JP2001304239A - Ball joint - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ball joint for setting oscillating and rotating torque to be lower and causing no rattling. SOLUTION: The ball joint comprises a ball stud consisting of a spherical head portion and a handle portion projecting from the spherical head portion, a bearing for wrapping the spherical head portion of the ball stud and a housing for supporting the bearing, through which the handle portion of the ball stud projects from one end on the inner periphery side of an opening portion of the housing. The bearing has a plurality of inner periphery grooves formed in the inner periphery, extending to the axial direction in peripherally spaced relation, and outer periphery cut portions formed on the outer periphery opposed to the inner periphery grooves, extending to the axial direction.

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 suspension system and a steering system of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ball joints have been frequently used for connecting a suspension device and a steering device of an automobile. Such a ball joint is, as shown in FIG.
A ball stud 2 having a spherical ball head 4 and a handle 3 extending from the ball head 4, and the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 is swingably and rotatably held, and has a bearing at one end. A bearing 106 made of a synthetic resin having an opening 107, and the bearing 106 is included, and a housing opening 1 is provided at one end.
4, a substantially cup-shaped housing 11 for projecting the handle 3 of the ball stud 2 from the inner peripheral side, an annular retaining ring 22 disposed on the inner periphery of the housing opening 14 of the housing 11, and a small boot opening 18 Has a boot 16 made of a rubber-like elastic body and a large boot opening 17 mounted on the outer periphery of the ring on the outer periphery of the handle 3 of the ball stud 2.

[0003]

In such a ball joint 1, after the bearing 106 and the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 are inserted into the housing 11, the bearing opening 107 of the bearing 106 is inserted by the retaining ring 22. The ball joint 1 is assembled through a process of caulking the housing opening 14 of the housing 11 in a state of being bent to the peripheral side, and then mounting a boot 16. Here, the ball joint 1 is affected by the load of the swing and rotation torque of the ball stud 2 from the bearing 106, and in particular, the entire inner peripheral surface of the ball joint 4 abuts on the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 as shown in FIG. 9. In the ball joint 1 having the bearing 106 as shown in FIG.
Since the load is received from the entire inner peripheral surface, the swinging and rotating torque may be increased as a whole.

Therefore, in order to reduce the swinging and rotating torque, it is conceivable to form an inner circumferential groove 210 which is recessed in the axial direction on the inner circumference of the bearing 206 as shown in FIG. Thus, the inner circumferential groove 210 is formed on the inner circumference of the bearing 206.
Is formed, the inner peripheral area of the bearing 206 abutting on the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 is reduced, and the swinging and rotating torque can be reduced. However, when the inner circumferential groove 210 is formed on the inner circumference of the bearing 206, the inner circumferential portion of the bearing 206 that is subject to swing and rotation is reduced, and therefore, the wear of the inner circumferential surface of the bearing 206 is promoted,
The ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 may rattle in the bearing 206.

Accordingly, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball joint that can set the swinging and rotating torque to be low and further suppress the occurrence of rattling.

[0006]

The present invention has the following arrangement.

1. A ball stud having a spherical ball head and a handle extending from the ball head, a bearing for enclosing the ball head of the ball stud, and a bearing held at one end on the inner peripheral side of the housing opening. And a housing for projecting a handle portion of the ball stud from the housing, wherein the bearing has a plurality of inner circumferential grooves formed in the inner circumference thereof and extending in the axial direction at intervals in the circumferential direction, and opposed between the inner circumferential grooves. An outer peripheral notch extending in the axial direction is formed on the outer periphery.

[0008] In the above-mentioned ball joint, the inner peripheral groove and the outer peripheral notch of the bearing have a lap margin that overlaps in the circumferential direction around the center point of the bearing.

