Toyoda Koki Kabushiki Kaisha

Jtekt Corporation

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Other

Naoyuki Sakai

Toshifumi Sakai

Hiroshi Takuno

Junji Ando

Kunihiko Suzuki

Naoyuki Kokubo

Toshiyuki Saito

Akihiko Ikeda

Takashi Hosokawa

Mitsuru Ohba

Hirokazu Suzuki

Satoshi Ashida

Hiroyuki Mori

Kazuyuki Nakanishi

Hideo Tachikawa

Akihiko Ichikawa

Shinji Ogawa

Tomoyuki Kano

Fumitomo Tsuchiya

Masayuki Shimada

Akio Suzuki

Moritaka Isomura

Akihiro Ohno

Hajime Fukami

Akiyoshi Tashiro

Seitoku Kubo

Koji Nishi

Tsuyoshi Murakami

Hiroshi Kushino

Tadanobu Kumagai

Hisashi Fukuchi

Mikiharu Oyabu

Hideyuki Saito

Yoshiaki Senga

Yozo Yamashita

Kenji Arai

Yoshiyuki Funaki

Mikio Fujioka

Kyouji Itou

Masato Okamoto

Akio Mukainaka

A plurality of microscopic grooves are created on the surface of the teeth of planetary gears, and thus, irregular unevenness is created. This irregular unevenness includes a plurality of first microscopic grooves which function as lubricant grooves and a plurality of second microscopic grooves which are shallower than the first microscopic grooves.

Limited slip differential and manufacturing method for limited slip differential

A friction clutch includes an iron inner clutch plate and two iron outer clutch plates. Each clutch plate has a sliding surface that friction-engages with the other clutch plates. A diamond-like carbon film containing silicon, which functions as a solid lubricant, is formed on the sliding surface of each outer clutch plate through a conventional method such as plasma chemical vapor deposition. The diamond-like carbon film contains 1 wt % to 80 wt % of silicon. A coupling device includes a pilot clutch mechanism that has the friction clutch and an electromagnetic actuator. As a result, the friction clutch has an improved resistance to wear, and the coupling device is durable.

Clutch plate, friction clutch, and coupling device

An amorphous carbon film forming apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by being provided with a film forming furnace; plural workpiece fixturesfor supporting plural plate-like workpiecesin a state that the same are piled up vertically in parallel with the interval between facing surfaces of two vertically adjoining of the plate-like workpiecesbeing in a range of 2 to 30 millimeters, the plural workpiece fixturesbeing arranged within the film forming furnaceat a regular angular interval on a circle and being connected to a negative electrode; nozzlesprovided for supplying a processing gas and including at least one nozzle arranged at a center of the circle on which the plural workpiece fixturesare arranged and plural nozzles arranged at a regular angular interval on another circle which surrounds the workpieces fixturesradially outside thereof; and a plasma power supply connected to at least the workpiece fixtures. By controlling the supply gas pressure to be in a range of 13 to 1,330 Pa and a sheath width to be made in a range of 2 to 30 mm, the discharge is kept stably. As a consequence, it can be realized to form amorphous carbon films efficiently at a low cost.

Amorphous carbon film forming method and device

A drive force transmission device has an outer clutch plate and an inner clutch plate, which are rotatable relative to each other about a common rotational axis. The inner and outer clutch plates become frictionally engaged with each other with lubricant oil provided in between. The outer and inner clutch plates each have a sliding surface. The sliding surfaces face each other. A diamond-like carbon film is formed on the sliding surface of the outer clutch plate. Fine grooves are formed in the sliding surface of the inner clutch plate. The proportion of the sliding area to the sliding surface of the inner clutch plate at the initial stage of use is 55 to 90%.

Drive force transmission device

A vehicle drive deviceis composed of an electric motor, a differential gearfor distributing and transmitting the drive power from the electric motorto right and left drive wheels, and a clutchfor making intermittent the coupling capable of transmitting the drive power between the differential gearside and the electric motorside. The clutchis of the type having a self-locking function and is arranged coaxially of the differential gearat one side of the differential gear

Vehicle drive device, and front-and-rear wheel-driven vehicle formed of the device

A drive power transmission device is disclosed having a drive mechanism for transmitting a drive power between first and second rotary members rotatable relative to each other, by the operation of an electromagnetic type clutch mechanism which brings a friction clutch into connection. A magnetic path generated around an electromagnet of the electromagnetic type clutch mechanism includes a clutch magnetic path in which a magnetic flux passes to reciprocate plural times across th friction clutch, and diamond-like carbon surface treatment is given on a part or all of the friction contact surfaces of the friction clutch to form a hard amorphous carbon film thereon. Thus, the transmission device can be constructed using a smaller number of the outer and inner plates for the electromagnetic type clutch mechanism, so that it can take a small construction with a longer durability life.

