JPH0313053Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The invention relates to a support structure for a propeller shaft.
In particular, the present invention relates to a propeller shaft support structure consisting of three shafts, each of which is connected by a universal joint.

(Prior art) Among the propeller shafts of automobiles, those with a long overall length are formed by dividing into a plurality of shafts, and each shaft is connected by a universal joint to form a propeller shaft of a predetermined length. is configured.

In a so-called three-part propeller shaft, which is divided into three parts, the middle shaft is supported by two bearings at both ends thereof. Each bearing is preferably coupled to the vehicle body via an elastic body with a low spring constant in order to enhance the effect of isolating vibrations transmitted from the propeller shaft to the vehicle body.

(Problem that the invention aims to solve) However, in the case of a three-part propeller shaft, due to its structure, the propeller shaft swings around more easily than a two-part propeller shaft, and it is necessary to suppress the amount of swing. Therefore, measures have been taken to increase the spring constant of the elastic body interposed between the bearing and the vehicle body, at the expense of vibration isolation performance.

An object of the present invention is to provide a support structure for a propeller shaft that has sufficient support rigidity against whirling of the propeller shaft and has a high vibration isolation effect.

(Means for solving the problem) The present invention has a structure in which one shaft of a propeller shaft consisting of a plurality of shafts is supported by a pair of bearings spaced apart from each other in the axial direction, and the propeller shaft is coupled to the pair of bearings. and a support member disposed along the first shaft, and the support member is fixed to the vehicle body via front and rear elastic bodies disposed with a span longer than the interval.

(Functions and Effects) When a moment T is applied to the shaft 1, which causes the front and rear ends to swing around the center in the axial direction, if the rigidity of the supporting member is sufficiently increased,
Vibrations of the shaft are transmitted to the front and rear rubber or other elastic bodies via the support member.

The spring constant of the elastic body is k, the displacement of each elastic body is δ,
If the span between two elastic bodies is d, then δ=
The displacement δ of the elastic body is given by the relationship T/kd. Generally, the limit of the circumferential stroke of the elastic body is 10 to 14 mm, and in order to keep the displacement δ below this value, it is necessary to increase the spring constant k or the span d. In the present invention, since the span d is longer than the distance between the pair of bearings, the spring constant k can be made smaller than in the conventional structure in which the bearings are directly supported on the vehicle body via an elastic body.

If the front and rear elastic bodies arranged with a span longer than the spacing between the pair of bearings have the same displacement as the elastic bodies provided in the conventional support structure, the displacement of the pair of bearings connected to the support member will be the same as that of the conventional support structure. The displacement of the bearing is smaller than that of the bearing. In other words, the present invention is more effective in suppressing shaft vibration, and thus,
It is possible to suppress the whirling of the shaft.

Since the spring constant of the elastic body can be reduced, vibration isolation performance can be improved and in-vehicle noise can be reduced.

In the conventional support structure, an elastic body is disposed around the bearing (for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 58-90831), so the volume of the elastic body is large. In contrast, in the present invention, since the support member coupled to the bearing is attached to the vehicle body via the elastic body, the volume of the elastic body can be reduced, and the degree of freedom in design is increased.

(Example) The support structure 10 is a structure in which one shaft of a propeller shaft 12 consisting of a plurality of shafts is supported by a pair of bearings spaced apart from each other in the axial direction.

The propeller shaft 12 has three shafts 14, 16, 18 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
and four joints 20, 22, 24, 26. The first joint 20 is connected to a transmission or other drive device 28 on the front side (on the left side in the figure) and to the first shaft 14 on the rear side (on the right side in the figure). The second joint 22 is connected to the first shaft 14 on the front side and to the second shaft 16 on the rear side. The third joint 24 is connected to the second shaft 16 on the front side and to the third shaft 18 on the rear side. The fourth joint 26 is coupled to the third shaft 18 on the front side and to the final reduction gear 30 on the rear side.

