JPH02292520A - Universal joint - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize a joint by forming the york of a universal joint, with a base portion devoid of both sides and york portions made to stand up with a round corner given, and denting inward the standing up portions of york portions, and housing part of a fastening tool at these dents. CONSTITUTION:The york 21 of a universal joint is made up of a circular base portion 28 devoid of both sides, and york portions 30a, 30b made to stand up with a round 29 given. The round 29 is made up of a projection shaped round 29a and a recess shaped round 29b. Reinforcement ribs 33a, 33b are formed by denting inward the standing up portions of york portions. Vibration proof rubber is fitted at the lower surface 28a of the base portion. A york fitting bolt is housed by taking advantage of the dented places 34a of the standing up portions of york portions. Also, the vibration proof rubber and the base portion have approximately the same diameter, and the rotation radius of the york can be made small, and a swing angle against an opposite party can be made large. And the whole of the joint becomes small.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a universal joint, and more particularly to a universal joint using a yoke formed of a base portion and yoke portions rising from both sides of the base portion.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, this type of universal joint has been used as a part of a steering device of an automobile, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, for example. In this example, a case is shown in which a lower joint 3 is used to connect a steering shaft 1 and a steering gear device 2, and yokes 5 and 6 are attached to the upper and lower ends of a lower shaft 4, respectively, and a steering wheel corresponding thereto The yokes 8 and 9 attached to the ends of the shaft 1 and the gear shaft 7, respectively, form a trunnion 10.
a and 10b, which are swingably connected. Also,
The lower joint 3 is equipped with a vibration isolation structure to prevent road vibrations from the tires and vibrations from the engine, suspension, etc. from being transmitted into the cabin via the steering shaft 1. As shown in Fig. 10, the structure is such that a disc-shaped vibration-proofing rubber 11 is attached to the tip of the lower shaft 4.
is fixed with bolts 12 and nuts 13, and this anti-vibration rubber 11
A yoke 5 is connected to the yoke 5.

For this reason, road vibrations etc. from the tires are transmitted to the lower joint 3.
When the vibration is transmitted to the steering shaft 1, most of the vibration is absorbed by the vibration isolating rubber 11.
This prevents vibrations and noise from being transmitted into the vehicle interior.

By the way, in this type of lower joint 3, as the yoke 5 fixed to the vibration isolating rubber 11, those shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 are conventionally known. This is a diamond-shaped metal plate that is bent at both sides in the long axis direction to form a substantially U-shaped cross section, and holes 14a and 14b for attaching anti-vibration rubber are provided at opposite end positions. a base portion 15, a yoke portion 17a having bearing mounting holes 16a, 16b for supporting the trunnion 10a;
17b (see Japanese Utility Model Application No. 57-172930). The yoke 5 formed in this way has the 10th
As shown in the figure, a vibration isolating rubber 11 is attached to the tip of the lower shaft 4.
In this case, the anti-vibration rubber 11 is fixed to mounting flanges 18a and 18b extending in the left-right direction at the tip of the lower shaft 4 with bolts 12 and nuts 13, and the yoke 5 is attached to the above-mentioned anti-vibration rubber. It is placed on the anti-vibration rubber 11 between the right and left anti-vibration rubber fixing bolts 12 and 12 protruding from the upper surface of the anti-vibration rubber 11, and is placed on the anti-vibration rubber 11 at a position on a line substantially perpendicular to the straight line connecting the bolts 12 and 12. bolt 19
It was fixed. Further, the yoke 5 fixed to the tip of the lower shaft 4 has a yoke portion 1.
A yoke 8 on the steering shaft 1 side is swingably connected via a trunnion 10a supported by bearing mounting holes 16a, 16b of 7a, 17b.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional universal joint described above, the yoke 5 consists of a base portion 15 formed by bending both sides of a substantially diamond-shaped metal plate to the ends, and yoke portions 17a and 17b rising from both sides of the base portion 15. Therefore, when the yoke 5 is attached to the anti-vibration rubber 11, the rhombic plate material portions 15a and 15b forming the base portion 15 may protrude outward from the anti-vibration rubber 11, and In addition to increasing the radius of rotation at the joint,
In the conventional yoke 5 formed from a diamond-shaped plate material, the first
As shown in Figure 2, the yoke part 1 rises from the base part 15.
Since gentle slopes 20a and 20b are formed on both sides of yoke portions 7a and 17b, the width dimension of yoke portions 17a and 17b becomes large, and the relationship with the mating yoke 8 connected to this yoke 5 increases. In this case, the swing angle will be restricted. As a result, there are problems in that the degree of freedom in laying out the steering device is reduced, and the effective space around the lower joint is reduced.

