Power transmission

Abstract

[Problem] To minimize the degree of complication of an oil passage layout.　[Solution] This power transmission device has: a variator having a primary pulley and a secondary pulley; and a control valve for supplying operation oil to the primary pulley and the secondary pulley. The control valve has a plurality of pressure regulating valves having valve elements movable horizontally. The control valve is oriented such that the pressure regulating valves are arranged vertically. The rotation axis of the secondary pulley is located at the upper side in the vertical direction compared to the rotation axis of the primary pulley, and a second pressure regulating valve for regulating supply pressure to the secondary pulley is located at the upper side in the vertical direction compared to a first pressure regulating valve for regulating supply pressure to the primary pulley.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a power transmission device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle drive device in which a hydraulic control device is disposed in an upright position along the vertical direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-173943 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In this vehicle drive system, the hydraulic control device is provided on a side of a case that houses the drive transmission mechanism. When viewed from the horizontal direction, the hydraulic control device is provided in a position that overlaps with the drive transmission mechanism.

[0005] Here, when the hydraulic control device is arranged below the drive transmission mechanism in the vertical direction, each component of the drive transmission mechanism is arranged in a positional relationship overlapping with the hydraulic control device without significantly overlapping with other components when viewed in the vertical direction.

[0006] On the other hand, when the hydraulic control device is arranged in an upright position, some of the components of the drive transmission mechanism are arranged in a positional relationship that overlaps with the hydraulic control device while also overlapping with other components when viewed from the horizontal direction. Here, the hydraulic control device (control valve) adjusts the pressure of oil for operating the components of the drive transmission mechanism. The oil with adjusted pressure is supplied to each component via an oil passage provided in the case. Therefore, when the hydraulic control device is arranged in an upright position, the layout (routing) of the oil passages in the case becomes complicated.

[0007] Therefore, there is a demand for suppressing the degree to which the layout of the oil passages becomes complicated when the hydraulic control device is in an upright position along the vertical direction, i.e., when it is placed vertically. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is a variator having a primary pulley and a secondary pulley; A power transmission device having the primary pulley and a control valve for supplying operating oil to the secondary pulley, The control valve includes a plurality of pressure regulating valves each having a valve body that moves in a horizontal direction, The control valve is arranged so that the pressure regulating valves are aligned vertically, A rotation shaft of the secondary pulley is located above a rotation shaft of the primary pulley in the up-down direction, In the power transmission device, a second pressure regulating valve that adjusts the pressure supplied to the secondary pulley is located above a first pressure regulating valve that adjusts the pressure supplied to the primary pulley in the up-down direction. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, the degree to which the layout of the oil passages becomes complicated can be suppressed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a power transmission device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the case as viewed from the second cover side. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the case as viewed from the first cover side. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a view of the storage section as seen from the front side of the vehicle. [Diagram 5]FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hydraulic control circuit in the control valve and a supply path of oil to the variator. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the movement of oil when the power transmission device is in operation, and the height of oil OL stored in the second chamber. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the dummy cover. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the positional relationship between the oil passage within the case and the primary and secondary pressure regulating valves. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a power transmission device according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] First, the definitions of terms used in this specification will be explained. The power transmission device is a device that has at least a power transmission mechanism, and the power transmission mechanism is, for example, at least one of a gear mechanism, a differential gear mechanism, and a reduction mechanism. In the following embodiment, an example is given in which the power transmission device 1 has the function of transmitting the output rotation of an engine, but the power transmission device 1 may be any device that transmits the output rotation of at least one of an engine and a motor (rotating electric machine).

[0012] "Overlapping when viewed in a predetermined direction" means that a plurality of elements are arranged in a predetermined direction, and is synonymous with "overlapping in a predetermined direction." The "predetermined direction" is, for example, an axial direction, a radial direction, a gravitational direction, a front-rear direction of a vehicle, etc. When a drawing shows multiple elements (parts, portions, etc.) arranged in a specified direction, it may be assumed that the description in the specification contains a sentence explaining that they overlap when viewed in the specified direction.

[0013] "Not overlapping when viewed in a predetermined direction" and "offset when viewed in a predetermined direction" mean that multiple elements are not lined up in a predetermined direction, and are synonymous with "not overlapping in a predetermined direction" and "offset in a predetermined direction." Examples of the "predetermined direction" include the axial direction, radial direction, gravity direction, and vehicle longitudinal direction (vehicle forward direction, vehicle backward direction). When a drawing shows that multiple elements (parts, portions, etc.) are not lined up in a specified direction, it may be assumed that the description in the specification contains a sentence explaining that they do not overlap when viewed in the specified direction.

[0014] "When viewed from a predetermined direction, a first element (part, section, etc.) is located between a second element (part, section, etc.) and a third element (part, section, etc.)" means that when observed from a predetermined direction, it can be observed that the first element is located between the second element and the third element. The "predetermined direction" refers to the axial direction, radial direction, gravity direction, vehicle running direction (vehicle forward direction, vehicle backward direction), etc. For example, when the second element, the first element, and the third element are arranged in that order along the axial direction, it can be said that the first element is located between the second element and the third element when viewed in the radial direction. When the drawing shows that the first element is between the second element and the third element when viewed in a specific direction, it may be deemed that the description in the specification contains a sentence explaining that the first element is between the second element and the third element when viewed in the specific direction.

[0015] When two elements (parts, portions, etc.) overlap in an axial view, the two elements are coaxial. "Axial direction" refers to the axial direction of the rotation shaft of a component constituting the power transmission device. "Radial direction" refers to the direction perpendicular to the rotation shaft of a component constituting the power transmission device. The component is, for example, a motor, a gear mechanism, a differential gear mechanism, etc.

[0016] "Vertical placement" of a control valve means that, in the case of a control valve having a basic configuration in which a separator plate is sandwiched between valve bodies, the valve bodies of the control valve are stacked in a horizontal direction based on the installation state of the power transmission device on the vehicle. The "horizontal direction" here does not mean a horizontal direction in the strict sense, but also includes cases where the stacking direction is inclined relative to the horizontal line.

[0017] Furthermore, "vertically mounted" of the control valve means that the control valve is arranged so that the multiple pressure regulating valves within the control valve are aligned in the direction of a vertical line VL based on the installation state of the power transmission device on the vehicle. "Aligning a plurality of pressure regulating valves in the direction of the vertical line VL" means that the pressure regulating valves in the control valve are arranged at staggered positions in the direction of the vertical line VL.

[0018] In this case, the pressure regulating valves do not need to be strictly aligned in a row in the direction of the vertical line VL. For example, in the case where a control valve is formed by stacking multiple valve bodies, in a vertically oriented control valve, multiple pressure regulating valves may be aligned in the direction of the vertical line VL while being shifted in the stacking direction of the valve bodies.

[0019] Furthermore, when viewed from the axial direction (the direction of forward and backward movement) of the valve disc provided in the pressure regulating valve, the multiple pressure regulating valves do not need to be aligned at intervals in the direction of the vertical line VL. When viewed from the axial direction (the direction of forward and backward movement) of the valve disc provided in the pressure regulating valve, multiple pressure regulating valves do not need to be adjacent to each other in the direction of the vertical line VL.

[0020] Therefore, for example, when pressure regulating valves lined up in the vertical line VL direction are arranged with their positions shifted in the stacking direction (horizontal direction) of the valve body, this also includes cases where adjacent pressure regulating valves in the vertical line VL direction are arranged in a positional relationship where they partially overlap when viewed from the stacking direction.

