JP2000154821A - Ball joint - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ball joint which can manufacture easily and not come out from the hole of an arm. SOLUTION: In a ball joint consisting of a ball stud 2 consisting of a spherical head and a handle projected from the spherical head continuously, a nearly cup shape bearing 6 holding the spherical head of the ball stud swingably and turnably and consisting of a cylinder and a bearing bottom continuing from the cylinder, a sheet metal made housing 10 for involving the bearing and having an opening for projecting the handle of the ball stud and an arm 31 having a hole for holding the housing, the housing is formed by a flange 13 extended and folded the stand wall continuing from the opening and the opposite opening side end of the stand wall to the outer periphery side and a housing bottom 12 continuing from the flange and opening one end of the housing and the outer diameter of the flange is bigger than the hole inner diameter of the arm. A spring sheet having an elasticity is interposed between the spherical head of the ball stud and the bearing bottom 8 of the bearing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ball joint used for, for example, a vehicle suspension system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ball joints have been frequently used in connection parts of automobile suspension systems. As shown in FIG. 9, such a ball joint 101 includes a ball stud 102 having a generally spherical ball head 104, a handle 103 protruding from the ball head 104, and a ball head 104 of the ball stud 102. Bearing 106
And the bearing 106, and the small opening 110
a, housing 110 with large opening 110b on the other side
A closing plate 112 caulked and fixed to the large opening 110b of the housing 110, one small opening 118 on the outer periphery of the handle portion 103 of the ball stud 102, and the other large opening 119 on the outer periphery of the housing 110 by the circumferential circlip 119a. And boots 117 to be respectively mounted. In this case, the housing 110 was formed by forging. The housing 1 like this ball joint 101
If 10 is formed by forging, it is formed from a material through a plurality of forgings, and is further cut if necessary, so that it takes a lot of time to form the housing 110.

Therefore, as shown in FIG.
0 is often formed by sheet metal forming. In this sheet metal forming, since the housing 210 is formed by bending a plate material, processing can be performed relatively easily as compared with forging, and the processing time is short.

[0004]

A ball joint 201 having a housing 210 formed by sheet metal molding as described above is press-fitted into a hole 232 of an arm 231 having a hole 232, and the ball joint 201 and the arm 23 are pressed.
1 is combined with the upright wall portion 211 of the housing 210.
Are formed substantially parallel to the axis, the ball joint 201 may come off from the hole 232 of the arm 231 when an axial load is applied to the ball joint 201. For this reason, it is conceivable to separately attach a retaining ring to the outer periphery of the housing 210, but the number of parts increases and the number of processing steps also increases.

As shown in FIG. 9, there is a method of connecting the ball joint 101 and the arm 131 by welding and fixing the arm 112 to the outer peripheral surface of the housing 110. However, it is difficult to obtain high strength in the joint portion by welding. Sometimes.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a ball joint which solves the above-mentioned problems, can be easily manufactured, and does not come off from a hole of an arm.

[0007]

The configuration of the present invention is as follows.

[0008] 1. A ball stud consisting of a spherical ball head and a handle that protrudes continuously from the ball head, and a bearing that holds the ball head of the ball stud swingably and rotatable, and is continuous from the cylindrical portion and the cylindrical portion In a ball joint including a substantially cup-shaped bearing having a bottom, a housing made of sheet metal having an opening for enclosing the bearing and projecting a handle portion of a ball stud, and an arm having a hole for holding the housing, the housing is A standing wall portion extending from the opening and a non-opening end of the standing wall portion extending to the outer peripheral side, formed from a folded flange portion and a housing bottom portion continuous from the flange portion and closing one end of the housing, and formed outside the flange portion. The diameter is larger than the inner diameter of the hole of the arm.

[0009] 2. An elastic spring seat is interposed between the ball head of the ball stud and the bearing bottom of the bearing.

[0010] 3. A ball joint having a boot in which one small opening is mounted on a handle portion of a ball stud and the other large opening is mounted on an outer periphery of a housing, wherein the housing has a thinner wall at an opening end than a central portion of a vertical wall portion of the housing. It has a thin portion caulked on the inner peripheral side, and has a boot mounting portion that is substantially parallel to the axis continuously from the thin portion.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a ball joint 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 2 denotes a ball stud having a spherical ball head 4 and a handle 3 projecting from the ball head 4 and having a male screw portion formed therein. The nut 21 is screwed to fix the nut 21 at a predetermined position. Reference numeral 6 denotes a synthetic resin bearing having an opening 9 on one side, comprising a cylindrical portion 7 continuing from the opening 9 and a bearing bottom portion 8 continuing from the cylindrical portion 7.
It is almost cup-shaped. A housing 10 made of sheet metal is arranged outside the bearing 6. The housing 10 has an opening 14 on one side, a standing wall portion 11 continuing from the opening 14, a non-opening end of the standing wall portion 11 extending to the outer peripheral side, and a folded flange portion 13. And a housing bottom portion 12 having one end closed. Also one
A boot 7 has a small opening 18 mounted on the outer periphery of the handle 3 of the ball stud 2, and a large opening 19 having a substantially L-shaped reinforcing ring 19 a embedded therein, and a large opening 19 mounted on the outer periphery of the housing 10.

