Vehicle axle and method and apparatus for manufacturing the same
US7043818B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 14, 2002 |
| Grant date | May 16, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 18, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/49968
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A vehicle shaft has a rigid intermediate portion with a shaft journal welded to each of the two ends of the shaft portion. The shaft journal and/or the intermediate portion are/is provided with a material thickness reduction within a distance a from the contact surfaces which is less than substantially half the material thickness at the contact surfaces, in order to guide the force flow thorough the weld seam. During manufacture of such vehicle shafts, the mutually abutting contact surfaces are laser-welded to form a weld seam which can fully penetrate the material of the shaft journals and the intermediate portion respectively, whereby the concentricity and parallelism of the two journals will be within predetermined dimensional tolerances after the welding and cooling of the material. The arrangement has an induction heater which surrounds the shaft journal and is movable axially so that, after completion of heating, it moves to free the shaft journals welded to the shaft portion.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.