Parking Mechanism

Abstract

To provide a parking mechanism which enables reduction of a unit shaft length.SOLUTION: A parking mechanism according to the invention includes: a parking rod which is provided from a housing which houses motor generators to a gear case which houses a parking gear and a parking pole, arranged parallel to axes of the motor generators; a parking cam which is provided at the parking rod and drives the parking pole; and a guide member which guides the parking cam. The guide member has a pipe expanding part where a pipe is expanded centered on an axis of the guide member in front of the parking pole. A length of the pipe expanding part in an axial direction of the parking rod is shorter than a length between a body portion of the parking cam and a tip of the parking rod and longer than a length of the body portion of the parking cam.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a parking mechanism. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, several configurations of a parking mechanism in a transaxle case that houses a motor generator (MG) have been proposed.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a parking rod arrangement in a transaxle case that houses two motor generators. Patent Document 2 discloses the structure of a cam guide for a cam that drives a parking pole. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-035757 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-170699 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in conventional parking mechanisms, the control shaft and lever are positioned between the motor generator and the reduction gear, overlapping the motor generator in the axial direction of the transaxle. In this case, a certain width is required in the axial direction of the transaxle to accommodate the control shaft and lever, which increases the axial length of the entire unit.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a parking mechanism that allows the unit shaft length to be shortened. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, a parking mechanism according to the present invention comprises a parking rod provided parallel to the axis of a motor generator from a dead space around the motor generator toward the inside of a gear case that houses a parking gear and a parking pole, a parking cam provided on the parking rod for driving the parking pole, and a guide member that comes into contact with a main body of the parking cam to guide the parking rod in the axial direction of the parking rod, the parking cam having, from the gear case side of the parking rod, an inclined portion whose diameter increases from the gear case side, and the main body portion having a constant diameter of the inclined portion, the guide member having an expanded portion expanded around the axis of the guide member at a position corresponding to the main body portion when the parking rod is repelled by the parking pole, and the length of the expanded portion relative to the length of the parking rod is From the tip of the parking rod a main body portion of the parking cam to the rear end of the parking rod and is longer than the length of the main body of the parking cam, the parking rod overlaps with the flywheel when viewed from the axial direction of the parking rod, and the gear case is structured to protrude toward the flywheel at the portion where the parking rod overlaps with the flywheel when viewed from the axial direction of the parking rod, thereby providing a protrusion on the flywheel side to accommodate the tip of the parking rod. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, the axial length of the unit can be shortened. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a configuration of a parking mechanism according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a parking mechanism on the housing side that accommodates the motor generator. [Figure 3]FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a parking mechanism in a gear case on the rear side of the housing shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration and arrangement of the parking rod, the guide member, and the support member. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A parking mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and the components in the following embodiments include those that would be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art, those that are substantially the same, and those that are equivalent. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, modifications, and combinations of the components can be made without departing from the spirit of the following embodiments.

[0011] <Embodiment> The configuration of the parking mechanism will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. This embodiment shows a configuration in which a parking mechanism is provided in a transaxle. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the parking mechanism according to the embodiment. In FIG. 1, the solid line indicates the parking mechanism. The dashed lines indicate an example of a component part of the transaxle. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the parking mechanism on the housing side that houses the motor generator. FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the parking mechanism in the gear case on the rear side of the housing in FIG. 2.

[0012] As shown in Figure 1, the transaxle, for example, has two motor generators 11 and 12, a direct feed gear 13, a differential gear 14, a parking gear 15, a reduction gear 16, and a flywheel 17. The parking gear 15 is provided coaxially with the reduction gear 16. The motor generators 11 and 12, the direct feed gear 13, the differential gear 14, the reduction gear 16, and the flywheel 17 are arranged so that their respective axes are parallel to one another.

[0013] The control shaft 21 is connected to a shift lever at the driver's seat by a shift cable. The control shaft 21 is driven around its axis by changing the shift position of the shift lever.

[0014] When the control shaft 21 is driven around its axis, a rocker 23 provided at the tip of the control shaft 21 rocks around the axis of the shaft. The end of the support part 22 fits into a recess provided in the rocker 23 that fixes the position of each shift position, and is held in that position.

[0015] Furthermore, when the control shaft 21 is driven, the lever 24 provided at the tip of the control shaft 21 also drives integrally around the shaft axis. The lever 24 has an opening 241 in the radial direction from the shaft axis of the control shaft 21, and a bent portion 250 at the rear end of the parking rod 25 passes through the opening 241 to maintain connection. In the illustrated example, the bent portion 250 is bent at a right angle. When the lever 24 drives around the shaft axis, the parking rod 25 moves together with the bent portion 250 in a direction perpendicular to the control shaft 21 (the direction of the Y axis in FIGS. 1 to 3).