An arm 31 has a hole 32, into which the housing 10 is press-fitted.
0 and the arm 31 are connected. At this time, the housing 1
The outer diameter D of the zero flange portion 13 is formed to be larger than the inner diameter d of the hole 32 of the arm 31.

Next, a method of manufacturing the ball joint 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

When assembling the ball joint 1,
As shown in FIG. 5, the housing 10 is formed from a plate material 51 in advance. If this sheet metal process is explained based on a figure,
A central portion of a flat plate member 51 as shown in FIG. 5A is bent to form a preliminary cup 52 including an upright wall portion 11 and a housing bottom portion 12 as shown in FIG. Next, as shown in FIG.
Is placed, and a rod-shaped guide member 72 having substantially the same diameter as the inner diameter of the preliminary cup 52 is inserted into the inner periphery of the preliminary cup 52, and the preliminary cup 5 is inserted.
2 is applied to the inner peripheral surface of the housing bottom 12. Subsequently, as shown in the left half of FIG. 5D, a first pressing portion 71a for pressing the opening end surface of the preliminary cup 52, and the first pressing portion 7
The ring punch 71 extending from the first pressing portion 71a to the die 73 side and having the second pressing portion 71b outside the first pressing portion 71a is lowered, and as shown in the right half of FIG.
The first pressing portion 71a is brought into contact with and pressed against the opening end surface of the opening. When the opening end face of the preliminary cup 52 is pressed, as shown in FIG. 6A, the inside of the preliminary cup 52 is regulated by the guide member 72, so that the standing wall portion 11 of the preliminary cup 52 is closer to the housing bottom 12 side. The end extends outward. At this time, the second pressing portion 71b of the ring punch 71 is
After the end of the standing wall portion 11 on the side of the housing bottom portion 12 extending toward the outer peripheral side comes into contact with the portion, it is pressed until the desired thickness in the axial direction is reached. Finally, as shown in FIG. Opening 1
4, an upright wall portion 11 continuous from the opening 14, a flange portion 13 extending from the opposite end of the upright wall portion 11 to the outer peripheral side, and a bottom portion 12 continuing from the flange portion 13 and closing one end. Is completed.

Next, a method of manufacturing the ball joint 1 having the housing 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 7, the ball stud 2 in which the bearing 6 is fitted to the ball head 4 in advance is press-fitted from the opening 14 of the housing 10 and the end of the housing 10 on the opening 14 side is caulked. Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the ball stud 2 provided with the bearing 6 and the housing 10 is press-fitted into the hole 32 of the arm 31 from the handle 3 side of the ball stud 2. Finally, as shown in FIG. The opening 18 is mounted on the outer periphery of the handle 3 of the ball stud 2, and the large opening 19 is mounted on the outer periphery of the housing 10. The nut 21 is fixed to complete the ball joint 1.

According to the ball joint 1 configured as described above, the flange portion 13 of the housing 10 for preventing the ball joint 1 from being pulled out of the hole 32 of the arm 31 can be formed by sheet metal.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 shows a ball joint 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The ball stud, bearing, housing and arm have the same structure as the first embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, a substantially cylindrical spring seat 5 is interposed between the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 and the bearing bottom 8 of the bearing 6. In this embodiment, the spring seat 5 is made of a rubber-like elastic member. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is sufficient if the spring seat 5 has a higher elasticity than the bearing 6.

In the ball joint 1 constructed as described above, when the end of the opening 14 of the housing 10 is crimped, an axial load is applied to the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2, but the spring seat 5 receives the load. Thus, the load received by the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 can be adjusted.

Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 shows a ball joint 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The configuration is the same as the ball joint 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, but the difference lies in the outer peripheral shape of the housing 10. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the housing 10 of the ball joint 1 according to the third embodiment has a thin portion 15 formed thinner than the central portion 20 of the upright wall portion 11 at the end of the opening 14 of the housing 10. I have. This thin part 15
Is a caulking portion caulked to the inner peripheral side. This thin part 1
A boot mounting portion 16 that is substantially parallel to the axis is formed continuously from 5, and the other large opening 19 of the boot 17 is mounted on the boot mounting portion 16.

