JP2012107729A - Connecting structure of drive shaft to differential device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connecting structure of a drive shaft to a differential device which can largely reduce an inventory of a pinion shaft.SOLUTION: An annular groove 24 of a deeper groove than a spline out-fitting part 23 is arranged in a midway part in the length direction of the spline out-fitting part 23 of the drive shaft 2, and a stopper ring 12 is arranged in the annular groove 24. An annular cutout part 34 fittable with the stopper ring 12 is arranged in a midway part in the length direction of a spline inside fitting part 33 of a side gear 4 in response to the annular groove 24, an inserting tapered surface 35 for diametrically contracting the stopper ring 12 in a retreat attitude, is arranged in the spline inside fitting part 33, an extracting tapered surface 36 for diametrically contacting the stopper ring 12 in the retreat attitude is arranged in a spline inside fitting part 33L, and a locking surface 37 for locking the movement to the insertion side of the drive shaft 2 by abutting on the stopper ring 12, is arranged in a spline inside fitting part 33R.

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure for connecting a drive shaft to a differential.

  As a connecting structure for connecting left and right drive shafts to a differential of an automobile, spline shafts are provided at the ends of the left and right drive shafts, and spline holes are provided in a pair of left and right side gears of the differential. In order to fit the spline shaft into the spline hole of the side gear and prevent the drive shaft from coming off from the side gear, a stopper ring that can be engaged with the side gear is fixed to the end of the drive shaft, or the end of the drive shaft There is known a structure in which a wedge-shaped screw is fastened to connect a side gear and a drive shaft (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  However, in the connection structures described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is a problem that the work of assembling the stopper ring and the wedge-shaped screw becomes a complicated work in the differential case. Therefore, a stopper ring that is fitted in the annular groove by providing an annular groove deeper than the outer spline fitting portion in the lengthwise direction of the outer spline fitting portion of the drive shaft that is spline fitted to the side gear. A stopper ring comprising a C-ring that can be expanded and contracted over an engagement posture arranged in the outer spline fitting portion and a retracted posture that has a diameter reduced to the inner part of the annular groove than the outer spline fitting portion. An insertion taper surface for reducing the diameter of the stopper ring to a retracted position is provided at the insertion start side end of the drive shaft in the spline fitting portion, and is opposite to the drive shaft insertion start side of the spline fitting portion. It has been proposed that a taper surface for extraction is provided at the side end to reduce the diameter of the stopper ring to the retracted position when the drive shaft is operated in the extraction direction. Has been put to practical use (for example, see Patent Document 3.).

  In the coupling structure described in Patent Document 3, when the drive shaft is assembled to the differential, the stopper ring is inserted when the spline fitting portion outside the drive shaft is inserted into the spline fitting portion of the side gear and the spline is fitted. Is pushed inward by the taper surface for insertion and reduced in diameter, while sliding on the tip of the spline teeth of the side gear in the reduced diameter state, it is inserted until it is detached from the opposite end of the spline teeth, and the spline teeth Returning to the original diameter by leaving. In this state, the drive shaft cannot be easily removed from the side gear due to the operation resistance when the stopper ring tries to climb onto the side gear removal taper surface. Can be connected with good stability. On the other hand, when pulling out the drive shaft from the side gear for exchanging the differential gear, etc., the stopper ring is guided by the taper surface for pulling out the side gear by pulling out the drive shaft with a force larger than the operation resistance. The diameter can be reduced and the drive shaft can be removed.

  On the other hand, as a differential device, when only one of the wheels is about to idle, a differential limiting function that allows a sufficient rotational force to be transmitted to the other wheel via the clutch means. A moving device (limited slip differential) prevents, for example, that one wheel rides on ice, snow, muddy, etc., causing the wheel to run idle, and that the rotational force is not sufficiently transmitted to the other wheel. It is widely used to prevent the vehicle body from swinging at the time of sudden start or the like (see, for example, Patent Document 4).

