METHOD FOR PRODUCING A PROFILED HOLLOW SHAFT FOR A TELESCOPIC STEERING SHAFT AND TELESCOPIC STEERING SHAFT

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method for producing a profiled hollow shaft for a telescopic steering shaft of a motor vehicle. A hollow shaft to be machined and a roller forming head having at least one roller are provided. A groove is produced in the hollow shaft by moving the hollow shaft relative to the roller forming head. In order to provide an improved and less expensive method for producing a profiled hollow shaft for a telescopic steering shaft of a motor vehicle, the hollow shaft is moved relative to the roller forming head exclusively in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the hollow shaft. The disclsoure also relates to a steering shaft having rolling body raceways.

Claims

1-12. (canceled)

13. A method for producing a profiled hollow shaft for a telescopic steering shaft of a motor vehicle, the method comprising: providing a hollow shaft to be machined, the hollow shaft defining a longitudinal axis; providing a roller forming head having at least one roller; moving the hollow shaft relative to the roller forming head exclusively in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the hollow shaft; and producing a groove in the hollow shaft during the moving of the hollow shaft relative to the roller forming head.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising: linearly mounting the steering shaft in roller bearings in the direction of the longitudinal axis, wherein a groove in a hollow shaft is formed as a rolling body raceway to receive at least one rolling body which is able to roll.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the hollow shaft is an inner shaft and comprises an outer circumference at least one rolling body raceway, which is introduced from the outside by the roller forming head, whose roller has a convex roller forming profile corresponding to the negative cross section of the rolling body raceway.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the hollow shaft is an outer shaft and comprises on an inner circumference at least one rolling body raceway, which is introduced from the outside by a roller forming head, whose roller comprises a concave roller forming profile.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the at least one roller comprises a Gothic profile in cross section.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein producing the groove comprises: producing one groove with a length (A, L) on the hollow shaft by a continuous forward stroke of the hollow shaft relative to the roller forming head along the length (A, L), wherein the roller of the roller forming head rolls along the hollow shaft continuously in the longitudinal direction.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising: completing a forward stroke; and retracting the hollow shaft by a continuous reverse stroke relative to the roller forming head.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: generating a plurality of grooves in the hollow shaft by a common work step with a continuous forward stroke.

21. A steering shaft for a motor vehicle, comprising an inner hollow shaft and an outer hollow shaft, which are arranged coaxially to each other and are telescopic with respect to each other, wherein the inner hollow shaft and the outer hollow shaft comprise rolling body raceways extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis, each being radially opposite each other between the shafts, while between the inner hollow shaft and the outer hollow shaft there is arranged at least one rolling body, which rolls against the radially opposite rolling body raceways.

22. The steering shaft of claim 21, wherein at least one of the rolling body raceways of the inner shaft and/or of the outer shaft comprises a Gothic profile looking in cross-section.

23. The steering shaft of claim 22, wherein at least one rolling body is a ball, which makes contact with at least one of the rolling body raceways at two circumferential points (P1, P2), at a pressing angle (φ) lying in the range between 70 and 110°.

24. The steering shaft of claim 22 further comprising: a sheath arranged between the inner hollow shaft and the outer hollow shaft, wherein the sheath receives the at least one rolling body.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] Advantageous embodiments of the invention shall be explained more closely below with the help of the drawings. There are shown specifically:

[0043] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a steering shaft,

[0044] FIG. 2 is a portion of a steering shaft per FIG. 1 in disassembled state,

[0045] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of a steering shaft per the preceding figures,

[0046] FIG. 4 is a detail view of the sectional representation per FIG. 3 in the area of a rolling body,

[0047] FIG. 5 is a further detail view of the sectional representation per FIG. 3 with rolling body removed,

[0048] FIG. 6 isa schematic perspective view of a roller forming head,

[0049] FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a roller forming head in a second embodiment,

[0050] FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of the roller arrangement of the roller forming head per FIG. 7,

[0051] FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the roller arrangement per FIG. 7 in the area of the roller,

[0052] FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of the roller arrangement of the roller forming head per FIG. 6,

[0053] FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of the roller arrangement per FIG. 10 in the area of the rollers,

[0054] FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a longitudinal section along the longitudinal axis of a roller forming head during a roller forming process,

[0055] FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view of a steering shaft in a second embodiment,

[0056] FIG. 14 is a schematic sectional view of a roller forming head when introducing a hollow shaft,

[0057] FIG. 15 is a schematic sectional view of the roller forming head per FIG. 14 during a roller forming process with a hollow shaft located therein during a forward stroke,

[0058] FIG. 16 is a schematic sectional view of the roller forming head per FIG. 15 during a roller forming process with a hollow shaft located therein during a backward stroke.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] The figures show preferred sample embodiments of the invention, the same parts always being provided with the same reference numbers and therefore as a rule only being mentioned or designated once.

