JPS63150127A - Method for assembling universal coupling - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a pair of slide grooves from positional shear and a yoke from scars caused by claws, by bringing chuck claws close to each other to slide in side grooves of hemispherical bells and bringing a pair of hemispherical balls close to each other to incorporating claws of a yoke. CONSTITUTION:While chuck claws 7, 8 are separated from each other, slide grooves 4a on one hemispherical ball 4 of a spherical body 3 are aligned with said claws and incorporated therein. An elastic member 5 is mounted on said ball and slide grooves 4a on the other hemispherical body 4 are aligned with the chuck claws 7, 8 for incorporation. Next, the chuck claws 7, 8 brought close to each other slide in the slide grooves 4a to press a pair of hemispherical balls 4 against each other and compress the elastic member 5. Under such a condition, a claw 1b of a yoke 1 is inserted from the side and rotated by 90 deg. upward to slide the claw 1b in the groove 4a for incorporation. Next, the chuck claws 7, 8 are separated from each other and one yoke 1 in which the spherical body 3 is incorporated is removed to mount the other yoke. Thus, the yoke can be prevented from scars caused by claws and the productivity can be improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a method of assembling a universal joint used in tilt steering of a vehicle or the like.

(Prior Art) For example, as a universal joint for connecting a steering column (hereinafter referred to as an input shaft) and an intermittent shut in a steering mechanism of a vehicle, etc.
There are those disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 122430 and Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 59-122431.

The basic structure of this universal joint will be explained based on FIGS. 5 to 8.

The universal joint has a yoke 1 connected to the input shaft and the output shaft.
．． 2, and a sphere 3 into which the yokes 1 and 2 are fitted and assembled from opposite directions, and the yoke 1 is connected to a shaft (not shown) as shown in FIG. The spherical body 3 consists of a fastening portion 1a and a pair of opposing claws 1b formed in an arc shape, and the spherical body 3 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in (C), a hemispherical ball 4 having sliding grooves 4a and 4b intersecting at the vertices and formed in an arc shape along the outer periphery is interposed on the back side with an elastic member such as a spring or rubber (not shown). They are formed together as shown in Figure 6.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the claw 1b of the yoke 1 of the input shaft is
and the claw 2b of the yoke 2 of the output shaft, and the sliding groove 4a of the sphere 3,
4b and are rotatably assembled, a universal joint is formed that can transmit rotational torque even when the input shaft and output shaft are tilted. In this universal joint, the claws 1b, 2b of the yokes 1, 2 slide in contact with the side walls 4c, 4d of the sliding grooves 4a, 4b of the sphere 3, and do not contact the bottom surfaces of the sliding grooves 4a, 4b. Not in contact.

Conventionally, the method for assembling this universal joint was to attach a spherical body 3 formed by interposing an elastic member 5 and bringing together a pair of hemispherical balls 4 on their back surfaces as shown in FIG. 10(a). The ball 4 is pressed from both sides to compress the elastic member 5 and the hemispherical balls 4 are brought closer together, and the thickness H of the sphere 3 is made smaller than the distance between the claws 1b of the yoke 1. Incorporate 3. Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 10(b) and 10(C), one sliding groove 4a of the sphere 3 is aligned with the claw 1b of the yoke 1, and the yoke 1 is rotated by 90 degrees relative to the sphere 3.

Next, in this state, the other yoke 2 is assembled. In this assembly, the yoke 2 is engaged with the sphere 3 from a direction perpendicular to the one yoke 1, the pawl 2b is aligned with the sliding groove 4b of the sphere 3, and the sphere is rotated 90'.

In this way, yoke 1 of the input shaft and yoke 2 of the output shaft
Sphere 3 is put together. In this universal joint, the hemispherical ball 4 is caused by one force of the elastic member 5 inside the sphere 3.
is urged toward the claws Ib and 2b of the yokes 1 and 2, thereby preventing rattling.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the conventional assembly method has the following problems.

First, a pair of hemispherical balls 4 are pressed from both sides to compress the elastic member 5 and bring the hemispherical balls 4 closer together.
When the thickness H of the sphere 3 is made smaller than the spacing of 1b, there was a problem in that the tip of the claw 1b would make dents or scratches on the sliding groove 4a, which would significantly reduce the durability of the assembled universal joint.

Further, since the work involves pressing the pair of hemispherical balls 4 from both blades with a relatively large force and assembling them into the yoke 1, there is a problem that the worker is highly fatigued and productivity is low.

The present invention was made in view of the problems mentioned above, and its purpose is to provide a universal joint that can prevent dents and scratches on the sliding part of a hemispherical ball and improve productivity. Our goal is to provide a method for conducting group visits.

(Means for Solving the Problems) As a means for solving the above problems and achieving the purpose, one of a pair of hemispherical balls having two sliding grooves formed in an arc shape along the outer circumferential surface. is assembled by sliding one of the sliding grooves into a pair of opposing chuck claws that are formed to have the same diameter as the sliding groove and are provided so as to be able to approach and separate from each other, and an elastic Place the member, and install the other hemispherical ball from above by slidingly contacting one of the sliding grooves with the chuck jaw, and then bring the chuck jaw closer, so that the chuck jaw is in contact with the sliding groove. After sliding in one direction and compressing the elastic member to bring the pair of hemispherical balls closer together, the claws of the yoke are fitted into the other sliding groove to assemble the pair of hemispherical balls and the yoke. It is.

