Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080287201 | Constant Velocity Joint of Tripod Type - A constant velocity joint for a drive system having a first rotating shaft and a second rotating shaft coupled with the constant velocity joint, wherein the constant velocity joint comprises: a hollow housing having an opening at one end, and a closing at its opposite end fixed to an end of the first rotating shaft, an inner face of the housing including a plurality of guide grooves extending in an axial direction of the housing and spaced equally apart in a circumferential direction of the housing, each groove having a pair of side faces opposing to each other; and a tripod disposed at an end of the second rotating shaft, having a plurality of trunnions each positioned in a corresponding one of the guide grooves and being spaced equally apart in a circumferential direction of and at an angle normal to the second rotating shaft; and, an inner roller mounted to an outer end portion of each of the trunnions, an outer roller mounted on an outer face of each inner roller with needle rollers engaged between the inner and outer rollers, and allowing the outer face of each outer roller to roll and move in the corresponding one of the guide grooves and for transmitting a load between the first and second rotating shafts to drive the driving system. Each trunnion includes an at least partially spherical surface in a circumferential area subjecting to the load, and a cylindrical protrusion disposed at the at least partially spherical surface and protruded to a distance from the at least partially spherical surface in a direction normal to the axis of the respective trunnion, the cylindrical protrusion having an at least partially spherical surface at its distal end for surface-to-surface contact with an at least partially spherical inner face of the respective inner roller while defining a gap around the cylindrical protrusion and between the at least partially spherical surface of the respective trunnion and the at least partially spherical inner face of the respective inner roller. | 11-20-2008 |
20080287202 | Constant Velocity Joint of Tripod Type - A constant velocity joint for a drive system with a first rotating shaft and a second rotating shaft, comprises: a hollow housing having an open end and a closed end and fixed to the first rotating shaft, an inner face of the housing including a plurality of guide grooves extending in an axial direction and spaced equally apart in a circumferential direction of the housing; and a tripod disposed at an end of the second rotating shaft, having a plurality of trunnions each positioned in a corresponding one of the guide grooves and being spaced equally apart in a circumferential direction of and at an angle normal to the second rotating shaft; and, an inner roller mounted to an outer end portion of each of the trunnions, an outer roller mounted on an outer face of each inner roller with needle rollers engaged between the inner and outer rollers, and allowing the outer face of each outer roller to roll and move in the corresponding one of the guide grooves and for transmitting a load between the first and second rotating shafts to drive the driving system. Each trunnion includes an a spherical surface in a circumferential area subjecting to the load, and a cylindrical protrusion disposed at the spherical surface and protruded to a distance from the at least partially spherical surface in a direction normal to the axis of the respective trunnion, the cylindrical protrusion having an spherical surface at its distal end for surface-to-surface contact with a spherical inner face of the respective inner roller while defining a gap around the cylindrical protrusion and between the spherical surface of the respective trunnion and the spherical inner face of the respective inner roller. The inner face of each inner roller may include a pair of guide grooves, preferably with an elliptical cross section, for receiving the spherical ends of the cylindrical protrusions. | 11-20-2008 |
20090011843 | Constant Velocity Joint of Tripod Type - A constant velocity joint for a drive system of a vehicle comprises: a spider trunnion for transmitting torque between first and second shaft of the drive system, the spider trunnion including a spherical outer surface; and a roller assembly operatively attached on the spider trunnion, the roller assembly including an inner roller, an outer roller, and a plurality of needle rollers engaged between the inner and outer rollers, wherein the inner roller includes a tapered outer surface with a taper angle (θt), and the outer roller includes a tapered inner surface with the same taper angle (θt). The taper angle (θt) is preferably in a range from about 0.23° and to about 1.17°, and selected in consideration of both accommodating the inner roller to move without jamming in an entire effective movement range under presence of a maximum joint angle of the drive system, and preventing self separation of the roller assembly by jamming stop between the inner, outer and needle rollers due to the tapered structure of the rollers. The inner roller is preferably configured to have a ratio LL/RR | 01-08-2009 |
20090143149 | Constant Velocity Joint of Tripod Type - A constant velocity joint for a drive system with a first rotating shaft and a second rotating shaft, comprises: a hollow housing having a plurality of guide grooves therein, the guide grooves extending in an axial direction of the housing and spaced equally apart in a circumferential direction of the housing; a tripod having a plurality of trunnions, each trunnion positioned in a corresponding one of the guide grooves of the hollow housing; and, a roller assembly including an inner roller, the inner roller having a spherical inner face for receiving a corresponding one of the trunnions therein, and an outer roller mounted on an outer face of each inner roller, the roller assembly for transmitting a load between the first and second rotating shafts to drive the driving system. Each trunnion includes two opposing spherical contact surfaces disposed in the directions subject to the load, and two opposing side surfaces disposed between the two opposing spherical contact surfaces and in the directions perpendicular to the spherical surfaces and not subjecting to the load. A cross sectional shape of the trunnion, the cross section taken in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the trunnion, has a thickness at one or both lateral sides of the trunnion the same as or slightly less than a maximum non-interfering thickness of the trunnion, the maximum non-interfering thickness measured with the inner roller inclined by a predetermined degree relative to the longitudinal axis of the trunnion to assemble the trunnion into the inner roller. Preferably, a groove of circular or oval shape is formed on each of the two opposing spherical contact surfaces, the groove for retaining grease therein to lubricate contact surfaces between the inner roller and the trunnion. | 06-04-2009 |
