Vehicle differential device

Abstract

Provided is a vehicle differential device that can reduce the concentration of foreign matter in lubricating oil, including non-ferrous foreign matter or easily washed-out foreign matter. The vehicle differential device includes an axle housing that houses a ring gear, an oil filler, and an oil drain, the oil filler is attached to an oil inlet provided on an outer wall of the axle housing, the oil drain is attached to an oil outlet that discharges the lubricating oil, a filter is provided on at least one of the oil filler and the oil drain, the filter is a filter in which a band-shaped filter material is wound in a cylindrical shape with a gap formed in a radial direction, an opening is formed on an outermost circumference of the filter, and the opening is oriented in a direction in which the lubricating oil flowing through the ring gear rotating when the vehicle is running is received.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the capture of foreign matter in the lubricating oil within a vehicle differential assembly. Background Technology

[0002] In differential gear units, which serve as final reduction gears for vehicles, foreign matter such as metal shavings is generated in the gears and other components during operation. This foreign matter gradually accumulates in the lubricating oil injected into the unit; therefore, continued use of the lubricating oil may affect the lifespan of the constituent parts.

[0003] In Patent Document 1, a magnet is provided in the lower vertical region inside the differential assembly to attract ferrous foreign objects. Furthermore, in Patent Document 2, a lubricating oil flow path with concave-convex portions is provided within the housing housing the differential assembly, where flowing foreign objects are blocked by the protrusions or deposited and captured in the concave portions.

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-3854

[0005] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-154131 Summary of the Invention

[0006] However, in the differential device described in Patent Document 1, the amount of ferrous foreign matter in the lubricating oil is reduced by magnetic attraction, but non-ferrous foreign matter, such as silicon-based foreign matter, is not attracted and captured by the magnet. Furthermore, in the uneven-shaped portion described in Patent Document 2, when the lubricating oil flow rate is high, foreign matter with a small specific gravity is sometimes washed away and is not captured in the uneven-shaped portion.

[0007] The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a differential device for vehicles that can reduce the concentration of foreign matter in the lubricating oil, even in the case of non-ferrous foreign matter or foreign matter that can be easily washed away by flowing lubricating oil.

[0008] The present invention relates to a vehicle differential device comprising an axle housing housing a ring gear, an oil filler plug, and an oil drain plug. The oil filler plug is installed at an inlet for injecting lubricating oil through the outer wall of the axle housing, and the oil drain plug is installed at an outlet for discharging the lubricating oil. A filter is provided protruding from at least one of the oil filler plug and the oil drain plug. The filter is a strip filter material wound into a cylindrical shape with gaps formed in the radial direction. An opening is formed on the outermost periphery of the filter, the opening facing the direction in which lubricating oil flows due to the rotation of the ring gear as the vehicle moves forward.

[0009] Invention Effects

[0010] According to the vehicle differential device of the present invention, foreign matter in the lubricating oil can be captured by a filter protruding from at least one of the oil filler plug and the oil drain plug mounted on the outer wall of the axle housing.

[0011] In the filter, the strip filter media is wound into a cylindrical shape with gaps in the radial direction. The opening at the outermost periphery of the filter faces the direction of the lubricating oil flowing due to the rotation of the ring gear as the vehicle moves forward, thus easily capturing foreign matter in the lubricating oil into the interior of the filter.

[0012] If lubricating oil flows into the opening located at the outermost periphery of the filter, foreign matter in the lubricating oil can be captured as it passes through both sides of the filter media in that section from the inner periphery to the outer periphery. If blockage occurs in the filter media at the opening, the lubricating oil has difficulty passing through the blocked portion and therefore flows towards the center of the vortex in the vortex direction, passing through both sides of the less blocked portion of the filter media from the inner periphery to the outer periphery. In this case, foreign matter in the lubricating oil can be captured.

[0013] By using the filter and utilizing the flow of lubricating oil, foreign matter in the lubricating oil, whether ferrous or non-ferrous, can be captured. Furthermore, even when the flow of lubricating oil becomes high-speed due to the high-speed rotation of the ring gear, foreign matter contained in the lubricating oil can still be captured as the lubricating oil passes through both sides of the filter media from the inner circumference to the outer circumference.

[0014] In this invention, the opening of the filter is preferably located on the side close to the ring gear. This allows lubricating oil with a high flow rate near the ring gear to be introduced into the opening. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a cross-sectional view illustrating a vehicle differential device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A sectional view of the filter in the oil filler plug from direction AA.

[0017] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A BB-direction sectional view of the filter in the drain plug. Detailed Implementation

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, in the following embodiments, the drawings are appropriately simplified or modified, and the dimensional ratios and shapes of the parts are not necessarily depicted accurately.

[0019]

Example

[0020] Figure 1This is a cross-sectional view illustrating a vehicle differential device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] On flange 12, drive pinion shaft 14 is connected in a manner that prevents rotation about its axis and is secured by fastening nut 36. Drive pinion shaft 14 is integral with drive pinion 16 and is supported by bearing 38 to allow rotation about the axis of drive pinion shaft 14. Ring gear 18, meshing with drive pinion 16, is secured to differential housing 22 by fastening bolts 20. Differential housing 22 is supported for rotation by bearings 40 disposed inside axle housing 30.

[0022] The pinion shaft 24 has four radially arranged shafts, the ends of which are fixed to the inside of the differential housing 22. Supported by four pinions 26 rotatable about each axis of the pinion shaft 24, these pinions mesh with a pair of side gears 28 located inside the differential housing 22. A non-rotatable drive shaft (not shown) is connected to a shaft portion (not shown) of the side gears 28, which is rotatably supported in a bearing bore (not shown) provided on the differential housing 22.

