JP2020106125A - Constant-velocity joint unit - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a constant-velocity joint unit which enables closing of openings of a hollow shaft, a hollow intermediate shaft that is connected to a constant-velocity joint, and assembly of an inner joint member to the hollow shaft at low costs.SOLUTION: A constant-velocity joint unit 1 includes a constant-velocity joint 5, a hollow shaft 50, a boot 90, and closing members 70. The closing member 70 includes: a bottom surface part 71 facing an entire surface of an end surface 56 of an axial end in the hollow shaft 50; an engagement part 72 which is connected to the bottom surface part 71 and engaged with the hollow shaft 50; and a moving restriction part 73 which is formed at one part of the engagement part 72 and contacts with a closing member 70 side end surface 20a of an inner joint member 20 to restrict axial movement of the inner joint member 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a constant velocity joint unit.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in a drive shaft of a constant velocity joint unit for transmitting power from an engine to a drive mechanism in a vehicle, a hollow shaft made of a pipe material or the like has been adopted as an intermediate shaft in order to reduce weight. At this time, when both ends of the hollow intermediate shaft are respectively connected to different constant velocity joints, the openings at both ends of the hollow intermediate shaft are connected so as to face the inner space of each constant velocity joint filled with grease. Will be done.

For this reason, if each opening of the hollow intermediate shaft remains open, the grease in the constant velocity joint will flow out into the hollow intermediate shaft through each opening, and the lubrication performance of the constant velocity joint will be deteriorated. There is a risk. Therefore, the openings at both ends of the hollow intermediate shaft are usually closed by closing members (filling plugs).

An example of the above-mentioned closing member is a substantially cylindrical solid member formed of an elastic member. Further, as another example of the closing member, as shown in Patent Document 1, there is one made of metal and formed in a bottomed tubular shape. The respective closing members are press-fitted through the openings at both ends of the hollow intermediate shaft. That is, each closing member is press-fitted in the axial direction by a predetermined amount with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the intermediate shaft whose outer peripheral surface is hollow, and is fixed in the internal space of the hollow intermediate shaft.

JP, 2011-144817, A

However, with the hollow intermediate shaft described above, although the weight can be reduced as compared with the conventional solid intermediate shaft, the number of closing members increases. Therefore, the number of parts increases, which causes a cost increase. Moreover, when the inner joint member is assembled into the through hole of the inner joint member that is a component of the constant velocity joint, the inner joint member may be solid or hollow so that the inner joint member does not fall off. A snap ring or the like is assembled in a locking groove that is recessed in the outer peripheral surface on the tip side of the. For this reason, when the assembling of the closing member is added, the number of parts is further increased and the assembling man-hour is also increased, which is not preferable.

The present invention is a constant velocity joint that makes it possible to achieve low cost at the same time by closing an opening of a hollow shaft, which is a hollow intermediate shaft connected to a constant velocity joint, and assembling an inner joint member on the hollow shaft. The purpose is to provide a unit.

In the present invention, the constant velocity joint unit includes a constant velocity joint including an inner joint member and an outer joint member, a hollow shaft connected to the inner joint member, an outer peripheral surface of the outer joint member, and an outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft. And a boot for partitioning the grease containing space and the atmospheric space, and a closing member for closing an opening at an axial end of the hollow shaft opening toward the grease containing space. The closing member is disposed on the opening side of the hollow shaft with respect to the inner joint member in the axial direction, and is connected to the bottom surface portion that faces the entire end surface of the hollow shaft at the axial end, and the bottom surface portion. And a locking part that is locked to the hollow shaft, and a part of the locking part that contacts the end surface of the inner joint member on the side of the closing member to move the inner joint member in the axial direction. And a movement restriction unit that restricts movement.