[0021] Furthermore, when a control valve is "vertically mounted," this means that multiple pressure regulating valves within the control valve are arranged in such a way that the movement direction of the valve body (spool valve) of the pressure regulating valve is aligned along the horizontal line. In this case, the movement direction of the valve body (spool valve) is not limited to the horizontal direction in the strict sense. The movement direction of the valve body (spool valve) in this case is the direction along the rotation axis X of the power transmission device. In this case, the direction of the rotation axis X and the sliding direction of the valve body (spool valve) are the same.

[0022] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a general configuration of a power transmission device 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a housing HS of the power transmission device 1 is composed of a case 6, a first cover 7, a second cover 8, and a third cover 9. The housing HS accommodates the torque converter T / C, forward / reverse switching mechanism 2, variator 3, reduction gear mechanism 4, differential gear 5, electric oil pump EOP, mechanical oil pump MOP, control valve CV, etc. Here, the torque converter T / C, the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2, the variator 3, the reduction gear mechanism 4, and the differential gear 5 are components of the power transmission mechanism of the present invention.

[0023] In a power transmission device 1 mounted on a vehicle V, the output rotation of an engine ENG (drive source) is input to a forward / reverse switching mechanism 2 via a torque converter T / C. The rotation input to the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2 is input to a primary pulley 31 of the variator 3 in a forward or reverse rotation.

[0024] In the variator 3, the winding radius of the belt 30 around the primary pulley 31 and the secondary pulley 32 is changed, so that the rotation input to the primary pulley 31 is changed in speed at a desired gear ratio and output from the output shaft 33 of the secondary pulley 32.

[0025] The output rotation of the secondary pulley 32 is input to a differential device 5 (differential gear mechanism) via a reduction gear mechanism 4, and then transmitted to the drive wheels WH, WH via left and right drive shafts 55A, 55B.

[0026] The reduction mechanism 4 has an output gear 41 , an idler gear 42 , a reduction gear 43 , and a final gear 45 . The output gear 41 rotates integrally with the output shaft 33 of the secondary pulley 32 . The idler gear 42 is meshed with the output gear 41 so as to be capable of transmitting rotation. The idler gear 42 is spline-fitted to an idler shaft 44. The idler gear 42 rotates integrally with the idler shaft 44. A reduction gear 43 having a smaller diameter than the idler gear 42 is provided on the idler shaft 44. The reduction gear 43 is meshed with a final gear 45 fixed to the outer periphery of a differential case 50 of the differential device 5 so as to be capable of transmitting rotation.

[0027] In the power transmission device 1, the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2, the torque converter T / C, and the output shaft of the engine ENG are arranged coaxially (concentrically) on the rotation axis X1 (first shaft) of the primary pulley 31. The output shaft 33 of the secondary pulley 32 and an output gear 41 are coaxially arranged on a rotation axis X2 (second shaft) of the secondary pulley 32. The idler gear 42 and the reduction gear 43 are coaxially arranged on a common rotation axis X3 (third axis). The final gear 45 and the drive shafts 55A and 55B are arranged coaxially on a common rotation axis X4 (fourth axis). In the power transmission device 1, these rotation axes X1 to X4 are set in a positional relationship in which they are parallel to one another. Hereinafter, these rotation axes X1 to X4 will be collectively referred to as the rotation axis X of the power transmission device 1 as necessary.

[0028] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the case 6 as viewed from the second cover 8 side. As shown in FIG. 2, the case 6 has a cylindrical peripheral wall portion 61 and a partition wall portion 62.

[0029] 1, the partition 62 divides the space inside the peripheral wall 61 into two in the direction of the rotation axis X1. One side of the partition 62 in the direction of the rotation axis X1 is a first chamber S1, and the other side is a third chamber S3. In the case 6, the opening on the first chamber S1 side is sealed by the second cover 8 (torque converter cover) to form a closed first chamber S1. The opening on the third chamber S3 side is sealed by the first cover 7 (side cover) to form a closed third chamber S3. The first chamber S1 accommodates the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2, the reduction mechanism 4, and the differential gear 5. The third chamber S3 accommodates the variator 3.

[0030] In the case 6, a storage section 68 that forms the second chamber S2 is provided on the outer periphery of the peripheral wall section 61 on the vehicle front side. The storage section 68 is provided with an opening facing the vehicle front side. The opening of the storage section 68 is sealed with the third cover 9 to form a closed second chamber S2. The second chamber S2 is provided with a control valve CV and an electric oil pump EOP.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 2, in the case 6, the partition portion 62 is located inside the joint portion 611. The partition wall 62 of the case 6 is provided in a range that crosses the rotation axes (rotation axes X1 to X4) of the power transmission mechanism. The partition wall 62 is provided in a direction that is approximately perpendicular to the rotation axes (rotation axes X1 to X4).

[0032] The partition wall 62 is provided with through holes 621 , 622 , 624 and a support hole 623 . The through hole 621 is formed around the rotation axis X1. A cylindrical support wall portion 631 surrounding the through hole 621 and a peripheral wall portion 641 surrounding the outer periphery of the support wall portion 631 at a distance are provided on the surface of the partition portion 62 facing the first chamber S1 (the front side of the paper). In Fig. 2, the support wall portion 631 and the peripheral wall portion 641 protrude toward the front side of the paper (the side toward the second cover 8 in Fig. 1).

[0033] An area 651 between the support wall portion 631 and the peripheral wall portion 641 is a cylindrical space that accommodates a piston (not shown) of the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2, friction plates (forward clutch, reverse brake), and the like. The input shaft 34 (see FIG. 1) of the primary pulley 31 is rotatably supported on the inner periphery of the support wall portion 631 via a bearing B.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 2, the through hole 622 is formed centered on the rotation axis X2. In the power transmission device 1 mounted on the vehicle V, the rotation axis X2 is located obliquely above and on the rear side of the vehicle when viewed from the rotation axis X1. A cylindrical support wall portion 632 is provided on the surface of the partition portion 62 facing the first chamber S1 (the front side of the paper) so as to surround the through-hole 622. In Fig. 2, the support wall portion 632 protrudes toward the front side of the paper (the second cover 8 side in Fig. 1). The output shaft 33 (see FIG. 1) of the secondary pulley 32 is rotatably supported on the inner periphery of the support wall portion 632 via a bearing B.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 2, the through hole 624 is formed centered on the rotation axis X4. In the power transmission device 1 mounted on the vehicle V, the rotation axis X4 is located obliquely below and on the rear side of the vehicle as viewed from the rotation axes X1 and X2.

[0036] A cylindrical support wall portion 634 is provided on a surface of the partition portion 62 facing the first chamber S1 (the front side of the page) and surrounding the through hole 624. The differential case 50 (see FIG. 1) of the differential device 5 is rotatably supported on the inner periphery of the support wall portion 634 via a bearing B. 1, a final gear 45 having a ring shape when viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X4 is fixed to the outer periphery of the differential case 50. The final gear 45 rotates integrally with the differential case 50 about the rotation axis X4.

[0037] In the case 6, an area on the vehicle front side of the final gear 45 and below the arc-shaped peripheral wall portion 641 serves as an accommodating portion 67 for the strainer 10 and the mechanical oil pump MOP. The storage portion 67 is located in the lower portion inside the case 6 (housing HS). Therefore, the storage portion 67 stores oil OL used for driving and cooling the components of the power transmission mechanism. The storage section 67 is a space with a bottom, and in the storage section 67, the partition wall section 62 which serves as the bottom wall is located on the rear side of the paper surface in FIG.

