Universal Joints and Driveshafts H.Chr.Seherr-Thoss · F ... - Index of

30 1 Universal Jointed Driveshafts for Transmitting Rotational Movements
Fig. 1.36. Plunging pivoting joint by Robert Bouchard 1955 (German patent 1072108 of 1956)
cage. In 1961, Henri Faure steered the four balls of his (V2) joint by pairs of intersecting
tracks in the inner and outer races (Fig. 1.38). The design started to achieve
importance in 1962, as the six-ball VL joint for passenger cars (Figs. 4.69). Here, the
plunge s is shared equally between the outer and inner tracks. The ball rolls more
than it slides giving rise to small plunging forces which decrease as the articulation
angle increases under rotation.
The joint shown in Fig. 1.39 can plunge in both directions until the sphere of the
inner race touches the cage at radius r, or the cage touches the sphere of the outer
Fig. 1.37. First patent granted for a centrally divided plunging joint with cage steering and
straight tracks by Robert Suczek, 1938 (US Patent 2313279). 1 and 2 offset cage; 3 and 4 ball
centring device; 5 inner race; 6 and 7 axially guided cup-shaped steering device. When the
joint is articulated, the three rotating parts 1, 5 and 6 move about the two ball centring devices
3 and 4, the mid points of which are equally offset from the joint centre. The cage 1 thus
steers the balls with its arms 2 into the plane of symmetry p of the joint, following the offset
principle