JP3492809B2 - Spring retainer mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spring retainer structure for clutches and brakes incorporated in an automatic transmission.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A clutch or brake incorporated in an automatic transmission has a hydraulic cylinder formed in an annular shape by releasing one side in the axial direction. An annular hydraulic piston is inserted inside the hydraulic cylinder, and the hydraulic piston is biased toward the bottom surface of the hydraulic cylinder by a plurality of return springs. The ends of the plurality of return springs opposite to the hydraulic pistons are held by a common spring retainer. The spring retainer is restrained from moving to the release side by a snap ring fitted in a ring groove formed on the release side of the hydraulic cylinder.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-292422 discloses a mounting structure for such a spring retainer.
Here, the spring retainer is integrally formed by press-molding a metal plate so as to have an annular appearance with an L-shaped cross section. A cylindrical portion is formed by bending a cross section at a right angle from an annular portion in which projections into which the end portion of the return spring is inserted are arranged, and is cylindrically extended in the axial direction along the cylindrical surface of the hydraulic cylinder. Further, the spring retainer is inserted from the release side of the hydraulic cylinder to the position beyond the snap ring groove against the reaction force of the return spring, with the tip of the cylindrical portion facing the bottom side of the hydraulic cylinder. In this state, the snap ring is fitted into the snap ring groove so that the release-side surface of the annular portion abuts on the snap ring. The reaction force of the return spring that urges the hydraulic piston is collected by the spring retainer and received by the snap ring.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
In the structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2 publication, when the bending radius connecting the annular portion and the cylindrical portion as viewed in the axial cross section is large, a gap is formed at the base of the snap ring, and the spring retainer is located at a high position in the cross section of the snap ring. Only hits. Therefore, the load on the snap ring and the snap ring groove is greater than in the case where the flat spring retainer is used and the spring retainer is abutted to the root of the snap ring without a gap. Therefore, it is necessary to design the snap ring groove deep and to design the thickness of the snap ring to be large. Further, naturally, the height at which the cross section of the snap ring projects from the snap ring groove needs to be higher than the outer bent radius.

On the other hand, if the bending radius that connects the annular portion and the cylindrical portion is made small in order to improve the hitting property of the snap ring with respect to its cross section, it becomes difficult to press the spring retainer. Cracks are easily generated in the bent portion of the spring retainer, and the life of the press die is shortened.

By the way, if the tip of the cylinder is arranged on the release side of the hydraulic cylinder and the tip of the cylinder is abutted against the side surface of the snap ring, the spring retainer abuts the root of the snap ring without a gap. The burden on the snap ring is small. The bending radius of the cross section can be sufficiently secured. However, since the annular portion is pushed toward the bottom surface side of the hydraulic cylinder by a distance corresponding to the length of the cylindrical portion, the stroke of the return spring cannot be secured. When the snap ring groove is moved to the release side of the hydraulic cylinder in order to secure the stroke of the return spring, the arrangement of other parts is affected by that amount,
There is also the possibility of increasing the axial length of the hydraulic cylinder.

An object of the present invention is to provide a spring retainer mounting structure in which the load on the snap ring is small even if a large bending radius is set on the axial cross section of the spring retainer.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION claims 1 invention, one side of the axial direction is released, the hydraulic cylinder member disposed hydraulic piston member inside a ring formed on the cylindrical surface of the hydraulic cylinder member A ring member fitted in the groove, a plurality of return spring members that urge the hydraulic piston member toward the bottom surface side of the hydraulic cylinder member, and a reaction force of the plurality of return spring members that abut against the ring member. A spring retainer member for receiving the spring retainer member, wherein the spring retainer member has a structure in which the end portions of the plurality of return springs are provided, and the outer peripheral side section is bent from the annular portion along the cylindrical surface. Has a cylindrical portion that extends in the axial direction and is adjacent to the annular portion at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical portion. And cut to form a groove opening cut in, by eliminating the bending of the cross-section at the location of the cut opening, the outer peripheral portion of the annular portion, from bending radius
Is also positioned outside in the axial direction, and the plate thickness of the annular portion is the circle
Cooperate with the cylindrical part to face the cylindrical surface of the hydraulic cylinder member.
It is a guided surface .

