JP3902864B2 - Self-aligning clutch release bearing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a self-aligning clutch release bearing device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As conceptually shown in FIG. 4, in the clutch release mechanism of the automobile, the clutch release bearing device A is disposed between the engine (output shaft 39) of the manual transmission automobile and the transmission 32, and a clutch pedal (not shown). It is pressed by the release fork 34 that operates in conjunction with this operation, and slides in the axial direction on the front cover 33 toward the engine side to temporarily block transmission of the engine rotational force to the transmission 32.
[0003]
The clutch release bearing device A as described above includes, for example, a sleeve that slides on the front cover 33, a ball bearing that is externally attached to the sleeve, and extends from the outer periphery of the sleeve in the outer diameter direction. The outer ring is slidably contacted in the radial direction and the release plate is in contact with the other surface, and the elastic plate is mainly composed of elastic means for elastically pressing and holding the outer ring of the ball bearing against one surface of the side plate.
[0004]
When the clutch pedal is stepped on, the release fork 34 swings counterclockwise in the same figure and contacts the other surface of the side plate to slide the clutch release bearing A axially toward the engine side. Thereby, the inner ring of the ball bearing comes into contact with the diaphragm spring 35 of the clutch device, and further, the pressure plate 38 pressing the clutch disk 36 against the flywheel 37 is separated from the clutch disk 36 due to the deflection of the diaphragm spring 35. The rotational force of the engine output shaft 39 is temporarily disconnected from the transmission 32.
[0005]
Further, when there is a deviation between the engine-side shaft center and the transmission-side shaft center, the ball bearing of the clutch release bearing device A slides and moves in the radial direction according to the amount of the deviation, so that the center. Misalignment is automatically aligned.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In order to reduce the wear of the front cover, improve the clutch feeling, and reduce the weight of the clutch release mechanism, the sleeve of the clutch release bearing device is often formed of a resin material. As a prior art in which a sleeve is formed of a resin material, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-6433 is known. Here, as a material of the sleeve, a resin material in which glass fiber is blended at a ratio of 20 to 50% by weight with 6-6 nylon (polyamide 6-6) is shown.
[0007]
However, recently, in order to further reduce the weight of the clutch release mechanism, the front cover may be formed of an aluminum material. In such a case, the conventional resin sleeve as described above is too aggressive against the aluminum material. There is a possibility of causing uneven wear on the outer peripheral surface of the front cover. When uneven wear occurs on the outer peripheral surface of the front cover, stick slip occurs when the clutch release bearing device slides in the axial direction, which worsens the clutch feeling and at the same time generates vibration and noise at the sliding part. The passengers feel uncomfortable. Further, the sliding gap between the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve and the outer peripheral surface of the front cover is enlarged, and the clutch release bearing device is rattled and wobbled, resulting in the same problem as described above. On the other hand, in order to weaken the aggressiveness of the resin sleeve against the aluminum material, it may be possible to increase the flexibility of the resin material, but it leads to a decrease in load resistance and wear resistance of the sliding surface, and the necessary characteristics are obtained. Absent.
[0008]
The present invention further improves the mechanical properties such as the strength of the resin sleeve, the sliding characteristics, the wear resistance, etc., and at the same time reduces the aggressiveness against the counterpart material, particularly the aluminum front cover, and suppresses the wear, thereby reducing the clutch. The purpose is to improve feeling, reduce vibration and noise, and improve durability.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is provided with an inner ring made of a steel plate press provided with an outward flange that contacts the rotating member of the clutch device at one end, and an inward flange portion provided at the other end. A ball bearing having an outer ring made of steel plate press, a resin sleeve inserted inward of the ball bearing, and an outer diameter extending from the outer periphery of the resin sleeve, and the flange portion of the outer ring of the ball bearing slides in the radial direction on one surface thereof freely it abuts, and the release fork is in contact with the steel plate press steel end plates on the other surface, and an elastic means for holding the outer ring of the ball bearing elastically pressed to one surface of the side plate, the resin sleeve carbon fibers 10 It is formed of a polyamide resin blended at a ratio of not less than 25% by weight and not more than 25% by weight, and a stopper portion protruding to the outer diameter side is integrally formed on the outer periphery of the resin sleeve, and the outermost wall surface on the other end side of the stopper portion. The inner diameter is The resin sleeve is deeper than the outer periphery of one end side of the resin sleeve, and the elastic means is constituted by a disc spring having a small diameter end portion and a large diameter end portion, and the small diameter end portion of the disc spring is a wall surface on the other end side of the stopper portion. And a self-aligning clutch release bearing device in which the large diameter end portion of the disc spring contacts the inner surface of the flange portion of the outer ring and elastically presses the flange portion against the side plate .
