JP4044033B2 - Axle housing - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an axle housing.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an axle housing used in a four-wheel vehicle accommodates a differential device and an axle shaft that is connected to the differential device and transmits rotational driving force to both left and right wheels. In such an axle housing, the lubricating oil for the differential device and the bearing portion of the axle shaft end is mainly stored in a differential housing portion that houses the differential device. For example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 show a configuration in which the movement of the lubricating oil is restricted so that the stored lubricating oil is not biased to any one of the bearings when the vehicle is traveling. Has been.

Patent Document 1 discloses that an oil deflector divides a differential housing portion that houses a differential device and an axle shaft housing portion that houses an axle shaft with an oil deflector so that the lubricating oil in the differential housing portion is extremely unevenly distributed in the axle shaft housing portion. The structure which prevents it is adopted. Moreover, in the thing of patent document 2, the junction part with the differential accommodating part of an axle shaft accommodating part is extended inside a differential accommodating part, and the outflow of lubricating oil to an axle shaft accommodating part is carried out by the extending part. While suppressing, it has comprised so that the lubricating oil which flowed out may be smoothly returned to a differential accommodating part.
JP 2003-222228 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-207506

  However, in the thing of the said patent document 1, since the differential accommodating part and the axle shaft accommodating part are partitioned off by the oil deflector, the structure which suppresses that a lubricating oil flows out into an axle shaft accommodating part is disclosed. However, there is no suggestion about the structure for supplying lubricating oil to the axle shaft housing. That is, in the one described in Patent Document 1, the lubricating oil in the differential housing portion does not easily flow out to the axle shaft housing portion, but the lubricating oil is difficult to return from the axle shaft housing portion to the differential housing portion.

  Moreover, in the thing of patent document 2, since the said extension part is only extended in parallel with the oil surface of lubricating oil in the state in which an axle shaft is horizontal, when a vehicle turns at high speed, or an axle shaft direction When the vehicle travels on a slope with a slope, there may be a case where the outflow of the lubricating oil cannot be appropriately suppressed. In other words, when the vehicle is in the traveling state, the oil level of the lubricating oil is easily positioned above the extension, and the lubricating oil moves over the extension and moves to the axle shaft housing. is there. Therefore, there is a case where the amount of lubricating oil in the differential housing portion is extremely reduced instantaneously, and the reduction in the amount of lubricating oil may cause a problem in the differential device.

  The object of the present invention is to eliminate such problems.

  That is, the axle housing of the present invention includes a differential housing portion that houses a differential device, and left and right axle shaft housing portions that house an axle shaft extending from the differential device and communicate with the differential housing portion. An axle housing having lubricating oil blocking means for controlling movement of the lubricating oil in the differential housing portion to the axle shaft housing portion at a boundary portion with the axle shaft housing portion, wherein the lubricating oil blocking means hangs down on the boundary portion An upper member provided, and a lower member that is spaced from the upper member and rises toward the axle shaft housing side from the upper member of the boundary portion, and the free end of the upper member is lower than the free end of the lower member. The lower member is positioned at the lower end of the lower member. And a communicating portion for communicating the tangential accommodating portion and the axle shaft accommodation portion.

  In such a configuration, since the lubricating oil blocking means including the upper member and the lower member is provided at the boundary portion between the differential housing portion and the axle shaft housing portion, lubrication from the differential housing portion to the axle shaft housing portion is possible. Control the movement of oil to an appropriate amount. That is, since the free end of the upper member is located below the free end of the lower member and is separated from the lower member, the lubricating oil flowing out to the axle shaft housing portion beyond the free end of the lower member is suppressed. At the same time, since the lower member and the upper member are separated from each other, the lubricating oil moving along the lower member from the space flows out into the axle shaft housing portion. Therefore, only an appropriate amount of lubricating oil can be supplied to the axle shaft housing portion.

  Further, since the lower member is fixed to the outside of the upper member, that is, on the axle shaft housing portion side, being separated from the upper member, even if the mounting position of at least one of the upper member and the lower member is shifted, Contact with the member is suppressed. For this reason, it is possible to set a large allowable error with respect to the attachment positions of the upper member and the lower member, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in design and improving the yield.

