JP2010203459A - Spherical shaft coupling device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the opening of a boot during in a time of low temperature, capable of being effectively used as a drag link of a steering system mounted on a vehicle, a tie rod and a link of a suspension. <P>SOLUTION: A spherical shaft coupling device includes an end 11 of the drag link 10 having a concave spherical surface part 13, a spherical shaft 20 having a convex spherical part 21 and a connecting part 22, in which the convex spherical part 21 is fitted into the concave spherical surface part 13, and a male tapered part 25 of the connecting part 22 is fitted into a tapered hole 28a of an arm member 28, and the cylindrically shaped boot 60 having a lower side attaching part 62 and an upper side attaching part 63, in which the lower side attaching part 62 is fixed to the upper end of the end 11, and the upper side attaching part 63 is fixed to a boot attaching part 24 of the connecting part 22. A fitting part 27a of a retainer 27 made of a spring material is fitted into the outer periphery of the boot attaching part 24. Elastic force is normally applied to the fitting part 27a in a direction in which the upper side attaching part 63 is pressed against the lower surface of the arm member 28 at a pressing part 27d of one end of the energizing force part 27b having the other end supported in the fitting part 27. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a spherical shaft coupling device.
For example, the present invention relates to an effective one for use in a drag link of a steering system mounted on an automobile, a link of a tie rod and a suspension.

  In the drag link of the steering system and the link of the tie rod and the suspension mounted on the automobile, spherical shaft coupling devices are provided at both ends.

  As a conventional spherical shaft coupling device of this type, there is one configured as shown in Patent Document 1. That is, this spherical shaft coupling device has a drag link having a concave spherical portion, a convex spherical portion and a connecting portion, the convex spherical portion is fitted into the concave spherical portion, and the connecting portion is fitted into the mounting hole of the arm member. A cylindrical boot having a spherical shaft, a lower mounting portion and an upper mounting portion, the lower mounting portion being fixed to the upper end portion of the drag link, and the upper mounting portion being fixed to the connecting portion of the spherical shaft; It has.

JP 2002-181029 A

  However, in this spherical shaft coupling device, since the boot is formed of rubber or resin, the upper mounting portion of the boot that seals the spherical shaft and the arm member opens at a low temperature at a low temperature, and the upper mounting portion There is a problem that dust and water intrude or grease leaks.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a spherical shaft coupling device that can prevent the opening of a boot at a low temperature.

Typical means for solving the above-described problems are as follows.
(1) a first joint member having a concave spherical surface portion;
A second joint member having a convex spherical portion and a connecting portion, the convex spherical portion being fitted into the concave spherical portion, and the connecting portion being connected to the mounting hole of the assembly member;
A cylindrical boot having a first attachment portion and a second attachment portion, the first attachment portion being fixed to the first joint member, and the second attachment portion being fixed to the connection portion;
In a spherical shaft coupling device comprising:
A spherical shaft coupling device, wherein a retainer for urging the second mounting portion in the direction of the assembly member is fitted to the outer periphery of the connecting portion.
(2) The retainer is fitted to the connecting portion and has one end supported by the other end of the fitting portion with one end abutting the opening edge of the assembly portion, and the other end is The spherical shaft coupling device according to (1), further comprising: an urging force portion having a pressing portion that presses against the second mounting portion.
(3) The spherical shaft coupling device according to (1) or (2), wherein the urging force portion has a plurality of slits.

  According to this spherical shaft coupling device, it is possible to prevent the opening of the boot at a low temperature.

It is front sectional drawing which shows the spherical-axis coupling apparatus which is one Embodiment of this invention. The retainer is shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is front sectional drawing.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In this embodiment, the spherical shaft coupling device according to the present invention is configured to be used for an automobile drag link, a tie rod, and a suspension link, and is configured to ensure rotation in a three-dimensional direction. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a spherical shaft coupling device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a drag link 10 as a first coupling member, a spherical shaft 20 as a second coupling member, a bearing member 30, and a cushion structure. A body 40, an end cap 50, and a boot 60 are provided.

