JP4965342B2 - Oil recovery structure for automatic transmission - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an oil recovery structure for an automatic transmission in which a casing portion and a transmission mechanism portion of a torque converter are separated and provided separately.

The casing part and the transmission mechanism part of the torque converter of the automatic transmission are separated and provided separately so that power is transmitted from the torque converter to the transmission mechanism via a propeller shaft that connects the torque converter and the transmission mechanism. Such an automatic transmission is disclosed in Patent Document 1.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-88795

  In such an automatic transmission in which the casing portion and the transmission mechanism portion of the torque converter are separately provided, the oil in the oil pan on the transmission mechanism side is sucked and pressurized by an oil pump, and the torque converter and the transmission mechanism When configured to supply as working oil, on the casing side of the torque converter, the working oil in the torque converter, a part of the oil for bush lubrication, and the oil leaked from the oil pump are transferred to the torque converter mechanism and oil pump. Leaks into the converter casing. For this reason, it is necessary to provide a drain circuit of a torque converter that connects the converter casing and the oil pan on the transmission mechanism side, and to collect the leaked oil accumulated in the converter casing on the transmission mechanism side.

Here, in the case of the automatic transmission in which the casing portion and the speed change mechanism portion of the torque converter are separated and provided separately, more oil is required than in the automatic transmission in which these are provided integrally.
Therefore, when the drain of the torque converter drain circuit is connected to the oil pan located at the lower part of the transmission case, the pressure acting on the drain of the torque converter drain circuit is caused by the pressure of the oil in the transmission case. The pressure becomes higher than the drain discharge pressure of the torque converter, causing a problem that the leaked oil in the converter casing portion is prevented from being discharged to the oil pan.
Further, the pressure acting on the drain of the drain circuit of the torque converter becomes higher when the temperature in the transmission case rises and the pressure in the transmission case rises, and the oil leaking to the oil pan Make it more difficult to discharge.

  Here, it is conceivable to connect the drain port of the drain circuit to the case of the speed change mechanism instead of the oil pan. In this case, leaked oil discharged from the drain circuit is sprayed on the rotating elements constituting the speed change mechanism. There is a problem that it acts as a refraction for the rotating element.

  Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to easily collect the leaked oil generated on the casing portion side of the torque converter to the transmission mechanism portion side, and prevent the collected leaked oil from becoming a friction with respect to the rotating element of the transmission mechanism portion. An object of the present invention is to provide an oil recovery structure for an automatic transmission.

According to the present invention, a casing portion of a torque converter and a transmission mechanism portion are provided separately from each other, and leakage oil leaking from the torque converter and the oil pump is transferred to the transmission casing in a converter casing that houses the torque converter and the oil pump. In an automatic transmission having a discharge drain circuit for discharging into a case, a space in the transmission mechanism section is partitioned, a transmission mechanism housing section for housing the transmission mechanism, and a drain drain collection partly communicating with the transmission mechanism housing section A discharge drain circuit is connected to the discharge drain collection chamber, and the connection port to the discharge drain collection chamber of the discharge drain circuit is above the oil surface accumulated on the oil pan , and in the transmission mechanism housing portion. The rotating element is provided at a position where no oil is applied .

According to the present invention, the leaked oil leaked into the converter casing that houses the torque converter and the oil pump is discharged into the discharge drain collection chamber via the discharge drain circuit. Here, the discharge drain collection chamber is independent of the transmission mechanism housing portion and the oil pan, and the connection port to the discharge drain collection chamber of the discharge drain circuit is located above the oil surface accumulated on the oil pan. Therefore, a high pressure that inhibits the discharge of leaked oil does not act on the connection port of the discharge drain circuit. Therefore, the leaked oil generated on the casing portion side of the torque converter can be reliably recovered on the transmission mechanism portion side.
In addition, since the rotating element constituting the speed change mechanism is not located in the discharge drain collection chamber, the leaked oil discharged from the discharge drain circuit is not directly blown onto the rotating element and acts as a friction.

