JPH0663914B2 - Torque converter performance test method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention A. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for testing the performance of a torque converter which is one of the main components of an automatic transmission for vehicles.

B. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, in a device for automatically performing a performance test of a torque converter, a stall performance test is performed first, and then a transmission torque performance test is continuously performed, thereby making it possible to reduce a test time.

Further, when the stall performance test is switched to the transmission torque performance, the driving force can be connected without difficulty by connecting the clutch after increasing the speed of the output shaft by the output of the torque converter.

C. 2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 5 showing an example of a sectional structure of a torque converter, which is one of the important components of an automatic transmission for a vehicle, a ring gear 1 integrally joined to a casing 101.
No. 02 screw hole 103 is used to connect a crankshaft of an engine (not shown) and a spline cylinder 10 integrated with a turbine blade 104 rotatably held in a casing 101.
5, a hollow output shaft 106 connected to a transmission (not shown) is spline-fitted. Then, the casing 101 is driven and rotated in accordance with the operation of the engine, and the turbine blade 1
04, the turbine blade 104 is rotated together with the turbine blade 104 through the torque converter oil filled in the casing 101 by the pump blade 107 formed in the casing 101, and the driving force from the engine is transmitted to the output shaft 106. I am trying to do it.

Reference numeral 108 in the drawing denotes a stator holding cylinder that holds the stator blades 111 by spline-fitting the inner ring 110 of the one-way clutch 109, and the torque converter oil forms a fitting sleeve 112 that is integral with the casing 101 in an operating state. The narrow gap passage 113 between the stator holding cylinder 108 and
To the inside of the casing 101, and flows through the clearance passage 114 between the spline cylinder 105 and the casing 101 to the passage 115 formed in the output shaft 106. Further, reference numeral 116 in the drawing denotes a direct coupling clutch, which is generally the casing 1 during high speed rotation and low torque transmission.
01 and the turbine blade 104 are integrally connected to improve the fuel efficiency of the engine.

When performing a performance test of such a torque converter, normally, the rotational speed of the casing 101 and the output shaft 106, the pressure of the torque converter oil, the oil temperature, the rotational torque of the casing 101, etc. are set in order to reproduce the actual running state. There is.

A sixth example of a conventional torque converter performance test apparatus
As shown in the figure, the torque converter (casing) 120 is detachably fixed to the face plate 119 connected to the drive motor 118 via the input side torque meter 117,
Output shaft coupler 1 equipped with torque converter oil supply means (not shown)
21 is spline-fitted to the torque converter (spline cylinder) 120. This output shaft coupler 1
21 is an output side torque meter 122 and a brake 123.
A speed reducer 124 is connected to the drive motor 118 via a clutch 125, a universal joint 126, and a power transmission means 127.

Incidentally, reference numeral 128 in the drawing is a foot-operated type manual brake that restrains the rotation of the face plate 119, and the clutch 125 and the brake 123 are used when the stall test is not necessary.
It is also known that it does not incorporate.

Therefore, when performing the transmission torque performance test, the clutch 12 is used without using the brake 123 in the state shown in FIG.
5, the torque converter 120 is supplied with torque converter oil having an oil temperature of about 80 ° C. from the torque converter oil supply means, the torque converter 120 is filled with the torque converter oil, and then the drive motor 118 is connected to the input side torque meter. For example, 2000 rpm while maintaining a specified drive torque by 117
The torque converter 120 is driven by the speed reducer 124.
A rotational difference is applied between the input side and the output side, and torque is generated at the output side. At this time, the operator operates the manual pressure regulating valve incorporated in the torque converter oil supply means so that the supply pressure and the discharge pressure of the torque converter oil to the torque converter 120 become the preset hydraulic pressures, and the output side torque meter 122 is operated. Read the detected torque value. As a result, the efficiency of the torque converter 120 with respect to the rotation speed ratio, the transmission torque ratio, and the torque capacity coefficient can be obtained.

On the other hand, when performing the stall performance test, the brake 12
3 is operated to restrain the rotation of the output shaft coupler 121 side, the clutch 125 is disengaged to cut off the transmission of the driving force from the drive motor 118 to the output side, and the torque converter oil for the torque converter 120 is driven while driving the drive motor 118. The supply pressure and the discharge pressure are controlled so as to be preset hydraulic pressures, and the detected torque value of the output side torque meter 122 is quickly read before the oil temperature of the torque converter oil rises rapidly.
With this, the stall torque ratio and the torque coefficient can be obtained.