JP-A-9-324847 JP 2007-292121 A JP 2006-348963 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-3680

  By the way, in the connection structure described in Patent Document 3, the movement of the tip end portion of the drive shaft toward the central portion side of the differential gear is performed integrally with the side gear while the drive shaft is fitted to the side gear. However, many non-genuine differential gears do not have sleeves on the side gears. In such differential gears, the pinion gear is pivoted. The end of the drive shaft is brought into contact with the central portion of the central portion of the supporting pinion shaft to restrict the movement of the drive shaft in the axial direction. However, since the length of the drive shaft varies from vehicle type to vehicle type, multiple types of pinion shafts with different thickness at the center are prepared so that no gap is formed between the tip of the drive shaft and the center of the pinion shaft. There is a problem that the number of pinion shafts in stock increases, inventory management becomes complicated, and a large space is required for inventory storage.

  The object of the present invention is to control the axial movement of the drive shaft without using a pinion shaft having a different thickness at the center even when the length of the drive shaft is different. It is to provide a connecting structure of the drive shaft to the differential gear which can be reduced.

  The inventor regulates the movement of the drive shaft in the axial direction without using a pinion shaft having a different thickness at the center by regulating the movement of the drive shaft toward the center of the differential with a side gear. The idea of being able to regulate was obtained and the present invention was completed.

  The drive shaft connection structure for the first differential device according to the present invention is a drive shaft connection structure for the differential device in which the drive shaft is spline-fitted and connected to a pair of side gears incorporated in the differential device. A stopper that is fitted in the annular groove by providing an annular groove deeper than the outer spline fitting portion in the middle in the length direction of the outer spline fitting portion of the drive shaft that is spline fitted to the side gear. An engagement posture disposed at a radial position corresponding to the outer spline fitting portion and a retracting posture reduced in diameter into the inner portion of the annular groove from the formation range of the outer spline fitting portion. A stopper ring made of an expandable / shrinkable C-ring is provided, and a side gear that is spline-fitted to the drive shaft in correspondence with the annular groove. An annular notch that can be fitted with the stopper ring of the engagement posture is provided in the middle of the fitting portion in the length direction of the fitting line, and a stopper ring is provided at the end of the spline fitting portion on the insertion start side of the drive shaft. An insertion taper surface that reduces the diameter of the drive shaft to a retracted posture is provided, and a stopper ring is retracted at an end facing the annular notch portion of the fitting portion in the spline on the front side of the drive shaft in the drawing direction from the annular notch portion. The taper surface for extraction to be reduced in diameter is provided, and the drive ring comes into contact with the stopper ring at the end facing the annular notch portion of the fitting portion in the spline in the insertion direction of the drive shaft from the annular notch portion. A locking surface for locking the movement of the shaft to the insertion side is provided.

  In the first connecting structure, when the drive shaft is assembled to the differential gear, when the drive shaft spline fitting portion is inserted into the spline fitting portion of the side gear and the spline is fitted, the drive shaft stopper is inserted. The ring is pushed inward by the taper surface for insertion of the side gear to reduce the diameter to the retracted position, and in this retracted position, slides on the tip of the spline teeth of the side gear and corresponds to the annular notch of the side gear. The stopper ring returns to its original diameter and fits into the annular notch. In this state, the movement of the drive shaft in the pulling direction from the differential device is restricted by the operating resistance when the stopper ring tries to ride on the extraction taper surface of the annular notch, and the differential device The movement of the drive shaft to the center side of the drive shaft is restricted by the stopper ring coming into contact with the locking surface of the annular notch, and the drive shaft cannot rotate relative to the side gear and is axially It will be connected so as not to move. On the other hand, when pulling out the drive shaft from the side gear for exchanging the differential gear, etc., the stopper ring is guided by the taper surface for pulling out the side gear by pulling out the drive shaft with a force larger than the operation resistance. The diameter can be reduced and the drive shaft can be removed.

  As described above, in this first connection structure, the movement of the drive shaft to the center side of the differential device can be locked by the side gear, so even if the length of the drive shaft is different, the pinion shaft of the pinion gear is the center. Without using parts having different thicknesses, the axial movement of the drive shaft can be restricted, and the stock of pinion shafts can be greatly reduced. Moreover, the structure of forming the annular groove on the drive shaft and fitting the stopper ring into the annular groove is also adopted in the conventional connection structure, so without any processing on the drive shaft side, The simple processing of providing the locking surface only for the side gear can greatly reduce the stock of the pinion shaft.