[0010]
The self-aligning clutch release bearing device of the present invention produces particularly favorable results in combination with an aluminum front cover.
[0011]
The side plate made of steel plate press is integrally connected to the outer periphery of the resin sleeve by adhesion, fitting, engagement, integral molding (insert molding), etc., in order to achieve mass productivity, simplification of structure, and simplification of assembly work. It is preferable to employ integral molding (insert molding).
[0012]
Further, the wall surface on one end side of the stopper portion may be inclined.
[0013]
The resin sleeve of the clutch release bearing device is required to have (1) good sliding characteristics in order to enable smooth clutch operation, and (2) to prevent uneven wear of the front cover, especially against aluminum. It is required to be less aggressive, and (3) wear resistance is required to suppress wear on its own sliding surface (inner peripheral surface), and (4) the pressing and tensile load of the release fork is passed through the side plate. Therefore, load resistance and strength are required. (5) Impact resistance is required because the ball bearing receives the impact load when it rotates suddenly against the diaphragm spring through the side plate. (6) Front Dimensional stability is required to maintain a constant sliding clearance with the cover, and (7) easy moldability is required to enable mass production.
[0014]
By adopting a polyamide resin in which carbon fiber is blended at a ratio of 10 wt% or more and 25 wt% or less as the material of the resin sleeve, the above-described various characteristics required for the resin sleeve can be obtained.
[0015]
Polyamide (PA: nylon) is used as the base resin because of its excellent mechanical properties such as strength at high temperatures, especially good impact resistance, and high surface hardness and excellent wear resistance. This is because the properties of polyamide such as self-lubricating property and excellent moldability are taken into consideration. As the polyamide resin, for example, polyamide 6, polyamide 6-6, polyamide 4-6, polyamide 6-10, polyamide 6-12, polyamide 11, polyamide 12, aromatic polyamide (para aromatic polyamide, meta aromatic polyamide) ) Etc. can be used.
[0016]
The use of carbon fiber as the reinforcing material improves the mechanical properties further than the glass fiber reinforced products, improves the sliding properties (friction properties) to the same or better than the unreinforced products, and the other material, especially aluminum This is because the aggressiveness against the material can be reduced. The carbon fiber is a raw material such as rayon, polyacrylonitrile, lignin-povar, or special pitch as long as it can withstand high temperatures of 1000 ° C. or more, preferably 1200 to 1500 ° C. Can be used regardless of the type. The shape may be long or short monofilament, and may be a product shape such as a woven fabric, non-woven fabric, yarn, string, etc. that has undergone primary processing such as cloth, felt, paper, yarn, or the like.
[0017]
Further, the carbon fiber may be any of pitch-based, PAN-based, and carbonaceous materials without any particular limitation on the material. The carbon fiber has a fiber diameter of about 1 to 20 [mu] m and a fiber length of about 10 to 1000 [mu] m, preferably 10 to 500 [mu] m, because it is uniformly dispersed in the resin molded product and is sufficiently reinforced. It can be said that. A more preferable carbon fiber diameter is 5 to 14 μm on average, and a fiber length is 10 to 500 μm. It has an appropriate modulus of elasticity, improves mechanical properties such as strength, reduces the aggressiveness to the counterpart material, and has good flowability of the resin material during molding.
