JP2002137645A - Propeller shaft - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize highly precise centering between a companion flange and an outer ring so as to improve workability in spigot connection between them. SOLUTION: This propeller shaft is constructed of constant velocity universal joint 21 held by a holder 35 while a ball 34 is arranged in a ball track 31 constructed of ball guide grooves 27 and 28 in the inner and outer rings 22 and 23, a stub shaft fitted to the inner ring 22 while allowing torque transmission, the companion flange 34 connected to the outer ring 23 by means of a bolt 37, an end plate 35 installed between the companion flange 34 and the outer ring 23, and a boot 38 hermetically sealing a clearance between the outer ring 23 and the stub shaft 29. The outside diameter dimension of the end plate 35 is substantially matched with the pitch circle diameter for the bolt 37, two projection pieces 41 are formed in the outer circumferential edge of the end plates 35, and the projection pieces 41 are engaged in a recess 42 formed in the outer circumferential edge part of the outer ring 23.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a propeller shaft, and more particularly to a propeller shaft used for a 4WD vehicle or an FR vehicle, and has a structure in which an outer ring of a constant velocity universal joint and a flange of a shaft are fastened by bolts with an end plate interposed therebetween. And a propeller shaft having the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Propeller shafts used in automobiles such as 4WD vehicles and FR vehicles are of a revolver type (or a cross groove type) in order to have a structure capable of coping with an angle change due to a relative position change between a transmission and a differential. Some are equipped with a so-called constant velocity universal joint. As shown in FIG. 5, an inner ring 2, an outer ring 3, a ball 4 and a retainer 5 are main constituents of a reblo-type constant velocity universal joint 1 incorporated in the propeller shaft.

[0003] The inner ring 2 has a spline hole 6 in the center,
A plurality of ball guide grooves 7 are formed on the outer peripheral surface. A stub shaft 9 of a propeller shaft is fitted into the spline hole 6 of the inner ring 2, and the stub shaft 9 is axially positioned and fixed to the inner ring 2 by a circlip 10 mounted in a ring groove of the stub shaft 9. I have. The outer ring 3 is located on the outer periphery of the inner ring 2, and the same number of ball guide grooves 8 as the ball guide grooves 7 of the inner ring 2 are formed on the inner peripheral surface.

The ball guide groove 7 of the inner race 2 and the ball guide groove 8 of the outer race 3 are angled in opposite directions with respect to the axis.
A ball track 11 is composed of a pair of ball guide grooves 7 of the inner ring 2 and a pair of ball guide grooves 8 of the outer ring 3, and the ball 4 is incorporated at the intersection of the two ball guide grooves 7, 8. Inner ring 2
The retainer 5 is disposed between the outer ring 3 and the ball 4, and the ball 4 is retained in a pocket 12 of the retainer 5.

The outer race 3 of the constant velocity universal joint 1 has a hollow portion 1
The bolt 17 is inserted into the bolt insertion hole 16 of the outer race 3 and fastened in a state in which the end plate 15 is sandwiched between the companion flange 14 having the end 3 and the end plate 15. The companion flange 14 and the stub shaft 9 are flexibly connected by the constant velocity universal joint 1. In addition, the end plate 15
Is to prevent the grease filled in the constant velocity universal joint 1 from leaking and to prevent foreign matter from entering.

The end plate 15 is attached by directly pressing the bent outer peripheral portion into the outer race 3 as shown in FIG. As another mounting structure, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), turning corresponding to the thickness of the end plate 15 is performed on the outer peripheral end of the outer ring 3 on the companion flange side to provide a reduced diameter portion a. It is attached by press-fitting the bent outer peripheral portion of the end plate 15 into the reduced diameter portion a (FIG. 5).
reference).

On the stub shaft side of the constant velocity universal joint 1,
A boot 18 for sealing between the outer race 3 and the stub shaft 9 is mounted via a metal boot adapter 19. The boot 18 has a small end and a large end, and has a shape that is folded in a V-shape in the middle. The boot adapter 19 is cylindrical and has a flange at one end for fitting with the outer peripheral surface of the outer race 3.
It is fixed to the outer race 3 by bolts 17 together with the companion flange 14 and the end plate 15 described above.
The small end of the boot 18 is attached to the stub shaft 9 and fastened with a boot band 20, and the large end of the boot 18 is held by caulking the end of the boot adapter 19.