In addition, in the conventional universal joint, when fastening the vibration isolating rubber 11 to the lower shaft 4, the position of the bolt 12 is
Since it has to be provided on the outside of the parts a and 17b, the shape of the vibration isolating rubber 11 becomes correspondingly large, and there is also a problem that the lower joint 3 itself becomes large and heavy.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention aims to reduce the size of the yoke attachment part, thereby making effective use of the space around the lower joint, and reducing the size and weight of the lower joint. The purpose of this invention is to provide a universal joint that can achieve the In a universal joint consisting of a yoke fixed to a material, the yoke is composed of a circular base part with the same shape as the vibration isolating material, and a yoke of approximately equal width that protrudes from both sides of this base part with rounded corners. By folding each of the yoke parts of a plate material having a base part based on the folding line set as the base part, a base part with both sides removed and a rounded part rising from this base part of approximately equal width. At the same time, a reinforcing rib is formed in the rising part of the yoke part including the central part of the folded line and protrudes inward by inwardly recessing the plate material of the part, and this reinforcing rib A recess is formed on the outer surface of the yoke corresponding to the base section and the outer surface of the trunnion mounting portion of the yoke section, and the vibration isolator is attached to the shaft in this recess. This is done by a flexible fixer that accommodates a part of the fastener and fixes the base part of the yoke on the circumference of the vibration isolator that is offset approximately 90 degrees from the fastener.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of a yoke applied to the universal joint of the present invention, and this yoke 21 has the following features:
Similar to the conventional example, a metal plate material having a predetermined shape is pressed to have a substantially U-shaped cross section, but the metal plate material 22 according to this embodiment has the following features as shown in FIG. It has a shape including a circular base portion 23 and yoke portions 24a and 24b having approximately the same width W and projecting from both sides of the base portion 23 with rounded corners.

Folding lines 26a and 26b intersecting the long axis 25 of the plate 22 are set near the yoke parts 24a and 24b in the base portion 23 of the plate 22, and for example, a third
It is molded by press working using a yoke molding device 27 consisting of a lower mold 27a and an upper mold 27b as shown in the figure. In this pressing process, the yoke portions 24a and 24b on both sides are raised with reference to the folding lines 26a and 26b, and a circular base portion 28 with both sides cut out and a radius 29 are formed and rise from this base portion 28. Yoke portions 30a and 30b having approximately equal widths are formed.

Note that the attached radius 29 is the same as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 for molding.
As shown in the figure, it consists of a convex radius 29a attached to the rising part of the base part 28 and a concave radius 29b following this convex radius 29a, and this concave radius 29b is located at the upper part of the yoke parts 30a and 30b. smoothly connected to.

Further, in this embodiment, protrusions 31a, 3lb and recesses 32a, 32b are provided at the corners of the lower die 27a and the corresponding opposite sides of the tip of the upper die 27b in the yoke molding device 27, respectively. During the press working, the surrounding parts of the folding lines 26a and 26b set on the plate material 22, that is, the cutout side of the base part 28 including the center part of the folding lines 26a and 26b (71), and the yoke parts 30a and 30
The rising portion of b is embossed from the outside. Therefore, by this embossing process, inward reinforcing ribs 33a, 33b are formed on the inside of the yoke 21, spanning the base portion 28 and the goak portions 30a, 30b. The reinforcing ribs 33a and 33b allow the yoke portion 30 to
Springback of the yoke portions 30a and 30b is reliably prevented, and the trunnion support strength of the yoke portions 30a and 30b is increased. In addition, the reinforcing rib 33 is
The outer surface of the yoke 21 corresponding to the reinforcing ribs 33a, 33b has recesses 34a,
34b is formed. These recesses 34a, 34b are the first
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 7, the vibration-proof rubber mounting surface 28a, which is the lower surface of the base portion 28, and the outer surfaces 52a, 52b of the trunnion mounting portions of the yoke portions 30a, 30b are formed to be located inward. Therefore, the recesses 34a, 34
b can be used to store yoke mounting bolts, which will be described later.

Incidentally, bolt insertion holes 36a and 36b for attaching anti-vibration rubber 35, which will be described later, are provided in the flat part of the base part 28 at positions orthogonal to the yoke parts 30a and 30b, and the left and right yoke parts 30a , 30b are provided with bearing mounting holes 37a, 37b, respectively, for supporting the trunnions.

