Vehicle damper device

Abstract

To provide a damper device for a vehicle capable of suppressing load generation due to adhesion of an arc spring when large torque is input.SOLUTION: The damper device 20 includes a seat SS supporting both ends of the spring 52 (52a, 52b) and provided with a disc spring part t having spring characteristics, and stopper parts Sa, Sb provided on the 50a of a fly wheel body and regulating the movement of the seat SS by abutting on the disc spring part t before the spring 52 is closely attached. As a result, the disc spring portion t and the stopper portions Sa and Sb come into contact with each other before the spring 52 comes into close contact, so that the regulating force due to the contact acts on the seat SS and the stress on the spring 52 is relaxed. Further, the sliding resistance after the abutment between the disc spring portion t and the stopper portions Sa, Sb also acts as stress relaxation. Therefore, when a large torque is input, the occurrence of a load due to the close contact of the spring 52 is suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a structure of a damper device for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] For engines with large rotational fluctuations, such as three-cylinder engines and diesel engines, it is well known that a damper device is added to the flywheel to reduce rotational fluctuations (hereinafter referred to as the damper function).To achieve damping performance, this damper device has an arc-shaped arc spring placed around the outer periphery of the damper device, ensuring a large torsional angle.

[0003] In such a damper device, when a large torque is input, the spring has low rigidity, which can lead to the spring sticking together and breaking.To address this issue, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which a first spring and a second spring that is held in a compressed state by being preloaded are arranged in series, and when the load exceeds the load that would cause at least a portion of the first spring to stick together, the second spring deflects, thereby preventing spring breakage. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-43651 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the solution described in Patent Document 1 has the problem that the second spring functions after at least a portion of the first spring has come into contact, which may result in a collision load being generated when the first spring comes into contact.

[0006] The present invention has been made in light of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a vehicle damper device that can suppress the generation of load due to adhesion of the arc spring when a large torque is input. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The gist of the present invention is (a) a vehicle damper device that transmits torque between a flywheel connected to an engine and a flange connected to a power transmission device via an arc spring, and that includes: (b) a spring seat that supports both ends of the arc spring and is provided with a disc spring portion having spring characteristics; and (c) a stopper portion that is provided on the flywheel and abuts against the disc spring portion before the arc spring comes into close contact, thereby restricting movement of the spring seat. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, the vehicle damper device includes a spring seat that supports both ends of the arc spring and is provided with a disc spring portion having spring characteristics, and a stopper portion that is provided on the flywheel and contacts the disc spring portion to restrict movement of the spring seat before the arc spring contacts. As a result, the disc spring portion and the stopper portion contact each other before the arc spring contacts, and a restricting force due to the contact acts on the spring seat, thereby relieving stress on the arc spring. Furthermore, the sliding resistance after the disc spring portion and the stopper portion contact can also function as stress relief. Furthermore, by adjusting the spring seat and the stopper portion provided on the flywheel, stress relief due to contact of the arc spring can be achieved without increasing the number of parts, without affecting the damping performance of the arc spring. Therefore, load generation due to contact of the arc spring when a large torque is input can be suppressed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a vehicle to which the present invention is applied and a configuration of a damper device; [Figure 2] 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the damper device of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure for suppressing adhesion of an arc-spring in the damper device of FIG. 1. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following embodiments, the drawings are appropriately simplified or modified, and the dimensional ratios and shapes of the various parts are not necessarily drawn accurately. [Example]

[0011] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a vehicle 10 to which the present invention is applied. In Fig. 1, the vehicle 10 includes an engine 12 as a power source, a power transmission device 16, and a damper device 20 (vehicle damper device of the present invention) described below that is provided between the engine 12 and the power transmission device 16.

[0012] The power transmission device 16 includes a clutch 22, a transmission unit 24, a differential gear device 28, etc. The power transmission device 16 transmits power output from the engine 12 via the damper device 20 to the drive wheels 14 via the clutch 22, the transmission unit 24, the output shaft 26, the differential gear device 28, etc. in this order.

[0013] A cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of damper device 20 is shown in a balloon in Fig. 1. Damper device 20 is provided in housing 42 on a power transmission path between engine 12 and clutch 22, with rotation axis C as the center.