[0038] In the storage portion 67, the strainer 10 is provided with the suction port 11 for the oil OL facing the bottom wall portion 613 of the case 6. The first connection part 105 of the strainer 10 is inserted into the connection port 120 on the mechanical oil pump MOP side (see FIG. 2). The second connection part 106 of the strainer 10 is connected to an oil passage 626 in the partition part 62. Therefore, the strainer 10 is supported at two points, the mechanical oil pump MOP and the partition part 62. The mechanical oil pump MOP is connected to the control valve CV via an oil passage 628 in the partition part 62. Therefore, the strainer 10 is connected to the mechanical oil pump MOP and the control valve CV via an oil passage 628 in the partition wall portion 62. The strainer 10 is connected to the electric oil pump EOP via an oil passage 626 in the partition wall portion 62.

[0039] Fig. 3 is a plan view of the case 6 as viewed from the side of the first cover 7. In Fig. 3, the area of ​​the opening 620 is indicated by cross-hatching. 3, on the surface of the case 6 facing the first cover 7, a partition 62 is located inside a peripheral wall 61 that surrounds the third chamber S3. The end face of the peripheral wall 61 on the front side of the page forms a joint 612 with the first cover 7. The joint 612 surrounds the entire periphery of the third chamber S3.

[0040] On the inner side of the peripheral wall portion 61, an opening 620 and through holes 621 and 622 are provided in the partition portion 62. Opening 620 is provided near peripheral wall 61 on the vehicle front side and along the upper side of peripheral wall 61. An oil filter 69 is provided on the vehicle rear side as viewed from opening 620. Oil filter 69 is provided in a position adjacent to opening 620. Oil filter 69 and opening 620 are aligned in a horizontal line along the vehicle front-rear direction.

[0041] In the partition wall 62, a through hole 621 is located below the opening 620 and the oil filter 69. The through hole 622 is located obliquely above the through hole 621 on the vehicle rear side as viewed from the through hole 621. The opening 620 is located on the vehicle front side of a vertical line VL that passes through the center (rotation axis X1) of the through hole 621. The oil filter 69 and the through hole 622 are located on the vehicle rear side of the vertical line VL.

[0042] The third chamber S3 is a chamber for housing the variator 3. The variator 3 has a primary pulley 31, a secondary pulley 32, and a belt 30 wound around the primary pulley 31 and the secondary pulley 32. The input shaft 34 (see FIG. 1) of the primary pulley 31 passes through the through hole 621. The output shaft 33 (see FIG. 1) of the secondary pulley 32 passes through the through hole 622.

[0043] The primary pulley 31 is located below and on the vehicle front side of the secondary pulley 32. On the vehicle front side as viewed from the primary pulley 31, a control valve CV housed in a second chamber S2 (see FIG. 1) is located.

[0044] When viewed from the front side of the vehicle (the side indicated by the arrow A in the drawing), the control valve CV is provided in a positional relationship where it overlaps with the primary pulley 31 and the secondary pulley 32. In other words, when viewed from the front side of the vehicle, the control valve CV overlaps with the primary pulley 31 and the secondary pulley 32 in a height range OV1. The primary pulley 31 is located between the control valve CV and the secondary pulley 32 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. Therefore, when viewed horizontally along the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle, the secondary pulley 32 is disposed in a positional relationship in which it largely overlaps with the primary pulley 31 and also overlaps with the control valve CV. That is, when viewed from the front of the vehicle, the secondary pulley 32 overlaps with the primary pulley 31 in a height range OV2. When viewed from the front of the vehicle, the secondary pulley 32 overlaps with the control valve CV in a height range OV3.

[0045] Opening 620 and oil filter 69 are located between control valve CV and secondary pulley 32 in the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle. Therefore, when viewed from the front side of the vehicle, secondary pulley 32 is provided in a positional relationship that overlaps with opening 620 and oil filter 69. In other words, when viewed from the front side of the vehicle, secondary pulley 32 overlaps with opening 620 and oil filter 69 in a height range OV4. Therefore, the primary pulley 31, the opening 620, and the oil filter 69 are located between the secondary pulley 32 and the control valve CV.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 1, the case 6 is provided with a storage section 68 on the side surface facing the front of the vehicle. The storage section 68 is provided with an opening facing the front side of the vehicle. A wall portion 682 serving as a bottom wall of the storage section 68 is provided in a direction along the rotation axis X1. When viewed in the radial direction of the rotation axis X1, the storage section 68 is formed to have a range in the direction of the rotation axis X1 that extends from the area of ​​the peripheral wall portion 61 of the case 6 to the side of the first cover 7.

[0047] Approximately half of the wall 682 of the housing 68 on the engine ENG side is integrated with the peripheral wall 61. Approximately half of the opposite side of the wall 682 is provided on an extension of the peripheral wall 61 with a gap between it and the outer periphery of the first cover 7.

[0048] Fig. 4 is a view of the housing 68 as viewed from the front side of the vehicle. In Fig. 4, the second chamber S2 as viewed from the front side of the vehicle is shown typically together with other components of the housing HS (the case 6, the first cover 7, and the second cover 8). The area of ​​the joint 683 located on the near side of the page is shown with cross-hatching. The exterior of the control valve CV and the exterior of the electric oil pump EOP are also shown typically.

[0049] 4, when viewed from the front side of the vehicle, the storage section 68 has a wall section 682 and a surrounding wall 681 that completely surrounds the outer periphery of the wall section 682. An end face of the surrounding wall 681 on the front side of the page forms a joint section 683 with the third cover 9. 1, a joint portion 911 on the third cover 9 side is joined around the entire periphery to the joint portion 683. The accommodation portion 68 and the third cover 9 are connected with bolts (not shown) in a state in which the joint portions 683 and 911 are joined to each other.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 1, the second chamber S2 accommodates a control valve CV and an electric oil pump EOP. The control valve CV has a basic structure in which a separate plate 920 is sandwiched between valve bodies 921, 921. A hydraulic control circuit 95 (see FIG. 5) is formed inside the control valve CV. The hydraulic control circuit 95 is provided with a solenoid that is driven based on commands from a control device (not shown) and a pressure regulating valve (spool valve SP) that is operated by a signal pressure generated by the solenoid, etc.

[0051] In the second chamber S2, the control valve CV is disposed vertically with the stacking direction of the valve bodies 921, 921 aligned along the vehicle front-rear direction. 4, in the second chamber S2, the control valve CV is vertically oriented so as to satisfy the following conditions: (a) the multiple spool valves SP in the control valve CV are aligned along a vertical line VL (up-down direction) based on the installation state of the power transmission device 1 on the vehicle V, and (b) the direction Xp of the forward and backward movement of the spool valve SP is oriented along the horizontal line.

[0052] As a result, the control valve CV is disposed vertically in the second chamber S2 while the forward and backward movement of the spool valve SP is not hindered, and therefore the size of the second chamber S2 is not increased in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

[0053] In the second chamber S2, the control valve CV and the electric oil pump EOP are arranged side by side in the direction of the rotation axis X (left and right direction in FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 1, the control valve CV is provided in a positional relationship where it overlaps with the first chamber S1 when viewed from the front side of the vehicle. The electric oil pump EOP is provided in a positional relationship where it overlaps with the third chamber S3 when viewed from the front side of the vehicle.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 4, the electric oil pump EOP has a basic configuration in which a control unit 931, a motor unit 932, and a pump unit 933 are arranged in series in the direction of the rotation axis Z1 of the motor. The electric oil pump EOP is provided with the rotation axis Z1 oriented perpendicular to the rotation axis X of the power transmission device 1. In this state, the electric oil pump EOP is vertically oriented with the pump section 933 positioned at the bottom in the second chamber S2. The suction port 933a and the discharge port 933b of the pump portion 933 are located on the boundary side with the motor portion 932. The suction port 933a of the pump portion 933 is connected to the above-mentioned oil passage 626. The discharge port 933b of the pump portion 933 is connected to the control valve CV via another oil passage in the case.

