JP2004340181A - Structure for connecting rotary shaft - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structure for connecting a rotary shaft which structure can surely prevent the occurrence of play between a sleeve and a shaft, and can furthermore effectively prevent the occurrence of vibration and noise without providing additional components, such as a clip. <P>SOLUTION: The structure of the rotary shaft 1 comprises a cylindrical sleeve 12 having internal teeth 15 formed on the inside peripheral surface 14 of its end in the axial direction, and a rod shape shaft 13 having external teeth 19 formed on the outside peripheral surface 16 of its end in the axial direction so as to engage with the internal teeth 15. The shaft 13 and the sleeve 12 are connected to each other by inserting the shaft 13 into the sleeve 12. Clearances 23 are formed between the inside peripheral surface 14 of the end of the sleeve 12 and the outside peripheral surface 16 of the end of the shaft 13, so as to avoid the engagement of the internal teeth 15 with the external teeth 19 and to allow the deformation of the sleeve 12 or the shaft 13 caused by press fitting. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a rotating shaft coupling structure in which a shaft and a sleeve are coupled to transmit a rotational force.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a steering device of an automobile includes a steering joint between a column shaft connected to a steering wheel and a steering shaft connected to a steering gear. In this steering joint, a column shaft is connected to one end of an intermediate shaft, and a steering shaft is connected to the other end. Since the intermediate shaft needs to transmit the torque of the column shaft to the steering shaft, usually, the sleeve and the shaft are connected by serrations or splines. In this steering joint, if rattling occurs between the sleeve and the shaft, the steering feeling may be impaired, or vibration or abnormal noise may be generated.
Therefore, as a method of preventing the rattling between the sleeve and the shaft, a method of mounting a clip has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-7-293573 (FIG. 2)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional connecting structure of the rotating shaft requires a separate component such as a clip for preventing rattling. Accordingly, the number of parts increases, and labor and time for assembling are required, which has led to an increase in cost.
In view of the above, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can reliably prevent rattling between a sleeve and a shaft without providing a separate component such as a clip. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coupling structure of a rotating shaft that can more effectively prevent generation of noise and abnormal noise.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention relates to a cylindrical sleeve in which inner peripheral teeth are formed in the axial direction of the inner peripheral surface of the end portion, and a rod-shaped shaft in which the outer peripheral teeth engaging with the inner peripheral teeth are formed in the axial direction of the outer peripheral surface of the end portion. Wherein the shaft is press-fitted into the sleeve and the rotary shafts are connected to each other by a press-fitting.The inner circumferential teeth and the shaft are disposed between an inner peripheral surface of an end of the sleeve and an outer peripheral surface of the end of the shaft. The outer teeth are not engaged with each other, and a gap is formed to allow deformation of the sleeve or shaft by press fitting.
According to the present invention, since the inner peripheral teeth and the outer peripheral teeth do not engage with each other and a gap is formed between the shaft and the sleeve, the deformation of the shaft or the sleeve caused by press fitting can be allowed. Therefore, the shaft and the sleeve can be easily and reliably connected.
[0006]
In addition, a pair of missing teeth portions on which the outer teeth are not formed are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the end portion of the shaft in a radial direction of the shaft, and the inner teeth and the outer teeth are formed by the pair of missing teeth portions. It is preferable that a non-engaging portion that does not engage with each other is configured.
In this case, since the pair of missing tooth portions are formed so as to face each other in the radial direction of the shaft, it is possible to sufficiently secure a gap allowing deformation of the sleeve or the shaft. In addition, since the deformation of the sleeve or the shaft can be evenly distributed, the coupling can be easily performed.
[0007]
Further, it is preferable that the shaft is made of a hollow material, and the shaft is deformed by being press-fitted into the sleeve to be connected to the sleeve.
In this case, since the shaft and the sleeve are deformed and connected to each other by press-fitting, it is possible to more reliably prevent rattling between the shaft and the sleeve.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing, for example, a steering joint 2 in a steering device of an automobile, to which a connecting structure of a rotating shaft 1 according to the present invention is applied.