[0009]

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 an embodiment of the present invention. The ball joint 1 has a spherical ball head 4 and a female screw 5 extending from the ball head 4 to the end on the side opposite to the ball head.
A ball stud 2 having a handle portion 3 having a ball head, and a ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 are swingably and rotatably held, a bearing opening 7 having one end opened, and a bottom closed at the other end in an arc shape. The housing 6 includes a bearing 6 having a housing 30 and a housing 11 having a housing opening 14 at one end, the housing opening 14 being open at the end of the bearing opening 7. The housing 11 includes an outer cup 11a made of an aluminum material,
It is composed of an inner cup 11b made of a steel material disposed on the inner peripheral bottom portion of the outer cup 11a to increase the strength. In the inner periphery of the housing opening 14 of the housing 11,
A stepped first step portion 12 and a second step portion 13 which is continuous with the first step portion 12 and have a small diameter are formed, and a flange 8 formed on the outer periphery of the bearing 6 is seated on the second step portion 13. A flange 23 formed on the outer periphery of an annular retaining ring 22 arranged on the inner periphery of the housing opening 14 is seated on the second step portion 13. The inner periphery of the retaining ring 22 has a curved inner surface 25 having the same curvature as the outer peripheral curvature of the desired bearing opening 7 of the bearing 6, and an upright wall portion 24 which is continuous with the flange portion 23 and extends in the axial direction is formed on the outer periphery thereof. Is done. The boot large opening 17 in which the reinforcing ring 19 is embedded inside the boot 16 made of a rubber-like elastic body is fixed to the standing wall portion 24 of the retaining ring 22, and the reinforcing ring 20 is embedded inside and has a U-shaped cross section. The small boot opening 18 to which the ferrule 21 is mounted is fixed to the outer periphery of the handle 3 of the ball stud 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bearing 6 is closed in an arc shape on the bottom 30 side from the flange 8 and straight on the bearing opening 7 side from the flange 8 along the axis, as shown in FIG. Extend. The outer peripheral surface of the bottom 30 is formed to have a slightly larger diameter than the inner peripheral surface of the opposing housing 11, and the inner peripheral surface of the bottom 30 is formed to have a slightly smaller diameter than the outer peripheral surface of the ball head 4 of the opposing ball stud 2. In addition, a plurality of inner circumferential grooves 10 extending in the axial direction at intervals in the circumferential direction are provided on the inner circumference of the bearing 6, and a plurality of inner circumferential grooves 10 extending in the axial direction are provided on the outer circumference opposed between the inner circumferential grooves 10. Is formed in the outer peripheral notch 9. This inner circumferential groove 10
Has a curvature that is recessed to the outer peripheral side from the inner peripheral surface of the bearing 6 and is larger than the curvature of the inner peripheral surface of the bearing 6. The outer peripheral notch 9 is recessed inward from the outer peripheral surface of the bearing 6 and is linearly cut in the circumferential direction.

Next, a method of assembling the ball joint 1 will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, the bearing 6 is inserted from the housing opening 14 side of the housing 11, the bottom 30 of the bearing 6 is on the inner peripheral surface of the housing 11, and the flange 8 of the bearing 6 is Step 13
And then the bearing opening 7 of the bearing 6
The ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 is inserted from the side. Next, as shown in FIG.
The retaining ring 22 is inserted into the inner peripheral side, and the curved opening 25 of the retaining ring 22 is inserted through the bearing opening 7 of the bearing 6.
And the flange portion 23 of the retaining ring 22 is seated on the first step portion 12 of the housing 11 in this state.
4 is caulked and a pre-assembly 41 as shown in FIG. 5 is assembled.

At this time, the bearing 6 of the pre-assembly 41 receives the load on the inner peripheral side and the inner peripheral surface on the outer peripheral side by the interference set on the inner and outer circumferences, and as shown in FIG. 10
The gap generated between the ball stud 2 and the ball head 4 and the gap generated between the outer peripheral notch 9 and the housing 11 are slightly reduced. It receives rocking and rotating torque.

Finally, the large boot opening 17 of the boot 16 is pressed into the upright wall 24 of the retaining ring 22, and the small boot opening 18 is pressed into the outer periphery of the handle 3 of the ball stud 2, as shown in FIG. Then, the assembly of the ball joint 1 is completed.

