Patent Grant
11920652
This application is a U.S. National Phase Application under 35 U.S.C. 371 of International Application No. PCT/JP2020/043860, filed on Nov. 25, 2020, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-230169, filed on Dec. 20, 2019. The entire disclosures of the above applications are expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a torsional damper.
A torsional damper (hereinafter referred to also as TVD) is a product which is attached to an end of a crankshaft and has the function of reducing torsional vibration of the crankshaft by the action of a rubber ring fit between a hub and a vibration ring (mass).
The TVD may also serve as a crank pulley that transmits power to auxiliary devices (an alternator, an air conditioner, and a water pump) through a belt.
When the torsional vibration of the crankshaft exceeds the resonance area or its vicinity, relative vibration in a torsional direction occurs between the hub and the vibration ring of the TVD, thus causing heat generation in the rubber ring of the TVD. As a result, the rubber ring may be broken when the temperature is equal to or higher than the heat resisting temperature of the rubber ring.
An example of a conventional method related thereto is a method described in JP 2018-96455 A.
JP 2018-96455 A describes a torsional damper including: a damper hub which is mounted on a rotating shaft and rotates integrally with the rotating shaft; and an inertial ring mounted on the damper hub via a rubber member, wherein the rubber member is made of a rubber composition primarily composed of EPDM, wherein the rubber member disposed between the damper hub and the inertial ring has a loss factor (tan δpi) of 0.27 or more at a surface temperature of 60±5° C., and wherein a maximum attained surface temperature (Tmax) of the rubber member at a resonance point of the torsional damper during continuous excitation satisfies the following formula: Tmax=α×In(tan δpi)+β≤100 (where α represents a coefficient in the range of −46.9 to −60.4, and β represents a coefficient in the range of +9.4 to +27.7). JP 2018-96455 A also describes that the torsional damper like this is capable of suppressing temperature increases of the rubber member disposed between the damper hub and the inertial ring and the torsional damper that can be provided has therefore improved durability.
However, even in the torsional damper described in JP 2018-96455 A, the temperature of the rubber ring may be increased by heat generation depending on its structure.
An object of the present invention is to solve the problem as described above. Specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide a torsional damper having a structure in which breakage of its rubber ring due to heat generation is much less likely to occur.
The inventor focused attention on the structure of a torsional damper on the assumption that heat generation is inevitable as a result of thermal energy applied to the TVD. Then, the inventor has made an intensive study on the structure of a torsional damper in which the rubber ring temperature is less likely to be increased even when heat is generated.
As a result, the inventor found that the rubber ring temperature is less likely to be increased in a torsional damper having a specific structure, and completed the present invention.
The present invention provides the following (i) to (iii).
(i) A torsional damper including:
a hub fixed to a rotating shaft and having an outer peripheral surface on a circumference around the rotating shaft;
an annular vibration ring having, on a circumference around the rotating shaft, an inner peripheral surface which is larger in diameter than the outer peripheral surface of the hub; and
a rubber ring which is present in a compressed state between the outer peripheral surface of the hub and the inner peripheral surface of the vibration ring, which is made of a rubber composition primarily composed of EPDM, and which has a loss factor (tan δ) of 0.18 or more at a surface temperature of 60±5° C.,
wherein, when the torsional damper is subjected to a resonance point tracking process, a maximum attained surface temperature (Tmax) of the rubber ring at a resonance point during continuous excitation and a rubber thickness (c) satisfy:
Tmax≤−6.0c+86.7, and Formula (1):
c≤5.6. Formula (2):
(ii) The torsional damper according to (i) above,
wherein, when the torsional damper is subjected to the resonance point tracking process, the maximum attained surface temperature (Tmax) of the rubber ring at the resonance point during the continuous excitation and the rubber thickness (c) further satisfy:
Tmax≥6.0c+54.0. Formula (3):
(iii) The torsional damper according to (i) or (ii) above,
wherein Formula (2) satisfies:
1.0≤c≤5.6. Formula (2′):
The present invention can provide a torsional damper having a structure in which breakage of a rubber ring due to heat generation is much less likely to occur.
<Illustration of Torsional Damper>
The present invention is now described.
