JP2742597B2 - Fluid-filled elastic joints - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an elastic joint interposed at a connecting portion of a predetermined rotating member and transmitting a rotational driving force, and in particular, transmission of vibration between the connected rotating members. The invention relates to a structure of a fluid-filled elastic joint which can be advantageously reduced or prevented.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an elastic joint that is interposed between a connecting portion between a rotational force input member and a rotational force output member to transmit a rotational driving force and suppress transmission of vibration between both members. ing. For example, an elastic shaft coupling (coupling) interposed between a steering wheel shaft of a motor vehicle and a transmission shaft to a steering device, or a connecting portion of a propeller shaft of the motor vehicle, and the like.

By the way, in such an elastic joint, generally,
As shown in JP-A-51-143158 and the like, a driving-side mounting bracket attached to the rotational force input member side, and a driven-side mounting bracket attached to the rotational force output member side,
It is structured to be connected by a rubber elastic body, and transmission of vibration is suppressed based on the elasticity of the rubber elastic body.

However, in such a conventional elastic joint that the vibration damping property is obtained exclusively by the elastic property of the rubber elastic body, the transmission of the rotational driving force is also performed through the rubber elastic body. It was difficult to set sufficient vibration isolation characteristics. That is, in such an elastic joint,
Where the anti-vibration characteristics are mainly affected by the dynamic spring characteristics of the rubber elastic body, while the driving force transmission performance is mainly affected by the static spring characteristics of the rubber elastic body. The dynamic and static spring characteristics are
Because of the predetermined correlation, only the dynamic spring characteristics could not be softened, and therefore, sufficient vibration isolation characteristics were set while ensuring the driving force transmission performance. It was extremely difficult to do.

Also, in particular, the dynamic spring characteristic of the rubber elastic body becomes harder as the frequency of the input vibration increases,
For this purpose, for example, in a steering joint interposed between a steering wheel shaft of an automobile and a transmission shaft to a steering device, a rubber elastic body spring is used to secure a good responsiveness when operating the steering wheel. When the constant is set, there is an inherent problem that it is difficult to sufficiently obtain vibration-proof performance against shimmy or the like corresponding to a frequency range of about 10 to 20 Hz.

(Problem to be Solved) Here, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and a problem to be solved is to secure a sufficient rotational drive force transmission performance while securing vibration isolation performance. It is an object of the present invention to provide an elastic joint having a novel structure in which the improvement of the joint can be advantageously achieved.

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problem, the rotational force input member is interposed between a predetermined rotational force input member and the rotational force output member. (A) a plurality of drive-side mounting brackets and driven-side mounting brackets, each of which is alternately arranged at predetermined intervals around a rotation axis; b) a rubber elastic body which resiliently connects the plurality of mounting brackets to each other by being fixed to the driving-side mounting bracket and the driven-side mounting bracket, respectively; and (c) a pair of semi-cylindrical halves. A metal sleeve comprising split metal fittings, wherein the two circumferential end faces of the half metal fittings are circumferentially separated from each other and are opposed to each other, and are integrally fixed on the rubber elastically opposed outer circumferential surface. And (d) an outer peripheral surface of the rubber elastic body Formed in the groove, a groove-shaped space opened on the outer peripheral surface through between the opposing surfaces on both sides in the circumferential direction of the pair of half metal fittings constituting the metal sleeve,
(E) a plurality of pockets provided between the driving-side mounting bracket and the driven-side mounting bracket in the rubber elastic body and penetrating through the half metal fittings constituting the metal sleeve and opening to the outer peripheral surface; And (f) being externally inserted and fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the metal sleeve, thereby causing the pair of half metal fittings constituting the metal sleeve to approach each other in the radial direction, and An outer cylinder fitting for closing the opening of the pocket portion while applying a pre-compression to the rubber elastic body by applying an elastic deformation such that the space is crushed; and (g) an opening in the pocket portion. (H) a plurality of fluid chambers formed by being closed by the outer cylinder fitting and filled with a predetermined incompressible fluid, and (h) formed between the metal sleeve and the outer cylinder fitting; The metal pickpocket Of the plurality of fluid chambers by extending between the openings of the pockets provided in the metal fittings constituting the metal sleeve without straddling the openings of the voids in the fluid chamber. A fluid chamber located between the driving-side mounting bracket and the driven-side mounting bracket that are brought closer to each other when a driving force is input; A fluid-filled elastic joint having an orifice passage which communicates a fluid chamber located between the fluid chamber and the driven-side mounting bracket with each other and allows fluid to flow between the fluid chambers. It is.