The drag link 10 includes an end 11, and a bearing recess 12 formed in a substantially cylindrical hollow shape is disposed in the end 11 so as to penetrate in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. It has been established. A hemispherical concave spherical surface portion 13 is formed at one end portion (hereinafter referred to as an upper end portion) of the bearing concave portion 12, and a cylindrical inner peripheral surface portion 14 is formed at the lower end portion of the bearing concave portion 12. Has been.
A positioning portion 15 is formed on the lower side of the cylindrical inner peripheral surface portion 14 of the end 11 in a cylindrical inner peripheral shape that is larger than the inner diameter of the cylindrical inner peripheral surface portion 14, and the positioning portion 15 and the cylindrical inner peripheral surface portion 14. A step 16 is formed concentrically at the boundary between and vertically downward.
On the lower side of the positioning portion 15 of the end 11, an end cap mounting portion 17 is formed in a cylindrical inner peripheral surface shape having a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the positioning portion 15. The end cap 50 is fixed by a caulking portion 18 formed by abutting the end cap mounting portion 17 from the lower side and then winding and caulking a cylindrical portion projecting from the lower side of the end cap mounting portion 17. The

  The spherical axis 20 includes a convex spherical surface portion 21 formed in a substantially spherical (ball) shape, and a connecting portion 22 projects from the convex spherical surface portion 21 along an extension line of the spherical surface of the convex spherical surface portion 21. ing. A neck portion 23 having a concave curved surface is formed at the lower end portion of the connecting portion 22, and a columnar boot mounting portion 24 is formed above the neck portion 23. A male taper portion 25 is formed on the upper side of the boot attachment portion 24, and a male screw portion 26 is formed on the upper side of the male taper portion 25.

A retainer 27 shown in FIG. 2 is fitted to the outer periphery of the boot mounting portion 24. The retainer 27 is made of a metal having a spring effect and is formed in a circular ring shape having a substantially letter-shaped cross section. That is, the retainer 27 includes a cylindrical fitting portion 27a and an outwardly raised hook-shaped biasing force portion 27b.
The inner diameter of the fitting portion 27 a is set equal to the outer diameter of the boot mounting portion 24, and the height is set slightly larger than the height of the boot mounting portion 24. When the fitting portion 27 a is fitted to the boot mounting portion 24, the retainer 27 is substantially fixed to the boot mounting portion 24. Further, the upper end of the fitting portion 27 a abuts against the lower surface of the arm member 28, thereby maintaining a constant distance from the boot mounting portion 24.
As shown in FIG. 2, the urging force portion 27b has a large number of slits 27c arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction and opened radially, and the plunging slit 27c has a biasing force portion 27b. It is set so as to effectively exert the biasing force. An arcuate pressing portion 27d is bent at the tip of the urging force portion 27b, and the pressing portion 27d is configured to properly press against the lower surface of the mounting portion of the boot 60.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the spherical axis 20 is provided in a knuckle arm or pitman arm (hereinafter referred to as an arm member) 28 as an assembly member, and in a tapered hole 28a as an attachment hole provided in the arm member 28. After the male taper portion 25 is inserted, the nut 29 is screwed into the male screw portion 26 to be fastened.

The bearing member 30 is made of polyacetal resin, and the upper sheet portion 31 and the lower sheet portion 32 are integrally formed. The bearing member 30 has a grease-greasing bearing structure and a spherical bearing structure that are fitted into the bearing recess 12. That is, the bearing member 30 is made of polyacetal resin, and is integrally formed into a spherical hollow body whose upper and lower ends are cut out in parallel, and the inner spherical surface of the upper seat portion 31 and the inner side of the lower seat portion 32. The spherical surface constitutes the concave spherical surface portion 33 that is the inner shape of the spherical hollow body of the bearing member 30. The concave spherical portion 33 corresponds to the convex spherical portion 21 of the spherical axis 20 and substantially surrounds the convex spherical portion 21.
A positioning cylinder 35 is coaxially arranged at the lower end of the concave spherical surface portion 33 and protrudes downward in the vertical direction. The upper and lower flanges 36 and 36 are provided at the upper and lower ends of the outer peripheral surface of the positioning cylinder 35. 37 are respectively projected outward in the radial direction. When the bearing member 30 is fitted into the bearing recess 12 and the end cap 50 is fastened to the end cap mounting portion 17 by the caulking portion 18, the upper flange portion 36 and the lower flange portion 37 are stepped 16 of the end 11 and the end cap 50. Therefore, the bearing member 30 is positioned in the bearing recess 12.

  The cushion structure 40 includes a spiral coil spring (hereinafter referred to as a spring) 41 and a spring seat 42. The spring seat 42 is formed in a substantially funnel shape using a metal such as steel, and is in contact with the lower surface of the convex spherical portion 21 of the spherical shaft 20. The spring 41 is sandwiched between the spring seat 42 and the end cap 50 while being compressed and deformed, and always urges the spherical shaft 20 upward.

