FR2545894A1 - UNIVERSAL JOINT AND ASSEMBLY TO CONNECT TWO TREES - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION RELATES TO A UNIVERSAL JOINT FOR CONNECTING TWO SHAFTS FOR TILTING MOVEMENT AROUND THEIR AXLES. ACCORDING TO THE INVENTION, IT INCLUDES A HOUSING 20 THAT CAN BE CONNECTED TO ONE OF THE SHAFTS, A BALL PART 23 RECEIVED IN THE HOUSING FOR A MULTIDIRECTIONAL ROTATION AND CAN BE CONNECTED TO THE OTHER OF THE TREES, A CLOSING BODY 30 ATTACHED TO THE HOUSING TO SUPPORT AT LEAST ONE PORTION OF THE BALL AND A SPINDLE 40 ARRANGED SENSITIVELY AT A RIGHT ANGLE WITH THE AXES OF THE TREES AND THROUGH THE HOUSING AND THE BALL PART, THE PIN BEING INSERTED IN THE HOUSING FOR FREE ROTATION AND IN THE PART BALL SO THAT THE BALL CANNOT TURN IN RELATION TO THE SPINDLE BUT CAN TIP IN ONE DIRECTION. THE INVENTION APPLIES IN PARTICULAR TO THE CONNECTION OF A DRIVE SHAFT TO A MEANS TO DRIVE.

Description

The present invention relates to a universal joint and more

  particularly to a universal joint of the spherical or ball-type adapted to connect two shafts to one another, with their shafts in substantial alignment with one another in order to efficiently transmit rotational movement of the shafts. one of two trees

to the other.

  In order to connect two shafts to each other, universal joints of the cross type and the type in

  stirrup are known and used in practice.

  Universal joints of the spherical or ball-and-socket type are also known and widely used as seals for transmitting motion between two shafts to be connected to each other more effectively than universal joints of the cross type and Examples of universal joints of the spherical or ball-and-socket type according to the prior art are given in US Pat. Nos. 2,289,154, 208,050, 788,035, 1,086,375, 2,149,763, 2,503,373, 2,687,024 and US Pat. and 3,196,463 and Japanese Utility Model Publications Nos. 51300/75 and 20049/75. These ball-type universal joints include a housing, a ball portion received in the hemispherical recess at one end of the housing, and having a slot or groove and a pin attached to the housing and passing through the slot or groove formed in

the ball part.

  However, in each of the universal joints according to the prior art indicated above, the ball portion is directly received in the hemispherical recess and prevents it from coming out of it by matting the end of the housing where is formed the recess or spindle and thus, the relative sliding movement between the ball portion and the hemispherical recess is not smooth and the spindle is directly forcibly applied in a direction which urges the ball portion out of the hemispherical recess resulting in a rupture

premature pin.

  In addition, the universal joints disclosed in US Pat. Nos. 2,289,154, 208,050, 788,035, 1,086,375 and 2,149,763 above are not multidirectional universal joints. In other words, universal joints according to US Pat. the prior art of these US patents

  can only switch in a particular direction.

  Moreover, the universal joints according to the prior art indicated above are relatively complicated by their construction and difficult to assemble. Furthermore, in order to obtain a smooth movement of the moving components of the universal joint, the components must be manufactured to a high precision with as a result

expensive universal joint.

  Therefore, the main object of the present invention is an easy-to-assemble universal joint having a high mechanical efficiency and effectively eliminating the disadvantages inherent to universal joints according to

  the prior art indicated above.

  Another object of the present invention is a universal joint which can not only transmit rotational movement at a constant speed from one shaft to another,

  but also allowing multidirectional switching.

  Another object of the present invention is a universal joint where the spindle is not applied with a bending force except that in the direction of rotation.

  and is thus free from premature rupture.

  Another object of the present invention is a universal joint requiring a relatively small number of components, which can move regularly even if they are not manufactured to a high precision, and which is

thus less expensive.