[0018]
The blending ratio of the carbon fiber is 10 wt% or more and 25 wt% or less. If the amount is less than 10% by weight, an improvement effect such as mechanical properties cannot be expected. If the amount exceeds 25% by weight, moldability such as melt fluidity is deteriorated and a good molded product cannot be obtained. . If it is 10 to 25% by weight, the mechanical properties such as the strength of the resin sleeve, the sliding characteristics, the wear resistance, etc. are improved without hindering the moldability such as melt fluidity, and the counterpart material, particularly Aggressiveness against aluminum can be reduced.
[0019]
As the molding method of the resin sleeve, various known molding methods such as melt molding such as injection molding, extrusion molding, heating and pressure compression molding, monomer casting molding, compression molding, and powder molding can be employed. Injection molding is excellent in productivity because it can be mass-produced efficiently, and compression molding is excellent in terms of physical properties such as strength characteristics. Moreover, you may perform heat processing and a tempering process after shaping | molding. The heat treatment is performed in order to relieve the residual stress of the molded product, increase the dimensional stability, increase the crystallinity, and improve the mechanical properties and the like. As the heat treatment agent, water, liquid paraffin, quenching oil, or the like can be used. The tempering treatment is a treatment that forcibly absorbs water up to an equilibrium moisture amount in a short time, particularly in order to enhance dimensional stability. It is better to temper using boiling water or potassium acetate aqueous solution. Further, after the molding, the sliding surface may be subjected to grinding or the like.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
[0021]
FIG. 1 shows a self-aligning clutch release bearing device A incorporated in the clutch release mechanism of the automobile shown in FIG. The clutch release bearing device A is disposed between the engine (output shaft 39) and the transmission (32) of the manual transmission vehicle, and the front cover (33) is axially slid toward the engine side by the operation of the release fork (34). And temporarily interrupts transmission of the rotational force of the engine to the transmission (32). In this embodiment, the front cover (33) is formed of an aluminum material.
[0022]
The clutch release bearing device A of this embodiment is arranged between a resin sleeve 1, a side plate 2 integrally formed (insert molding) with the resin sleeve 1, and an outer periphery 1a of the resin sleeve 1 and one end surface 2a of the side plate 2. The ball bearing 3 is elastically held by an elastic means, for example, a disc spring 4.
[0023]
The resin sleeve 1 is formed by injection molding a polyamide resin in which carbon fibers are blended at a ratio of 10 wt% or more and 25 wt% or less, and is formed into a substantially cylindrical member as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, polyamide 6-6 is used as the polyamide resin, and the blending amount of the carbon fibers is 15% by weight. The inner periphery 1b of the resin sleeve 1 is slidably inserted in the front cover (33). A tapered guide surface 1a1 is formed at one end corner of the outer periphery 1a of the resin sleeve 1, and a stopper portion 1a2 projecting to the outer diameter side is formed at a substantially central portion (near the other end). The side plate 2 is integrally projected. The guide surface 1a1 has a function of guiding the small-diameter end of the disc spring 4 when an assembly of a ball bearing 3 and a disc spring 4 described later is extrapolated to the outer periphery 1a of the resin sleeve 1. In addition, the stopper portion 1a2 has a function of engaging with the small diameter end of the disc spring 4 and preventing the displacement thereof after the assembly is completed. The stopper portion 1a2 is narrow, one end of which is an obtuse inclined wall, and the other end with which the small diameter end of the disc spring 4 is engaged is a vertical wall or a slightly acute inclined wall. The inclined wall on one end side has a function of guiding the small-diameter end of the disc spring 4 when assembled. Further, there is a circumferential groove continuous with the innermost diameter portion of the wall surface on the other end side, and the diameter of this circumferential groove is slightly deeper than the outer circumference 1a on the one end side.