The end cap 50 is made of a metal such as steel and is formed in a circular dish shape in which a part of a multi-sided hollow body is cut out in parallel. On the outer periphery of the dish-shaped upper end opening 51 of the end cap 50, a circular ring-shaped flange 52 protrudes radially outward, and the flange 52 is fitted into the end cap mounting portion 17 of the end 11. And are fastened by the caulking portion 18.
A spring seat portion 53 is formed in a truncated cone shape at the center of the dish-shaped bottom of the end cap 50, and the spring seat portion 53 receives the lower end portion of the spring 41.

The boot 60 is made of a flexible material such as rubber or resin, and is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. An upper surface opening of the bearing recess 12 is formed between the spherical shaft 20 and the end 11 of the drag link 10. It is mounted to cover. The boot 60 is filled with grease 70.
A bellows portion 61 is integrally formed in the middle portion of the boot 60 so as to have a cross-section “T” shape. The bellows portion 61 is deformed by opening and closing in the axial direction (vertical direction), so that the arm member 28 and the end 11 are connected. Absorb relative displacement between.
A first attachment portion (hereinafter referred to as a lower attachment portion) 62 is formed in a circular ring shape at the lower end portion of the boot 60, and the lower attachment portion 62 is fitted and fixed to the outer periphery of the upper end portion of the end 11. ing. A second mounting portion (hereinafter referred to as an upper mounting portion) 63 is formed in a circular ring shape at the upper end portion of the boot 60, and the upper mounting portion 63 is fixed to the boot mounting portion 24 of the spherical shaft 20 with the retainer 27 interposed therebetween. Has been.
An inner lip 64 and an outer lip 65 are concentrically formed on the upper surface of the upper mounting portion 63 and project upward. The inner lip 64 is formed in a circular ring shape having a triangular cross section and protrudes vertically, and presses against the lower surface of the arm member 28. The outer lip 65 is formed in a circular ring shape having a substantially rectangular cross section and protrudes obliquely outward, and presses against the lower surface of the arm member 28 outside the inner lip 64. Grease 70 is also filled in the gap 70 a between the lower surface of the arm member 28, the retainer 27 and the inner lip 64, and the gap 70 b between the lower part of the arm member 28, the inner lip 64 and the outer lip 65.

  The operation and effect of the spherical shaft coupling device according to the above configuration will be described.

Since the convex spherical portion 21 of the spherical shaft 20 is slidably fitted to the concave spherical portion 13 of the end 11 and is elastically pressed against the concave spherical portion 13 by the spring 41, it is fixed to the spherical shaft 20. The arm member 28 can swing in the three-dimensional direction with respect to the drag link 10.
When the arm member 28 swings with respect to the drag link 10, the bellows portion 61 of the boot 60 is opened and closed in the axial direction (vertical direction) to absorb the relative displacement between the arm member 28 and the end 11. Therefore, the arm member 28 can swing smoothly without being obstructed by the boot 60 with respect to the drag link 10.
Further, when the arm member 28 swings with respect to the drag link 10, the inner lip 64 and the outer lip 65 of the boot 60 are pressed against the lower surface of the arm member 28 by the elastic force of the boot 60 itself. can do.

By the way, when the temperature is low, a so-called opening phenomenon occurs in which the inner lip 64 and the outer lip 65 of the upper mounting portion 63 are separated from the lower surface of the arm member 28, and dust and water enter the grease from the upper mounting portion 63 of the boot 60. There is a risk of leakage.
That is, since the elastic force of the boot 60 integrally formed of rubber or resin is reduced at a low temperature, the bellows part 61 cannot absorb the relative displacement between the arm member 28 and the end 11. The mouth opening phenomenon occurs.

However, in the spherical shaft coupling device 1 according to the present embodiment, the urging force portion 27b of the retainer 27 fitted to the outer periphery of the boot mounting portion 24 presses the pressing portion 27d against the lower surface of the upper mounting portion 63 of the boot 60. Thus, since the upper mounting portion 63 is constantly urged in the direction in which the upper mounting portion 63 is pressed against the lower surface of the arm member 28, the opening phenomenon of the boot 60 at a low temperature can be prevented.
Therefore, intrusion of dust and water from the upper mounting portion 63 of the boot 60 and leakage of grease due to a mouth opening phenomenon at a low temperature can be avoided.

