A PAIR OF AUXILIARY APPARATUS FOR A VEHICULE

Abstract: Auxiliary machines for a vehicle capable of being handled independently of each other while satisfying requirements of installation in a limited space and reduction of manufacturing costs. To this end, an autotensioner idler (ID) as one auxiliary machine and a viscous heater (VH) as the other auxiliary machine are allowed to transfer power therebetween and are detachable from each other.

Description: Technical Field This invention relates to a vehicular auxiliary apparatus in particular to a pair of auxiliary apparatus which are mounted on a vehicle. Background Art Power equipment such as an engine is mounted on a vehicle. Also mounted are auxiliary apparatus such as a water pump, an idler, a power steering hydraulic pump, an alternator, and an air conditioner compressor, which serve functions auxiliary to that of the power equipment. These auxiliary apparatus are driven by the power equipment in a way in which pulleys or electromagnetic clutches of the auxiliary apparatus are connected to the power equipment via a crankshaft pulley and a belt. By the way, these auxiliary apparatus are installed in a limited boarding space in the periphery of the power equipment in a limited-space power equipment room by being fixed to the power equipment. In view of the need to be installed in a limited boarding space and the need to be produced at lower production costs by omitting each own pulley and decreasing the number of component parts, a pair of auxiliary apparatus has been conventionally known in which a water pump and a power steering hydraulic pump are combined in a tandem form. In this type of vehicular auxiliary apparatus comprising a pair of auxiliary apparatus, one housing and one driving shaft are commonly used by these two apparatus and a single pulley is secured on this driving shaft. Therefore, by making that pulley connected to power equipment through a crankshaft pulley and a belt, the two apparatus are respectively driven by the power equipment. In the aforementioned conventional vehicular auxiliary apparatus, however, it is true that the common use of the driving shaft allows these two apparatus to transmit power to each other, but one of the auxiliary apparatus and the other of the auxiliary apparatus cannot be handled independently of each other because the two apparatus cannot be detached from or attached to each other due to the common use of the housing and the driving shaft. That is to say, this vehicular auxiliary apparatus cannot deal with a situation in which one of the auxiliary apparatus is always needed and the other of the auxiliary apparatus is optionally needed. In addition, in this vehicular auxiliary apparatus, if one of the auxiliary apparatus should become out of order'and needs to be mended or replaced with a new one, the other of the auxiliary apparatus must also be dismantled simultaneously, and therefore the mending or replacing operation is troublesome. Document US-A-4 486 668 discloses a pair of a vacuum pump and an alternator which are combined in tandem form. The driving shaft of the vacuum pump is detachably coupled to the driving shaft of the alternator and, accordingly, drives the alternator. The casing of the vacuum pump is attached to and supported by the housing of the alternator. The housing of the alternator serves for mounting the pair of the vacuum pump and the alternator to the housing of an engine. In this known pair of auxiliary apparatus, the vacuum pump cannot be mounted to the housing of the engine without the alternator being present, and the alternator cannot be driven without the vacuum pump being present. Document US-A-4 514 155 discloses a pair of auxiliary apparatus, namely a pair formed by a rotary vane pump and an AC generator which are combined in tandem form. The AC generator and the rotary vane pump have a common driving shaft. When this known pair of auxiliary apparatus is disassembled, the rotary vane pump is unavoidably disassembled, but not detached. In other words, the rotary vane pump and the AC generator are not attachable to and detachable from each other. Document US-A-4 598 677 discloses a pair of auxiliary apparatus which are combined in tandem form. According to the teaching of this document, an alternator and a compressor are fastened together so as to constitute a unitary assembly by means of a generally annular intermediate part inserted axially between the alternator and the compressor and attached to the casing of the alternator and the compressor, respectively. Document EP-A-0 773 122 represents state of the art according to Art. 54(3) EPC. This document discloses pairs of auxiliary apparatus which are combined in tandem form and have a common driving shaft. A pair of auxiliary apparatus comprising the features summarized in the preamble of claim 1 is known from document US-A-4 993 377. In this known vehicular auxiliary apparatus, one of the auxiliary apparatus is formed by a water pump, and the other of the auxiliary apparatus is the viscous heater. The water pump and the viscous heater are separately mounted on the power equipment (engine). The viscous heater and the water pump each have a driving pulley of their own. Due to the fact that the one auxiliary apparatus and the viscous heater are separately mounted on the power equipment, these two auxiliary apparatus can be handled independently of each other, and it is possible to deal with a situation in which the viscous heater is only optionally needed and provided. However, the two separately mounted auxiliary apparatus occupy a considerable portion of the limited installing space in the