JP4854944B2 - Rail vehicle shaft couplings - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle shaft joint used to connect an output shaft of a drive motor and a speed reducer in a motor-driven vehicle, and can be used in a railway vehicle, a construction vehicle, an electric vehicle, and the like.

Conventionally, a gear coupling (gear-shaped flexible shaft joint) is used to connect an output shaft of a drive motor and an input shaft of a reduction gear in a railway vehicle (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-89371).

  FIG. 10 shows a railway vehicle drive device. The drive device is a device for transmitting the torque of the motor 2 loaded on a bogie frame (not shown) to the driving wheel 3 and includes a gear coupling 1 and a speed reducer 5. The speed reducer 5 includes a large gear 6 and a small gear 7. The large gear 6 is fixed to a driving wheel shaft 4 having a driving wheel 3 fixed to both ends. The support shaft of the small gear 7 that meshes with the large gear 6 serves as the input shaft of the speed reducer 5, and is connected to the output shaft of the motor 2 by the shaft coupling 1.

As shown in FIG. 11, the gear coupling 1 is provided with an external gear 8 at the shaft end of the output shaft of the motor 2 and an external gear 9 at the shaft end of the small gear 7 of the speed reducer 5. The left and right outer cylinders 10, 11 provided with internal gears meshing with the gears 8, 9 are fastened with bolts 12, and perforated disk-shaped dust-proof covers 13 are attached to the outer end surfaces of the left and right outer cylinders 10, 11, The inner peripheral edge of the dust-proof cover 13 is folded inward so as to face the ring-shaped concave groove 14 formed on the outer side surface of the external gears 8 and 9 without contact, and the outer surface of the bent portion is indicated by a two-dot chain line. As shown in FIG. 1, the rubber seal is brought into contact with a dust-proof rubber seal 15 fitted to the shaft end.

According to the above-described gear coupling 1, reliable transmission of power can be ensured even if an axial line shift occurs between the motor output shaft and the reduction gear input shaft. However, the gear coupling 1 is required to have angular freedom even when there is a misalignment of several mm or more between the axis of the output shaft of the motor 2 and the input shaft of the speed reducer 5. For this reason, the angle flexibility is enhanced by applying large crowning to the teeth of the external gears 8 and 9. Further, the meshing between the external gears 8 and 9 and the outer cylinders 10 and 11 has a slight clearance (backlash).
No. 07-047619 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-089371

Rail cars are increasingly required to be quiet, just like automobiles. In particular, the vibration noise associated with the backlash of the drive system is a problem. Since the gear coupling 1 connecting the motor and the reduction gear of the railway vehicle has a clearance on the meshing surface of the gear, a rattling sound is generated due to a speed fluctuation during rotation due to the influence of the clearance. Further, when the gear coupling 1 is rotated at an angle, a sliding noise, that is, a so-called rubbing noise between the tooth surfaces is generated as the meshing surfaces of the external gears 8 and 9 and the outer cylinders 10 and 11 slide. To do. Reducing such rattling noise and rubbing noise and reducing vibration noise of the entire vehicle has become a problem.

The present invention, for further quieter such railway vehicle, a motor and as a shaft coupling for coupling a reduction gear, play in the rotational direction without, moreover angle imparted to torque loss groove a rolling motion the torque transmission member at the time It uses a constant velocity joint of the type.

That is, the present invention connects the support shaft of the small gear and the output shaft of the motor of a railway vehicle in which the torque of the motor is transmitted to the driving wheel shaft through the reduction gear having the large gear and the small gear engaged with each other. a shaft coupling for, using the constant velocity joint of a pair of cross groove type with no play in the rotational direction, the inner ring of one of the constant velocity joint connected to an output shaft of the motor, the inner ring of the other of the constant velocity joint in those integrated by the connection with the input shaft of the reduction gear, fastening the flange bolts and nuts one of the outer ring of the outer ring and the other of the constant velocity joint of the constant velocity joint abutted end faces The constant velocity joint includes an inner ring formed on the outer peripheral surface with a track that forms an angle with respect to the axis, and a track that forms an angle with respect to the axis in a direction opposite to the track groove of the inner ring. Between the outer ring formed on the inner peripheral surface, the torque transmitting ball incorporated at a position where the track of the inner ring and the track of the outer ring that make a pair intersect, and the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring and the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring And a cage for holding the torque transmission ball interposed therebetween .

  The track crossing angle of the cross groove joint is preferably in the range of 3 ° to 16 °.

  The number of torque transmission balls in the cross groove joint is preferably in the range of 10 to 18.

When applied to a railway vehicle, an insulating plate may be interposed between the outer ring of one cross groove joint and the outer ring of the other cross groove joint.

