JP2013002604A - Ball joint - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ball joint in which the load of a snap ring is reduced and furthermore, the assemblability of the snap ring is maintained.SOLUTION: A snap ring 50 is formed in a rugged shape where an outer circumferential part 53 and an inner circumferential part 54 are notched at equal intervals in a circumferential direction. As a result, even if a supporting area of a seat 30 is enlarged by widening or the like, rigidity is reduced by outer circumferential recesses 55 and inner circumferential recesses 58 notched at equal intervals in the circumferential direction and elasticity of the snap ring 50 is ensured as a whole, thereby assemblability of the snap ring to a housing 20 is prevented from being reduced. Namely, a load of the snap ring 50 is reduced by enlarging the supporting area of the seat 30 and besides, the assemblability of the snap ring can be maintained.

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball joint used for, for example, a suspension device or a steering device of an automobile.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 7, a ball stud having a spherical sphere head 111 and a handle 112 extending from the sphere head 111 as a ball joint used in, for example, an automobile suspension device or steering device. 110, a seat 130 for swingably holding the ball head 111 of the ball stud 110, and a cylindrical housing in which one end in the axial direction (right side in FIG. 7 (a)) for holding the seat 130 is opened. There is known a ball joint including 120 and a C-shaped snap ring 150 that is elastically groove-fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the open end 121 of the housing 120 and locks the seat 130 (Patent Document). 1). 7A is a cross-sectional view of a conventional ball joint, and FIG. 7B is a plan view of the snap ring 150.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-1719

  In the ball joint configured as described above, when the ball stud 110 is pulled toward the open end 121 side of the housing 120, the seat 130 that receives the tensile load is supported only by the snap ring 150. The load increases. For this reason, in order to reduce the load of the snap ring 150, there is a method of expanding the support area of the seat 130 by increasing the width of the snap ring 150, but in this case, the elasticity of the snap ring 150 is reduced. There is a problem that the assembling property to the housing 120 is impaired.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, and it aims at providing the ball joint which can maintain assembly | attachment property, reducing the load of a snap ring.

  A ball joint according to the present invention includes a ball stud having a spherical ball head and a handle extending from the ball head, a seat for swingably holding the ball head of the ball stud, and the seat. A cylindrical housing having at least one axial end opened therein, and an annular snap ring that is elastically fitted to a groove formed on the inner peripheral surface of the open end of the housing to lock the seat; The snap ring has an outer peripheral portion that fits into the groove of the housing and an inner peripheral portion that locks the seat, and at least one of the outer peripheral portion or the inner peripheral portion in the circumferential direction when viewed in the axial direction of the housing. The first feature is that the first and second recesses are notched at predetermined intervals.

  In the ball joint of the present invention, the snap ring has an outer peripheral portion and an inner peripheral portion that are notched at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction when the housing is viewed in the axial direction, and an outer peripheral concave portion of the outer peripheral portion and an inner peripheral convex portion of the inner peripheral portion. A second feature is that the outer peripheral convex portion of the outer peripheral portion and the inner peripheral concave portion of the inner peripheral portion are formed in a corrugated shape facing each other.

  A third feature of the ball joint of the present invention is that the snap ring is formed in a C shape having a cut portion obtained by cutting a part of the annular shape when the housing is viewed in the axial direction.

  In the ball joint of the present invention, the snap ring has a fourth feature in that the concave portion of the portion adjacent to the cut portion is cut larger than the concave portion of the portion facing the cut portion in the axial view of the housing. .

  According to the ball joint of the first feature of the present invention, the snap ring has an outer peripheral portion that fits into the groove of the housing and an inner peripheral portion that locks the seat in the axial direction of the housing. Since at least one of the peripheral portion and the inner peripheral portion is formed in a concavo-convex shape that is notched at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction, even when the support area of the sheet is expanded by increasing the width, the notch is notched at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction. By reducing the rigidity by the recessed portion and securing the elasticity of the snap ring as a whole, the assembling property to the housing is not impaired. That is, it is possible to maintain the assembling property while reducing the load of the snap ring by expanding the support area of the seat.

