WO2017018576A1 - Vehicle torque converter - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention may apply to a torque converter. Disclosed is a vehicle torque converter which is capable of increasing durability by dispersing a torque when transmitting a driving force of an engine from a lock up clutch to a torsional damper. The torque converter of the present invention comprises: a impeller which is combined with a front cover and rotates therewith; a turbine which is arranged at a position facing the impeller; a reactor which is located between the impeller and the turbine to change the flow of oil discharged from the turbine to the side of the impeller; a lock up clutch equipped with a piston which directly connects the front cover and the turbine; and a torsional damper which is coupled to the lock up clutch and absorbs impact and vibration applied in the rotational direction, wherein the lock up clutch comprises: a friction material which is arranged between the front cover and the piston; and a core plate to which the friction material is coupled, and the central portion of which is provided with a plurality of apertures that are axially penetrated at intervals along the circumferential direction, and wherein the torsional damper comprises a retaining plate which is provided with key parts fitted to the apertures of the core plate.

Description

Automotive Torque Converter

The present invention can be applied to a torque converter, and relates to a vehicle torque converter that can increase the durability by distributing the torque when transmitting the driving force of the engine from the lock-up clutch to the torsional damper.

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. Such a torque converter is a reactor that receives a driving force of an engine and rotates an impeller, a turbine rotated by oil discharged from the impeller, and a flow of oil flowing back to the impeller in the direction of rotation of the impeller to increase the torque change rate ( Also known as a "status").

Torque converters are equipped with a lock up clutch (also called a 'damper clutch'), a means of direct connection between the engine and the transmission, as the load on the engine can decrease power transmission efficiency. The lockup clutch is disposed between the front cover and the turbine directly connected to the engine so that the rotational power of the engine can be transmitted directly to the transmission through the turbine.

This lockup clutch includes a piston that is axially movable on the turbine shaft. A core plate is disposed between the piston and the front cover, and friction materials are coupled to both sides of the core plate. And a torsional damper capable of absorbing shock and vibration acting in the rotational direction of the shaft when the lockup clutch is operated is coupled to the lockup clutch.

The core plate of the lockup clutch described above is provided with a plurality of grooves in the radial direction on the outer circumferential surface. The retaining plate of the torsional damper is provided with a plurality of protrusions in the axial direction corresponding to the groove provided in the core plate. When the groove of the core plate and the protrusion of the retaining plate are fixed to each other by fitting, the driving force of the engine may be transmitted to the torsional damper through the core plate.

As such, the structure for transmitting the driving force from the conventional lock-up clutch to the torsional damper has a problem in that the core plate and the retaining plate are coupled to the core plate and the retaining plate when they are applied to the high-torque type engine, and are damaged or have poor durability.

Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent the breakage of components in the process of transfer from the lock-up clutch to the torsional damper through a simple structure suitable for a high torque engine. It is to provide a vehicle torque converter that increases the durability.

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 A reactor that changes the flow of oil from the turbine to the impeller side, a lockup clutch having a piston directly connecting the front cover and the turbine, and a tonic damper coupled to the lockup clutch to absorb shock and vibration acting in the rotational direction. Including,

The lockup clutch includes a friction material disposed between the front cover and the piston, the friction plate is coupled to the core plate provided with a plurality of holes penetrated in the axial direction at intervals along the circumferential direction at an intermediate portion thereof,

The torsional damper provides a torque converter for a vehicle including a retaining plate provided with a key portion fitted into a hole of the core plate.

Preferably, the core plate is provided with a plurality of grooves provided radially on the outer circumferential surface, and another retaining plate provided on the torsional damper is provided with a plurality of protrusions fitted into the groove portion.

Preferably, the key portion of the retaining plate is formed by bending the tip portion of the retaining plate in the axial direction.

This embodiment of the present invention is such that when the key portion of the retaining plate is fitted to a plurality of holes provided in the middle portion of the core plate of the lock-up clutch, the driving force of the engine is a damper in the lock-up clutch. While sufficient to be transmitted to the side, there is an effect of improving the durability by preventing the breakage of the connection portion of the lock-up clutch and the torsional damper.

1 is a half sectional view of a torque converter for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the main part of the torque converter exploded in order to explain the embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a view showing a state in which the core plate of the lock-up clutch and the retaining plate of the torsional damper are combined to explain an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a view of FIG. 3 viewed in the opposite direction.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention, and like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.

FIG. 1 is a half sectional view of the vehicle torque converter cut in the axial direction to explain the first embodiment of the present invention.

The torque converter of the present invention is a turbine disposed at a position facing the front cover 4, which is connected to the crankshaft of the engine and rotates, the impeller 6, which is connected to the front cover 4, and which rotates together. (8) and a reactor 10 (also referred to as a "stator") located between the impeller 6 and the turbine 8 to divert the flow of oil from the turbine 8 to the impeller 6 side. . The reactor 10 delivering oil to the impeller 6 side has the same center of rotation as the front cover 4. And the lockup clutch 14 used as a means for directly connecting the engine and the transmission is disposed between the front cover 4 and the turbine (8).

The lockup clutch 14 is formed in a substantially disk shape and has a piston 16 that can move in the axial direction.

A core plate 19 having a friction material 18 is coupled between the front cover 4 and the piston 16.

In addition, the lockup clutch 14 includes a torsional damper 20 that absorbs the torsional force acting in the rotational direction of the shaft and attenuates vibration when the friction material 18 is in close contact with the front cover 4. do.

The friction plate 18 may be coupled to both sides of the core plate 19, and is disposed between the front cover 4 and the piston 16.