A second aspect of the present invention is a spring retainer.
The members are adjacent to the annular part at multiple points in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical part.
Create a notch groove to open the notch, and
The bending of the cross section is eliminated at a position, and a plurality of cylindrical protrusions to be inserted into one end of the return spring member are formed in the annular portion, and the cut groove is arranged at a circumferential position where the cylindrical protrusions are provided. It is what

[0010]

In the spring retainer mounting structure according to the first aspect of the present invention, the notch groove for notch opening is formed in the cylindrical portion extending along the cylindrical surface of the hydraulic cylinder, and the notch opening is formed.
The annular part of the part extends linearly with respect to the cylindrical surface of the hydraulic cylinder. At the position of the cut groove , there is no outer bent radius connecting the cylindrical portion to the annular portion,
It is possible to abut the cross section of the annular portion to the root of the ring member protruding from the cylindrical surface of the hydraulic cylinder without being obstructed by the bending radius. When not forming the cut groove, the length from the end of the outer folding radius that connects the cylindrical portion to the annular portion to the tip of the cylindrical portion functions as a substantial length of the cylindrical portion, the notches When it is formed, the outer peripheral part of the annular part of the cut opening is folded.
Ri bend extending axially outward from the rounded, because its edges are modeled the cylindrical surface of the hydraulic cylinder, the overall length in the axial direction of the spring retainer to function as a substantial length of the cylindrical portion.

In the spring retainer mounting structure according to the second aspect, the circumferential position where one return spring receives the reaction force and the circumferential position where the cross section of the annular portion abuts near the root of the ring member match. . Therefore, the reaction force of one return spring is linearly transmitted to the ring member, and the bending force is not applied to the left and right annular portions. In addition, at the position of the notch opening, a tubular protrusion rises from the annular part instead of the cylindrical part, and
"Reducing the rigidity of the spring retainer due to the provision of the groove " is compensated.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A spring retainer mounting structure in a clutch unit of an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a sectional view of a clutch unit, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a spring retainer, and FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the spring retainer. 2A is a plan view of the spring retainer as seen from the axial direction, and FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along line AA. In FIG. 3, (a) is a view showing a cross section around the notch of the spring retainer together with a part of the hydraulic cylinder,
(B) is the figure which looked at the spring retainer from the B direction.

In FIG. 1, the hydraulic cylinder 11 has a U-shaped cross section and has an annular appearance. The left side of the figure is open and the bottom surface 11G is arranged on the right side. Hydraulic cylinder 11
An annular hydraulic piston 12 is inserted on the bottom surface 11G side of the. The hydraulic piston 12 axially moves along the two opposing cylindrical surfaces 11D and 11E in the hydraulic cylinder 11, and pushes the driven plate 34 arranged on the releasing side of the hydraulic cylinder 11 to the releasing side. From the release side of the hydraulic cylinder 11, the spline 11S is formed so as to occupy 2/3 or more of the cylindrical surface 11D. The snap ring 31 is inserted in the snap ring groove formed on the release side of the spline 11S.

The retaining plate 32 and the driven plate 34 are movable in the axial direction by meshing with the spline 11S. However, retaining plate 32
The movement of the to the release side is limited by the snap ring 31. The drive plate 33, which is alternately stacked with the driven plate 34, has an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the spline 11S and can rotate relative to the spline 11S. The drive plate 33 is constrained by a spline formed on the outer circumference of an inner rotating element (not shown).

The hydraulic piston 12 is a hydraulic cylinder 11
Are urged toward the bottom surface 11G side by a large number of return springs 13 arranged so as to surround the central axis on the inside. An end of the return spring 13 opposite to the hydraulic piston 12 is supported by a spring retainer 15. A snap ring groove 24 is formed on the spline 11S near the bottom surface 11G of the hydraulic cylinder 11, and the snap ring 14 is fitted into the snap ring groove 24. The snap ring 14 limits the movement of the spring retainer 15 to the release side. The spring retainer 15 is pressed against the snap ring 14 by the return spring 13 to be positioned at a fixed position in the axial direction.

The spring retainer 15 has an L-shaped cross section and is formed in an annular appearance having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the spline 11S. The spring retainer 15 is inserted from the release side of the hydraulic cylinder 11 and is axially moved to a position beyond the snap ring groove of the snap ring 14 while compressing the return spring 13. In this state, the snap ring 14 is fitted in the snap ring groove 24.

In the hydraulic piston 12, a pressing portion 12A for pushing the surface of the driven plate 34 on the bottom surface 11G side and a holding portion 12B for inserting the return spring 13 are alternately arranged in an annular region surrounding the central axis. The spring retainer 15 has a notch 26 formed in a portion that interferes with the pushing portion 12A of the hydraulic piston 12.

