JP2006017143A - Constant velocity joint - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To favorably secure intended strength of a retainer member and improve assembling work efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: The retainer member 24 has an approximately ring shape, and a plurality of retaining windows 34 storing a plurality of balls 22 are provided on the peripheral face of the retainer member 24. Each of the retaining windows 34 has opening length W in the circumferential direction of the retainer member 24, and a ratio W/D of the opening length W to the diameter D of the balls 22 is set to have a relationship of 1.30 ≤ W/D ≤ 1.42. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, a constant velocity joint that connects one transmission shaft and the other transmission shaft in a driving force transmission unit of an automobile.

  For example, in a driving force transmission unit of an automobile, a constant velocity joint that connects one transmission shaft and the other transmission shaft and transmits rotational force to each axle is used as a coupling joint such as a drive shaft.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, this type of constant velocity joint includes an outer member (outer ring member) 1 in which a plurality of curved guide grooves 1b are formed in an axial direction on a spherical inner surface 1a, and a spherical shape. A plurality of curved guide grooves 2b are formed in the outer surface 2a in the axial direction, and an inner member (inner ring member) 2 is provided which has a spline 2c on the inner surface. A ball rolling groove is integrally formed by the guide groove 1b of the outer member 1 and the guide groove 2b of the inner member 2, and a ball 3 for torque transmission is disposed in the ball rolling groove. . The ball 3 is held by a holding window 4 a formed in a substantially ring-shaped retainer member 4.

  In this case, the joint strength when an angle is given to the outer member 1 and the inner member 2 is determined by the strength of the retainer member 4. Therefore, in order to improve the joint strength when adding an angle, it is necessary to improve the strength of the retainer member 4 itself.

  Here, the strength of the retainer member 4 itself can be increased by increasing the cross-sectional area of the retainer member 4. As the method, a method of increasing the thickness of the retainer member 4 by reducing the inner sphere diameter size of the retainer member 4 while increasing the outer sphere diameter size (hereinafter referred to as a first method), a joint, The method of increasing the cross-sectional area on the side receiving the popping force (hereinafter referred to as the second method) with respect to the popping force of the ball 3 generated when the angle is set to the angle, and the column part 4b existing between the holding windows 4a And a method of increasing the cross-sectional area (hereinafter referred to as a third method).

  However, in the first method and the second method described above, the retainer member 4 becomes heavy or the width dimension increases, and the ball 3 bites into the guide groove 1b, so that the durability of the outer member 1 is increased. There are problems such as lowering. In addition, since the retainer member 4 becomes wider, there is a possibility that the retainer member 4 cannot be incorporated into the outer member 1.

  On the other hand, in the third method, when the pillar portion 4b is elongated and the opening area of the holding window 4a is reduced, the ball 3 is likely to come into contact with the pillar portion 4b, and the assembly failure of the ball 3 occurs. There's a problem. Furthermore, there is a problem that the inner member 2 cannot be easily assembled into the retainer member 4 because the holding window 4a is too small.

  Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 1, a corner radius portion 4c is provided in the holding window 4a, and a ratio R / D between the radius of curvature R of the corner radius portion 4c and the diameter D of the ball 3 is 0.22 ≦ R / A constant velocity universal joint which is D is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-13544 (FIG. 4)

  However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the ratio R / D between the radius of curvature R of the corner radius portion provided in the pocket (holding window) of the cage (retainer member) and the diameter D of the torque transmitting ball is set. Thus, although the purpose is to improve durability and strength, it has been pointed out that the strength of the cage cannot be sufficiently improved only by setting the above conditions.

  The present invention solves this type of problem, and an object thereof is to provide a constant velocity joint capable of ensuring the strength of the retainer member and improving the assembly workability.

  The present invention includes an outer member that is connected to one of two mutually intersecting shafts and that has a plurality of first guide grooves extending in the axial direction on an inner peripheral surface thereof, and having an opening at one end thereof, An inner member connected to the other of the two shafts and extending in the axial direction on the outer peripheral surface and having the same number of second guide grooves as the first guide grooves; the first guide grooves and the second guide grooves; And a retainer member provided with a holding window for housing the balls, and a constant velocity joint.

  In this constant velocity joint, the holding window has an opening length W in the circumferential direction of the retainer member, and a ratio W / D between the opening length W and the diameter D of the ball is 1.30 ≦ W / D ≦. The relationship of 1.42 is set.