[0024]
The side plate 2 is an annular body made of a steel plate press, and is insert-molded integrally with the outer periphery of the other end portion of the resin sleeve 1. A flange portion 3b1 of an outer ring 3b of a ball bearing 3, which will be described later, is in contact with one end surface 2a of the side plate 2 so as to be slidable in the radial direction, and a contact portion 2b with which a release fork (34) is in contact with the other end surface. For example, they are arranged at positions opposite to each other by 180 degrees. The side plate 2 of this embodiment is subjected to carbonitriding treatment as a surface hardening treatment after a cold rolled steel plate, for example, an SPCC steel plate is formed into a predetermined shape by press working.
[0025]
The ball bearing 3 includes a steel plate press inner ring 3a having an outward flange 3a1 at one end that contacts a diaphragm spring (35) of the clutch device, and a steel plate press outer ring having an inward flange portion 3b1 at the other end. 3b, a plurality of balls 3c that are interposed between the inner ring 3a and the outer ring 3b and are in angular contact with the respective raceway surfaces 3a2, 3b2, a cage 3d that holds the balls 3c at predetermined circumferential intervals, and an inner ring 3a A first seal member 3e that seals between the outer diameter surface and the inner diameter surface of the outer ring 3b at one end side and a second seal member 3f that seals at the other end side are provided. In this embodiment, the diameter φT of the contact portion of the flange 3a1 of the inner ring 3a that contacts the diaphragm spring (35) and the pitch circle diameter PCD of the ball 3c (diameter of a circle passing through the center of the ball 3c) are φT> PCD {R = (φT / PCD)> 1}. The first seal member 3e is a non-contact type elastic seal whose outer diameter side portion is press-fitted and fixed to one end inner diameter surface of the outer ring 3b, and the inner diameter side lip portion is one end outer diameter surface of the inner ring 3a. Close to the labyrinth gap. The second seal member 3f is a shield made of a steel plate press having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and the outer diameter side portion thereof is press-fitted and fixed to the inner diameter surface of the other end side of the outer ring 3b. The end side outer diameter surface is approached through a labyrinth gap. A contact-type seal may be used as the first seal member and the second seal member.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 2, on the outer diameter surface of the inner ring 3a, the seal surface 3a3 where the lip portion of the first seal member 3e is close to one end side across the raceway surface 3a2, the counter bore 3b5 on the other end side, the second Seal surfaces 3a4 are provided to which the inner diameter side ends of the seal member 3f are close to each other. The seal surface 3a3 is continuous with the shoulder on one end side of the track surface 3a2, and the seal surface 3a4 is continuous with the counter bore 3a5 on the other end side of the track surface 3a2. The level difference δ1 of the counter bore 3a5 is set to a value about the bearing radial clearance (exaggerated in the drawing).
[0027]
The inner ring 3a as described above is manufactured, for example, from a steel plate material through a process of pressing → heat treatment → grinding of the raceway surface 3a2 and the seal surface 3a4. A carburized steel plate can be used as the steel plate material, and carburizing and quenching can be used as the heat treatment. The carburized steel includes nickel chrome steel (SNC), nickel chrome molybdenum steel (SNCM), chrome steel (SCr), and chrome molybdenum steel (SCM). Among these, nickel chrome steel (SNC) and nickel chrome molybdenum steel (SNCM) are materials that are less prone to excessive carburization and excellent in mechanical properties, but contain expensive nickel Ni as an alloy element. Therefore, there is a difficulty in terms of cost. Considering the mechanical characteristics required for the inner ring, SNC steel and SNCM steel have a feeling of excessive quality and cannot be balanced in terms of cost. In contrast, chromium molybdenum steel (SCM) is less prone to excessive carburization, has good hardenability, and is relatively inexpensive compared to SNC steel and SNCM steel. Further, the mechanical characteristics required for the inner ring of the clutch release bearing device can be sufficiently satisfied. For these reasons, it is preferable to use chromium molybdenum steel (SCM) as the material of the inner ring 3a. Chrome molybdenum steel (SCM) includes SCM415, SCM418, SCM420, SCM421, and SCM822 depending on the carbon content, and among these, SCM415M is most preferable.
