Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Toshimisu Shiba

Toshiaki Asada

Kazuhito Sakai

Makoto Ishikawa

Tomoaki Suzuki

The lubricant-return holes are provided in the intermediate portion of the ring gear. Thus, the lubricant stagnating above the first oil sealing member can be easily discharged to the oil pan side via the lubricant-return holes even when the ring gear has stopped rotating in response to the starter motor being turned off after completion of the start of the internal combustion engine. As such, the level of the surface of lubricant stagnating between the ring gear and the outer race member does not rise, and therefore the lubricant surface virtually does not reach the outer race and the one-way clutch that are rotating while the internal combustion engine is running. Thus, bubbling of lubricant and production of sludge, which may otherwise be caused by agitation of the lubricant surface, can be prevented.

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Toyota, Japan

Toshimisu Shiba