Valve arrangement structure of control valve unit

Abstract

To improve the hydraulic responsiveness and hydraulic stability of a pressure regulating valve using a line pressure as its base pressure.SOLUTION: A valve arrangement structure of a control valve unit has a pressure regulator valve for adjusting the oil discharged from a main pump to a line pressure, a pressure regulating valve for adjusting the oil to a required pressure using the line pressure as a base pressure, and a first oil passage connecting the main pump and the pressure regulator valve. A plurality of pressure regulating valves are arranged in a second oil passage branching off from the first oil passage. A control valve body is supplied with oil from an assist pump that is driven by a different drive source from a drive source of the main pump. The second oil passage has a first branch point branching off from the first oil passage and a second branch point branching to the plurality of pressure regulating valves. The assist pump is connected to the plurality of pressure regulating valves via the second oil passage rather than via the first oil passage, and is arranged as a tributary with the first oil passage as the main oil passage and the second oil passage as a tributary oil passage, and is arranged downstream of the second branch point as viewed from the main pump.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a valve arrangement structure of a control valve unit.

Background Art

[0002] FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1 discloses a hydraulic circuit diagram showing an outline inside a control valve unit of a continuously variable transmission. In Patent Document 1, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pump pressure discharged from an oil pump (3) driven by an engine (1) is discharged into an oil passage (401) and regulated to a line pressure by a pressure regulator valve (21). Then, the line pressure is introduced into a primary regulator valve (26), a secondary regulator valve (27), and a pilot valve (25) using this as the source pressure.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the hydraulic circuit diagram of FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1, it is described that a primary regulator valve (26), a secondary regulator valve (27), and a pilot valve (25) are arranged in an oil passage branched from an oil passage connecting a pump (3) and a pressure regulator valve (21).

[0005] However, the hydraulic circuit diagram of FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1 shows an outline inside the control valve unit, that is, it shows the hydraulic circuit in an easy-to-understand and schematic manner, and does not disclose the actual valve arrangement of the pressure regulating valves arranged inside the control valve body.

[0006] In contrast, regarding the actual state of the valve arrangement of the pressure regulating valve disposed within the control valve body, taking Patent Document 1 as an example, all or part of the primary regulator valve (26), the secondary regulator valve (27), and the pilot valve (25) will be arranged in the oil passage connecting the pump (3) and the pressure regulator valve (21) due to space constraints or the like.

[0007] However, the pressure regulator valve (21) regulates the pressure of the oil to the line pressure while draining a part of the oil supplied from the pump (3). For this reason, an oil flow occurs in the oil passage connecting the pump (3) and the pressure regulator valve (21).

[0008] Therefore, in this case, the pressure regulating valve arranged in the oil passage connecting the pump (3) and the pressure regulator valve (21) is affected by the oil flow, and the sliding resistance of the spool of the pressure regulating valve increases. When the sliding resistance of the spool increases, it affects the movement of the spool, and as a result, hydraulic vibration, that is, repeated up and down fluctuations of the hydraulic pressure, occurs in the pressure regulating valve, which may affect the hydraulic response and hydraulic stability of the pressure regulating valve.

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to improve the hydraulic response and hydraulic stability of a pressure regulating valve using the line pressure as the original pressure.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] The valve arrangement structure of the control valve unit according to an aspect of the present invention is a valve arrangement structure of a control valve unit having a control valve body to which oil is supplied from a main pump, and is disposed in the control valve body, and discharges the oil of the main pump. A pressure regulator valve that regulates the pressure to the line pressure, a pressure regulating valve that is disposed in the control valve body and regulates the oil pressure to the required pressure using the line pressure as the original pressure, and is provided in the control valve body, and the main pump and the pressure regulator valve And a first oil passage connecting the first oil passage, and a plurality of the pressure regulating valves are arranged in a second oil passage branched from the first oil passage, and the control valve body further includes a drive source different from the drive source of the main pump. Oil is supplied from an assist pump driven by the second oil passage, and the second oil passage has a first branch point branched from the first oil passage and a second branch point branched to the plurality of pressure regulating valves. The assist pump is connected to the plurality of pressure regulating valves via the second oil passage without passing through the first oil passage, and the first oil passage is a main flow oil passage and the second oil passage is a branch oil passage. It is arranged downstream of the second branch point as seen from the main pump.

Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the above aspect, since the pressure regulating valve is disposed outside the flow of the oil in the first oil passage, the hydraulic response and hydraulic stability of the pressure regulating valve using the line pressure as the original pressure can be improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the actual state of the line pressure oil passage L. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the valve arrangement structure of the control valve unit 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the spool 41 of the pressure regulator valve 4 in a partial cut model of the control valve body 2. In FIG. 1, the control valve body 2 in which the line pressure oil passage L is formed is schematically shown together with a two-dot chain line, and each spool such as the spool 41 is schematically shown together with a broken line. In FIG. 2, the valve arrangement structure of the control valve unit 1 is shown with a valve arrangement corresponding to the actual state of the line pressure oil passage L shown in FIG. 1.

[0015] The control valve unit 1 is used in a transmission. The transmission is, for example, a belt continuously variable transmission. The control valve unit 1 includes a control valve body 2, a separator plate 3, a pressure regulator valve 4, a primary pulley pressure control valve 5, a secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, and a pilot valve 7.

[0016] The control valve body 2 has a first body 2a and a second body 2b, and is configured such that a separator plate 3 is provided between the first body 2a and the second body 2b. The control valve body 2 may be understood as having a configuration further including a separator plate 3. In the control valve body 2, the first body 2a and the second body 2b are composed of a plurality of laminated partial bodies and are adjacent to each other in the lamination direction.

[0017] The separator plate 3 functions as a partition wall between the first body 2a and the second body 2b. The line pressure oil passage L is composed of oil grooves formed on the opposing surfaces of the first body 2a and the second body 2b, respectively, and oil holes provided in the separator plate 3 that communicate with the oil grooves of the first body 2a and the second body 2b, respectively.

[0018] Oil is supplied to the control valve body 2 from the mechanical oil pump 11 via the check valve 12 as indicated by the arrow IN. The mechanical oil pump 11 is a pump driven by the engine 10 and corresponds to the main pump. The control valve body 2 may be configured such that, for example, an electric oil pump supplies oil as the main pump. In this embodiment, the pump that supplies oil to the control valve body 2 is not a plurality but one of the mechanical oil pumps 11, and in this case, that one pump can be regarded as the main pump. The check valve 12 allows the flow of oil in the direction from the mechanical oil pump 11 to the control valve body 2 and blocks the flow of oil in the reverse direction.

[0019] The control valve body 2 is provided with a pressure regulator valve 4, a primary pulley pressure control valve 5, a secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, and a pilot valve 7. In this example, the pressure regulator valve 4 and the pilot valve 7 are provided in the first body 2a, and the primary pulley pressure control valve 5 and the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6 are provided in the second body 2b.

[0020] The pressure regulator valve 4 regulates the discharge oil of the mechanical oil pump 11 to the line pressure. The pressure regulator valve 4 regulates the oil to the line pressure while draining a part of the oil supplied from the mechanical oil pump 11. For this reason, in the first oil passage L1 connecting the mechanical oil pump 11 and the pressure regulator valve 4 within the control valve body 2, an oil flow as indicated by the arrow F occurs.

[0021] The first oil passage L1 is a part of the line pressure oil passage L provided in the control valve body 2, and the line pressure oil passage L has, in addition to the first oil passage L1, a second oil passage L2 branched from the first oil passage L1. In FIG. 2, the thick line portion of the line pressure oil passage L indicates the first oil passage L1, and the thin line portion indicates the second oil passage L2. The second oil passage L2 branched from the first oil passage L1 includes a plurality of oil passages branched from the first oil passage L1 and further includes an oil passage branched after being branched from the first oil passage L1.

[0022] Each of the primary pulley pressure control valve 5, the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, and the pilot valve 7 constitutes a pressure regulating valve that regulates the pressure of oil to the required pressure using the line pressure as the original pressure. Oil is supplied from the primary pulley pressure control valve 5 to the primary pulley of the belt continuously variable transmission, and oil is supplied from the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6 to the secondary pulley of the belt continuously variable transmission. Oil is supplied from the pilot valve 7 to, for example, the pressure regulator valve 4, the linear solenoid valves that generate the signal pressures of the primary pulley pressure control valve 5 and the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, respectively.

[0023] The linear solenoid valve generates a signal pressure corresponding to the required pressure under the control of the controller, and each of the pressure regulator valve 4, the primary pulley pressure control valve 5, and the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6 regulates the pressure of oil to the required pressure according to the signal pressure generated by the corresponding linear solenoid valve. Each of the primary pulley pressure control valve 5, the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, and the pilot valve 7 is a pressure reducing valve, and the pilot valve 7 operates so that the oil reaches a preset required pressure. The primary pulley pressure control valve 5 and the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6 constitute the pulley pressure control valves of the belt continuously variable transmission.