Accordingly, the ball joint 1 has a plurality of inner circumferential grooves 10 formed in the inner circumference of the bearing 6 and extending in the axial direction at intervals in the circumferential direction. Since the extended outer peripheral notch 9 is formed, the area in which the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 contacts the inner peripheral surface of the bearing 6 due to the inner peripheral groove 10 is reduced, and the load received is reduced. In addition, since the outer peripheral cutout 9 can generate an elastic force toward the ball head 4 on the bearing 6, the inner peripheral surface of the bearing 6 can be absorbed.

In the ball joint 1 of the above embodiment, the inner peripheral groove 10 and the outer peripheral notch 9 are formed at intervals around the center point O of the bearing 6 in the circumferential direction. As shown, the inner peripheral groove 10 and the outer peripheral notch 9 may be formed so as to have a lap margin L overlapping in the circumferential direction around the center point O of the bearing 6. By providing the lap allowance L in the inner peripheral groove 10 and the outer peripheral notch 9 of the bearing 6, a gap between the inner peripheral groove 10 and the outer peripheral notch 9 is formed at any position on the entire periphery of the bearing 6. , Ball head 4
An elastic force to the side can be generated over the entire circumference.

In the ball joint 1 of the above embodiment, the gap generated between the inner peripheral groove 10 and the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 and the gap generated between the outer peripheral notch 9 and the housing 11 are sufficient. As shown in FIG. 7, the inner peripheral groove 10 and the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2, and the outer peripheral notch 9 and the housing 11 are used to adjust the swinging and the rotating torque. The interference to be set may be set, and the ball joint 1 may be assembled.

[0019]

As described above, according to the ball joint of the present invention, a ball stud having a spherical ball head and a handle extending from the ball head, and a ball head of the ball stud are held. In a ball joint comprising a bearing and a housing for holding the bearing and projecting the handle portion of the ball stud from the inner peripheral side of the housing opening, a plurality of bearings extending in the axial direction at circumferentially spaced intervals on the inner periphery thereof. The inner peripheral groove is formed, and an outer peripheral notch extending in the axial direction is formed on the outer periphery opposing between the inner peripheral grooves, so that the inner peripheral groove allows the ball head of the ball stud to contact the inner peripheral surface of the bearing. Decreases, and the load received decreases.
Swing and rotation torque can be set low. Also, since the outer peripheral notch allows the bearing to generate an elastic force toward the ball head, it can absorb wear on the inner peripheral surface of the bearing,
The rattle of the ball stud can be suppressed.

In the above-mentioned ball joint, if the inner peripheral groove and the outer peripheral notch of the bearing have a lap allowance that overlaps in the circumferential direction around the center point of the bearing, the bearing may be provided at any position on the entire circumference of the bearing. Since a gap between the inner peripheral groove and the outer peripheral notch is formed, an elastic force toward the ball head can be generated in the entire periphery, and rattling of the ball stud can be suppressed more reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional front view showing a ball joint.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a bearing used for a ball joint according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 2A is a front view, FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional plan view, and FIG. .

3A and 3B show a first stage of assembling the ball joint according to the embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 3A is a front view, FIG. 3A is a sectional plan view, and FIG. It is.

4A and 4B show a second stage of assembling the ball joint according to the embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 4A is a front view, FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional plan view, and FIG. It is.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing a pre-assembled body in the course of assembling the ball joint according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a ball joint according to another embodiment of the present invention, which is the same as FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a bearing used in a ball joint according to still another embodiment of the present invention, wherein (A) is a front view,
(A) is a sectional plan view, and (C) is a BB sectional view of (A).

9A and 9B show a bearing used for a conventional ball joint, wherein FIG. 9A is a front view, FIG.
(C) is a BB sectional view of (A).