(Operation / Effect) That is, in such a fluid-filled elastic joint according to the present invention, when vibration is input between the driving-side mounting bracket and the driven-side mounting bracket, they are mutually connected in the orifice passage. Fluctuation of the fluid through the orifice passage between the fluid chambers making up each pair is caused by the internal pressure changes of the fluid chambers, which are in communication with each other, which increase and decrease are opposite to each other. It will be born.

Therefore, in the fluid-filled elastic joint according to the present invention,
By adjusting the shape or the like of the orifice passage and the resonance frequency of the fluid flowing inside the orifice passage to a predetermined frequency range in advance, based on the resonance action of the fluid in the orifice passage, a desired frequency range is obtained. Therefore, the dynamic spring constant at the time of vibration input can be reduced, so that the static spring constant of the rubber elastic body is secured to the extent that sufficient driving force transmission performance can be obtained, while improving the vibration isolation performance. Can be achieved very advantageously.

Further, in the fluid-filled elastic joint according to the present invention, by the extrapolation and fixing of the outer cylindrical fitting, a pair of half metal fittings fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the rubber elastic body are brought closer to each other in the radial direction, Effective pre-compression of the rubber elastic body can be performed at the same time as the operation of attaching the outer cylinder bracket without any special operation, since elastic deformation such that the voids are crushed to the rubber elastic body is generated. Added, so that excellent durability can be easily achieved.

(Example) Hereinafter, in order to clarify the present invention more specifically, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, FIGS. 1 to 3 show that the present invention is interposed between a steering shaft of an automobile and a transmission shaft to a steering device.
One specific example applied to a so-called steering joint is shown. In this figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a rubber elastic body, which has a substantially thick disk shape as a whole.

A first mounting bracket having a pair of cylindrical shapes, which is located on both sides in the radial direction of the rubber elastic body 10 with respect to the axis and is attached to a handle shaft as a rotational force input member (not shown). Numerals 12 and 12 are respectively disposed so as to penetrate the rubber elastic body 10 in the axial direction and are integrally vulcanized and adhered. On the other hand, the pair of first mounting brackets 12 and 12 are provided. With respect to the opposing direction, the rubber elastic body 10 is located on both sides in the radial direction orthogonal to the axis,
A pair of cylindrical second mounting brackets 14, 14 to be mounted on a transmission shaft to a steering device, which is a rotating force output member (not shown), respectively penetrate the rubber elastic body 10 in the axial direction. They are arranged and vulcanized and bonded together.

That is, in each of the pair of first mounting brackets 12, 12 and the second mounting brackets 14, 14, they are alternately arranged at a predetermined distance in a circumferential direction on substantially the same circumference,
Further, the first and second fittings 12 and 14 are integrally and elastically connected to each other by the rubber elastic body 10. Here, the fact that the first and second mounting brackets 12, 14 are arranged on substantially the same circumference means that a rotational driving force is input from the handle shaft to the first mounting brackets 12, 12. When the rubber elastic body 10 is interposed between the first mounting bracket 12 and the second mounting bracket 14 in the circumferential direction.
On the other hand, it refers to an arrangement form in which compressive and tensile stresses can be effectively generated, and does not indicate exactly on one circumference. Further, in the present embodiment, the driving-side mounting bracket is provided by the first mounting brackets 12 and 12,
In addition, the driven-side mounting brackets are constituted by the second mounting brackets 14, 14, respectively.

In addition, a metal sleeve 16 is integrally vulcanized and bonded to the outer peripheral portion of the rubber elastic body 10. In this case, the metal sleeve 16 is constituted by a pair of half-metal fittings 18 having a semi-cylindrical shape, and as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,
The vulcanization of the rubber elastic body 10 in a state where the opposing surfaces on both sides in the circumferential direction of the half metal fittings 18, 18 are opposed to each other with a predetermined gap outside the facing direction of the first mounting hardware 12, 12. The rubber elastic body 10 is formed with a concave groove-shaped space 20 extending between the opposite surfaces of the half metal fittings 18 and 18 and extending over the entire length in the axial direction. .