  The drive shaft connection structure for the second differential device according to the present invention is a drive shaft connection structure for the differential device in which the drive shaft is spline fitted to a pair of side gears incorporated in the differential device. In addition, an annular groove having a deeper groove than the in-spline fitting portion is provided in the middle portion of the in-spline fitting portion of the side gear to which the drive shaft is fitted to the spline, and a stopper fitted in the annular groove. An engagement posture disposed at a radial position corresponding to the in-spline fitting portion and a retracting posture in which the diameter of the ring is expanded into the inner part of the annular groove more than the formation range of the in-spline fitting portion. A stopper ring made of an expandable / contractable C-ring is provided, and a drive shaft that is spline-fitted to the side gear in correspondence with the annular groove. An annular notch that can be fitted with the stopper ring in the engagement posture is provided in the middle of the outside fitting line in the length direction, and is connected to the outside spline fitting part at the insertion start side end of the drive shaft with respect to the side gear. A taper surface for insertion that expands the stopper ring in a retracted posture is provided, and a stopper ring is provided at the end facing the annular notch portion of the spline outer fitting portion on the rear side of the drive shaft in the drawing direction from the annular notch portion. A taper surface for extraction is provided to expand the diameter of the shaft to a retracted position, and the end of the spline outer fitting portion on the rear side in the drive shaft insertion direction with respect to the annular notch is in contact with the stopper ring at the end facing the annular notch. A locking surface for locking the movement of the drive shaft toward the insertion side is provided.

  In the second connection structure, the annular groove and the stopper ring provided in the drive shaft in the first connection structure are provided on the side gear side, and the annular notch provided in the side gear is provided on the drive shaft side.

  In this second connection structure, when the drive shaft is assembled to the differential gear, when the drive shaft spline fitting portion is inserted into the spline fitting portion of the side gear and the spline is fitted, the side gear stopper ring Is pushed outward by the taper surface for insertion of the drive shaft and expanded in the retracted position, and in this retracted position, it slides on the tip of the spline teeth of the drive shaft and corresponds to the annular notch of the drive shaft When it moves to the position where it stops, the stopper ring returns to its original diameter and fits into the annular notch. In this state, the movement of the drive shaft in the pulling direction from the differential device is restricted by the operating resistance when the stopper ring tries to ride on the extraction taper surface of the annular notch, and the differential device The movement of the drive shaft to the center side of the drive shaft is restricted by the stopper ring coming into contact with the locking surface of the annular notch, and the drive shaft cannot rotate relative to the side gear and is axially It will be connected so as not to move. On the other hand, when pulling out the drive shaft from the side gear for exchanging the differential gear, etc., the stopper ring is guided by the taper surface for pulling out the drive shaft by pulling out the drive shaft with a force larger than the operation resistance. The drive shaft can be pulled out.

  In this way, in the second connection structure, the drive shaft can be locked to the center side of the differential device with the side gear, so that the length of the drive shaft is different as in the first connection structure. However, the axial movement of the drive shaft can be restricted without using a pinion shaft with a different thickness at the center as the pinion shaft of the pinion gear, and the stock of the pinion shaft can be greatly reduced. In addition, the stock of the pinion shaft can be greatly reduced by simple processing of the side gear and the drive shaft.

  Here, in the first and second coupling structures, it is preferable that the differential device is provided with differential limiting means capable of transmitting rotational force to both side gears via the clutch means. In the differential device provided with the differential limiting means, it is considered that when the pinion shaft is pushed by the drive shaft, the clutch means is actuated to enter the differential limiting state unnecessarily. It is preferable to restrict the movement in the direction.

  According to the drive shaft coupling structure for the first and second differential devices according to the present invention, the drive shaft can be locked to the center side of the differential device by the side gear, so that the length of the drive shaft is Even if they are different, the movement of the drive shaft in the axial direction can be restricted without using a pinion shaft of a pinion gear having a different thickness at the center, and the stock of the pinion shaft can be greatly reduced.