[0055] The control valve CV is provided with a discharge port 96 for the oil OL discharged from the pressure regulating valve. Therefore, excess oil OL is discharged from the control valve CV into the second chamber S2 that accommodates the control valve CV. In the second chamber S2, a communication portion 94 opens at the lowermost portion of the region overlapping with the first chamber S1 in the wall portion 682. The communication portion 94 communicates the first chamber S1 and the second chamber S2.

[0056] Furthermore, an opening 97 is provided at the top of the wall portion 682. The opening 97 opens at a position of the wall portion 682 overlapping with the first chamber S1. A lower edge 97a of the opening 97 is located at approximately the same height as an upper edge 925 of the control valve CV. In this way, the communication portion 94 and the opening 97 respectively connect the second chamber S2 and the first chamber S1. Therefore, the second chamber S2 communicates with the first chamber S1 at the upper and lower portions in the direction of the vertical line VL based on the installation state of the power transmission device 1 on the vehicle V.

[0057] 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hydraulic control circuit 95 in the control valve CV and a supply path of oil OL to the variator 3 (primary pulley 31, secondary pulley 32). The hydraulic control circuit 95 shows a portion related to the regulation of the operating hydraulic pressure of the variator 3 (primary pulley 31, secondary pulley 32).

[0058] As shown in Fig. 5, the power transmission device 1 includes one mechanical oil pump MOP and one electric oil pump EOP. These oil pumps (the mechanical oil pump MOP and the electric oil pump EOP) suck oil OL stored in the lower part of the housing HS through a strainer 10. The sucked oil OL is pressurized and then supplied to a hydraulic control circuit 95 in the control valve CV. In the following description, when there is no particular distinction between the mechanical oil pump MOP and the electric oil pump EOP, they will simply be referred to as "oil pump OP."

[0059] A hydraulic control circuit 95 in the control valve CV adjusts the operating hydraulic pressure of the power transmission mechanism (forward / reverse switching mechanism 2, variator 3, etc.) from the hydraulic pressure generated by the oil pump OP.

[0060] The line pressure regulating valve 951 adjusts the amount of oil OL drained from the line pressure regulating valve 951, thereby adjusting the line pressure from the hydraulic pressure generated by the oil pump OP. The line pressure regulated by the line pressure regulating valve 951 is supplied to a primary pressure regulating valve 953, a secondary pressure regulating valve 954, and a pilot pressure regulating valve 952. The line pressure is also supplied to other pressure regulating valves included in the hydraulic control circuit 95.

[0061] The pilot pressure regulating valve 952 regulates the pilot pressure from the line pressure. The pilot pressure regulated by the pilot pressure regulating valve 952 is supplied to a primary solenoid 955 and a secondary solenoid 956. The primary solenoid 955 and the secondary solenoid 956 operate based on a command from a control device (not shown) to adjust the signal pressure supplied to the primary pressure regulating valve 953 and the secondary pressure regulating valve 954 .

[0062] In primary pressure regulating valve 953 and secondary pressure regulating valve 954, the spool valve moves in the axial direction (Xp direction in the drawing) in response to the signal pressure. When the spool valve moves in the axial direction, the line pressure regulated by the line pressure regulating valve 951 is adjusted to a pressure according to the position of the spool valve, and then supplied to the oil chamber of the corresponding pulley (primary pulley 31, secondary pulley 32).

[0063] The line pressure regulating valve 951 is located on the most upstream side (the oil pump OP side) in the hydraulic control circuit 95, and is supplied with the hydraulic pressure generated by the oil pump OP first. In the line pressure regulating valve 951, when the line pressure is adjusted from the hydraulic pressure generated by the oil pump OP, a part of the oil generated by the oil pump OP is drained.

[0064] The line pressure regulating valve 951 is provided in a control valve CV. The control valve CV needs to be arranged so that the direction XP in which the pressure regulating valve (spool valve) in the hydraulic control circuit 95 moves back and forth is aligned with the horizontal line HL. Therefore, the control valve CV is vertically oriented in the second chamber S2.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 4, in the control valve CV, a line pressure regulating valve 951, a primary pressure regulating valve 953, and a secondary pressure regulating valve 954 are arranged in this order from bottom to top. The line pressure regulating valve 951 and the primary pressure regulating valve 953 are disposed to the side of the electric oil pump EOP with the pressure regulating valve (spool valve) oriented along the horizontal line. The secondary pressure regulating valve 954 is disposed above the electric oil pump EOP with the pressure regulating valve (spool valve) oriented along the horizontal line.

[0066] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the oil OL when the power transmission device 1 is in operation, and the height of the oil OL stored in the second chamber S2. As shown in FIG. 6, in the case 6, oil OL used for operating the power transmission device 1 and for lubricating the components of the power transmission device 1 is stored in a storage portion 67 in the lower portion of the first chamber S1. When the power transmission device 1 is in operation, oil OL that is stirred up by a rotating body (such as the final gear 45) in the first chamber S1 flows from the opening 97 into the second chamber S2. Therefore, the oil OL flowing in from the opening 97 and the oil OL discharged from the control valve CV are stored in the second chamber S2. The oil OL in the second chamber S2 is returned to the first chamber S1 through a communication part 94 provided in the lower part of the second chamber S2.

[0067] Here, the opening diameter of the communication portion 94 is set so that when the power transmission device 1 is operating, oil OL is stored in the second chamber S2 and the amount of oil OL in the first chamber S1 is the minimum amount required to lubricate the rotating body. Therefore, when the power transmission device 1 is in operation, the oil OL stored in the second chamber S2 reaches a height H2 that reaches the opening 97 at a maximum.

[0068] When the power transmission device 1 stops, the oil OL stops flowing into the second chamber S2 from the opening 97. The oil OL also stops discharging from the control valve CV. Therefore, the oil OL in the second chamber S2 is gradually returned to the first chamber S1 via the communication portion 94, and the oil OL in the first chamber S1 and the oil OL in the second chamber S2 eventually reach the same height H1.

[0069] In this embodiment, the line pressure regulating valve 951 in the vertically disposed control valve CV is disposed at a height position where it is submerged in the oil OL stored in the second chamber S2 when the power transmission device 1 is stopped. Therefore, the line pressure regulating valve 951 is disposed below the height H1 of the oil OL when the power transmission device 1 is stopped (the oil level OL_Level when the power transmission device 1 is stopped).

[0070] When the power transmission device 1 is stopped, the oil OL in the hydraulic control circuit 95 is discharged to the outside of the control valve CV due to its own weight. Therefore, if the line pressure regulating valve 951 is not submerged in the oil OL when the power transmission device 1 is stopped, the oil OL inside the line pressure regulating valve 951 will also leak out. When the power transmission device 1 is driven again in this state, line pressure is not supplied to the downstream pressure regulators (primary pressure regulator valve 953, secondary pressure regulator valve 954) until the oil OL supplied from the oil pump OP fills the inside of the line pressure regulator valve 951. In such a case, there is a possibility that the supply of operating oil pressure to the variator 3 will be delayed, which may affect the responsiveness of the variator 3.

[0071] In particular, in a low-temperature environment where the oil OL is below 0°C, as the temperature of the oil OL decreases, the volume of the oil OL decreases, the height of the oil OL stored in the housing HS decreases, and the viscosity of the oil OL increases, decreasing the fluidity of the oil OL. In this embodiment, the line pressure regulating valve 951 is disposed at a position where at least a part, preferably the entirety, of the line pressure regulating valve 951 is submerged in the oil OL stored in the second chamber S2 when the temperature of the oil OL is low. This makes it possible to prevent a significant interruption in the supply of the oil OL to the pressure regulating valves (primary pressure regulating valve 953, secondary pressure regulating valve 954) downstream of the line pressure regulating valve 951 when the power transmission device 1 that has been stopped in a low-temperature environment is restarted. This makes it possible to expect an improvement in responsiveness when the power transmission device 1 is restarted.