The steering joint 2 connects a steering shaft 3 and a column shaft 4 in a steering device of an automobile and transmits a rotational force. The steering joint 2 can be freely used as an intermediate shaft at each end of the extendable rotary shaft 1. A joint 5 is provided. A first yoke Y1 and a second yoke Y2 are provided at one end of the rotary shaft 1 to support the cross shaft 6 of the one universal joint 5 in pairs with each other. Are provided with a third yoke Y3 and a fourth yoke Y4 which form a pair and support the cross shaft 6 of the other universal joint 5.
[0009]
The second yoke Y2 and the third yoke Y3 are welded to one end and the other end of the rotating shaft 1, respectively. Further, the first yoke Y1 is welded to a cylindrical joint 11, and one end of the steering shaft 3 is introduced into the joint 11 and clamped. Further, the fourth yoke Y4 is welded to one end of the column shaft 4.
[0010]
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the rotating shaft 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the coupling structure.
The rotating shaft 1 includes a cylindrical sleeve 12 having one end to which a second yoke Y2 is welded, and a rod-shaped shaft 13 having one end to which a third yoke Y3 is welded and press-fitted into the inner periphery of the sleeve 12. ing. The sleeve 12 is made of, for example, a pipe made of a cylindrical steel material. Further, for example, a female spline 15 is formed on the entire circumference of the end inner circumferential surface 14 of the sleeve 12 as inner circumferential teeth, and is formed to have a predetermined length in the axial direction of the sleeve 12.
[0011]
The shaft 13 is made of, for example, a solid round steel material, and the end outer peripheral surface 16 is formed in an oval cross section. The end outer peripheral surface 16 has a pair of arcuate curved surfaces 17 and a pair of rectangular flat portions 18, and is formed with a predetermined length in the axial direction of the shaft 13. For example, a pair of male splines 19 are formed on the pair of curved surface portions 17 as outer peripheral teeth that engage with the female splines 15, and are formed to face the shaft 13 in the radial direction. The pair of flat portions 18 are toothless portions where the male splines 19 are not formed, and are formed in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the pair of male splines 19 face each other.
[0012]
The rotating shaft 1 of the present embodiment has a flat portion 18 formed on the shaft 13 so that the female spline 15 of the sleeve 12 and the male spline 19 of the shaft 13 are engaged with each other. 15 and a non-engaging portion 22 that is not engaged. In the non-engagement portion 22, a gap 23 is formed between the flat portion 18 of the shaft 13 and the inner peripheral surface 14 (female spline 15) of the end of the sleeve 12. In the engagement portion 21, the outer diameter of the shaft 13 is formed slightly larger than the inner diameter of the sleeve 12, and when the sleeve 12 and the shaft 13 are connected, the pressure between the sleeve 12 and the shaft 13 is increased. Is caused to occur.
[0013]
In the assembly of the rotating shaft 1 configured as described above, when the shaft 13 is pressed into the sleeve 12, a gap 23 is formed between the flat portion 18 of the shaft 13 and the female spline 15 of the sleeve 12. The sleeve 12 is pushed and spread in the vertical direction Y (the direction in which the pair of male splines 19 opposes) in FIG. 3 by the male splines 19 of the shaft 13 to be press-fitted, and elastically or plastically deforms into an elliptical cross section. At this time, in the left-right direction X in FIG. 3 (the direction in which the pair of flat portions 18 face each other), the sleeve 12 is deformed so as to have a smaller diameter, but is easily deformed because the gap 23 is formed. In other words, since the deformation of the sleeve 12 can be allowed by the formation of the gap 23, the shaft 13 and the sleeve 12 can be easily and reliably connected.
[0014]
As described above, the rotating shaft 1 is press-fitted into the sleeve 12 while the male spline 19 of the shaft 13 and the female spline 15 of the sleeve 12 are engaged with each other, and the sleeve 12 is plastically deformed and joined. Therefore, the rotating shaft 1 can expand and contract in the axial direction, and can prevent rattling in the rotating direction. Also, compared to a conventional rotary shaft that prevents rattling with a clip or the like, a separate component such as a clip is not required, so that the number of components can be reduced, and labor and time for assembling can be reduced. , The cost can be reduced.
