Universal joint arrangement
A universal joint arrangement with a journal cross, supported by bearings in two joint yokes offset to one another by 90°. Each joint yoke comprises a flange and two bearings. Each bearing has an axial bearing mold element that is supported by a connection element on the joint yoke and at least indirectly on the journal cross to form a first and second friction pairing. The mold element has a planar face and a second face having at least one elevated support region facing the first or second friction pairing, and is arranged with the support region on the connection element, which elastically deflects under load. The regions on the second face other than the support region are free from contact with the connection element in every load state. The support region is arranged in the region of low relative movement of the connection element with the journal cross, while the regions other than the support region lie in the region of greatest relative motion.
1. A universal joint arrangement, comprising:
a journal cross, supported in two joint yokes offset to one another by about 90° and in reflected arrangement to the plane of symmetry of the journal cross located perpendicular to the joint axis, each joint yoke comprising a flange part and two bearing parts;
a bearing bore in each bearing part wherein the journals of the journal cross are supported in the bearing bores;
at least one bearing arrangement for supporting each journal in the bearing bore, the bearing arrangement comprising a radial bearing and an axial bearing, wherein the axial bearing is a friction bearing comprising at least one axial friction bearing mold element that is at least indirectly supported by a connection element on the joint yoke to form a first friction pairing and on the journal cross to form a second friction pairing;
first and second plane frontal areas on the axial friction bearing mold element, the second plane frontal area having at least one elevation region that forms a support region and at least one region outside of the support region, the support region forming a friction surface of the first or second friction pairing;
wherein the support region of the axial friction bearing mold element is arranged in such a way that the support region rests on the connection element and elastically deflects when under active operational load of the universal joint arrangement, and wherein the regions outside of the support region are free from contact with the connection element in every load state, and wherein-the support region is arranged in the region of low relative axial movement of the connection element, while the regions outside of the support region are arranged in the region of greatest relative axial motion.
2. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 1 , characterized in that the axial friction bearing mold element exhibits regions of differing cross-sectional development.
3. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 1 , characterized in that the axial friction bearing mold element consists of plastic or a material with an elasticity modulus in the range of 5000 to 20000 N/mm 2 .
4. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the axial friction bearing mold element is designed as an annular element comprising two support regions symmetrically arranged with regard to a first line of symmetry and having the same cross-section, the height of elevation of the annular element further comprising a transition region between the support regions and the region outside the support region, each of the support regions and the region outside the support region having a constant cross-section up to at least the transition region.
5. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 4 , characterized in that the cross-section of the transition region changes continuously between the support regions and the region outside the support region.
6. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein each journal has a journal root and the bearing arrangement further comprises a retaining ring for the radial bearing, the retaining ring having a frontal area facing in the direction of the joint axis, and characterized in that the axial friction bearing mold element is arranged in the region of the journal root and is supported on the retaining ring such that the first friction pairing is formed by the support region and the frontal area of the retaining ring.
7. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein each journal has a journal root and the bearing arrangement further comprises a retaining ring for the radial bearing, and characterized in that the axial friction bearing mold element is arranged in the region of the journal root and is supported on the retaining ring such that the first friction pairing is formed by the support region and the retaining ring.
8. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 6 or 7 , wherein each journal has a journal root, and further comprising a bearing flange supported on the journal root, and characterized in that the axial friction bearing mold element in the region of the journal root is supported on the bearing flange.
9. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 1 , characterized in that the axial friction bearing mold element is a symmetrical disk-shaped or parallel-shaped element, and wherein the elevation region has a changing cross-section.
10. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 9 , wherein the connection element has a recess and characterized in that the first plane frontal area has a contour that is complimentary to the recess such that the axial friction bearing mold element can be centered in the recess.
11. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 9 , wherein the journal has a front side and characterized in that the axial bearing is arranged in the region of the journal front side.
12. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 11 , characterized in that the axial friction bearing mold element is arranged between the journal front side and the joint yoke.
13. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 12 , wherein the bearing arrangement includes a bearing bushing that serves as a retaining ring for the radial bearing and characterized in that the axial friction bearing mold element is arranged between the journal front side and the bearing bushing.
14. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 13 , further comprising a cover element supported on the joint yoke, and characterized in that the axial friction bearing mold element is arranged between the journal front side and the cover element.
15. The universal joint arrangement according to any one of claims 9 through 14 , characterized in that the axial friction bearing mold element is designed as a disk-shaped or annular element wherein the elevation region of the second plane frontal area extends over the entire extent of the disk-shaped or annular element on both sides along an axis of symmetry of the element.
16. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 15 , characterized in that the support region is designed either with constant width or with a concave or convex geometry describing width change over the extent of the element.
17. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 1 , characterized in that the support region lies in the region of a plane which is characterized by the joint axis and the journal axis.
18. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 1 or 17 , characterized in that the support region extends on both sides of plane formed by the journal axis and the joint axis, at an angle of ±30 to about ±45°.
19. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 1 or 17 , characterized in that the region outside of the support region extends on both sides of a plane formed perpendicular to the plane formed by the journal axis and the joint axis, at an angle of about ±45° to ±60°.
20. The universal joint arrangement according to claim 19 , wherein the second plane frontal area of the axial friction bearing mold element comprises at least two regions outside the support region that are arranged symmetrically to the plane formed by the joint axis and journal axis.