The present invention provides a torsional damper including: a hub fixed to a rotating shaft and having an outer peripheral surface on a circumference around the rotating shaft; an annular vibration ring having, on a circumference around the rotating shaft, an inner peripheral surface which is larger in diameter than the outer peripheral surface of the hub; and a rubber ring which is present in a compressed state between the outer peripheral surface of the hub and the inner peripheral surface of the vibration ring, which is made of a rubber composition primarily composed of EPDM, and which has a loss factor (tan δ) of 0.18 or more at a surface temperature of 60±5° C., wherein, when the torsional damper is subjected to a resonance point tracking process, a maximum attained surface temperature (Tmax) of the rubber ring at a resonance point during continuous excitation and a rubber thickness (c) satisfy: Formula (1): Tmax≤−6.0 c+86.7, and Formula (2): c≤5.6.
The torsional damper as described above is hereinafter referred to also as the “torsional damper of the invention.”
The torsional damper of the invention is first described using
A torsional damper 1 of the embodiment illustrated in
The torsional damper 1 has a hub 3, a vibration ring 5, and a rubber ring 7.
The hub 3 includes a boss part 31, a stay part 33, and a rim part 35.
The boss part 31 is provided at a central portion of the hub 3 in its radial direction. The boss part 31 is fixed to an end of the crankshaft (rotating shaft) and the hub 3 is driven to rotate around an axis of rotation X.
The stay part 33 extends in the radial direction from the boss part 31.
The rim part 35 is provided on an outer peripheral side of the stay part 33. The rim part 35 has a cylindrical shape and the vibration ring 5 is connected to an outer peripheral side of the rim part 35 via the rubber ring 7.
An outer peripheral surface of the rim part 35 is present on a circumference around the axis of rotation X.
A metallic material such as cast iron or the like can be used as a raw material to form each of the boss part 31, the stay part 33, and the rim part 35.
Further, each of the boss part 31, the stay part 33, and the rim part 35 is preferably made of particularly flake graphite cast iron, spheroidal graphite cast iron, hot-rolled steel sheet for use in automobile structures or the like. Examples of the flake graphite cast iron that may be illustrated include FC100, FC150, FC200, FC250, FC300 and FC350. Examples of the spheroidal graphite cast iron that may be illustrated include FCD350-22, FCD350-22L, FCD400-18, FCD400-18L, FCD400-15, FCD450-10, FCD500-7, FCD600-3, FCD700-2, FCD800-2, FCD400-18A, FCD400-18AL, FCD400-15A, FCD500-7A, and FCD600-3A. Examples of the hot-rolled steel sheet for use in automobile structures that may be illustrated include SAPH310, SAPH370, SAPH410, and SAPH440.
The vibration ring 5 is placed outside the hub 3 in its radial direction. An inner peripheral surface of the vibration ring 5 has a larger diameter than the outer peripheral surface of the hub 3. The inner peripheral surface is present on a circumference around the crankshaft (axis of rotation X).
Further, pulley grooves 51 over which the belt is stretched are formed at an outer peripheral surface of the vibration ring 5. The pulley grooves 51 serve as a pulley for power transmission.
A metallic material such as cast iron or the like can be used as a raw material to form the vibration ring 5.
The vibration ring 5 is preferably made of flake graphite cast iron. This is because the flake graphite cast iron has high vibration absorption performance and is also excellent in abrasion resistance. Examples of the flake graphite cast iron that may be illustrated include FC100, FC150, FC200, FC250, FC300 and FC350.
The rubber ring 7 is inserted into a gap portion between the outer peripheral surface of the hub 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the vibration ring 5. The rubber ring 7 serves to reduce torsional vibration of the crankshaft that occurs during driving in a vehicle or the like, thus preventing breakage, or to reduce noise and vibration due to engine vibration.
The rubber ring 7 can be obtained by forming a rubber composition primarily composed of an ethylene/propylene/diene ternary copolymer (EPDM) and additionally containing preferably carbon black and process oil into a cylindrical shape or other shapes through vulcanization using, for instance, a conventionally known method.
As for the compounding amount, the rubber composition contains EPDM in an amount of preferably 10 to 60 mass, more preferably 15 to 55 mass %, even more preferably 20 to 50 mass %, and still more preferably 30 to 50 mass %.
The carbon black content with respect to 100 parts by mass of EPDM is preferably 40 to 130 parts by mass, more preferably 50 to 100 parts by mass, and even more preferably 60 to 80 parts by mass.