D. Problems to be Solved by the Invention Generally, in a torque converter manufacturing line, one torque converter is manufactured at a rate of about one in about 40 seconds. However, according to the conventional torque converter performance test apparatus shown in FIG. In the test method, the worker uses the torque converter 1
It takes about 3 minutes before bolting 20 to the face plate 119, filling the torque converter 120 with torque converter oil, and performing a performance test to remove the torque converter 120 from the face plate 119. For this reason, four or five torque converter performance test devices are installed side by side or assembled as an assembly of an automatic transmission and then a comprehensive test is performed to determine whether desired characteristics can be obtained.

In the method of arranging a plurality of test devices side by side, it is necessary to secure the installation space for these, and the number of workers and the like must be increased, which significantly increases the equipment cost. In addition, it is impossible to avoid variations in the measured values by each test device and the operator, and there is a risk of lack of reliability.

In addition, in the method of determining the quality of the automatic transmission in the comprehensive test, if the transmission itself is defective, the whole will be rejected regardless of the quality of the torque converter attached to it, so In addition, the number of defective products increases and the production cost rises.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a test method that intends to automate a torque converter performance test, and particularly to shorten the test time in the automatic performance test apparatus. I am trying.

E. Means for Solving the Problems A torque converter performance test method according to the present invention which achieves this object is an input shaft connected to a casing of a torque converter and driven to rotate, and an input side torque provided on the input shaft. A meter, an output shaft that is spline-fitted to a spline cylinder that is integral with a turbine blade of a torque converter, and is driven to rotate at a rotational speed slightly lower than the input shaft, and an output-side torque meter provided on the output shaft,
In a torque converter automatic performance testing device comprising a brake for stopping rotation of the output shaft and a torque converter oil supply means for injecting torque converter oil into the torque converter, the torque converter oil from the side where the torque converter sucks the torque converter oil during stall. Torque converter oil is filled in the torque converter by the supply means, then the output shaft is fixed by the brake and the input shaft is rotated to perform a stall performance test, and then the brake is released to rotate the output shaft. It is characterized by conducting a transmission torque performance test.

A torque converter performance test method according to a second aspect of the present invention is directed to an input shaft connected to a casing of a torque converter and driven to rotate, an input-side torque meter provided on the input shaft, and a turbine blade of the torque converter. An output shaft that is spline-fitted into an integral spline cylinder and is rotationally driven at a rotational speed slightly lower than the input shaft,
An output side torque meter provided on the output shaft, and a clutch for connecting / disconnecting rotational drive power to the output shaft,
In a torque converter automatic performance testing device having a torque converter oil supply means for injecting torque converter oil into the torque converter, the torque converter is charged with the torque converter oil supply means from the side where the torque converter sucks the torque converter oil at the time of stall. Then, after disconnecting the clutch and fixing the output shaft by the brake, the stall performance test is performed by rotating the input shaft,
Subsequently, the brake is released and the output shaft is accelerated by the output of the torque converter, and then the clutch is connected to perform a transmission torque performance test.

F. On the side where the torque converter draws in the torque converter oil during operation stall, the oil passage is wide, and by injecting the torque converter oil from there, the torque converter is quickly filled with the torque converter oil. By performing the stall performance test before the transfer torque performance test, it becomes easy to control the rotation of the output shaft when shifting from the stall performance test to the transfer torque performance test.

Further, in the second aspect of the present invention, the output of the torque converter itself is used to increase the speed of the output shaft when shifting from the stall performance test to the transmission torque performance test, and the difference in the number of revolutions between the input shaft and the output shaft is reduced. By connecting the clutch and driving the output shaft when it reaches the limit, the acceleration time of the output shaft is shortened and the clutch is smoothly connected.

G. Embodiments Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2 showing a front shape, FIG. 3 showing a right side surface shape thereof and FIG. 4 showing a plane shape of an apparatus capable of realizing the torque converter performance testing method according to the present invention. In addition, an input shaft 13 is connected to a face plate 12 that is rotatably supported with respect to the frame 11 so that the axis of the electric dynamometer 1 drives the input shaft 13 to rotate.
4 is installed on a pedestal 15 and is connected to an input shaft 13 via a gear box 16 and an input side torque meter 12 by a bevel gear (not shown). On the surface of the face plate 12, an engagement pin (not shown) for engaging with a ring gear formed on the outer circumference of the torque converter 120 and transmitting the rotation of the face plate 12 to the torque converter is provided in a protruding manner. The ring gear is mounted on the face plate 12 in a state of being engaged with the engagement pin so as to be coaxial with the face plate 12.