[0008]

By the way, in the above-mentioned propeller shaft, the companion flange 14
And the stub shaft 9 must be coaxially positioned via the constant velocity universal joint 1, so that it is necessary to perform centering prior to the connection between the outer race 3 and the companion flange 14. This alignment is done with companion flange 1
This is performed by spigot-connecting the outer ring 4 to the outer ring 3.

Here, in the mounting structure of the end plate 15 shown in FIG. 6 (a), the bent outer peripheral portion is directly press-fitted into the outer race 3 so that the end plate 15 is spliced to the entire outer periphery of the outer race 3. ing. Since the end plate 15 is interposed between the companion flange 14 and the outer ring 3 as described above, it is difficult to align the companion flange 14 and the outer ring 3 with high precision.

An end plate 1 shown in FIG.
In the mounting structure 5, the outer peripheral end of the outer race 3 on the companion flange side is subjected to turning corresponding to the thickness of the end plate 15 to provide a reduced diameter portion a, and the end plate 15 is bent at the reduced diameter portion a. By press-fitting the outer peripheral portion, the companion flange 14 'extending beyond the outer peripheral portion of the end plate 15 and the outer ring 3 are spigot-coupled. Thus, the companion flange 14 '
Is longer than the end plate 15,
Since the companion flange 14 'is enlarged and the press-fitting depth is large, the workability at the time of press-fitting is greatly reduced.

In view of the above, the present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned problems. An object of the present invention is to realize high-precision alignment between a companion flange and an outer ring, and
An object of the present invention is to provide a propeller shaft capable of improving workability in spigot connection between a companion flange and an outer ring without increasing the size of the companion flange.

[0012]

As a technical means for achieving the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a vehicle, comprising: a plurality of ball guide grooves formed on an inner peripheral surface; An inner ring having a ball guide groove formed therein is arranged, and a ball is arranged on a ball track formed by a pair of the ball guide groove of the inner ring and the ball guide groove of the outer ring, and the ball is held at a constant speed by a retainer. A joint, a first shaft fitted to the inner ring so as to transmit torque, a second shaft having a flange connected to the outer ring by a bolt penetrating the outer ring in the axial direction, the flange and the outer ring And a boot that seals between the outer ring and the first shaft on the opposite side of the end plate, the outer diameter of the end plate being the same as that of the bolt. At least two convex pieces are formed on the outer peripheral edge of the end plate so as to substantially coincide with the notch circle diameter and extend toward the outer ring side in the axial direction, and these convex pieces are engaged with recesses formed on the outer peripheral end of the outer ring. (Claim 1).

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the outer diameter of the end plate is made substantially equal to the pitch circle diameter of the bolt, and at least two convex pieces extending toward the outer ring in the axial direction are formed on the outer peripheral edge of the end plate. The flanges of the second shaft are spigot-coupled to the outer peripheral end of the outer race of the constant velocity universal joint by engaging the convex pieces with the recesses formed in the outer peripheral end of the outer race (claim 2). .

[0014] Thereby, the flange of the second shaft can be brought into direct contact with the end of the outer ring of the constant velocity universal joint at a portion on the outer peripheral side of the end plate, so that the flange can be freely contacted with the second shaft. High-precision centering of the second shaft and the first shaft can be realized through the outer ring of the joint, that is, the constant velocity universal joint.
Even if the axial length of the end of the flange of the second shaft is short, the spigot connection with the outer ring is possible.

Preferably, the convex piece of the end plate has an arcuate engaging surface which is convex with respect to the recess of the outer ring (claim 3). It is desirable that the concave bottom surface formed at the outer peripheral end has a concave arcuate engagement surface (claim 4). Also,
It is preferable that the recess formed at the outer peripheral end of the outer ring is formed slightly longer than the axial length of the convex piece of the end plate (claim 5).

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a revolutable constant velocity universal joint in which a ball guide groove of the outer race and a ball guide groove of the inner race are inclined at predetermined angles in directions opposite to each other with respect to an axis. It is suitable for a propeller shaft to be provided.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As an embodiment of the present invention, a propeller shaft equipped with a REBRO (or cross-groove) constant velocity universal joint in order to cope with an angle change due to a relative position change between a transmission and a differential is shown in FIG. Shown in 2 (a) and 2 (b) and FIG.
(A) and (b) show a constant velocity universal joint and an end plate incorporated in the propeller shaft of FIG. 1, respectively.