The core plate 19 provided in the lockup clutch 14 is provided with a plurality of axially penetrating portions 19a (see FIG. 2). The hole portions 19a provided in the core plate 19 may be arranged at regular intervals along the circumferential direction. Further, the lockup clutch 14 is provided with a plurality of groove portions 19b (see FIG. 2) provided in the radial direction on the outer circumferential side with respect to the axis center.

The torsional damper 20 includes a first retaining plate 23, a second retaining plate 25, a spring 27, and a driven plate 29.

The first retaining plate 23 is coupled to the shaft of the turbine 8 on the inner circumferential side of the rotation axis. The first retaining plate 23 is provided with a plurality of key portions 23a on the outer circumferential side of the rotation axis. The key portion 23a provided in the first retaining plate 23 may be bent in the axial direction and fitted into the hole portion 19a of the core plate 19 described above (see FIG. 3). In this case, the first retaining plate 23 may be inserted into the hole 19a of the core plate 19 by passing through another hole 25b provided in the direction parallel to the optical axis direction of the second retaining plate 25. (See FIG. 4). Therefore, the first retaining plate 23 may receive the driving force of the core plate 19 to rotate integrally with the core plate 19 about an axis.

The second retaining plate 25 may be integrally coupled with the first retaining plate 23 by a rivet or the like. The second retaining plate 25 is provided with a plurality of protrusions 25a on the outer circumferential side. The protrusion 25a provided in the second retaining plate 25 is bent in the axial direction and fitted into the groove portion 19b of the core plate 19 (see FIG. 3).

That is, the key portion 23a of the first retaining plate 23 is inserted into and inserted into the hole portion 19a of the core plate 19, and the protrusion 25a of the second retaining plate 25 is formed of the core plate ( The first retaining plate 23, the second retaining plate 25 and the core plate 19 may be integrally rotated when the lockup clutch 14 is operated by being inserted into the groove 19b of the 19.

The spring 27 may be formed of a compression coil spring, and may be disposed between the first retaining plate 23 and the second retaining plate 25 to absorb vibrations and impacts in the rotational direction.

The driven plate 29 may be supported by the spring 27 to receive the driving force of the engine through the spring 29, and the inner circumferential side of the driven plate 29 is coupled to the spline hub 31. The spline hub 31 is connected to a transmission (not shown) so as to transmit driving force to the transmission.

Referring to the operation of the embodiment of the present invention made in this way in detail as follows.

In the state where the lockup clutch 14 is not operated, the driving force of the engine is transmitted to the impeller 6 through the front cover 4. The driving force of the engine transmitted to the impeller 6 is transmitted to the first retaining plate 23 via the turbine 8. The driving force of the engine transmitted to the first retaining plate 23 is transmitted to the driven plate 29 via the spring 31. At this time, vibration and shock in the rotational direction are absorbed by the spring 31. The driving force of the engine transmitted to the driven plate 29 is transmitted to the transmission (not shown) through the spline hub 31.

When the piston 16 is operated and the lockup clutch 14 is operated, the friction material 18 comes into close contact between the front cover 4 and the piston 16 and the driving force of the engine is transmitted through the front cover 4 to the core plate ( 19, it is transmitted to the first retaining plate 23 and the second retaining plate 25. Since the first retaining plate 23 and the second retaining plate 25 are integrally coupled, they can rotate together.

At this time, the hole portion 19a of the core plate 19 is coupled to the key portion 23a of the first retaining plate 23, and the groove portion 19b of the second retaining plate 25 is the second retaining plate ( It is coupled to the protrusion 25a of 25) can distribute the torque when transmitting the driving force of the engine. In particular, the structure of the embodiment of the present invention can be easily transmitted to the driving force of the engine without increasing the number of separate parts when mounted on a high torque engine. Therefore, when the torque converter of the embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a high torque type engine, the core plate 19 connected to the first retaining plate 23 and the second retaining plate 25 is prevented from being damaged, thereby improving durability. You can.

Then, the driving force of the engine transmitted to the first retaining plate 23 and the second retaining plate 25 is transmitted to the spring 27. The spring 27 can absorb vibration and shock in the rotational direction. The driving force of the engine transmitted through the spring 27 is transmitted to the spline hub 31 through the driven plate 29. The driving force of the engine transmitted through the spline hub 31 is transmitted to a transmission (not shown).

Thus, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the torque converter is installed in a high torque engine, the core plate 19 and the first retaining plate 23 which are in the process of transmitting the driving force of the engine without increasing the number of separate parts. In addition, durability of the second retaining plate 25 may be prevented from being damaged. In particular, when mounted on a high-torque engine, smooth power can be transmitted without increasing the number of parts, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the claims and the detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings. Naturally, it belongs to the scope of the invention.

Claims (3)

Front cover, An impeller coupled to the front cover and rotating together; A turbine disposed at a position facing the impeller, A reactor located between the impeller and the turbine to change the flow of oil from the turbine to the impeller side, A lock-up clutch having a piston directly connecting the front cover and the turbine, A damper coupled to the lockup clutch to absorb shock and vibration acting in a rotational direction, The lockup clutch A friction material disposed between the front cover and the piston, The friction material is coupled to the middle portion comprises a core plate provided with a plurality of holes in the axial direction at intervals along the circumferential direction, The torsional damper And a retaining plate provided with a key portion fitted into the hole of the core plate. The method according to claim 1, The core plate A plurality of grooves provided radially on the outer circumferential surface is provided, Another retaining plate provided in the torsional damper is provided with a plurality of protrusions fitted in the groove portion. The method according to claim 1, The key portion of the retaining plate A vehicle torque converter in which the leading end of the retaining plate is bent in the axial direction.

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