Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Jtekt Corporation

Takahiro Yoshimura

Ryota Horie

Takeshi Nakamura

Hiroshi Takuno

Masaya Michishita

Hideki Tamoto

Yoshiki Takeuchi

Kazuaki Kamimura

Kunihiko Suzuki

Hiroshi Tamura

Yoshinori Maeda

Masayuki Hashimoto

Yutaka Yamashita

A wet friction disc includes a friction surface and a lubrication groove through which a lubricant supplied to the friction surface flows. The lubrication groove has a plurality of circumferential groove portions that extends in a circumferential direction and a plurality of intersecting groove portions that extends in directions intersecting the circumferential direction. At least one of the circumferential groove portions has a through-hole that extends through the wet friction disc between an opposite surface facing s mating member and a surface on the opposite side in an axial direction.

Wet friction disc and friction engaging device

A wet friction disc includes a lubrication groove and a plurality of lands defined by the lubrication groove. The lubrication groove has a plurality of circumferential groove portions that extends in a circumferential direction and has a predetermined groove width in a radial direction, and a plurality of intersecting groove portions that extends in directions intersecting the circumferential direction. At least some of the circumferential groove portions have an arc shape such that an end in the circumferential direction is located adjacent to one of the lands in the circumferential direction and that the groove width is entirely contained within a range in the radial direction spanned by that land.

Wet friction disc

A method of installing a drive shaft in a casing accommodating a drive pinion and a ring gear such that the drive shaft is connected to a coupling unit accommodated in the casing, the coupling unit including: an input rotary member, an output rotary member, a clutch, and a covering member. The method including steps of: fitting the stop ring in the annular groove, and inserting the engaging shaft portion of the drive shaft into the engaging hole of the output rotary member, until the stop ring is brought into expanded state thereof in the annular cutout portion; and detecting the expanded state of the stop ring in the annular cutout portion, by measuring a dimension between first and second measuring points set respectively on the drive shaft and the covering member.

Method of installing a drive shaft

A vehicle driving-force distributing device includes: first connecting/disconnecting teeth disposed on the inner circumferential side of the ring gear; a connecting/disconnecting mechanism that includes a cylindrical member and a connecting/disconnecting sleeve including second connecting/disconnecting teeth and spline-fitted movably in the rotation axis direction and relatively non-rotatably to the outer circumferential side of the shaft insertion portion and that connects and disconnects a power transmission path between the ring gear and the differential case by moving the connecting/disconnecting sleeve in the rotation axis direction between a meshing position at which the second connecting/disconnecting teeth are meshed with the first connecting/disconnecting teeth and a non-meshing position at which the second connecting/disconnecting teeth are not meshed with the first connecting/disconnecting teeth; and a synchronizing mechanism disposed between the ring gear and the cylindrical member and reducing a relative rotation between the first connecting/disconnecting teeth and the second connecting/disconnecting teeth.

Vehicle driving-force distributing device

A cylindrical ring gear has first external teeth and a support portion in an axial direction of the cylindrical ring gear. An output shaft extends through the cylindrical ring gear and is supported to rotate concentrically with the cylindrical ring gear. A disconnect mechanism is configured to connect or disconnect an inner periphery of the cylindrical ring gear to an outer periphery of the output shaft based on a moved position of the movable engagement member. An actuator is disposed such that the first external teeth are located between the support portion and the actuator. The actuator is configured to move the movable engagement member between a connection position and a disconnection position. The cylindrical ring gear is coupled to the output shaft so as to be relatively non-rotatable in the connection position. Relative rotation between the cylindrical ring gear and the output shaft is allowed in the disconnection position.

Right and left driving force distribution unit for four-wheel drive vehicle

A transfer includes a main body, a subassembly and a connecting-disconnecting mechanism. The main body includes a ring gear, a case and a third bearing. The subassembly includes an input shaft, a sleeve, a moving mechanism, a first bearing and a second bearing. The connecting-disconnecting mechanism selectively connects/disconnects the ring gear to/from the input shaft. The input shaft is arranged concentric with the ring gear and inside the ring gear. The input shaft includes a first end portion and a second end portion. The input shaft is supported at the first end portion and the second end portion by the case in a manner rotatable around the rotational axis via the first bearing and the second bearing.

Transfer

A clutch device includes an outer member including a cylindrical part having an inner peripheral surface provided with outer projections extending in an axial direction; an inner member rotatable relative to the outer member; an outer friction member engaging with the outer projections such that the outer friction member is movable in the axial direction and rotation of the outer friction member relative to the outer member is restricted; an inner friction member whose rotation relative to the inner member is restricted, and which generates a frictional force between the inner and outer friction members; and a lubricating oil sealed in a clutch chamber located between the outer member and the inner member. The outer member is provided with an oil pocket recessed to a position outward of a bottom surface of a recessed part located between a pair of adjacent outer projections among the outer projections.

