Tripot Universal Joint Roller Guide Channel Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing telescoping constant velocity joints with roller bearing assemblies are costly to manufacture and require additional design features to accommodate the bearings, leading to increased space requirements and frictional losses.
Innovation Solution
A tripot universal joint design featuring a first rotatable shaft member with parallel guide channels and a spider with radially extending trunnions, utilizing solid rollers that rotate and slide within the channels to reduce friction, eliminating the need for needle bearings and simplifying the structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If roller bearing assemblies are used to reduce frictional losses, then operational performance is improved, but manufacturing cost increases and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the roller bearings from the roller assembly, retaining only the essential roller components that perform the friction-reducing function. This removes the complex bearing retention infrastructure while preserving the core benefit of reduced frictional losses through rolling contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive, complex roller bearing assemblies with simpler, cheaper solid roller elements. The solid rollers are designed to be straightforward components without elaborate retention mechanisms, reducing manufacturing cost and structural complexity while maintaining acceptable operational performance.
2Loss of energy
If roller bearings are incorporated into roller assemblies, then frictional losses are reduced, but space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the space-consuming bearing retention components from the roller assembly design. By eliminating the need to accommodate roller bearings, the overall space envelope of the roller assembly is reduced while still providing the friction-reducing rolling contact function through solid rollers.
3Reliability
If roller bearing assemblies are used, then operational performance is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention substitutes expensive roller bearing assemblies with inexpensive solid roller elements. This simplification dramatically reduces manufacturing cost by eliminating the need for precision bearing components and their associated retention infrastructure, while maintaining sufficient operational performance for the application.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the essential friction-reducing function from the complex roller bearing assembly, isolating the core rolling contact mechanism. This extracted simplified design maintains operational effectiveness while eliminating the cost-prohibitive bearing components and their retention systems.
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
The design achieves reduced frictional losses and operational performance while minimizing manufacturing costs and space requirements, making it suitable for applications with lower maximum torque requirements.
Implementation Method 1
The roller bearings are employed to reduce the friction between the outer surface of the inner ball and the inner surface of the outer ball by providing a rotatable assembly whose frictional losses are defined by the rolling friction between the roller bearings and these surfaces
Data Source
AI summary
A tripot universal joint includes a first rotatable shaft member having a first longitudinal axis and three longitudinal guide channels disposed parallel to the first longitudinal axis, each having two opposing concave side surfaces and a back surface. The joint also includes a rotatable second shaft member having a second longitudinal axis and comprising a spider having three radially extending trunnions equally, each of the trunnions having a convex outer surface disposed within an associated longitudinal guide channel. The joint further includes three rotatable rollers, each rotatably disposed on a convex outer surface of a respective trunnion, each roller having a convex outer surface that is configured for disposition within the concave side surfaces of the longitudinal guide channel with which it is associated for moveable engagement within the channel and an inner surface that is rotatably disposed on the convex surface of the trunnion.