Incidentally, since the male taper portion 25 is fitted into the taper hole 28a and the spherical shaft 20 is taper-coupled to the arm member 28, depending on the state of grease adhesion between the mating surfaces of the male taper portion 25 and the taper hole 28a, etc. There is a possibility that the amount of movement of the spherical shaft 20 with respect to the arm member 28 varies for each spherical shaft coupling device 1. When the spherical shaft 20 protrudes a lot from the arm member 28, the urging force of the retainer 27 against the upper mounting portion 63 is reduced. Conversely, when the spherical shaft 20 is pushed into the arm member 28, the upper mounting of the retainer 27 is performed. The urging force against the part 63 increases.
However, in the present embodiment, when the nut 29 is screwed into the male screw portion 26 and is tightened after the male tapered portion 25 is inserted into the tapered hole 28 a, the upper end of the fitting portion 27 a is on the lower surface of the arm member 28. Since the distance between the retainer 27 and the lower surface of the arm member 28 is maintained constant, the upper mounting of the retainer 27 is performed regardless of the variation of the amount of the spherical shaft 20 with respect to the arm member 28 for each spherical shaft coupling device 1. The urging force with respect to the part 63 can always be kept constant.
Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the retainer 27 can properly and reliably prevent the occurrence of the opening phenomenon of the boot at a low temperature in any of the spherical shaft coupling devices 1.
Incidentally, when the fitting portion 27a inner diameter D1 and the boot mounting portion 24 outer diameter D2 of the retainer 27 are used, the tightening margin of the fitting portion 27a is obtained by D2-D1. By appropriately setting the tightening allowance, it is possible to design the retainer 27 so as not to slide off the boot mounting portion 24 while preventing the retainer 27 from being damaged.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It cannot be overemphasized that it can change variously in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

  For example, the retainer is not limited to being formed using a metal having a spring effect, but may be formed of an elastic material such as a resin having a spring effect.

  The spherical shaft coupling device according to the present invention can be applied not only to a drag link or tie rod of a steering wheel but also to a link of a suspension.

1 ... Spherical shaft coupling device,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Drag link (1st coupling member), 11 ... End, 12 ... Bearing recessed part, 13 ... Concave spherical surface part, 14 ... Cylindrical inner peripheral surface part, 15 ... Positioning part, 16 ... Level difference, 17 ... End cap attaching part, 18 ... the caulking part,
20 ... spherical axis (second joint member), 21 ... convex spherical part, 22 ... connecting part, 23 ... neck part, 24 ... boot attaching part, 25 ... male taper part, 26 ... male screw part,
27 ... Retainer, 27a ... Fitting portion, 27b ... Biasing force portion, 27c ... Slit, 27d ... Pressing portion,
28 ... arm member (assembly member), 28a ... taper hole (mounting hole), 29 ... nut,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... Bearing member, 31 ... Upper sheet part, 32 ... Lower sheet part, 33 ... Concave spherical surface part, 35 ... Positioning cylinder, 36 ... Upper collar part, 37 ... Lower collar part,
40 ... Cushion structure, 41 ... Spring, 42 ... Spring seat,
50 ... End cap, 51 ... Upper end opening, 52 ... Gutter, 53 ... Spring seat part, 60 ... Boot, 61 ... Bellows part, 62 ... Lower attachment part (first attachment part), 63 ... Upper attachment part ( Second mounting portion), 64 ... inner lip, 65 ... outer lip, 70 ... grease, 70a ... gap, 70b ... gap.

Claims (3)

A first joint member having a concave spherical surface portion;
A second joint member having a convex spherical portion and a connecting portion, the convex spherical portion being fitted into the concave spherical portion, and the connecting portion being connected to the mounting hole of the assembly member;
A cylindrical boot having a first attachment portion and a second attachment portion, the first attachment portion being fixed to the first joint member, and the second attachment portion being fixed to the connection portion;
In a spherical shaft coupling device comprising:
A spherical shaft coupling device, wherein a retainer for urging the second mounting portion in the direction of the assembly member is fitted to the outer periphery of the connecting portion.   The retainer is fitted to the connecting part and has one end supported against the opening edge of the assembly part, and one end supported by the other end of the fitting part, and the other end is the second part. The spherical shaft coupling device according to claim 1, further comprising an urging force portion having a pressing portion that presses against the mounting portion. The spherical shaft coupling device according to claim 1, wherein the biasing force portion has a plurality of slits.

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