JP2008144864A - Thrust bearing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thrust bearing which can supply oil suitably to a bearing surface of thrust bearing, and exhibit excellent sliding performance, furthermore, make sliding torque low. <P>SOLUTION: The thrust bearing has oil supply groove in the radial direction in a flat plate annular bearing surface, and supports a load in the thrust direction, and is provided with an oil introducing groove tapered in the downstream side to shallow in the radial and circumferential directions at the downstream side in the rotation direction of the oil supply groove. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a bearing, and more particularly to a thrust bearing used for supporting a load in a thrust direction in a rotating portion. The bearings of the present invention are used, for example, in the field of automobiles or in other fields where thrust bearings are used.

Various sliding plates are used in an automatic transmission for automobiles in order to reduce sliding resistance when moving.
The most frequently used one is a metal needle bearing.
However, due to the large number of parts, it was difficult to provide at a low cost.
Therefore, a resin thrust bearing that has a small number of parts and can be provided at low cost has been proposed.

  Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, a thrust bearing used with a stator in a torque converter in an automatic transmission (AT) of a vehicle such as an automobile is known (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-323110).

This type of thrust bearing is formed in a flat plate shape.
In this type of thrust bearing, oil supply grooves 600 are provided on the bearing surface 100 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and oil is forcibly supplied to the bearing surface 100 to form an oil film on the bearing surface 100.
However, FIG. 5 shows the distribution of the oil film pressure Z on the bearing surface 100. As shown in the figure, the pressure gradually increases in the sliding direction (circumferential direction) X, but the radial direction Y The pressure tends to be low in the vicinity of the inner and outer peripheral edges.
This is because there are no weirs at the inner and outer peripheral edges that prevent a decrease in hydraulic pressure.

Accordingly, the thrust bearing shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 has been proposed.
In other words, the bearing surface 200 is provided with oil supply grooves 700 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.
An oil introduction groove 300 is formed downstream of the oil supply groove 700 in the rotation direction.
The oil introduction groove 300 is a groove having a uniform depth parallel to the bearing surface as a whole, and is configured to intersect with the bearing surface substantially at a right angle.
For this reason, the supply of oil to the bearing surface 200 can hardly be expected on the inner and outer peripheral sides of the oil introduction groove 300, and can be expected on the tip 301 side of the oil introduction groove 300.
Further, since the oil introduction groove 300 also intersects the bearing surface 200 at a right angle on the front end 301 side, there has been a problem that oil cannot be smoothly supplied to the bearing surface 200.

JP 2002-323110 A JP 2004-60836 A

  In view of the above points, the present invention provides a thrust bearing that can supply a good oil to the bearing surface of the thrust bearing, can exhibit excellent sliding characteristics, and can keep sliding torque low. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, a thrust bearing according to the present invention is a thrust bearing that supports a load in a thrust direction in which a radial oil groove is provided on a flat plate-shaped bearing surface, on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the oil groove. A tapered oil introduction groove is provided in which the groove depths in the radial direction and the circumferential direction become shallower toward the side.

The present invention has the following effects.
According to the thrust bearing of the first aspect of the present invention, oil can be efficiently supplied to the entire bearing surface of the thrust bearing and good lubrication to the sliding surface can be maintained, so that excellent sliding characteristics are exhibited.

  In addition, according to the thrust bearing of the second aspect of the present invention, oil can be smoothly supplied to the oil introduction groove, and excellent sliding characteristics can be exhibited.

  Furthermore, according to the thrust bearing of the invention described in claim 3, good lubrication to the bearing surface can be maintained.

  Furthermore, according to the thrust bearing of the invention of claim 4, sliding friction can be kept low.

  Furthermore, according to the thrust bearing of the fifth aspect of the present invention, the sliding friction can be further suppressed.

  Furthermore, according to the thrust bearing of the invention described in claim 6, sliding friction can be kept low.

  Furthermore, according to the thrust bearing of the seventh aspect of the present invention, the sliding friction can be further suppressed.

  Furthermore, according to the thrust bearing of the invention described in claim 8, sufficient dynamic pressure is generated, and the friction coefficient can be kept low.

  Furthermore, according to the thrust bearing of the ninth aspect of the invention, sufficient dynamic pressure is generated, and the friction coefficient can be further suppressed.

  Furthermore, according to the thrust bearing of the invention of claim 10, deterioration of the thrust bearing due to sliding heat generation can be prevented, and the load resistance can be improved.