The railway vehicle motors driving, constant velocity joint ball types without backlash as shaft coupling for connecting the motor and reduction gear, specifically by adopting a cross-groove joint, seen in the conventional gear coupling There is no rattling noise or rubbing noise, and the vibration noise of the entire vehicle is reduced.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described. Here, FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view. FIG. 3 shows a state in which a partition plate, bolts / nuts, a sealing device, and the like are removed, in addition to a part thereof being cut.

  In this embodiment, a cross groove joint is used. That is, this shaft coupling is constituted by a pair of cross groove joints 16, and each cross groove joint 16 includes an inner ring 20, an outer ring 30, a ball 40, and a cage 50 as main components.

  The inner ring 20 has a plurality of tracks 22 on the outer peripheral surface and a tapered hole 26 in the center. The inner ring 20 is fitted with a taper shaft formed on the output shaft of the motor or the support shaft of the small gear through the taper hole 26 so that torque can be transmitted by a key. Although not shown in the drawing, the end of the taper shaft has a male thread portion and is fastened with a nut. The inner ring 20 has a fitting length necessary for the connection between the existing motor and the reduction gear shaft, and is a type that can be separated from the cage 50 in the axial direction in consideration of incorporation. That is, the maximum outer diameter of the inner ring 20 is smaller than the minimum inner diameter of the cage 50. Circlips 24 are mounted on both sides of the track 22 of the inner ring 20. The circlip 24 functions as a stopper for preventing the cassette from separating after the cage 50, the inner ring 20 and the ball 40 (cassette) are assembled with the outer ring 30. The circlip 24 may be attached to the outer ring 30.

Normally, the cross groove joint has six torque transmission balls, and has a spline hole in the inner ring, and is adopted as a pair of universal shaft joints fitted to this in a propeller shaft and a drive shaft of an automobile. However, when it is applied to the connection between a motor and a reduction gear of a railway vehicle as a shaft joint, the shaft diameter is considerably larger than that of the spline shaft, and the cross groove used for the propeller shaft and drive shaft of an automobile. In the joint form, the inner ring cannot be directly attached to the motor shaft or the reduction gear shaft. Therefore, here, in order to enable joining with the existing motor shaft and reduction gear shaft, the pitch circle diameter of the balls 40 is increased, the number of balls is increased, and the inner ring 20 corresponding to the external gear of the gear coupling is keyed. The grooved taper hole 26 is provided. Of course, when there is no such restriction, normal spline fitting may be employed.

The outer ring 30 is located on the outer periphery of the inner ring 20, and the same number of tracks 32 as the tracks 22 of the inner ring 20 are formed on the inner peripheral surface. As shown in FIG. 4, the track 22 of the inner ring 20 and the track 32 of the outer ring 30 are angled in opposite directions with respect to the axis. An angle formed by each of the tracks 22 and 32 with respect to the axis (hereinafter referred to as a track crossing angle) is indicated by a symbol α in FIG. A ball 40 is incorporated at the intersection of the track 22 of the inner ring 20 and the track 32 of the outer ring 30 that form a pair. A cage 50 is interposed between the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 20 and the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring 30. The cage 50 has pockets 52 for holding the balls 40 at equally spaced positions in the circumferential direction.

  Regarding the number of torque transmission balls 40 and the track crossing angle α of the tracks 22 and 32 of the inner and outer rings 20 and 30, the number of balls is 14 according to the balance between the motor output and the load capacity of the cross groove joint 16 and the size of the mounting shaft. A track angle of 10 ° can be mentioned as an example, but the number of balls is preferably 10 to 18, and the track crossing angle α is preferably in the range of 3 to 16 °.

The interior space of the shaft coupling is filled with a lubricant. As the lubricant, grease may be used as in the case of the propeller shaft or drive shaft for automobiles, or gear oil may be used. In the illustrated embodiment, the flange 34 is fastened and integrated with bolts and nuts 74 with the end faces of the pair of outer rings 30 butted. A partition plate 70 is sandwiched between the end faces of the outer ring 30. The partition plate 70 divides the internal space of the shaft coupling at the center, and plays a role of minimizing grease leakage when the pair of cross groove joints are individually disassembled. Reference numeral 72 denotes an O-ring.

  A sealing device 60 is attached to the outer end of the cross groove joint 16. The sealing device 60 includes a boot 62 and a boot adapter 68. The boot adapter 68 is made of metal, has a generally cylindrical shape, and has a flange 69 at one end. In the illustrated embodiment, the boot adapter 68 is fixed to the outer ring 30 by applying the flange 69 to the outer end face of the outer ring 30 through the rubber packing 63 and screwing the bolt 38 into the screw hole 36 through the washer. is there. The boot 62 is made of a flexible material such as rubber or resin, and has a small end portion 64 and a large end portion 66, and is folded back into a V-shaped cross section in the middle. The large end 66 of the boot 62 is held by crimping the end of the boot adapter 68. The small end portion 64 of the boot 62 is fitted into a boot groove 28 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the end portion of the inner ring 20 and is fastened with a boot band 65 from above.