  Another object of the present invention is a universal joint particularly suitable for use with a mechanism of an engine drive shaft or

  the mechanism of the steering shaft of a vehicle.

  In order to achieve the above objectives, according to the invention, there is provided a universal joint which essentially comprises a housing adapted to be connected to one of the two shafts to be connected together with their axes in axial alignment with each other. another, a ball portion adapted to be connected to the other of the shafts and received in said housing, a closure member attached to said housing for supporting said ball portion and a pin attached to said housing for free rotation and extending Through a slot in said ball portion The closure member contacts the ball portion with suitable resiliency In one embodiment of the present invention, a sensitive portion of the ball portion is supported in a hemispherical cavity formed in the ball portion. housing and a minor portion of the ball portion is supported by the closure member. In another embodiment of the present invention, the ball portion is upported by a hemispherical recess in the housing and a

  hemispherical recess in the closure member.

  In another embodiment of the present invention, the ball portion is supported by inserting it into a hemispherical recess of a bearing. In such a case, the bearing is provided in the hemispherical recess of the housing and is prevented from at the output by means of the closure member and the pin passes through the housing and the ball portion substantially at right angles to the axes of the shafts to be connected with their axes in alignment The pin is received in the housing for free rotation and the part of the pin that is received in the slot of the ball portion is of shape

  square, the square part of the spindle being received

  in the slot of the ball portion Thus, the ball portion can not move relative to the housing while the shafts to be connected together rotate about their axes, but it rotates in unison with the housing, thus rotating

  can be transmitted from one of the two trees to another.

  Likewise, the ball portion can not move relative to the spindle as it rotates in a direction at right angles to the spindle axis in one direction, but rotates in unison with the spindle about the spindle. On the other hand, the ball portion can rotate a predetermined angular distance independently of the pin, which angular distance corresponds to the range of motion of the pin in the slot in the ball portion while the ball portion turns in a right-angle direction

  with the first direction or in a second direction.

  In this way, a rotational movement can be transmitted from one tree to another and the consequences of rotation in the first direction and those in the

  second direction produce a universal movement.

  The invention will be better understood, and other purposes, features, details and advantages thereof

  will become clearer during the description

  following explanatory diagram with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings given solely by way of example illustrating several embodiments of the invention and in which: Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an application of two substantially identical universal joints constructed according to the present invention, to a drive shaft mechanism of a small motor; Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment of the universal joint constructed in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary and plan view showing the arrangement of the ball portion and the pin in the universal joint of Fig. 2; Figure 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of the universal joint constructed in accordance with the present invention; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the closure member employed in the embodiment of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of the universal joint constructed in accordance with the present invention; Figure 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of the universal joint constructed in accordance with the present invention; and Fig. 8 is a graph showing the relationship of the pair, on the y-axis as a function of time on the x-axis, in durability tests of the universal joints according to the present invention. Figure 1 shows two substantially identical universal joints constructed according to the present

  invention, applied to the mechanism of the driving shaft.

  For example, in the application shown in FIG. 1, the two substantially identical universal joints 10 and 10 'according to the invention are connected end-to-end by an intermediate shaft 11 L'. one of the two

  universal joints 10 'is connected to the drive shaft.

  for example, while the other of the universal joints 10 is connected to the shaft of a drive wheel (not shown), for example when the shafts 12 , 13 are connected to each other by the two universal joints 10, 10 ', as mentioned above, a rotational movement at a constant speed can be regularly transmitted from the shaft 12 to the 13 although the extensions of the longitudinal axes X and Y of the two shafts 12, 13 intersect over a wide range

  angular as will be better described below.

  Conventionally, the drive shaft mechanism of such a small engine employs a gasket or caliper or cross-type seals. The advantages of universal seals of the present invention over seals according to the prior art.

  will become more apparent by reading the description

following.