[0028]
Grinding of the raceway surface 3a2, counter bore 3a5, and seal surface 3a4 of the inner ring 3a may be performed separately, but the raceway surface 3a2, the counter bore 3a5, and further, using a grinding wheel 20 as shown in FIG. Simultaneous grinding with the seal surface 3a4 leads to simplification of the process, and is advantageous in ensuring the coaxiality and the dimensional accuracy of the step δ1. It is also possible to perform simultaneous grinding of the raceway surface 3a2 and the seal surfaces 3a3 and 3a4.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 3, on the inner diameter surface of the outer ring 3b, a counter bore 3b5, a seal press-fit portion 3b3 into which the outer diameter side portion of the first seal member 3e is press-fitted on one end side with the raceway surface 3b2 interposed therebetween, the other end side A seal press-fitting portion 3b4 into which the outer diameter side portion of the second seal member 3f is press-fitted is provided. The seal press-fit portion 3b3 is continuous with the counter bore 3b5 on one end side of the raceway surface 3b2, and the seal press-fit portion 3b4 is continuous with the shoulder portion on the other end side of the track surface 3b2. The step δ2 of the counter bore 3b5 is also set to a value about the bearing radial clearance (exaggerated in the drawing). About the material and manufacturing method of the outer ring | wheel 3b, it applies to the inner ring | wheel 3a mentioned above. For example, the raceway surface 3b2 and the seal press-fitting portion 3b3 can be finished by simultaneous grinding.
[0030]
The disc spring 4 as the elastic means is a press-formed product having a substantially conical cylindrical shape, and includes a plurality of notches formed by notching from a small diameter end and a plurality of tongue pieces formed between adjacent notches. It is provided at circumferentially equidistant positions. In response to the elastic deformation of each tongue piece, the small-diameter end of the disc spring 4 expands and contracts.
[0031]
When assembling, the assembly of the ball bearing 3 and the disc spring 4 is extrapolated from one end to the outer periphery 1a of the resin sleeve 1, and the flange portion 3b1 of the outer ring 3b of the ball bearing 3 contacts the end surface 2a of the side plate 2. The small diameter end portion (tongue piece) of the disc spring 4 is pushed in contact with the wall surface on the other end side of the stopper portion 1a2. In the process of pushing forward the assembly, the small diameter end portion (tongue piece) of the disc spring 4 is first guided by the guide surface 1a1 on one end side of the resin sleeve 1 and rides on the outer periphery 1a, and then slides on the outer periphery 1a. However, it abuts against the inclined wall on one end side of the stopper portion 1a2, and is further guided by the inclined wall to fit into the other end side of the stopper portion 1a2.
[0032]
When the assembly of the ball bearing 3 and the disc spring 4 is extrapolated to the outer periphery 1a of the resin sleeve 1 as described above, the clutch release bearing device A of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is completed. There is a radial clearance S1 between the outer periphery 1a of the resin sleeve 1 and the inner surface of the inner ring 3a of the ball bearing 3, and the radial direction is between the inner diameter of the flange portion 3b1 of the outer ring 3b and the outer periphery 1a of the resin sleeve 1. There is a clearance S2. The radial clearance S2 is smaller than the radial clearance S1 (S1> S2). The flange portion 3b1 of the outer ring 3b is elastically applied to the end surface 2a of the side plate 2 by the biasing force of the disc spring 4 interposed between the stopper portion 1a2 of the resin sleeve 1 and the inner surface of the flange portion 3b1 of the outer ring 3b. Thus, the ball bearing 3 is elastically held between the outer periphery 1a of the resin sleeve 1 and the end surface 2a of the side plate 2 so as to be slidable in the radial direction. The ball bearing 3 can be aligned in the radial direction with respect to the resin sleeve 1 and the side plate 2 due to the presence of the radial clearances S1 and S2, and the amount of alignment is restricted by the smaller radial clearance S2. Is done. There is an error in assembling between the shaft center of the front cover (33) and the shaft center of the output shaft (39), and there is a misalignment between the rotation center of the diaphragm spring (35) and the rotation center of the clutch release bearing device. Even if it occurs, the misalignment is automatically centered by the centering movement of the ball bearing 3 according to the amount of the misalignment. In addition, the ball bearing 3 is aligned and moved by the required amount, and is elastically held in its position by the urging force of the disc spring 4, so that the ball bearing 3 is not displaced even when subjected to engine vibration, impact, or the like (having so-called alignment resistance). .
