Electromagnetic pilot-type clutch device

192 clutches and power-stop control – Clutches – Automatic

Reexamination Certificate

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Reexamination Certificate

active

06622838

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic pilot-type clutch device.
2. Description of Related Art
As shown in
FIG. 1
, in a conventional electromagnetic pilot-type clutch device
10
for starting a vehicle by transmitting rotation power of an engine to a driving wheel, an output shaft
23
is rotatably supported on a rotation axis in a differential case
20
by tapered roller bearings
51
,
52
. The differential case
20
accommodates a differential gear
29
such as a bevel gear, and a case
11
is fixed to the differential case
20
. The case
11
accommodates a housing
13
which is integrally connected to an input shaft
21
. The housing
13
has a clutch accommodating chamber
14
. An inner shaft
15
extends in the clutch accommodating chamber
14
and is rotatably supported by a bearing
24
and a needle bearing
25
. Components such as a main clutch
16
, a cam-type amplifying mechanism
18
and a pilot clutch
34
are mounted within the clutch accommodating chamber
14
. An opening
64
of the housing
13
is covered by a rear housing
57
. In order to maintain a fluid-tight state, oil seals
55
,
68
are respectively provided between the outer peripheral surface of the inner shaft
15
and the inner peripheral surface of a smaller-diameter rear housing portion
37
and between the outer peripheral surface of a larger-diameter rear housing portion
38
and the inner peripheral surface of the case
11
. An electromagnet
33
is fixed to a yoke
36
so as to face the pilot clutch
34
with the rear housing
57
interposed therebetween. The yoke
36
maintains a small gap between the yoke
36
itself and the smaller-diameter and larger-diameter rear housing portions
37
,
38
, and rotatably supports the smaller-diameter rear housing portion
37
by a bearing
28
. The yoke
36
has a fitted portion
36
a
and an engaging portion
36
b.
The fitted portion
36
a
projects from the opening
64
of the housing
13
and is fittingly supported in a yoke fitting hole
50
of the differential case
20
. A pin
47
is provided at an end of the case
11
so as to project from the end face of the case
11
. The engaging portion
36
b
engages with the pin
47
in order to prevent rotation of the yoke
36
. Various components are thus mounted within the housing
13
to form a housing assembly
41
.
The housing
13
has a shoulder portion
46
in its front part. More specifically, the outer peripheral surface of the housing
13
forms the shoulder portion
46
near the input shaft
21
. The shoulder portion
46
is rotatably supported within the case
11
by an outer bearing
65
. An oil seal
19
is mounted near the bearing
65
in order to maintain a fluid-tight state of the case
11
. The case
11
and the differential case
20
are separated at the end face of the opening
64
of the housing
13
. An oil seal
54
is provided between the outer peripheral surface of a protruding end of the smaller-diameter rear housing portion
37
and the inner peripheral surface of the differential case
20
in order to separate the case
11
from the differential case
20
in a fluid-tight manner.
In the above conventional clutch device, the housing assembly is supported both in the case and the differential case. It takes a long time to mount the housing assembly to the case and the differential case. Moreover, if the shape of the housing assembly is changed, the shape of the differential case must also be changed accordingly. Furthermore, the respective central axes of the case and the differential case may be displaced from each other. Such displacement may degrade the fluid-tight property of the oil seal, and also may impede the balanced state of the input shaft and the output shaft within the case. Moreover, the engaging portion of the yoke for preventing rotation may become unstable. In such a case, the housing assembly may vibrate and abnormal noises are generated from the engaging portion due to variation in rotation of components such as the housing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electromagnetic pilot-type clutch device that improves mounting of a housing assembly, eliminates unbalanced rotation, and has no adverse effect on vibration of an axle caused by such unbalanced rotation.
In order to achieve the above object, an electromagnetic pilot-type clutch device according to the present invention includes an output shaft, an input shaft, a housing, a rotating member, a main clutch, a pilot clutch, a rear housing, a yoke, and a cam-type amplifying mechanism. The output shaft is rotatably supported on a rotation axis in a differential case accommodating a differential gear. The input shaft is rotatably supported on the rotation axis in a case fixed to the differential case. The housing is provided in the case, integrally connected to the input shaft, and has a clutch accommodating chamber. The rotating member is rotatably supported in the housing, extends in the clutch accommodating chamber, and is detachably connected to the output shaft in a rotatable manner. The main clutch has main outer clutch plates and main inner clutch plates. The main outer clutch plates are engaged with an inner peripheral surface of the clutch accommodating chamber with restriction of relative rotation so as to be movable in an axial direction. The main inner clutch plates are arranged alternately with the main outer clutch plates, and engaged with the rotating member with restriction of relative rotation so as to be movable in an axial direction. The pilot clutch has pilot outer clutch plates and pilot inner clutch plates. The pilot outer clutch plates are engaged with the inner peripheral surface of the clutch accommodating chamber with restriction of relative rotation so as to be movable in an axial direction. The pilot inner clutch plates are arranged alternately with the pilot outer clutch plates, and engaged with a first cam member with restriction of relative rotation so as to be movable in an axial direction. The rear housing is formed by a larger-diameter rear housing portion fixed to the housing, a smaller-diameter rear housing portion rotatably supporting the rotating member, and an annular, non-magnetic intermediate member connecting the larger-diameter and smaller-diameter rear housing portions together at a position facing an armature with the pilot clutch interposed therebetween. The yoke has an electromagnet fixed thereto, and rotatably supports the smaller-diameter rear housing portion by a bearing. The electromagnet is provided between the larger-diameter and smaller-diameter rear housing portions, and attracts the armature to press the pilot outer clutch plates and the pilot inner clutch plates together. The cam-type amplifying mechanism has the first cam member and a second cam member that contacts the main clutch. The cam-type amplifying mechanism allows the second cam member to be moved in an axial direction by a cam mechanism caused by relative rotation of the first and second cam members, thereby amplifying torque transmitted to the pilot clutch in response to attraction of the electromagnet and pressing the main clutch. An outer peripheral surface of the yoke is fitted to the case in a fluid-tight manner so as to prevent rotation of the yoke. An inner peripheral surface of the yoke is fitted to an outer peripheral surface of the smaller-diameter rear housing portion in a fluid-tight manner.
In the above electromagnetic pilot-type clutch device, a housing assembly is prepared as a sub assembly. More specifically, the rotating member, the main clutch, the pilot clutch, the yoke having the electromagnet fixed thereto, the cam-type amplifying mechanism, and the rear housing are mounted in the housing so as to form the housing assembly. The outer peripheral surface of the yoke of the housing assembly is fitted to the case so as to prevent rotation of the yoke. The inner peripheral surface of the yoke is fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the smaller-diameter rear hou

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