  The holding window has a corner portion with a radius of curvature R, and the ratio R / D between the radius of curvature R and the diameter D of the ball is set to a relationship of 0.23 ≦ R / D ≦ 0.45. It is preferable. By setting the relationship of 0.23 ≦ R / D, the maximum main stress load of the column portion between the holding windows can be reduced and the strength of the retainer member can be improved. On the other hand, by setting the relationship of R / D ≦ 0.45, it is possible to effectively prevent the corner portion of the holding window from becoming too large and causing a defective integration of the ball or the inner member. .

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the first guide groove and the second guide groove have a curved portion and a straight portion along the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, it is preferable that the first guide groove and the second guide groove have only a curved portion along the longitudinal direction.

  In the present invention, since the opening length W of the holding window and the diameter D of the ball are set in a relationship of W / D ≦ 1.42, the length of the column portion between the holding windows is ensured and the column The cross-sectional area of the part can be increased, and the strength of the retainer member is improved satisfactorily.

  In addition, since the relationship of 1.30 ≦ W / D is set, it is possible to maintain the opening area of the holding window, and to effectively prevent the ball mounting failure and the inner member mounting failure. Thereby, the assembly workability can be easily improved with a simple configuration.

  FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of a constant velocity joint 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The longitudinal section refers to a section along the axial direction of the first and second axes, and the transverse section refers to a section orthogonal to the axial direction.

  The constant velocity joint 10 is integrally connected to one end portion of the first shaft 12 and has a bottomed cylindrical outer member 16 having an opening portion 14 at one end portion, and a first shaft 12 that can freely cross the first shaft 12. An inner member 20 fixed to one end of the biaxial shaft 18 and housed in the outer member 16, and a plurality of balls 22 interposed between the outer member 16 and the inner member 20 to transmit torque. And a retainer member 24 that accommodates the ball 22 and is disposed between the outer member 16 and the inner member 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inner surface 16a of the outer member 16 extends along the axial direction (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1) and has a plurality of, for example, 60 degrees around the axis. Six first guide grooves 26 are formed at intervals of. As shown in FIG. 1, each 1st guide groove 26 has the linear shape part S1 provided integrally from a curved shape part along a longitudinal direction (arrow A direction).

  On the outer peripheral surface 20 a of the inner member 20, the same number of second guide grooves 28 as the first guide grooves 26 extending along the axial direction are formed. Each second guide groove 28 has a linear shape portion S2 provided integrally from the curved shape portion along the longitudinal direction (arrow A direction), and the linear shape portions S1 and S2 are mutually connected along the arrow A direction. It is provided in the opposite direction.

  A spline hole 30 is formed at the center of the inner member 20. A spline shaft 32 provided at one end of the second shaft 18 is engaged with the spline hole 30, whereby the second shaft 18 and the inner member 20 are axially attached.

  The balls 22 are made of steel balls, for example, and are arranged between the first guide groove 26 of the outer member 16 and the second guide groove 28 of the inner member 20 so as to be rollable one by one along the circumferential direction. Established. The ball 22 transmits the rotational torque of the second shaft 18 to the first shaft 12 via the inner member 20 and the outer member 16 and rolls along the first guide groove 26 and the second guide groove 28. Thus, the relative displacement in the intersecting angular direction between the second shaft 18 (inner member 20) and the first shaft 12 (outer member 16) is enabled. The rotational torque is suitably transmitted from either direction between the first shaft 12 and the second shaft 18.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the retainer member 24 has a substantially ring shape, and a plurality of, for example, six holding windows 34 each holding the ball 22 are arranged along the circumferential direction (direction of arrow B). Are formed at equiangular intervals.

  As shown in FIG. 4, each holding window 34 has an opening length W in the circumferential direction of the retainer member 24, and a ratio W / D between the opening length W and the diameter D of the ball 22 is 1.30. ≦ W / D ≦ 1.42 is set. Each holding window 34 has a corner 34a with a radius of curvature R, and the ratio R / D between the radius of curvature R and the diameter D of the ball 22 is set to a relationship of 0.23 ≦ R / D ≦ 0.45. Is done.

  Next, the operation of the constant velocity joint 10 configured as described above will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, when the second shaft 18 rotates, the rotational torque is transmitted from the inner member 20 to the outer member 16 via the balls 22, and the first shaft 12 is connected to the second shaft 18. It rotates in a predetermined direction while maintaining constant velocity.

  At this time, when the crossing angle (operating angle) between the first shaft 12 and the second shaft 18 changes, under the action of the ball 22 rolling between the first guide groove 26 and the second guide groove 28. Further, the retainer member 24 is tilted by a predetermined angle to allow the angular displacement.