  In addition, since the lower member has a communication portion at the lower end thereof, it is possible to return the lubricating oil that has flowed out to the axle shaft housing portion to the differential housing portion.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since the free end of the upper member is positioned below the free end of the lower member, the lubrication flows out from the differential accommodating portion to the axle shaft accommodating portion beyond the free end of the lower member. The movement of oil can be suppressed. On the other hand, since the free end of the upper member is separated from the lower member, the lubricating oil guided by the lower member can flow out to the axle shaft accommodating portion through this separated portion.

  As a result, even when the differential device is assembled and mounted on a vehicle, for example, when the vehicle turns at a high speed, it is possible to reliably prevent the lubricant from flowing out into the axle shaft housing portion at once, and the lack of lubricant It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a malfunction of the differential device due to the above. At the same time, since the lubricating oil can be supplied to the axle shaft housing portion, it is possible to prevent a similar problem from occurring in the bearing portion of the axle shaft.

  In addition, since the lower member is fixed to the outer side of the upper member, that is, on the axle shaft housing part side, being separated from the upper member, even if the mounting position of the upper member or the lower member or both of them varies, the interference between the two members Can be prevented. Therefore, the tolerance with respect to the attachment positions of the upper member and the lower member can be increased, and the yield can be improved.

  In addition, since the lower member has a communicating portion at its lower end, the lubricating oil that has flowed out to the axle shaft housing portion can be returned to the differential housing portion. For this reason, even when the lubricating oil in the differential housing part flows into the axle shaft housing part due to a long turn or the like, it is possible to prevent the differential device from becoming insufficient in lubricating oil.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The axle housing 100 of this embodiment includes a differential housing portion 2 that houses the differential device 1, and left and right axle shaft housing portions 4 and 5 that house the axle shaft 3 extending from the differential device 1 and communicate with the differential housing portion 2. Become.

  The differential accommodating portion 2 is formed by upper and lower central housing members 21 and 22 (shown in FIG. 2) and a back cover member 23 that are paired vertically. The upper and lower central housing members 21 and 22 are provided with front and rear wall portions in which substantially circular openings are formed on the front side and the back side when they are joined. The combined upper and lower central housing members 21 and 22 have a shape in which a vertical cross section perpendicular to the axle shaft 3 is substantially rectangular as shown in FIGS. Moreover, the opening 24 on the front side of the combined upper and lower central housing members 21 and 22 is large enough to allow the ring gear 1a of the differential device 1 to pass therethrough, and a differential carrier (illustrated) constituting the differential device 1 is illustrated. Is fixed and closed via the mounting seat 26, and the back cover member 23 is fixed and closed in the opening 25 on the back surface side. In this embodiment, an upper member 61 constituting the lubricating oil blocking means 6 is provided to hang down on the inner surface of the upper central housing member 21, and a lower member 62 constituting the lubricating oil blocking means 6 is provided on the inner surface of the lower central housing member 22. Standing up is provided. A substantial differential housing portion 2 is formed in a portion surrounded by the combined upper and lower central housing members 21, 22, the back cover member 23, the upper member 61, and the lower member 62.

  The upper member 61 and the lower member 62 are made by bending a metal plate, and have semicircular cutouts 61b and 62b on the free ends 61a and 62a side, respectively. The upper member 61 and the lower member 62 of this embodiment have a high rigidity by bending a metal plate material, thereby enabling the use of a thin plate material and promoting weight reduction. The upper member 61 and the lower member 62 are arranged so that the lower member 62 is located outside the upper member 61, that is, at a position away from the differential housing portion 2 when the upper and lower central housing members 21 and 22 are coupled. 22 and the upper central housing member 21 are attached. The upper member 61 and the lower member 62 may have a flat plate shape.

  Specifically, the upper member 61 is fixed to the inner surface of the side wall of the upper central housing member 21 with the base 61c fixed to the upper central housing member 21 and the both edges continuously from the base 61c at a predetermined angle. And a shielding part 61d. The shielding portion 61d is formed with respect to the base portion 61c so as to be positioned substantially perpendicular to the axle shaft 3 in a state where the upper member 61 is fixed to the upper central housing member 21, and is opposite to the base portion 61c. It has a free end 61a at the end. The shielding part 61d is provided with a notch 61b, and the notch 61b is formed to a depth reaching the vicinity of the connecting part between the shielding part 61d and the base part 61c.