[0072] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the primary pressure regulating valve 953 is positioned so that at least a portion, and more preferably the entirety, of the primary pressure regulating valve 953 is submerged in the oil OL stored in the second chamber S2 when the power transmission device 1 is operating. The primary pressure regulating valve 953 affects the responsiveness when a vehicle that has stopped temporarily starts moving again. When the power transmission device 1 is driven, the temperature of the oil OL becomes higher than when the power transmission device 1 is not driven. As the temperature of the oil OL increases, the volume of the oil OL increases, and the fluidity of the oil OL increases. If the oil OL has high fluidity, there is a high possibility that the oil OL will leak out of the hydraulic control circuit 95 during the short period that the vehicle is stopped.

[0073] As described above, the primary pressure regulating valve 953 is disposed below the height H2 of the oil OL when the power transmission device 1 is in operation (the oil level when the power transmission device 1 is in operation). Therefore, even when the oil is hot, the primary pressure regulating valve 953 is disposed at a height position where it is submerged in the oil OL. This prevents a significant interruption in the supply of oil OL from the primary pressure regulating valve 953 to the oil chamber of the primary pulley 31 when a traveling vehicle is stopped and then restarted. This is expected to improve the responsiveness of the power transmission device 1 when it is restarted.

[0074] As shown in FIG. 5, oil OL whose pressure is adjusted by primary pressure adjusting valve 953 is supplied to the oil chamber of primary pulley 31 via inner-case oil passage 251. The oil OL whose pressure is adjusted by the secondary pressure adjusting valve 954 is supplied to the oil chamber of the secondary pulley 32 via the inner-case oil passage 252.

[0075] In this embodiment, the oil passages 251 and 252 within the case are provided by utilizing the dummy cover 21 that closes the opening of the peripheral wall portion 641 (see FIG. 1).

[0076] Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating the dummy cover 21. For ease of explanation, in Fig. 7, the area where the internal case oil passage 251 is provided and the rib 240 having the internal case oil passage 252 therein are shown with cross hatching.

[0077] As shown in Fig. 7, in the power transmission device 1, a rotation transmission mechanism 150 for transmitting a rotational driving force to the mechanical oil pump MOP to drive the mechanical oil pump MOP is located in the accommodation section 68 (on the right side in the figure) as viewed from the strainer 10. In Fig. 7, the mechanical oil pump MOP is hidden on the far side of the page. The rotation transmission mechanism 150 is composed of a drive sprocket 151 , a driven sprocket 152 , and a chain 153 .

[0078] As shown in FIG. 1, the drive sprocket 151 rotates about a rotation axis X1 by a rotational driving force input via an impeller sleeve 155 of the torque converter T / C. The impeller sleeve 155 is fitted onto the input shaft 20 of the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2. The input shaft 20 is rotatably supported by a dummy cover 21 that closes the opening of the peripheral wall portion 641. The drive sprocket 151 and the impeller sleeve 155 are rotatably supported by the input shaft 20 of the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2 .

[0079] 7, the rotation input to the drive sprocket 151 is transmitted to the driven sprocket 152 via the chain 153. The driven sprocket 152 rotates around a rotation axis X5 by the transmitted rotation. When the driven sprocket 152 rotates, the rotation axis of the mechanical oil pump MOP to which the driven sprocket 152 is connected rotates, driving the mechanical oil pump MOP. As a result, the oil OL stored in the lower part of the case 6 is sucked through the strainer 10.

[0080] 2, in the case 6, a peripheral wall portion 641 for forming an accommodation portion for the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2 is provided with an opening facing the front side of the page (the second cover 8). The opening of the peripheral wall portion 641 is closed by a dummy cover 21 (see FIG. 1) that is attached to the peripheral wall portion 641 from the second cover 8 side.

[0081] As shown in Fig. 1, the dummy cover 21 is a plate-like member having a predetermined thickness in the direction of the rotation axis X1. When viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X1, the dummy cover 21 is provided in a positional relationship where it overlaps with the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2 and the primary pulley 31. When viewed from the primary pulley 31, the dummy cover 21 is disposed across the torque converter T / C side. As shown in Fig. 7, the dummy cover 21 has a peripheral portion 220 and a cover portion 230 on the inside of the peripheral portion 220.

[0082] The peripheral edge portion 220 abuts against a peripheral wall portion 641 (see FIG. 1) on the case 6 side from the direction of the rotation axis X1. In this state, the peripheral edge portion 220 is fixed to the peripheral wall portion 641 with bolts BL. The cover portion 230 is formed in a size sufficient to cover the side surface of the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2 on the second cover 8 side (the front side of the page). An insertion hole 231 is provided in the center of the cover portion 230. The input shaft 20 of the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2 passes through the insertion hole 231 in the direction of the rotation axis X1.

[0083] An oil passage for distributing oil OL supplied from the control valve CV side is provided inside the cover portion 230. On the surface of the cover portion 230 facing the viewer in the drawing, the portion where the oil passage is provided bulges toward the viewer in the drawing. In the drawing, an area indicated by cross-hatching is provided with an internal case oil passage 251. In the dummy cover 21, the internal case oil passage 251 is located in an area below a horizontal line HL passing through the rotation axis X1 and in front of a vertical line VL passing through the rotation axis X1.

[0084] The case internal oil passage 251 extends from the outer periphery of the peripheral portion 220 toward the rotation axis X1, and reaches the insertion hole 231. The case internal oil passage 251 connects the output port of the primary pressure regulating valve 953 and the in-shaft oil passage of the primary pulley 31. Therefore, the operating oil (hydraulic pressure) supplied from the primary pressure regulating valve 953 is supplied to the oil chamber of the primary pulley 31 through the oil passage 251 in the case.

[0085] A rib 240 having an oil passage (inner-case oil passage 252) therein is located above the horizontal line HL in the direction of the vertical line VL. The rib 240 bulges out further toward the front side of the page than the peripheral portion 220 and the cover portion 230. The rib 240 is provided in a range that crosses the upper side of the insertion hole 231 in the direction of the horizontal line HL.

[0086] The rib 240 is inclined such that the height in the vertical line VL direction decreases toward the vehicle rear side (left side in the figure) of the boundary portion 240c toward the vehicle rear side. The rib 240 is inclined such that the height in the vertical line VL direction decreases toward the end 240b on the vehicle front side from the boundary portion 240c. When viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X1, the boundary portion 240c of the rib 240 is located in the vicinity of the vertical line VL passing through the rotation axis X1. The rib 240 is provided in a bent shape with the boundary portion 240c located at the uppermost side.

[0087] The drive sprocket 151 of the rotation transmission mechanism 150 is located below the rib 240 in the direction of the vertical line VL. The rib 240 detours around the upper side of the drive sprocket 151 and crosses the vertical line VL from the front side to the rear side of the vehicle.

[0088] An end 240b of the rib 240 on the vehicle front side reaches the outer periphery of the peripheral edge portion 220. An inner-case oil passage 252 in the rib 240 communicates with the output port of the secondary pressure regulating valve 954 described above.