Next, a method for assembling the lower joint 3 using the yoke 21 having the above shape will be explained based on FIGS. 5 to 7. The lower joint 3 is provided with a vibration isolating structure using a disc-shaped vibration isolating rubber 35, and the vibration isolating rubber 35 in this embodiment has a diameter that is approximately the same as the maximum diameter at both ends of the base portion 23 of the goak 21. The inside is fiber-reinforced, and four bolt insertion holes 38a, 38b, 38c are formed on the same radius on a perpendicular line passing through the center of the circle.
, 38d has been established. Among these, a pair of bolt insertion holes 38a + 38c located at opposing positions are for inserting bolts 40a and 40c for fixing the lower shaft 39, and therein are pushers 41a protruding downward. , 41c are attached. Further, a pair of bolt insertion holes 38b and 38d perpendicular to this hole are for inserting bolts 40b and 40d for fixing the yoke 21.
Inside, there are pushers 4lb and 41d that protrude from the top side.
is installed. In addition, each of the above-mentioned pushes 41a, 41c,
4lb, 41d, plastic collars 42a, 42c, 42b, 42d are fitted onto their protruding parts, and the plastic collars 42a, 42c, 42b, 42d are fitted on the bottom and top sides of the vibration isolating rubber 35.
The stopper plates 43a, 43b are sandwiched between the stopper plates 43a and 43b.
are interposed respectively. This stopper plate 43a,
43b is a metal disc member commonly used by the bolt insertion holes 38a (38b), 3 of the vibration isolating rubber 35;
Bolt holes 44a, 4 on both sides corresponding to 8c (38d)
In addition to 4b, plastic collars 4, 2a (42b), 42c (
42d) are formed into cutout recesses 45a and 45b into which they fit. These stopper plates 43a, 43b prevent the vibration isolating rubber 35 from twisting when the joint portion rotates, and are provided in the cutout recesses 45a, 43b. By applying the notch edge of 45b to the plastic collar, it functions as a stopper. The notch edge is formed so as to be curved with respect to the surface of the vibration isolating rubber 35, thereby preventing the vibration isolating rubber 35 from digging in. Also, lower shaft 3
9 is integrally provided with a mounting flange 46 projecting to the left and right sides at the tip thereof, and a serration 47 for attaching a yoke on the gear shaft side is provided at the rear end. In order to assemble the yoke 21 to the upper part of the lower shaft 39 via the anti-vibration rubber 35, first insert the anti-vibration rubber into the bolt holes 48a and 48b formed at the left and right ends of the mounting flange 46 of the lower shaft 39. Fixing bolt 40
a, 40c, and insert the bolts 40a, 40c into the bolt insertion holes 38a, 38c of the anti-vibration rubber 35 through the plastic collars 42a, 42c, and the bolt holes of the stopper plate 43b arranged on the upper surface of the anti-vibration rubber 35. 44a,
44c, and a nut 49a is attached to the tip of the bolt 40a, 40c that protrudes above the stopper plate 43b.
, 49c, the vibration isolating rubber 35 is attached to the mounting flange 46 of the lower shaft 39.

Next, the recesses 34a and 34b of the yoke 21 are located at the tip protruding portions of the bolts 40a and 40c for fastening the vibration isolating rubber.
The yoke 21 is placed in this manner, and the yoke fastening bolts 40b and 40d are inserted into the bolt insertion holes 36a and 36b from the upper surface of the base portion 28. And this bolt 4
The bolt holes 38b, 38d of the anti-vibration rubber 35 and the bolt holes 44a, 44b of the stopper plate 43a arranged on the lower surface of the anti-vibration rubber 35 are passed through the plastic collars 42b, 42d through the plastic collars 42b, 40d.
The yoke 21 is attached to the vibration isolating rubber 35 by screwing nuts 49b and 49d onto the tip portions protruding from the vibration isolating rubber 35. Note that, as shown in FIG. 8, the yoke 21 and the vibration isolating rubber 35 can also be attached to the lower shaft 39 by fixing means using pins 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d instead of the bolt fastening means.

In the lower joint 3 in which the yoke 21 is assembled in this way, since the base portion 23 of the yoke 21 has a basic circular shape with approximately the same diameter as the shape of the vibration isolating rubber 35, the vibration isolating rubber 35 The entire base portion 23 can be accommodated within the yoke 2l within the rotation radius of the vibration isolating rubber 35.
As a result, the yoke 21 can be made smaller and lighter.