The rubber composition may contain Chinese white, stearic acid, an antioxidant, a peroxide, a crosslinking agent or other components.
The loss factor (tan δ) of the rubber ring 7 at a surface temperature of 60±5° C. is 0.18 or more, preferably 0.18 to 0.40, more preferably 0.19 to 0.35, and even more preferably 0.20 to 0.28.
The loss factor (tan δ) at the surface temperature of 60±5° C. means a value obtained by measurement with a high frequency vibration tester according to the resonance point tracking process (natural frequency measurement). The measurement according to the resonance point tracking process is performed under the following conditions:
There is no particular limitation on the method of manufacturing the torsional damper of the invention as described above.
The torsional damper can be manufactured for instance by a method to be described below.
First, a hub 30 and a vibration ring 50 as shown in
Then, as shown in
In the torsion damper of the invention, the rubber ring is present in a compressed state between the outer peripheral surface of the hub and the inner peripheral surface of the vibration ring.
<Examination of Structure of Torsional Damper that May Influence Temperature of Rubber Ring>
The inventor prepared torsional dampers of various structures which were different in vibration ring thickness (a), fitting width (b), rubber thickness (c), fitting diameter (d), and hub fitting portion thickness (e), and examined influences on the rubber ring temperature.
The vibration ring thickness (a) as used herein refers to, as shown in
The fitting width (b) refers to, as shown in
The rubber thickness (c) refers to, as shown in
The fitting diameter (d) refers to, as shown in
The hub fitting portion thickness (e) refers to, as shown in
The inventor prepared torsional dampers of various structures according to the embodiment shown in
The surface temperature of the rubber ring of the torsional damper was measured using a non-contact surface thermometer while performing the resonance point tracking process as described above.
An exemplary measurement result is shown in
As shown in
The surface temperature of the rubber ring at the time of saturation was taken as the maximum attained surface temperature (Tmax) of the rubber ring in the torsional damper of the relevant structure.
As described above, the inventor subjected the torsional dampers of various structures which were different in vibration ring thickness (a), fitting width (b), rubber thickness (c), fitting diameter (d), and hub fitting portion thickness (e) to the resonance point tracking process, thus measuring the maximum attained surface temperature (Tmax) of the rubber ring during the process.
Then, it was found that the maximum attained surface temperature (Tmax) of the rubber ring depends strongly on the rubber thickness (c) and the temperature of the rubber ring is not increased in a region shown in
The region is expressed by the following formulae:
Tmax≤6.0c+86.7, and Formula (1):
c≤5.6. Formula (2):
Plotted points in
As shown in
Then, looking at the positions of the plotted points shown in
The rubber thickness (c) is 5.6 mm or less according to Formula (2) but is more preferably 5.0 mm or less.
The rubber thickness (c) is preferably 1.0 mm or more, more preferably 1.5 mm or more, even more preferably 2.0 mm or more, and still more preferably 2.5 mm or more.
The torsional damper of the invention described above in detail is much less likely to cause rubber ring breakage due to heat generation.
There have heretofore existed suggestions for suppressing heat generation of a rubber ring by adjusting the material of the rubber ring (for example, the torsional damper described in JP 2018-96455 A).
However, there has not existed a technical concept that heat generation of a rubber ring is suppressed by adjusting the structure of a torsional damper, to be more specific, the thickness of a rubber ring (rubber thickness) in the direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation X as in the present invention.
A person skilled in the art could not easily achieve the present invention in that the present invention presented the technical concept and further presented with specific mathematical formulae a region where heat generation of a rubber ring can be suppressed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-230169 | Dec 2019 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2020/043860 | 11/25/2020 | WO |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2021/124821 | 6/24/2021 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8246872 | Hodjat | Aug 2012 | B2 |
| 9327482 | Feng | May 2016 | B2 |
| 20120231909 | Shin | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| 20200048446 | Negami | Feb 2020 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2007-009073 | Jan 2007 | JP |
| 2018-096455 | Jun 2018 | JP |
| 2019-131657 | Sep 2019 | JP |
| 2018-194162 | Oct 2018 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| International Search Report (English and Japanese) issued in PCT/JP2020/043860, dated Jan. 12, 2021; ISA/JP (5 pages). |
| Extended European Search Report for corresponding Application No. 20901100.6 dated Dec. 21, 2023 (8 Pages). |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20230020869 A1 | Jan 2023 | US |