Hereinafter, an example in which the oil recovery structure according to the embodiment is employed in an automatic transmission in which a casing portion and a transmission mechanism portion of a torque converter are separated and provided separately will be described.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an automatic transmission that employs an oil recovery structure according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the oil recovery structure according to the embodiment.

  The automatic transmission 1 according to the embodiment includes a front unit 2 and a rear unit 3, and power transmission from the front unit 2 to the rear unit 3 connects the front unit 2 and the rear unit 3. Is done through.

  The front unit 2 includes a torque converter 20, an oil pump 30, and an oil reservoir 40, which are accommodated in the converter casing 10.

The torque converter 20 includes a pump impeller connected to an engine crankshaft, a turbine runner disposed opposite to the pump impeller, and a stator that controls the flow of oil circulating between the two.
When the torque converter is operated, oil is introduced into the converter cover 21 that houses the pump impeller and the turbine runner, and the fluid from the pump impeller to the turbine runner causes the power from the crankshaft of the engine to flow through the universal joint 5. Is transmitted to the input shaft 65 by the propeller shaft 4 connected to the turbine runner.

The oil pump 30 is connected to the control valve body 70 via a communication passage (not shown), and the oil OL in the oil pan 69 is passed through an oil strainer (not shown) attached to the control valve body 70 to thereby pass the oil pump 30. Aspirate into.
Then, after pressurizing the sucked oil, it is supplied to the torque converter 20 as working oil and also supplied to the control valve body 70.
As a result, the pressure is regulated by the control valve housed in the control valve body 70, and the hydraulic pressure is supplied to the necessary fastening elements, so that a desired gear ratio is obtained.

The oil reservoir 40 is a part of the working oil supplied to the torque converter 20, oil for lubricating a bush (not shown) of the oil pump 30, and oil leaking into the converter casing such as oil leaking from the oil pump 30. (Leaked oil) is stored, and the leaked oil is introduced into the oil reservoir 40 via the drain circuit 41.
An inlet 42 a of the drain drain circuit 42 is provided at a position above the drain port 41 a of the drain circuit 41 of the oil reservoir 40, and the drain reservoir circuit 42 includes the oil reservoir 40 and a drain drain collection chamber 64 described later. Contact through.
The leaked oil stored in the oil reservoir 40 is discharged into the discharge drain collection chamber 64 through the discharge drain circuit 42 by the internal pressure in the oil reservoir 40 and the dead weight of the leaked oil.

The rear unit 3 includes a speed change mechanism 60 and a differential (not shown).
The speed change mechanism 60 changes the rotational power input from the front unit 2 via the input shaft 65, and the differential transmits the changed rotational power to drive wheels (not shown).
A space inside the transmission case 61 of the transmission mechanism section 60 is partitioned forward and backward by a partition plate 62, and a transmission mechanism accommodation section 63 that accommodates the transmission mechanism and a discharge drain collection chamber 64 are formed.
The speed change mechanism accommodating portion 63 accommodates a speed change mechanism composed of gears and fastening elements (not shown). The input shaft 65 of the speed change mechanism is connected to the propeller shaft 4 connected to the torque converter 20 with the universal joint 6. Connected through.

The discharge drain collection chamber 64 is a space of a predetermined volume provided independently of the transmission mechanism housing 63 and the oil pan 69 at a position on the front unit 2 side in the transmission case 61, and from the front unit 2 side. The leaked oil discharged through the discharge drain circuit 42 is stored and functions as a breather chamber.
As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge drain collection chamber 64 is disposed adjacent to the speed change mechanism accommodating portion 63 with the partition plate 62 interposed therebetween, and the oil level in the speed change mechanism accommodating portion 63 is above the input shaft 65. A communication hole 66 that communicates the inside of the discharge drain collection chamber 64 and the inside of the transmission mechanism housing portion 63 is provided at a position above the position. The communication hole 66 keeps the pressure in the speed change mechanism accommodating portion 63 and the pressure in the discharge drain collection chamber 64 at the same pressure.