  Similarly, the lower member 62 includes a base portion 62c fixed to the lower central housing member 22 and a shielding portion whose both edges are fixed to the inner wall of the lower central housing member 22 continuously from the base portion 62c at a predetermined angle. 62d. The shielding part 62d is formed with respect to the base part 62c so as to be positioned substantially perpendicular to the axle shaft 3 in a state where the lower member 62 is fixed to the lower central housing member 22, and is opposite to the base part 62c. It has a free end 62a at the end. Further, the shielding part 62d is provided with a notch 62b. Like the upper member 61, the notch 62b is formed to a depth reaching the vicinity of the connecting part between the shielding part 62d and the base part 62c. In this lower member 62, communication is made between the lower end portion of the base portion 62 c so that the substantial differential housing portion 2 and left and right axle shaft housing portions 4, 5 described later communicate with each other by cutting away the corner portion of the base portion 62 c. A portion 62e is formed.

  In this case, the position of the notch 62b in the shielding part 62d of the lower member 62 is set corresponding to the oil level height of the lubricating oil stored in the differential housing part 2, and the lower member 62 is located in the lower central housing. When attached to the member 22, the lower edge 62ba of the notch 62b is set so as to be positioned near the upper surface of the lubricating oil and on the upper side. The notches 61b and 62b of the upper member 61 and the lower member 62 are formed on the axle shaft 3 when the upper member 61 and the lower member 62 are attached to the corresponding upper central housing member 21 and lower central housing member 22, respectively. A circular space having a diameter larger than the outer diameter, that is, a space in which the axle shaft 3 is accommodated with a gap is formed. The upper member 61 and the lower member 62 are shielded so that the free ends 61a existing on both sides of the notch 61b of the upper member 61 are positioned below the free ends 62a existing on both sides of the notch 62b of the lower member 62. The lengths of the parts 61d and 62d are set. By setting the lengths of the respective shielding portions 61d and 62d in this way, when the upper and lower central housing members 21 and 22 are coupled, when viewed from the direction of the axle shaft 3, the respective shielding portions 61d and 62d The free ends 61a and 62a are separated and overlapped.

  The left and right axle shaft accommodating portions 4 and 5 are connected to the combined upper and lower central housing members 21 and 22 and the left and right circular pipe members 41 and 51 containing the axle shaft 3 and both end portions of the upper and lower central housing members 21 and 22. 21a and 22a. That is, the left and right axle shaft housing portions 4 and 5 are basically formed by the left and right circular pipe members 41 and 51, and the space partitioned by the upper member 61 and the lower member 62 is substantially as described above. Since the differential housing portion 2 is formed, the space on the outer side from the upper member 61 and the lower member 62 of the upper and lower central housing members 21 and 22, that is, on the side of the circular tube members 41 and 51, is substantially the left and right axle shaft housing portion 4. 5 functions as a part. Therefore, the upper member 61 and the lower member 62 which are the lubricating oil blocking means 6 are fixed to the boundary portions 7 and 8 between the differential housing portion 2, the left axle shaft housing portion 4 and the right axle shaft housing portion 5. .

  In the above configuration, the upper and lower central housing members 21 and 22 to which the upper and lower members 61 and 62 are fixed are combined, and the back cover member 23 and the circular pipe members 41 and 51 are fixed to the combined upper and lower central housing members 21 and 22. An axle housing 100 is formed. The differential device 1 is attached to the axle housing 100 formed in this way from the opening 24 on the front side, and then the axle shaft 3 is connected to the attached differential device 1. Then, after the rear axle assembly in which the differential device 1 and the axle shaft 3 are incorporated in the axle housing 100 is incorporated in the vehicle, lubricating oil is injected into the differential housing portion 2. Lubricating oil is used in such an amount that the oil level is below the lower edge 62ba of the notch 62b of the lower member 62 in a state where the axle housing 100 is kept horizontal.

  In such a state of use, when the vehicle is driven, the lubricating oil stored in the differential housing portion 2 is moved up and down by the vibration of the vehicle, so that the lower edge 62ba of the notch 62b of the lower member 62 May move to the left and right axle shaft accommodating portions 4 and 5. Since the communicating portion 62e is provided at the lower end portion of the lower member 62, the lubricating oil that has moved to the left and right axle shaft accommodating portions 4 and 5 is quickly returned to the differential accommodating portion 2 via the communicating portion 62e. As described above, when the vehicle is traveling on a flat road, the lubricating oil may move to the left and right axle shaft accommodating portions 4 and 5 through the notch 62b, but the communication portion 62e is provided in the lower member 62. And most of it is retained in the differential accommodating portion 2.