When hydraulic pressure is supplied to the space surrounded by the bottom surface 11G of the hydraulic cylinder 11 and the hydraulic piston 12, the hydraulic piston 12 compresses the return spring 13 and moves to the release side. The pushing portion 12A of the hydraulic piston 12 is
The overlapping of the retaining plate 32, the drive plate 33, and the driven plate 34 is pushed to the release side, and abutted against the snap ring 31, and further compressed. Then, a frictional force is generated on the opposing surfaces of the drive plate 33 and the driven plate 34, and the rotation of the drive plate 33 is restricted by the hydraulic cylinder 11. As a result, the inner rotating element (not shown) that restrains the drive plate 33 rotates together with the hydraulic cylinder 11.

In FIG. 2A, the spring retainer 15 has a necessary appearance by punching a metal plate into an annular shape and pressing at the same time, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-292422. . Spring retainer 1
5 has an L-shaped cross section as a whole and has an annular appearance, and a large bending radius is set at the corner of the L-shape for the sake of convenience in press molding.

The cylindrical portion 23 is a portion in which the cross section of the spring retainer 15 is bent into an L shape and is axially extended along the spline 11S. The length of the cylindrical portion 23 is, as shown in JP-A-3-292422,
When the return spring 13 is held by the hydraulic piston 12 that has been pushed into the hydraulic cylinder 11 to the maximum and the free (unloaded) length is taken, the cylindrical portion 23 straddles the snap ring groove 24. Has been set. As a result, the assemblability of the spring retainer 15 is improved. The spring retainer 15 intermittently raises a cylindrical portion 23 toward the upper side of the drawing from an annular portion 22 in which a large number of cylindrical protrusions 21 inserted in one end of the return spring 13 are annularly arranged.

The notch 2 for positioning the pushing portion 12A of the hydraulic piston 12 shown in FIG. 1 is formed in the annular portion 22.
6 is formed. The rising 27 left between the bottom of the notch 26 and the cylindrical portion 23 cooperates with the cylindrical portion 23 to form an angle structure, and enhances the rigidity of the spring retainer 15. In the cylindrical portion 23 of the spring retainer 15,
Cut grooves 25 are formed at every other position where the cylindrical protrusion 21 is provided. At the circumferential position where the cut groove 25 is formed, the width of the annular portion 22 is wide and the protrusion 21 rises from the annular portion 22, so the spring retainer 1
The overall rigidity of No. 5 is secured.

The outer peripheral arc of the annular portion 22 corresponding to the cut groove 25 has the same diameter as the outer peripheral arc of the cylindrical portion 23. That is, the edge of the mold for raising the cylindrical portion 23 from the annular portion 22 is located closer to the center side than the outer circumferential arc of the annular portion 22 corresponding to the cut groove 25. Further, the outer peripheral portion of the annular portion 22 corresponding to the cut groove 25 is flat, and the outer peripheral surface of the annular portion 22 has substantially the same outer diameter as the outer circumferential arc of the cylindrical portion 23 and the length equal to the plate thickness of the annular portion 22. It is a part of a cylindrical surface. That is, the upper and lower dies for raising the cylindrical portion 23 from the annular portion 22 have a press plane that is expanded outward in the diametrical direction from the above-mentioned edge at a position corresponding to the cut groove 25.

In FIG. 2B, at the portion where the cut groove 25 is provided, as shown in FIG. 3A, the annular portion 2 is formed.
The cylindrical surface forming the outer periphery of 2 faces the spline 11S, and the front and back surfaces of the annular portion 22 stand upright at right angles to the spline 11S. That is, there is no outer bending radius formed between the annular portion 22 and the cylindrical portion 23. Ring part 2
The flat surface on the side opposite to the projection 21 of 2 is the snap ring 14
Constitutes the abutting surface for the. A cut groove 25 extending from the tip of the cylindrical portion 23 to the annular portion 22 is formed.
In the annular portion 22 adjacent to the cut groove 25, the bottom surface of the cut groove 25 serves as an edge of the annular portion 22, and the surface facing the snap ring 14 rises at a right angle from the spline 11S.

On the other hand, at the portion where the cylindrical portion 23 is raised from the annular portion 22 (the portion which does not correspond to the cut groove 25), the cross section is bent from the annular portion 22 as shown in FIG. 2B and FIG. There is an outer bent radius that is necessarily formed when the cylindrical portion 23 is formed. At these positions, similarly to the spring retainer disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-292422, the outer bending radius interferes, and a gap is formed on the base side of the snap ring 14,
The annular portion 22 abuts at a high position in the cross section of the snap ring 14.