  Moreover, according to the first connection structure, the structure in which the annular groove is formed in the drive shaft and the stopper ring is fitted in the annular groove is also employed in the conventional connection structure. Therefore, the stock of the pinion shaft can be greatly reduced by a simple process of providing a locking surface only for the side gear without performing any process.

Cross-sectional view of differential device (cross-sectional view taken along line I-I in FIG. 2) II-II sectional view of FIG. Front view of pressure ring and members assembled to it Cross-sectional view of the side gear and drive shaft in an exploded state (A)-(c) is explanatory drawing of the assembly method of the drive shaft with respect to a side gear (A)-(c) is expansion explanatory drawing of the assembly method of the drive shaft with respect to a side gear. Cross-sectional view of the disassembled state of the side gear and drive shaft of another connection structure (A)-(c) is expansion explanatory drawing of the assembly method of the drive shaft with respect to a side gear.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, the differential device will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the differential 1 is configured such that the differential case 3 that rotates by the driving force from the engine about the left and right drive shafts 2 and the shaft ends of the left and right drive shafts 2 cannot rotate relative to each other. A pair of left and right side gears 4 provided respectively, and a pair of left and right pressure rings 5 provided in the differential case 3 so as to be movable in the axle direction and not to rotate relative to each other so as to cover the outer peripheral sides of the left and right side gears 4, respectively. The pinion shaft 6 provided perpendicular to the drive shaft 2 with the shaft end held between the left and right pressure rings 5 and at least one pair of pinion gears rotatably provided on the pinion shaft 6 meshing with the left and right side gears 4 7 and a set of clutch means 8 disposed on both sides of the pressure ring 5 in the axle direction. And a first clutch plate 8a fitted in a relatively non-rotatable manner and a second clutch plate 8b fitted in a sleeve portion 4a of the side gear 4 so as to be movable in the axle direction and in a relatively non-rotatable manner. Clutch means 8 capable of limiting the differential of the left and right drive shafts 2 by alternately arranging 8a and 8b and limiting the relative rotation between the differential case 3 and the side gear 4 by friction between the clutch plates 8a and 8b. A biasing means 10 having a spring member 10a and a shaft 10b for biasing the pressure rings 5 in a direction in which the clearance 9 between the pressure rings 5 is narrowed; a cam portion 11a formed on the shaft portion 6a of the pinion shaft 6; The operating means 11 includes cam grooves 11b formed in both pressure rings 5, and the pinion shaft 6 and the differential case 3 at the time of differential operation. The operating means for operating the clutch means 8 by operating the pressure ring 5 against the urging force of the urging means 10 in the direction in which the clearance 9 between the pressure rings 5 increases in accordance with the increase in the relative rotational torque of the pressure means 5. 11 in a known configuration. The pressure limiter 5, the clutch means 8, the biasing means 10, the operating means 11 and the like constitute a differential limiting means.

  However, the present invention can be applied to a differential device provided with a differential limiting device having a configuration other than that described above, and also applied to a differential device having a general configuration not provided with a differential limiting means. It can be applied to both the differential device 1 for the FR vehicle and the differential device for the FF vehicle, and can also be applied to the differential device configured to operate the clutch means with an electromagnet. .

Next, the connection structure 20 of the drive shaft 2 to the differential device 1 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the connecting structure 20 will be described. A spline shaft portion 21 is formed at the end portion of the left and right drive shafts 2 on the differential device 1 side, and the spline shaft portion 21 is formed in the left-right direction. A plurality of extending spline external teeth 22 are formed to protrude outward at regular intervals in the circumferential direction, and a spline external fitting portion 23 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the spline shaft portion 21 by the plurality of spline external teeth 22. Yes. A spline hole 31 through which the spline shaft portion 21 of the drive shaft 2 is spline-fitted is formed in the center portion of the side gear 4 in the left-right direction. A plurality of spline internal teeth 32 extending in the left-right direction are formed in the spline hole 31 in the circumferential direction. A plurality of spline inner teeth 32 are formed to protrude inward at regular intervals, and an in-spline fitting portion 33 is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the side gear 4. The drive shaft 2 is connected to the side gear 4 so as not to be relatively rotatable by fitting the spline shaft portion 21 into the spline hole 31 of the side gear 4. Note that the number, cross-sectional shape, and height of the spline outer teeth 22 and the spline inner teeth 32 can be arbitrarily set.