Thus, in the constant velocity joint unit of the present invention, the bottom surface portion of the closing member is arranged so as to face the entire end surface of the hollow shaft at the axial end. For this reason, the bottom portion satisfactorily closes the opening and satisfactorily suppresses the outflow of grease from the grease accommodating space into the hollow shaft. Further, the closing member includes a locking portion, and the locking member locks the hollow shaft. In addition, the locking portion is provided with a movement restricting portion that abuts on the end surface of the inner joint member to restrict the movement so that the inner joint member does not come off from the hollow shaft. As described above, since it is possible to prevent the grease from flowing out and prevent the inner joint member from coming off by providing only one closing member, the number of parts can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. Further, since the snap ring and the closing member can be assembled by one closing member as in the conventional case, the number of assembling steps can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

It is an axial direction partial sectional view of the constant velocity joint unit in a first embodiment. It is an axial sectional view of a hollow shaft which shows a state where the closing member of the first embodiment is assembled at the assembly position on one end side of the hollow shaft. FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which the closing member and the hollow shaft in FIG. 2 are separated. It is a figure of the modification 1 of 1st embodiment corresponding to FIG. It is a figure of 2nd embodiment corresponding to FIG.

<1. First embodiment>
(1-1. Structure of constant velocity joint unit 1)
The constant velocity joint unit 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The constant velocity joint unit 1 includes at least a constant velocity joint 5, a hollow shaft 50 as an intermediate shaft, and a closing member 70 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). In addition to the above, the constant velocity joint unit 1 further includes a boot 90 for forming a space (corresponding to a grease accommodating space) inside the constant velocity joint 5. The constant velocity joint unit 1 is, for example, a drive shaft or a propeller shaft of a vehicle. The constant velocity joint unit 1 can be applied to a unit that transmits various rotational driving forces in addition to the above.

Further, as the constant velocity joint 5, various joints such as a ball type joint and a tripod type joint can be applied. Examples of ball type joints include fixed ball type constant velocity joints (BJ, UFJ, etc.), slide type ball type constant velocity joints (DOJ, LJ, etc.), and the like.

The constant velocity joint 5 is connected to one end side (left side in FIG. 1) of the hollow shaft 50. Furthermore, the above-described boot 90 for forming a space inside the constant velocity joint 5 is attached to the constant velocity joint 5 and the hollow shaft 50. Here, the internal space formed by the constant velocity joint 5 and the boot 90 is filled with grease to form the above-mentioned grease accommodating space. In order to prevent the grease from flowing into the internal space 52 (see FIG. 2) of the hollow shaft 50, a closing member 70 is attached to each opening 51 at both ends of the hollow shaft 50.

The constant velocity joint 5 is also connected to the other end of the hollow shaft 50. However, the constant velocity joints 5 connected to both ends of the hollow shaft 50 may be of the same type or of different types.

(1-2. Schematic configuration of constant velocity joint 5)
As shown in FIG. 1, the constant velocity joint 5 includes an outer joint member 10, an inner joint member 20, six balls 30, a cage 40, and the like. The constant velocity joint 5 thus configured transmits torque between the outer joint member 10 and the inner joint member 20. The hollow shaft 50 is a member connected to the inner joint member 20, and will be described in detail later.

The outer joint member 10 is formed in a bottomed tubular shape having an opening at the other end side (the right side in FIG. 1) in the rotation axis C1 direction. The outer joint member 10 is provided with a plurality of (six locations) inner peripheral surfaces 11 and a plurality (six locations) of outer ball grooves 12 alternately in the circumferential direction around the inner rotation axis C1.

The plurality of inner peripheral surfaces 11 are each formed in a concave spherical shape, following a spherical shape centered on an intersection O of the rotation axis C1 of the outer joint member 10 and the rotation axis C2 of the inner joint member 20. Each outer ball groove 12 is formed in a groove shape extending in the direction of the rotation axis C1, and the six outer ball grooves 12 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the rotation axis C1. A connecting shaft 10a extending in the direction of the rotation axis C1 is integrally formed on the bottom of the outer joint member 10. The connecting shaft 10a is connected to another power transmission shaft (not shown).

The inner joint member 20 shown in FIG. 1 is formed in an annular shape. The inner joint member 20 includes a convex spherical outer peripheral surface 21 and six inner ball grooves 22 formed on the outer peripheral surface 21 of the inner joint member 20. The outer peripheral surface 21 of the inner joint member 20 is formed following a spherical shape centered on the intersection O.

Each inner ball groove 22 is formed in a groove shape extending in the direction of the rotation axis C2, and the six inner ball grooves 22 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the rotation axis C2. A female spline (not shown) that meshes with a male spline (not shown) formed on the outer peripheral surface of the end portion of the hollow shaft 50 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the inner joint member 20.