20090312108 | CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT OF TRIPOD TYPE - A constant velocity joint for a drive system with a first rotating shaft and a second rotating shaft, comprises: a hollow housing having a plurality of guide grooves therein, the guide grooves extending in an axial direction of the housing and spaced equally apart in a circumferential direction of the housing; a tripod having a plurality of trunnions, each trunnion positioned in a corresponding one of the guide grooves of the hollow housing; and a roller assembly disposed on each trunnion, the roller assembly including an outer roller for rollably receiving in the corresponding guide groove; wherein the outer roller includes a convex outer surface, the convex outer surface having a first radius (Rry) seen from a cross section taken in an orthogonal direction relative to a central axis of the outer roller, the convex outer surface having a second radius (Rrx) seen from a cross section taken along the central axis of the outer roller, a center of the second radius (Rrx) displaced outwardly from a center of the first radius (Rry), and the second radius (Rrx) being shorter than the first radius (Rry). Each of the guide grooves of the housing includes a concave surface for mating with the convex outer surface of the outer roller, and the guide groove further includes a plurality of recess areas respectively recessed from the concave surface of the groove, and thereby defining widened spaces between the guide groove of the housing and its corresponding upper and lower portions of the convex outer roller. | 12-17-2009 |
20100190558 | FIXED TYPE CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT - A constant velocity joint for a drive system comprises: an outer race having an inner spherical surface, and a plurality of guide grooves formed in an axial direction in the inner spherical surface of the outer race; an inner race having an outer spherical surface, and a plurality of guide grooves formed in an axial direction in the outer spherical surface of the inner race, said guide grooves of the outer race and said guide grooves of the inner race together forming a plurality of ball guide tracks; a plurality of balls disposed in the ball guide tracks; and a cage installed between the inner spherical surface of the outer race and the outer spherical surface of the inner race, said cage having a plurality of windows for retaining the balls therein; wherein each of the guide grooves of the outer race is shaped to have a longitudinal cross section formed with two circular regions with different centers, a first circular region disposed at a first lateral side of the outer race and a second circular region disposed at a second lateral side of the outer race, and a linear region tangentially extending between these two circular regions; and wherein each of the guide grooves of the inner race is shaped to have a longitudinal cross section formed with two circular regions with different centers, a first circular region disposed at a first lateral side of the inner race and a second circular region disposed at a second lateral side of the inner race, and a linear region tangentially extending between these two circular regions. | 07-29-2010 |
20100216558 | FIXED TYPE CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT - A fixed type constant velocity joint comprises: an outer race having an inner spherical surface, and a plurality of guide grooves formed in an axial direction in the inner spherical surface of the outer race, each guide groove having a circular shape in a longitudinal cross section thereof; an inner race having an outer spherical surface, and a plurality of guide grooves formed in an axial direction in the outer spherical surface of the inner race, each guide groove having a circular shape in a longitudinal cross section thereof, said guide grooves of the outer race and said guide grooves of the inner race together forming a plurality of ball guide tracks arranged around the circumference of the joint; a plurality of balls disposed in the ball guide tracks; and a cage installed between the inner spherical surface of the outer race and the outer spherical surface of the inner race, said cage having a plurality of windows for retaining the balls therein. The ball guide tracks include first tracks and second tracks with different groove configurations and having dual, multiple, or differentiated center offsets with smaller offsets applied to the tracks having relatively large ball movements and larger offsets applied to the tracks having relatively small ball movements as the joint is articulated for assembling. | 08-26-2010 |
20110070955 | Cross Groove Type Constant Velocity Joint with Composite Groove Patterns - A constant velocity joint for a drive system comprises: an outer joint member having a plurality of inwardly facing outer ball grooves, the outer ball grooves consisting of a first group of grooves and a second group of grooves with composite or non-linear groove pattern; an inner joint member disposed inside the outer joint member and having a plurality of outwardly facing inner ball grooves consisting of a first group of grooves and a second group of grooves with composite or non-linear groove pattern, each inner ball groove of the inner joint member being coupled with a corresponding outer ball groove of the outer joint member generally in crossed pair; and a cage having circumferentially displaced cage windows to accommodate a plurality of balls therein. The groove patterns of the ball grooves can be a combination of skewed grooves and non-linear grooves, a combination of non-linear grooves such as a curved groove or a compositely shaped groove, or a combination of linear grooves and non-linear grooves. | 03-24-2011 |