  An annular groove 24 is provided in the vicinity of the front end of the spline outer fitting portion 23 of the drive shaft 2, and the stopper ring 12 made of a C ring is fitted in the annular groove 24 so that the stopper ring 12 does not move in the axial direction of the drive shaft 2. Has been. The center diameter of the metal wire in the natural state of the stopper ring 12 is set to be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the tip of the spline outer teeth 22, and the depth of the annular groove 24 is set to the height of the spline outer teeth 22. The stopper ring 12 is made of spring steel having elasticity and is disposed at a radial position corresponding to the spline outer fitting portion 23 as shown in FIG. FIGS. 5A and 6B show the natural state shown in FIGS. 6A and 6A, and FIGS. 5B and 6B in which the diameter is reduced into the inner part of the annular groove 24 from the formation range of the spline outer fitting portion 23. The retractable posture can be expanded and contracted. An insertion tapered surface 25 is formed at the tip of each spline external tooth 22 of the spline external fitting portion 23 of the drive shaft 2 in order to improve the workability of insertion of the side gear 4 into the spline internal fitting portion 33. ing. In addition, the formation position of the annular groove 24 with respect to the spline outer fitting portion 23 can be set to an arbitrary position as long as it is an intermediate portion of the spline outer fitting portion 23.

  An annular notch 34 to which the stopper ring 12 can be fitted is formed in the vicinity of the end portion on the pinion shaft 6 side of the in-spline fitting portion 33 of the side gear 4 so as to correspond to the annular groove 24. The depth is set to be substantially the same as the height of the spline inner teeth 32, and the stopper ring 12 is engaged with the annular notch 34 in the engagement posture shown in FIGS. 5 (c) and 6 (c). (A), It is comprised so that it may reduce in diameter to the same diameter as the natural state shown in FIG. At the insertion start side end portion of the drive shaft 2 in the in-spline fitting portion 33 (left end portion of the in-spline fitting portion 33), the insertion workability of the drive shaft 2 is improved and the stopper ring 12 is retracted to the retracted posture. An insertion taper surface 35 is formed to make the diameter. A stopper ring 12 is provided at the end of the spline internal teeth 32L of the spline fitting portion 33L on the front side (left side in FIG. 4) of the drive shaft 2 with respect to the annular cutout portion 34 with respect to the annular cutout portion 34. Of the spline internal teeth 32R of the in-spline fitting portion 33R provided in the insertion direction of the drive shaft 2 (right side in FIG. 4) of the drive shaft 2 with respect to the annular notch 34 is provided. A locking surface 37 is provided at the end facing the annular notch 34 to contact the stopper ring 12 and lock the movement of the drive shaft 2 toward the insertion side.

  The inclination angle θ1 of the insertion tapered surface 35 is set so that the stopper ring 12 can be relatively easily reduced in the retracted position when the drive shaft 2 is spline-fitted to the side gear 4 with respect to the rotation center line of the side gear 4. The inclination angle θ2 of the sampling taper surface 36 is preferably 30 ° so that the stopper ring 12 can be reduced in the retracted position when the drive shaft 2 is pulled out with a large force. It is preferable to set to ~ 45 °. Further, the inclination angle θ3 of the locking surface 37 is preferably set to, for example, 90 ° ± 30 ° with respect to the rotation center line of the side gear 4 so that the drive shaft 2 does not move to the pinion shaft 6 side.