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention has the following effects.
[0034]
(1) A resin sleeve made of polyamide resin containing carbon fiber in a proportion of 10% to 25% by weight is excellent in mechanical properties such as strength, sliding properties, wear resistance, dimensional stability, and moldability. In addition, there is little aggressiveness against the other material, especially aluminum material. Therefore, the self-aligning clutch release bearing device of the present invention is less susceptible to wear on the inner peripheral surface of the resin sleeve, and less likely to cause wear on the outer peripheral surface of the front cover serving as the sliding guide surface. It has good durability while allowing operation.
[0035]
(2) When the self-aligning clutch release bearing device of the present invention is used in combination with an aluminum front cover, uneven wear hardly occurs in the aluminum front cover, and a particularly preferable result is obtained.
[0036]
(3) The self-aligning clutch release bearing device of the present invention has a small number of parts, is low cost, light weight, compact, and has excellent durability.
[0037]
(4) The automobile clutch release mechanism equipped with the self-aligning clutch release bearing device as described above has good clutch feeling, low vibration, low noise, light weight, compactness, and good durability. Have.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a clutch release bearing device according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an inner ring.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an outer ring.
FIG. 4 is a view showing a peripheral portion of an automobile clutch device.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 resin sleeve 2 side plate 3 ball bearing 3a inner ring 3a1 flange 3b outer ring 3b1 flange

Claims (4)

A ball bearing having an inner ring made of a steel plate press provided with an outward flange portion at one end that contacts a rotating member of the clutch device, and an outer ring made of steel plate press provided with an inward flange portion at the other end;
A resin sleeve inserted inside the ball bearing;
A side plate made of a steel plate press that extends in the outer diameter direction from the outer periphery of the resin sleeve, the flange portion of the outer ring of the ball bearing abuts in a radially slidable manner, and the release fork abuts the other surface,
Elastic means for elastically pressing and holding the outer ring of the ball bearing against one surface of the side plate,
The resin sleeve is formed of a polyamide resin in which carbon fiber is blended at a ratio of 10% by weight or more and 25% by weight or less, and a stopper portion protruding outward is integrally formed on the outer periphery of the resin sleeve. The innermost diameter portion of the wall surface on the other end side of the stopper portion is deeper than the outer periphery on the one end side of the resin sleeve,
The elastic means is constituted by a disc spring having a small-diameter end and a large-diameter end, and the small-diameter end of the disc spring engages with a wall surface on the other end side of the stopper portion, and the large-diameter end of the disc spring A self-aligning clutch release bearing device characterized in that the portion contacts the inner surface of the flange portion of the outer ring and elastically presses the flange portion against the side plate .   2. The self-aligning clutch release bearing device according to claim 1, wherein the resin sleeve is externally attached to an outer periphery of an aluminum front cover protruding from the transmission so as to be slidable in the axial direction.   3. The self-aligning clutch release bearing device according to claim 1, wherein the side plate is integrally formed with the resin sleeve. 2. The self-aligning clutch release bearing device according to claim 1, wherein a wall surface on one end side of the stopper portion is inclined .

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