FIG. 3A shows a cross section of the spring retainer 15 at a circumferential position where the cut groove 25 is provided together with a part of the hydraulic cylinder 11. The snap ring 14 is fitted in a snap ring groove 24 formed in the spline 11S of the hydraulic cylinder 11. Snap ring 14 of annular portion 22 of spring retainer 15
Is a plane perpendicular to the spline 11S and uniformly abuts from the height position close to the root of the cross section of the snap ring 14 to the tip (center side) without a gap. Therefore, the contact area between the snap ring 14 and the annular portion 22 (per unit length in the circumferential direction) is larger than that of the portion that does not correspond to the above-described cut groove 25 (the portion where the outer bent radius is left), and the return spring is large. The point of action (center position) where the reaction force of 13 pushes the cross section of the snap ring 14 is low.

In FIG. 3B, the cut groove 25
Are formed in a trapezoidal shape that opens in a V shape from the annular portion 22 toward the tip of the cylindrical portion 23. A large radius is formed in the left and right portions where the bottom of the cut groove 25 transitions to the cylindrical portion 23. As described above, the protrusion 2 of the annular portion 23
The surface on the opposite side where 1 is formed is an abutting surface for the snap ring 14. The annular portion 22 located at the bottom of the cut groove 25 secures a right-angled edge substantially extending over the width of the protrusion 21 on the outer peripheral side of the abutting surface. On the other hand, the annular portions 22 on both sides sandwiching the bottom of the cut groove 25 are connected to the cylindrical portion 23 via the outer bending radius as described above.

According to the spring retainer mounting structure of the embodiment, the following advantages of the spring retainer disclosed in JP-A-3-292422 can be reserved. (1) Since the cylindrical portion 23 having the bent cross section of the spring retainer 15 straddles the snap ring groove 14, the edge of the spring retainer 15 may fall into the snap ring groove 24 when the spring retainer 15 is assembled to the hydraulic cylinder 11. There is no. (2) Since the rigidity of the spring retainer 15 is enhanced by the bent L-shaped cross-sectional structure, the thickness of the spring retainer 15 can be reduced and the weight of the spring retainer 15 can be reduced as compared with the flat plate structure without bending. (3) Since the long cylindrical portion is guided by the spline 11S and the inclination of the spring retainer 15 is automatically corrected, the posture of the spring retainer 15 at the time of insertion into the hydraulic cylinder 11 is stable, the workability of attachment / detachment is improved, and an error is caused. The possibility of bending or hooking the spring retainer is low.

The spring retainer mounting structure of the embodiment has the following advantages in addition to these. (1) The edge of the annular portion 22 rises at a right angle from the spline 11S at the cut groove 25, and the annular portion 22 abuts close to the root of the cross section of the snap ring 14 without a gap. The burden on the snap ring 14 is smaller than that when the snap ring 14 is butted against the cross section. That is, since the reaction point of the return spring 13 is supported by the cross section of the snap ring 14 via the spring retainer 15, the action point is low,
The force for rotating the cross section of the snap ring 14 around the edge of the snap ring groove 24 is small, and the relatively thin and soft snap ring 14 is adopted.
Even when it is fitted into the snap ring groove 24, which is shallower than the conventional one, there is no concern that the reaction force of the return spring 13 pushes down the cross section of the snap ring 14 and causes it to fall out of the snap ring groove 24.

(2) Since a large bending radius is set between the annular portion 22 and the cylindrical portion 23 in order to give priority to press molding, a small bending radius is set in consideration of the abutting property with respect to the cross section of the snap ring. Compared to the above case, there are less restrictions on the material and design of the spring retainer, and the life of the press die is extended. Defects such as cracks are less likely to occur, and the processing cost is reduced by improving the product yield.

(3) Annular portion 2 corresponding to the cut groove 25
The outer peripheral portion of 2 is located on the outer side in the axial direction with respect to the bending radius, and the plate thickness of the annular portion 22 cooperates with the cylindrical portion of the portion where the cut groove 25 is not provided to serve as a guided surface for the spline 11S. Since it functions, the cylindrical portion 2 has a length such that the right-angled edge of the annular portion 22 projects from the bending radius.
The length of 3 is substantially extended. Therefore, by inserting the spring retainer 15 into the hydraulic cylinder 11, the bottom surface 11G
The inclination of the spring retainer 15 when it is moved to the side is corrected more effectively, and the posture is stabilized.

(4) Since the cut groove 25 is opened in a V shape and a large radius is provided at the bottom of the cut groove 25, the width of the bottom of the cut groove 25 is set to about the width of the protrusion 21, and the spring retainer 15 is provided. After ensuring rigidity, the largest possible area was removed to reduce weight, and
Stress concentration at the corners of the bottom of the cut groove 25 is relaxed, and bending deformation and damage when handled alone are prevented.