  Referring now to FIG. 2, a first embodiment of the universal joint according to the invention is illustrated in detail. The universal joint 10 has a housing 20 which has a hemispherical cavity 21 formed at one end or the inner end and a recess 22 formed at its other end or external end In the hemispherical cavity 21 is slidably received a ball portion 23 integrally formed at the adjacent end of a shaft 24 and the ball portion is preferably received in the hemispherical cavity 21 with the interposition of a suitable lubricant The shaft 24 of the universal joint 10 is substantially shorter than the shaft 24 of the universal joint 10 'The shafts 24 of the two universal joints 10, 10' are connected by a sleeve 25 as may be see in Figure 1 to form the intermediate shaft 11 above In such a case, the shafts 24 of the seals 10, 10 'are provided with grooves 26 and when the sleeve 25 is fix on the two splined shafts 24 and that a force is applied at their opposite ends by any appropriate means of application of an external force, the inner surface of the sleeve 25 has complementary serrations of the grooves 26 of the shafts 24 and the shafts 24 and the sleeve 25 are connected so that the shafts and the sleeve can not rotate relative to each other, but can only move relative to each other in the axial direction. The recess 22 at the outer end of the universal joint 10 'receives one end of the shaft 12 and the recess 22 at the other end of the universal joint 10 receives an end of the shaft 13 (see FIG. 12, 13 are then attached to the housing 20 of the

  universal joints 10, 10 'by pins (not shown).

  felt) passing through transverse holes 27 in the housings and aligned through holes in the shafts 12, 13 As is more clearly shown in Figure 2, at the open end of the spherical cavity 21 in the universal joint 10 or 10 'is a closure member 30 in the form of a ring of synthetic resin or rubber having a suitable elasticity in the first embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2. The inner surface 31 of the closing member 30 is of hemispherical shape in order to be in regular contact with a portion of the associated ball portion 23 and the closure member 30 is fixed to the housing 20 by matting, inwardly, from the open edge a of the hemispherical cavity 21 into using any suitable means With the closing means 30 placed in position in the associated housing 20 in this way, a portion

  of the ball portion 23 is supported by the

  closure 30 with appropriate elasticity produced by the closure member which is formed of synthetic resin or rubber and thus can not leave the hemispherical cavity 21 The support of the ball portion 23 by the closure member 30 of high elasticity allows the ball part to move quite regularly in

  any direction in the hemispherical cavity 21.

  The rotation of the ball portion 23 about its Z axis in the hemispherical cavity 21 is prevented by a pin 40 which is rotatably received in a transverse through hole 41 which is formed in the associated housing 20 substantially at right angles to the axis. Z of the ball portion 23 and which passes through a slot 42 in the ball portion The pin 40 has a head 43 at one end and an automatic washer 44 which is attached to the other end so that the pin 40 can not come out. The spindle 40 is mounted on the housing 20 by passing the spindle through the hole 41 and the slot 42 in alignment in the housing 20 and the ball portion 23 until the head 43 of the spindle 40 come into abutment against the dwelling and then fix the

  washer 44 on the spindle at the opposite end to the head.

  As is more clearly shown in Figure 3, the slot 42 has the shape of a rectangular notch of constant width and the portion of the pin 40 where it engages the slot 42 is square as shown in 45 and the square portion 45 of the spindle adapts regularly in the slot 42 Thus, there is no relative rotation between the spindle and the ball portion More particularly, when the ball portion 23 is rotated about its axis Z, the housing 20 rotates in unison with the ball portion When the ball portion 23 is rotated about the axis of the pin 40 (rotation will hereinafter be referred to as "rotation in the first direction"), the The ball portion can rotate in unison with the pin 40 about the spindle axis over a predetermined angular distance. When the ball portion 23 is rotated in a direction at right angles to the first direction of rotation (the angled direction right will be called "rotation in the second direction" below), the ball portion can rotate a predetermined angular distance by means of the slot 42 independently of the pin 40 The angular distance traveled by the rotation of the ball portion 23 in the second direction of rotation is defined by a ramp 46 which is formed on the inner wall of the

slot 42.