Clutch device

A four-wheel-drive vehicle includes a driving source, main driving wheels, auxiliary driving wheels, a power transmitting member, a first mesh clutch, and a second mesh clutch. Meshing teeth on the driving source side of the first mesh clutch each have, along an entire tooth width thereof, an inclined surface in which a length in a rotational axis direction increases in a direction in which the meshing teeth on the driving source side rotate when the four-wheel-drive vehicle is traveling forward. The meshing teeth on the power transmitting member side of the first mesh clutch each have, along an entire tooth width thereof, an inclined surface in which a length in a rotational axis direction decreases in a direction in which the meshing teeth on the driving source side rotate when the four-wheel-drive vehicle is traveling forward.

Four-wheel-drive vehicle

By driving a first electromagnetic solenoid and a second electromagnetic solenoid, if first cams of a first thrust force amplification mechanism and a second thrust force amplification mechanism are connected to non-rotary members, since second cams are rotated at rotating speeds that are proportional to a vehicle speed V, the relative rotations between the first cam and the second cam increase. Therefore, the first thrust force amplification mechanism and the second thrust force amplification mechanism can be actuated quickly, to thereby switch connection/disconnection states of the first connection/disconnection mechanism and the second connection/disconnection mechanism quickly.

Vehicle four-wheel drive apparatus

A transfer for a four-wheel drive vehicle, the vehicle including a driving source, main/auxiliary drive wheels, and a power transmission member, the transfer includes: a ring gear being supported so as to rotate around a rotation axis, and configured to drive the power transmission member; an input shaft extending through an inside of the ring gear, being supported so as to rotate concentrically with the ring gear, and being configured to receive part of the driving force; a disconnect mechanism; and an actuator configured to change the disconnect mechanism between a connection position and a disconnection position, the connection position being a position at which the ring gear and the input shaft are coupled to each other so as not to relatively rotate, the disconnection position being a position at which relative rotation between the ring gear and the input shaft is allowed.

Transfer for four-wheel drive vehicle

A movable sleeve of a second clutch is provided between a cylindrical ring gear and a cylindrical shaft of a differential case of a differential gear unit. In a disconnect mode in which a propeller shaft is disconnected from rear wheels, the cylindrical ring gear is disconnected from the differential case by the movable sleeve of the second clutch. Thus, in the disconnect mode, a fully differential state of the differential gear unit is prevented.

Auxiliary drive wheel-side differential unit for four-wheel drive vehicle

A differential device of a four-wheel drive vehicle which is operated in selected one of a two-wheel drive state in which a drive force from a drive power source is transmitted to left and right main drive wheels and a four-wheel drive state in which a drive force from the drive power source is transmitted to the left and right main drive wheels and left and right auxiliary drive wheels, the differential device including a disconnect mechanism with which a power transmission member for transmitting a drive force only to the auxiliary drive wheels in the four-wheel drive state is separated from the auxiliary drive wheels in the two-wheel drive state, the differential device comprising: a cylindrical ring gear supported rotatably around one rotation axis by a case; a differential case including one and the other cylindrical end portions in a rotation axis direction of the ring gear and supported at the one end portion by the ring gear and at the other end portion by the case rotatably and concentrically with the rotation axis; a sleeve fitted movably in the rotation axis direction in a power transmittable manner on the inner circumferential side of the one end portion of the differential case; and an actuator driving the sleeve via a thrust transmission mechanism between an engagement position at which outer circumferential teeth formed on the sleeve are engaged with inner circumferential teeth formed on the inner circumferential side of the ring gear and a release position at which the teeth are not engaged, the thrust transmission mechanism being at least partially located in a radial space between the ring gear and an axle penetrating the ring gear or a rotation shaft integrally rotating with the axle.

Differential device of four-wheel drive vehicle

A control apparatus for a vehicular 4-wheel drive system provided with: primary drive wheels to which a drive force is transmitted from a drive power source; auxiliary drive wheels to which the drive force is selectively transmitted; a first clutch configured to selectively place a first power transmitting path in a power transmitting state and a power cutoff state; and a second clutch disposed in a second power transmitting path to selectively place the second power transmitting path in a power transmitting state and a power cutoff state. The first and second clutches are placed in fully released states to establish a 2-wheel drive mode. The control apparatus includes a first-clutch control portion configured to bring the first clutch into a partially engaged state when a predetermined condition in which the vehicular 4-wheel drive system generates or is considered to generate a noise is satisfied in the 2-wheel drive mode.

Control apparatus for a vehicular 4-wheel drive system

A power transmission apparatus comprises an input shaft, an output shaft, a clutch device, and an actuator. The clutch device comprises a clutch hub, a clutch housing, a clutch pack, an input side cam mechanism for pressing the clutch pack toward the output shaft, an output side cam mechanism for pressing the clutch pack toward the input shaft, a return spring for urging the clutch pack to have its elements moved away from each other, and a drive shaft having an input side gear for transmitting the driving force of the actuator to the input side cam mechanism, and an output side gear for transmitting the driving force of the actuator to the output side cam mechanism.

Power transmission apparatus

A simpler configuration for a power transmission element for realizing gear shift functionality and center differential functionality is achieved in a transfer mechanism () for a four-wheel drive vehicle by which rotative power input to an input shaft () is transmitted to a rear-wheel output shaft () and a front-wheel output shaft (). The power transmission element includes one planetary gear mechanism () configured having a group of gears (to) that are arranged in a single line in the axial direction and are not moved in the axial direction.

Growing community of inventors

Toyota, Japan

Takahiro Yoshimura