Lubricating device for one-way clutch

A one-way clutch incorporates an arrangement to lead lubricating oil to the torque transmitting members without the use of a penetrating hole in the inner ring or outer ring of the clutch. Instead, a guide arrangement is provided externally of the track surfaces of the inner and outer rings for leading the lubricating oil from outside the one-way clutch to the torque transmitting members, e.g. rollers or sprags. In a clutch having a centering block for supporting the inner and outer rings, the guide arrangement may lead the lubricating oil into the centering block.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to a one-way clutch used for torque transmission, 
back stop or overrunning in an automatic variable speed device to be used 
for an automobile etc., and more particularly to a lubricating device for 
leading lubricating oil into the inside of a one-way clutch having clutch 
members such as sprags or rollers. 
2. Related Background Art 
In a one-way clutch effective to transmit rotary power in one direction 
only and free running in another direction, clutch members such as sprags 
or rollers are disposed between inner and outer rings and both end 
surfaces of the clutch members are guided by side plates. The clutch 
members engage with the inner and outer rings when the rotary power is 
transmitted and slip therebetween during free running. 
Such a conventional one-way clutch is shown in FIGS. 27 to 32. FIG. 27 
shows a one-way clutch where lubricating oil is supplied to clutch members 
from the inner ring side, FIG. 28 shows the assembly of the one-way 
clutch, FIG. 29 shows a longitudinal cross section of FIG. 28, and FIG. 30 
shows details of the roller arrangement. FIG. 31 shows a one-way clutch 
where lubricating oil is supplied to clutch members from the outer ring, 
and FIG. 32 shows an application of a one-way clutch. 
In FIG. 27, a conventional one-way clutch 1, where lubricating oil is 
supplied from inner ring to clutch members, comprises inner ring 2 and 
outer ring 3, and rollers 4 are disposed between the inner and outer 
rings. At the inner peripheral surface of outer ring 3, a cam surface 3a 
is formed in association with each roller 4 to constitute cam structure 5 
together with the roller 4 so that the inner ring 2 can rotate relative to 
outer ring 3 only in one direction. At one side surface of outer ring 3, a 
step 3b is formed, to which a first side plate 6 fits to effect centering 
of the first side plate 6. The first side plate 6 covers first end 
surfaces of rollers 4 and parts of the first side plate 6 are folded to 
form folded pieces 6a, which penetrate between inner ring 2 and outer ring 
3. The front end 6b of each piece 6a projects from the other side of the 
outer ring. At the other side surface of outer ring 3 a second side plate 
7 is provided which covers the other end surfaces of rollers 4. The second 
side plate 7 has small holes 7a through which folded pieces 6a of the 
first side plate 6 project, and the front end 6b of each piece 6a is 
caulked at the outer surface of the second side plate 7 so as to effect 
centering of the second side plate 7 and to fix both side plates 6 and 7 
to outer ring 3. Inner ring 2 has a groove 2a at its inner peripheral 
surface and lubricating oil filled in groove 2a is supplied to rollers 4 
through a lubricating oil hole 2b by centrifugal force. 
As shown in FIGS. 28 and 30, centering blocks (pad bearings) 8 are provided 
between outer ring 3 and inner ring 2. Each centering block 8 comprises a 
slide part 8a, which slidingly contacts inner ring 2, folded parts 8b 
engaging with a recess 3c formed at the inner peripheral surface of outer 
ring 3 and supported by folded pieces 6a, and supporting parts 8c 
connecting slide part 8a and folding parts 8b. Folding parts 8b of 
centering block 8 are supported by folded pieces 6a so as to be fixed to 
recess 3c of outer ring 3. 
FIG. 31 shows a conventional one-way clutch 9 where lubricating oil is 
supplied to the clutch members from outer ring side, with parts 
corresponding to those in one-way clutch 1 being assigned the same 
reference numbers. The difference from the one-way clutch where 
lubricating oil is supplied from inner ring is that instead of the hole 2b 
and the groove 2a of inner ring 2, a lubricating hole 3c is provided in 
outer ring 3, and the lubricating oil is supplied through the hole 3c to 
rollers 4. 
