Patent ID: 9005039
Filing Date: 2015-04-14
Classification: B23K,F16C,F16D

Abstract:
1. An aluminum alloy propeller shaft comprising: a tube made of an aluminum alloy; a pair of yoke members made of an aluminum alloy, the pair of yoke members comprising cylindrical base portions butted against opposite end portions of the tube in an axial direction of the tube, and bonding portions, including friction welds by which said cylindrical base portions are friction-welded at bonding interfaces to the opposite end portions of the tube, wherein each of the pair of yoke members comprises a bifurcate-shaped tip end portion having a pair of bearing retaining holes aligned with each other in a radial direction of the base portion, wherein each of the bonding portions has a heat softened range limited so as to remain within a selected distance from a respective one of the bonding interfaces and a hardness limited so as to remain within a selected hardness range from hardness of the tube or the yoke members, and wherein variation in length between a central axis of the bearing retaining holes formed in one of the pair of yoke members and a central axis of the bearing retaining holes formed in the other of the pair of yoke members with respect to a reference length is set within a range of from +2.0 mm to −2.0 mm.