On the other hand, an output shaft 18 is arranged above the face plate 12,
The lower end of the output shaft 18 moves up and down by the operation of the lifting drive cylinder 19 so as to be detachably spline-fitted to the torque converter 120 mounted on the face plate 12, and the torque converter 120 is pressed onto the face plate 12. The output shaft coupler 20 is provided. This output shaft coupler 20
A torque converter oil supply means (not shown) that controls the supply of torque converter oil to the torque converter 120 is attached to the torque converter 120. On the output shaft 18, a reduction gear box 21 provided at the upper end of the frame 11 is provided with an output torque meter 22.
The driving force from the electric dynamometer 14 is transmitted from the reduction gear box 21 side to the output shaft 18 via the brake / clutch unit 23 supported by the frame 11. There is. That is, the brake / clutch unit 23 includes a brake 24 for stopping the rotation of the shaft and a clutch 25 for connecting / disconnecting the rotational driving force.
In addition, the reduction gear box 21 is adapted to obtain a slight reduction ratio, for example, 0.975 / 1.

The torque converter 120 on the carry-in conveyor 26 is provided between the carry-in conveyor 26 and the carry-out conveyor 27 of the torque converter 120 in which the face plates 12 are arranged in a straight line.
A carrying-in hand portion 28 for transferring the sheet onto the face plate 12,
The torque converter 120 on the face plate 12 is carried out by the conveyor 2
The torque converter carry-in / carry-out device 30 having a carry-out hand unit 29 for transferring onto and from the vehicle 7 is reciprocated in the arrangement direction of the carry-in conveyor 26 and the carry-out conveyor 27 (left-right direction in FIG. 4) by the shift cylinder 31. It is movably installed. That is, the carry-in hand unit 28 and the carry-out hand unit 2
9. The above-described operation is smoothly performed by a combination of the operations of the shift cylinder 31, the lifting cylinder 32, the front-rear cylinder 33, and the chuck cylinder 34.

When performing a performance test in such a torque converter automatic performance test apparatus, first, the output shaft coupler 20 is used.
The torque converter 120 on the face plate 12 is transferred onto the carry-out conveyor 27, while the new torque converter 120 is moved from the carry-in conveyor 26 to the face plate. Reprinted on 12. Then, after confirming that the ring gear of the torque converter 120 is engaged with the engaging pin provided on the face plate 12, the output shaft coupler 20 is lowered and fitted into the torque converter 120.

Next, the performance test is started, but as shown in FIG. 1 showing the time chart of the test method according to the embodiment of the present invention, first, the torque converter oil is injected into the torque converter 120 by the torque converter oil supply means. Here, the injection is performed on the side where the torque converter 120 takes in the torque converter oil at the time of stall, that is, through the passage 115 shown in FIG. 5, and the brake 24 is released and the clutch 25 is released.
Is connected to drive the electric dynamometer 14 at a low speed to agitate the torque converter oil so that the torque converter oil pressure is reduced in a short time.
Try to fill within 0. That is, in a normal operating state, the torque converter oil enters the torque converter 120 through the narrow gap passage 113, but by supplying the torque converter oil from the passage 115 having a large passage sectional area, the supply time can be shortened.

After that, the stall performance test is performed first. In the stall performance test, the brake 24 of the brake / clutch unit 23 is operated to restrain the rotation of the output shaft 18 side, and the clutch 25 is disengaged to interrupt the transmission of the driving force from the electric dynamometer 14 to the output side. Then, while controlling the electric dynamometer 14, control is performed so that the inlet oil pressure and the outlet oil pressure of the torque converter oil supply unit for the torque converter 120 become the preset oil pressures, and the detected torque value of the output side torque meter 22 is obtained, Calculate the stall torque ratio and torque coefficient.

Next, the transmission torque performance test is continuously performed. That is, after measuring the stall torque, first, the brake 24 is released and the output shaft 18 is rotated by the rotation output of the torque converter 120. Then, when the difference in rotational speed between the input shaft 13 and the output shaft 18 becomes small, the clutch 25 is connected and the output shaft 18 is rotationally driven by the electric dynamometer 14. Here, the connection of the clutch 25 is set to be performed, for example, two seconds after the brake 24 is released. Then, the electric dynamometer 14 is rotated at a high speed with a specified torque, and the reduction gear unit 21 forcibly gives a rotation difference between the input side and the output side of the torque converter 120 to generate and transmit torque to the output side. Perform a torque performance test. Also in this case, the inlet oil pressure and the outlet oil pressure of the torque converter 120 supply portion to the torque converter 120 are controlled to be preset values, the detected torque value of the output side torque meter 22 is calculated, and the torque with respect to the rotation speed ratio is calculated. The efficiency of the converter 120, the transmission torque ratio, and the torque capacity coefficient are calculated.