(Function) In this assembly method, the chuck jaws slide into the sliding grooves of the sphere, compressing the elastic part and bringing the pair of hemispherical balls closer together. The sliding grooves of the pair of hemispherical balls do not shift around the circumference due to sliding contact with the ball, and it is possible to prevent dents and scratches from being made in the sliding grooves when fitting the claws of the yoke.

Furthermore, since the hemispherical balls can be brought closer together by moving the chuck jaws, the burden on one worker is reduced.

(Example) Next, an example of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 4. Note that the same members as those described in the prior art are given the same reference numerals.

A pair of chuck jaws 7 and 8 are provided on the base 6 to face each other, one chuck jaw 7 is fixed to the base 6, and the other chuck jaw 8 approaches the one chuck jaw 7. , are detachably attached to the base 6.

Furthermore, the chuck claws 7 and 8 are formed to have the same diameter as the diameter d of the sliding grooves 4a and 4b of the sphere 3, and as shown in FIG. 4
The claw 1b of the yoke 1 of c is formed in a shape that comes into contact with a non-sliding portion.

Note that A in the figure is the position of the pawl ib when the pawl 1b of the yoke l comes into sliding contact with the sliding groove 4a.

Here, an assembly method of the present invention using the chuck claws 7 and 8 will be explained.

First, the chuck claws 7 and 8 are attached to the diameter d of the sliding groove 4a of the sphere 3.
The ball is kept on standby with a larger distance, and one of the hemispherical balls 4 is assembled with the sliding groove 48 and the chuck claws 7, 8 aligned. Next, the elastic member 5 is placed on the assembled hemispherical ball 4, and the other hemispherical ball 4 is assembled from above by aligning the sliding groove 4a with the chuck claws 7, 8. By aligning the chuck claws 7 and 8 with the sliding grooves 4a in this way, the positions of the sliding grooves 4a of the pair of hemispherical balls 4 can be accurately aligned.

Next, by moving the other chuck pawl 8 and bringing the chuck pawls 7 and 8 closer together, the chuck pawls 7 and 8 slide on the sliding groove 4a, and the pair of hemispherical balls 4 move toward each other. When pressed, the elastic member 5 is compressed. and,
If the chuck claw 8 is moved until the thickness of the sphere 3 consisting of the hemispherical ball 4 becomes H, the yoke 1
By inserting the claw 1b from the side and rotating it upward by 80 degrees, the claw 1b of the yoke 1 comes into sliding contact with the sliding groove 4a, and the assembly of the yoke 1 is completed.

Next, after separating the chuck claws 7 and 8 and removing one yoke 1 to which the sphere 3 is assembled, the other yoke 2 is assembled as explained in the prior art to complete the assembly of the universal joint. Complete.

In addition, as in this embodiment, since the chuck claws 7 and 8 are brought into contact with the portion of the sliding groove 4a where the claw 1b of the yoke 1 does not come into sliding contact, the chuck claws 7 and 8 come into contact and slide. Even if the sliding groove 4a is sometimes dented or scratched, it will not adversely affect the durability of the universal joint since it is not the sliding surface of the pawl 1b of the yaw slider 1.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above in detail, the present invention allows the chuck claws to slide in the sliding grooves of the hemispherical balls by bringing the chuck claws closer to each other, thereby bringing the pair of hemispherical balls closer together, thereby causing the claws of the yoke to move closer together. Since they are assembled together, the pair of sliding grooves will not be misaligned, and dents and scratches caused by the claws of the yoke can be prevented.

Furthermore, since the hemispherical balls can be brought closer together simply by moving the chuck jaws, the burden on the operator is reduced and productivity can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a front view of a chuck jaw according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially sectional right side view of the chuck jaw of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an operation of the chuck jaw of FIG. 1. 4 is a sectional view taken along the knee line in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a yoke, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a sphere, a) is a plan view of a hemispherical ball constituting the sphere in FIG. 6, and FIG. 7(b) is a plan view of II-II in FIG. 7(a).
7(c) is a back view of the hemispherical ball in FIG. 7(a). FIG. 8 is a front view showing an example of the universal joint. A side view of the sphere; FIGS. 10(a), 10(b), and 10(c) are front views sequentially showing the steps of a conventional universal joint assembly method. 1.2... Yoke Ib, 2b -... Claw 4, meeting, hemispherical pole 4a, 4b... Sliding groove 5, φ, elastic member

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) One of a pair of hemispherical balls having two sliding grooves formed in an arc shape along the outer circumferential surface is connected to a pair of hemispherical balls having the same diameter as the sliding grooves and provided so as to be able to approach and separate from each other. One of the sliding grooves is brought into sliding contact with the opposing chuck jaw, and an elastic member is placed on the back surface of the one hemispherical ball, and then the other hemispherical ball is inserted into the chuck jaw from above the elastic member. One of them is brought into sliding contact and assembled, and then the chuck claw is brought close to each other, so that the chuck claw slides into one of the sliding grooves, compresses the elastic member, and causes the pair of hemispherical balls to approach each other, A method of assembling a universal joint, comprising assembling the pair of hemispherical balls and the yoke by fitting a claw of the yoke into the other sliding groove.