Constant velocity universal joint 21 in this embodiment
[See FIGS. 2A and 2B] have an inner race 22, an outer race 23, a ball 24, and a retainer 25 as main components.

The inner ring 22 has a spline hole 26 at the center and a plurality of ball guide grooves 27 formed on the outer peripheral surface. A stub shaft 29 (first shaft) of a propeller shaft is fitted into the spline hole 26 of the inner ring 22 so as to be able to transmit torque, and the stub shaft 29 is attached by a circlip 30 mounted in a ring groove of the stub shaft 29. 29 is positioned and fixed to the inner ring 22 in the axial direction. Outer ring 23
Are located on the outer periphery of the inner ring 22, and the same number of ball guide grooves 28 as the ball guide grooves 27 of the inner ring 22 are formed on the inner peripheral surface.

The ball guide groove 27 of the inner race 22 and the ball guide groove 28 of the outer race 23 are angled in opposite directions with respect to the axis. Ball guide groove 27 of inner ring 22 and outer ring 2 forming a pair
The ball track 31 is constituted by the three ball guide grooves 28, and the ball 24 is incorporated in the intersection of the two ball guide grooves 27 and 28. A retainer 25 is disposed between the inner ring 22 and the outer ring 23, and the ball 24 is retained in a pocket 32 of the retainer 25.

The outer race 23 of the constant velocity universal joint 21 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (2), a bolt 37 is inserted into a bolt insertion hole 36 of the outer race 23 in a state where the end plate 35 is sandwiched between a companion flange 34 (a second shaft flange) having a hollow portion 33 and fastened. Companion flange 3
4 and the stub shaft 29 are flexibly connected by the constant velocity universal joint 21. In addition, the end plate 35 is for preventing the grease filled in the constant velocity universal joint 21 from leaking and preventing foreign matter from entering.

On the stub shaft side of the constant velocity universal joint 21, a boot 38 for sealing between the outer race 23 and the stub shaft 29 is mounted via a metal boot adapter 39. The boot 38 has a small end and a large end, and a V
It has a shape folded back into a letter shape. The boot adapter 39 has a cylindrical shape and has a flange at one end fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the outer race 23, and is fixed to the outer race 23 with the bolts 37 together with the companion flange 34 and the end plate 35 described above. The small end of the boot 38 is attached to the stub shaft 29 and tightened with a boot band 40, and the boot 3
8 is held by caulking the end of the boot adapter 39.

End plate 35 in this embodiment
3 (a) and 3 (b), the outer diameter of which is substantially equal to the pitch circle diameter PCD of the bolt 37 (in FIG. 3 (a), the chain line indicates the pitch circle of the bolt 37). Is shown). Further, two convex pieces 41 extending on the outer ring side in the axial direction are formed on the outer peripheral edge of the end plate 35. On the other hand, a recess 42 for engaging the convex piece 41 of the end plate 35 is formed at the outer peripheral end of the outer race 23 of the constant velocity universal joint 21 (see FIGS. 2A and 2B). In addition, the end plate 3
A notch 46 is formed on the outer periphery of the hole 5 to allow a bolt 37 passing through the outer ring 23 to escape.

The end plate 35 whose outer diameter dimension is substantially equal to the pitch circle diameter PCD of the bolt 37 as in the above-described embodiment is formed by connecting the two convex pieces 41 to the recesses 4 of the outer race 23.
2, the companion flange 34 is attached to the outer race 23 and the companion flange 34 is spliced to the outer peripheral end of the outer race 23. Thereby, the companion flange 34 is attached to the outer ring
3 can be brought into direct contact with the companion flange 34 and the outer ring 23, that is, highly accurate alignment of the companion flange 34 with the stub shaft 29 via the outer ring 23.

Further, even if the axial length of the end of the companion flange 34 is short, the spigot connection with the outer ring 23 is possible. Further, the companion flange 34 is
Prior to press-fitting, the convex piece 41 of the end plate 35
The end plate 35 can be positioned by fitting of the end ring 35 and the recess 42 of the outer ring 23, and the end plate 35 can be prevented from dropping during assembly.

