JPH0446775B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A. Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a drive device for a motor vehicle, and more particularly to a drive device for a motor vehicle having a longitudinally installed engine.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive automobiles having a longitudinally installed engine, the transmission is comprised of a torque converter (or clutch) 2 and a transmission mechanism 3, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. A configuration in which the final reducer 4 is disposed between the two is generally used.

If such a configuration is adopted, the engine 1 will be mounted overhanging the front of the vehicle with respect to the wheels 5, 5 arranged on the left and right sides of the final reduction gear 4, and the heavy part of the vehicle will be placed in the front. It is undesirable because it tends to be heavy and uneven on the side. Furthermore, regarding the vehicle body, there is a problem in that the wheels 5, 5 are disposed close to the passenger compartment side with respect to the engine room, and the interior space of the vehicle, particularly the space around the front seats, tends to become narrow.

For this reason, Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-24289 discloses a configuration example in which the final reduction gear 4 is disposed directly below the engine 1, as shown in FIG.
In this case, in order to reduce the amount of protrusion of the transmission 7 into the vehicle interior and secure interior space, the transmission 7 is disposed below the output shaft of the engine 1.
The output shaft of the torque converter 6 and the input shaft of the transmission 7 are connected to the chain 8 using sprockets 8a and 8b.
connected by c.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) With the above configuration, the wheels can be placed at the front of the vehicle, the overhang of the engine toward the front can be reduced, and the cabin space can be expanded. However, because the final reduction gear is located directly below the engine, the engine is mounted at a higher position relative to the vehicle body, which raises the front bonnet accordingly, resulting in problems such as worsening of forward visibility and lowering the engine's center of gravity. There is a problem that the stability of the vehicle decreases because the height increases. Furthermore, as the position of the engine becomes higher, the position of its output shaft also becomes higher, and the amount of protrusion of the transmission connected to the engine into the vehicle interior tends to increase. For this reason, as shown in the example of FIG. 7, it becomes necessary to dispose the transmission downward and to provide a linking mechanism using a chain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a drive device configured such that the engine can be mounted at a lower position with respect to a vehicle body.

B. Structure of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problems) As a means for achieving the above object, the drive device of the present invention includes a vertical engine disposed between left and right wheels, and a vertical engine disposed between the left and right wheels. In the drive device, which consists of a transmission that changes the output of Of the two axle shafts,
An axle shaft that extends to the engine side and transmits output to one wheel is composed of a first shaft that extends through the engine case and a second shaft that is connected to the one wheel, The first shaft is disposed below the crankshaft to avoid interference with the engine crankshaft, which is disposed at a low position relative to the vehicle body. It is located below the second shaft, and is constructed by connecting the final reduction gear and the first shaft, and the first shaft and the second shaft, respectively, by means of rotation transmission means (for example, a gear set, a chain, etc.). The driving force is transmitted from the speed reducer to the one wheel, bypassing the engine crankshaft from below.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an automobile equipped with a drive device according to the present invention.
An engine 10, a transmission 30, and a final reduction gear 60 are installed. FIG. 2 schematically shows this drive device, and the engine 10 is arranged so that its crankshaft extends to the front and back of the vehicle body, and a transmission 30 is coupled to the rear end. A final reduction gear 60 is disposed coupled to the left side of the engine 10. The engine output shaft is connected to the transmission input shaft 32 on the same axis via the torque converter 31, and the counter shaft 33 is arranged parallel to the transmission input shaft 32.
A countershaft type transmission mechanism is disposed between the two. The transmission counter shaft 33 is connected to a transmission output shaft 34 via an output gear set.

The final reduction gear 60 is composed of a reduction gear set consisting of a hypoid gear set (a set of a final drive pinion 61 and a final ring gear 62) and a differential gear set, and is separated from the transmission 30 and connected to the engine 1.
It is connected to the side of 0. Transmission output shaft 3
4 is substantially coaxial with the input shaft (ie, final drive pinion shaft) 61a of the final reduction gear 60, and is connected to the final drive pinion shaft 61a via an intermediate shaft 90.

From the final reduction gear 60 to the engine 10 side (right side of the vehicle body)
As will be described later, the axle shaft 72 extending to The shaft 73 is located obliquely forward and downward with respect to the right output shaft of the final reduction gear 60 (the central axis of the final ring gear 62), as shown in the figure, and the right output shaft and the first shaft 73 are connected to a pair of flat shafts. Gears 65, 66 (corresponds to rotation transmission means)
are connected by.

