Patent ID: 8177649
Filing Date: 2012-05-15
Classification: F16D,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A constant velocity joint for a drive system comprising: a hollow housing having a plurality of guide grooves therein, the guide grooves extending in an axial direction of the housing and spaced equally apart in a circumferential direction of the housing; a tripod having a plurality of trunnions, each trunnion positioned in a corresponding one of the guide grooves of the hollow housing; and a roller assembly disposed on each trunnion, the roller assembly including an outer roller for rollably receiving in the corresponding guide groove; wherein the outer roller includes a convex outer surface, the convex outer surface having a first radius (Rry) seen from a cross section taken in an orthogonal direction relative to a central axis of the outer roller, the convex outer surface having a second radius (Rrx) seen from a cross section taken along the central axis of the outer roller, a center of the second radius (Rrx) displaced outwardly from a center of the first radius (Rry), and the second radius (Rrx) being shorter than the first radius (Rry); wherein each of the guide grooves of the housing is formed with a first elliptical surface in an upper half of the housing groove and a second elliptical surface in a lower half of the housing groove, the second ellipse being different from the first ellipse, and wherein the centers of the first and second elliptical surfaces are located at the same location with or in proximity of the center of the second radius (Rrx) of the outer roller.