  In this connection structure 20, when the drive shaft 2 is assembled to the differential device 1, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 6A, the spline outside fitting portion 23 of the drive shaft 2 is placed in the spline of the side gear 4. When inserted into the fitting portion 33 and spline-fitted, the stopper ring 12 of the drive shaft 2 is inside the tapered surface 35 for insertion of the side gear 4 as shown in FIGS. 5B and 6B. When the diameter of the splined internal teeth 32 of the side gear 4 is slid and moved to a position corresponding to the annular notch 34 of the side gear 4 in the retracted position. 5 (c) and FIG. 6 (c), the stopper ring 12 returns to its original diameter and is fitted into the annular cutout 34. In this state, the movement of the drive shaft 2 from the differential device 1 in the pulling direction is restricted by the operating resistance when the stopper ring 12 is about to ride on the pulling tapered surface 36 of the annular notch 34. Further, the movement of the drive shaft 2 toward the center of the differential device 1 is regulated by the stopper ring 12 coming into contact with the locking surface 37 of the annular notch 34, and the drive shaft 2 is connected to the side gear. 4 is connected so that it cannot be rotated relative to 4 and does not move in the axial direction. On the other hand, when the drive shaft 2 is pulled out from the side gear 4 for exchanging the differential 1 or the like, the stopper ring 12 is pulled out of the side gear 4 by pulling out the drive shaft 2 with a force larger than the operation resistance. The drive shaft 2 can be extracted by guiding the taper surface 36 to reduce the diameter.

  As described above, in the first connecting structure 20, the movement of the drive shaft 2 toward the central portion of the differential device 1 can be locked by the side gear 4, so that even if the length of the drive shaft 2 is different, the pinion gear The movement of the drive shaft 2 in the axial direction can be restricted without using a pinion shaft 6 having a different thickness at the center as the pinion shaft 6, and the stock of the pinion shaft 6 can be greatly reduced. Moreover, the configuration in which the annular groove 24 is formed in the drive shaft 2 and the stopper ring 12 is fitted in the annular groove 24 is also employed in the conventional coupling structure, so that there is no processing on the drive shaft 2 side. The stock of the pinion shaft 6 can be greatly reduced by a simple process of providing the locking surface 37 only for the side gear 4 without performing the above.

Next, another embodiment in which the configuration of the connecting structure 20A is partially changed will be described.
In this connection structure 20A, an annular groove 34A in which the stopper ring 12A is fitted is formed on the side gear 4 side in the connection structure 20, and an annular notch 24A in which the stopper ring 12A can be fitted is provided on the drive shaft 2 side. Is.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a spline shaft portion 21A is formed at the end of the left and right drive shafts 2A on the differential device 1 side, and a plurality of spline shaft portions 21A extend in the left-right direction. The spline outer teeth 22A project outwardly at regular intervals in the circumferential direction, and a spline outer fitting portion 23A is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the spline shaft portion 21A by the plurality of spline outer teeth 22A. A spline hole 31A in which the spline shaft portion 21A of the drive shaft 2A is spline-fitted is formed in the center portion of the side gear 4A in the left-right direction. A plurality of spline internal teeth 32A are formed to project inward at regular intervals, and an in-spline fitting portion 33A is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the side gear 4A. The drive shaft 2A is connected to the side gear 4A in a relatively non-rotatable manner by fitting the spline shaft portion 21A into the spline hole 31A of the side gear 4A. The number, cross-sectional shape, and height of the spline outer teeth 22A and the spline inner teeth 32A can be arbitrarily set.

  An annular groove 34A is provided in the vicinity of the end on the pinion shaft 6 side of the in-spline fitting portion 33A of the side gear 4A, and a stopper ring 12A made of a C-ring is provided in the annular groove 34A as the axis of the in-spline fitting portion 33A. It is fitted inside so as not to move in the direction. The center diameter of the metal wire in the natural state of the stopper ring 12A is set larger than the inner diameter of the tooth tip of the spline inner teeth 32A, and the depth of the annular groove 34A is set to the height of the spline inner teeth 32A. 8A, the stopper ring 12A is made of spring steel having elasticity and is disposed at a radial position corresponding to the in-spline fitting portion 33A. ) And the retracted posture shown in FIG. 8B in which the diameter is expanded into the inner portion of the annular groove 34A from the formation range of the in-spline fitting portion 33A. An insertion tapered surface 35A is formed at the tip end of each spline internal tooth 32A of the in-spline fitting portion 33A of the side gear 4A in order to improve the insertion workability of the outside spline fitting portion 23A of the drive shaft 2A. Yes. In addition, the formation position of the annular groove 34A with respect to the in-spline fitting portion 33A can be formed at any position as long as it is an intermediate portion of the in-spline fitting portion 33A.