20110092299 | Cross Groove Type Constant Velocity Joint - A constant velocity joint for a drive system comprises: an outer joint member having a plurality of inwardly facing outer ball grooves, the outer ball grooves consisting of a first group of grooves, each groove of which having a skewed groove shape with a first skew angle other than zero and alternately arranged in opposite directions relative to an axis of rotation of outer joint member, and a second group of grooves, each groove of which having a skewed groove shape with a second skew angle other than zero and alternately arranged in opposite directions relative to an axis of rotation of outer joint member, the second skew angle less than the first skew angle; and an inner joint member disposed inside the outer joint member and having a plurality of outwardly facing inner ball grooves consisting of a first group of grooves, each groove of which having a skewed groove shape with a first skew angle other than zero and alternately arranged in opposite directions relative to an axis of rotation of inner joint member, and a second group of grooves, each groove of which having a skewed groove shape with a second skew angle other than zero and alternately arranged in opposite directions relative to an axis of rotation of inner joint member, the second skew angle less than the first skew angle, each inner ball groove of the inner joint member being coupled with a corresponding outer ball groove of the outer joint member generally in crossed pair. In addition to the differentiated skew angles, the contact angles of the balls in the first and second group of grooves and other configurations may also be differentiated. | 04-21-2011 |
20120137488 | Method of Assembling Constant Velocity Joint of Tripod Type - A method of assembling a constant velocity joint comprises: measuring a maximum non-interfering thickness of a trunnion that can be inserted into an inner roller without interference while inclining the inner roller by a predetermined degree; providing the trunnion to have a cross sectional shape, taken in a direction perpendicular to the trunnion, with a first thickness at one lateral side and a second thickness at the other lateral side, where one or both of the first and second thicknesses have a size the same as or 0-30% smaller than the maximum non-interfering thickness of the trunnion; inclining the inner roller to assume the predetermined degree of inclination; positioning the inclined inner roller onto the trunnion and completely assembling thereto without excessive external force. | 06-07-2012 |
20120142438 | Constant Velocity Joint of Tripod Type - A constant velocity joint comprises: a hollow housing having a plurality of axially-extending guide grooves; a tripod having a plurality of trunnions positioned in the guide grooves of the hollow housing; and a roller assembly including an inner roller having a spherical inner face and an outer roller mounted on an outer face of each inner roller, the roller assembly for transmitting a load between the first and second rotating shafts. A cross sectional shape of the trunnion, taken in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the trunnion, has a thickness at one or both lateral sides of the trunnion the same as or slightly less than a maximum non-interfering thickness of the trunnion, the maximum non-interfering thickness measured with the inner roller inclined by a predetermined degree relative to the longitudinal axis of the trunnion to assemble the trunnion into the inner roller. | 06-07-2012 |
20120238370 | CROSS GROOVE TYPE CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT WITH COMPOSITE GROOVE PATTERNS - A constant velocity joint for a drive system comprises: an outer joint member having a plurality of inwardly facing outer ball grooves, the outer ball grooves consisting of a first group of grooves and a second group of grooves with composite or non-linear groove pattern; an inner joint member disposed inside the outer joint member and having a plurality of outwardly facing inner ball grooves consisting of a first group of grooves and a second group of grooves with composite or non-linear groove pattern, each inner ball groove of the inner joint member being coupled with a corresponding outer ball groove of the outer joint member generally in crossed pair. | 09-20-2012 |
20130079163 | CROSS GROOVE TYPE CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT WITH COMPOSITE GROOVE PATTERNS - A constant velocity joint for a drive system comprises: an outer joint member having a plurality of inwardly facing outer ball grooves, the outer ball grooves consisting of a first group of grooves and a second group of grooves with composite or non-linear groove pattern; an inner joint member disposed inside the outer joint member and having a plurality of outwardly facing inner ball grooves consisting of a first group of grooves and a second group of grooves with composite or non-linear groove pattern, each inner ball groove of the inner joint member being coupled with a corresponding outer ball groove of the outer joint member generally in crossed pair; and a cage having circumferentially displaced cage windows to accommodate a plurality of balls therein. The groove patterns of the ball grooves can be a combination of skewed grooves and non linear grooves, a combination of non linear of linear grooves and non linear grooves. | 03-28-2013 |
20130085003 | CROSS GROOVE TYPE CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT WITH COMPOSITE GROOVE PATTERNS - A constant velocity joint for a drive system comprises: an outer joint member having a plurality of inwardly facing outer ball grooves, the outer ball grooves consisting of a first group of grooves and a second group of grooves with composite or non-linear groove pattern; an inner joint member disposed inside the outer joint member and having a plurality of outwardly facing inner ball grooves consisting of a first group of grooves and a second group of grooves with composite or non-linear groove pattern, each inner ball groove of the inner joint member being coupled with a corresponding outer ball groove of the outer joint member generally in crossed pair. | 04-04-2013 |
20130252747 | CROSS GROOVE TYPE CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT - A constant velocity joint for a drive system includes: an outer joint member and an inner joint member, each having a plurality of ball grooves, the ball grooves consisting of a first group of grooves of a skewed groove shape with a first skew angle other than zero and alternately arranged in opposite directions relative to an axis of rotation of the outer and inner joint members, and a second group of grooves of a skewed groove shape with a second skew angle other than zero and alternately arranged in opposite directions relative to an axis of rotation of the outer and inner joint members, the second skew angle less than the first skew angle. In addition to the differentiated skew angles, the contact angles of the balls in the first and second group of grooves may also be differentiated. | 09-26-2013 |