[0016] In this way, the control shaft 21, the lever 24, and the bent portion 250 of the parking rod 25 form a link mechanism, and the parking rod 25 moves in a direction perpendicular to the control shaft 21 when the shift position is changed using the shift lever.

[0017] In the parking mechanism of this embodiment, a guide member 30 and a support member 40 are provided as a structure for supporting the parking rod 25 in the path of movement of the parking rod 25.

[0018] The guide member 30 has a function of guiding the movement of the parking rod 25. The support member 40 has a function of supporting the pushing operation by the parking rod 25 at the operating position of the parking pole 26. The parking pole 26 locks the parking gear 15 when pushed down by the parking rod 25.

[0019] 2 and 3 show the positional relationship with the steering 50. In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the control shaft 21 and lever 24 are provided in the dead space around the motor generator 11 or 12. As an example, FIG. 2 shows the control shaft 21 and lever 24 provided in the dead space directly below the motor generator 12. The direct feed gear 13, the control shaft 21, and the lever 24 are arranged to overlap. The control shaft 21 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to or intersecting an axis (the Y axis shown in FIG. 2) parallel to the rotation axis of the motor generator 12.

[0020] The parking rod 25 is arranged parallel to the axes of the two motor generators 11 and 12, the direct gear 13, and the differential gear 14 (see FIG. 3) in the dead space between them. In one example, the parking rod 25 is inserted into a tubular member 10 (see FIG. 4) that extends from the housing 1-1, which houses the two motor generators 11 and 12, into the gear case 1-2 on the rear side, below the space between the two motor generators 11 and 12. The tubular member 10 is arranged parallel to the axes of the two motor generators 11 and 12, the direct gear 13, and the differential gear 14. The parking rod 25 is inserted into the tubular member 10 with its tip oriented along the Y-axis. As shown in FIG. 3, the tip of the parking rod 25 is located at the operating position of the parking pole 26 on the gear case 1-2 side. The front side (Y-axis side) of this operating position is the flywheel damper area 170 of the flywheel 17 (see FIG. 4). The parking rod 25 overlaps with the flywheel 17 when viewed in the axial direction of the parking rod 25.

[0021] The parking rod 25 is provided with a parking cam 252 (see FIG. 4) at a predetermined distance from the tip. Hereinafter, the parking cam will be referred to as "cam." The cam 252, which is provided at a predetermined distance from the tip of the parking rod 25, operates the parking pole 26 when the parking rod 25 is in the operating position. Due to this configuration, the tip of the parking rod 25 protrudes toward the flywheel damper area 170 when the parking pole 26 is in the operating position. This protruding portion protrudes into the flywheel damper area 170 by utilizing the space in the flywheel damper area 170.

[0022] When the parking pole 26 is in the P range, one end of the parking pole 26 located on the operating position side is pushed down by the cam 252, causing a claw 261 provided on the other end to engage with the parking gear 15 and lock the parking gear 15. When the parking pole 26 is shifted from the P range to another range, the cam 252 retreats from the operating position, releasing the force pushing down the end, and the parking pole 26 returns to its original position due to the biasing force of the spring 262 that contracted during the locking operation, thereby releasing the lock.

[0023] 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration and arrangement of the parking rod 25, guide member 30, and support member 40. FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) show the different states of the parking rod 25 for each shift range. In FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), the axis of the guide member 30, the height of the parking pole 26 before it is driven, and the center line of the flywheel 17 are each indicated by dashed lines so that the arrangement and posture of the parking rod 25 and the drive of the parking pole 26 associated with the parking rod 25 can be seen.

[0024] As described above, the guide member 30 is provided on the tubular member 10 that penetrates from the housing 1-1 (see FIG. 2) through the gear case 1-2 (see FIG. 3) on the rear side thereof. As shown in FIG. 4(a), the guide member 30 comes into contact with the cam 252 of the parking rod 25 to guide the movement of the parking rod 25. The cam 252 shown as an example has a structure in which the diameter gradually increases from the tip end side of the parking rod 25 to a constant diameter on the main body portion. That is, the outer peripheral surface of the cam 252 shown as an example has a surface with a constant diameter and a surface that is inclined toward the tip end side of the parking rod 25. The guide member 30 comes into contact with the surface of the main body portion of the cam 252 that has a constant diameter.