  Furthermore, according to the thrust bearing of the invention of claim 11, deterioration of the thrust bearing due to sliding heat generation can be prevented, and the load resistance can be further improved.

  Furthermore, according to the thrust bearing of the twelfth aspect of the present invention, sufficient dynamic pressure is generated, and the friction coefficient can be further reduced.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described.
The best mode for carrying out the invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a thrust bearing according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
A thrust bearing used to support a load in the thrust direction is provided with a radial oil supply groove 2 on a flat plate bearing surface 1 made of a resin material.
A tapered oil introduction groove 3 is provided on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the oil supply groove 2 so that the groove depths in the radial direction and the circumferential direction become shallower toward the downstream side.

The shoulder 4 facing the oil supply groove 2 of the oil introduction groove 3 is chamfered.
This chamfering is R chamfering or C chamfering. In the case of R chamfering, it is preferably in the range of 0.3 to 3, preferably 0.5 to 2, and in the case of C chamfering, 0.1 to 2 , Preferably in the range of 0.5-1. If it is smaller than this, the oil cannot be smoothly introduced into the bearing surface 1, and if it is larger than this, sufficient dynamic pressure cannot be generated.

Moreover, the relationship h / B between the maximum depth h of the oil introduction groove 3 and the maximum circumferential length B is 10 ⁻² to 10 ⁻⁶ , preferably 10 ⁻³ to 10 ⁻⁵ . If it is out of this range, sufficient dynamic pressure is not generated, and the friction torque increases.
Furthermore, the relationship C / L between the bearing surface 1 radial width L and the circumferential length C existing between the oil supply grooves 2 and 2 is 0.2 to 5.0, preferably 0.5 to 4. 0. If C / L is larger than this, the deterioration of the thrust bearing is promoted by sliding heat generation. On the other hand, if C / L is smaller than this, the load resistance deteriorates.

Moreover, it is preferable that the circumferential direction width | variety and depth of the oil supply groove | channel 2 are 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less. If it is smaller than this, the oil cannot be sufficiently supplied to the bearing surface 1.
On the other hand, if it is larger than this, the area of the bearing surface 1 is reduced, causing a problem that sufficient dynamic pressure is not generated.

  The present invention is not limited to the best mode for carrying out the invention described above, and various other configurations can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a top view which shows embodiment of the invention concerning a thrust bearing. It is AA sectional drawing of the thrust bearing of FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of the thrust bearing of FIG. It is a top view which shows the prior art concerning a thrust bearing. It is a figure which shows the pressure distribution of the bearing surface of the thrust bearing shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the other prior art concerning a thrust bearing. It is AA sectional drawing of the thrust bearing of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Bearing surface 2 ... Oil supply groove 3 ... Oil introduction groove 4 ... Shoulder

Claims (12)

  In a thrust bearing for supporting a load in a thrust direction in which a radial oil supply groove (2) is provided on a flat plate bearing surface (1), the diameter of the oil supply groove (2) is directed downstream in the rotation direction and downstream. A thrust bearing having a tapered oil introduction groove (3) in which the groove depth in the circumferential direction and the circumferential direction is shallow.   The thrust bearing according to claim 1, characterized in that the shoulder (4) of the oil introduction groove (3) facing the oil supply groove (2) is chamfered.   The thrust bearing according to claim 2, wherein the chamfering is R chamfering or C chamfering.   4. The thrust bearing according to claim 3, wherein the R chamfer is in a range of 0.3 to 3.   4. The thrust bearing according to claim 3, wherein the R chamfer is in a range of 0.5-2.   The thrust bearing according to claim 3, wherein the C chamfering is in a range of 0.1 to 2. 5.   The thrust bearing according to claim 3, wherein the C chamfering is in a range of 0.5 to 1. The thrust bearing according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein h / B of the oil introduction groove (3) is ^10-2 to ^10-6 . The thrust bearing according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein h / B of the oil introduction groove (3) is ^10-3 to ^10-5 .   The relationship C / L between the bearing surface (1) radial width L and the circumferential length C existing between the oil supply groove (2) is 0.2 to 5.0. The thrust bearing according to any one of claims 1 to 9.   The relationship C / L between the bearing surface (1) radial width L and the circumferential length C existing between the oil supply groove (2) is 0.5 to 4.0. The thrust bearing according to any one of claims 1 to 9.   The thrust bearing according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein a width and a depth of the oil supply groove (2) in the circumferential direction are 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less.

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