  As described above, the rotational force is transmitted from the ball portion 23 to the housing and vice versa, but the consequences of the rotations in the first and second directions allow for universal movement. angular constant is transmitted from the shaft 12 to the shaft 13 by

  the two universal joints 10 'and the intermediate shaft

  11 Under universal joints, rotation at constant angular velocity is not adversely affected even if the axes of the shafts 12, 13 are not

  alignment or that they are eccentric to each other.

  As can be seen in Figure 2, a cover 50 overlaps the housing 20 and the shaft 24 of the ball portion 23 The cover 50 is formed of rubber or the like material and is used primarily to seal the opening of the cavity hemispherical 21 in the housing 20 vis-à-vis the invasion of dust and the like

in the opening of the cavity.

  Referring now to FIG. 4, another embodiment of the universal joint constructed according to the present invention can be seen. In this embodiment, the ball portion 23 is supported by a modified closure member 60. clearly shown in FIG. 5, the modified member 60

  comprises a flange 61 and an annular hemispherical portion

  The hemispherical portion 62 is in regular contact with a portion of the ball portion 23 and the hemispherical portion 62 is provided on its inner periphery with a portion 62 extending radially inwardly from the rim.

  of a number of elastic and circumferential

  When the flange 61 of the closure member 61 is matted against the edge of the opening in the housing 20, the resilient pieces 63 of the closure member support the ball portion 23 under appropriate pressure (FIG. 4) The closure member 60 is preferably formed of synthetic resin, for example However, it is also contemplated that the closure member 60 is formed of metal and that the portion of the hemispherical portion 62 where the hemispherical portion contacts the ball portion 23 is coated with a resin

synthetic material.

  Referring now to FIG. 6, the ball portion 23 is illustrated as being attached to the housing by a pin 70 which is different from the pin 40 which can be seen in FIG. 2. The pin 70 is different from the pin 40 by the fact that the portion

  square of the spindle 70 is formed of a separate member.

  In the embodiment of Figure 6, pin 70

  comprises a rod 71 and a sleeve 72 fixed on the rod 71.

  The sleeve 72 is formed of synthetic resin, for example, and the outer periphery of the sleeve 72 is square to fit smoothly in the slot 42 of the ball portion 23. The pin 70 of the embodiment of FIG. 'a simpler way than the

  pin 40 of the embodiment of FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 7, another embodiment of the universal joint according to the invention can be seen. In the embodiment of this figure, the ball portion 23 is supported by a bearing 80 which is formed of synthetic resin or rubber, for example, and has a hemispherical recess 81 for surrounding a sensitive portion of the outer periphery of the ball portion 23 for free rotation The bearing 80 is received in the complementary cavity 82 at the adjacent end of the housing 20 and it is held in position by a closing member 83 surrounding the ball portion 23. As in the preceding embodiments, the closure member 83 is fixed to the housing 20

  curving inward or

  the opening in the housing.

  The ball portion, housing and other components in each of the above embodiments are formed by cold rolling a steel material into a bar and therefore the components of the universal joints can be produced. at low cost and in a simple way To give an example, the ball portion has an external diameter of 14 mm, the housing has an outer diameter of 25 mm and the spindle has a diameter

of 5 mm.

  According to the present invention, the components of each of the above embodiments of the universal joint are assembled as follows, for example: First, the ball portion is placed in the hemispherical cavity of the housing, the pin is passed through the housing and the ball portion, the automatic washer is attached to the driving end of the spindle, the closure member is disposed around the ball portion at a predetermined position in the housing and the peripheral edge of the opening In this way, compared to conventional universal cross and yoke joints, the universal joint of the present invention can be manufactured in a simpler manner. Moreover, the universal joint of the present invention requires a relatively

  low in components and it is less expensive.

  On the other hand, according to the present invention, since the ball portion is supported by a closure member having a suitable resiliency, the movement of the ball portion in the hemispherical cavity in the housing

is regular.

