Power roller unit for toroidal-type continuously variable transmission

• US 7,077,781 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2003
• Issued: 07/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NSK Limited
• Original Assignee: NSK Limited
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Kouji, Inoue, Eiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Fenstermacher, David
• Application Number:
  US10/653,256
• Publication Number:
  US 20040116241A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,049 Days
• Field of Search: 476/40, 476/42, 476/46, 476/67
• US Class Current: 476/46
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 15/38 with two members B having hollow toroid surfaces opposite to each other, the member or members A being adjustably mounted between the surfaces

Abstract

A power roller unit for a toroidal-type continuously variable transmission, has: a trunnion including a support plate portion, a pair of bent wall portions, two pivot shafts, and a connecting member; a displacement shaft; a power roller; a thrust ball bearing including an outer ring, a ball, and a retainer; a thrust bearing, wherein the thrust bearing is held by a hold portion disposed in the support plate portion, and wherein, where the distance between the small end face of the power roller and the connecting member is expressed as a, the distance between the outer ring and the opposed surface of the hold portion opposed to the outer ring is expressed as b, and the thickness of the thrust bearing is expressed as c, the sum of a and b is set smaller than c.

Claims

1. A power roller unit for a toroidal-type continuously variable transmission, comprising:

a trunnion including a support plate portion, a pair of bent wall portions formed in the two end portions of the support plate portion, two pivot shafts concentrically disposed on the outer surfaces of the two bent wall portions, and a connecting member for connecting together the pair of bent wall portions;

a displacement shaft supported on the support plate portion;

a power roller including a large end face and a small end face and supported rotatably on the displacement shaft;

a thrust ball bearing including an outer ring interposed between the large end face of the power roller and the support plate portion, a plurality of ball interposed between the large end face of the power roller and the outer ring, and a retainer for holding the balls therein;

a thrust bearing interposed between the outer ring and the support plate portion and, while supporting a thrust-direction load applied to the trunnion from the power roller, allowing the power roller to swing,

wherein a thrust bearing is held by a hold portion disposed in the support plate portion, and

wherein, where the distance between the small end face of the power roller and the connecting member is expressed as a, the distance between the outer ring and the opposed surface of the hold portion opposed to the outer ring is expressed as b, and the thickness of the thrust bearing is expressed as c, the sum of a and b is set smaller than c.

2. A power roller unit for a toroidal-type continuously variable transmission as set forth in claim 1, wherein the distance a is set larger than the distance b.

3. A power roller unit for a toroidal-type continuously variable transmission as set forth in claim 1, wherein the connecting member includes a projecting portion projecting toward the small end face of the power roller.

4. A power roller unit for a toroidal-type continuously variable transmission as set forth in claim 3, wherein the projecting portion of the connecting member is disposed at a position opposed to the center portion of the rotation of the power roller.

5. A power roller unit for a toroidal-type continuously variable transmission as set forth in claim 1, wherein the outer ring is formed integrally with the displacement shaft.