[0025] Furthermore, the guide member 30 is provided with an expanded tube portion 301 in a section h just before the parking pole 26. At the end of the guide member 30 on the parking pole 26 side, the expanded tube portion 301 expands the tube around the axis of the guide member 30, thereby expanding the outer diameter of the tube. The axis of the guide member 30 is the axis passing through the center of the tube of the tubular member 10. The "length of the expanded tube portion" corresponds to the length of section h of the expanded tube portion 301 in the example shown in FIG. 4(a). The length of section h of the expanded tube portion 301 is shorter than the length between the main body portion of the cam 252 and the tip of the parking rod 25, but longer than the length of the main body portion of the cam 252. In the shape of the cam 252 shown as an example in FIG. 4(a), the length of section h of the expanded tube portion 301 is at least longer than the length of section m of the cam 252 (see FIG. 4(c)). Section m is the section of the main body portion of the cam 252 where the diameter is constant, and corresponds to the length of the main body portion. The length of section h may be longer than the overall length including the inclined portion of cam 252. The length of section h may be set appropriately depending on the shape of the cam.

[0026] The guide member 30 is made of the same material as the expanded tube portion 301. The guide member 30 and the expanded tube portion 301 may be separate bodies made of different materials.

[0027] Furthermore, a support member 40 is provided in the flywheel damper area 170 facing the opening of the expanded tube portion 301. When the parking pole 26 is positioned as shown in FIG. 4(c), the portion of the parking rod 25 that receives the parking pole 26 before the cam 252, i.e., the portion of the parking rod 25 that is before the cam 252 (hereinafter referred to as the "tip portion") 251, protrudes toward the flywheel 17. In this embodiment, a portion of the gear case 1-2 protrudes into the flywheel damper area 170, and the support member 40 is provided in the protruding structure 60. An example of the support member 40 is a sleeve. The tip of the parking rod 25 that protrudes toward the flywheel 17 is housed in the sleeve. The support member 40 is made of a material that exhibits high strength against a collision with the parking rod 25.

[0028] Next, the operation of the parking mechanism will be described with reference to Figures 4(a) and 4(b). First, when the shift is in the D range, the parking rod 25 is in the position shown in Figure 4(a). The cam 252 is located in a position where the surface with a constant diameter contacts the guide member 30, so the parking rod 25 is supported only by the guide member 30.

[0029] When the shift lever is shifted to R range, the parking rod 25 is in the position shown in Figure 4(b). The cam 252 advances from the guide member 30 toward the expanded tube portion 301, and the parking pawl 26 receives the tip portion 251, which precedes the cam 252, at the position where the surface with a constant diameter is in contact with the guide member 30. Therefore, even when the cam 252 advances to the expanded tube portion 301, it does not fall off, and is smoothly handed over from the guide member 30 to the support member 40. When the parking pawl 26 receives the tip portion 251 of the parking rod 25, the repulsive force of the spring 262 prevents it from dropping and supports the tip portion 251.

[0030] When the shift lever is shifted to P range, the parking rod 25 assumes a position as shown in FIG. 4(c). The parking rod 25 advances with its tip 251 supported by the parking pole 26, and the cam 252 is transferred from the guide member 30 to the support member 40. The cam 252 is prevented from moving upward by the support member 40, and therefore the outer diameter of the cam 252 increases as the cam 252 advances. As shown in FIG. 4(c), the parking pole 26 is pressed down by the outer peripheral surface of the cam 252. In FIG. 4(c), the parking pole 26 has descended from the position indicated by the dashed line, which indicates the height before the parking pole 26 was driven.

[0031] FIG. 4(d) shows an example of a case where the driver accidentally shifts into P range while driving. For example, if the driver accidentally shifts into P range while driving 20 km or more, the parking pawl 26 is repelled by the parking gear 15, and the repelling force also repels the cam 252. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4(d), the vehicle does not enter P range, and the parking rod 25 becomes unsteady due to the repelling of the cam 252. In this embodiment, even if the parking rod 25 becomes unsteady, the position of the parking rod 25 is stabilized by the collision between the tip portion 251 and the support member 40. The presence of the expanded tube portion 301 prevents the cam 252 from colliding with the parking rod 25 even when the parking rod 25 becomes unsteady. This prevents damage to the cam 252 and damage to surrounding components due to the collision of the cam 252.

[0032] (Effects of the embodiment) In this embodiment, as described above, the control shaft 21 and the lever 24 are provided in the dead space that houses the motor generator 11 and the motor generator 12. Because the control shaft 21 and the lever 24 can be provided without adding thickness in the axial direction, a layout that does not affect the axial length of the entire unit 1 (corresponding to the width of the entire unit) is possible.