The application of one-way clutch 1 is shown in FIG. 32, in which inner 
ring 2 is welded to a plate 100. In one-way clutches 1, 9, since rollers 4 
slide during free running, heating and friction become large unless 
sufficient lubrication is provided. 
The use of a lubricating hole 2c or 3c as previously described leads to a 
number of practical problems. For example, the presence of the hole leads 
to stress concentration which can cause damage and reduce the service life 
of the clutch. Peeling off or scratching of the edge of the hole can occur 
when the clutch is engaged with the hole being subjected to heavy surface 
pressure by a clutch member. Although the clutch structure may be 
reinforced by increasing the thicknesses of the inner and outer rings, 
this causes the clutch to become undesirably heavy and bulky. As still 
another problem, the forming of the aforementioned lubricating hole 
requires a complex and expensive operation. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Basically speaking, the present invention overcomes such problems of the 
conventional one-way clutches through the use of a novel arrangement in 
which lubricating oil is guided to the clutch members without the use of a 
lubricating hole in one of the inner and outer race track surfaces. 
For example, in a first preferred form, a one-way clutch according to the 
present invention includes a centering block having a sliding portion 
sliding on the track surface of one of the inner and outer clutch rings 
and a pair of spaced radially extending supporting portions, a side plate 
attached to one of the inner and outer rings and covering corresponding 
end surfaces of the clutch members, the side plate having a hole 
therethrough in alignment with a space between the supporting portions of 
the centering block, and means for introducing lubricating oil into said 
space through the hole of the side plate. 
In another preferred form of the invention, a side plate of a one-way 
clutch is provided with means including an axially outwardly protruding 
inner peripheral portion of the side plate for catching lubricating oil 
flowing outwardly in a radial direction under centrifugal force and for 
directing the lubricating oil between the track surfaces of the inner and 
outer clutch rings. 
In still another preferred form of the invention, a one-way clutch is 
provided with a side plate having at least one axially outwardly protruded 
and radially inwardly open embossment for catching lubricating oil flowing 
outwardly in a radial direction under centrifugal force and for directing 
the oil between the track surfaces of the inner and outer clutch rings. 
In yet another preferred form of the invention, a one-way clutch is 
provided with a side plate having a hole therethrough in communication 
with a space between the track surfaces of the inner and outer clutch 
rings. An oil catcher is attached to the side plate and has a wall 
extending circumferentially of the side plate and outwardly along an axis 
of the side plate to define an oil catchment space for catching 
lubricating oil flowing outwardly in a radial direction under centrifugal 
force and to guide the lubricating oil into the hole of the side plate. 
The above and other preferred forms of the invention, and additional 
features and advantages thereof are more fully explained in the detailed 
description hereinafter.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIGS. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the invention, in which a one-way 
clutch 10 has lubricating oil supplied to the clutch members from the 
inner ring side. 
In FIG. 1, one-way clutch 10 comprises inner ring 11 and outer ring 12, and 
rollers 13 disposed between the inner and outer rings. A cam surface 12a 
is formed at the inner peripheral surface of outer ring 12 for each roller 
13. Each cam surface 12a and associated roller 13 form a cam structure 14, 
so that inner ring 11 can rotate in only one direction relative to outer 
ring 12. 
At one side surface of outer ring 12, a step 12b is formed, and a first 
side plate 15 is mounted on step 12b, thus centering side plate 15. Side 
plate 15 covers first end surfaces of rollers 13, and parts of the plate 
15 are folded to form folded portions which penetrate between inner ring 
11 and outer ring 12. A front end portion 15b of each folded portion 15a 
projects out past the other side of outer ring 12. At the other side of 
outer ring 12, a second side plate 16, which covers the other end surfaces 
of rollers 13, is provided. Second side plate 16 has holes 16a through 
which folded portions 15a project, and each front end portion 15b is 
caulked at the surface of side plate 16 so as to center second side plate 
16 and fix both side plates 15 and 16 to outer ring 12. As best seen in 
FIG. 1, the inner peripheral end portion of second side plate 16 projects 
outwardly along the rotating axis (horizontal in FIG. 1) of one-way clutch 
10 to form a bulging portion 16b. Thus, a lubricating oil path is formed 
such that lubricating oil flowing outwardly in a radial direction by 
centrifugal force is received by bulging portion 16b and supplied to 
rollers 13. 
