Drive shaft having a heat shield sleeve
AssigneeVolkswagen Aktiengesellschaft
InventorsDietmar Hirsch, Jürgen Linzmeier
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A drive shaft is provided with a sleeve enclosing at least sections thereof. The sleeve is fixed to the drive shaft in order that it may rotate with the drive shaft. The sleeve forms a heat shield with heat-reflecting and/or heat-insulating properties. This serves to effectively reduce the heat input into the drive shaft. In contrast to conventional heat shield plates, the problem of fixing is eliminated. Moreover, a heat shield sleeve according to the invention can also still be fitted in situations wherein the space is too restricted for a heat shield plate. In addition a savings in weight and material also results.
Claims11
A drive shaft assembly, comprising:
- a rotatably disposed drive shaft;
- a heat shield sleeve enclosing at least a segment of said drive shaft and fixed to said drive shaft for rotation therewith, said heat shield sleeve having heat-reflecting and/or heat-insulating properties;
- wherein said heat shield sleeve is disposed relative to said drive shaft to define a hollow air space forming an insulation area between said drive shaft and said heat shield sleeve, and said heat shield sleeve is formed with a sheet metal body made of an aluminum alloy or aluminum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.