JPS6220742Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a universal joint.

A commonly used universal joint is a hook joint that has a cross-shaped connecting member and two U-shaped yokes that are pivotally connected to the connecting member. By using the letter-shaped connecting members, the shafts are oscillated about axes that are orthogonal to each other, and rotation between two shafts that intersect with each other and are not on the same axis is smoothly transmitted.

Conventional universal joints have a structure in which two yokes are pivotally connected to a cross-shaped connecting member, so the shaft is not directly connected to the connecting member, but is attached to the yoke using serrations, splines, etc. It is being Therefore, it is not easy to assemble subassemblies such as shafts, and the universal joint itself requires components that are relatively difficult to manufacture and assemble, such as connecting members and yokes. and the connecting member shall be connected so as to facilitate mutual movement. As described above, conventional universal joints have the disadvantage that they are not easy to manufacture and assemble.

Another example of a universal joint is disclosed in FIG. 6 of US Pat. No. 3,263,445. In this example, the yoke of one shaft and the tongue piece of the other shaft are connected through a pair of shovels, and the shovel is supported by the yoke by a contact portion that is a small piece. In this example, the torque acting on the shoe is received by the small piece, and the contact part may be damaged due to twisting, etc.
It bites into the fish. On the other hand, the special public interest public
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 9656, it is known to provide a cross-shaped groove in a sphere and fit a fork portion (C-shaped) of the shaft into this groove. However, this known means is applied to a spherical body, and the side surfaces of the groove, which serve as force transmission surfaces, are parallel. This causes a force component to occur in the direction of the rotation center of the sphere, resulting in force transmission loss.

Therefore, in order to provide a universal joint that is easy to manufacture and assemble at low cost and can withstand high torque, this invention basically uses an arc-shaped sliding joint on the outer peripheral wall surface of the pair of connecting members. A technical means is used to provide a groove and fit the connecting portion of the second shaft into this arcuate sliding groove. Furthermore, the opposing side surfaces of the arcuate sliding groove according to the present invention are shaped to converge toward the rotation center. Therefore, the contact surface between the connecting portion of the second shaft and the connecting member becomes large, making it possible to receive high torque.

According to this invention, the first shaft has a flat surface parallel to its tip and an engagement hole formed in the flat surface;
a second shaft having a C-shaped connecting portion at the tip; a sliding surface in contact with the flat surface of the first shaft; a protrusion formed on the sliding surface that fits into the engagement hole of the first shaft; and a sliding surface. has a connecting member consisting of two shoes of the same shape and an arcuate sliding groove formed on the opposite surface so that the connecting portion of the second shaft is attached, and the arcuate sliding surface is , has a side surface that is narrow on the bottom side and wide on the outer peripheral side and converges in the direction of the rotation center, and when the two shoes are assembled facing the sliding surface of the first shaft, the sliding of the shoes By attaching a connecting part of the second shaft having a tapered side surface having the same shape as the side surface of the groove to the moving groove, the movement around the axis of the protrusion between the first shaft and the second shaft and around the line perpendicular to the axis A universal joint is provided that is characterized by allowing relative rocking.

The details of the invention will be explained with reference to embodiments shown in the figures.

In Figures 1 to 3, the universal joints are the first shaft 1, the second shaft 2, and the first shaft 1 and the second shaft 2.
It has a connecting member 3 that connects the shaft 2. 1st axis 1
The tip portions 1a of the are flat surfaces 1b formed parallel to each other.
An engagement hole 4 is formed in the flat surface 1b.

The second shaft 2 has a substantially C-shaped connecting portion 2 at the tip 2a.
b is formed, and the cross-sectional shape of the connecting portion 2b is selected to be approximately rectangular, ladder-shaped, or a combination thereof.

The connecting member is formed by two shoes 3a and 3b of the same shape. Shows 3a and 3b are the first shaft 1
It has a flat sliding surface 5 that can smoothly contact and slide on the flat surface 1b of. The sliding surface 5 is provided with a projection 6 that fits into the engagement hole 4 of the shaft 1. The protrusion 6 is the engagement hole 4
Although it can be rotated relative to the holder, it is loosely fitted with enough precision that it does not cause much positional deviation.

An arc-shaped sliding groove 7 into which the C-shaped connecting portion 2b of the second shaft 2 can fit is formed on the surface of the shoes 3a, 3b opposite to the sliding surface 5. The cross-sectional shape of the sliding groove 7 corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the connecting portion 2b, and is formed to such an extent that the connecting portion 2b can freely pivot, but does not cause much play in the direction intersecting the pivoting surface.

If the surfaces of the shoes 3a and 3b on which the sliding grooves 7 are provided are formed into curved surfaces that approximately correspond to the outer circumferential surface of the connecting portion 2b, the outer circumferential surfaces of the second shaft 2 and the connecting member 3 will form a smooth curved surface after assembly. It is convenient in terms of appearance. The width B of the shoes 3a and 3b is the C-shaped connecting portion 2b.
It is set to be smaller than the open interval D of .
The arcuate sliding grooves 7 of the shoes 3a and 3b are formed when the two shoes 3a and 3b are assembled to the first shaft 1, that is, when the protrusion 6 is fitted into the engagement hole 4.
The arcuate surface is selected so that the connecting portion 2b just fits therein, and the second shaft 2 can freely pivot along the sliding groove 7 with respect to the shoes 3a, 3b.

