On the Motion Characteristics of Tripode Joints. Part 1: General Case

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the analytical investigation of the motion characteristics of tripode joints with general proportions and arbitrary position of shafts. It provides a rigorous proof that the tripode joint is not a true constant velocity joint except in ideal cases, and this is due to the inherent orbital motion of the output spider shaft. Algebraic derivations of the input-output equation and explicit relations for motion parameters are presented. From this general analytical study, some insights into the behavior of the tripode joint are observed and interpreted.