  In this case, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, in each holding window 34 of the retainer member 24, the opening length W in the circumferential direction of the retainer member 24 and the diameter D of the ball 22 are W / The relationship of D ≦ 1.42 is set. For this reason, the retainer member 24 can effectively maintain the circumferential length of the column portion 36 between the holding windows 34, and it is not necessary to set the thickness of the retainer member 24 to be large. The cross-sectional area can be improved.

  Therefore, the retainer member 24 has good strength of the retainer member 24, for example, without setting the inner sphere diameter dimension to be small and the outer sphere diameter dimension being set to be large or the axial width dimension to be long. The effect that it can be improved is obtained.

  Moreover, in the first embodiment, the opening length W of the holding window 34 and the diameter D of the ball 22 are set to satisfy a relationship of 1.30 ≦ W / D. Thereby, it becomes possible to increase the opening area of each holding window 34, and it is possible to effectively prevent the ball 22 from being poorly assembled or the inner member 20 from being poorly assembled. For this reason, the constant velocity joint 10 has an advantage that the assembly workability can be easily improved with a simple configuration.

  Further, the radius of curvature R of the corner portion 34a of the holding window 34 and the diameter D of the ball 22 are set to satisfy a relationship of 0.23 ≦ R / D, so that the maximum main portion 36 of the column portion 36 between the holding windows 34 is obtained. The stress load can be reduced and the strength of the retainer member 24 can be improved.

  On the other hand, by setting the relationship of R / D ≦ 0.45, it is possible to effectively prevent the corner portion 34a of the holding window 34 from becoming too large and causing the incorporation failure of the ball 22 and the inner member 20. Is possible.

  Furthermore, in the constant velocity joint 10, the first guide groove 26 has the linear shape portion S1 along the longitudinal direction, and the second guide groove 28 has the linear shape portion S2 along the longitudinal direction. Therefore, the maximum operating angle of the constant velocity joint 10 can be effectively set large.

  FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a constant velocity joint 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those of the constant velocity joint 10 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the constant velocity joint 50, a plurality of first guide grooves 26a extending along the axial direction are formed on the inner diameter surface 16a of the outer member 16, and the outer peripheral surface 20a of the inner member 20 is axially And the same number of second guide grooves 28a as the first guide grooves 26a are formed.

  The first guide groove 26a and the second guide groove 28a have only a curved portion along the longitudinal direction, and this configuration is different from the constant velocity joint 10 according to the first embodiment. Therefore, in the constant velocity joint 50, the same effect as the constant velocity joint 10 mentioned above is acquired.

It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view along the axial direction of the constant velocity joint which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a partial cross section front view seen from the axial direction of the constant velocity joint shown in FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the retainer member and ball | bowl which comprise the constant velocity joint shown in FIG. It is the side view seen from the circumferential direction explaining each dimension of the retainer member and the ball. It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view along the axial direction of the constant velocity joint which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective explanatory drawing of the constant velocity joint of patent document 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 50 ... Constant velocity joint 12 ... 1st axis | shaft 16 ... Outer member 16a ... Inner diameter surface 18 ... 2nd axis | shaft 20 ... Inner member 20a ... Outer peripheral surface 22 ... Ball 24 ... Retainer member 26, 26a ... 1st guide groove 28, 28a ... second guide groove 34 ... holding window

Claims (4)

An outer member that is connected to one of two mutually intersecting shafts and that is formed with a plurality of first guide grooves extending in the axial direction on the inner peripheral surface and having one end opened;
An inner member connected to the other of the two shafts, extending in the axial direction on the outer peripheral surface, and having the same number of second guide grooves as the first guide grooves;
A plurality of balls that are arranged to roll between the first guide groove and the second guide groove and transmit torque;
A retainer member provided with a holding window for storing the ball;
A constant velocity joint comprising:
The holding window has an opening length W in the circumferential direction of the retainer member, and a ratio W / D between the opening length W and the diameter D of the ball is 1.30 ≦ W / D ≦ 1.42. A constant velocity joint characterized by being set to   2. The constant velocity joint according to claim 1, wherein the holding window has a corner portion having a radius of curvature R, and a ratio R / D of the radius of curvature R to the diameter D of the ball is 0.23 ≦ R / D. A constant velocity joint set to a relationship of ≦ 0.45.   3. The constant velocity joint according to claim 1, wherein the first guide groove and the second guide groove have a curved shape portion and a linear shape portion along a longitudinal direction.   3. The constant velocity joint according to claim 1, wherein the first guide groove and the second guide groove have only a curved portion along a longitudinal direction.

Images