The cage 40 shown in FIG. 1 is an annular member. The cage 40 includes a convex spherical outer peripheral surface 41, a concave spherical inner peripheral surface 42, and six window portions 43. The outer peripheral surface 41 of the retainer 40 has a shape following the inner peripheral surface 11 of the outer joint member 10, and the inner peripheral surface 42 of the retainer 40 has a shape following the outer peripheral surface 21 of the inner joint member 20. .. The window portion 43 is a rectangular hole formed so as to penetrate therethrough in the radial direction. The six windows 43 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the rotation axis C3 of the cage 40, and each of the windows 43 accommodates one ball 30.

In the constant velocity joint 5, the cage 40 is arranged between the inner peripheral surface 11 of the outer joint member 10 and the outer peripheral surface 21 of the inner joint member 20. At least a part of the outer peripheral surface 41 of the cage 40 contacts the inner peripheral surface 11 of the outer joint member 10, and at least a part of the inner peripheral surface 42 of the cage 40 contacts the outer peripheral surface 21 of the inner joint member 20. To do. One ball 30 is disposed between each outer ball groove 12 and each inner ball groove 22 that are arranged to face each other, and each ball 30 is retained by the retainer 40 in the outer ball groove 12 and the inner ball groove 22. Is held so that it can be rolled.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a boot 90 is attached to the constant velocity joint 5 so as to extend between the boot 90 and the hollow shaft 50 connected to the inner ball groove 22. The boot 90 is formed in a tubular shape having an inclination in the axial direction. The boot 90 includes a deformation permitting portion 91 due to bellows, a constant velocity joint side mounting portion 92, and a shaft side mounting portion 93.

For example, in the present embodiment, the constant velocity joint side attachment portion 92 is attached to the outer peripheral surface on the opening side of the outer joint member 10 included in the constant velocity joint 5 by an unillustrated fixing band or the like, for example. Further, the shaft side mounting portion 93 is mounted to the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft 50 at a predetermined mounting position by a fixing band (not shown) or the like, as an example.

As a result, the outer joint member 10, the hollow shaft 50, and the boot 90 form a closed space. At this time, the closed space is the grease housing space 53 for housing the grease. Therefore, the boot 90 partitions the grease accommodating space 53 and the atmospheric space in the atmospheric atmosphere. In addition to the grease, the inner joint member 20, the ball 30, the cage 40, and the like are stored in the grease storage space.

(1-3. Hollow shaft 50 and closing member 70)
Next, a hollow shaft 50 and a hollow shaft 50, one end of which is connected to the inner joint member 20 of the constant velocity joint 5 and the other end of which is connected to an inner joint member (not shown) of the constant velocity joint (not shown). The closing member 70 provided will be described with reference to the sectional view of FIG.

The hollow shaft 50 is a shaft-shaped member extending in the direction of the axis CL. The hollow shaft 50 has an inner peripheral surface 55 inside and has the above-described internal space 52, and is formed in a hollow shape. The end faces 56 (see FIG. 3) of the hollow shaft 50 at both ends in the direction of the axis CL are opposed to a later-described first seal portion 71a provided in the closing member 70 and are capable of contacting the first seal portion 71a. 56a is provided. In the present embodiment, the second seal portion 56a is the entire surface of the end surface 56 including the corner portion on the outer peripheral surface side of the hollow shaft 50.

The hollow shaft 50 has openings 51 (openings on the other end side are not shown) at both ends of the internal space 52. That is, the hollow shaft 50 opens at positions where both ends of the hollow internal space 52 face the grease accommodating space 53 that is the closed space of the constant velocity joint 5. As described above, the grease storage space 53 is filled with grease. Further, male splines (not shown) are formed on a part of the outer peripheral surfaces of both ends of the hollow shaft 50.

A male spline (not shown) at one end of the both ends of the hollow shaft 50 is a female spline (not shown) formed on the inner peripheral surface of the inner joint member 20 of the constant velocity joint 5 described above. Formed to mesh. A male spline (not shown) at the other end of the hollow shaft 50 is a female spline formed on the inner peripheral surface of the inner joint member (not shown) of the constant velocity joint 5 (not shown). It is formed so as to mesh with (not shown).

Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the state where the inner joint member 20 is fitted to the hollow shaft 50, the end portion 20a of the inner joint member 20 is moved to the end portion 20a of the hollow shaft 50 by a predetermined amount. Project. A locking groove 54 is provided in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface of the protruding hollow shaft 50 on the inner joint member 20 side. A part of the closing member 70 is locked in the locking groove 54 to prevent the inner joint member 20 from coming off the hollow shaft 50. Details will be described later.

(1-4. Closing member 70)
The closing member 70 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the closing member 70 is a member that mainly closes the opening 51 at the end of the hollow shaft 50 in the direction of the axis CL, which opens mainly toward the grease accommodating space 53. The closing member 70 can be formed of various materials, but in the present embodiment, as an example, it is formed by pressing an iron-based metal plate member such as SPCC, SPCE or the like. Thereby, the closing member 70 can be manufactured at low cost. Further, even when the shape of the closing member 70 needs to be changed, it is easy to quickly deal with it. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the closing member 70 is arranged closer to the opening side of the hollow shaft 50 than the inner joint member 20 in the axis CL direction of the hollow shaft 50.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for example, the closing member 70 includes a bottom surface portion 71, a locking portion 72, and a movement restricting portion 73 as an example. As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom surface portion 71 is formed so as to face the entire surface of the end surface 56 of the hollow shaft 50 at the end in the direction of the axis CL and cover the entire surface of the end surface 56. At this time, when the bottom surface portion 71 is viewed from the direction of the axis line CL of the hollow shaft 50, it has a substantially circular shape (not shown). Further, the bottom surface portion 71 is provided with a cylindrical protruding portion 71b having a bottomed tubular shape at the center of the circle.

The cylindrical protrusion 71 b is provided so as to protrude into the internal space 52 via the opening 51 of the hollow shaft 50. The outer peripheral surface 71c of the cylindrical protrusion 71b is fitted to the inner peripheral surface 55 with a slight gap between the outer peripheral surface 71c and the inner peripheral surface 55 of the internal space of the hollow shaft 50. Accordingly, in the assembled state in FIG. 1, it is possible to favorably prevent the blocking member 70 from rattling with respect to the hollow shaft 50. In particular, when the constant velocity joint unit 1 is operating in the vehicle, it is possible to favorably prevent rattling of the closing member 70 and generation of abnormal noise.

The locking part 72 is a part for fixing the relative position of the closing member 70 and the hollow shaft 50 in the axial direction to a predetermined position by locking the locking part 72 to a part of the hollow shaft 50. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the locking portion 72 includes, as an example, a tubular portion 72a whose inner peripheral surface faces the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft 50, and a locking claw 72b. Prepare The cylindrical portion 72a has an end connected to the outer peripheral edge of the bottom surface portion 71 and is formed coaxially with the axis CL of the hollow shaft 50. As shown in FIG. 2, the inner peripheral surface 72a1 of the tubular portion 72a faces the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft 50 with a predetermined gap that can be set arbitrarily. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tubular portion 72a includes slits 72c formed in the axial direction at two locations (corresponding to at least one location) 180 degrees apart in the circumferential direction.

Next, the locking claw 72b extends from the tip of the tubular portion 72a (right side of the tubular portion 72a in FIG. 2) radially inward of the tubular portion 72a, that is, toward the hollow shaft 50 side while reducing the diameter, and has an annular shape. Is formed. At this time, the locking claw 72b has two slits 72c in the circumferential direction. The two slits 72c formed on the locking claw 72b are connected at the same position in the circumferential direction as the slit 72c formed on the cylindrical portion 72a described above. Then, the inner diameter side end of the locking claw 72b is locked in the locking groove 54 described above (see FIG. 2). In this way, the relative position of the closing member 70 and the hollow shaft 50 in the axial direction is held (fixed) at a predetermined position by the very simple and low-cost structure of locking the locking claw 72b in the locking groove 54. can do. Therefore, it can greatly contribute to the cost reduction of the constant velocity joint unit.

