The universal joint is a universal joint, which is a mechanism that realizes variable-angle power transmission and is used for the position where the direction of the transmission axis needs to be changed. It is the "joint" part of the universal transmission device of the automobile drive system. The combination of the universal joint and the drive shaft is called a universal joint transmission. On a vehicle with front-engine rear-wheel drive, the universal joint drive is installed between the transmission output shaft and the input shaft of the drive axle final reducer; while the vehicle with front-engine front-wheel drive omits the drive shaft, and the universal joint is installed Between the front axle half-shafts, which are responsible for both driving and steering, and the wheels.
The structure and function of the universal joint are a bit like the joints on the human limbs, which allow the angle between the connected parts to change within a certain range. In order to meet the power transmission, adapt to the steering and the angle change caused by the up and down jump when the car is running, the drive axle of the front drive car, the half shaft and the wheel axle are usually connected with a universal joint. However, due to the limitation of the axial size, the declination angle is required to be relatively large, and a single universal joint cannot make the instantaneous angular velocity of the output shaft and the shaft into the shaft equal, which is easy to cause vibration, aggravate the damage of components, and generate a lot of noise. Therefore, various constant velocity joints are widely used. On front-drive vehicles, two constant-velocity joints are used for each half-shaft, the joint near the transaxle is the inboard joint, and the joint near the axle is the outboard joint. In a rear-drive vehicle, the engine, clutch and transmission are installed on the frame as a whole, and the drive axle is connected to the frame through elastic suspension, and there is a distance between the two, which needs to be connected. During the operation of the car, the uneven road surface produces jumping, the load change or the installation position difference of the two assemblies, etc., will change the angle and distance between the transmission output shaft and the input shaft of the main reducer of the drive axle. The universal joint transmission form adopts double universal joints, that is, there is a universal joint at each end of the transmission shaft, and its function is to make the included angles at both ends of the transmission shaft equal, thereby ensuring that the instantaneous angular velocity of the output shaft and the input shaft is always equal.