An air breather pipe 68 is provided on the upper end side of the discharge drain collection chamber 64, and when the pressure in the discharge drain collection chamber 64 rises due to an increase in the pressure inside the transmission mechanism housing 63, the discharge drain collection chamber 64. By connecting the inside and the outside of the engine and releasing the pressure to the outside, the pressure inside the discharge drain collection chamber 64, that is, the inside of the transmission mechanism housing 63 is maintained at substantially atmospheric pressure.
In order to prevent the oil that has flowed into the discharge drain collection chamber 64 from flowing into the discharge drain collecting chamber 64 through the communication hole 66, the air breather is prevented from being discharged to the outside through the air breather pipe 68. The position of the opening 68 a of the tube 68 is offset above the communication hole 66.

  A communication hole 67 that communicates the inside of the drain drain collection chamber 64 and the inside of the transmission mechanism housing 63 at a position below the oil drain collection chamber 64 and below the oil level in the transmission mechanism housing 63. Is provided. The diameter of the communication hole 67 is set to be larger than the diameter of the communication hole 66 described above, so that the oil can freely move between the transmission mechanism housing portion 63 and the discharge drain collection chamber 64.

A discharge port 42 b of the discharge drain circuit 42 is connected to a position above the communication hole 67 of the discharge drain collection chamber 64, and leaked oil stored in the oil reservoir 40 of the front unit 2 is discharged from the discharge drain circuit. It is discharged to the discharge drain collection chamber 64 through 42.
That is, the discharge port 42 b of the discharge drain circuit 42 is located above the oil level accumulated in the oil pan 69.

A control valve body 70 is fixed to the lower surface of the transmission case 61 (see FIG. 1), and an oil pan 69 is provided so as to cover the control valve body 70.
Oil used for lubricating a fastening element (not shown) housed in the transmission case 61, oil discharged as a drain from a control valve (not shown), and oil recovered in the transmission case 61 from the drain drain collection chamber 64 Is configured to move to the oil pan 69 side through the wall surface of the transmission case 61 by its own weight.
An oil strainer (not shown) is provided under the control valve body 70, the oil strainer suction port is located in the oil pan 69, and the discharge port is a communication path (not shown) connecting the oil pump 30 and the control valve body 70. Contact). Therefore, the oil sucked into the oil strainer from the oil pan 69 when the oil pump 30 is operated is supplied to the oil pump 30 after being filtered.

  According to the automatic transmission 1 having such a configuration, leaked oil leaked from the torque converter 20 and the oil pump 30 among the oil sucked from the transmission case 61 by the oil pump 30 and supplied to the torque converter 20 as working oil. Are collected in the oil reservoir 40 in the converter casing 10 by the drain circuit 41, and then discharged through the discharge drain circuit 42 into the discharge drain collection chamber 64 adjacent to the transmission mechanism housing 63. Then, the oil discharged into the discharge drain collection chamber 64 circulates in the transmission mechanism housing 63 through the communication hole 67 and is collected.

  As described above, in the oil recovery structure according to the present embodiment, the converter casing 10 of the torque converter 20 and the transmission mechanism 60 are separated and provided separately, and the torque converter 20 and the oil pump 30 are separated from the torque converter 20. And an oil recovery structure in an automatic transmission that includes a drain drain circuit 42 that recovers the leaked oil that has leaked into the converter casing 10 that houses the oil pump 30 and collected in the oil reservoir 40 into the transmission case 61. Thus, a space in the transmission case 61 of the transmission mechanism section 60 is divided into front and rear, and a transmission mechanism housing section 63 that houses the transmission mechanism and a discharge drain collection chamber 64 that communicates with the transmission mechanism housing section 63 are formed. In addition, the communication hole 6 is formed in the partition plate 62 that divides the transmission mechanism accommodating portion 63 and the discharge drain collection chamber 64. , 67 to communicate the speed change mechanism accommodating portion 63 and the discharge drain collection chamber 64 so that the discharge drain circuit 42 is positioned above the oil level accumulated in the oil pan 69. The leakage oil connected to the discharge drain collection chamber 64 and leaking into the converter casing 10 and collected in the oil reservoir 40 is discharged to the discharge drain collection chamber 64, and the discharged leaked oil passes through the communication hole 67. Then, it is discharged to the speed change mechanism accommodating portion 63 and collected.

