is coupled to the shaft connected to the front cover,
Said piston and said piston drive plate are connected by leaf springs. The method of claim 10,
The piston drive plate is
And a vehicle torque converter disposed between the piston and the torsional damper. The method of claim 10,
The leaf springs are arranged in the circumferential direction a plurality of vehicle torque converter for connecting the piston and the piston drive plate by rivet joints.

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