[0015]
The ratio of the non-engaging portion 22 formed on the shaft 13 is preferably 50% or more with respect to the entire circumference of the shaft 13. By forming in this manner, it is possible to sufficiently secure the gap 23 that allows the deformation of the sleeve 12.
Further, the flat portions 18 are preferably formed as a pair and provided to face each other in the radial direction of the shaft. By forming in this manner, a gap allowing deformation of the sleeve 12 can be sufficiently ensured. Further, since the deformation amount of the sleeve 12 can be evenly distributed, the sleeve 12 can be easily deformed.
[0016]
FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the coupling structure of the rotating shaft 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
The difference from the rotary shaft 1 of the first embodiment is that the shaft 13 is formed of a hollow material, for example, a hollow steel material having a rectangular space 13a formed in the center. In the assembly of the rotating shaft 1, when the hollow shaft 13 is pressed into the sleeve 12, a gap 23 is formed between the flat portion 18 of the shaft 13 and the female spline 15 of the sleeve 12. The diameter of the sleeve 12 is expanded in the vertical direction Y (the direction in which the pair of male splines 19 opposes) in FIG. 4 by the male splines 19 of the hollow shaft 13 to be press-fitted. Are elastically or plastically deformed so that the diameter is crushed in the vertical direction Y. At this time, in the left-right direction X (the direction in which the pair of flat portions 18 oppose) in FIG. 4 where the flat portions 18 oppose each other, the sleeve 12 is deformed so as to have a smaller diameter, and the hollow shaft 13 is expanded such that the diameter increases. Deform.
[0017]
By forming the gaps 23 in this manner, they can be easily deformed. That is, the deformation of both the sleeve and the shaft can be permitted by the gap 23.
As described above, since the shaft 13 and the sleeve 12 of the rotary shaft 1 are plastically deformed and connected to each other by the fact that the shaft 13 is formed of a hollow material, the space between the shaft 13 and the sleeve 12 is increased. It is possible to more reliably prevent rattling.
[0018]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
For example, the gap 23 formed in the non-engagement portion 22 only needs to allow deformation due to press-fitting, and the means for forming the gap 23 and the shape and number of the formed gaps 23 are not limited. In addition, the present invention can be applied to the rotating shaft 1 in which the shaft 13 and the sleeve 12 are serrated.
[0019]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, rattling between the shaft and the sleeve can be reliably prevented without providing a separate component such as a clip for preventing rattling, and vibration and abnormal noise are generated. Can be effectively prevented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a steering joint to which a connecting structure of a rotating shaft according to the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a coupling structure of a rotary shaft according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a coupling structure of a rotary shaft according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a coupling structure of a rotating shaft according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 1 rotating shaft 12 sleeve 13 shaft 14 inner peripheral surface at end 15 female spline (inner peripheral teeth)
16 End outer peripheral surface 18 Flat part (missing tooth part)
19 Male spline (outer teeth)
22 Non-engagement part 23 Clearance

Claims (3)

A cylindrical sleeve in which inner peripheral teeth are formed in the axial direction of the end inner peripheral surface, and a rod-shaped shaft in which outer peripheral teeth that engage with the inner peripheral teeth in the axial direction of the end outer peripheral surface are provided.
In a coupling structure of a rotating shaft, which is coupled to each other by press-fitting the shaft into the sleeve,
A gap is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the end of the sleeve and the outer peripheral surface of the end of the shaft so that the inner peripheral teeth and the outer peripheral teeth do not engage with each other and allow deformation of the sleeve or the shaft due to press fitting. A rotating shaft coupling structure. On the outer peripheral surface of the end portion of the shaft, a pair of missing tooth portions on which the outer peripheral teeth are not formed are provided facing the radial direction of the shaft,
The coupling structure of a rotary shaft according to claim 1, wherein the pair of missing tooth portions forms a non-engaging portion where the inner peripheral teeth and the outer peripheral teeth do not engage with each other. The rotary shaft coupling structure according to claim 1, wherein the shaft is formed of a hollow material, and the shaft is deformed and coupled to the sleeve by being press-fitted into the sleeve.

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