  Due to the above-described configuration, the inner ring 20 and the outer ring 30 can be angularly displaced and can be displaced in the axial direction (plunging). FIG. 5A shows a slide-in state, that is, a state in which the inner ring 20 has moved relative to the right side of FIG. FIG. 5B shows a slide-out state, that is, a state in which the inner ring 20 has moved relative to the left side of FIG. The rolling range of the ball 40 is restricted by the circlip 24, and as a result, the amount of axial displacement (plunging) is restricted. FIG. 5 illustrates the case where this is 7 mm.

Next, the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 employs a spacer 76 and a retaining ring 78 having an irregular cross section instead of the circular cross section circlip 24 in the embodiment of FIG. As can be seen by comparing FIG. 7 with the corresponding FIG. 5, the function of the spacer 76 is the same as that of the circlip 24 . As can be seen from FIG. 7, the spacer 76 has a cylindrical inner peripheral surface that fits with the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the inner ring, and has an inclined surface that receives the ball 40 on the outer periphery. The retaining ring 78 is fitted in a groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 20.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, instead of the partition plate 70 in the embodiment of FIG. 1, an insulating plate 80 formed of an insulating material such as a phenolic resin or epoxy resin laminate is interposed on the flange mating surface. Is. In order to prevent energization through the bolt 74, an insulating bush 82 and an insulating washer 84 are used. Reference numeral 86 denotes a normal washer. By adopting such a configuration, for example, even when electricity is applied to the speed reducer and wheels from the motor through the coupling and electric corrosion becomes a problem, the insulating plate 80 cuts off the electricity and the occurrence of electrical decoration. Play a role in preventing.

  FIG. 9 illustrates a case where the present invention is applied to an electric vehicle. The output of a motor is transmitted to a differential through a shaft coupling to rotate a drive wheel.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the shaft coupling which shows embodiment of this invention. It is an II-II arrow line view of FIG. It is the perspective view which cut a part of shaft coupling of FIG. It is a schematic diagram of the track and cage pocket of the inner and outer rings. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. 1, Comprising: A shows at the time of a slide in, B shows the time of a slide out. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the shaft coupling which shows another embodiment. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 6, where A indicates a slide-in time and B indicates a slide-out time. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the shaft coupling which shows another embodiment. It is the schematic of the drive part of the electric vehicle which shows another embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drive device in the rail vehicle which shows the prior art. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the shaft coupling in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

16 Cross groove joint 20 Inner ring 22 Track 24 Circlip 26 Tapered hole 28 Boot groove 30 Outer ring 32 Track 34 Flange 36 Screw hole 38 Bolt 40 Ball 50 Cage 52 Pocket 60 Sealing device 62 Boot 63 Rubber packing 64 Small end part 66 Large end part 68 Boot adapter 69 Flange 70 Partition plate 72 O-ring 74 Bolt / nut 76 Spacer 78 Retaining ring 80 Insulating plate 82 Insulating bush 84 Insulating washer 86 Washer

Claims (5)

This is a shaft coupling for connecting the support shaft of the small gear and the output shaft of the motor of a railway vehicle in which the torque of the motor is transmitted to the driving wheel shaft through a reduction gear having a large gear and a small gear that mesh with each other. Te, using the constant velocity joint of a pair of cross groove type with no play in the rotational direction, the inner ring of one of the constant velocity joint connected to an output shaft of the motor, enter the inner race of the other of the constant velocity joint of the reducer connected to the shaft, be those integrated by fastening the flanges with bolts and nuts in a state where the outer rings abutting the end faces of the outer ring and the other of the constant velocity joint of one of the constant velocity joint, the constant velocity The joint has an inner ring formed on the outer peripheral surface with a track forming an angle with respect to the axis, and a track formed on the inner peripheral surface in an opposite direction to the track groove of the inner ring. A torque transmitting ball incorporated at a position where a pair of the inner ring track and the outer ring track intersect each other, and an outer peripheral surface of the inner ring and an inner peripheral surface of the outer ring. And a cage for holding a railway vehicle. The shaft coupling for a railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the crossing angle of the track is 3 ° or more and 16 ° or less . Claim 1 or 2 joint for railway vehicles, characterized in that the number of said torque transmitting balls in the range of 10 to 18. The shaft coupling for a railway vehicle according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein an insulating plate is interposed between the outer ring of one cross groove joint and the outer ring of the other cross groove joint. The inner ring tracks or claims 1 to one of the railway vehicle shaft coupling 4, characterized in that a stopper for restricting the rolling range of the balls in the end portion of the track of the outer ring.