Elastic Shaft Coupling Length Reduction via Ring Connection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional elastic shaft couplings with metal hubs and rubber or resin elastic bodies face challenges in reducing overall length and manufacturing costs due to complex shapes and high production costs associated with forging or die-casting processes.
Innovation Solution
The design features a pair of metal hubs with protrusion portions and rotation transmission portions that minimize the influence of the connection portion's thickness on the overall length, allowing for extrusion molding or pultrusion manufacturing, and an elastic body with a ring-shaped connection portion and columnar rotation transmission portions that securely transmit rotation forces without increasing the length.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the elastic body includes a connection portion of disk shape with claw portions or cutouts, then the elastic body can be assembled with the hubs, but the entire length in the direction along the center axis becomes long by the length corresponding to the connection portion
Solution Approach 1:
The connection portion is changed from a disk shape extending along the center axis to a ring shape disposed around the center axis. This dimensional change allows the connection portion to connect rotation transmission portions in the circumferential direction without increasing the length along the center axis, thus reducing the entire length while maintaining assembly capability
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic body is segmented into a ring-shaped connection portion and multiple rotation transmission portions. The connection portion connects the rotation transmission portions in the circumferential direction, allowing the structure to be compact along the center axis while maintaining functional connectivity
2Ease of manufacture
If each hub is formed with a complicated shape including claw portions or cutouts, then the hub can engage with the elastic body, but the manufacturing cost increases due to cold forging, hot forging, die-cast or cut-machining processes
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of forming complex claw portions or cutouts in the metal hubs, the invention inverts the approach by providing the claw portions or cutouts in the elastic body. This allows the hubs to have a simple disk shape that can be manufactured by cost-effective processes, while the engagement capability is maintained through the elastic body's features
Solution Approach 2:
The engagement features (claw portions or cutouts) are transferred from the hubs to the elastic body. The elastic body is formed with shapes that correspond to the simple disk-shaped hubs, allowing assembly and engagement without requiring complex hub geometries
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration reduces the overall length of the elastic shaft coupling while maintaining the same pressure reception area and rotation force transmission capability as conventional designs, and lowers manufacturing costs through simpler production methods.
Implementation Method 1
even when an eccentricity or an eccentric angle is produced between the two rotation shafts, elastic deformation of the elastic body allows the eccentricity or the eccentric angle
Data Source
AI summary
An elastic body of an elastic shaft coupling includes a connection portion disposed around a center axis of the elastic shaft coupling, and a plurality of rotation transmission portion of substantially columnar shapes provided for the connection portion along the circumferential direction of the elastic shaft coupling, and extending from the connection portion along the center axis. Outer circumferential portions of the rotation transmission portions are in surface contact with a first hub main body portion and first protrusion portions of a first hub, and a second hub main body portion and second protrusion portions of a second hub.