JPH0349301Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to the structure of a constant velocity joint, and particularly to the structure of a sliding type constant velocity joint used in an automobile drive shaft or propeller shaft.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, sliding constant velocity joints have been used in drive shafts and propeller shafts of automobiles. One of these sliding constant velocity joints is the Revlo joint (VL joint).
It has been known.

This reversible joint consists of four main components: an outer race, an inner race, a ball, and a cage. By slanting the ball grooves formed on the inner surface of the outer race and the outer surface of the inner race at equal angles in opposite directions as a pair, it is possible to perform uniform motion and simultaneously slide in the axial direction.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, in the reversing joint configured as described above, when the joint slides, the inclined ball groove causes the ball to move in the circumferential direction within the window hole of the cage.

Therefore, when the ball slides under a torque load, sliding friction occurs between the ball and the cage. The surface pressure between the ball and the cage is extremely high, depending on the magnitude of the torque being transmitted, and therefore a large frictional resistance tends to occur.

If the sliding resistance of the constant velocity joint is large,
Especially in automatic transmission vehicles,
There was a problem where the vehicle often vibrated (idle vibration) when the vehicle was stopped and shifted to the D range.

Note that a constant velocity joint in which a sliding member is interposed between the ball and the cage has been proposed (for example,
(Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 51-29652), this constant velocity joint aims to improve durability by reducing the surface pressure between the ball and the cage, and no consideration was given to the sliding resistance of the constant velocity joint. It is something.

Therefore, the technical problem of the present invention is to focus on the fact that the main cause of the slide resistance of the above-mentioned rev joint is the frictional force between the ball and the cage, generally due to sliding friction, and to solve the problem of contact between the ball and the cage. The aim is to reduce the sliding resistance of the constant velocity joint by devising the structure.

[Means for solving problems]

Therefore, the present invention employs the following configuration as a means for solving the above-mentioned problems.

That is, in the present invention, in the above-mentioned rev joint, a needle roller with a retainer is interposed between the ball and the cage, so that the relative movement between the two is caused by rolling of the low-friction needle roller.

Specifically, a plurality of ball grooves are formed as pairs on the inner surface of the outer race and on the outer surface of the inner race, and are inclined at equal angles in opposite directions, and balls for torque transmission are provided in these intersecting ball grooves. In a constant velocity joint formed by holding each ball on a constant velocity bisecting plane by a cage having a window hole for accommodating the ball, both axial end surfaces of the window hole of the cage 40 for accommodating the ball 30 and the ball 30, a needle roller 62 that rolls in the longitudinal direction of the end surface of the window hole, and a pair of retainers 64 that accommodate the needle rollers 62 are disposed, and the pair of retainers 64 are connected to the balls 30 by a connecting member 64a. The cages 64 are integrally connected so as to surround each other, and flanges are formed at the outer and inner ends in the radial direction of the pair of retainers 64 to sandwich the cage 40 therebetween.

[Effect]

According to the above-mentioned means, when sliding under torque load, the retainer 64 is prevented from coming out of the cage 40 in the radial direction by the flange.
In addition, since the balls 30 are surrounded by the connecting member 64a and connected to the retainer, it is possible to prevent the balls 30 from coming off from the retainer in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the relative movement between the balls 30 and the window hole end surface 44 of the cage 40 due to the inclined ball groove is allowed by the low friction rolling of the needle roller 62 housed in the retainer 64.

〔Example〕

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

Figures 1 to 5 show a constant velocity joint according to one embodiment of the present invention, where Figure 1 is an axial sectional view of the cage with balls installed, and Figure 2 is without balls. 3 is an axial sectional view showing the assembled state of the constant velocity joint, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, and FIG. This is an enlarged cross-section of the main part.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rebro joint includes an outer race 10 and an inner race 2.
0, balls 30 and cage 40 for torque transmission
It is composed of.

The outer race 10 has a cylindrical inner circumferential surface 12, and the inner circumferential surface 12 has a plurality of grooves (in this example In this example, six ball grooves 14 are formed. On the other hand, the inner race 20 has an outer spherical surface 22, and a plurality of ball grooves 24 corresponding to the ball grooves 14 are also formed on the outer spherical surface 22 on a cylindrical surface centered on the rotation axis XX. It is formed. These ball grooves 14 and 24 are provided as a pair with equiangular inclinations in opposite directions. Torque transmission balls 30 are rotatably provided in these intersecting ball grooves.

The cage 40 is provided with six window holes 42 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction for accommodating the balls 30. This window hole 42 is set so that its length in the circumferential direction is larger than its width in the axial direction,
Ball 30 is adapted to be able to move circumferentially along its axial end face 44. The outer and inner surfaces of the portion of the cage 40 where the window hole 42 is provided are formed into a spherical surface 46 concentric with the joint center O.
and 48. The outer spherical surface 46 of the cage is in contact with the inner peripheral surface 12 of the outer race, and the inner spherical surface 48 of the cage faces the outer spherical surface 22 of the inner race with a gap to allow sliding. The cage 40 is configured to always hold each ball 40 on a constant velocity bisecting plane C that passes through the center of the inner and outer spherical surfaces and divides the cage 40 into left and right halves in FIG.

