A universal joint (also called a universal coupling or U-joint) is a joint or coupling connecting rigid shafts whose axes are inclined to each other. It is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion. It consists of a pair of hinges located close together, oriented at 90° to each other, connected by a cross shaft. The universal joint is not a constant-velocity joint.The main concept of the universal joint is based on the design of gimbals, which have been in use since antiquity. One anticipation of the universal joint was its use by the ancient Greeks on ballistae. In Europe the universal joint is often called the Cardano joint (and a drive shaft that uses the joints, a Cardan shaft), after the Italian mathematician Gerolamo Cardano, who was an early writer on gimbals, although his writings mentioned only gimbal mountings, not universal joints.