| 摘要 |
1514227 Universal joints LITTON INDUSTRIES Inc 27 June 1975 [1 July 1974] 27378/75 Heading F2U A universal joint comprises a driving element 12, a driven element 14 and at least two connecting elements, 18, 20, each connecting element being connected to both the driving and driven element by pivotal connections each constituted by at least one flexure hinge, the connecting elements being angularly offset relative to one another. In the embodiment shown exploded in Fig. 3, two connecting elements 18, 20 are provided, element 18 being connected by hinges 64, 68, each constituted by a narrow neck of material between two bores, to the driving element 12 and by similar flexure hinges 56, 60 to the driven element 14. The connecting element 20 is connected to the driving element 12 by flexure hinges 48, 52 and to the driven element 14 by hinges 24 and 44. Thus two universal joints in parallel and angularly offset by 90 degrees are provided between elements 12 and 14. Stops such as 88, 90, 92 are provided to limit the movement between the driving and driven elements. The universal joint is formed in one piece from a blank of material by a combination of drilling and electrical discharge machining. In an alternative embodiment (Figs. 11 and 12, not shown) three connecting elements are provided. The universal joint shown has holes for weights 73, 74, 77, 79, 83, 87, 85, 81 in the form of screws, these adjusting the balance and inertia of the connecting elements. The universal joint is used for driving the rotor of a gyroscope, wherein it is stated that the torques exerted on the rotor by the flexure hinges can be made to cancel (Fig. 5, not shown). The hinges may alternatively be oriented as shown in Fig. 20, where a hinge 504 is formed between bores 508, 510 and the axis of rotation is referenced 503. |