The engine room and the passenger compartment are the darts panel 9.
6 and a floor panel 97, the engine 10, transmission 30 and final reduction gear 6
0 is located in the engine room,
The transmission 30 is disposed so as to protrude downward from the vehicle interior.
In this case, the final reduction gear 60 is the engine 10
Since the engine is placed on the side of the vehicle, the engine can be positioned quite low relative to the vehicle body. Therefore, the position of the transmission can be lowered, and the transmission can be disposed within a tunnel portion 97a formed in the floor panel 97 extending from the front and back of the vehicle body.
This reduces the influence of the transmission 30 protruding into the vehicle interior, making it possible to take up more space in the vehicle interior. Note that by lowering the position of the engine 10, the front bonnet can be lowered, so that forward visibility from the driver's seat can be improved.

Further, since the transmission 30 and the final reduction gear 60 are arranged separately and connected via the intermediate shaft 90, a space can be formed below the intermediate shaft 90. Therefore, the tie rod 81 of the steering mechanism can be placed in this space, and the tie rod 81 can be placed behind the final reduction gear 60 (and the axle shaft extending left and right from this) without lowering the minimum ground clearance. can do.

The drive device having the above configuration will be explained with reference to FIG. 3, which shows a cross section along the arrow -, and FIG. 4, which shows a cross section along each axis of the transmission 30.

The engine 10 is an in-line multi-cylinder engine, and its cylinder axis is located on the left side (right side of the vehicle body) when viewed from the front of the vehicle with respect to a vertical plane, as shown in FIG.
is inclined to. This inclination has the advantage that the overall height of the engine 10 can be kept low and the front bonnet can be made even lower. This engine 10 is
A cylinder block 12 in which a piston 13 is slidably housed in the cylinder axial direction; an intake and exhaust valve 17a that is joined to the upper surface of the cylinder block 12 and has intake and exhaust passages 18a and 18b and opens and closes these passages; Cylinder head 11 with 17b and cylinder block 1
The engine case includes an oil pan 25 joined to the lower surface of the engine 2.

An intake passage 18a is opened on the side surface of the cylinder head 11 on the opposite side of the engine 10, and an intake manifold 26 is attached to the side surface on the opposite side so as to communicate with this opening.
An exhaust passage 1 is provided on the inclined side surface of the cylinder head 11.
8b is open, and an exhaust manifold 27 is attached to the inclined side surface so as to communicate with the exhaust passage 18b. In this way, the intake manifold 26 is disposed in a wide space on the opposite side of the slope,
It is easy to lengthen the intake pipe route, and by lengthening the intake pipe route, it is possible to enhance the intake inertia effect and improve engine performance.

Furthermore, on the top of this cylinder head 11,
A camshaft 19a is provided that extends back and forth and has a plurality of cams 19b.The rotation of the camshaft 19a in synchronization with the engine rotation causes the cam 1 to rotate.
9b opens and closes the intake and exhaust valves 17a and 17b via the rocker arm 19c. These camshaft 19a, rocker arm 19c, etc. are covered by a head cover 11a attached to the upper surface of the cylinder head 11.

A crankcase portion 12a forming the lower part of the cylinder block 12 has a crankshaft 15 extending back and forth.
A connecting rod 14 is rotatably attached to the crankshaft 15a, and the upper part of the connecting rod 14 is connected to the piston 13. Therefore, the crankshaft 15 is rotationally driven in accordance with the reciprocating movement of the piston 13. In addition, the crankshaft 15
A balance weight portion 16 is formed that projects on the side opposite to the crank portion 15a.

The oil pan 25 is joined to the lower surface of the crankcase portion 12a of the cylinder block 12, and as shown in the figure, this joining surface 21 is formed perpendicular to the cylinder axis, and the cylinder axis is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. is inclined by the same angle as.

Oil pan 2 on the opposite side of the engine 10
A final reduction gear 60 is disposed on the side surface of 5.
In this case, the oil pan 25 forms a case 60a that houses the internal mechanism of the final reducer 60, and the final reducer 60 is disposed integrally with the engine 10 (the final reducer 60 and the axle connected thereto are (The structure of the shaft will be described later). in this way,
When the final reducer 60 is disposed on the opposite side of the engine 10, the final reducer 60 and the cylinder block 1
2, it is easy to increase the inclination angle of the engine 10, and the overall height of the engine 10 can be further reduced.