As described above, by performing the stall performance test before the transmission torque performance test, the rotation control of the output shaft 18 at the time of shifting from the stall performance test to the transmission torque performance test becomes easy, and the test time can be shortened. . That is, when the transmission torque performance test is performed first, it is necessary to stop the output shaft 18 from high-speed rotation, but a large braking noise is generated that causes the output shaft 18 to suddenly stop. Therefore, the braking time is relatively long. Will be required. On the other hand, the output shaft 18
It has been confirmed that acceleration of the output shaft 18 by a torque converter in which the input shaft rotates at high speed can achieve high speed rotation in a shorter time than in the case of accelerating the output shaft 18 by an external drive source. In combination with the above-mentioned problem of the braking time, it is possible to shorten the test time by performing the stall performance test before the transmission torque performance test.

Further, when shifting from the stall performance test to the transmission torque performance test, the clutch 25 is connected when the rotational speed difference between the input shaft 13 and the output shaft 18 becomes small, so that wear of the clutch 25 can be suppressed. The life can be extended.

On the other hand, when the test is completed in this way, the output shaft coupler 20 is pulled up and the torque converter carry-in / carry-out device 30
The torque converter 120 that has been tested by operating the face plate 1
On the other hand, the new torque converter 120 is transferred from the carry-in conveyor 26 to the face plate 12 while being transferred from the upper side to the carry-out conveyor 27, and the above-described operation is repeated to test the torque converter 120 one after another.

H. EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above in detail with reference to examples, according to the present invention, in the automatic performance test device of the torque converter,
Since the transmission torque performance test is performed after the stall performance test, it is possible to significantly reduce the test time without generating brake noise or shortening the clutch life.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a time chart according to an example of a test method according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of a test apparatus capable of realizing the method of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a right side surface thereof. 4 and 5 are plan views of the same, FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the torque converter, and FIG. 6 is a conceptual view showing an example of a conventional torque converter performance test apparatus. In the drawings, 12 is a face plate, 13 is an input shaft, 14 is an electric dynamometer, 17 is an input side torque meter, 18 is an output shaft, 20 is an output shaft coupler, 22 is an output side torque meter, 23 is a brake / clutch unit, Reference numeral 24 is a brake, 25 is a clutch, 30 is a torque converter carry-in / out device, and 120 is a torque converter.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An input shaft connected to a casing of a torque converter and driven to rotate, an input-side torque meter provided on the input shaft, and a spline fitting unit with a turbine blade of the torque converter. An output shaft that is driven to rotate at a rotational speed slightly lower than the input shaft, an output-side torque meter that is provided on the output shaft, a brake that stops the rotation of the output shaft, and a torque converter that injects torque converter oil into the torque converter. In the torque converter automatic performance test device including an oil supply means, the torque converter is filled with torque converter oil by the torque converter oil supply means from the side where the torque converter sucks the torque converter oil at the time of stall, and then the output shaft is operated by the brake. Perform the stall performance test by fixing and rotating the input shaft. Torque converter performance test method and performing transmission torque performance test by rotating the output shaft to release the brake. 2. An input shaft connected to a casing of a torque converter and driven to rotate, an input-side torque meter provided on the input shaft, and a spline cylinder integral with a turbine blade of the torque converter. An output shaft that is rotationally driven at a rotational speed slightly lower than the input shaft, an output-side torque meter that is provided on the output shaft, a clutch that connects and disconnects rotational drive power to the output shaft, and a torque converter In the torque converter automatic performance test device comprising a torque converter oil supply means for injecting torque converter oil into the torque converter, the torque converter is charged from the torque converter oil intake side by the torque converter oil supply means to the torque converter at the time of stall, and then the torque converter is charged. The clutch is disengaged, the output shaft is fixed by the brake, and the input Is rotated to perform a stall performance test, subsequently, the brake is released to accelerate the output shaft by the output of the torque converter, and then the clutch is connected to perform a transmission torque performance test. Torque converter performance test method.