  As a result, out of the oil in the transmission case 61 supplied by the oil pump 30 to the torque converter 20 as the operating oil pressure, the leaked oil leaked into the converter casing 10 that houses the torque converter 20 and the oil pump 30 is discharged drain. After being discharged into the discharge drain collection chamber 64 in the transmission case 61 via the circuit 42, it is collected in the transmission mechanism accommodating portion 63, so that it is used again as the hydraulic pressure for the oil pump 30.

Here, since the drain drain collection chamber 64 is provided separately from the transmission mechanism accommodating portion 63 that accommodates the rotating element, the leaked oil discharged into the drain drain collecting chamber 64 is directly sprayed on the rotating element. There is no. Therefore, the leaked oil does not become a friction of the rotating element.
Further, the discharge drain collection chamber 64 is provided adjacent to the side of the transmission mechanism accommodating portion 63 and is not in direct communication with the oil pan 69 located under the transmission case 61. Therefore, unlike the oil in the oil pan 69, the oil in the drain drain collection chamber 64 does not receive all the pressure due to the weight of the oil in the transmission mechanism housing 63. Therefore, unlike the case where the discharge port of the discharge drain circuit 42 is connected to the oil pan 69, the pressure that inhibits the discharge of leaked oil does not act on the discharge port 42b of the discharge drain circuit 42.

Further, the discharge drain collection chamber 64 functions as a breather chamber because it communicates with the outside of the speed change mechanism 60 by an air breather pipe 68 provided in the upper portion of the discharge drain collection chamber 64.
Therefore, the air breather pipe 68 communicates the inside and outside of the discharge drain collection chamber 64 to release the pressure to the outside, and the pressure in the discharge drain collection chamber 64 is maintained at a substantially atmospheric pressure, thereby inhibiting the discharge of leaked oil. This pressure does not act on the discharge port 42b of the discharge drain circuit 42. Therefore, the discharge of leaked oil into the discharge drain collection chamber 64 is not hindered.
Further, since the pressure in the oil reservoir 40 of the front unit 2 is slightly higher than the pressure in the discharge drain collection chamber 64, the drain can be discharged without flowing back through the discharge drain circuit due to the vibration of the vehicle vibration. It becomes.

Further, the discharge drain collection chamber 64 and the transmission mechanism accommodation portion 63 communicate with each other via the communication hole 66 located above the oil level in the transmission mechanism accommodation portion 63. And the pressure in the speed change mechanism housing 63 are maintained at the same pressure by the communication hole 67.
Here, the air breather pipe 68 provided in the discharge drain collection chamber 64 causes the discharge drain collection chamber 64 to function as a breather chamber, so that the pressure in the transmission mechanism accommodating portion 63 is adjusted. Even if the temperature rises, the pressure in the speed change mechanism accommodating portion 63 is maintained at substantially atmospheric pressure. Therefore, it is possible to prevent oil from leaking out from the oil seal portion (not shown).