[0060] FIG. 1 shows in perspective view a schematically represented steering shaft 10, having an outer hollow shaft 20 and an inner hollow shaft 30, which are telescopic with respect to each other in the direction of the longitudinal axis, i.e., in the longitudinal direction indicated by the double arrow.

[0061] The outer hollow shaft 20 comprises at its free end, which is facing away from the inner shaft 30 in the longitudinal direction, a fork 21, which forms part of a universal joint, by which the steering shaft 10 is connected by torque locking to the steering train. Accordingly, the inner hollow shaft 30 comprises at its free end, which is facing away from the outer shaft 20 in the longitudinal direction, a fork 31, which forms part of another universal joint, by which the steering shaft 10 is connected by torque locking to the steering train. The hollow shafts 20 and 30 are preferably made of good cold-forming steel.

[0062] FIG. 2 shows part of the steering shaft 1 per FIG. 1 in an exploded view, where the individual components are shown in a state dismantled from each other. As can be seen, the outer shaft 20 is profiled in its region facing the inner shaft 30, into which the inner hollow shaft 30 can be shoved telescopically in the longitudinal direction. The profiling of the outer shaft 20 comprises grooves 22, which extend in the longitudinal direction for a length A in the inner sleeve surface 23 of the outer shaft 20. The length A extends from the end facing the inner shaft 30 along a partial segment of the outer shaft 20 which is less than its entire length. The grooves 22 are matched up with opposite convex projecting bulgelike formations 24 in the outer sleeve surface 25, exterior to the wall of the hollow shaft 20. These formations 24 are bounded in the circumferential direction at either side by groove-shaped regions 26 on the outside. In the embodiment shown, four grooves 22 are arranged so as to be distributed uniformly about the circumference of the hollow shaft 20. The grooves 22 are fashioned as rolling body raceways, or more specifically as ball raceways, as will be further explained below.

[0063] The end segment of the inner hollow shaft 30, facing the outer hollow shaft 20 and able to be shoved telescopically into the latter, is likewise profiled as shown in FIG. 1. The profiling comprises grooves 32, which extend from the end which can be shoved into the outer hollow shaft 20 in the outer sleeve surface 33 of the hollow shaft 30 for a length L in the longitudinal direction. The length L extends along the partial segment of the inner hollow shaft 30 which can be shoved into the outer hollow shaft 20 in the longitudinal direction.

[0064] By comparing FIG. 2 with the cross sectional representation of FIG. 3 it can be seen that rolling bodies, namely balls 40, are arranged radially between the grooves 22 and 32. Each time, a plurality of balls 40 are arranged one after the other in the longitudinal direction in the grooves 22 and 32. These are held with defined spacing from each other and free to rotate in a sheath 80, fashioned as a ball cage 80. At the same time, the sheath 80 ensures that adjacent balls 40 in the circumferential direction remain each time in the same position in regard to the longitudinal direction.

[0065] The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 shows a quadrangular, specifically a square basic cross section of the hollow shafts 20 and 30. The grooves 22 and 32 are each time arranged symmetrically at the center of one side of the square.

[0066] A second embodiment similar to the representation of FIG. 3 is shown in FIG. 13. By contrast with the first embodiment, this one comprises only two rows of balls 40 in total, which roll in grooves 22 and 32 between an outer hollow shaft 201 and an inner hollow shaft 301, being situated symmetrically on two opposite sides of the square.

[0067] FIGS. 4 and 5 each time show once more a groove 22 and 32 from FIG. 3 in enlarged view. It will be recognized that the grooves 22 and 32 each time have a Gothic profile. This is formed by two circular arc sections 27 and 37, which meet at an angle at the groove bottom 28 or 38, i.e., forming a point similar to a Gothic pointed arch.