FIGS. 4 to 6 show a second embodiment, in which a second side plate 17 has 
bulging portions arranged at circumferential intervals, taking the 
strength of second side plate and action of one-way clutch 10 into 
consideration. Other portions are similar to the first embodiment. 
As will be appreciated from FIGS. 4 and 5, plural portions of the inner 
peripheral edge of second side plate 17 are press worked to project 
outwardly along the rotating axis of one-way clutch 10 to form bulging 
portions 17b. Consequently, as in the first embodiment, due to centrifugal 
force, the lubricating oil flowing outwardly in the radial direction is 
received by bulging portions 17b to supply the oil to rollers 13. 
FIGS. 7 to 10 show a third embodiment. Instead of providing bulging 
portions on the second side plate, an oil catcher 19 for receiving 
lubricating oil is provided in the third embodiment. There is no 
difference in the elements other than second side plate and catcher from 
the second embodiment. 
In a second side plate 18, as shown in FIG. 9, six penetrating holes 18a 
are equiangularly spaced to penetrate from one side to the other side of 
the second side plate. As shown in FIG. 10, such a penetrating hole 18a 
communicates with the inside of a centering block 8. Fitted to this hole 
18a, is an outer peripheral groove 19b provided on a tubular projection 
19a of oil catcher 19, so as to fix oil catcher 19 to second side plate 
18. Oil catcher 19 is made of elastic material such as plastic, and it is 
possible to push projection 19a into penetrating hole 18a. Oil catcher 19 
projects outwardly along the rotating axis of one-way clutch 10. The inner 
peripheral portion of oil catcher 19 is circular and the outer peripheral 
portion is of substantially hexagon shape with the apexes positioned at 
holes 18a. Between oil catcher 19 and second side plate 18, a lubricating 
oil path is formed, which communicates with the inside of centering block 
8 in one-way clutch 10 through penetrating hole 19c of projections 19a. 
According to the above structure, lubricating oil flowing outwardly in the 
radial direction by centrifugal force is received by oil catcher 19 and 
the oil is collected at the tubular projection 19a at the apex of hexagon 
shaped oil catcher 19, so that the oil is supplied to the inside of 
centering block 8 through penetrating hole 19c. 
In this embodiment, oil catcher 19 is mounted on second side plate 18, but 
it is possible to mount oil catcher 19 on first side plate 15. Further, as 
shown in FIG. 11, for reducing the possibility of chipping the ends 15b of 
folded portions 15a of first side plate 15, the outer periphery of the oil 
catcher, designated 20 in this modification, made substantially circular, 
so that only tubular projections 20a project outwardly in the radial 
direction. 
FIG. 12 shows an embodiment in which a projection 21 is provided along the 
whole periphery of outer ring 12 of one-way clutch 10, extending outwardly 
along the rotating axis of clutch 10. A key groove 21a is formed on 
projection 21, and an annular stop ring 22 fits in this groove 21a to form 
a trough, which receives lubricating oil flowing outwardly in the radial 
direction. The oil is supplied to the inside of the clutch 10 through 
penetrating hole 23a of a second side plate 23. 
Referring to FIG. 13, substantially triangular shaped embossments 24a may 
be equiangularly spaced on a second side plate 24, and through 
substantially triangular apertures 24b formed at embossments 24a 
lubricating oil is supplied to one-way clutch 10. Further, a groove 11a 
extending radially outwardly can be provided on one side of inner ring 11 
at a position corresponding to embossment 24a so as to make lubricating 
oil flow into aperture 24b more smoothly. 
Explanation will now be made of an embodiment where lubricating oil is 
supplied to a one-way clutch 30 from the outer ring side. FIG. 14 shows a 
fourth embodiment, which differs from the first embodiment in the 
structure of the second side plate. The second side plate 31 has a bulging 
portion 31a projected outwardly along the rotating axis of one-way clutch 
30. Consequently, lubricating oil supplied from an unillustrated external 
device is received by bulging portion 31a of second side plate 31 to 
supply the lubricating oil to rollers 13. 
