JP2010169586A - Torque amount converter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a torque amount converter capable of performing highly accurate measurement, without being influenced by the bending stress. <P>SOLUTION: This torque amount converter 10 includes in an integrated constitution, a driving side flange 11, a driven side flange 12 arranged oppositely to the driving side flange 11, and a strain generation section 13 arranged between the driving side flange 11 and the driven side flange 12. The torque amount converter 10, further, includes a plurality of pillar members 15 connected to the driving side flange 11 and the driven side flange 12, on the outside of the strain generating section 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a torque amount converter used for measuring torque of an output part of an engine or the like that rotates at a high speed, for example, and in particular, a torque amount that enables accurate measurement without being affected by bending stress. It relates to the structure of the converter.

  Usually, a torque amount converter that measures torque generated in an automobile engine or the like is connected between a power derivation shaft connected to the engine side and a dynamometer. The torque converter includes a drive side flange coupled to the power derivation shaft side, a driven side flange coupled to the dynamometer side, and a cylindrical strain generating portion that connects the drive side flange and the driven side flange. It is constituted by. Then, the shear strain amount of the strain generating portion corresponding to the torque generated when the rotational force of the power derivation shaft is transmitted from the driving side flange to the driven side flange is electrically measured by the strain gauge attached to the strain generating portion. Measuring.

  In order to accurately measure the amount of strain by the strain generating portion, it is necessary to reduce the outer diameter of the strain generating portion or reduce the wall thickness of the strain generating portion to generate a large strain. However, when the amount of torque generated in an automobile engine or the like is measured, a sudden torque change occurs when the automobile suddenly starts or stops. In order to measure such a sudden torque change, the strain generating portion needs to have high responsiveness, and high torsional rigidity is required, and the outer diameter of the strain generating portion is increased, or It was necessary to increase the wall thickness.

  In order to solve such difficulties, a torque amount converter having high torsional rigidity is provided by providing a thin cylindrical portion in the rotational direction of the cylindrical strain generating portion and increasing the outer diameter of the thin cylindrical portion. It has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). However, this structure is likely to cause torsion and bending of the shaft, and it is necessary to increase the wall thickness or increase the outer diameter of the strain generating part, which is disadvantageous in terms of measuring the torque amount with high accuracy. there were.

  In order to solve such difficulties, a groove having an arc-shaped cross section toward the central axis is formed in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the strain generating portion, and a strain gauge is formed around the thinnest portion of the strain generating portion. Has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP-A-7-229802 JP 2001-330525 A

  However, in the torque amount converter disclosed in Patent Document 2, when a more accurate measurement result is required, the bending stress applied from the power derivation shaft on the engine side or the rotation of the power derivation shaft is accompanied. The strain stress is erroneously detected by the strain gauge, which has been an obstacle to measuring the torque of the engine alone with high accuracy.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a torque amount converter capable of performing highly accurate measurement without being affected by bending stress.

In order to solve the above problems, a torque amount converter according to the present invention is disposed between a driving side flange, a driven side flange disposed opposite to the driving side flange, and between the driving side flange and the driven side flange. A torque amount converter integrally configured with the strain generating portion,
A plurality of column members connected to the driving side flange and the driven side flange are provided outside the strain generating portion.

  According to the torque amount converter having the above-described configuration, since the plurality of column members connected to the driving side flange and the driven side flange are provided outside the strain generating portion, even if bending stress is applied to the driving side flange. The plurality of column members prevent the bending stress and does not transmit the bending stress to the strain generating portion. As a result, when measuring the torque of the engine, the bending stress applied from the power deriving shaft on the engine side and the bending stress generated along with the rotation of the power deriving shaft are hardly transmitted to the strain generating portion. The strain gauge of the strain section can measure torque with high accuracy without being affected by bending stress.

  Further, the torque amount converter according to the present invention is arranged radially at equal intervals on the outer peripheral side of the driving side flange and the driven side flange, the column members being separated from the strain detecting element provided in the strain generating portion. It is preferable.

  According to the torque amount converter having the above configuration, the column members are arranged radially at equal intervals on the outer peripheral side of the drive side flange and the driven side flange away from the strain detecting element of the strain generating portion. When the driving side flange and the driven side flange are integrated with each other, the grinding amount accuracy of the torque amount converter is improved, and more accurate measurement is possible.