According to the ball joint 1 configured as described above, only the thin portion 15 at the end of the opening 14 of the housing 10 is caulked, so that the boot mounting portion 16 can be maintained in a state parallel to the axis. .

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, a ball stud having a spherical ball head and a handle portion continuously projecting from the ball head, and the ball head of the ball stud is swung and rotated. A substantially cup-shaped bearing composed of a cylindrical portion and a bearing bottom portion continuous from the cylindrical portion, a housing made of sheet metal having an opening for enclosing the bearing and projecting the handle portion of the ball stud, and holding the housing In a ball joint comprising an arm having a hole to be formed, the housing extends from the opening to the outer peripheral side at the standing wall portion continuing from the opening and the opposite end of the standing wall portion to the outer opening side, and continues from the folded flange portion and the flange portion to form the housing. And the bottom of the housing that closes one end. The outer diameter of the flange is larger than the inner diameter of the hole in the arm, so that the housing does not come out of the hole in the arm. Nji portion can be easily formed by sheet metal. In addition, since an elastic spring seat is interposed between the ball head of the ball stud and the bearing bottom of the bearing, an axial load is applied to the ball head of the ball stud when the open end of the housing is swaged. Since the spring seat is deformed by the load and the load received by the ball head of the ball stud can be adjusted, the load can be easily adjusted by caulking. Further, a ball joint having a boot in which one small opening is mounted on the handle portion of the ball stud and the other large opening is mounted on the outer periphery of the housing, wherein the housing is provided at the opening end from the center of the upright wall portion of the housing. It has a thin-walled portion that is caulked to the inner peripheral side and has a boot mounting portion that is substantially parallel to the axis continuously from the thin-walled portion. Therefore, only the thin-walled portion at the open end of the housing is caulked, so that the boot is mounted. Since the part can be maintained parallel to the axis, the boot can be strongly fixed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional plan view illustrating a ball joint according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional plan view showing a ball joint according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional plan view showing a ball joint according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a housing of a ball joint according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a first step of forming a housing of a ball joint according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a second step of forming the housing of the ball joint according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a first example of a ball joint according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional plan view illustrating a manufacturing process.

FIG. 8 shows a second example of a ball joint according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional plan view illustrating a manufacturing process.

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional plan view showing a conventional ball joint.

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional plan view showing another conventional ball joint.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ball joint 2 Ball stud 3 Handle 4 Ball head 6 Bearing 7 Cylindrical part 8 Bearing bottom 10 Housing 11 Upright wall part 12 Housing bottom part 13 Flange part 14 Opening 31 Arm 32 Hole part D Outer diameter (Flange part of housing) d Inner diameter (Arm hole)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A ball stud (2) comprising a spherical ball head (4) and a handle (3) continuously projecting from the ball head (4), and a ball of the ball stud (2). The head (4) is swingably and rotatably held, and the cylindrical portion (7) and the cylindrical portion (7) are held.
A bearing (6) having a substantially cup-like shape and a bearing bottom portion (8) continuous from the bearing, and an opening (14) containing the bearing (6) and projecting the handle (3) of the ball stud (2). In a ball joint (1) including a housing (10) made of sheet metal and an arm (31) having a hole (32) for holding the housing (10), the housing (10) is moved from an opening (14). The succeeding standing wall portion (11) and the opposite end of the standing wall portion (11) on the side opposite to the opening are extended to the outer peripheral side, and are continuous with the folded flange portion (13) and the flange portion (13) to form the housing (10). And an outer diameter (D) of the flange (13) is larger than an inner diameter (d) of a hole (32) of the arm (31). And ball Yointo. 2. A ball head (4) of said ball stud (2).
The ball joint according to claim 1, characterized in that an elastic spring seat (5) is interposed between the bearing and the bearing bottom (8) of the bearing (6). 3. A small opening (18) is mounted on a handle (3) of said ball stud (2), and said housing (1) is mounted on said housing (1).
A ball joint having a boot (17) to which the other large opening (19) is mounted on the outer periphery of the housing (10), wherein the housing (10) has an upright wall portion of the housing (10) at an end of the opening (14). The boot mounting part (16), which has a thin part (15) thinner than the central part (20) of (11) and is caulked to the inner peripheral side, and is substantially parallel to the axis continuously from the thin part (15). 3. The ball joint according to claim 1, further comprising: