结构及作用
Structure and function
万向节的结构和作用有点像人体四肢上的关节，它允许被连接的零件之间的夹角在一定范围内变化。为满足动力传递、适应转向和汽车运行时所产生的上下跳动所造成的角度变化，前驱动汽车的驱动桥，半轴与轮轴之间常用万向节相连。
The structure and function of universal joints are somewhat similar to those of human limbs, which allow the angle between the connected parts to vary within a certain range. In order to meet the change of angle caused by power transmission, steering and up-and-down runout during vehicle operation, universal joints are commonly used between half axle and wheel axle of driving axle of front drive vehicle.
但由于受轴向尺寸的限制，要求偏角又比较大，单个的万向节不能使输出轴与轴入轴的瞬时角速度相等，容易造成振动，加剧部件的损坏，并产生很大的噪音，所以广泛采用各式各样的等速万向节。在前驱动汽车上，每个半轴用两个等速万向节，靠近变速驱动桥的万向节是半轴内侧万向节，靠近车轴的是半轴外侧万向节。
However, due to the limitation of the axial dimension and the large deflection angle required, a single universal joint can not make the instantaneous angular velocity of the output shaft equal to that of the shaft into the shaft. It is easy to cause vibration, aggravate the damage of components, and produce great noise. Therefore, various kinds of constant velocity universal joints are widely used. On the front-drive vehicle, two constant speed universal joints are used for each half-axle. The universal joints near the transmission axle are the inner half-axle universal joints and the outer half-axle universal joints near the axle.