Traveling system transmission structure for vehicle

• US 8,337,353 B2
• Filed: 08/27/2009
• Issued: 12/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kanzaki Kokyukoki Mfg. Co., Ltd. (Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Kanzaki Kokyukoki Mfg. Co., Ltd. (Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Iwaki, Koji, Ishino, Fumitoshi, Kanenobu, Hideki, Koga, Kazunari, Ishii, Norihiro, Okanishi, Toshiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Holmes, Justin
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, HUAN G
• Application Number:
  US12/549,077
• Publication Number:
  US 20100051410A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,216 Days
• Field of Search: 475 72- 74, 475/80, 475/83, 475/302, 74/154, 746/06.R, 746/65
• US Class Current: 475/73
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 17/28 characterised by arrangement, location, or type of power take-off
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2037/0886 with switching means, e.g. to change ranges
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2057/02043 for vehicle transmissions
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 47/04 the mechanical gearing being of the type with members having orbital motion
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 57/021 Shaft support structures, e.g. partition walls, bearing eyes, casing walls or covers with bearings

Abstract

The traveling system transmission structure for vehicle includes a planetary gear unit, a forward/rearward-travel switch unit and a transmission case. A front end portion of a sun gear shaft is directly or indirectly supported by a front bearing wall that is detachably connected to a front side of the transmission case and a rear end portion of a planetary outputting member is directly or indirectly supported by an intermediate bearing wall, so that the planetary gear unit is accommodated in a front chamber that is sandwiched by the front bearing wall and the intermediate bearing wall. A front end portion of a forward/rearward-travel input shaft is directly or indirectly supported by the intermediate bearing wall and a rear end portion of a clutch shaft is supported by a rear bearing wall that is detachably connected to the rear side of the transmission case, so that the forward/rearward-travel switch unit is accommodated in a rear chamber that is sandwiched by the intermediate bearing wall and the rear bearing wall.

Claims

1. A traveling system transmission structure for a vehicle comprising a planetary gear unit that has a first component and a second component for respectively receiving a constant-speed rotational power and a variable-speed rotational power and also has a third component for outputting a combined rotational power formed by combining the rotational powers of the first and second components, a forward/rearward-travel switch unit that operatively receives the combined rotational power outputted from the third component, and a transmission case that accommodates the planetary gear unit and the forward/rearward-travel switch unit, the traveling system transmission structure being characterized in that,

the transmission case has a front opening that is provided on a front side and has such a size as to allow the planetary gear unit to be inserted therethrough, a rear opening that is provided on a rear side and has such a size as to allow the forward/rearward-travel switch unit to be inserted therethrough, and an intermediate bearing wall that is provided at an intermediate portion in a fore-and-aft direction,

the planetary gear unit has a sun gear shaft that supports a sun gear in a relatively non-rotatable manner with respect thereto, the sun gear functioning as one of the first and second components, and a planetary outputting member that is connected to the third component in a relatively non-rotatable manner with respect thereto about an axis line of the planetary gear unit,

the forward/rearward-travel switch unit has a forward/rearward-travel input shaft that operatively receives the combined rotational power, a forward/rearward-travel output shaft that outputs the rotational power to a travel unit, a forward/rearward-travel clutch mechanism capable of changing the rotational direction of the rotational power transmitted from the forward/rearward-travel input shaft to the forward/rearward-travel output shaft, and a clutch shaft that is disposed coaxially with the forward/rearward-travel input shaft and supports the forward/rearward-travel clutch mechanism,

a front end portion of the sun gear shaft is directly or indirectly supported in a rotatable manner around the axis line by a front bearing wall that is detachably connected to a front side of the transmission case and a rear end portion of the planetary outputting member is directly or indirectly supported in a rotatable manner around the axis line by the intermediate bearing wall, so that the planetary gear unit is accommodated in a front chamber that is sandwiched by the front bearing wall and the intermediate bearing wall,

a front end portion of the forward/rearward-travel input shaft is directly or indirectly supported by the intermediate bearing wall in a rotatable manner around the axis line in a state of being connected to the planetary outputting member so as to be relatively non-rotatable with respect thereto about the axis line and a rear end portion of the clutch shaft is supported in a rotatable manner around the axis line by a rear bearing wall that is detachably connected to the rear side of the transmission case, so that the forward/rearward-travel switch unit is accommodated in a rear chamber that is sandwiched by the intermediate bearing wall and the rear bearing wall.