[0024] The pressure regulator valve 4 includes a spool 41 shown by a broken line in FIG. 1. Similarly, the primary pulley pressure control valve 5 includes a spool 51, the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6 includes a spool 61, and the pilot valve 7 includes a spool 71, respectively.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 3, the spool 41 is disposed within the control valve body 2. The pressure regulator valve 4 is configured to have the spool 41 thus disposed and a sleeve 42 formed by a part of the control valve body 2 and slid by the spool 41. The pressure regulator valve 4 configured in this way is disposed within the control valve body 2. The primary pulley pressure control valve 5, the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, and the pilot valve 7 are also configured in the same way as the pressure regulator valve 4.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 1, the spools 41, 51, 61, and 71 are interposed in the line pressure oil passage L. The ring-shaped oil passage formed around the spool 41 corresponds to the oil inlet port formed in the sleeve 42. The same applies to the spools 51, 61, and 71.

[0027] As can be seen from FIG. 1 showing the actual state of the line pressure oil passage L and FIG. 2 drawn in accordance with the actual state of the line pressure oil passage L, each of the primary pulley pressure control valve 5, the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, and the pilot valve 7 is disposed in the second oil passage L2.

[0028] That is, these pressure regulating valves are arranged so to speak in a branch arrangement with the first oil passage L1 as the main flow oil passage and the second oil passage L2 as the branch oil passage. Therefore, these pressure regulating valves are disposed outside the oil flow indicated by the arrow F. Note that the second oil passage L2 shown with reference numerals in FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic combination of the actually drawn second oil passage L2 so that the state of the oil passage branching in the actually drawn line pressure oil passage L can be understood.

[0029] Next, the main operational effects of the present embodiment will be described.

[0030] FIG. 4 is an external view of a control valve unit 1X which is a comparative example. The control valve unit 1X has a control valve body 2X. The control valve body 2X has a structure according to a valve arrangement different from that of the present embodiment, and in this example, it is configured to have three partial bodies. Therefore, in this example, a separator plate 3 is provided between each of two adjacent partial bodies in the stacking direction among the three partial bodies.

[0031] The solenoid valve 43 indicates a linear solenoid valve that supplies signal pressure to the pressure regulator valve 4. Similarly, the solenoid valve 53 indicates a linear solenoid valve that supplies signal pressure to the primary pulley pressure control valve 5, and the solenoid valve 63 indicates a linear solenoid valve that supplies signal pressure to the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6.

[0032] In this example, each of the solenoid valve 43, the solenoid valve 53, and the solenoid valve 63 is arranged in accordance with the arrangement of the corresponding pressure regulating valve within the control valve body 2X. That is, in this example, in the order from the upstream side along the arrow F indicating the oil flow in the first oil passage L1, the valve arrangement is such that the primary pulley pressure control valve 5, the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, and the pressure regulator valve 4 are provided.

[0033] Therefore, in this example, the spool 51 of the primary pulley pressure control valve 5 and the spool 61 of the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6 are each affected by the oil flow indicated by the arrow F. As a result, the sliding resistance of the spool 51 and the spool 61 increases, and due to this, hydraulic vibration occurs in these pressure regulating valves, which may lead to a situation where the hydraulic response and hydraulic stability of these pressure regulating valves are affected.

[0034] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the valve arrangement structure of the control valve unit 1 according to this embodiment has a control valve body 2 supplied with oil from a mechanical oil pump 11. This valve arrangement structure includes a pressure regulator valve 4 disposed in the control valve body 2 for regulating the discharge oil of the mechanical oil pump 11 to line pressure, a primary pulley pressure control valve 5, a secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, and a pilot valve 7 disposed in the control valve body 2 for regulating the oil pressure from the line pressure to the required pressure, and a first oil passage L1 provided in the control valve body 2 and connecting the mechanical oil pump 11 and the pressure regulator valve 4. In this valve arrangement structure, the primary pulley pressure control valve 5, the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, and the pilot valve 7 are disposed in a second oil passage L2 branched from the first oil passage L1.

[0035] (1) According to such a configuration, the primary pulley pressure control valve 5, the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, and the pilot valve 7 are disposed outside the oil flow of the first oil passage L1 indicated by the arrow F. Therefore, the hydraulic response and hydraulic stability of the primary pulley pressure control valve 5, the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, and the pilot valve 7 using the line pressure as the original pressure can be improved.

[0036] The valve arrangement structure of the control valve unit 1 may be configured as follows.