periphery of the power equipment. It is an object of the present invention to further develop the pair of auxiliary apparatus according to the preamble of claim 1 such that the need for the auxiliary apparatus to be installed in a limited installing space is better satisfied while still allowing the viscous heater to be handled independently of the one of the auxiliary apparatus. MEANS FOR ATTAINING THE OBJECT According to the invention, the above object is achieved by the pair of auxiliary apparatus as defined in claim 1. Advantageous developments of the pair of auxiliary apparatus according to the invention are defined in the dependent claims. In the pair of auxiliary apparatus according to claim 1, since one of the auxiliary apparatus and the other of the auxiliary apparatus can transmit power to each other, each own pulley can be omitted and the number of component parts can be decreased, and therefore this vehicular auxiliary apparatus can be produced at low costs. Moreover, in the pair of auxiliary apparatus according to claim 1, because one of the auxiliary apparatus and the other of the auxiliary apparatus are attachable to and detachable from each other, these can be handled independently of each other. That is to say, by detaching the other of the auxiliary apparatus from the one of the auxiliary apparatus, the pair of auxiliary apparatus according to claim 1 can deal with a situation in which the one of the auxiliary apparatus is always needed and the other of the auxiliary apparatus is optionally needed. Besides, in the pair of auxiliary apparatus according to claim 1, if one of the auxiliary apparatus should become out of order and has to be mended or replaced with a new one, it is only required to detach the other of the auxiliary apparatus from the one of the auxiliary apparatus, and there is no need to dismantle the other of the auxiliary apparatus simultaneously and therefore this mending or replacing operation is easy. In the pair of auxiliary apparatus according to claim 2, because the driving shaft of the one of the auxiliary apparatus is shielded by the housing of the one of th auxiliary apparatus, even when the one of the auxiliary apparatus is driven with the other of the auxiliary apparatus detached from the one of the auxiliary apparatus, there is no fear that this driving shaft catches foreign matters. Further, in combining the other of the auxiliary apparatus with the one of the auxiliary apparatus, both the driving shafts are spline-engaged with each other only by bringing both the auxiliary apparatus axially close to each other. Therefore, this vehicular auxiliary apparatus is excellent in terms of assemblage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a vehicular auxiliary apparatus according to a Preferred Embodiment. Figure 2 is a front view of the neighborhood of an engine according to the Preferred Embodiments. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the Preferred Embodiment embodying the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figure 1, this vehicular auxiliary apparatus employs an autotensioner idler ID as one of a pair of auxiliary apparatus, and a viscous heater VH as the other of the auxiliary apparatus. Specifically, as for the autotensioner idler ID, a bracket 1 is fixed on a housing of an engine 16 shown in Figure 2, and an arm 4, which together with the bracket 1 serves as a housing of the autotensioner idler ID, is provided on the bracket 1 with a torsion coil spring 3 held by a washer 2 interposed between the arm 4 and the bracket 1. This arm 4 is provided with a bearing device 5 between a bearing portion of the arm 4 and a shaft portion of the bracket 1, and is prevented from being slipped off by providing a fastening device 7 at a fore end of the shaft portion of the bracket 1 with a plain bearing 6 interposed therebetween, whereby the arm 4 is made swingable by the torque of the torsion coil spring 3. Part of this arm 4 is extended in a circumferential direction, and a boss portion 4a is formed at its fore end. An idler shaft 9 is rotatably provided in this boss portion 4a with a bearing device 8 interposed therebetween. An idler pulley 14 is secured by a bolt 10 at a fore end of the idler shaft 9 which protrudes from a fore end of the boss portion 4a. As shown in Figure 2, the idler pulley 14 is rotated together with an air conditioner electromagnetic clutch 18, a power steering pulley 19, a water pump pulley 20, and an alternator pulley 21 by a crankshaft pulley 17 and a belt 22. As shown in Figure 1, a flange 4b is formed on a rear end side of the boss portion 4a of the arm 4, and a rear end of the idler shaft 9 on which outer splines 9a are formed is shielded in the flange 4b. On the other hand, as for the viscous heater VH, a front housing 48, a rear plate 49, and a rear housing body 51, which constitute a heater housing, are respectively overlapped and fastened by a plurality of through bolts not shown, with a gasket 50 interposed between the rear plate 49 and the rear housing body 51. The rear plate 49 integrally has a case 49a protruding backward, in its center region. A first concave portion 49b is formed in the center region of a front end surface of this rear plate 49, and a second concave portion 49c extending into the case 49a is formed in the first concave portion 49b. In the meanwhile, a concave portion formed on a rear end surface of the front housing 48 constitutes a heat-generating chamber 55 together with the flat front end surface of the rear plate 49. A rear end surface of the rear plate 49 and an inner surface of the rear housing body 51 constitute an auxiliary water jacket