JPS598568B2 - Vehicle drive propulsion shaft - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a vehicle drive propulsion shaft that can be advantageously employed as a drive propulsion shaft for a vehicle, particularly for a passenger automobile.

In recent years, fiber-reinforced plastic propulsion shafts have been considered to replace the conventional steel propulsion shafts (propeller shafts) for the purpose of reducing weight for energy saving (fuel saving) or reducing vibration and light noise. has been done.

However, while fiber-reinforced plastic drive shafts have the advantage of being extremely light in weight and reducing the total vehicle weight, they are difficult to connect to metal yokes (joints).・There were some flaws.

In order to solve this drawback, a method has been proposed in which the drive shaft and yoke are bonded with adhesive. It is difficult to apply the adhesive properly, and it is also difficult to apply the pressure necessary for adhesion during adhesion, so it has the disadvantage that sufficient adhesion strength cannot be obtained.

Furthermore, when molding a cylindrical tube made of fiber-reinforced plastic, a core mold or mandrel of some kind is required, and this mandrel must be removed from the mold after molding, so there is little freedom in changing the shape, and it is time-consuming. There was a drawback.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art and provides a vehicle drive propulsion shaft that is extremely simple to manufacture and has excellent strength.

To achieve the above object, the present invention includes a thin metal cylindrical tube, a yoke joined to both ends of the cylindrical tube, and a fiber-reinforced plastic layer coated on the outer peripheral surface, and the fiber-reinforced plastic layer is The present invention is characterized by a vehicle drive propulsion shaft formed integrally with a cylindrical tube using the cylindrical tube as a mandrel.

Next, the vehicle drive propulsion shaft of the present invention will be explained based on one embodiment thereof using the drawings.

In FIG. 1, the drive shaft 4 is a thin metal cylindrical tube 1.
It has a yoke 2 joined to both ends of this cylindrical tube 1, and a fiber reinforced plastic layer 3 integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface.

The cylindrical tube 1 and the yoke 2 are welded in advance, and one of the yokes 2 is connected to a power source (engine) and the other to a differential. 1 The cylindrical tube acts as a mandrel when forming the fiber reinforced plastic layer.

In other words, most of the mechanical strength required for the drive shaft is provided by the fiber-reinforced plastic layer. Therefore, the wall thickness of the cylindrical tube only needs to have the strength j required for the mandrel. Therefore, from the viewpoint of weight reduction, it is preferable that this thickness is as thin as possible, approximately 0.1
~2.0n or so, more preferably 0.1~0.5mm
to a certain degree.

The cylindrical tube may be made of any material as long as it can be welded to the yoke, and it is preferable that both ends of the tube be made slightly thicker (approximately 1.5 to 3.0 mm thick) to facilitate welding.
Note that, as described above, the cylindrical tube does not substantially share the mechanical strength as a drive shaft, so it is also possible to make many small holes to reduce the weight. Furthermore, in order to improve the integrity with the fiber-reinforced plastic layer, the outer surface may be provided with irregularities or may have a deformed cylindrical shape (polygonal shape). The fiber-reinforced plastic layer is formed by a known filament winding method using a cylindrical tube as a mandrel. Alternatively, prepregs may be laminated and cured, or a woven fabric or braid may be placed over a cylindrical tube, and then resin may be applied and impregnated and cured. The arrangement angle of the reinforcing fibers of the fiber-reinforced plastic layer with respect to the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical tube is approximately ±15, since the characteristics required for a drive propulsion shaft are mainly axial rigidity and torsional strength.
-30, or a combination of 00 and 45, or a combination of these and 90, but is not necessarily limited to these conditions.

In addition, when the fiber-reinforced plastic layer is formed by the filament winding method, it is necessary to fix it at the folding point of the reinforcing fibers, so as shown in another example in FIG. It is preferable to use a yoke with a small diameter portion and form a fiber-reinforced plastic layer up to that portion.Q Reinforcing fibers for the fiber-reinforced plastic layer include glass fiber, carbon fiber, and high-modulus organic fiber (for example, DuPont's One or two types of long fibers with high strength and high elastic modulus, such as Kevlar), poron fiber, and silicon carbide fiber.
Use more than one species.

Further, as the matrix, a thermosetting resin such as an epoxy resin, a polyester phenolic resin, a polyimide resin, or a thermoplastic resin such as a polysulfonate resin is used. As explained above, the vehicle drive propulsion shaft of the present invention includes a thin metal cylindrical tube, a yoke joined to both ends of the cylindrical tube, and a fiber-reinforced plastic layer coated on the outer peripheral surface, and Since the fiber-reinforced plastic layer is formed integrally with the cylindrical tube using the cylindrical tube as a mandrel, it has the remarkable characteristics of being extremely simple to manufacture, having excellent strength, and being extremely light.

A drive propulsion shaft for a current vehicle with a diameter of 65 TfLm and a wall thickness of 1.6 mm was cut at a position approximately 100 mm from both yoke sides, and the yoke part and the thick wall of the cylindrical tube were cut as shown in Figures 1 and 2 above. Two integral pieces corresponding to the parts were manufactured.

Separately, a galvanized steel plate with a wall thickness of 0.2 mm was made with a length of 800 mm.
It was machined into a cylindrical shape with a diameter of mm, and the above-mentioned integral body made from a drive propulsion shaft for a current vehicle was joined to both ends of the cylinder. Next, this surface was sandpapered to degrease it, and then a carbon fiber made by impregnating and pre-curing an epoxy resin "Toray Card P3OO" manufactured by Toray Industries, Ltd.
10 sheets were laminated, a heat-shrinkable film was placed thereon to prevent the resin from coming off during molding, and the resin was cured by heating at 170° C. for 4 hours.

After cooling, the heat shrink film was removed to obtain a vehicle drive propulsion shaft in which a carbon fiber reinforced plastic layer was integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical tube. Next, this was put on a torsion tester and 1
A torque of 0.00 k9-m was applied 10,000 times, but no abnormality was observed, and it was confirmed that the shaft had sufficient strength as a vehicle drive propulsion shaft.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of the vehicle drive propulsion shaft of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing a different embodiment from the above-mentioned FIG. 1 of the vehicle drive propulsion shaft of the present invention. be. [Sign.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Comprising a thin metal cylindrical tube, a yoke joined to both ends of the cylindrical tube, and a fiber-reinforced plastic layer coated on the outer peripheral surface, and the fiber-reinforced plastic layer is integrated with the cylindrical tube using the cylindrical tube as a mandrel. A drive propulsion shaft for a vehicle, characterized in that it is formed in a.