The outer race 10 is fixed to one shaft 18 by bolts 16, and the inner race 20 is fixed to the other shaft 28 by a spline 26 formed on its inner circumferential surface.
be fixed and assembled. In this way, both shafts 1
Even if an angle is given between 8 and 28, it is possible to transmit at a constant velocity and at the same time slide in the axial direction. Note that 50 indicates boots.

Now, between the ball 30 and the window hole end surface 44 of the cage 40, there is a needle roller 6 with a retainer.
0 is inserted.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, two caged needle rollers 60 are provided on both sides of each ball 30 in the window hole end surface 40 of the cage 40.
It is interposed between.

The needle roller with retainer 60 is composed of a plurality of needle rollers 62 arranged in the radial direction and a retainer 64 that retains these needle rollers 62. Flanges 66 and 68 are formed at the outer and inner ends of the retainer 64 in the radial direction, respectively, to restrict the retainer 64 from slipping out of the cage 40 in the radial direction. The needle roller with cage 60 is
A pair of retainers 64 on both sides in the axial direction are integrally connected to each other. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 5, a pair of retainers 64 are fixed to a connecting member 64a with rivets 64b. This fixing method may be caulking or the like. A slight gap is provided between the balls 30 and the connecting member 64a, and the length of the retainer 64 in the circumferential direction is equal to the length of the ball 30.
Cage window hole 4 with diameter slightly smaller than 0
Movement along both end surfaces 44 at 2 is allowed. The dimensions and positional relationship of the caged needle roller 60 are determined so as not to interfere with the ball grooves 14 of the outer race and the ball grooves 24 of the inner race.

In the constant velocity joint configured as described above, when the joint slides, the inclined ball grooves 14 and 24 cause the ball 30 to move toward the cage in the direction of arrow Y shown in FIG. 2 (direction perpendicular to the radius of the cage cross section). 40 through the window holes 42.

At this time, since the needle roller 62 normally rolls along the window hole end surface 44 of the cage 40 when the joint slides, there is no slippage between the balls 30 and the retainer 64, and the balls 30 and the retainer 64 move as one. However, under special conditions such as vibration during operation or deterioration of grease, there is a possibility that the balls 30 may come off from the retainer 64 in the circumferential direction. However, since the pair of retainers 64 are integrally connected by the connecting member 64a and are faced to the balls 30 with a slight gap, it is possible to prevent the balls 30 from coming off from the retainer 64 as described above. There is. For this reason, the needle roller 6
2 can roll along the window hole end surface 44, so there is no slippage between the ball 30 and the cage 64, and therefore the ball 30 moves along the window hole end surface 44 of the cage via the needle roller 62 together with the cage 64. I will do it.

Therefore, the relative movement between the ball 30 and the cage 40 is due to the rolling of the needle roller 62, and conventional sliding friction is not present.
Slide resistance can be made extremely small.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, according to the present invention, the sliding resistance of the constant velocity joint can be significantly reduced.
The performance of constant velocity joints can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 4 show a constant velocity joint according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 is an axial cross-sectional view of the cage with balls installed, and Figure 2 is an axial cross-sectional view of the cage without balls. 3 is an axial sectional view showing the assembled state of the constant velocity joint, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, and FIG. FIG. 10... Outer race, 12... Inner peripheral surface of outer race, 14... Ball groove of outer race, 2
0... Inner race, 22... Outer spherical surface of inner race, 24... Inner spherical surface of inner race, 30...
Ball for torque transmission, 40... Cage, 42...
... Window hole, 44 ... Window hole end surface, 46 ... Outer spherical surface of cage, 48 ... Inner spherical surface of cage, 60 ... Needle roller with cage, 62 ... Needle roller, 6
4...Cage, 64a...Connection member.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A plurality of ball grooves are formed in pairs on the inner surface of the outer race and the outer surface of the inner race and are inclined at equal angles in opposite directions, and balls for torque transmission are placed in these intersecting ball grooves. In a constant velocity joint in which each ball is held on a constant velocity bisecting plane by a cage provided with a window hole for accommodating the ball, both axial directions of the window hole of the cage for accommodating the ball are provided. A needle roller that rolls in the longitudinal direction of the end surface of the window hole and a pair of retainers that accommodate the needle rollers are disposed between the end surface and the ball, and the pair of retainers surrounds the ball by a connecting member. A constant velocity joint, characterized in that the pair of retainers are integrally connected to each other, and further have flanges sandwiching the cage at the outer and inner ends in the radial direction of the pair of cages.