The projection 41 of the end plate 35
Has an arcuate engagement surface 43 that is convex with respect to the recess 42 of the outer ring 23 as shown in FIG. 3A, and correspondingly, as shown in FIG. The bottom surface of the recess 42 formed at the outer peripheral end of the outer ring 23 has a concave arcuate engagement surface 44. The recess 42 formed at the outer peripheral end of the outer ring 23 is
Are formed slightly longer than the axial length of.

The recess 42 formed at the outer peripheral end of the outer race 23 is formed with an existing drawing groove 4 as shown in FIG.
5, the pullout groove 45 can be formed by cutting down to the end surface of the outer race 23, so that the formation of the recess 42 does not cause an increase in cost. In this way, the outer ring 23 can be used both for pulling out and for press-fitting the end plate.

In the above-described embodiment, the ball guide groove 28 of the outer race 23 and the ball guide groove 27 of the inner race 22 are inclined at a predetermined angle in opposite directions with respect to the axis. Although the description has been given of the propeller shaft incorporating the above, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to a case where a constant velocity universal joint other than the Rebro type is used.

[0029]

According to the present invention, in the propeller shaft including the constant velocity universal joint, the first and second shafts, the end plate, and the boot, the outer diameter of the end plate is substantially equal to the pitch circle diameter of the bolt. By forming at least two convex pieces extending toward the outer ring side in the axial direction on the outer peripheral edge of the end plate, and engaging these convex pieces with the recesses formed on the outer peripheral end of the outer ring, the second Can be spigot-coupled to the outer ring of the constant velocity universal joint.

Thus, the flange of the second shaft can be brought into direct contact with the outer peripheral end of the outer race of the constant velocity universal joint at a portion on the outer peripheral side of the end plate. High-precision alignment of the shaft can be realized, and even if the axial length of the end of the second shaft flange is short, spigot connection with the outer ring is possible, making the second shaft flange larger Nothing to do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a propeller shaft according to the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a side view showing a constant velocity universal joint incorporated in the propeller shaft of FIG. (B) is sectional drawing which follows the AOB line of (a).

FIG. 3A is a side view showing an end plate incorporated in the propeller shaft of FIG. 1; (B) is (a)
It is sectional drawing which follows the AOB line of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part for describing a method of forming a recess at an outer peripheral end of the outer race shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional example of a propeller shaft.

FIG. 6A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing an example of a conventional mounting state of an end plate. (B) is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing another example of a conventional state of mounting an end plate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 21 constant velocity universal joint 22 inner ring 23 outer ring 24 ball 25 retainer 27, 28 ball guide groove 29 first shaft (stub shaft) 31 ball track 34 second shaft (companion flange) 35 end plate 37 bolt 38 boot 41 convex Piece 42 recess 43 engagement surface of convex piece 44 engagement surface of recess

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An inner ring having a plurality of ball guide grooves formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof is disposed on an inner peripheral side of an outer ring having a plurality of ball guide grooves formed on an inner peripheral surface. A constant velocity universal joint in which a ball is arranged on a ball track formed by a pair with a ball guide groove and the ball is held by a retainer, and a first shaft fitted to the inner ring so as to be able to transmit torque, A second shaft having a flange coupled to the outer ring by a bolt penetrating the outer ring in the axial direction thereof,
An end plate mounted between the flange and the outer ring, and a propeller shaft including a boot that seals between the outer ring and the first shaft on the opposite side of the end plate, wherein an outer diameter of the end plate is At least two convex pieces are formed on the outer peripheral edge of the end plate so as to substantially coincide with the pitch circle diameter of the bolt, and the convex pieces are engaged with the recesses formed at the outer peripheral end of the outer ring. A propeller shaft characterized by being combined. 2. A flange according to claim 1, wherein a flange of the second shaft is spigot-fitted to an outer peripheral end of the outer race.
The propeller shaft according to 1. 3. The propeller shaft according to claim 1, wherein the convex piece of the end plate has an arcuate engagement surface that is convex with respect to the recess of the outer ring. 4. The propeller shaft according to claim 3, wherein a bottom surface of the recess formed at an outer peripheral end of the outer ring has a concave arcuate engagement surface. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the recess formed in the outer peripheral end of the outer race is formed slightly longer than the axial length of the convex piece of the end plate. The propeller shaft according to 1. 6. The ball guide groove of the outer ring and the ball guide groove of the inner ring are inclined at predetermined angles in directions opposite to each other with respect to an axis. Propeller shaft.