WJ2 which adjoins the back of the heat-generating chamber 55. At an outer periphery of the rear housing body 51, there are a water inlet port 56 and a water outlet port not shown which adjoin each other, and the water inlet port 56 and the water outlet port communicate with the auxiliary water jacket WJ2. This auxiliary water jacket WJ2 communicates with a main water jacket not shown and formed on a cylinder block or the like of the engine 16 shown in Figure 2, and also communicates with a radiator and a heater core not shown. A spool 53 formed of an iron-based material is slidably held in the second concave portion 49c of the case 49a, and urged forward by a pressure spring 52, and the fore end position of the spool 53 is restricted. A solenoid 54 is provided at a rear end of the second concave portion 49c. Thus, a control chamber 55a, which communicates with the center region of the heat-generating chamber 55, is formed before the spool 53. The solenoid 54 is energized or deenergized upon a driver's turning on or off of its control switch or the like. In addition, a heater driving shaft 59 is rotatably held in the front housing 48 with a shaft seal device 57 and a bearing device 58 interposed therebetween. At a rear end of the heater driving shaft 59, a plate-shaped rotor 60 is press-fitted so that it can rotate in the heat-generating chamber 55. The center region of the rotor 60 is provided with a plurality of through holes 60a which penetrate the rotor 60 in an axial direction. Silicone oil is provided in a space between a wall surface of the heat-generating chamber 55 and an outer surface of the rotor 60, and works as a viscous fluid. A flange 48a is formed on a fore end side of the front housing 48, and a fore end of the heater driving shaft 59 on which inner splines 59a are formed is protruded from the flange 48a. In this vehicular auxiliary apparatus, when the autotensioner idler ID and the viscous heater VH are brought axially close to each other, and the flange 4b and the flange 48a are contacted with each other and fastened by bolts 11 and nuts 12, the outer splines 9a of the idler shaft 9 and the inner splines 59a of the heater driving shaft 59 are spline-engaged with each other, whereby the viscous heater Vh can be combined with the autotensioner idler ID. Accordingly, this auxiliary apparatus is excellent in terms of assemblage. Instead of spline-engagement, it is also possible to employ other connecting means which allow the auxiliary apparatus to be attachable to and detachable from each other and allow the auxiliary apparatus to transmit power to each other, for example, by using keys or the like. In this vehicular auxiliary apparatus in which the viscous heater VH is thus combined with the autotensioner idler ID, with respect to the autotensioner idler ID, the idler shaft 9 is driven by the engine 16 by way of the idler pulley 14, while the arm 4 is swung by the torque of the torsion coil spring 3. Therefore, the autotensioner idler ID keeps the tension of the belt 22 constant and fixes the position of the belt 22 which engages with the air conditioner electromagnetic clutch 18 and so on, thereby serving to stabilize torque. On the other hand, with respect to the viscous heater VH, since the rotor 60 is rotated in the heat-generating chamber 55, the silicone oil generates heat by shearing in the space between the wall surface of the heat-generating chamber 55 and the outer surface of the rotor 60. The generated heat of the silicone oil is transferred to the circulating water flowing in the auxiliary water jacket WJ2 of the viscous heater VH. Thus, the heating of the compartment of vehicle can be achieved not only by heat generation of the engine 16 but also by heat generation of the viscous heater VH. Consequently, in this vehicular auxiliary apparatus, the comportment of the vehicle can be heated sufficiently in starting the engine 16 in cold places or the like. When the solenoid 54 is energized upon external input, the spool 53 enlarges the inner volume of the control chamber 55a against the pressure of the pressure spring 52 so that the silicone oil in the heat-generating chamber 55 is recovered in the control chamber 55a due to the Weissenberg effect. In the meanwhile, the silicone oil existing on the front end surface side of the rotor 60 tends to go through the through holes 60a to reach the control chamber 55a. Thus, in this vehicular auxiliary apparatus, it is possible to decrease the heat generating power of the viscous heater VH in order to prevent excessive heating and in order not to damage the cooling of the circulating water by a radiator and furthermore the cooling of the engine 16. Moreover, in this vehicular auxiliary apparatus, the viscous heater VH is installed in a boarding space behind the autotensioner idler ID. In addition, because the rotor 60 of the viscous heater VH, which rotates in the heat-generating chamber 55, has the shape of a plate, the viscous heater VH has a small thickness. Therefore, in this vehicular auxiliary apparatus, the engine 16 and its accessories are not large in size, and are the most excellent in terms of boardability in the compartment of vehicle. On the contrary, if the bolts 11 and the nuts 12 are removed and the flange 4b of the autotensioner idler ID and the flange 48a of the viscous heater VH are separated from each other, the spline-engagement of the outer splines 9a of the idler shaft 9 and the inner splines 59a of the heater driving shaft 59 are released, and the viscous heater VH can be detached from the autotensioner idler ID. Therefore, this vehicular auxiliary apparatus is excellent in terms of