Further, in such a rubber elastic body 10, pocket portions 22 are respectively formed at four places located between the first mounting bracket 12 and the second mounting bracket 14 in the circumferential direction. , And through a window 30 provided in the half metal fitting 18, each is opened on the outer peripheral surface.

In the present embodiment, in particular, these four pocket portions 22 are respectively provided with the pair of first mounting brackets 12,
It is formed to have a substantially rectangular concave shape extending along the opposing direction of the first mounting member 12, and is formed to extend inward in the opposing direction from each of the first mounting brackets 12. Further, in the rubber elastic body 10 constituting the wall of the first mounting bracket 12 side in each of the pocket portions 22, hard plate members 32, 32 are disposed under the buried state, and both ends thereof are formed in the second direction. One mounting bracket 1
It is fixed to 2 and 12. Then, a rotational driving force was input to the first fittings 12, 12, and the first fittings 12, 12 were displaced in the circumferential direction with respect to the second fittings 14, 14. When the hard plate material
32 and 32 are rotationally displaced around the axis of the rubber elastic body 10 so that the first mounting bracket 12 and the second mounting bracket 1
With respect to the rubber elastic body 10 interposed between each circumferential direction with 4, 14, compression and tensile deformation can be more effectively generated,
Thus, a change in volume in each pocket portion 22 can be advantageously generated.

Further, the rubber elastic body 10 is integrally turned around the outer peripheral surface side of the half metal fittings 18, 18, whereby the half metal fittings
A seal rubber layer 34 having a predetermined thickness is formed over substantially the entire outer peripheral surface of each of 18 and 18.

In addition, the seal rubber layer 34 formed on the outer peripheral surface of each of the half metal fittings 18 linearly extends in the circumferential direction of the half metal fitting 18, and sandwiches the second mounting metal 14 therebetween. A circumferential groove 36 is formed to connect the opening of each pair of pockets 22 located on both sides in the direction. put it here,
Each pair of pocket portions 22, 22 connected by the circumferential groove 36
In the case of inputting the rotational driving force to the first mounting brackets 12, 12, the first mounting bracket 12 is moved toward the side closer to the second mounting bracket 14 and to the side separated from the second mounting bracket 14. , Respectively, so that a relative volume change is caused.

Then, the integrally vulcanized molded product of the rubber elastic body 10 having such a structure is press-fitted into the outer cylinder fitting 38, and then the outer cylinder fitting 38 is further subjected to diameter reduction processing such as octagonal drawing. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the outer sleeve 38 is integrally fitted to the metal sleeve 16.

In addition, by the outer tube fitting 38 being exteriorized,
The opening of the pocket portion 22 is closed and sealed, respectively, and a predetermined incompressible fluid is sealed therein, so that the first fluid chamber 40, the second fluid chamber 42, and the third The fluid chamber 44 and the fourth fluid chamber 46 are respectively formed. Further, the opening of the circumferential groove 36 is also closed by an outer sleeve 38, thereby allowing the first fluid chamber 40 and the second fluid chamber 42 to communicate with each other. A first orifice passage 48 that allows fluid flow between 42, and a third fluid chamber 44 and a fourth fluid chamber 46 that communicate with each other;
Second orifice passages 50 that allow the flow of the fluid between the two fluid chambers 44 and 46 are respectively formed.

The fluid chambers 40, 42, 44, and 46 are filled and sealed with a fluid by externally inserting the outer tube fitting 38 into the integrally vulcanized molded product in a predetermined incompressible fluid. This can be done advantageously. The liquid tightness of each of the fluid chambers 40, 42, 44, 46 and the orifice passages 48, 50 is determined by the sealing rubber layers 34, 34 between the metal sleeve 16 (half metal fittings 18, 18) and the outer cylindrical metal fitting 38. Are further obtained by being pinched, and in the present embodiment, in the respective seal rubber layers 34, the opening portions of the pocket portions 22, 22 forming each pair connected by the respective circumferential grooves 36. Are formed on the outer peripheral surface of each half metal fitting 18 so as to further improve the sealing performance.