[0089] An end 240a of the rib 240 on the vehicle rear side is located on the peripheral portion 220. An end 240a of an in-case oil passage 252 in the rib 240 opens to the surface of the peripheral portion 220 on the far side of the page. As shown in FIG. 2, in the peripheral wall portion 641 to which the dummy cover 21 is attached, an oil hole 641a is opened at a position overlapping with the end portion 240a when viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X1. Oil hole 641a extends inside peripheral wall portion 641 toward secondary pulley 32 (toward the rear of the page) and communicates with the oil chamber of secondary pulley 32. Therefore, intra-case oil passage 252 communicates between the output port of secondary pressure regulating valve 954 and the oil chamber on the secondary pulley 32 side. Therefore, the operating oil (hydraulic pressure) supplied from the secondary pressure regulating valve 954 is supplied to the oil chamber of the secondary pulley 32 through the case inner oil passage 252.

[0090] 1, the drive sprocket 151 is located on the torque converter T / C side when viewed from the dummy cover 21. The drive sprocket 151 is disposed in the gap between the dummy cover 21 and the torque converter T / C. The drive sprocket 151 has a thickness in the direction of the rotation axis X1. As shown in Fig. 7, there is a space above the drive sprocket 151. In this embodiment, a rib 240 is provided in the space above the drive sprocket 151. The rib 240 bulges out toward the torque converter T / C by an amount that is approximately equivalent to the thickness of the drive sprocket 151 in the direction of the rotation axis X1. Therefore, even if the rib 240 is provided, the power transmission device 1 does not become larger in size in the direction of the rotation axis X1 due to the provision of the rib 240.

[0091] Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating the positional relationship between intra-case oil passages 251, 252, and primary and secondary pressure adjustment valves 953 and 954. Fig. 8 shows that the vertical relationship of intra-case oil passages 251, 252 in the first chamber S1, the vertical relationship of primary pressure adjustment valve 953 and secondary pressure adjustment valve 954 in the second chamber S2, and the vertical relationship of primary pulley 31 and secondary pulley 32 in the third chamber are all aligned.

[0092] As shown in FIG. 8, the control valve CV disposed in the second chamber S2 is vertically oriented such that the primary pressure adjustment valve 953 is located below the secondary pressure adjustment valve 954 in the direction of the vertical line VL.

[0093] In the third chamber S3, the primary pulley 31 is disposed below the secondary pulley 32 in the direction of the vertical line VL. In this embodiment, an internal case oil passage 251 connecting the oil chamber of the primary pulley 31 and the primary pressure regulating valve 953, and an internal case oil passage 252 connecting the oil chamber of the secondary pulley 32 and the secondary pressure regulating valve 954 are provided using the dummy cover 21.

[0094] The case internal oil passage 251 is an existing oil passage provided inside the dummy cover 21. The case internal oil passage 252 is an oil passage provided in a rib 240 attached to the dummy cover 21. In the case of the existing control valve CV provided at the lower opening of the housing HS, the control valve CV is located directly below the primary pulley 31 and the secondary pulley 32. Furthermore, there are no other elements between the primary pulley 31 and the secondary pulley 32 and the control valve CV that require the oil path to be bypassed. Therefore, by providing an oil passage extending upward from the control valve CV, the control valve CV and the oil chambers of the pulleys (primary pulley 31, secondary pulley 32) can be connected in the shortest distance.

[0095] 3, in the case of the power transmission device 1 according to the present embodiment, the primary pulley 31, the oil filter 69, and the opening 620 are located between the secondary pulley 32 and the control valve CV. Therefore, there is no room in the partition wall 62 supporting the secondary pulley 32 to provide the internal case oil passage 252, which connects the control valve CV and the oil chamber of the secondary pulley 32, over the shortest distance. When an oil passage is provided in partition wall portion 62, it is necessary to largely detour below primary pulley 31 (below in FIG. 3).

[0096] Here, the oil passage 251 in the case that connects the control valve CV and the oil chamber of the primary pulley 31 is provided in the dummy cover 21. As shown in FIG. 1, the dummy cover 21 has a space on the outer diameter side of the drive sprocket 151 located to the side of the dummy cover 21. In this embodiment, a rib 240 that protrudes from the dummy cover 21 to the outer diameter side of the drive sprocket 151 is provided with an inner case oil passage 252 . Rib 240 is provided so as to fit into a gap in the direction of rotation axis X1 in an area where drive sprocket 151 is provided. Therefore, rib 240 having inner-case oil passage 252 therein prevents power transmission device 1 from becoming large in the radial direction.

[0097] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, in accordance with the vertical relationship between the primary pulley 31 and the secondary pulley 32 and the vertical relationship between the primary pressure regulating valve 953 and the secondary pressure regulating valve 954, the case oil passage 252 is positioned above the case oil passage 251 in the direction of the vertical line VL.

[0098] As a result, in case 6, case internal oil passage 252 and case internal oil passage 251 are provided without intersecting with each other when viewed from the direction of rotation axis X1. When viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X1, the case internal oil passage 252 is provided across the side of the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2 and the primary pulley 31 in the vehicle front-rear direction. Therefore, the case internal oil passage 252, which connects the secondary pulley 32 and the secondary pressure regulating valve 954, can be provided over the shortest distance. This makes it possible to suppress the degree to which the layout of the case internal oil passages 251, 252 becomes complicated, and allows the case internal oil passages 251, 252 to be each shortened. As a result, oil OL can be smoothly supplied to the oil chamber of the primary pulley 31 and the oil chamber of the secondary pulley 32. This makes it possible to smoothly change the winding radius of the belt 30 around the primary pulley 31 and the secondary pulley 32, thereby improving the gear shift responsiveness of the variator 3.

[0099] As described above, the power transmission device 1 according to this embodiment has the following configuration. (1) A power transmission device 1 includes: A variator 3 having a primary pulley 31 and a secondary pulley 32; and a control valve CV having a hydraulic control circuit 95 that supplies operating oil OL to the primary pulley 31 and the secondary pulley 32. The control valve CV has multiple pressure regulating valves with valve bodies (spool valves) that move in the direction of the horizontal line HL. The control valve CV is arranged vertically with the pressure regulating valves aligned along the vertical line VL (up-down direction). The rotation axis X2 of the secondary pulley 32 is located above the rotation axis X1 of the primary pulley 31 in the up-down direction. Secondary pressure regulating valve 954 (second pressure regulating valve) that adjusts the supply pressure to secondary pulley 32 is located above primary pressure regulating valve 953 (first pressure regulating valve) that adjusts the supply pressure to primary pulley 31 in the up-down direction.

[0100] With this configuration, the arrangement of the rotation axis X2 of the secondary pulley 32 and the rotation axis X1 of the primary pulley 31 in the vertical direction, and the arrangement of the secondary pressure regulating valve 954 (second pressure regulating valve) and the primary pressure regulating valve 953 (first pressure regulating valve) in the vertical direction are aligned. This makes it possible to provide the case internal oil passage 252 (second oil passage) for supplying oil from the secondary pressure regulating valve 954 to the secondary pulley 32 and the case internal oil passage 251 (first oil passage) for supplying oil from the primary pressure regulating valve 953 to the primary pulley 31 without intersecting when viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X1. This makes it possible to suppress the degree to which the layout (arrangement) of the oil passages becomes complicated, and allows the length of each of the in-case oil passages 251, 252 to be shortened. As a result, oil OL can be smoothly supplied to the oil chamber of the primary pulley 31 and the oil chamber of the secondary pulley 32. This allows the winding radius of the belt 30 around the primary pulley 31 and the secondary pulley 32 to be smoothly changed, and the gear shift responsiveness of the variator 3 can be improved. In the embodiment, the valve body (spool valve) of the pressure regulating valve is described as moving in the direction of the horizontal line HL. However, the valve body is not limited to moving strictly along the horizontal line HL, and may simply move in the lateral direction of the vehicle.