FIGS. 15 and 16 show a fifth embodiment, which is similar to the fourth 
embodiment, but with a different second side plate and outer ring. Plural 
portions at the outer periphery of second side plate 32 are projected 
outwardly along the rotating axis of one-way clutch 30 to form bulging 
portions 32a. In an outer ring 33, a groove 33a extending radially from 
outer periphery to inner periphery is provided at a position corresponding 
to bulging portion 32a. FIG. 16 shows one-way clutch 30 seen in the arrow 
direction B in FIG. 15. With the provision of groove 33a, lubricating oil 
coming from the lubricating path provided from an unillustrated external 
device is received more smoothly at the bulging portion 32a and 
efficiently supplied to rollers 13. 
FIG. 17 shows a sixth embodiment of the invention, in which, instead of 
providing the bulging portion at the second side plate, an oil catcher is 
mounted for receiving lubricating oil. The sixth embodiment differs from 
the third embodiment in that the oil catcher opens outwardly in the radial 
direction. As in the third embodiment, second side plate 18 has 
penetrating holes 18a penetrating from one side to the other side in the 
manner shown in FIG. 17. To each penetrating hole 18a a tubular projection 
34a of oil catcher 34 fits, whereby oil catcher 34 is fixed to second side 
plate 18. Lubricating oil flowing from an unillustrated external device is 
received by the oil catcher and supplied to rollers 13 through holes 18a. 
According to the invention as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, a pipe 
communicating with the one-way clutch can be provided to supply 
lubricating oil to rollers 13. In FIG. 18, a second side plate 35 provides 
a penetrating hole 35a to which a pipe 36 fits so that lubricating oil 
coming from an unillustrated external device can be supplied to rollers 13 
through pipe 36. Further as shown in FIG. 19, an externally projecting 
tubular projection 37a may be provided on a second side plate 37, and a 
pipe 38 may be mounted to projection 37a so that lubricating oil coming 
from the unillustrated external device is supplied to rollers 13 through 
pipe 38. 
FIGS. 20 to 23 show arrangements in which lubricating oil is provided from 
the outer and inner ring sides, in substantially a combination of the 
third and sixth embodiments. As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, a notch 19a is 
provided at the portion of oil catcher 19 receiving lubricating oil 
flowing by centrifugal force An oil catcher 34 receiving lubricating oil 
is mounted on notch 19a. FIGS. 22 and 23 show similar structure in which 
oil catchers 20 and 34 are provided. 
FIGS. 24 through 26 show a modification of oil catcher 20 of the third 
embodiment shown in FIG. 11. In FIG. 24, oil catcher 120 mounted on 
penetrating hole 18a of second side plate 18 has weir 120b provided in the 
vicinity of tubular projection 120a for leading lubricating oil to 
penetrating hole 18a. As oil catcher 120 receives lubricating oil flowing 
from the rotating elements around the one-way clutch, the received oil has 
momentum in a circumferential direction and rotates within the catcher 120 
as shown by arrow C. Consequently, for leading the lubricating oil 
rotating within oil catcher 120 to penetrating hole a, weir 120b is 
provided behind penetrating hole 18a relative to the rotating direction of 
the lubricating oil so that as shown by arrow D, lubricating oil impinges 
on weir 120b and then flows easily into penetrating hole 18a. FIG. 26 is a 
cross-sectional view along line E--E in FIGS. 25. Lubricating oil impinges 
on weir 120b, as shown by arrow F, to flow into penetrating hole 18a. 
The lubricating device of the one-way clutch of the present invention is, 
of course, not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various 
changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit 
and principles of the invention, as will be readily appreciated by those 
skilled in the art. 
It will also be appreciated that because it is not necessary to provide a 
lubricating hole in the inner or outer ring in the present invention, it 
is possible to reduce the weight of the one-way clutch and to reduce the 
cost. Moreover, the invention allows the mounting position of the one-way 
clutch to be selected with a greater degree of freedom, being unrestricted 
by the location of such a lubricating hole.