Patent ID: 6923726

Claim:
An articulated yoke of a universal-joint propeller shaft, the propeller shaft having a drive side and a take-off side, the articulated yoke comprising: at least one leg member configured to couple to a machine element on at least one of the drive side and the take-off side of the universal-joint propeller shaft; at least one bearing part connected to the leg member, the bearing part including a supporting surface defining a bore therethrough; and a roller-bearing arrangement to position a journal of a differential-pinion shaft, the roller-bearing arrangement having a plurality of rolling elements configured to enable rotation of the journal about a longitudinal axis of the journal with respect to the supporting surface, the roller-bearing arrangement having at least one region of stress adjacent to the journal at which the journal exerts a radial force capable of elastically or plastically deforming the bearing part or the roller-bearing arrangement, the supporting surface configured to support at least a portion of the roller-bearing arrangement; wherein the supporting surface of the bearing part is provided with at least one recess in the region of stress the recess including a width in a direction around the journal, a depth in a direction radial of the journal, and a direction of extension extending toward a pivot axis of the journal in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the journal, the width and the depth of the recess diminishing along the direction of extension, such that the recess accommodates deformation of the roller-bearing arrangement in the direction of the radial force to maintain a substantially uniform distribution of radial forces transmitted by the journal to the roller-bearing arrangement.