[0101] (2) When viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X1, the primary pulley 31 is located between the secondary pulley 32 and the control valve CV. An internal case oil passage 252 for the secondary pulley 32 is provided in the dummy cover 21 which is a wall portion separate from the partition wall portion 62 which is a support wall for the primary pulley 31 . The dummy cover 21 is provided in a positional relationship overlapping with the primary pulley 31 when viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X1.

[0102] The oil OL whose pressure is adjusted by the secondary pressure adjusting valve 954 is supplied to the oil chamber of the secondary pulley 32 via the inner-case oil passage 252. When configured as described above, the dummy cover 21 is located away from the partition wall portion 62 in the direction of the rotation axis X1, and when viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X1, the dummy cover 21 is positioned so as to overlap the partition wall portion 62 and the primary pulley 31. This allows the case inner oil passage 252 to be provided through the side of the primary pulley 31 in the direction of the rotation axis X1 (the side on the torque converter T / C side). In this case, the length of the case internal oil passage 252 can be made shorter than when the case internal oil passage is provided by bypassing the outer diameter side (such as the lower side in FIG. 3) of the primary pulley 31. As a result, the oil OL can be supplied to the oil chamber of the secondary pulley 32 more smoothly by the amount that the overall length of the case internal oil passage is shortened, thereby improving the shift response of the variator 3.

[0103] (3) The thickness of the dummy cover 21 (wall portion) in the direction of the rotation axis X1 in the region of the rib 240 where the inner-case oil passage 252 is provided is greater than the thickness of the other region in the direction of the rotation axis X1.

[0104] The case internal oil passage 252 is provided in a rib 240 attached to the dummy cover 21. The thickness of the dummy cover 21 in the direction of the rotation axis X1 at the portion where the rib 240 is attached is increased by the amount of the rib 240. In the dummy cover 21, the rib 240 is formed as a protruding portion that protrudes in the direction of the rotation axis X. By increasing the thickness of only the portion required for arranging the in-case oil passage 252, rather than increasing the overall thickness of the dummy cover 21, an increase in the weight of the dummy cover 21 as a whole can be suitably prevented.

[0105] (4) The hydraulic control circuit 95 has a line pressure regulating valve 951 that regulates the line pressure from the source pressure supplied from the oil pump OP. In the control valve CV, the line pressure regulating valve 951 is located below the primary pressure regulating valve 953 in the direction of the vertical line VL (up and down direction).

[0106] When the control valve CV is arranged vertically in the second chamber S2 that houses the control valve CV, the line pressure regulation valve 951, the primary pressure regulation valve 953, and the secondary pressure regulation valve 954 are arranged side by side in this order from the bottom. Therefore, the line pressure regulation valve 951 is arranged at the lowest position. When the power transmission device 1 is not in operation, the oil OL is not supplied to the control valve CV, so the oil OL in the control valve CV is gradually discharged to the outside of the control valve CV. As a result, the oil OL is leaked from the hydraulic control circuit 95 in the control valve CV. The oil supplied to the control valve CV when the power transmission device 1 is restarted fills the hydraulic control circuit 95 with the oil OL, and is then supplied to the destination of the oil OL, such as the primary pulley 31 or the secondary pulley 32. Therefore, if the oil OL in the hydraulic control circuit 95 has leaked out to a large extent, the responsiveness of the variator 3 will deteriorate. The line pressure regulating valve 951 is the first pressure regulating valve that adjusts the pressure of the oil OL supplied from the oil pump, and has a large effect on the responsiveness when the power transmission device 1 is restarted. Therefore, if the line pressure regulating valve 951 is disposed at the lowest position, the line pressure regulating valve 951 can be submerged in the oil OL stored in the second chamber S2 when the power transmission device 1 is not in operation. This is expected to improve the responsiveness of the power transmission device 1 when it is restarted.

[0107] (5) The height position of the line pressure regulating valve 951 in the vertical line VL direction (up and down direction) is The line pressure regulating valve 951 is set at a height position where at least a portion of the line pressure regulating valve 951 is submerged in the oil OL stored in the second chamber S2 when the power transmission device 1 is not in operation.

[0108] If the height position of the line pressure regulating valve 951 is set based on the height of the oil OL stored in the second chamber S2 when the power transmission device 1 is not driven, there is no significant disruption in the supply of oil OL from the line pressure regulating valve 951 to the primary pressure regulating valve 953 and the secondary pressure regulating valve 954 when the power transmission device 1 is driven again. In particular, in a low-temperature environment below 0°C, as the temperature of the oil OL decreases, the volume of the oil OL decreases, the height of the oil OL stored in the housing HS (second chamber S2) decreases, and the viscosity of the oil OL increases, decreasing the fluidity of the oil OL. With the above configuration, when the power transmission device 1 that was stopped in a low-temperature environment is restarted, the possibility of a significant interruption in the supply of oil OL from the line pressure regulating valve 951 to the primary pressure regulating valve 953 and the secondary pressure regulating valve 954 can be reduced. This is expected to improve the responsiveness of the power transmission device 1 when it is restarted.

[0109] (6) The height position of the primary pressure regulating valve 953 (first pressure regulating valve) in the vertical line VL direction (up-down direction) is When the oil OL stored in the housing HS (second chamber S2) is at a higher temperature (higher temperature) than when the power transmission device 1 is not in operation, the primary pressure regulating valve 953 is set at a height position where at least a portion of the primary pressure regulating valve 953 is submerged in oil.

[0110] When the power transmission device 1 is in operation, the temperature of the oil OL increases. When the temperature of the oil OL increases, the volume of the oil OL increases. This reduces the viscosity of the oil and increases the fluidity of the oil OL. This means that the oil OL in the hydraulic control circuit 95 may leak out even if the power transmission device 1 is stopped for a short period of time. Therefore, if the height position of the primary pressure regulating valve 953 is set to a position where at least a portion of it is submerged in the oil OL stored in the second chamber S2 when the temperature of the oil OL is high, it is possible to reduce the possibility of a significant interruption in the supply of oil OL from the line pressure regulating valve 951 and the primary pressure regulating valve 953 when the power transmission device 1 that has been stopped in a high temperature environment is restarted. This is expected to improve the responsiveness of the power transmission device 1 when it is restarted.

[0111] (i) An in-case oil passage 251 (first oil passage) for the primary pulley 31 is provided by utilizing the thickness of the dummy cover 21.

[0112] When both the case internal oil passage 251 (first oil passage) and the case internal oil passage 252 (second oil passage) are provided using the thickness of the dummy cover 21, the thickness of the dummy cover 21 needs to be increased in order to increase the rigidity of the dummy cover 21. With the above configuration, the oil passage 252 in the case is provided inside the rib 240 that locally thickens the thickness of the dummy cover 21, so there is no need to thicken the entire thickness of the dummy cover 21. This makes it possible to suppress the degree of increase in weight of the power transmission device 1. Therefore, improvement in fuel efficiency of the vehicle equipped with the power transmission device 1 can be expected.

[0113] (ii) The primary pulley 31 is located on one side (the third chamber S3 side) of the partition portion 62 (support wall) in the direction of the rotation axis X1. The rotation transmission mechanism (forward / reverse switching mechanism 2) is located on the other side (first chamber S1) of the partition wall portion 62. The dummy cover 21 is a cover that covers an opening of the peripheral wall portion 641 that forms the accommodation chamber for the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2. When viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X1, the dummy cover 21 is formed in a size sufficient to cover the side of the forward / reverse switching mechanism 2 on the second cover 8 side.