[0014] The damper device 20 includes a flywheel 50 connected to the crankshaft 18 of the engine 12, an annular support member 40 connected to the crankshaft 18 together with the flywheel 50, an arc spring (hereinafter referred to as the spring) 52 housed and covered by the outer periphery of the flywheel 50, a flange 54 connected to the flywheel 50 via the spring 52 arranged on the outer periphery of the flywheel 50 so as to be capable of transmitting power, a clutch connecting plate 56 connected to the inner periphery of the flange 54, and a ball bearing 58 interposed between the clutch connecting plate 56 and the support member 40.

[0015] The flywheel 50 has an inner periphery connected to the crankshaft 18 together with the support member 40 by bolts 64, and is rotated integrally with the engine 12 about the rotation axis C. The flywheel 50 is composed of a disk-shaped flywheel body 50a, the inner periphery of which is fastened to the crankshaft 18, and a disk-shaped flywheel cover 50b, the outer periphery of which is connected to the outer periphery of the flywheel body 50a by welding. The outer periphery of the flywheel body 50a is formed to bulge axially toward the engine 12, and a ring gear 62 that meshes with a starter motor for starting the engine is fixed to its outermost periphery. The outer periphery of the flywheel cover 50b is also formed to bulge axially toward the power transmission device 16. The outer periphery of the flywheel body 50a and the outer periphery of the flywheel cover 50b are welded to each other, forming a space with a substantially circular cross section on the outer periphery of the flywheel 50 for accommodating the spring 52.

[0016] The spring 52 is housed in the space formed on the outer periphery of the flywheel 50, and transmits power while elastically deforming between the flywheel 50 and the flange 54. The spring 52 is configured as a so-called arc spring formed in an arc shape, and is composed of two identical springs (52a, 52b) formed in a semicircular shape. By configuring the spring as an arc spring in this way, its length (free length) is also long, allowing the use of a spring with low spring stiffness.

[0017] Furthermore, spring seats (hereinafter referred to as "seats") SS, which will be described later, are provided at four locations on both ends of the spring 52 (52a, 52b) to support the springs. The seats SS serve to transmit the power between the spring 52 and the flywheel 50 and flange 54 as a surface load.

[0018] The flange 54 has a disk shape and is disposed in the gap formed between the flywheel body 50a and the flywheel cover 50b of the flywheel 50 in the axial direction. The inner periphery of the flange 54 is connected to the inner periphery of the clutch connecting plate 56 by rivets 66. The clutch connecting plate 56 and the clutch 22 are connected to each other, thereby transmitting power between the damper device 20 and the clutch 22.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the damper device 20. FIG. 2 is a diagram of the damper device 20 viewed from the clutch 22 side, centered on the rotation axis C, and the flywheel cover 50b and clutch connecting plate 56 are omitted for the purpose of explaining the operation. In FIG. 2, the rotation direction of the engine 12, i.e., the damper device 20, is counterclockwise on the page. In the following explanation, the flywheel main body 50a is synonymous with the flywheel 50.

[0020] 2(a) shows the arrangement of the flywheel body 50a, flange 54, spring 52, and seat SS within the damper device 20. Two semicircular spaces are formed around the outer periphery of the flywheel body 50a and flange 54, and the springs 52 (52a, 52b) are housed in these two spaces. One end 52a1 of the spring 52a, located in the rotational direction, is arranged to abut against a flywheel abutment portion 50a1 of the flywheel body 50a and a flange abutment portion 54a of the flange 54, via a seat SS1. In addition, the other end 52a2 of the spring 52a, located opposite to the one end 52a1, is arranged to abut against a flywheel abutment portion 50a4 of the flywheel body 50a and a flange abutment portion 54d of the flange 54, via a seat SS2. Similarly, one end 52b1 of the spring 52b located on the rotational direction side abuts against the flywheel abutment portion 50a3 of the flywheel body 50a and the flange abutment portion 54c of the flange 54 via seat SS3, and the other end 52b2 of the spring 52b opposite to the one end 52b1 is arranged to abut against the flywheel abutment portion 50a2 of the flywheel body 50a and the flange abutment portion 54b of the flange 54 via seat SS4.