dismantlement. In this case, it is possible to deal with a situation in which only the autotensioner idler ID is always needed and the viscous heater VH is optionally needed. This means that vehicles for cold places where the viscous heater VH is offered as an option and vehicles for warm places where the viscous heater VH is not ordinarily needed can be produced in accordance with a uniform design. Therefore, it becomes possible to realize an improvement in the function of a vehicle and a decrease in production costs. In addition, in this vehicular auxiliary apparatus, if the autotensioner idler ID should become out of order and needs to be mended or replaced, it is only required to detach the viscous heater VH from the autotensioner idler ID and there is no need to dismantle the viscous heater VH at the same time. SO, the mending or replacing operation is easy. Thus, in this vehicular auxiliary apparatus, because the autotensioner idler Id and the viscous heater VH are attachable to and detachable from each other, they can be handled independently of each other. In addition, in this vehicular auxiliary apparatus, even when the idler shaft 9 is driven with the viscous heater VH detached from the autotensioner idler ID, there is no fear that the idler shaft 9 catches foreign matters because the idler shaft 9 is shielded in the flange 4b. Moreover, in this vehicular auxiliary apparatus, because the autotensioner idler ID and the viscous heater VH are constructed to transmit power to each other and made attachable to and detachable from each other, the autotensioner idler ID and the viscous heater VH commonly use the idler pulley 14 and don't use each own pulley. Therefore, this vehicular auxiliary apparatus can reduce the number of its component parts and can be produced at low costs. As an alternative, the vehicular auxiliary apparatus can employ a power steering hydraulic pump as one of the pair of auxiliary apparatus and a viscous heater VH as the other of the auxiliary apparatus. As another alternative, the vehicular auxiliary apparatus can employ an alternator as one of a pair of auxiliary apparatus and a viscous heater VH as the other of the auxiliary apparatus. Additionally, it is also possible to employ an air conditioner compressor, a super charger or the like as one of the pair of auxiliary apparatus, and a viscous heater VH as the other of the auxiliary apparatus.

Claims: A pair of auxiliary apparatus which are mounted on a vehicle and serve functions auxiliary to that of a power equipment (16) of said vehicle, wherein one of said auxiliary apparatus (ID) comprises a first driving shaft (9) driven by said power equipment (16) and a first housing (1, 4) fixed to a housing of said power equipment and rotatably holding the first driving shaft (9), and wherein the other of said auxiliary apparatus is a viscous heater (VH), said viscous heater (VH) including a heater housing (48 to 51) which has a connecting flange (48a) formed thereon and in which a heat-generating chamber (55) and an auxiliary water jacket (WJ2) adjacent to said heat-generating chamber (55) are formed, a heater driving shaft (59) held rotatably by said heater housing (48 to 51) with a bearing device (58) disposed therebetween, and a rotor (60) provided in said heat-generating chamber (55) and being rotatable by said heater driving shaft (59), and causing a viscous fluid disposed in a space between a wall surface of said heat-generating chamber (55) and an outer surface of said rotor (60) to generate heat by rotating said rotor, said heat being heat-exchanged with circulating water disposed in said auxiliary water jacket (WJ2) said first driving shaft (9) protrudes from one end side of said first housing (1, 4) and has a driven pulley (14) secured thereon; a connecting flange (4b) is formed on the other end side of said first housing (1, 4), characterized in that said connecting flange (48) of said heater housing (48 to 51) and said connecting flange (4b) of said first housing (1, 4) are releasably fastened to each other so that the one of said auxiliary apparatus (ID) and said viscous heater (VH) are combined in tandem form, in that said first driving shaft (9) and said heater driving shaft (59) are releasably engaged with each other so that said heater driving shaft (59) is driven by said first driving shaft (9), and in that said one of said auxiliary apparatus (ID) and said viscous heater (VH) are detachable from each other and can therefore be handled independently of each other. A pair of auxiliary apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first driving shaft (9) is shielded by said first housing (1, 4), wherein the heater driving shaft (59) is protruded from the heater housing (48 to 51), and wherein both of said driving shafts are spline-engaged with each other. A pair of auxiliary apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said one of said auxiliary apparatus is an idler (10). A pair of auxiliary apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said one of said auxiliary apparatus is a hydraulic pump for power steering. A pair of auxiliary apparatus for according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said one of said auxiliary apparatus is an alternator.

Inventors: BAN TAKASHI, MORI HIDEFUMI, TAKENAKA KENJI, BAN, TAKASHI, MORI, HIDEFUMI, TAKENAKA, KENJI, BAN, Takashi, K.K. Toyoda Jidoshokki, MORI, Hidefumi, K.K. Toyoda Jidoshokki, TAKENAKA, Kenji, K.K. Toyoda Jidoshokki
Applicants: TOYOTA JIDOSHOKKI KK, KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOYOTA JIDOSHOKKI
Application year: 1997
Main classification: B60K25
IPC codes: B60H1, F24J3, B60K25