Patent ID: 8500566

Claim:
A constant velocity joint for a drive system comprising: an outer joint member having a plurality of inwardly facing outer ball grooves, the outer ball grooves consisting of a first group of grooves, each groove of which having a linear groove shape with no skew angle, and a second group of grooves, each groove of which having a skewed groove shape with a skew angle other than zero and alternately arranged in opposite directions relative to an axis of rotation of outer joint member; an inner joint member disposed inside the outer joint member and having a plurality of outwardly facing inner ball grooves consisting of a first group of grooves, each groove of which having a linear groove shape with no skew angle, and a second group of grooves, each groove of which having a skewed groove shape with a skew angle other than zero and alternately arranged in opposite directions relative to an axis of rotation of inner joint member; wherein each inner ball groove of the first group of grooves of the inner joint member is coupled with a corresponding outer ball groove of the first group of grooves of the outer joint member generally in paralleled pair, wherein each inner ball groove of the second group of grooves of the inner joint member is coupled with a corresponding outer ball groove of the second group of grooves of the outer joint member generally in crossed pair, wherein each pair of grooves of the first group of grooves of the outer and inner joint members define a taper angle other than zero, and wherein each pair of grooves of the second group of grooves of the outer and inner joint members define no taper angle; a plurality of torque transfer balls which are guided by the ball grooves of the outer and inner joint members; and a cage having circumferentially displaced windows to accommodate the balls therein.