[0021] FIG. 2(b) shows the operation when torque is transmitted from the flywheel body 50a to the flange 54. This corresponds to acceleration due to engine power, for example. The white arrow on the spring 52 indicates the direction of torque transmission. In FIG. 2(b), torque is applied from the flywheel contact portion 50a4 to the other end 52a2 of the spring 52a via seat SS2. The applied torque then passes through the spring 52a, one end 52a1, and seat SS1 to the flange contact portion 54a. Similarly, for the spring 52b, torque is transmitted in the following order: flywheel contact portion 50a2, seat SS4, spring 52b, seat SS3, and flange contact portion 54c. In this manner, torque is transmitted from the flywheel body 50a to the flange 54.

[0022] FIG. 2(c) shows the operation when torque is transmitted from the flange 54 to the flywheel body 50a. This corresponds to, for example, running with engine braking. The white arrow on the spring 52 indicates the direction of torque transmission. In FIG. 2(c), torque is applied from the flange contact portion 54d to the other end 52a2 of the spring 52a via seat SS2. The applied torque then passes through the spring 52a, and is transmitted from one end 52a1 to the flywheel contact portion 50a1 via seat SS1. Similarly, for the spring 52b, torque is transmitted in the following order: flange contact portion 54b, seat SS4, spring 52b, seat SS3, and flywheel contact portion 50a3. In this manner, torque is transmitted from the flange 54 to the flywheel body 50a.

[0023] However, in the damper device 20, there is a problem that a collision load may occur due to adhesion of the spring 52 when a large torque is input, because the stiffness of the spring is low.

[0024] In this embodiment, the damper device 20 is provided with a structure that will be described later with reference to FIG. 3, thereby preventing the spring 52 from coming into close contact with the damper device 20.

[0025] FIG. 3(a) is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure for preventing the spring 52 from coming into close contact when torque is transmitted from the flywheel body 50a to the flange 54. FIG. 3(b) is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the seat SS1 in FIG. 3(a), and FIG. 3(c) is a side view of FIG. 3(b) viewed from the right side of the paper. As shown in FIGS. 3(b) and 3(c), the seat SS1 is provided with two disc spring portions t that extend toward the inner surface of the outer periphery of the flywheel body 50a. The disc spring portions t have spring characteristics and are formed, for example, from a spring material. The seats SS2, SS3, and SS4 are also provided with disc spring portions t of similar shapes.

[0026] The spring 52a is compressed between the flywheel contact portion 50a4 and the flange contact portion 54a. When the compression reaches a predetermined value ΔL (see FIG. 3(a)), the disc spring portion t of the seat SS1 comes into contact with a stopper portion Sa provided circumferentially on the inner surface of the outer periphery of the flywheel body 50a (see FIG. 3(b)). The disc spring portion t is tapered toward the end 52a1 of the spring 52a it contacts (toward the left in the drawing). When the disc spring portion t comes into contact with the stopper portion Sa, a restricting force KS1 acts to restrict clockwise movement of the seat SS1. This restricting force KS1 relieves stress on the spring 52a. After the disc spring portion t comes into contact with the stopper portion Sa, the disc spring portion t bends and moves while rubbing against the stopper portion Sa. The sliding resistance during this process also acts as a stress reliever, preventing the spring 52 from sticking tightly to the ground.

[0027] Similarly, spring 52b is compressed between flywheel contact portion 50a2 and flange contact portion 54c, and when the amount of compression reaches a predetermined value ΔL (see FIG. 3(a)), disc spring portion t of seat SS3 (not shown) comes into contact with stopper portion Sb provided circumferentially on the inner surface of the outer periphery of flywheel body 50a. The restricting force KS3 against clockwise movement of seat SS3 and the sliding resistance between disc spring portion t and stopper portion Sb act as stress relief, thereby preventing close contact of spring 52b.

[0028] The stopper portions Sa, Sb are provided in positions where the compression amount of the spring 52 (52a, 52b) is equal to or greater than a predetermined value ΔL by a suitable method, such as by forming them during the manufacture of the flywheel body 50a or by separately fixing dedicated parts. The predetermined value ΔL is an appropriate value that is obtained in advance by design or experimentation before the spring 52 comes into close contact.

