A connecting shaft including a first shaft made of metal, a second shaft made of resin, and a collar made of metal including a first fitting portion fitting on an outer peripheral surface of the first shaft and a second fitting portion fitting on an outer peripheral surface of the second shaft. A gap between the outer peripheral surface of the second shaft and an inner peripheral surface of the second fitting portion is filled with an adhesive agent, and the adhesive agent is applied to an outer peripheral surface of the collar to cover an end face of the second fitting portion in an axial direction.

A drive shaft includes a first shaft member made of metal, a tubular member made of CFRP, and a first exterior sleeve. The first shaft member is capable of being attached on one end side thereof to a first constant velocity joint, and has a first serrated part on which serrations are formed on another end side thereof. The tubular member is formed with a first fitting part fitted externally over the first serrated part. The first exterior sleeve covers the first fitting part by being disposed to extend over outer circumferential surfaces of the first shaft member and the tubular member. A film provided with a bonding assistance region and an adhesive are interposed between the outer circumferential surface of the tubular member and the inner circumferential surface of the first exterior sleeve.

A tandem roller bearing assembly is provided that combines a tapered roller bearing with an angular contact ball bearing, yielding high load capacity with improved efficiency. A one-piece outer ring contains an outer tapered roller raceway and an outer angular contact ball raceway and can support an axial load in a single direction. A one-piece inner ring contains an inner tapered roller raceway and an inner angular contact ball raceway and can support an axial load in a single direction. Various rib configurations are implemented on the inner tapered roller raceway to achieve multiple friction and axial load support options.

The drive shaft (1) comprises end universal joints (5, 7) with accident-preventing end protections (19). Each accident-preventing end protection comprises a lubricant reservoir, delimited radially inwardly by a sleeve (63) of an inner fork (23) of the respective universal joint (5; 7) and radially outwardly by a rigid annular structure of the accident-preventing end protection.

A cardan shaft slip distance change detection system for determining the amount of length change of the cardan shaft, including a moveable element and a stationary element associated with a telescopic approach to compensate for the change of distance caused by the vehicle's axle movements. At least two conductive elements are configured as one of them connected to a fixed point, another to the moveable element. A power element is provided to supply power to at least one of the conductive elements. A detection unit measures the electrical value change provided by the electrical interaction between the conductive elements and correlating it with the distance between the conductive elements.

A positioning tool for axially positioning a circular lubricant dam insert on a splined drive shaft may include a circular body having an inner surface configured to slide over an outer surface of the splined drive shaft. A first plurality of splines may be positioned on an inner surface of the circular body, the first plurality of splines mating with a second plurality of splines on the outer surface of the splined drive shaft. A depth setting member may be positioned on the circular body that defines an axial extent to which the circular body slides over the outer surface of the splined drive shaft. A position setting element may extend axially from the circular body to contact an axial end of the insert to axially position the insert on the splined drive shaft.

A method for sensing misalignment of a rotating shaft includes rotating the shaft. A distance from a sensor on the shaft to a first rim of a first coupling mounted to an end of the shaft is sensed as the shaft rotates. A change in the distance from the first sensor to the first rim of the first coupling is determined based on the sensed distance. An angle of the first coupling based on the change in the distance from the first sensor to the first rim of the first coupling during one revolution of the shaft is determined based on the sensed change in the distance from the first sensor to the first rim. An angle of the shaft is determined based on the sensed distance from the first sensor to the first rim of the first coupling representing the sensed change in the distance from the first sensor to the first rim.

A center bearing bush unit for a propeller shaft can effectively decrease the amount of large/small displacement that occurs in the propeller shaft during driving of a vehicle. A center bearing bush unit for a propeller shaft includes an inner pipe; an outer pipe disposed on a common axis as the inner pipe at the outside of the inner pipe; a cushion rubber attached between the inner and outer pipes, and having a plurality of voids disposed on the common axis; and a plurality of stoppers attached to the outer circumferential surface of the inner pipe while being spaced apart from the cushion rubber at a predetermined interval.

A shaft balancing device for insertion into a shaft including a generally flat cylindrical band having an outer surface, an inner surface and a set of two crush points thereon. A balancing weight is attached to the outer surface of the band between the set of crush points. The device is inserted into the shaft and the crush points are plastically deformed radially outward creating spring force which holds the balancing weight to the inner surface of the shaft. The band has a curved connecting portion between the two crush points having a radius of curvature slightly greater than the curvature of the shaft. The balancing weight has a radius of curvature slightly greater than the radius of curvature of the curved connecting portion and slightly less than the radius of curvature of the shaft.

A shaft assembly includes one or more axially-arranged plies having a plurality of bundles of strands. Each strand is formed of a ultra-high modulus carbon fiber material. One or more strands of glass fiber are wrapped around each bundle of the plurality of bundles. A volume of resin injected into the one or more axially-arranged plies and the assembly is cured via a resin transfer molding process. A method of forming a shaft assembly includes arranging a plurality of strands of ultra-high modulus carbon fiber material into a plurality of bundles. Each bundle of the plurality of bundles is wrapped with one or more strands of glass fiber material. The plurality of bundles are arranged into one or more axially-extending plies at a mandrel. A volume of resin is injected into the plurality of bundles and is cured to form the shaft assembly.