  According to the torque amount converter of the present invention, as described above, when measuring the torque of the engine, the bending stress generated from the power deriving shaft on the engine side and the bending generated with the rotation of the power deriving shaft. Since stress is hardly transmitted to the strain-generating portion, highly accurate measurement can be performed without being affected by bending stress.

It is explanatory drawing of the torque amount converter which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (A) is a front view of a torque amount converter, (B) is the sectional view on the AA line of (A). It is a perspective view of the torque amount converter of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows arrangement | positioning of each strain gauge which comprises the strain detection element attached to the strain generation part of the torque amount converter of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the attachment state of the strain gauge attached to the strain generation part of the torque amount converter of FIG. It is a circuit diagram which shows the Wheatstone bridge circuit comprised by a strain gauge. It is sectional drawing of the torque amount converter of 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a single-piece sectional view of the pillar member applied to the torque quantity converter of the 3rd-5th embodiment of the present invention, (a) is the pillar member applied to the 3rd embodiment, and (b) is the 4th embodiment. A column member applied to the form, (c) is a column member applied to the fifth embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a plurality of preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
1A and 1B are explanatory views of a torque amount converter according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a front view of the torque amount converter, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. . FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the torque amount converter of FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the arrangement of each strain gauge constituting the strain detecting element attached to the strain generating portion of the torque amount converter of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is attached to the strain generating portion of the torque amount converter of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the attachment state of a strain gauge.

As shown in FIG. 1A, a torque amount converter 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a drive side flange 11, a driven side flange 12 disposed opposite to the drive side flange 11, and a drive side. The strain generating portion 13 disposed between the flange 11 and the driven side flange 12 is integrally formed of a metal material such as iron, alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, or titanium.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 2, the torque amount converter 10 includes four pieces attached to the thin wall portion on the inner periphery of the strain generating portion 13 formed in a hollow cylindrical shape with an outer octagonal shape. Are arranged on the outer peripheral side of the drive side flange 11 and the driven side flange 12 that are separated from the strain generation part 13 outside the strain generation part 13 and corresponding to the respective apexes of the octagons radially at equal intervals. And eight pillar members 15 which are integrally formed with the drive side flange 11 and the driven side flange 12 and are formed in a tapered shape on the strain generating portion 13 side and in an arc shape on the outer peripheral side.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the drive side flange 11 is formed in a disc shape having a predetermined thickness dimension T1. The drive side flange 11 is connected to a power derivation shaft on the engine side (not shown) via a coupling member (not shown).
The driven flange 12 is formed in substantially the same shape as the drive flange 11 and is connected to a dynamometer via a connecting member (not shown).

  As shown in FIGS. 1B and 2, the strain generating portion 13 has an octagonal outer periphery and a cylindrical shape with an inner periphery that is coaxial with the drive side flange 11 and the driven side flange 12. The driving side flange 11 and the driven side flange 12 are integrally formed. The strain generating portion 13 is provided with strain detecting elements 14 at four locations at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, that is, at intervals of 90 degrees in the circumferential direction, at the thin portion of the inner peripheral surface 16 thereof.

Specifically, each strain detection element 14 is configured by providing two resistance patterns on a transparent resin sheet as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the strain gauge A1 and the strain gauge B1, the strain gauge A2 and the strain gauge B2, the strain gauge A3 and the strain gauge B3, and the strain gauge A4 and the strain gauge B4, respectively. As shown in FIG. 4, the strain gauge A <b> 1 having a plurality of resistance patterns that are folded back is attached so that the resistance pattern is 45 ° with respect to the axial direction Y. The strain gauge B1 is attached to the strain generating portion 13 so that the resistance pattern thereof is line symmetric with respect to the resistance pattern of the strain gauge A1 and the axial direction Y.
Similarly, the strain gauge A2 and the strain gauge B2, the strain gauge A3 and the strain gauge B3, and the strain gauge A4 and the strain gauge B4 are distorted so that their resistance patterns are line symmetric with respect to the axial direction Y. Is attached. In the first embodiment, each strain detection element 14 includes two strain gauges. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and one or three or more are provided according to required detection accuracy and cost. It is also possible to use a strain gauge.

The eight column members 15 are made of a metal material such as iron, alloy steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and titanium, and are integrally formed with the driving side flange 11 and the driven side flange 12 on the outside of the strain-generating portion 13. A rectangular parallelepiped shape having a length dimension L1 and a width dimension W, the outer side being a concentric arc having a radius equal to or less than the radius of the driving side flange 11 or the driven side flange 12, and the strain generating portion 13 side being tapered.
The column members 15 are arranged on the outer peripheral sides of the drive side flange 11 and the driven side flange 12 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, that is, at 45 ° intervals in the circumferential direction. ) Are arranged radially corresponding to each.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the strain gauges constituting the strain sensing elements 14 attached to the four portions of the strain generating portion 13 are the strain gauge A1, the strain gauge A3, the strain gauge A2, the strain gauge A4, and the strain gauge. Two pairs of strain gauges, that is, a gauge B 1 and a strain gauge B 3, and a strain gauge B 2 and a strain gauge B 4 are connected so as to constitute one side of the Wheatstone bridge circuit 17. Each strain detection element 14 is distinguished, for example, from a strain gauge B1 that is a compressive strain and a strain gauge A1 that is a tensile strain by a shear force proportional to the amount of torque generated in the strain generating portion 13.
By adopting such a configuration, the influence of stress on the bending of the flanges cancels each other, and the detection accuracy can be greatly improved as compared with the case where the strain detection element 14 is configured by one strain gauge. . Note that the resistance fluctuations of both strain gauges are added to the measurement circuit 19 to which the output terminal 18 is connected, and the measurement data is calculated.

  Such a torque amount converter 10 uses a plurality of screw holes 20 provided on a concentric circle through the drive side flange 11 and a connecting member (not shown) when measuring the torque of the engine. The flange 11 is connected to a power derivation shaft on the engine side. Further, the driven flange 12 is configured to be connected to the dynamometer by using a plurality of screw holes 20 that are provided concentrically through the driven flange 12 and a connecting member (not shown). That is, torque measurement is performed by connecting the drive side flange 11 to the drive side of the device for which torque measurement is desired and connecting the driven side follower flange 12.

  By starting the engine, a torsion amount (surface shear stress) corresponding to the torque of the engine power derivation shaft is converted into a voltage by each strain detecting element 14 of the strain generating portion 13, and a measurement circuit 19 is connected through an output terminal 18. Into. Then, the measurement circuit 19 calculates the resistance variation between the strain gauge that becomes the compressive strain and the strain gauge that becomes the tensile strain in the strain detecting element 14 and measures the transmitted torque.

  At this time, even if a bending stress is applied to the drive side flange 11 by the rotation of the engine, the column member 15 prevents the bending stress as described above, and the bending stress is hardly transmitted to the strain generating portion 13. As a result, the strain gauge of the strain generating portion can perform highly accurate torque measurement without being affected by bending stress.

As described above, according to the torque amount converter 10 of the first embodiment of the present invention, even if a bending stress is applied to the drive-side flange 11, the column member 15 prevents the bending stress and causes strain. The bending stress is hardly transmitted to the portion 13.
As a result, when measuring the torque of the engine, the bending stress applied from the power deriving shaft on the engine side and the bending stress generated with the rotation of the power deriving shaft are hardly transmitted to the strain-generating portion 15. High-accuracy torque measurement can be performed without being affected by stress.

  Further, according to the torque amount converter 10 of the present invention, the column member 15 is radially disposed on the outer peripheral side of the driving side flange 11 and the driven side flange 12 at a position away from the strain detecting element 14 of the strain generating portion 13. ing. The cross-sectional shape of the column member 15 is such that the outer circumference side of the torque converter 10 has an arc shape and the inner circumference side has an acute angle. As a result, the shape of the torque converter 10 can be cut out as a single piece from one material using lathe processing and end milling. As described above, by integrating the torque amount converter 10 into an integrated body, the dimensional accuracy and rigidity of the torque amount converter 10 are improved, so that highly accurate torque detection is possible. Further, since the drive side flange 11, the driven side flange 12, the strain generating portion 13 and the column member 15 are integrated into the torque amount converter 10, the grinding accuracy during manufacturing can be further improved.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the torque amount converter according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a main configuration of a torque converter according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the following embodiments, the same or functionally similar components as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof is simplified or omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the torque amount converter 30 according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes an octagonal column-shaped strain generating portion 31 whose outer periphery is formed in an octagonal solid shape. Similar to the first embodiment, the strain detection elements 14 are respectively attached to four locations on the outer circumferential surface of the outer peripheral surface at four locations at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, that is, at intervals of 90 degrees in the circumferential direction. Here, the arrangement and attachment state of the strain gauges attached to the strain generating portion 31 are exactly the same as in the first embodiment.

