Shaft assembly with integrated constant velocity joint
AssigneeGKN Driveline North America, Inc.
InventorFrederick J. Uchman
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Abstract
A shaft assembly comprises a tubular shaft and a joint, wherein at least a portion of the joint is disposed within the tubular shaft. The present invention may also include a shaft assembly comprising a shaft and a constant velocity joint wherein the constant velocity joint is integrated into the shaft by inserting at least a portion of the constant velocity joint into the shaft. In one method of the invention, the method comprises the steps of integrating a constant velocity joint into a propeller shaft by inserting at least a portion of the constant velocity joint into the propeller shaft.
Claims15
A shaft assembly comprising:
- a tubular shaft;
- a tripod constant velocity joint at least partially disposed within the tubular shaft, the joint engaging an inner surface of the shaft;
- and
- a seal connected to the tubular shaft, the seal engaging an entire outer circumferential perimeter of the joint at a location inboard of the ends of the joint, wherein the portion of the joint disposed within the tubular shaft is fixedly connected to the tubular shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.