Analyses of Kinematic Characteristics of Tripod Constant Velocity Joints.

In this paper, a procedure is established for solving simultaneously a set of thirty conditional equations with respect to forces and moments acting on three spherical rollers, the tripod and the housing of tripod constant velocity joints, which are cylindrical-paired and sphere-cylinder-paired respectively, for any values of friction coefficients between spherical rollers and its grooves and axes. Moreover, the rotational velocity of the spherical roller relative to the tripod and the condition for rolling motion of the spherical roller to change into sliding motion on its groove are deduced. The established numerical procedure simulates the normal force of the spherical roller and the groove thrust force with a period of π and the housing thrust force with a period of 2π/3 for given values of the joint angle. These results are inspected by experimental analyses.