In addition, at the time of exterior of the outer tube fitting 38 as described above, a stopper block 54 of a predetermined thickness made of a hard material such as a resin is accommodated in each of the pocket portions 22 of the integrally vulcanized molded product. By being fixed to the inner surface of each pocket portion 22, it is disposed in the first to fourth fluid chambers 40, 42, 44, 46. Then, the first mounting brackets 12, 12
The excessive relative displacement in the circumferential direction between the first mounting bracket 12 and the second mounting bracket 14 when the rotational driving force is input to the stopper block 54 is defined by the contact of the fluid chamber surface with the stopper block 54. At the same time, excessive deformation of the rubber elastic body 10 can be prevented.

Further, by the press-fitting of the integrally vulcanized molded product into the outer cylindrical metal member 38, the pair of half metal members 18, 18 were moved in the approaching direction to each other, and the opposing surfaces on both sides in the circumferential direction were brought into contact with each other. Thus, the metal sleeve 16 is formed in an annular shape. Then, along with the movement of the half metal fittings 18, 18 in the approaching direction, an elastic deformation is generated in the rubber elastic body 10 so that the void 20 is crushed, whereby the rubber elastic body 10 Effective pre-compression can be performed at the same time as the outer casing fitting 38 without the need for special diameter reduction processing on the outer casing 10.

That is, in the steering joint having the above-described structure, when a rotational driving force is applied to the first mounting members 12 from the handle shaft by the steering operation, the first mounting members 12 , 12 are relatively displaced in the circumferential direction with respect to the second mounting members 14, 14, and the rubber elastic body 10 interposed between the two mounting members 12, 14.
Of the first fluid chamber 40 and the second fluid chamber 42 and the third fluid chamber 44
A relative change in the internal pressure is generated between the first and second fluid chambers 46 and the first and second orifice passages 4 connecting the pair of fluid chambers to each other.
The flow of fluid through 8, 50 will be triggered.

And, therefore, in such a steering joint, such first and second orifice passages 4
By adjusting the flow cross-sectional area and length of 8, 50 according to the viscosity of the sealed fluid, the elasticity of the rubber elastic body 10, etc., at the time of vibration input in a predetermined frequency range, the inside of the orifice passages 48, 50 is adjusted. The effect of reducing the dynamic spring constant can be effectively exhibited based on the resonance action of the fluid that is caused to flow. In this embodiment, both the first and second orifice passages 48 and 50 have a low dynamic spring effect at the time of vibration input in a frequency range of about 10 to 20 Hz due to the resonance action of the fluid caused to flow inside. Is tuned so that steering vibrations such as shimmy can be effectively alleviated or eliminated.

Therefore, in such a steering joint, vibration isolation is required for the rubber elastic body 10 while setting a static spring constant enough to exhibit sufficient rotational driving force transmission performance. The dynamic spring constant in the frequency range can be reduced by the resonance effect of the fluid flowing through the first and second orifice passages 48, 50, whereby a joint having excellent vibration isolation performance is advantageous. It can be realized in.

Particularly, in the steering joint according to the present embodiment, the first to fourth fluid chambers 40, 42, 44, 46
Since the volume change at the time of vibration input can be effectively generated by the hard plate member 32, the flow rate of the fluid through the first and second orifice passages 48 and 50 can be advantageously secured, whereby The low dynamic spring effect by the fluid resonance action as described above can be more effectively exerted.

Furthermore, in the steering joint according to the present embodiment, the first and second orifice passages 48, 50
However, since each is formed between the metal sleeve 16 and the outer cylinder fitting 38, a change in the flow path shape at the time of inputting rotational driving force or vibration can be prevented as much as possible,
Thereby, there is also an advantage that the desired low dynamic spring effect can be advantageously and stably exhibited.

Further, in the steering joint according to the present embodiment, the second mounting bracket 1 of the first mounting brackets 12 and 12 is provided.
Excessive circumferential displacement with respect to 4, 14 and rubber elastic body 10
Can be effectively prevented by the stopper block 54, so that the durability of the joint can be advantageously secured.