Each joint may be configured by a universal joint such as a hooks joint or a constant velocity joint, but in particular, the second joint 22 and the third joint 24 are constant velocity joints, and the first joint 20 and the fourth joint are It has been confirmed that when the joint 26 of the second shaft 16 is configured with a hooks joint, the whirling of the second shaft 16 can be significantly reduced, and this has been separately filed (Utility Application No.
No. 96619). In the present invention as well, the above configuration can be adopted, and thereby the effect of preventing the second shaft 16 from swinging around can be further enhanced.

The second shaft 16 has a spacing s in its axial direction.
It is supported by a pair of bearings 32 and 34 that are placed apart from each other. Each bearing is a known rolling bearing, with the shaft 16 fitted into its inner race 36 and the bracket 40 fitted into its outer race 38.
is held in place.

Bracket 40 extends on both sides of shaft 16, as shown in FIG.
It is welded to a pair of support members 42 arranged along 6. The support member 42 is formed of a member such as an iron pipe with sufficiently high rigidity, and supports the bearings 32,
The displacement of 34 is transmitted to the support member 42.

Each support member 42 is fixed to the vehicle body 48 via front and rear elastic bodies 42, 44 arranged with a span d longer than the distance s between the pair of bearings 32, 34.
The elastic bodies 42 and 44 are made of rubber and are arranged on both sides of the shaft 16 in front and behind. Each elastic body is bonded to a bracket 50 on its outer circumferential surface, and the bracket 50 is attached to the vehicle body 48 by bolts or the like. A support member 4 is placed in the center of each elastic body.
2 is glued.

An elastic body 4 in which the support member 42 is arranged with a span d larger than the distance s between the pair of bearings 32 and 34.
As a result of being supported by the shaft 16, as shown in FIG. 4, when a moment T is applied to the shaft 16 to swing its front and rear ends around its center, for the spring constant k of each elastic body, The displacement δ of the support member 42 is given by the above formula. However, as is clear from FIG. 4, since the distance s between the pair of bearings 32 and 34 is smaller than the span d, the displacement applied to each bearing becomes smaller and vibrations are suppressed.

As shown in FIG. 3, each bearing can be supported by a structure in which the outer race 38 is directly held between brackets 40, but as shown in FIG.
A vibration isolating material 52 such as rubber or resin is interposed between the outer race 38 of each bearing and the bracket 40,
It is more preferable to adopt a structure that first enhances the vibration-proofing effect in the bearing portion.

In the example shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, shaft 1
6 is supported by a pair of bearings 32 and 34, and each bearing is held by a bracket 40 with or without a vibration isolator 52, which is the same as the previous example. However, in this example, the support members 54 disposed on both sides of the shaft 16 are formed by standing up a single bar vertically at the front and back, and then bending it horizontally at right angles, and the horizontal bent portions 55 It passes through the front and rear elastic bodies 56 and 58 arranged in the direction perpendicular to 16, and is bonded to the elastic bodies.
As a result, in addition to the effect that the number of elastic bodies is halved compared to the above example, the support members disposed on the left and right sides are integrated, which is advantageous in terms of strength.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a front view with a part of the support structure in section;
Figure 2 is a front view of the propeller shaft, Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in Figure 1, Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation, and Figure 5 is a diagram of the structure that supports the bearing. 6 is a partially sectional front view showing another example of the support structure, and FIG. 7 is 7-7 in FIG. 6.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line. 10: Support structure, 12: Propeller shaft, 1
4, 16, 18: Shaft, 20, 22, 24,
26: Joint, 32, 34: Bearing, 42, 54: Support member, 44, 46, 56, 58: Elastic body.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] One of the propeller shafts consisting of multiple shafts
The structure includes a support member coupled to the pair of bearings and disposed along the first shaft, the support member supporting the first shaft by a pair of bearings spaced apart in the axial direction of the shaft, the support member being coupled to the pair of bearings and disposed along the first shaft. A propeller shaft support structure that is fixed to the vehicle body via front and rear elastic bodies arranged with a span longer than the spacing.