2. A traveling system transmission structure for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the planetary output shaft has a connecting portion that is connected to the third component, and a hollow cylindrical portion that extends from the connecting portion toward the forward/rearward-travel switch unit and is directly or indirectly supported by the intermediate bearing wall,

the front end portion of the forward/rearward-travel input shaft is fitted into the cylindrical portion from the rear side of the cylindrical portion so as to be relatively non-rotatable with respect thereto about the axis line, and

the sun gear shaft has a rear end portion that inserts into the cylindrical portion via the front end of the cylindrical portion to face a front end of the forward/rearward-travel input shaft and is supported by the cylindrical portion in a relatively rotatable manner with respect thereto about the axis line.

3. A traveling system transmission structure for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein

the forward/rearward-travel clutch mechanism is of a hydraulic clutch type,

the clutch shaft is formed with a forward/rearward-travel lubricant fluid supply channel for guiding lubricant fluid from a fluid source to the forward/rearward-travel clutch mechanism,

the forward/rearward-travel input shaft is formed with a lubricant fluid connective channel that has a front end opened at the front end surface of the forward/rearward-travel input shaft inside the cylindrical portion in a state of being fluidly connected to the forward/rearward-travel lubricant fluid supply channel,

the sun gear shaft is formed with a lubricant fluid introductive channel that has a rear end opened at the rear end surface of the sun gear shaft inside the cylindrical portion, and

the lubricant fluid is introduced from the front end of the lubricant fluid connective channel to the rear end of the lubricant fluid introductive channel through the cylindrical portion.

4. A traveling system transmission structure for a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein

the forward/rearward-travel input shaft and the clutch shaft are formed integrally with each other by a single shaft,

the intermediate bearing wall includes a planetary-gear-unit-side support region that supports the cylindrical portion via a bearing member, a forward/rearward-travel-switch-unit-side support region that supports the single shaft via a bearing member, and an intermediate region that is located between the planetary-gear-unit-side support region and the forward/rearward-travel-switch-unit-side support region, and

the intermediate region is formed with a forward/rearward-travel lubricant rotary joint that fluidly connects an intermediate-bearing-wall-side forward/rearward-travel lubricant fluid channel, which is formed in the intermediate bearing wall, with the forward/rearward-travel lubricant fluid supply channel or the lubricant fluid connective channel.

5. A traveling system transmission structure for a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein

the planetary gear unit has a carrier that support a planetary gear, which engages with the sun gear, in a rotatable manner around the axis line and revolve about the sun gear together with the planetary gear, the carrier functioning as one of the first to third components;

an internal gear that is provided with an internal teeth in engagement with the planetary gear and functions as the other one of the first to third components;

a carrier supporting member that supports the carrier so as to be rotated about the sun gear together with the carrier; and

a rotational power input gear that is connected to one of the carrier supporting member and the internal gear so as to transmit the constant-speed rotational power or the variable-speed rotational power to the same one of the carrier supporting member and the internal gear, the rotational power input gear being supported by the sun gear shaft in a relatively rotatable manner with respect thereto,

the carrier supporting member has a front wall that is provided with a front support hole for supporting a front end of the carrier and a central opening for allowing the sun gear shaft to be inserted therethrough, a rear wall that is provided with a rear support hole for supporting the rear end of the carrier and a central opening for allowing the sun gear shaft to be inserted therethrough, and a connecting portion for connecting the front wall with the rear wall,

a fluid pocket space is provided in at least one of between the front wall and the rotational power input gear and between the rear wall and the planetary outputting member so as to radially extend with the sun gear shaft as a reference, the fluid pocket space having a radially inner portion opened toward the outer peripheral surface of the sun gear shaft and a radially outer portion opened toward the corresponding end of the carrier,

the sun gear shaft is formed with a carrier lubricant fluid distributive channel that has a first end fluidly connected to the lubricant fluid introductive channel and a second end opened at the outer peripheral surface of the sun gear shaft so as to be directed to the fluid pocket space, and

the carrier is formed with a planetary gear lubricant fluid channel having a first end opened at an end of the carrier that faces the fluid pocket space and a second end opened at the outer surface of a portion of the carrier that supports the planetary gear.

6. A traveling system transmission structure for a vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the radially inner portion of the fluid pocket space is opened toward the outer peripheral surface of the sun gear shaft over an entire region in a circumferential direction.

7. A traveling system transmission structure for a vehicle according to claim 5, wherein

the front wall, the rear wall and the connecting portion are formed integrally together such that the carrier supporting member has a planetary gear accommodation space that is sandwiched by the front wall and the rear wall and is located at a position corresponding to the front support hole and the rear support hole in the circumferential direction, and

the planetary gear accommodation space has a radially inner portion opened inward so as to allow the planetary gear to be engaged with the sun gear, and a radially outer portion opened outward so as to allow the planetary gear to be inserted from radially outside into the planetary gear accommodation space.