In addition, as described above, the cylindrical portion 72a and the locking claw 72b have the slits 72c at two locations in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the locking portion 72 can swing about the connecting portion between the locking portion 72 and the bottom surface portion 71 as a fulcrum. Thus, when the closing member 70 inserted through the hollow shaft 50 is moved in the axial direction and assembled to the hollow shaft 50, the inner diameter side end of the locking claw 72b is set to the diameter of the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft 50 with which it comes into contact. Depending on the size, the diameter can be easily expanded and assembly can be done smoothly. The slits 72c may be provided at only one location in the circumferential direction, or at three or more locations.

The locking claw 72b includes a first claw end surface 72b1 that faces the first seal portion 71a of the bottom surface portion 71 of the closing member 70. The locking groove 54 includes a first groove side surface 54a that faces the first claw end surface 72b1 and locks the first claw end surface 72b1. As a result, the first claw end surface 72b1 is locked to the first groove side surface 54a.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, in the closing member 70, the axial distance from the first seal portion 71a provided on the hollow shaft 50 side of the bottom surface portion 71 to the first pawl end surface 72b1 of the locking pawl 72b is set to the first axial distance. It is defined as one distance L1. Further, the axial distance from the second seal portion 56a of the hollow shaft 50 to the first groove side surface 54a of the locking groove 54 is defined as the second distance L2. When the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 are defined in this way, the first distance L1 is set to be equal to or less than the second distance L2. That is, the first distance L1 is set to be equal to the second distance L2 or smaller than the second distance L2 (L1≦L2). However, in the case of L1<L2, the value of (L2-L1) is preferably about several tens μm to several hundreds μm.

If the relationship between the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 is L1=L2, the first seal portion 71a and the second seal portion 56a are located radially outward of the opening 51, as shown in FIG. The surfaces are in contact with each other around the entire circumference. As a result, the relative positions of the closing member 70 and the hollow shaft 50 in the axial direction are fixed. However, when the relationship between the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 is L1<L2, the locking portion 72 and the bottom surface portion 71 are slightly deformed (curved), and the first seal portion 71a is deformed. It is considered that the second seal portion 56a and the second seal portion 56a come into contact with each other over the entire circumference. Specifically, the corner portion on the outer peripheral side of the second seal portion 56a and the deformed surface of the first seal portion 71a are in line contact with each other in the circumferential direction at the outer side in the radial direction of the opening 51. Then, in such a line contact state, the relative positions of the closing member 70 and the hollow shaft 50 in the axial direction are fixed.

As described above, in any of the above cases, the relationship between the first distance L1 and the second distance L2 is such that the first seal portion 71a and the second seal portion 56a are circumferentially outside the opening 51 in the radial direction and around the axis. Make contact in all directions. As a result, the communication between the grease accommodating space 53 and the internal space 52 of the hollow shaft is favorably blocked. As described above, with the simple configuration of the first seal portion 71a and the second seal portion 56a, the passage from the grease accommodating space 53 to the internal space 52 of the hollow shaft can be blocked, and the cost can be reduced.

However, not limited to the above-described aspect, the first seal portion 71a and the second seal portion 56a may not be in contact with each other in the entire circumferential direction or in the circumferential direction. That is, there is a slight gap between the first seal portion 71a and the second seal portion 56a in the entire circumferential direction or a part in the circumferential direction, and the small gap functions as a seal portion that blocks the passage. You may do it. That is, depending on the viscosity of the grease provided in the grease storage space 53, the grease storage space 53 and the internal space 52 of the hollow shaft 50 may be separated even if there is a slight gap between the first seal portion 71a and the second seal portion 56a. It may be possible to block the passageway between. In such a case, a gap may be provided between the first seal portion 71a and the second seal portion 56a as long as grease is not allowed to pass therethrough.

The movement restricting portion 73 is formed on a part of the locking portion 72. The movement restricting portion 73 contacts the end surface 20a of the inner joint member 20 on the closing member 70 side, and restricts the movement of the inner joint member 20 in the axial direction. In the present embodiment, for example, the movement restricting portion 73 is formed on the back side of the first claw end surface 72b1 of the locking claw 72b included in the locking part 72, and is disposed on the closing member 70 side of the inner joint member 20. The second pawl end surface 72b2 is capable of contacting the end surface 20a. In this case, since the movement restricting portion 73 (second pawl end surface 72b2) is formed in addition to the locking portion 72 (locking pawl 72b), the configuration can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. Can be achieved.

