192 clutches and power-stop control – Clutches – Automatic
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-14
2002-12-03
Bonck, Rodney H (Department: 3681)
192 clutches and power-stop control
Clutches
Automatic
C192S11000B
Reexamination Certificate
active
06488135
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotation transmitting device incorporating a one-way clutch that can be used as a driven pulley secured to an end of a rotating shaft of an alternator, which is, for example, an automotive generator, or as a pinion or the like secured to an end of a rotating shaft constituting a starter motor of an automotive starting device.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 10
is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional alternator disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-139550.
Referring to
FIG. 10
, a rotating shaft
3
is rotatably supported by a pair of ball-and-roller bearings
4
in a housing
2
. A rotor
5
and a commutator
6
are provided at a middle portion of the rotating shaft
3
. A driven pulley
7
is secured to an end of the rotating shaft
3
extending out from one end (the right end in
FIG. 10
) of the housing
2
.
When the alternator
1
configured as described above has been installed to an engine, an endless belt (not shown) is installed on the driven pulley
7
. Motive power of a crankshaft of the engine is transmitted via an endless belt to the rotating shaft
3
to rotatably drive the rotating shaft, thereby generating power necessary for an automobile.
Hitherto, in general, the driven pulley
7
is simply secured to the rotating shaft
3
. In recent years, however, a pulley device incorporating a one-way clutch has been proposed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 56-101353, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-317807, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-61443, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-226462, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-22753, and Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. 7-72585. The pulley device is a rotation transmitting device with a built-in one-way clutch in which motive power is freely transmitted from an endless belt to a rotating shaft if a running speed of the endless belt is fixed or increasing, while relative rotation of the driven pulley and the rotating shaft is allowed if the running speed of the endless belt is decreasing.
FIG. 11
is a longitudinal sectional view showing an essential section of a conventional pulley device including a one-way clutch,
FIG. 12
is a fragmentary sectional view taken at the line XII—XII of
FIG. 11
, and
FIG. 13
is a perspective view showing an essential section of a retaining frame employed with the conventional pulley device including the one-way clutch.
Referring to FIG.
11
through
FIG. 13
, the pulley device with the built-in one-way clutch has a sleeve
8
, which is an inner member that can be fixedly and externally fitted to the rotating shaft
3
of the alternator
1
. A driven pulley
7
a
, which is a cylindrical outer member, is disposed concentrically with the sleeve
8
. A pair of support bearings
9
and a roller clutch
10
, which is the one-way clutch, are provided between an outer peripheral surface of the sleeve
8
and an inner peripheral surface of the driven pulley
7
a.
The entire sleeve
8
is formed to be cylindrical, fixedly and externally fitted to an end of the rotating shaft
3
of the alternator
1
, and can be rotated together with the rotating shaft
3
. Hence, as shown in
FIG. 11
, a tapped hole
11
is formed in a middle portion of the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve
8
, and the tapped hole
11
and an external thread formed on an external peripheral surface of a distal end portion of the rotating shaft
3
can be screwed with one another. A distal end portion of the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve
8
(the left end portion in
FIG. 11
) is provided with a locking hole
12
having a hexagonal section, so that a distal end of a tool, such as a hexagonal wrench, can be locked in the locking hole
12
. A proximal end portion of the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve
8
(the right end portion in
FIG. 11
) is provided with a round hole
13
that fit, without a play, in a portion closer to the middle in the distal end portion of the rotating shaft
3
.
To combine the sleeve
8
and the rotating shaft
3
so that they do not relatively rotate, other structure, such as a spline engagement structure, a noncircular fitting structure, or a key engagement may be employed. A central portion of the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve
8
has a large-diameter portion
14
that has a larger diameter than the rest thereof.
A half distal end portion of the outer peripheral surface of the driven pulley
7
a
is formed so that its section passing through an axis is serrated to hold a part of an endless belt called a poly-V belt. The roller clutch
10
is disposed at an axially middle portion in a space formed between the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve
8
and the inner peripheral surface of the driven pulley
7
a
, and the pair of bearings
9
are disposed at portions closer to both axial ends of the space so that the bearings axially clamp the roller clutch
10
from both ends.
The support bearings
9
support a radial load applied to the driven pulley
7
a
, while allowing relative rotation of the driven pulley
7
a
and the sleeve
8
. The bearings
9
use, for example, deep-groove ball bearings.
The roller clutch
10
allows the transmission of torque between the driven pulley
7
a
and the sleeve
8
only if the driven pulley
7
a
attempts to relatively rotate in a predetermined direction with respect to the sleeve
8
.
To construct the roller clutch
10
as described above, a clutch inner ring
21
is externally fitted and secured to the large-diameter portion
14
of the sleeve
8
by tightening. The clutch inner ring
21
is formed by subjecting a steel sheet made of cement steel or the like to plastic working, such as press working, to form the entire body into a cylindrical shape, a cam surface
22
being formed on its outer peripheral surface. More specifically, a plurality of recessed sections
23
like ramps are equidistantly formed in the circumferential direction in the outer peripheral surface of the clutch inner ring
21
thereby to form the cam surface
22
. A chamfered portion
24
shaped like a conical recessed surface is formed on one end portion (the left end portion in
FIG. 11
) of the inner peripheral surface of the clutch inner ring
21
. The chamfered portion
24
serves as a guiding surface for press-fitting the clutch inner ring
21
onto the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter portion
14
.
Furthermore, a clutch outer ring
25
is internally fitted and secured to a middle portion of the inner peripheral surface of the driven pulley
7
a
by tightening. In the inner peripheral surface of the clutch outer ring
25
, at least an axially middle portion abutting against rollers
26
, which will be discussed hereinafter, is shaped simply as a cylindrical surface. The clutch outer ring
25
is formed by subjecting a steel sheet made of cement steel or the like to plastic working, such as press working, to form the entire body into a cylindrical shape, and inward flange-shaped jaws
27
a
and
27
b
, which provide a circular portion, are formed on both axial ends thereof. Of the two jaws
27
a
and
27
b
, the jaw
27
a
has the same thickness as the cylindrical portion of the clutch outer ring
25
because it is formed beforehand in the manufacture of the clutch outer ring
25
. On the other hand, the jaw
27
b
is made thinner because it is formed across the diameter inside the clutch outer ring
25
after the rollers
26
, which will be discussed later, and a clutch retainer
28
are installed.
A plurality of rollers
26
constructing the roller clutch
10
, together with the clutch inner ring
21
and the clutch outer ring
25
, are supported by the clutch inner ring
21
by the externally fitted clutch retainer
28
, which is prohibited from rotating in relation to the clutch inner ring
21
, such that they are allowed to roll and t
Bonck Rodney H
Mitsubishi Denki & Kabushiki Kaisha
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
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