  On the other hand, for example, when the vehicle turns sharply, the lubricating oil tends to move suddenly in a direction opposite to the turning direction due to centrifugal force. Alternatively, when the vehicle is traveling on a road surface inclined in the direction of the accelerator shaft 3, the lubricating oil tends to move in the inclination direction of the road surface by its own weight. However, since the lubricating oil blocking means 6 composed of the upper member 61 and the lower member 62 is provided at the boundary portions 7 and 8 between the differential housing portion 2 and the left and right axle shaft housing portions 4 and 5, lubrication to be moved is performed. Most of the oil is blocked by the upper member 61 and partly formed by the gap between the upper member 61 and the lower member 62, that is, the overlap of the shielding portions 61 d and 62 d of the upper member 61 and the lower member 62. The left and right axle shaft accommodating portions 4 and 5 are moved through the labyrinth structure or the notches 61b and 62b. The lubricating oil that has moved to the left and right axle shaft accommodating portions 4, 5 is collected in the differential accommodating portion 2 via a communication portion 62 e provided in the lower member 62.

  Therefore, even if the vehicle behavior is abrupt, the amount of lubricating oil that moves from the differential housing portion 2 to the axle shaft housing portions 4 and 5 is minimized, in other words, the lubricating oil is one axle shaft housing portion. 4 (5) can be suppressed, and the necessary amount of lubricating oil can be reliably ensured in the differential housing portion 2. Further, the lubricating oil that has moved to the left and right axle shaft accommodating portions 4, 5 can be collected in the differential accommodating portion 2 via the communicating portion 62 e of the lower member 62. For this reason, the differential accommodating portion 2 does not have an insufficient amount of lubricating oil, and therefore it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems caused by the insufficient amount of lubricating oil. In addition, since the lower member 62 has the communication portion 62e, the lubricating oil that has moved to the left and right axle shaft accommodating portions 4 and 5 can be recovered smoothly, and the amount of lubricating oil that is always sufficient for the differential accommodating portion 2 Can be secured. In particular, in this embodiment, the base 62c of the lower member 62 is inclined, and the communication part 62e is formed at a low position near the bottom of the differential housing part 2, so that the left and right axle shaft housing parts 4, Smoother recovery of the lubricating oil moved to 5 is possible.

  Further, in this embodiment, the lower member 62 is fixed to the outside of the upper member 61, that is, on the left and right axle shaft housing portions 4 and 5 side so as to be separated from the upper member 61, so that the upper member 61 or the lower member 62 or both Even if the mounting position varies, interference between the two can be prevented. Therefore, the tolerance with respect to the attachment position of the upper member 61 and the lower member 62 can be increased, and the yield can be improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  In addition, the specific configuration of each part is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The front view which abbreviate | omitted a part of embodiment of this invention. The perspective view of the upper-lower center housing member of the Example. FIG. 3 is an end view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an end view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Differential apparatus 2 ... Differential accommodating part 3 ... Axle shaft 4 ... Left axle shaft accommodating part 5 ... Right axle shaft accommodating part 6 ... Lubricating oil blocking means 7, 8 ... Boundary part 61 ... Upper member 62 ... Lower member 62e ... Communication Part

Claims (1)

A boundary portion between the differential housing portion and the left and right axle shaft housing portions, comprising a differential housing portion for housing the differential device and left and right axle shaft housing portions for housing the axle shaft extending from the differential device and communicating with the differential housing portion. An axle housing comprising lubricating oil blocking means for controlling the movement of the lubricating oil in the differential housing portion to the axle shaft housing portion,
The lubricating oil blocking means is composed of an upper member that hangs down at the boundary portion and a lower member that is spaced apart from the upper member and rises from the upper member of the boundary portion toward the axle shaft housing portion side, and the free end of the upper member The axle housing is provided with a communicating portion that is located below the free end of the lower member and spaced from the lower member, and the lower member communicates with the lower end portion of the differential housing portion and the axle shaft housing portion.

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