Inclined yoke universal joint
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorOlav LANGE
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A universal joint of the present disclosure includes a first joint yoke and a second joint yoke. A first joint axis is formed at a first angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of a first shaft connected to the first joint yoke and a second joint axis is formed at a second angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of a second shaft connected to the second joint yoke. At least one of the first and second angles of the first and second joint yokes may be an obtuse angle or an acute angle. A connection element is configured to couple the first joint yoke to the second joint yoke via the first and second joint axes.
Claims16
A universal joint for connecting torque transmitting shafts having two joint yokes, each of which can be connected to one of the shafts, each of the shafts having a longitudinal axis and a pair of bearing means, each of the bearing means defining a joint axis, and having a joint part arranged between the joint yokes, the joint part having two pairs of complementary bearing means;
- wherein the two joint yokes are coupled to one another by the joint part in a pairwise interaction between the bearing means and the complementary bearing means;
- and
- wherein at least one joint axis forms an acute angle or an obtuse angle with the corresponding shaft longitudinal axis, wherein the acute angle or the obtuse angle deviates no more than about 10° from a right angle.
A universal joint, comprising:
- a first joint yoke having a first joint axis, the first joint axis formed at a first angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of a first shaft connected to the first joint yoke;
- a second joint yoke having a second joint axis, the second joint axis formed at a second angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of a second shaft connected to the second joint yoke;
- a connection element configured to couple the first joint yoke to the second joint yoke via the first and second joint axes,
- wherein at least one of the first and second angles is an obtuse angle or an acute angle.
A steering column for a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a first torque transmitting shaft having a first longitudinal axis and a first joint yoke;
- a second torque transmitting shaft having a second longitudinal axis and a second joint yoke;
- a first joint axis defined by the first joint yoke and a second joint axis defined by the second joint yoke, wherein at least one of the first and second joint axes is formed at one of an acute angle and an obtuse angle relative to a respective longitudinal axis;
- and
- wherein the first and second joint yokes are coupled to one another by a connection element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.