VEHICULAR TORQUE CONVERTER AND METHOD FOR CHECKING ASSEMBLY OF THRUST BEARING THEREOF

Abstract

A turbine hub has a through-hole extending through it in the axial direction. This through-hole is provided such that a portion of a thrust bearing covers part of the through-hole when the thrust bearing has been properly assembled onto the turbine hub, which enables assembly of the thrust bearing to be checked by the relative position relationship between the through-hole and the thrust bearing. If a portion of the thrust bearing does not cover part of the through-hole, it can be determined that either the thrust bearing is not assembled or that it has not been assembled properly.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals are used to represent like elements and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a skeleton view of the structure of a power-transmitting device provided with a torque converter according to one example embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a clutch and brake application chart showing various application and release combinations of clutches and brakes to achieve specific speeds in an automatic transmission shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block line diagram illustrating a control system provided in a vehicle, for controlling operation of an engine and automatic transmission and the like shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view showing one example of a shift map used in shift control of the automatic transmission that is executed by an electronic control unit shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating the relationship between throttle valve opening amount and vehicle speed used in the control of the application state of a lock-up clutch, which is executed by the electronic control unit shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a detailed sectional view of the structure of the torque converter shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view detailing a portion of the structure near the one-way clutch of the torque converter shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view detailing the structure of a portion near a through-hole in a turbine hub of the torque converter shown in FIG. 6, the portion corresponding to portion VIII, which is outlined by a thin broken line in FIG. 9;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the torque converter shown in FIG. 6 as it appears during assembly in the manufacturing process and the like; and

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view illustrating a method for checking assembly of a turbine side thrust bearing according to a second example embodiment of the invention.

Claims

1. A vehicular torque converter comprising: a turbine hub that fixes a turbine runner to an output shaft such that the turbine runner does not rotate relative to the output shaft in a circumferential direction;a one-way clutch arranged on an inner peripheral side of a stator; anda thrust bearing, which is assembled onto the turbine hub and supports the one-way clutch with respect to the turbine hub such that the one-way clutch is able to rotate relative to the turbine hub in the circumferential direction,wherein the turbine hub has a through-hole, which extends through the turbine hub in an axial direction, and a portion of the thrust bearing covers part of the through-hole when the thrust bearing has been properly assembled onto the turbine hub.

2. The vehicular torque converter according to claim 1, wherein the through-hole is an oil hole for transferring hydraulic fluid.

3. The vehicular torque converter according to claim 1, wherein the thrust bearing includes a plurality of rollers aligned in the radial direction, separated by predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, and a pair of disc-shaped thrust-bearing races, which sandwich the plurality of rollers, and an inner peripheral edge portion of one of the disc-shaped thrust-bearing races that contacts the turbine hub, from among the pair of disc-shaped thrust bearing races, covers part of the through-hole.

4. A method for checking assembly of a thrust bearing of a vehicular torque converter, characterised by comprising the steps of: fixing a turbine runner to a turbine hub provided with a through-hole, formed to overlap with a portion of a thrust bearing when the thrust bearing has been properly assembled;mounting, via a thrust bearing that enables relative rotation in a circumferential direction, a one-way clutch arranged on an inner peripheral side of a stator to the turbine hub to which the turbine runner is fixed;determining whether a pin having radial dimensions that enable the pin to be inserted through the through-hole is able to be inserted at least a predetermined amount through the through-hole; andchecking whether the thrust bearing has been assembled properly based on the determination results of whether the pin is able to be inserted through the through-hole at least a predetermined amount.