  An annular notch 24A into which the stopper ring 12A can be fitted is formed corresponding to the annular groove 34A in the vicinity of the end of the drive shaft 2A on the distal end side in the insertion direction of the spline outer fitting portion 23A. The depth of 24A is set to be substantially the same as the height of the spline external teeth 22A, and the stopper ring 12A is shown in FIG. 8 (a) in the engagement posture illustrated in FIG. The diameter is the same as or slightly larger than the natural state shown. At the insertion start side end of the drive shaft 2A in the outer spline fitting portion 23A (the right end portion of the outer spline fitting portion 23A), the workability of inserting the drive shaft 2A is improved and the stopper ring 12A is expanded to the retracted posture. An insertion taper surface 25A is formed to make the diameter. A stopper ring 12A is provided at the end of each spline external tooth 22AR of the spline outer fitting portion 23AR on the rear side (right side in FIG. 7) of the drive shaft 2A with respect to the annular notch portion 24A. A taper surface 26A for extracting the diameter of the spline is retracted, and each spline external tooth 22AL of the spline external fitting portion 23AL of the drive shaft 2A in the insertion direction of the drive shaft 2A (left side in FIG. 7) than the annular notch 24A is provided. An end face facing the annular notch 24A is provided with a locking surface 27A that contacts the stopper ring 12A and locks the movement of the drive shaft 2A to the insertion side. The inclination angle θA1 of the insertion taper surface 25A, the inclination angle θA2 of the extraction taper surface 26A, and the inclination angle θA3 of the locking surface 27A are the inclination angle θ1 of the insertion taper surface 25 and the extraction taper surface of the embodiment. The inclination angle θ2 of 26 and the inclination angle θ3 of the locking surface 27 are set similarly.

  In this connection structure 20A, when the drive shaft 2A is assembled to the differential device 1, the spline external fitting portion 23A of the drive shaft 2A is inserted into the spline internal fitting portion 33A of the side gear 4A to be spline-fitted. When the insertion taper surface 25A of 2A contacts the stopper ring 12A of the side gear 4A, the stopper ring 12A of the side gear 4A is pushed outward by the insertion taper surface 25A of the drive shaft 2A as shown in FIG. 8B. In this retracted position, the diameter of the drive shaft 2A is overcome, and the spline external teeth 22AL on the distal end side of the drive shaft 2A are overcome to correspond to the annular notch 24A of the drive shaft 2A as shown in FIG. When moved to the position, the stopper ring 12A returns to its original diameter and the annular notch Fitted to 24A. In this state, the movement of the drive shaft 2A in the pulling direction from the differential device 1 is restricted by the operating resistance when the stopper ring 12A tries to ride on the pulling tapered surface 26A of the annular notch 24A. Further, the movement of the drive shaft 2A toward the center of the differential device 1 is restricted by the stopper ring 12A coming into contact with the locking surface 27A of the annular notch 24A. It is connected so that it cannot rotate relative to 4A and does not move in the axial direction. On the other hand, when the drive shaft 2A is pulled out from the side gear 4A for replacement of the differential 1 or the like, the stopper ring 12A is pulled out of the drive shaft 2A by pulling out the drive shaft 2A with a force larger than the operation resistance. The diameter of the drive shaft 2A can be increased by being guided by the tapered surface 26A.