Further, in the steering joint according to the present embodiment, the metal sleeve 16 is constituted by the half metal fittings 18 and 18, and the pre-compression is effective for the rubber elastic body 10 without any special operation. Can be added, so that a joint having excellent durability can be manufactured with good manufacturability.

As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described in detail, this is a literal illustration and this invention is not interpreted limited to only such a specific example.

For example, each of the hard plate member 32 and the stopper block 54 is appropriately adopted as needed, and is not essential in the present invention.

Further, the specific shape or structure of the fluid chamber or the orifice passage is not limited to that of the above-described embodiment.

Further, the first and second orifice passages 48 and 50 can be respectively tuned differently, whereby the resonance action of the fluid against the input vibration in two different frequency ranges is possible. Therefore, a low dynamic spring effect based on the above can be obtained.

Also, as the rubber elastic body 10, various forms such as an annular or polygonal form can be set in addition to the disk-like form as exemplified.

Furthermore, it is also possible to provide three or more drive-side mounting brackets and three or more driven-side mounting brackets. In such a case, by forming a fluid chamber between each driving-side mounting bracket and the driven-side mounting bracket, three or more pairs of fluid chambers communicated with each other through the orifice passage are formed. It is also possible.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, a specific example in which the present invention is applied to a steering joint of an automobile is shown. However, the present invention is also applicable to various other types such as a coupling interposed in a propeller shaft of an automobile. Of course, any of them can be advantageously applied to various elastic joints interposed between the rotary driving force transmitting members.

In addition, although not enumerated one by one, the present invention can be embodied in modes in which various changes, modifications, improvements, and the like are added based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. It goes without saying that any of them is included in the scope of the present invention unless departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a specific example in which the present invention is applied to an automobile steering joint.
The figure is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an integrally vulcanized molded product constituting the steering joint shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a view taken in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 10: Rubber elastic body 12: First mounting bracket (drive side mounting bracket) 14: Second mounting bracket (driven side mounting bracket) 16: metal sleeve, 22: pocket section 30: window section, 38: outer cylinder Metal fittings 40: first fluid chamber, 42: second fluid chamber 44: third fluid chamber, 46: fourth fluid chamber 48: first orifice passage 50: second orifice passage

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An elastic joint interposed between a predetermined torque input member and a torque output member for transmitting a rotational drive force from the torque input member to the torque output member; A plurality of drive-side mounting brackets and driven-side mounting brackets, which are alternately arranged at predetermined intervals around the center, and are fixed to the driving-side mounting bracket and the driven-side mounting bracket, respectively. A rubber elastic body that elastically connects the plurality of mounting brackets to each other, and a pair of semi-cylindrical half-brackets, and both circumferential end surfaces of the half-brackets are spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction to face each other. And a metal sleeve formed by being integrally fixed on the outer peripheral surface of the rubber elastic body; and the pair of half halves formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rubber elastic body to constitute the metal sleeve. Circumferential pair on the bracket A concave groove-shaped space opened on the outer peripheral surface through the facing surfaces, and the metal sleeve provided between the driving-side mounting bracket and the driven-side mounting bracket in the rubber elastic body. A plurality of pockets that penetrate the constituting metal part and open to the outer peripheral surface, and are extrapolated to and fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the metal sleeve, thereby forming the pair of half metal parts constituting the metal sleeve. By radially approaching each other and applying elastic deformation to the rubber elastic body such that the space is crushed, the rubber elastic body is pre-compressed and the opening of the pocket portion is closed. A cylindrical metal fitting; a plurality of fluid chambers formed by closing an opening of the cylindrical part with the outer cylindrical metal fitting in the pocket portion; and a predetermined incompressible fluid sealed therein; and the metal sleeve. And between the outer cylinder fittings, and between the opening portions of the pocket portions provided in the half metal fittings constituting the metal sleeve without straddling the opening portion of the space in the metal sleeve. The fluid chamber located between the driving-side mounting bracket and the driven-side mounting bracket on the side of the plurality of fluid chambers that are brought closer to each other when a rotational driving force is input; An orifice passage which communicates a fluid chamber located between the driving-side mounting bracket and the driven-side mounting bracket which are separated from each other at the time of input, and allows fluid to flow between the fluid chambers; And an elastic joint containing fluid.