[0033] Furthermore, the parking rod 25 is arranged in the dead space between the drive shaft areas of the two motor generators 11, 12 and the direct feed gear 13 and differential gear 14, etc., parallel to each axis, and moves parallel to each axis. This allows the layout to be done in a position that does not overlap with each axis. When the cam 252 of the parking rod 25 is in the operating position of the parking pole 26, the tip portion 251 of the parking rod 25 protrudes from the parking pole 26, causing part of the gear case 1-2 to protrude into the flywheel damper area 170, which leads to a reduction in the axial length of the entire unit 1.

[0034] In addition, a cam 252 is provided on the parking rod 25 from the tip toward the front side, ensuring the length of the tip portion from the cam 252 to the tip. Therefore, the tip portion is supported by the parking pole 26, so that the cam 252 can be smoothly transferred between the guide member 30 and the parking pole 26, and the cam 252 will not fall off even when it is in the expanded tube portion 301.

[0035] Furthermore, since the tip of the parking rod 25 serves as a holding mechanism, there is no need to provide a slope or the like on the guide member 30. Therefore, even if the expanded tube portion 301 is provided, the axial length of the entire unit 1 can be shortened.

[0036] Furthermore, the provision of the expanded tube portion 301 can prevent the cam 252 from colliding with and damaging surrounding components due to a P range mis-shift or the like, thereby reducing the burden on the user of replacing components.

[0037] In the parking mechanism of this embodiment, smooth shift changes are possible when the cam 252 is moved by a conventional shift operation using a shift cable, improving operability for the user.

[0038] Therefore, the parking mechanism of this embodiment can shorten the length of one axis of the unit, which leads to compactness and weight reduction, and also reduces costs.

[0039] In addition, since it is compatible with the shift positions of conventional automatic transmissions, it also reduces vehicle costs and can curb capital investment.

[0040] (Modification of the embodiment) The parking mechanism of the embodiment may be applied to a vehicle in which the shift operation is electrified without using a shift cable. Even if an actuator is added for electrification, the actuator and the additional actuator can be installed in the dead space around motor generator 11 or motor generator 12 so as not to increase the size of unit 1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1 unit 1-1 Housing 1-2 Gear case 11, 12 Motor generator 13 Direct Gear 14 Differential gear 15 Parking Gear 16 Reduction gear 17 Flywheel 21 Control shaft 24 Lever 25 Parking Rod 30 Guide member 40 Support member 170 Flywheel damper area 251 Tip part 252 Cam 301 Expanded section

Claims

1. a parking rod provided parallel to the shaft of the motor generator from a dead space around the motor generator toward a gear case that houses a parking gear and a parking pole; a parking cam provided on the parking rod for driving the parking pole; a guide member that contacts a main body portion of the parking cam and guides the parking rod in the axial direction of the parking rod; and the parking cam has an inclined portion whose diameter increases from the gear case side of the parking rod to the gear case side, and the main body portion whose diameter is constant at the inclined portion, the guide member has an expanded portion expanded around an axis of the guide member at a position corresponding to the main body portion when the parking rod is repelled by the parking pole, the length of the expanded portion relative to the length of the parking rod is shorter than the length from the tip of the parking rod to the end of the main body of the parking cam on the rear end side of the parking rod, and is longer than the length of the main body of the parking cam; the parking rod overlaps with the flywheel when viewed in the axial direction of the parking rod, a structure in which the gear case protrudes toward the flywheel at a portion where the parking rod overlaps with the flywheel as viewed in the axial direction of the parking rod, thereby providing a protruding portion on the flywheel side to accommodate the tip of the parking rod; Parking mechanism.

2. When the parking rod is in the P range, the tip of the parking rod protrudes to the protruding portion. The parking mechanism according to claim 1 .

3. It has two motor generators, a direct feed gear, and a differential gear, the axes of the two motor generators, the direct gear, and the differential gear are parallel to each other; the parking rod is disposed in a dead space between the two motor generators, the direct gear, and the differential gear, and parallel to the axes of the two motor generators, the direct gear, and the differential gear; 3. The parking mechanism according to claim 1 or 2.

4. In the parking rod, the parking cam is provided at a predetermined distance from the tip of the parking rod, The expanded tube portion is expanded from a position where expansion of the expanded tube portion starts to an opening at an end of the expanded tube portion on the parking pole side, a length from a tip of the parking rod to an end of the main body of the parking cam on the tip side of the parking rod is longer than a length between the parking pole and a position where expansion of the expansion portion starts; The parking mechanism according to claim 1 .

5. A parking rod having a support member that collides with a tip portion of the parking rod when the parking rod is bounced by the parking pole, The expanded tube portion has an outer diameter expanded around the axis of the guide member to a diameter that prevents the expanded tube portion from coming into contact with the parking cam. The parking mechanism according to claim 1 or 4.

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