As shown in FIG. 4, a transmission 30 is attached to the rear end surface of the engine 10.
The transmission 30 shown in this figure is an automatic transmission, and a torque converter 31 is connected to the output shaft (crankshaft) 15 of the engine 10, and the output shaft of the torque converter 31 becomes the transmission input shaft 32. Between this transmission input shaft 32 and a transmission counter shaft 33 disposed parallel thereto, there are first gear trains 41a, 41b, second gear trains 42a, 42b, 3, which mesh with each other. Speed gear train 43a, 4
3b, 4th speed gear trains 44a, 44b, and reverse gear trains 45a, 45b, 45d (however, reverse idler gear 45d is not shown). Each gear train includes hydraulically actuated clutches 41c, 42c, 43c, 44c for transmitting power through the gear train, respectively.
45c, and by selectively operating these hydraulically actuated clutches, power transmission by any one of the five gear trains can be selected to set a predetermined gear position.

Note that in this device, since the engine 10 is located low relative to the vehicle body, the engine crankshaft 1
The input shaft 32 is arranged on the same axis as the input shaft 32.
Even if a transmission mechanism is disposed between the front and counter shafts 33, the transmission 30 can be disposed within the floor tunnel 97a as shown in FIG. Therefore, there is no need for a mechanism (for example, the chain 8a in FIG. 10) for lowering the transmission mechanism below the crankshaft, as in the conventional case.
The structure of the transmission becomes simple.

The transmission counter shaft 33 and the transmission output shaft 34 disposed parallel thereto are connected by an output gear train 46a, 46b that meshes with each other, and the engine output is changed by the operation of the hydraulically actuated clutch. , is transmitted from the transmission counter shaft 33 to the transmission output shaft 34. This transmission output shaft 34 is
An intermediate shaft 90 is located approximately on the same axis as the input shaft of the final reducer 60, that is, the shaft 61a of the final drive pinion 61 disposed on the opposite side of the engine 10, and has splines 91, 92 at both ends. through the final drive pinion shaft 61
It is connected to a. In addition, in this case, the transmission 3
0 and the final reduction gear 60 are arranged separately,
It is only necessary that there be a space between the transmission 30 and the final reduction gear 60 for arranging the intermediate shaft 90. Therefore, it is possible to form a space between the transmission 30 and the final reduction gear 60 below the intermediate shaft 90 or the final drive pinion shaft 61a, and it is possible to arrange the tie rod 81 of the steering mechanism in this space. Yes (see Figure 2).

The final reduction gear 60 consists of a hypoid gear set consisting of a final drive pinion 61 and a final ring gear 62, and a differential gear set 63 consisting of four bevel gears 63a to 63d. It is disposed in a space surrounded by a case 60a and a cover 60b, which are integrally formed with a case 60a and a cover 60b. Differential gear set 63
The bevel gears 63c and 63d are rotatably supported by the final ring gear 62, and the bevel gears 63c and 63d are rotatably supported by the final ring gear 62.
3a and 63b are coupled to output shafts 64 and 71 extending left and right. Note that the output shaft 71 extending to the right side (left side of the vehicle body) in the figure is a left axle shaft 71 whose tip end is connected to the left wheel. Therefore, the engine power transmitted to the transmission output shaft 34 is decelerated by the hypoid gear sets 61 and 62, and then divided and transmitted to the output shafts 64 and 71 via the differential gear set 63.

In this case, the output shaft (left axle shaft) 71 of the engine 10 extending on the opposite side of the inclination (left side of the vehicle body) is directly connected to and drives the left front wheel. However, the output shaft 64 extending toward the inclined side
is connected to the output shaft 6 via a pair of spur gears 65 and 66.
4, the first shaft 73 is connected to a second shaft 74 at its right end (left end in the figure) via a pair of spur gears 67 and 68. A second shaft 74 is connected to the right front wheel. That is, an axle shaft 72 extending from the final reduction gear 60 to the engine side (right side of the vehicle body) has a first shaft 73 attached to the engine case (the oil pan 25 and the crankcase portion 12a of the cylinder block 12) passing through the inside of the engine case. This first
A second shaft 74 is connected to the shaft 73 and further extends outward. As a result, the power transmitted to the right output shaft 64 of the final reduction gear 60 is transmitted to the first shaft 73 via the gear sets 65 and 66, and then to the second shaft 74 via the gear sets 67 and 68. The power is transmitted to drive the right front wheel.