[0023] Axle housing 30 is made of Figure 1 The structure comprises a generally hemispherical outer shell 30c on the rear side, a generally conical outer shell 30d on the front side, a central outer shell 30e, and a component 30f sandwiched between these three outer shells 30c, 30d, and 30e. The outer shells 30c, 30d, central outer shell 30e, and component 30f are fastened together in an oil-tight manner by fastening components (not shown). The outer shell 30c... Figure 1 The rear side and the front side of the housing 30c have a flat portion 30g that is perpendicular to the axis in the forward direction and is flat. The flat portion 30g is closer to the axis of rotation of the ring gear 18 than the outermost circumferential curved surface on the rear side of the housing 30c, so the housing 30c becomes a partially recessed shape.

[0024] To drain lubricating oil during oil changes, a drain port 30b is provided through the lower side of the central housing 30e in a vertical direction, and its inner circumferential surface is provided with internal threads. The drain plug 34 is cylindrical with a plate-shaped cap, and its outer circumferential surface is provided with external threads. Furthermore, to inject lubricating oil during oil changes, an injection port 30a is provided through the flat portion 30g in a front-rear direction, and its inner circumferential surface is provided with internal threads. The injection plug 32 is cylindrical with a plate-shaped cap, and its outer circumferential surface is provided with external threads. By screwing the drain plug 34 and the injection plug 32 into the drain port 30b and injection port 30a respectively, the axle housing 30 is sealed.

[0025] Figure 2 Is Figure 1 A sectional view along direction AA of the filter 46 protruding from the oil filler plug 32. Figure 3 Is Figure 1 A BB-direction sectional view of the filter 48 protruding from the drain plug 34. (See image below.) Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, in filters 46 and 48, the strip-shaped filter media 46a and 48a are wound into a cylindrical shape by means of creating gaps in the radial direction. Figure 1 The curved arrow indicates the main flow direction F of the lubricating oil during forward movement, which flows through the rotation of the ring gear 18 (not shown) as the vehicle moves forward. Figure 2 and Figure 3 The openings 46b and 48b located at the outermost periphery of filter 46 and filter 48, respectively, face the direction of the flow receiving direction F, thus easily capturing foreign matter in the lubricating oil into the interior of filters 46 and 48.

[0026] If lubricating oil flows into openings 46b and 48b, it can capture foreign matter in the lubricating oil as it passes through both sides of the filter media 46a and 48a from the inner circumference to the outer circumference. If blockage occurs in the filter media 46a and 48a of openings 46b and 48b, the lubricating oil has difficulty passing through the blocked portion and therefore flows towards the center of the vortex in the vortex direction, passing through both sides of the less blocked portion of the filter media 46a and 48a from the inner circumference to the outer circumference. At this time, foreign matter in the lubricating oil can be captured. If blockage occurs from the outermost circumference to the innermost circumference of filters 46 and 48, the lubricating oil has difficulty passing through both sides of the filter media 46a and 48a from the inner circumference to the outer circumference due to the blockage. Therefore, the lubricating oil flows out from the opening ends 46c and 48c of the openings that are filters 46 and 48 and are not connected to the respective oil filling plug 32 and oil drain plug 34.

[0027] In this embodiment, the opening 46b of the filter 46 and the opening 48b of the filter 48 are preferably located on the side close to the ring gear 18. This allows lubricating oil near the ring gear 18, which has a high flow rate, to be introduced into the openings 46b and 48b.

[0028] According to the vehicle differential device 10 of this embodiment, by using filters 46 and 48 that are respectively protruding from the oil filler plug 32 and oil drain plug 34 installed on the outer wall of the axle housing 30, foreign matter in the lubricating oil, whether ferrous or non-ferrous, can be captured by the flow of lubricating oil.

[0029] Furthermore, even when the flow of lubricating oil becomes high-speed due to the high-speed rotation of the ring gear 18, when the lubricating oil passes through the front and back sides of the filter media 46a and 48a constituting the filters 46 and 48 from the inner circumference to the outer circumference, even foreign matter with a small specific gravity that is easily washed away can be captured.

[0030] The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention can also be applied to other methods.

[0031] For example, filters 46 and 48 are integrally protruding from the oil filler plug 32 and the oil drain plug 34, respectively. However, in order to replace filters 46 and 48 when changing the oil, each filter 46 and 48 can be installed and removed relative to the two oil plugs 32 and 34.

[0032] Furthermore, the above description is only one embodiment, and the present invention can be implemented in various ways with modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0033] Symbol Explanation

[0034] 10-Vehicle differential device, 18-Ring gear, 30-Axle housing, 30a-Inlet, 30b-Outlet, 32-Oil filler plug, 34-Oil drain plug, 46-Filter, 46a-Filter media, 46b-Opening, 48-Filter, 48a-Filter media, 48b-Opening.

Claims

1. A differential device for a vehicle, characterized in that, The axle housing includes a ring gear, an oil inlet plug, and an oil outlet plug. The oil inlet plug is installed at an inlet for injecting lubricating oil, which penetrates the outer wall of the axle housing. The oil outlet plug is installed at a outlet for discharging the lubricating oil. A filter is provided protrudingly on at least one of the oil filler plug and the oil drain plug. The filter is a strip filter material wound into a cylindrical shape in such a way that gaps are formed in the radial direction. An opening is formed on the outermost periphery of the filter, and the opening is oriented toward the direction in which lubricating oil flows due to the rotation of the ring gear as the vehicle moves forward.

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