Drive power transmission device

A friction clutch has a plurality of iron inner clutch plates and a plurality of iron outer clutch plates. Both the clutch plates have sliding surfaces which are friction-engaged each other. A thin carbon film in a diamond form, which functions as a solid lubricant, is formed on each of the sliding surfaces of the outer clutch plates by a known method such as the Chemical Vapor Deposition method. A known nitride treatment or quenching and tempering treatment is applied to the sliding surfaces of the inner clutch plates. A coupling device has a pilot clutch mechanism with the friction clutch and an electromagnetic actuator. As a result, the friction clutch is resistant to wear and the coupling device is excellent in durability.

A drive system for an automotive vehicle of the front-and-rear wheel drive type, comprising a primary drive mechanism for drive of a set of front road wheels and an ancillary drive mechanism for drive of a set of rear roar wheels, wherein the front road wheels are driven by operation of the primary drive mechanism at a two-wheel drive mode and wherein the front and rear road wheels are driven by operation of both the primary and ancillary drive mechanisms at a four-wheel drive mode. In the drive system, a drive power applied to the primary road wheels is restricted to a predetermined value when the vehicle is driven by the primary and ancillary drive mechanisms at the front-and-rear wheel drive mode.

Drive system for automotive vehicle of front-and-rear wheel drive type

A driving force transmission system comprising: a coupling case and a shaft arranged rotatably relative to each other; a pilot clutch and a main clutch for controlling a torque transmission between the coupling case and the shaft; an electromagnet for controlling the actions of the pilot clutch and the main clutch; and oil retaining the functions of the pilot clutch and the main clutch. This system further comprises a coupling case, a shaft, a rotor, and X-ring and an O-ring isolating a coupling oil chamber, in which the pilot clutch and the main clutch are arranged, liquid-tight from the surrounding space.

Driving force transmission system

A driving force transmission system comprising: a coupling case and a shaft arranged rotatably relative to each other; a pilot clutch and a main clutch for controlling a torque transmission between the coupling case and the shaft; an electromagnet for controlling the actions of the pilot clutch and the main clutch; and oil for retaining the functions of the pilot clutch and the main clutch. This system further comprises a coupling case, a shaft, a rotor, an X-ring and an O-ring for isolating a coupling oil chamber, in which the pilot clutch and the main clutch are arranged, liquid-tight from the surrounding space.

On a frictional engage surface of one of inner and outer clutch plates constructing a wet-type multi-disk clutch, a plurality of convex ridges are formed at an infinitesimal predetermined interval distance. Lubricating oil is kept between the convex ridges, so that the wedge operation in oil can be reduced, whereby the torque transfer characteristic can be improved. Further, a height of the convex ridge is set equal to or more than 1 .mu.m and the interval distance of the convex ridge is set equal to or less than 600 .mu.m, preferably. In the configuration of the clutch plate, it is made of steel as a substrate. Further, a nitrogen diffusion layer, a nitrided layer and an oxidation tunic is formed on said nitrided layer are formed on the substrate in its order therefrom.

Clutch plate

A drive force transmission apparatus includes a housing connected to one of two shafts that are rotatable relative to each other, a rotary shaft rotatably supported by the housing and connected to the other shaft, and a multiple disc clutch composed of a plurality of outer plates engaged with the housing in the rotational direction and a plurality of inner plates engaged with the rotary shaft in the rotational direction. The multiple disc clutch transmits rotational torque between the housing and the rotary shaft through frictional engagement between the outer plates and the inner plates. The apparatus also includes a pressure generation mechanism for generating a pressure corresponding to a rotational-speed difference between the housing and the rotary shaft and for applying the generated force to the multiple disc clutch via a piston. The pressure generating means is composed of a plurality of rotary blades accommodated within a cylindrical space formed between the piston and the housing and rotating together with the rotary shaft, a viscous fluid charged into a plurality of pressure chambers defined by the housing, the piston, and the rotary blades, and a free blade accommodated within at least one pressure chamber. The free blade is freely movable in the circumferential direction between the rotary blades.

Drive force transmission apparatus

A torque coupling device for use as, for example, a so-called center differential provided between front and rear road wheel axles of a four-wheeled vehicle comprises a cup-shape front housing, a rear housing closing an open end of the front housing, a rotational shaft co-axially rotatably supported by the front and rear housings therewithin, and a clutch disc assembly interposed within the front housing between an axial inner end of the front housing and an axial inner end of the rear housing. The initial clearance in axial direction between the clutch assembly and the inner ends of the front and rear housings is tuned so that when the relative rotation between the housings and said rotational shaft causes a certain temperature difference between the housing and the clutch assembly, the difference in thermal expansion between the front housing and the clutch assembly brings clutch discs of the clutch assembly into friction contact to transmit a rotational torque between the housings and the rotational shaft. In a modified form of the coupling device, a piston axially movable relative to, but rotatable bodily with the front housing is interposed between one end of the clutch assembly and the inner end of the rear housing and defines an axially narrow annular spacing between itself and the rear housing. An impeller with radially extending blades is received within the spacing for generating a pressure acting on the piston, through the agency of a high viscous fluid.

Torque coupling device

Growing community of inventors

Anjo, Japan

Naoyuki Sakai