In the present embodiment, the trapezoidal cut groove 25 is provided in the cylindrical portion 23, but this may be used as a rectangular cutout hole or the like to leave a portion for connecting the tips of the cylindrical portions on both sides. Further, in the present embodiment, the spring retainer 15 is attached to the outer cylindrical surface of the two opposing inner cylindrical surfaces of the hydraulic cylinder 11, but the same applies when the spring retainer is attached to the inner cylindrical surface. To
A notch groove or the like can be formed to improve the state of abutting against the snap ring. Further, also in the case where the spring retainer is attached to the cylindrical surface of the hydraulic cylinder on which the spline is not formed, the state of abutting against the snap ring can be similarly improved. Further, in the present embodiment, the outer diameter of the annular portion 22 corresponding to the cut groove 25 is made to match the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 23, but the outer peripheral line of the annular portion 22 does not interfere with the peaks and valleys of the spline 11S. May be projected further outward. Alternatively, the annular portion 22 corresponding to the cut groove 25 may not be flattened, and the portion of the annular portion 22 facing the spline 11S may be extruded to the side opposite to the cylindrical portion 23 so as to project to the snap ring 14 side.

[0033]

According to the invention of claim 1, since the notch opening is formed in the cylindrical portion and one surface of the annular portion is surely abutted to near the root of the snap ring, the cross section is simply bent. Compared with the case, the point of action of the reaction force of the return spring on the cross section of the snap ring becomes lower, and the load on the snap ring and the snap ring groove can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to set a large bending radius between the annular portion and the cylindrical portion, facilitate the processing of the spring retainer, and relax the restriction on the material. Further, since the edge of the annular portion that abuts the cross section of the snap ring is located on the outer side in the axial direction of the outer bending radius, the length of the cylindrical surface with respect to the cylindrical surface of the hydraulic cylinder is substantially extended. Even if the length is short, the posture of the spring retainer is stable when it is inserted into the hydraulic cylinder.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the rigidity and bending strength of the cylindrical portion lost by the cut opening is compensated by the projection of the annular portion, so that even if the cut groove is provided, the decrease in rigidity and strength of the spring retainer is small. I'm done.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a clutch unit.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a spring retainer.

FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged view of a spring retainer.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 hydraulic cylinder 12 hydraulic piston 13 Return spring 14,31 Snap ring 15 Spring retainer 21 Protrusion 22 Annular part 23 Cylindrical part 24 snap ring groove 25 notch 32 retaining plate 33 Drive plate 34 Driven Plate 11B holding part 11D, 11E Cylindrical surface 11G bottom 11S spline 12A push part 12B holding part

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] We claim: 1. one side of the axial direction is released, the hydraulic cylinder member disposed hydraulic piston member inside, the <br/> hydraulic cylinder member ring member fitted into the ring groove formed on the cylindrical surface of the A plurality of return spring members that urge the hydraulic piston member toward the bottom surface side of the hydraulic cylinder member, and a spring retainer member that abuts the ring member and receives the reaction force of the plurality of return spring members. In the spring retainer mounting structure having, the spring retainer member has an outer periphery from an annular portion provided with a structure for holding the end portions of the plurality of return springs.
It has a cylindrical portion that is bent in the side cross section and extended in the axial direction along the cylindrical surface, and forms a notch groove that is cut and opened adjacent to the annular portion at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical portion,
Eliminate the bending of the cross section at the position of the cut opening,
The outer peripheral portion of the annular portion is more axial than the bending radius.
Is located outside of the cylindrical portion, and the plate thickness of the annular portion cooperates with the cylindrical portion.
Working, the draft for the cylindrical surface of the hydraulic cylinder member
A spring retainer mounting structure that features an inner surface . 2. One side in the axial direction is released so that
A hydraulic cylinder member having a hydraulic piston member, and
Fits into the ring groove formed on the cylindrical surface of the hydraulic cylinder member
The inserted ring member and the bottom surface of the hydraulic cylinder member
A plurality of levers for urging the hydraulic piston member toward the side.
The turn spring member and the ring member
The reaction force of the return spring members
A spring retainer member,
The spring retainer member
Holds the ends of the plurality of return springs.
Bending the outer peripheral side cross section from the annular portion provided with the structure
It has a cylindrical portion extending in the axial direction along the surface, and
Notch openings adjacent to the annular portion at multiple locations in the circumferential direction
A notch groove, and cut at the position of the notch opening.
A plurality of cylindrical protrusions that are inserted into one end of the return spring member are formed in the annular portion without bending the surface, and the cut groove is arranged at a circumferential position where the cylindrical protrusions are provided. The spring retainer mounting structure is characterized by