[0068] The circular arc sections 27 and 37 each have a radius K1 and K2, wherein K1=K2. The radius center points M1 of K1 and M2 of K2 have a spacing G from each other, being arranged in mirror symmetry to a mirror axis S passing through the point 28. The magnitude of K1 and K2 is greater than the radius R of a ball 40 inserted between the grooves 22 and 32. Thus, each ball 40 lies against precisely two contact points P1 and P2 on a groove 22 and 32, as is shown in FIG. 4. The magnitude of the pressing angle φ, enclosed between the contact points P1 and P2 with respect to the ball center point with radius R, is preferably in the range of 70 and 110°.

[0069] The groove 22 has a groove base area 29, the groove 32 has a groove base area 39. As is clearly seen from FIG. 4, each time a ball 40 projects with more than half of its diameter 2*R beyond the respective groove base area 29 or 32. This fulfills the above given definition of a rolling body raceway for the grooves 22 and 32, i.e., they form ball raceways for the balls 40.

[0070] FIG. 6 shows a roller forming head 50 for making an inner hollow shaft 30 as described above. The roller forming head 50 comprises four rollers 52, which are arranged in rotational symmetry about a machining pass 51. The rollers 52 are arranged with respect to each other at an angle of 90°. Each roller 52 is mounted able to turn in a frame 56 of the roller forming head 50.

[0071] The roller forming head 501 shown in FIG. 7 for making the above-described outer hollow shaft 20 comprises a similar layout to the roller forming head 50 for making the inner hollow shaft 30, with a machining pass 511, rollers 521 and a frame 561.

[0072] FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show a profile mandrel 60, which is arranged in the machining pass 511 of a roller forming head 501 in the middle of the four rollers 521. A gap is provided between the profile mandrel 60 and the rollers 521, so that the profile mandrel 60 can move along the roller forming axis, i.e., the longitudinal axis passing through the machining pass 511, without the rollers 521 rolling against the profile mandrel 60.

[0073] FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the profile mandrel 60 with protrusions 62, forming a gap between the profile mandrel 60 and the rollers 521, roughly corresponding to the profile of a hollow shaft being produced by means of the roller forming head 501.

[0074] FIG. 12 shows a section along the longitudinal axis of the machining situation represented in FIG. 10, where a hollow profile 30 has been shoved in between the rollers 52 by a length L in order to generate a groove 32 of length L.

[0075] Alternatively, the roller forming head 50 or 501 can also comprise one, two, three, six or more rollers 52 or 521, being arranged about the circumference spaced apart at a corresponding angle from each other.

[0076] FIGS. 9 and 11 show that the rollers 52, 521 are profiled and comprise a roller center profile 53, 531 as well as a roller edge profile 54, 541.

[0077] In order to form a ball raceway, the roller center profile 53 has the shape of a convex Gothic profile. The diameter of the roller center profile 53 here is larger than the diameter of the roller edge profile 54.

[0078] For the rollers 521, the roller center profile 531 is shaped as a concave Gothic profile. The rollers 521 and the profile mandrel 60 are arranged with respect to each other so that a roller center profile 531 corresponds to a protrusion 62 of the profile mandrel 60.

[0079] FIG. 9 shows a cross section of a detail view of a roller forming head 501, wherein the rollers 521 are in contact with an outer hollow shaft 20, having been shoved onto the profile mandrel 60. The outer hollow shaft 20 is cold rolled, so that the outer shaft 20 on its inner sleeve surface receives the profile of the profile mandrel 60 and on its outer sleeve surface 25 it is formed by the rollers 521 and especially by the roller profile.

[0080] Since the roller center profile 531 corresponds in cross section to the protrusion 62 of the profile mandrel 60, the material of the outer hollow shaft 20 is forced by the roller center profile 531 onto the protrusion 62 of the profile mandrel 60.

[0081] Accordingly, an inner hollow shaft 30 of a steering shaft 10 can be made by means of a roller forming head 50. One difference between the roller forming head 50 and the roller forming head 501 is that the machining of a hollow profile, such as an inner hollow profile 30, can be done without the use of a profile mandrel. For this, a hollow profile 30 is introduced empty, i.e., without a counter tool located in the free passage, into the machining pass 51 of the roller forming head 50. As an illustration, this is shown schematically in FIG. 10, where only the rollers 52 are indicated, and the other elements of the roller forming head 50 have been omitted. The hollow profile 30 is shoved in the direction of the arrow between the rollers 52, the outer sleeve surface 33 being cold deformed by the profile cross section of the rollers 52 to form grooves 32. The situation is shown once more in cross section in FIG. 11.