By configuring the right axle shaft 72 in this way, it is possible to lower the first shaft 73 to a position where interference with the crankshaft 15 of the engine 10 is not a problem, thereby further lowering the position of the engine 10 with respect to the vehicle body. It can be lowered. Note that the pairs of gears 65, 66 and 67, 68, which are the rotation transmission means, are not limited to being constituted by a gear set as in this example, but may be constituted by other means, such as a chain, etc. Of course, it is okay to do so.

FIG. 5 shows the drive device with the above configuration viewed from the rear of the vehicle, and the center of the crankshaft 15 of the engine 10 and the center of the input shaft 32 of the transmission 30 are at point A in the figure.
It is located on the axis perpendicular to the paper plane shown by . The center B of the transmission counter shaft 33 is located approximately vertically below the center A of the transmission input shaft 32, and
The center C of is located on the side of the transmission counter shaft 33 and above the transmission counter shaft 33 by a distance "d". Note that point D in the figure indicates the center of the reverse idler gear.

By arranging each shaft in this manner, the overall height of the transmission 30 can be reduced and the transmission 30 can be configured compactly. Furthermore, as in this example, when the engine 10 is disposed at a lower position relative to the vehicle body, even if the transmission input shaft 32 is disposed coaxially with the crankshaft 15, the output of the transmission 30 is Since the shaft 34 is disposed vertically above the transmission counter shaft 33 by a distance d, it is easy to make the lower surface position of the transmission 30 the same as or higher than the lower surface position of the engine 10. Therefore, it is easy to secure the desired minimum ground clearance. Considering this, it is preferable that the distance "d" is zero or a positive value, that is, the transmission output shaft 34 is located on the same level as or above the transmission counter shaft in the vertical direction. Note that, since the transmission output shaft 34 is arranged on the side of the transmission counter shaft 33 and the transmission input shaft 32, the transmission output shaft 34 has a final drive pinion shaft 61a arranged coaxially with the transmission output shaft 34. The speed reducer 60 can be easily arranged on the side of the engine.

C. Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the present invention, of the two left and right axle shafts that transmit driving force from the final reduction gear disposed on the side of the engine to the left and right wheels, the one on the side of the engine an axle shaft that extends to and transmits output to one wheel, comprising a first shaft that extends through the engine case and a second shaft that is connected to the one wheel;
The first shaft is arranged below the crankshaft of the engine to avoid interference with the crankshaft of the engine, which is arranged at a low position relative to the vehicle body, and thereby the final reduction gear located above the first shaft Since the output shaft and the second shaft are connected to the first shaft by rotation transmission means (for example, a gear set, a chain, etc.),
The driving force can be transmitted from the final reduction gear to the one wheel by bypassing the engine crankshaft from below, and the engine can be placed at a considerably lower position relative to the vehicle body. Therefore, in an automobile using the drive device of the present invention, the front bonnet can be lowered to improve forward visibility, and the center of gravity of the drive device is lowered, so the stability of the vehicle is improved. You can also do that.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an automobile equipped with a drive device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the drive device, and FIG. 3 shows the drive device shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the drive device taken along the axis of the transmission, FIG. 5 is a schematic front view of the drive device as seen from the rear, FIG. 6A, FIGS. 6B and 7 are schematic diagrams showing examples of conventional drive devices. 10...Engine, 11...Cylinder head,
12... Cylinder block, 15... Crankshaft, 25... Oil pan, 26... Intake manifold, 27... Exhaust manifold, 30... Transmission, 31... Torque converter, 32... Transmission input shaft, 33...Transmission counter shaft, 34...Transmission output shaft, 60...Final drive gear, 61...Final drive pinion, 62
... Final ring gear, 63 ... Differential gear set, 71, 72 ... Axle shaft, 80 ...
Steering mechanism, 81... Tie rod, 82...
...Steering gear box, 90...Intermediate shaft.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An engine having a crankshaft extending back and forth and disposed between left and right wheels, a transmission for changing the output of the engine, and a transmission disposed on the side of the engine. , a final reducer that divides and outputs the output of the transmission for driving the left and right wheels, and two left and right axle shafts that transmit the left and right divided output of the final reducer to the left and right wheels. In the automobile drive system, of the two left and right axle shafts, the axle shaft that extends from the final reduction gear to the engine side and transmits the divided output to one wheel runs inside the engine case. The first shaft is disposed through the engine, and the second shaft is connected to the one wheel. A motor vehicle, characterized in that the final reducer is disposed below the shaft and the second shaft, and the final reduction gear and the first shaft, and the first shaft and the second shaft are connected by rotation transmission means, respectively. Drive device.