This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Rag joint" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(March 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Rag joint, circa 1919
A rag joint refers to certain flexible joints (flexure bearings) found on automobiles and other machines. They are typically found on steering column shafts that connect the steering wheel to the steering gear input shaft, usually at the steering gear end. They provide a small amount of flex for a steering shaft within a few degrees of the same plane as the steering gear input shaft.[1] It also provides some damping of vibration coming from the steering system,[2] providing some isolation for the steering wheel.[3]
This type of joint has also been used on drive shafts.[4] Farm tractors and lawn and garden equipment have often used them in this application, and even some higher-power applications, such as some 1960s race cars, featured them. In automobile and truck prop shaft designs, they have now mostly been replaced by constant-velocity joints or driveshafts with pairs of universal joints or giubos. Rear-wheel drive cars have commonly used a lengthwise propeller shaft with a rubber doughnut joint at the gearbox end (limited movement) and a universal joint at the rear axle (greater movement), or vice versa. This gives articulation where needed, but also stops some of the vibration being transmitted into the body.
The joint consists of one or more doughnut-shaped layers of flat rubber sheet with reinforcing cords vulcanized in them, similar to a tire. In fact, they are cut from used tires. This disc is bolted or riveted to flanges mounted on the ends of the shafts to connect the steering wheel shaft to the steering gear. The ragged cords can be seen on the edge of this piece of rubber, hence the term "rag joint". The bolt holes themselves are often reinforced by steel tubes moulded into the doughnut.
The origins of this form of universal joint are from early vehicles that used a disk of thick leather as a similar flexible joint. These were used into the 1920s. As rubber technology improved (particularly for its resistance to spilled mineral oils), it was possible to replace leather by longer-lasting materials. "Rag joints" were used on some American cars, including GM full size sedans, into the mid 90s.
An older vehicle with loose steering or "play in the steering wheel" is often found to have a worn rag joint. One can reach inside the cab and wiggle the steering wheel while watching the rag joint move without the input shaft moving. This condition may cause the vehicle to fail the vehicle inspection, indicating that the worn part needs replacement.
^US application 2007230844, King, Jeremy; Krajewski, Casimir & Luttinen, James et al., "Combination cylindrical and spherical joint", published 2007-10-04, now abandoned.
^Fifth International Conference on Vehicular Structural Mechanics. Society of Automotive Engineers. December 1984. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-89883-700-1.
^Halderman, James D. (1996). Automotive Chassis Systems: Brakes, Steering, Suspension, and Alignment. Prentice Hall. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-13-052317-4.
^US 11122741, Walker, Eric Lee & Fredricks, Eric Roland, "Stalk roller assembly for an agricultural system", published 2021-09-21, assigned to CNH Industrial America LLC
A ragjoint refers to certain flexible joints (flexure bearings) found on automobiles and other machines. They are typically found on steering column...
steamer design. Oldham coupler, assembled Oldham coupler, disassembled Ragjoints are commonly used on automotive steering linkages and drive trains. When...
List of auto parts Ragjoint Twin Spring Coupling joint UjjwalRane (8 July 2010). "Kinematics with MicroStation - Ch02 J Hookes Joint". Archived from the...
replace cardan universal joints with an equivalent joint called a ragjoint which works by bending rubberized fabric. The resulting joint is lighter yet is capable...
incorporate one or more universal joints, jaw couplings, or ragjoints, and sometimes a splined joint or prismatic joint. The term driveshaft first appeared...
compensates for any slight misalignment between the motor and the pump. See ragjoint and giubo.[citation needed] A laser welding robot positions the workpieces...
A rag doll is a children's toy. It is a cloth figure, a doll traditionally home-made from (and stuffed with) spare scraps of material. They are one of...
steering housing, and on the gear change lever to the gear box connection. Ragjoint Wikimedia Commons has media related to Giubo. fondazioneboschidistefano...
taken to ensure that misalignment is within the ratings of the coupling. Compliant mechanism Oldham coupler Ragjoint Thompson coupling Universal joint...
pedal and large sidelamps on the wings, the propeller shaft had Cardan (Ragjoint) disc couplings made from leather. After 1933 wheels became 18 inch and...
widely available in the 1890s. Juke joint music began with the blues, then Black folk rags ("ragtime stuff" and "folk rags" are a catch-all term for older...
and then the heat are removed, and while the joint is still very hot, it is usually wiped with a dry rag. This removes excess solder as well as flux residue...
used, tend to have little or zero joint/skeletal muscle stiffness, leading to a character collapsing much like a toy rag doll, often into comically improbable...
Attached to the other end of the rope is a lure such as a dog toy, hide, rag, or other item depending on the exercise goal. The pole is typically 3 to...
edges. Because the rock is bedded between layers of hassock, the phrase ‘rag and hassock’ arose. In 1834 a fossil Iguanodon from a ragstone quarry (Bensted’s...
A joint family or undivided family is an extended family arrangement prevalent throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly in India, consisting of...
RAG Austria AG (RAG) is the largest gas storage operator and thus energy storage company in Austria. The company focuses its business activities on the...
the other partner as she/he performs splits and other flexible poses. In a rag doll or golliwogg act, one or two assistants bend, shake and carry the contortionist...
filtering. Miscellaneous uses include flags, backpacks, tents, nets, cleaning rags, transportation devices such as balloons, kites, sails, and parachutes; textiles...
York Times, the label is experiencing a resurgence. Fashion brands such as Rag & Bone, Pigalle, Burton and Supreme have been paying homage to Coogi. The...
Outsourcing Putting-out system Spinning-off Temporary work Ownership Cooperative Joint-stock company Nationalization Nonprofit organization Partnership Privatization...
Angeles–based Tidings, founded in 1895 (renamed Angelus in 2016), and published jointly by The Tidings Corporation and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles...
of the series so far (39 points) after dancing a Charleston to "Hot Honey Rag" from Chicago. 15 The Great British Bake Off 11.73 5 August The premiere...
is actually slag, the "leather" is plant material, and the parchment is rag paper. Pottery, leather and a square nail are found in the spoils from the...
GraphRAG, coined by Microsoft Research, extends RAG such that instead of relying solely on vector similarity (as in most RAG approaches), GraphRAG uses...
Global Information