[0082] An alternative embodiment of the method described with the aid of the roller forming head 501 in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 calls for no profile mandrel 60 to be used. This means that an outer hollow profile 20 is cold deformed empty, as described above for the making of an inner hollow profile 30 with the use of a roller forming head 50. In particular, when the hollow profile cross section is relatively small, it is thus possible to form suitable grooves 22 as rolling body raceways by roller forming in the inner sleeve surface from the outside.

[0083] FIGS. 14 to 16 show the movement sequence of a double stroke for the profiling of an outer hollow shaft 20 by means of a roller forming head 501. These are cross sectional views which show each time two opposing rollers 521, while between the rollers 521 a profile mandrel 60 is arranged, on which an outer hollow shaft 20 is shoved.

[0084] FIG. 14 shows a forward stroke of an outer hollow shaft 20 together with the profile mandrel 60. The outer hollow shaft 20 is moved with the profile mandrel 60 relative to the rollers 521. No contact exists between the profile mandrel 60 and the rollers 521, so that the rollers 521 remain in a position of rest. The outer hollow shaft 20 shoved onto the profile mandrel 60 is not yet in contact with the rollers 521 in FIG. 14.

[0085] In FIG. 15, the outer hollow shaft 20 together with the profile mandrel 60 is still in the forward stroke, the difference being that now the outer hollow shaft 20 is in contact with the rollers 521. The gap between the profile mandrel 60 and the rollers 521 is now filled up by the outer shaft 20. Thanks to the forward stroke of the outer shaft 20 together with the profile mandrel 60, the rollers 521 are placed in rotation. They roll along the outer circumferential surface of the outer shaft 20, so that the outer hollow shaft 20 undergoes the above-described profiling, as the rollers 521 in the roller center profile 531 have a lesser spacing from the profile mandrel 60 than the not yet formed outer hollow shaft 20.

[0086] Once the desired length of the profiling and the associated groove length A of the outer shaft 20 has been reached, the reverse stroke shown in FIG. 16 begins. The outer hollow shaft 20 and the profile mandrel 60 move in common in the opposite direction relative to the forward stroke. Contact continues to exist between the outer shaft 20 and the rollers 521, so that the rollers 521 also rotate in the opposite direction during the reverse stroke. The reverse stroke can be maintained for as long as it takes for the outer hollow shaft 20 and the profile mandrel 60 to leave the roller forming head 501. Alternatively, a new forward stroke can follow on the reverse stroke, for example in order to improve the quality of the profiling of the outer shaft 20.

[0087] The method represented in FIGS. 14, 15 and 16 can likewise be used to make hollow shafts 20, 30 without the use of a profile mandrel 60. In this case, the hollow shafts are introduced empty between the rollers 52, 521 of a roller forming head 50, 501.

[0088] In order to improve the rolling of the rollers 521 against the shaft being profiled and to minimize pit corrosion in the contact surfaces, it is conceivable and possible to wet the rollers or the shaft with a lubricant at the corresponding contact surface.

[0089] Insofar as is applicable, all individual features represented in the individual sample embodiments can be combined with each other and/or exchanged for each other, without leaving the scope of the invention.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0090] 10 Steering shaft [0091] 20, 201 Outer hollow shaft [0092] 21 Fork [0093] 22 Groove [0094] 23 Inner sleeve surface [0095] 24 Formations [0096] 25 Outer sleeve surface [0097] 26 Formed regions [0098] 27 Circular arc section [0099] 28 Groove bottom (tip) [0100] 29 Groove base area [0101] 30, 301 Inner hollow shaft [0102] 31 Fork [0103] 32 Groove [0104] 33 Outer sleeve surface [0105] 37 Circular arc section [0106] 38 Groove bottom (tip) [0107] 39 Groove base area [0108] 40 Ball [0109] 50, 501 Roller forming head [0110] 51, 511 Machining pass [0111] 52, 521 Roller [0112] 53, 531 Roller center profile [0113] 54, 541 Roller edge profile [0114] 56, 561 Frame [0115] 60 Profile mandrel [0116] 80 Sheath [0117] A Length of a groove 22 [0118] L Length of a groove 32 [0119] G Spacing [0120] K1, K2 Radius [0121] M1, M2 Center point [0122] P1, P2 Contact point [0123] S Mirror axis [0124] φ Pressing angle