[0114] The forward / reverse switching mechanism 2 (rotation transmission mechanism) that transmits input rotation from the drive source (engine ENG) to the primary pulley 31 is covered on the side opposite to the partition wall portion 62 with a dummy cover 21. This dummy cover 21 is an existing part of the power transmission device 1. Therefore, by providing the internal case oil passage 252 in the dummy cover 21, which is an existing part, it is not necessary to provide a separate wall portion in the housing HS exclusively for providing the internal case oil passage 252. This makes it possible to prevent an increase in the weight of the power transmission device 1 due to an increase in the number of parts. Furthermore, if a wall portion is provided in addition to the existing dummy cover, the power transmission device 1 will become larger in size in the direction of the rotation axis X1. By providing the in-case oil passage 252 using the dummy cover 21, which is an existing part, it is possible to suitably prevent the power transmission device 1 from becoming larger in size in the direction of the rotation axis X1.

[0115] (iii) When viewed from the dummy cover 21, the drive sprocket 151 is provided on the opposite side to the primary pulley 31 in the direction of the rotation axis X1. The drive sprocket 151 is provided adjacent to the dummy cover 21 . When viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X1, the oil passage 252 in the case is provided so as to bypass the upper side of the drive sprocket 151.

[0116] For example, when the driven sprocket 152 is disposed below the drive sprocket 151, there is a space above the drive sprocket 151 on the side of the dummy cover 21 in the direction of the rotation axis X1. When viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X1, the oil passage 252 inside the case is arranged so as to bypass the upper side of the drive sprocket 151 and follow the outer periphery of the drive sprocket 151, so that the rib 240 resulting from the oil passage 252 inside the case can be arranged without interfering with the drive sprocket 151. In this case, the rib 240 is disposed in an open space on the side of the dummy cover 21, and therefore, when the rib 240 is provided, it is possible to suitably prevent the power transmission device 1 from becoming large in size in the direction of the rotation axis X.

[0117] (iv) When viewed from the direction of the rotation axis X1, the mechanical oil pump MOP is located below the primary pulley 31 in the up-down direction. The mechanical oil pump MOP is located in the accommodation portion 67 at the bottom of the case 6, closer to the second chamber S2.

[0118] With this configuration, the length of the oil passage 628 (third oil passage) for supplying oil from the mechanical oil pump MOP to the line pressure regulating valve 951 can be shortened, so that improvement in responsiveness when the power transmission device 1 is restarted can be expected.

[0119] (v) Within the housing HS that accommodates the power transmission mechanism, a second chamber S2 that accommodates the control valve CV is provided in addition to the first chamber S1 that accommodates the power transmission mechanism. In the second chamber S2, at least the oil OL discharged from the control valve CV when the power transmission device 1 is in operation is stored. The second chamber S2 is formed to have a smaller volume than the first chamber S1.

[0120] With this configuration, the fluctuation in the height of the oil OL in the second chamber S2 becomes larger than the fluctuation in the height of the oil OL in the first chamber S1. Therefore, it is possible to reliably submerse the target pressure regulating valves (the line pressure regulating valve 951 and the primary pressure regulating valve 953) in the oil OL stored in the second chamber S2 when the power transmission device 1 is in operation.

[0121] (vi) The control valve CV is disposed in the second chamber S2 and oriented along the rotation axis X1 of the primary pulley 31.

[0122] With this configuration, the pressure regulating valves (the line pressure regulating valve 951, the primary pressure regulating valve 953, and the secondary pressure regulating valve 954) of the control valve CV are arranged in a direction along the rotation axis X1 of the primary pulley 31. As a result, the second chamber S2 that houses the control valve CV has a small thickness in the radial direction of the rotation axis X1 of the primary pulley 31, so that the power transmission device 1 can be prevented from becoming large in size.

[0123] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a power transmission device 1A according to a modified example. In the embodiment described above, the first chamber S1 housing the strainer 10 and the second chamber S2 housing the control valve CV are completely separated by the wall portion 682 (see FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 9, a power transmission device 1A may be configured such that the control valve CV functions as a wall portion that separates the first chamber S1 and the second chamber S2. Even with the power transmission device 1A having such a configuration, the degree to which the layout of the oil passages becomes complicated can be suppressed, and an improvement in the shift response of the variator 3 can be expected.

[0124] In the above embodiment, the power transmission device 1 transmits the rotation of the engine ENG to the drive wheels WH, WH, but the power transmission device 1 may transmit the rotation of at least one of the engine ENG and a motor (rotating electric machine) to the drive wheels WH, WH. For example, the power transmission device 1 may be of a one-motor, two-clutch type (a type in which a motor is disposed between the engine ENG and the power transmission device, a first clutch is disposed between the engine ENG and the motor, and a second clutch is disposed within the power transmission device 1). In the above embodiment, the power transmission device 1 has a speed change function, but the power transmission mechanism may not have a speed change function and may simply decelerate (or may increase) the speed. In the case where the power transmission device does not have a speed change function and is configured to reduce the speed of the motor and transmit the rotation to the drive wheels WH, WH, a hydraulic control circuit for supplying oil OL for cooling the motor and oil OL for lubricating the speed reduction mechanism is disposed in the second chamber S2 together with the electric oil pump EOP. In the above embodiment, the control unit of the power transmission device 1 has a control valve CV, but in the case where the power transmission device 1 does not have a speed change mechanism and the drive source is a motor (rotating electric machine) instead of the engine ENG, the control unit may have an inverter or the like for driving and controlling the motor.

[0125] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the aspects shown in these embodiments. Appropriate modifications are possible within the scope of the technical concept of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0126] 1. 1A Power transmission device 21 Dummy cover (wall) 240 Ribs 251 Oil passage inside the case (1st oil passage) 252 Oil passage inside the case (2nd oil passage) 3 Variator 31 Primary pulley 32 Secondary pulley 62 Partition wall (support wall) 95 Hydraulic control circuit 951 Line pressure regulator 953 Primary pressure regulating valve (first pressure regulating valve) 954 Secondary pressure regulating valve (secondary pressure regulating valve) CV Control Valve OP Oil Pump S2 Room 2 HS Housing X1 Rotation Axis X2 Rotation Axis

Claims

1. a variator having a primary pulley and a secondary pulley; A power transmission device having the primary pulley and a control valve for supplying operating oil to the secondary pulley, The control valve includes a plurality of pressure regulating valves each having a valve body that moves in a horizontal direction, The control valve is arranged so that the pressure regulating valves are aligned vertically, A rotation shaft of the secondary pulley is located above a rotation shaft of the primary pulley in the up-down direction, a second pressure regulating valve that adjusts the pressure supplied to the secondary pulley is located above a first pressure regulating valve that adjusts the pressure supplied to the primary pulley in the vertical direction.

2. In claim 1, the primary pulley is located between the secondary pulley and the control valve, a second oil passage for the secondary pulley is provided in a wall portion separate from a support wall for the primary pulley, The wall portion is disposed in a positional relationship overlapping with the primary pulley when viewed from the rotation axis direction.

3. In claim 2, A power transmission device, wherein a thickness of the wall portion in the rotational axis direction in a region where the second oil passage is provided is greater than a thickness of other regions in the rotational axis direction.

4. In any one of claims 1 to 3, The oil pump has a line pressure regulating valve that regulates the line pressure from the source pressure supplied by the oil pump. A power transmission device, wherein the control valve has the line pressure regulating valve positioned below the first pressure regulating valve in the up-down direction.

5. 5. The line pressure regulating valve according to claim 4, wherein the height position of the line pressure regulating valve is a power transmission device, wherein the line pressure regulating valve is set at a height position where at least a portion of the line pressure regulating valve is submerged in oil stored in a case when the power transmission device is not in operation.

6. In claim 5, The height position of the first pressure regulating valve is a power transmission device, wherein the first pressure regulating valve is set at a height position where at least a portion of the first pressure regulating valve is submerged in oil when the oil stored in the case is at a temperature higher than when the power transmission device is not in operation.

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