  Thus, in this connection structure 20A, the movement of the drive shaft 2A toward the center of the differential device 1 can be locked by the side gear 4A. Therefore, even if the length of the drive shaft 2A is different, the pinion of the pinion gear 7 Without using a shaft 6 having a different thickness at the center, the axial movement of the drive shaft 2A can be restricted, and the stock of the pinion shaft 6 can be greatly reduced. In addition, the stock of the pinion shaft 6 can be greatly reduced by simple processing of the side gear 4A and the drive shaft 2A.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the configuration can be changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Differential device 2 Drive shaft 3 Differential case 4 Side gear 4a Sleeve part 5 Pressure ring 6 Pinion shaft 6a Shaft part 7 Pinion gear 8 Clutch means 8a Clutch plate 8b Clutch plate 9 Clearance 10 Energizing means 10a Spring member 10b Shaft 11 Operation means 11a Cam portion 11b Cam groove 12 Stopper ring 20 Connection structure 21 Spline shaft portion 22 Spline external teeth 23 Spline external fitting portion 24 Annular groove 25 Tapered surface for insertion 31 Spline hole 32 Spline internal teeth 32L Spline internal teeth 32R Spline internal teeth 33 Pline Inner fitting portion 33L Spline inner fitting portion 33R Spline inner fitting portion 34 Annular cutout portion 35 Insertion taper surface 36 Extraction taper surface 37 Locking surface 2A Drive shaft 4A Side gear 12A Stopper Ring 20A Connecting structure 21A Spline shaft portion 22A Spline external teeth 22AL Spline external teeth 22AR Spline external teeth 23A Spline external fitting portion 23AL Spline external fitting portion 23AR Spline external fitting portion 24A Annular cutout portion 25A Insert taper surface 26A For extraction Tapered surface 27A Locking surface 31A Spline hole 32A Spline inner teeth 33A Spline fitting portion 34A Annular groove 35A Tapered surface for insertion

Claims (3)

A drive shaft connection structure for a differential device in which the drive shaft is spline-fitted and connected to a pair of side gears incorporated in the differential device,
An annular groove having a deeper groove than the spline outer fitting portion is provided in the middle of the length direction of the spline outer fitting portion of the drive shaft that is spline fitted to the side gear,
A stopper ring fitted in the annular groove, wherein the engagement posture is disposed at a radial position corresponding to the outer spline fitting portion, and the depth of the annular groove is larger than the formation range of the outer spline fitting portion. A stopper ring consisting of a C ring that can be expanded and contracted over a retracted posture that has been reduced in diameter into the part,
Corresponding to the annular groove, an annular notch part into which the stopper ring of the engagement posture can be fitted is provided in the middle part in the length direction of the in-spline fitting part of the side gear that is spline fitted to the drive shaft,
An insertion taper surface for reducing the diameter of the stopper ring to a retracted posture is provided at the insertion start side end of the drive shaft in the spline fitting portion,
An extraction taper surface for reducing the diameter of the stopper ring in a retracted posture is provided at the end facing the annular notch portion of the fitting portion in the spline on the front side in the drawing direction of the drive shaft from the annular notch portion,
The stopper ring is brought into contact with the end facing the annular notch in the spline fitting portion on the front side in the insertion direction of the drive shaft from the annular notch, and the movement of the drive shaft to the insertion side is locked. Provided with a locking surface,
A drive shaft connection structure for a differential gear. A drive shaft connection structure for a differential device in which the drive shaft is spline-fitted and connected to a pair of side gears incorporated in the differential device,
An annular groove having a deeper groove than the fitting part in the spline is provided in the middle of the fitting part in the spline of the side gear to which the drive shaft is fitted by spline,
A stopper ring fitted in the annular groove, the engagement posture being disposed at a radial position corresponding to the fitting portion in the spline, and the depth of the annular groove more than the formation range of the fitting portion in the spline. A stopper ring consisting of a C-ring that can be expanded and contracted over a retracted posture that is expanded in diameter within the part,
Corresponding to the annular groove, an annular notch part that can be fitted with the stopper ring of the engagement posture is provided in the middle part in the length direction of the spline outer fitting part of the drive shaft that is spline fitted to the side gear,
A taper surface for insertion that expands the stopper ring in a retracted posture is provided in the spline outer fitting portion at the insertion start side end of the drive shaft with respect to the side gear,
A taper surface for extraction that expands the stopper ring in a retracted posture at the end facing the annular notch portion of the spline outer fitting portion on the rear side in the drawing direction of the drive shaft from the annular notch portion,
A stopper ring is brought into contact with the end facing the annular notch of the outer spline fitting portion on the rear side in the insertion direction of the drive shaft from the annular notch, and the movement of the drive shaft to the insertion side is locked. Provided with a locking surface
A drive shaft connection structure for a differential gear. 3. A drive shaft coupling structure for a differential device according to claim 1, further comprising differential limiting means capable of transmitting a rotational force to both side gears via a clutch means.

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