  Figure 8 shows the results of the durability tests performed on the universal joints illustrated and described above and the conditions used in these tests are as follows: 1 Number of revolutions: 615 rpm 2 Angle of offset between the two shafts: 90 3 Test cycle: 100,000 cycles (4 seconds per cycle) 4 Load on the seal: 8.8 N (maximum) for 0.2 seconds 0.98-N (minimum) for 2.8 seconds No load while

1 second.

  The test results show that the universal joints tested meet all the conditions

  durability test chosen for universal joints.

  On reading the above, it is apparent that the present invention makes it possible to eliminate the disadvantages inherent to universal joints according to

  prior art Although the description was made

  with reference to the application of the invention to the mechanism of the drive shaft of a small motor, the invention can also be applied to the mechanism of

  the steering shaft of a vehicle.

Claims (14)

R E V E N D I C A T I 0 N S   1. universal joint for connecting two shafts to one another for a tilting around the axes of said shafts, characterized in that it comprises a housing (20) adapted to be connected to one of said shafts, a part ball (23) received in said multidirectional rotation housing and connectable to the other one of said shafts, a closure member (30) attached to said housing for supporting at least a portion of said ball portion and a pin (40) disposed substantially at right angles to the axes of said shafts extending through said housing and said ball portion, said pin being inserted into said housing for free rotation and into said ball portion such that said ball portion can not rotate compared to   the spit, but can swing in one direction.   2. Universal joint according to claim 1, characterized in that a sensitive portion of the aforesaid ball portion is received in a hemispherical recess (21) in the aforementioned housing and a minor portion of said ball portion is resiliently supported by   the closing member (60) mentioned above.   A universal joint according to claim 2, characterized in that about half of the aforesaid ball portion is received in said hemispherical cavity and the other half of said ball portion is received in a hemispherical cavity in the body. of aforementioned closure.   4. Universal joint according to claim 1, characterized in that the aforesaid ball portion is supported in the aforesaid hemispherical cavity in a bearing (80) fixed in the recess of the aforementioned housing and said bearing is held in position in order to preventing escape from said housing by a closure plate (83) attached to said dwelling.   5. A universal joint according to claim 2, characterized in that said closure member (60) comprises a flange (61) attachable to said housing and a hemispherical surface (62) extending from said flange to regular contact with a portion of said ball portion.   6. Universal joint according to any one of   preceding claims, characterized in that the   said closure is attached to the aforementioned housing by matting the peripheral edge of the opening in said housing. 7. Universal joint according to any one of   Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the part of   the peripheral surface of the aforementioned closure member o said closure member contacts the ball portion   aforementioned is coated with a lubricant.   8. Universal joint according to any one of   Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the   aforesaid closure is formed of an elastic resin synthetic.   9. Universal joint according to any one of   Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the   said closure is formed of metal.   10. Universal joint according to claim 1, characterized in that said ball portion has a slot (42) for receiving a square portion of the aforementioned pin.   11. universal joint according to claim 10, characterized in that the square portion of the pin is integrally formed around the outer periphery of said pin. 12. Universal joint according to claim 10, characterized in that the square portion mentioned above has the   form of a sleeve (72) fixed on the aforementioned pin.   13 universal joint according to claim 12, characterized in that the aforementioned sleeve is formed in synthetic resin.   14. Universal joint assembly for connecting two shafts to each other for a rocking movement about the axes of said shafts, characterized in that it comprises a first universal joint (10) connectable to one of said shafts. a second universal joint (10 ') connectable to the other of said shafts and an intermediate shaft (11) connecting said first and second universal joints, each of said universal joints including a housing, a ball portion received in said housing, a closure member fixed to said housing and a pin passing through said housing and said ball portion at right angles to the axes of said shafts to be connected, said pin being received in said housing for free rotation and in a slot of said ball portion; against a rotation, but to be able to switch a direction.