(1-5. Effects of the first embodiment)
According to the first embodiment, the closing member 70 is locked to the hollow shaft 50 by the locking portion 72. Further, the locking portion 72 is provided with a movement restricting portion 73 that restricts the movement of the inner joint member 20 by contacting the end surface 20a of the inner joint member 20 so that the inner joint member 20 does not come off from the hollow shaft 50. Therefore, by providing only one closing member 70 at each end of the hollow shaft 50, it is possible to prevent grease from flowing out and prevent the inner joint member 20 from coming off. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. Further, since the snap ring and the closing member can be assembled by only assembling one closing member 70 as in the conventional case, the number of assembling steps can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

Further, in the first embodiment, the closing member 70 includes the first seal portion 71a on the surface of the bottom surface portion 71 on the hollow shaft 50 side. In addition, the closing member 70 includes a second seal portion 56a that allows the end surface 56 of the hollow shaft 50 facing the first seal portion 71a at the axial end to contact the first seal portion 71a in the axial direction. Then, the first seal portion 71a and the second seal portion 56a are in contact with each other at the entire circumference in the circumferential direction around the axis outward in the radial direction of the opening 51, or at a part in the circumferential direction, whereby the grease storage space 53 and the hollow shaft. The communication between 50 and the internal space 52 is cut off. As described above, the first seal portion 71a and the second seal portion 56a, which can be easily formed, are brought into contact with each other in the axial direction, thereby suppressing the outflow of grease from the grease storage space 53 to the internal space 52 of the hollow shaft 50. This contributes to cost reduction.

(1-6. Others)
(1-6-1. Modification 1)
Next, modification 1 will be described. In the first embodiment described above, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the closing member 70 has the bottom surface portion 71 having the cylindrical protrusion 71b. However, the present invention is not limited to this aspect, and as a first modification, as shown in FIG. 4, the bottom surface portion 171 of the closing member 170 does not include a cylindrical protrusion, and the bottom surface portion 171 is formed in a simple disk shape. Good. In this case, when the constant velocity joint unit 1 is operating, the closing member 170 may slightly rattle with respect to the hollow shaft 50, but other effects are the same as those of the first embodiment. Can be expected.

<2. Second embodiment>
The constant velocity joint unit 101 of the second embodiment will be described. The constant velocity joint unit 101 of the second embodiment differs from the constant velocity joint unit 1 of the first embodiment only in the configuration of locking the closing member 270 to the hollow shaft 250. Therefore, hereinafter, only the “configuration of locking the closing member 270 to the hollow shaft 250” that is different from the first embodiment will be described in detail, and description of the same parts as in the first embodiment will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the constant velocity joint unit 101 of the second embodiment includes a closing member 270. The constant velocity joint unit 101 fixes the relative position of the closing member 270 and the hollow shaft 250 in the axial direction at a predetermined position by locking the closing member 270 on a part of the hollow shaft 250. In the present embodiment, as an example, the closing member 270 includes a disk-shaped bottom surface portion 271, a tubular locking portion 272 that is connected to the outer peripheral edge of the bottom surface portion 271 and is formed coaxially with the hollow shaft 250, The locking portion 272 is provided with a movement restricting portion 273 which is an end surface of a cylindrical portion on the inner joint member 20 side.

Then, the inner peripheral surface 272a of the locking portion 272 is fitted (press fit) with the outer peripheral surface 250a of the hollow shaft 250 over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction so that the locking portion 272 (closing member 270) is formed. The hollow shaft 250 is locked (fixed). However, not limited to the above-described aspect, the locking of the closing member 270 to the hollow shaft 250 is not by press fitting, and as an example, the locking portion 272 and the hollow shaft 250 are fitted with a tightening margin by shrink fitting. May be combined and approved.