[0029] FIG. 3(d) is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure for preventing the spring 52 from coming into close contact when torque is transmitted from the flange 54 to the flywheel body 50a. The spring 52a is compressed between the flange contact portion 54d and the flywheel contact portion 50a1. When the amount of compression reaches a predetermined value ΔL, the disc spring portion t (not shown) of the seat SS2 comes into contact with a stopper portion Sa provided circumferentially on the inner surface of the outer periphery of the flywheel body 50a. The restricting force KS2 acting against the counterclockwise movement of the seat SS2 and the sliding resistance between the disc spring portion t and the stopper portion Sa act as stress relief, preventing the spring 52a from coming into close contact. The contact between the disc spring portion t of the seat SS2 and the stopper portion Sa corresponds to a structure obtained by inverting the enlarged view of FIG. 3(b) horizontally. Similarly, the spring 52b is compressed between the flange abutment portion 54b and the flywheel abutment portion 50a3, and when the compression amount reaches a predetermined value ΔL, the disc spring portion t (not shown) of the seat SS4 abuts against a stopper portion Sb provided circumferentially on the inner surface of the outer periphery of the flywheel body 50a. The restricting force KS4 against the counterclockwise movement of the seat SS4 and the sliding resistance between the disc spring portion t and the stopper portion Sb act as stress relief, thereby preventing the spring 52b from coming into close contact.

[0030] Fig. 3(e) is a diagram showing an example of the setting of the stopper portions Sa and Sb. For example, by providing the stopper portions Sa and Sb in the areas indicated by the thick lines in the figure, the restricting force on the sheet SS (SS1, SS2, SS3, SS4) and the sliding resistance between the disc spring portion t and the stopper portion Sb in the cases of Figs. 3(a) to 3(d) are acted on as described above, and close contact of the springs 52 (52a, 52b) is suppressed.

[0031] In addition, the predetermined value ΔL when torque is transmitted from the flywheel body 50a to the flange 54 and the predetermined value ΔL when torque is transmitted from the flange 54 to the flywheel body 50a may be set to different suitable values.

[0032] As described above, the damper device 20 of this embodiment includes seats SS (SS1, SS2, SS3, SS4) that support both ends (52a1, 52a2, 52b1, 52b2) of the spring 52 (52a, 52b) and are provided with disc spring portions t having spring characteristics, and stopper portions Sa, Sb that are provided on the flywheel body 50a and that restrict movement of the seat SS by abutting against the disc spring portions t before the spring 52 comes into close contact. As a result, the disc spring portions t come into contact with the stopper portions Sa, Sb before the spring 52 comes into close contact, and restricting forces KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4 due to the abutment act on the seat SS, thereby relieving stress on the spring 52. The stopper portions Sa, Sb can be positioned in advance before the position where the spring 52 comes into close contact, so that the restricting forces KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4 can be applied just before the spring 52 comes into close contact or from any desired position. Furthermore, after the disc spring portion t comes into contact with the stopper portions Sa and Sb, the disc spring portion t bends and moves while rubbing against the stopper portions Sa and Sb, so the sliding resistance during this process also acts as a stress reliever. Furthermore, the damping performance of the spring 52 is independent of the restricting forces KS1, KS2, KS3, and KS4 acting on the seat SS, so stress relief due to adhesion of the spring 52 is achieved without increasing the number of parts, by dealing with the seat SS and the stopper portions Sa and Sb provided on the flywheel body 50a, without affecting the damping performance of the spring 52. Therefore, load generation due to adhesion of the spring 52 when a large torque is input is suppressed.

[0033] The above describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention based on the drawings, but what has been described above is merely one embodiment, and the present invention can be implemented in various forms with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 12: Engine 16: Power transmission device 20: Damper device (vehicle damper device) 50: Flywheel 50a: Flywheel body (flywheel) 52: Spring (arc spring) 54: Flange Sa: Stopper portion Sb: Stopper portion SS: Seat (spring seat) t: Disc spring portion

Claims

[Claim 1] A damper device for a vehicle that transmits torque between a flywheel connected to an engine and a flange connected to a power transmission device via an arc spring, a spring seat that supports both ends of the arc spring and is provided with a disc spring portion having spring characteristics; a stopper portion provided on the flywheel, which restricts movement of the spring seat by coming into contact with the disc spring portion before the arc spring comes into close contact with the spring seat. A vehicle damper device comprising:

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