Further, since the discharge drain collection chamber 64 is independent of the transmission mechanism accommodation unit 63 in which the rotation element is accommodated, for example, in the case of sudden acceleration / deceleration, the discharge element collection chamber 64 is arranged in the transmission mechanism accommodation unit 63 by the rotation element. Even if the oil is vigorously agitated and the liquid level in the transmission mechanism housing 63 changes suddenly, the oil in the transmission mechanism housing 63 does not directly reach the air breather pipe 68. Therefore, oil can be prevented from leaking outside through the air breather pipe 68.
Furthermore, since the discharge drain collection chamber 64 is provided independently of the transmission mechanism housing portion 63 and the oil pan 69, the volume of the discharge drain collection chamber 64 can be increased. Therefore, even if the amount of oil stored in the transmission mechanism storage unit 63 is large, leakage of oil to the outside through the air breather pipe 68 can be prevented.

  In particular, since the opening 68 a of the air breather pipe 68 is arranged so as to be shifted upward from the communication hole 66, the oil in the speed change mechanism housing part 63 flows into the discharge drain collection chamber 64 through the communication hole 66. However, since the oil that has flowed in does not blow directly to the vicinity of the opening 68 a of the air breather pipe 68, the oil can be prevented from being discharged to the outside through the air breather pipe 68.

In the above-described embodiment, the space in the transmission case 61 of the transmission mechanism unit 60 is divided forward and backward, and the discharge drain collection chamber 64 is positioned beside the transmission mechanism housing unit 63 as an example. However, as long as at least a part of the space in the discharge drain collection chamber 64 is secured above the oil level in the transmission mechanism housing 63, the space in the transmission case 61 is particularly partitioned. It is not limited. Therefore, the space inside the transmission case 61 may be divided into left and right, and the discharge drain collection chamber 64 may be positioned on the side surface of the transmission mechanism accommodating portion 63.
Further, the transmission mechanism housing portion 63 and the discharge drain collection chamber 64 are communicated with each other through the communication holes 66 and 67 provided in the partition plate 62 that partitions the transmission mechanism housing portion 63 and the discharge drain collection chamber 64. The transmission mechanism accommodating portion 63 and the discharge drain collecting chamber 64 may be communicated with each other through an elongated hole formed so as to extend in the vertical direction with reference to the oil level in the transmission mechanism accommodating portion 63.

It is explanatory drawing explaining the structure of the automatic transmission which employ | adopted the oil collection | recovery structure concerning an Example. It is explanatory drawing explaining the oil collection | recovery structure concerning an Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic transmission 2 Front unit 3 Rear unit 4 Propeller shaft 6 Universal joint 10 Converter casing 20 Torque converter 30 Oil pump 40 Oil reservoir 42 Discharge drain circuit 60 Transmission mechanism part 61 Transmission case 62 Partition plate 63 Transmission mechanism accommodation part 64 Discharge Drain collection chamber 66 Communication hole 67 Communication hole 68 Air breather pipe (breather pipe)
69 oil pan

Claims (3)

The casing part of the torque converter and the transmission mechanism part are provided separately from each other,
In an automatic transmission including a drain drain circuit that discharges leaked oil leaking from the torque converter and the oil pump into a case of the transmission mechanism in a converter casing that houses the torque converter and the oil pump.
Partitioning a space in the transmission mechanism section to form a transmission mechanism housing section that houses the transmission mechanism, and a discharge drain collection chamber that partially communicates with the transmission mechanism housing section;
The discharge drain circuit is connected to the discharge drain collection chamber, and the connection port of the discharge drain circuit to the discharge drain collection chamber is above the oil surface collected on the oil pan , and the rotating element in the transmission mechanism housing portion An oil recovery structure for an automatic transmission, characterized in that it is provided at a position where no oil is applied .   2. The oil recovery structure for an automatic transmission according to claim 1, wherein the discharge drain collection chamber communicates with the outside by a breather pipe provided at an upper portion of the discharge drain collection chamber.   The exhaust drain collection chamber is provided with at least one communication passage that communicates with the transmission mechanism housing portion to return oil to the oil pan and to make the pressure uniform. Oil recovery structure for automatic transmission as described.

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