  According to the torque amount converter 30 of the present embodiment, by applying the solid-shaped strain generating portion 31, the strain generating portion 31 can be easily formed as compared with the first embodiment. Further, since the strain detecting element 14 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the strain generating portion 31, the workability of attaching the strain detecting element 14 to the strain generating portion 31 is improved as compared with the first embodiment. Needless to say, the strain-generating part 31 may have a hollow cylindrical shape.

  Next, torque amount converters according to third to fifth embodiments of the present invention will be described. FIGS. 7A to 7C are sectional views of a single column member according to another embodiment applied to the torque converter according to the present invention. In each of the following embodiments, the basic structure is the same as that of the first embodiment described above. Therefore, the description thereof is omitted, and only the structure of the column member is described.

(Third embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 7A, the column member 41 applied to the torque amount converter 40 of the third embodiment of the present invention has a thickness dimension T2, a length dimension L1, and a width W (not shown). An arc portion 42 is formed on the outer peripheral side, and an acute angle portion 43 is formed on the inner peripheral side.
According to the torque amount converter 40, the torque amount converter is driven by applying the column member 41 having the arc portion 42 formed on the outer peripheral side and the acute angle portion 43 formed on the inner peripheral side. Since it becomes easy to cut out as an integrated body of the side flange, the driven side flange, the strain generating portion, and the column member, the grinding accuracy in finishing is further improved.

(Fourth embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 7B, the column member 51 applied to the torque amount converter 50 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention has a thickness dimension T2, a length dimension L1, and a width W, and is arranged on the outer peripheral side. An arc portion 52 is formed, and an arc portion 53 is formed on the inner peripheral side.
According to the torque amount converter 50, the columnar member 51 in which the arc portion 52 is formed on the outer peripheral side and the arc portion 53 is formed on the inner peripheral side is used. A converter can be made into the integral structure of a drive side flange, a driven side flange, a strain generating part, and a column member.

(Fifth embodiment)
As shown in FIG.7 (c), the column member 61 applied to the torque amount converter 60 of the fifth embodiment of the present invention has a thickness dimension T2, a length dimension L1, and a width W, on the outer peripheral side. An arc portion 62 is formed, and a tapered portion 63 is formed on the inner peripheral side.
According to this torque amount converter 60, the torque amount converter is driven by applying the column member 61 having the circular arc part 62 formed on the outer peripheral side and the tapered part 63 formed on the inner peripheral side. Since it becomes easy to cut out as an integrated body of the side flange, the driven side flange, the strain-generating portion, and the column member, the grindability during finishing is further improved.

In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably. In addition, the material, shape, dimension, numerical value, form, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.
For example, the cross-sectional shape of the strain generating portion may be a round shape, a triangular shape, a quadrangular shape, or a polygonal shape.
In FIG. 7, the cross section of the column member may be a cross sectional shape that does not hinder the transmission of torque, and linear portions may be provided on the outer peripheral side and the inner peripheral side of the column member cross section.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 30 Torque amount converter 11 Drive side flange 12 Driven side flange 13, 31 Strain generation part 14 Strain detection element 15 Column member 40, 50, 60 Torque amount converter 41, 51, 61 Column member

Claims (2)

A drive side flange;
A driven-side flange disposed opposite to the drive-side flange;
A torque amount converter integrally configured with a strain generating portion disposed between the driving side flange and the driven side flange,
A torque amount converter comprising a plurality of column members connected to the driving side flange and the driven side flange outside the strain generating portion. 2. The column members are arranged radially at equal intervals on the outer peripheral side of the drive side flange and the driven side flange, which are separated from a strain detection element provided in the strain generating portion. The torque amount converter described.

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