With such a configuration, the constant velocity joint unit 101 of the second embodiment can be expected to have the same effect as the constant velocity joint unit 1 of the first embodiment. That is, the communication between the grease accommodating space 53 and the internal space 52 of the hollow shaft 250 is satisfactorily blocked between the inner peripheral surface 272a of the locking portion 272 and the outer peripheral surface 250a of the hollow shaft 250.

1, 101; constant velocity joint unit, 5; constant velocity joint, 10; outer joint member, 20; inner joint member, 20a; end face (inner joint member), 50, 250; hollow shaft, 51; opening, 52; internal Space, 53; Grease accommodation space, 54; Locking groove, 54a; First groove side surface, 56; End surface, 56a, Second seal part, 70,170,270; Closing member, 71,171; Bottom part, 71a; 1st seal part, 71b; Cylindrical projection part, 72,272; Locking part, 72a; Cylindrical part, 72a1; Inner peripheral surface, 72b; Locking claw, 72b1; First claw end surface, 72b2; Second claw end surface, 72c; slit, 73, 273; movement restricting portion, 90; boot, 250a; outer peripheral surface, 272a; inner peripheral surface, L1; first distance, L2; second distance.

Claims (10)

A constant velocity joint including an inner joint member and an outer joint member,
A hollow shaft connected to the inner joint member,
A boot that is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the outer joint member and the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft to partition the grease storage space and the atmospheric space,
A closing member that closes an opening at the axial end of the hollow shaft that opens toward the grease containing space;
A constant velocity joint unit comprising:
The closing member is
Disposed on the opening side of the hollow shaft with respect to the inner joint member in the axial direction,
A bottom surface portion that faces the entire end surface of the axial end of the hollow shaft;
An engaging portion that is connected to the bottom surface portion and is engaged with the hollow shaft,
A movement restricting portion that is formed in a part of the locking portion, contacts the end surface of the inner joint member on the closing member side, and restricts movement of the inner joint member in the axial direction;
A constant velocity joint unit equipped with. The closing member includes a first seal portion on a surface of the bottom surface on the hollow shaft side,
The end surface of the axial end of the hollow shaft facing the first seal portion is provided with a second seal portion that can contact the first seal portion in the axial direction,
The first seal part and the second seal part are in contact with each other radially outward of the opening and in the circumferential direction around the axis, so that the grease accommodation space and the internal space of the hollow shaft are communicated with each other. The constant velocity joint unit according to claim 1, which is cut off. The locking portion of the closing member,
A tubular portion formed facing the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft;
A locking claw extending radially inward from the tip of the cylindrical portion,
The constant velocity joint unit according to claim 2, wherein the hollow shaft is provided with a recess in a circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface and has a locking groove in which the locking claw is locked. The locking pawl includes a first pawl end surface facing the first seal portion of the bottom surface portion,
The locking groove includes a first groove side surface facing the first claw end surface,
An axial distance from the first seal portion of the bottom surface portion to the first claw end surface is defined as a first distance,
If the axial distance from the second seal portion of the hollow shaft to the first groove side surface of the locking groove is defined as the second distance,
The constant velocity joint unit according to claim 3, wherein the first distance is set to be equal to or less than the second distance. The locking claw is
The constant velocity joint unit according to claim 4, further comprising a second pawl end surface as the movement restricting portion that is capable of contacting the end surface of the inner joint member, on the back side of the first pawl end surface. The locking portion is
The constant velocity joint unit according to claim 3, further comprising at least one slit formed in the axial direction in a circumferential direction around the axial line. The bottom surface of the closing member,
4. A cylindrical projection portion, which is provided at a central portion of the hollow shaft so as to project toward the inner space through the opening of the hollow shaft, and has an outer peripheral surface that fits with an inner peripheral surface of the inner space of the hollow shaft. The constant velocity joint unit according to any one of -6. The locking portion of the closing member,
A tubular portion formed to face the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft,
The communication between the grease accommodating space and the internal space of the hollow shaft is interrupted by the inner peripheral surface of the tubular portion contacting the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction. Constant velocity joint unit described in. The constant velocity joint unit according to claim 8, wherein the movement restricting portion of the locking portion is an end surface of the tubular portion of the tubular portion that can come into contact with the end surface of the inner joint member. The constant velocity joint unit according to claim 1, wherein the closing member is formed by pressing a metal plate member.

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