When assembling the universal joint,
Assemble the two shoes 3a and 3b so that the protrusion 6 is fitted into the engagement hole 4, as shown in FIG.
Connecting portion 2 is attached to sliding groove 7 of one shoe 3a or 3b.
Insert the assembled body of the first shaft 1 and shoes 3a and 3b into the central cavity of the C-shaped connecting portion 2b so that the first shaft 1 and the shoes 3a and 3b fit together. Next, the shoes 3a and 3b are moved around the center point of the arcuate sliding groove 7 along with the first shaft 1 and the second shaft 2.
Rotate against. By turning the shoes 3a and 3b back and forth by 90 degrees, the shoes 3a and 3b can be assembled to the C-shaped connecting portion 2b of the second shaft 2 without falling off. Thereafter, by rotating the first shaft 1 around the center line of the protrusion 6, it can be set at a predetermined position.

In this way, the first shaft 1 and the second shaft 2 perform two types of relative motion: rotation around the axis of the protrusion 6 and rotation along the sliding groove 7. In other words, the relative swing around the axis of the protrusion 6 and a line perpendicular to the axis is defined as the first axis 1.
and the second shaft 2 functions as a hook joint.

When the first shaft 1 and the second shaft 2 swing in a normal state, the shoe 3a or 3b is connected to the C-shaped connecting portion 2.
The opening interval D of the connecting part 2b and the first axis 1 are adjusted so that the opening distance D of the connecting part 2b and the first axis 1 can be adjusted in such a way that it does not fall off from the connecting part 2b and can be swung within the required angular range.
The distance between the two flat surfaces, ie, the sliding surfaces 1b, of the tip of the slider, ie, the relationship with the thickness of the tip 1a, is set.

Shakiness between the connecting portion 2b of the second shaft 2 and the sliding grooves 7 of the shoes 3a and 3b and the shoes 3a and 3
In order to prevent looseness between the shaft 1 and the first shaft 1, and to avoid requiring more precision in the processing of each engaging portion than necessary, springs 8 are installed in the shoes 3a and 3b as shown in FIG. Holes and grooves 9 are formed for mounting. The hole and groove 9 are such that the attached spring 8 is located between the surface of the connecting portion 2b and the surface of the sliding groove 7 and the engagement hole 4 of the first shaft 1.
The curved abdomen 8a formed in the member located between the bottom and side surfaces of the spring 8 and the surface of the protrusion 6 and in contact with the bottom surface of the engagement hole 4 of the spring 8 creates a gap between the first shaft 1 and the shoes 3a and 3b. It prevents play and play in the radial direction between the shoes 3a and 3b and the connecting portion 2b, and is located between the surface of the sliding groove 7 of at least one leg of the spring 8 and the surface of the connecting portion 2b. The spring 8 is designed so that the curved portion 8b can prevent looseness between the two surfaces.
The shape and arrangement of are set.

The present invention has made it possible to connect two shafts with a simple structure of a connecting member consisting of two shoes, and moreover, it has become possible to form a universal joint. The first and second shafts may be the shafts themselves used in the subassembly, or they may be special members for universal joints that can be connected to the drive shaft and driven shaft by a simple method such as flange connection. You can also do that.

By forming the shoe from a self-lubricating cooktop material, the weight can be reduced, and the specific torque of the shoe can also be reduced.

With this invention, with a simple structure and only a few parts,
A universal joint that is easy to assemble without requiring any means for fixing each member is obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partially sectional front view of the universal joint according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a partially modified example corresponding to the - sectional view of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing one aspect during assembly. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...First shaft, 2...Second shaft, 3...Connection member, 4...Engagement hole, 5...Sliding surface, 6...Protrusion,
7...Sliding groove, 1a...Tip part, 1b...Flat surface, 2b...Connection part, 3a, 3b...Show.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A first shaft having a flat surface parallel to its tip and an engagement hole formed in the flat surface, and a second shaft having a C-shaped connecting portion at its tip. , a sliding surface in contact with the flat surface of the first shaft, a protrusion formed on the sliding surface that fits into the engagement hole of the first shaft, and a second surface on the opposite surface to the sliding surface.
and a connecting member consisting of two shoes of the same shape having an arcuate sliding groove formed so that the connecting portion of the shaft is attached, and the arcuate sliding surface is narrow on the bottom side and It has a side surface that converges in the direction of the wide rotation center at the outer peripheral side open part, and when the two shoes are assembled facing the sliding surface of the first shaft, the sliding groove of the shoe has a side surface of the groove. Relative rocking of the first and second shafts around the axis of the protrusion and a line perpendicular to the axis is made possible by attaching a connecting portion of the second shaft that has the same tapered side surface. A universal joint featuring: (2) The scope of the utility model registration claim characterized in that a substantially U-shaped spring is installed in the hole and groove in the shoe formed along the groove surface of the sliding groove, the protruding side surface, and the bottom surface of the shoe. Universal joint as described in paragraph 1.