Further, in this embodiment, from the base part 28 to the yoke part 30a
, 30b are formed to increase the rigidity of the yoke parts 30a, 30b, and the yoke parts 30a, 30b are raised up from the base part 28 with approximately the same width. Compared to a conventional yoke formed by bending, the width of the yoke portions 30a and 30b can be made narrower, and as shown in FIG. It can be made larger, giving a greater degree of freedom when laying out a steering device for an automobile.

Further, in this embodiment, a bolt 40 for fastening the anti-vibration rubber 35 is used.
a, 40c into the recesses 34a, 40c of the yoke 21,
34b so that the bolt 40
The bolts 40b and 4 for fastening the yoke are placed at positions a and 40c.
It can be provided on the same circumference as 0d, that is, in the circular base portion 23 forming the base portion 28 of the yoke 21, and as a result, the shape of the vibration isolating rubber 35 itself can be reduced.

In addition, when the vibration isolation structure of the lower joint is provided on the gear shaft side, the above-mentioned yoke 21 can be applied as a universal joint between the gear shaft and the lower shaft, and the above-mentioned yoke 21 can be applied as a universal joint between the gear shaft and the lower shaft. It can also be widely used for other universal joints.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, since the universal joint according to the present invention is configured as described above, the rotation radius of the yoke itself can be reduced, and the swing angle can be increased in relation to the mating yoke. . In addition, the reinforcing ribs protruding from the inside of the yoke ensure sufficient strength as a yoke, making it possible to form a yoke part that rises from the base part with approximately the same width, and the back side of this reinforcing rib Since a recess is formed in which a part of the bolt for fastening the anti-vibration rubber can be accommodated, the fastening position of the bolt can be provided within the base portion of the circular yoke. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the yoke attachment part by reducing the shape of the vibration-proof rubber itself, thereby making it possible to reduce the weight of the entire joint part and effectively utilize the space around the joint part.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a yoke applied to the universal joint of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the yoke, Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a yoke forming device, and Fig. 4 is a side view of the yoke. Figure, 5th
The figure is an exploded perspective view of the members constituting the universal joint, Figure 6 is an assembly diagram of the universal joint, Figure 7 is a partial sectional view taken along line 1 and 2 in Figure 6, and Figure 8 is a case where the fastening means are different. 9 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically showing the steering device.
Figure 10 is an assembly diagram showing an example of a conventional universal joint, Figure 11 is an assembly diagram showing an example of a conventional universal joint.
The figure is a plan view showing an example of a conventional yoke, and FIG. 12 is a side view of the yoke. 21... Yoke 22... Metal plate material 3... Base portion 4a, 24b... Yoke portion 6a, 26b... Folding line 8... Base portion 8a... Vibration isolating material mounting surface 9 ...Round Oa, 30b...Yoke part 4a, 34b...Recess 5...Vibration isolating rubber (vibration isolating material) 9...Shaft (lower shaft) Oa, 40b...Bolt (fastening 2a, 52b... Outer surface of the trunnion attachment part of the yoke Patent applicant Fuji Kiko Co., Ltd. Figure 30b (7% yaw) / Figure ■ Figure 36a Figure Figure ■ Figure ■ Figure [l Figure Iba

Claims (1)

[Claims] A universal joint comprising a shaft, a vibration isolator fixed to the tip thereof, and a yoke placed on the upper surface of the vibration isolator and fixed to the vibration isolator, , each of the yoke portions of a plate material having a circular base portion having the same shape as the vibration isolating material and yoke portions of approximately equal width protruding from both sides of the base portion with rounded corners are set as the base portion. By raising the folded line using the folded line as a reference, it is formed by a base part with both sides removed and a yoke part of approximately equal width that is rounded and rises from this base part, and also includes the center part of the folded line. At the rising part of the yoke part, a reinforcing rib that protrudes inward is formed by inwardly recessing the plate material of this part, and the vibration isolator mounting surface of the base part and the yoke are attached to the outer surface of the yoke corresponding to this reinforcing rib. A recess is formed inwardly from the outer surface of the trunnion attachment portion of the shaft, and a part of the fastener for attaching the vibration isolating material to the shaft is accommodated in the recess, and
A universal joint characterized in that a base portion of a yoke is fixed on the circumference of a vibration isolating material that is shifted approximately 90 degrees from the fastener.