[0037] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a modified example of the valve arrangement structure of the control valve unit 1. In FIG. 5, the valve arrangements of the pressure regulator valve 4, the primary pulley pressure control valve 5, the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, and the pilot valve 7 are shown in accordance with the actual situation.

[0038] In this example, in addition to the mechanical oil pump 11, oil is supplied to the control valve body 2 from an electric oil pump 21 driven by an electric motor 20. The electric oil pump 21 supplies oil to the control valve body 2 via a check valve 22. The check valve 22 allows the flow of oil in the direction from the electric oil pump 21 to the control valve body 2 and blocks the flow of oil in the reverse direction.

[0039] The electric oil pump 21 is connected to the pressure regulating valves of the primary pulley pressure control valve 5, the secondary pulley pressure control valve 6, and the pilot valve 7 via a second oil passage L2 without passing through a first oil passage L1. That is, the electric oil pump 21 is arranged in a so-called branch configuration. The electric oil pump 21 is used as an auxiliary oil pump for the mechanical oil pump 11 and corresponds to an assist pump.

[0040] (2) According to such a configuration, compared with the case where the electric oil pump 21 is arranged in parallel with the mechanical oil pump 11 and oil is supplied to the pressure regulating valve via the first oil passage L1, oil can be quickly supplied to the pressure regulating valve that requires oil by the electric oil pump 21. Therefore, the hydraulic response and hydraulic stability of the pressure regulating valve such as the primary pulley pressure control valve 5 with the line pressure as the original pressure can be further improved. Also, in this case, by arranging the electric oil pump 21 in a branch configuration, it becomes possible to arrange the pressure regulating valves such as the primary pulley pressure control valve 5 away from the pressure regulator valve 4. Therefore, the constraints on the space for arranging the pressure regulating valve are relaxed, and the layout property of the valve arrangement is also improved.

[0041] The electric oil pump 21 is arranged close to the primary pulley pressure control valve 5, which is an example of a pulley pressure control valve. In other words, the primary pulley pressure control valve 5 is the pressure regulating valve arranged closest to the electric oil pump 21 in the second oil passage L2.

[0042] (3) According to such a configuration, in the belt continuously variable transmission, oil can be quickly supplied to the actuator of the primary pulley, which is an example of a pulley where oil supply is important, by the electric oil pump 21, and it is also preferable from the perspective of the pressure loss of the oil supplied from the electric oil pump 21.

[0043] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been explained. However, the above embodiments merely show a part of the application examples of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention to the specific configurations of the above embodiments.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0044] 1 Control valve unit 1X Control valve unit 2 Control valve body 2X Control valve body 4 Pressure regulator valve 41 Spool 5 Primary pulley pressure control valve (pressure regulating valve, pulley pressure control valve) 51 Spool 6 Secondary pulley pressure control valve (pressure regulating valve, pulley pressure control valve) 61 Spool 7 Pilot valve (pressure regulating valve) 71 Spool 11 Mechanical oil pump 21 Electric oil pump L1 First oil passage L2 Second oil passage

Claims

1. A valve arrangement structure of a control valve unit having a control valve body to which oil is supplied from a main pump, a pressure regulator valve disposed within the control valve body for regulating the discharge oil of the main pump to line pressure, a pressure regulating valve disposed within the control valve body for regulating oil to a required pressure using the line pressure as the source pressure, a first oil passage provided within the control valve body for connecting the main pump and the pressure regulator valve, and having, wherein a plurality of the pressure regulating valves are arranged in a second oil passage branching from the first oil passage, oil is supplied to the control valve body from an assist pump driven by a drive source different from the drive source of the main pump, the second oil passage has a first branch point branching from the first oil passage and a second branch point branching to the plurality of the pressure regulating valves, the assist pump is connected to the plurality of the pressure regulating valves via the second oil passage without passing through the first oil passage, and is arranged in a branch configuration with the first oil passage as the main flow oil passage and the second oil passage as the branch oil passage, and is arranged on the downstream side of the second branch point as viewed from the main pump, a valve arrangement structure of a control valve unit.

2. The valve arrangement structure of a control valve unit according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of the pressure regulating valves includes a pulley pressure control valve of a belt continuously variable transmission, and the assist pump is arranged in proximity to the pulley pressure control valve. a valve arrangement structure of a control valve unit.

3. The valve arrangement structure of a control valve unit according to claim 2, wherein the pulley pressure control valve is a primary pulley pressure control valve, and the pulley pressure control valve is the pressure regulating valve and is the pressure regulating valve arranged closest to the assist pump in the second oil passage. a valve arrangement structure of a control valve unit.

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