10A and 10B show a bearing used for another conventional ball joint, wherein FIG. 10A is a front view, FIG. 10A is a sectional plan view, and FIG. 10C is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Ball stud 3 Handle 4 Ball head 6 Bearing 9 Outer peripheral notch 10 Inner peripheral groove 11 Housing O Center point of bearing L Lap allowance

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] May 22, 2000 (2000.5.2)
2)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0010

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 1 shows a ball joint 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ball joint 1 has a spherical ball head 4 and a female screw 5 extending from the ball head 4 to the end on the side opposite to the ball head.
A ball stud 2 having a handle portion 3 having a ball head, and a ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 are swingably and rotatably held, a bearing opening 7 having one end opened, and a bottom closed at the other end in an arc shape. The housing 6 includes a bearing 6 having a housing 30 and a housing 11 having a housing opening 14 at one end, the housing opening 14 being open at the end of the bearing opening 7. The housing 11 includes an outer cup 11 b made of aluminum material,
Composed of inner cup 11 a made of a ferrous material disposed within the outer cup 11 b peripheral bottom in order to increase the strength. In the inner periphery of the housing opening 14 of the housing 11,
A stepped first step portion 12 and a second step portion 13 which is continuous with the first step portion 12 and have a small diameter are formed, and a flange 8 formed on the outer periphery of the bearing 6 is seated on the second step portion 13. A flange 23 formed on the outer periphery of an annular retaining ring 22 arranged on the inner periphery of the housing opening 14 is seated on the second step portion 13. The inner periphery of the retaining ring 22 has a curved inner surface 25 having the same curvature as the outer peripheral curvature of the bearing opening 7 of the desired bearing 6, and an upright wall portion 24 which is continuous with the flange portion 23 and extends in the axial direction is formed on the outer periphery. Is done. The boot large opening 17 in which the reinforcing ring 19 is embedded inside the boot 16 made of a rubber-like elastic body is fixed to the standing wall portion 24 of the retaining ring 22, and the reinforcing ring 20 is embedded inside and has a U-shaped cross section. The small boot opening 18 to which the ferrule 21 is mounted is fixed to the outer periphery of the handle 3 of the ball stud 2.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0013

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0013] First, as shown in FIG. 3, advance the outer cup 11b
The bearing 6 is inserted from the housing opening 14 side of the housing 11 in which the inner cup 11 a is disposed at a predetermined position on the inner circumference of the housing 11, the bottom 30 of the bearing 6 is on the inner circumferential surface of the housing 11, and the flange 8 of the bearing 6 is mounted on the housing 11. Then, the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 is inserted from the bearing opening 7 side of the bearing 6. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the retaining ring 22 is inserted into the inner peripheral side of the housing opening 14 of the housing 11, and the bearing opening 7 of the bearing 6 is moved toward the inner peripheral side along the curved inner surface 25 of the retaining ring 22. While being bent, the flange portion 23 of the retaining ring 22 is seated on the first step portion 12 of the housing 11, and in this state, the housing opening portion 14 of the housing 11 is swaged to form a preliminary assembly 41 as shown in FIG. Assemble.

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Figure 3

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 3

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 4

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 4

[Procedure amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 5

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 5

Claims (2)

[Claims] A ball stud (2) having a spherical ball head (4) and a handle (3) extending from the ball head (4).
And a bearing (6) for enclosing the ball head (4) of the ball stud (2); and a ball stud (2) for holding the bearing (6) and being one end of the housing opening (14) from the inner peripheral side. And a housing (11) for projecting the handle (3) of the ball joint. The bearing (6) has a plurality of inner circumferential grooves (10) extending in the axial direction at circumferentially spaced intervals on the inner circumference thereof. Is formed, and the inner circumferential groove (1) is formed.
A ball joint characterized in that an outer peripheral notch (9) extending in the axial direction is formed on the outer periphery opposing between 0). 2. An inner peripheral groove (10) of the bearing (6).
The ball joint according to claim 1, wherein the outer peripheral notch (9) has a lap margin (L) overlapping circumferentially around a center point (O) of the bearing (6).