  According to the ball joint of the second feature of the present invention, the snap ring has an outer peripheral portion and an inner peripheral portion that are notched at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction when viewed in the axial direction of the housing. Rigidity is reduced by the concave portion and the inner peripheral concave portion of the inner peripheral portion, and the elasticity of the entire snap ring is increased as compared with the case where only one of the outer peripheral portion and the inner peripheral portion is notched, thereby improving the assembly property to the housing. Can be improved. In addition, the snap ring is formed in a corrugated shape in which the outer peripheral concave portion of the outer peripheral portion and the inner peripheral convex portion of the inner peripheral portion face each other, and the outer peripheral convex portion of the outer peripheral portion and the inner peripheral concave portion of the inner peripheral portion face each other. Therefore, compared with the case where the outer peripheral concave portion and the inner peripheral concave portion are opposed to each other, the strength and durability can be ensured without the width of the portion being narrowed.

  According to the ball joint of the third feature of the present invention, the snap ring is formed in a C shape having a cut portion obtained by cutting a part of the annular shape when viewed from the axial direction of the housing. As a result, the elasticity of the snap ring as a whole is increased, so that the assembly to the housing can be improved.

  According to the ball joint of the fourth feature of the present invention, the snap ring is notched so that the recess in the portion adjacent to the cut portion is larger than the recess in the portion facing the cut portion when viewed in the axial direction of the housing. The rigidity of the part adjacent to the cutting part can be made lower than the rigidity of the part facing the cutting part. As a result, in addition to the cutting part with low rigidity, the area adjacent to the cutting part with reduced rigidity increases the elasticity in the vicinity of the cutting part over a wide range, and the snap ring can be easily reduced and expanded. Can be improved. In addition, the load on the snap ring can be reduced by reducing the notch of the recess at the portion facing the cut portion and making the notch of the recess smaller than the portion adjacent to the cut portion.

It is sectional drawing of the ball joint in one Example of this invention. It is a top view of a snap ring. It is sectional drawing of the ball joint in the III-III line of FIG. It is an exploded view of a ball joint. It is a top view of the snap ring in other examples of the present invention. It is a top view of the snap ring in other examples of the present invention. (A) is sectional drawing of the conventional ball joint, (b) is a top view of a snap ring.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, with reference to FIG. 1, the schematic structure of the ball joint 1 in one Example of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a ball joint 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The ball joint 1 connects the first member A and the second member B that form a suspension system of an automobile, and as shown in FIG. 1, the ball joint 1 is mainly formed integrally with the first member A. The stud 10 and the housing 20 formed integrally with the second member B are configured.

  The ball stud 10 has a spherical ball head 11 and a handle portion 12 extending from the ball head 11, and is connected to the first member A via a connecting portion 13 having a larger diameter than the ball head 11. It is connected. The ball stud 10 is held in a swingable manner by a ball head 11 by a synthetic resin sheet 30 and is held in the housing 20 via the sheet 30.

  Further, a synthetic resin bearing 40 is inserted between the tip of the ball head 11 and the seat 30, and the bearing 40 is brought into pressure contact with the ball head 11, so that a ball stud is generated according to the pressure contact force. Ten swinging torques are set.

  The seat 30 is preferably formed from a relatively hard synthetic resin material (for example, polyacetal) that allows the ball head 11 to swing smoothly, and the bearing 40 absorbs an impact force received from the ball head 11. It is preferably formed from a relatively soft synthetic resin material (for example, polyester elastomer).

  The housing 20 is formed in a cylindrical shape in which both axial ends (the vertical direction in FIG. 1) are opened, and a groove 22 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the open end 21 facing the first member A. A snap ring 50 made of a spring steel plate is elastically fitted in the groove 22, and the sheet 30 is locked by the snap ring 50. On the other hand, a plug 60 is caulked and fixed to the other end 23 opposite to the open end 21, and the seat 30 is pressed by the plug 60, so that the bearing 40 is pressed against the ball head 11.

  Further, the space between the housing 20 and the first member A is covered with a bellows-shaped boot 70, and foreign matter such as dust and dust is prevented from entering the housing 20 by the boot 70.

  In addition, since the first member A and the second member B that form the suspension device of the automobile are frequently pulled in a direction in which the first member A and the second member B are relatively separated from each other, the ball stud 10 is moved to the open end 21 side of the housing 20 each time. Is pulled relatively to In the ball joint 1 configured as described above, when the ball stud 10 is pulled toward the open end 21 side of the housing 20, the seat 30 that receives the tensile load is supported only by the snap ring 50. The load of increases.

  Next, a detailed shape of the snap ring 50 and a state in which the snap ring 50 is fitted in the groove 22 of the housing 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the snap ring 50 and is a view of the snap ring 50 as viewed in the direction of the axis X (see FIG. 1) of the housing 20. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the ball joint 1 taken along line III-III in FIG. In addition, illustration of the boot 70 is abbreviate | omitted in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the snap ring 50 is formed in a C shape having a cutting portion 51 obtained by cutting a part of an annular shape, and a tool (not shown) is provided at both ends facing the cutting portion 51. Tool holes 52 and 52 for reducing the diameter and fitting into the groove 22 of the housing 20 are provided.

  The snap ring 50 has an outer peripheral portion 53 and an inner peripheral portion 54, and both the outer peripheral portion 53 and the inner peripheral portion 54 are formed in a concavo-convex shape cut out at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. And the outer periphery recessed part 55 of the outer peripheral part 53 and the inner peripheral convex part 56 of the inner peripheral part 54 oppose, and the outer peripheral convex part 57 of the outer peripheral part 53 and the inner peripheral recessed part 58 of the inner peripheral part 54 oppose, and the outer peripheral side as a whole. And it is formed in a wave shape that alternately meanders toward the inner peripheral side. Further, the outer peripheral recess 55a and the inner peripheral recess 58a in the portion adjacent to the cutting portion 51 of the outer peripheral recess 55 and the inner peripheral recess 58 are notched larger than the outer peripheral recess 55b and the inner peripheral recess 58b in the portion facing the cutting portion 51. Yes.

  When the snap ring 50 formed as described above is fitted into the groove 22 of the housing 20, the outer peripheral portion 53 is fitted into the groove 22 while the inner peripheral portion 54 extends from the groove 22 as shown in FIG. 3. The sheet 30 is locked by overhanging. Here, since the outer periphery 53 and the inner periphery 54 are formed in a concavo-convex shape in which the outer peripheral portion 53 and the inner peripheral portion 54 are cut out at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, the support area of the sheet 30 is increased by increasing the width or the like. However, the rigidity is reduced by the outer peripheral recess 55 and the inner peripheral recess 58 cut out at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and the elasticity of the snap ring 50 as a whole is ensured, so that the assembling property to the housing 20 is not impaired. . That is, the assemblability can be maintained while reducing the load on the snap ring 50 by expanding the support area of the seat 30.

  In addition, since the snap ring 50 is formed in a C shape having a cut portion 51 obtained by cutting a part of the annular shape, by reducing the rigidity by the cut portion 51 and increasing the elasticity of the snap ring 50 as a whole, The assembling property to the housing 20 can be improved. Further, the outer peripheral concave portion 55a and the inner peripheral concave portion 58a adjacent to the cutting portion 51 of the outer peripheral concave portion 55 and the inner peripheral concave portion 58 are notched larger than the outer peripheral concave portion 55b and the inner peripheral concave portion 58b of the portion facing the cutting portion 51. Therefore, the rigidity of the part adjacent to the cutting part 51 can be made lower than the rigidity of the part facing the cutting part 51. Accordingly, in addition to the cutting portion 51 having low rigidity, the elasticity adjacent to the cutting portion 51 is increased in a wide range by the portion adjacent to the cutting portion 51 having reduced rigidity, and the snap ring 50 can be easily reduced and expanded. Assembling property to 20 can be improved. In addition, at the part facing the cutting part 51, the notch of the outer peripheral recessed part 55 and the inner peripheral recessed part 58 is made smaller than the part adjacent to the cutting part 51 to increase the support area of the sheet 30, thereby 50 loads can be reduced.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the assembly method of the ball joint 1 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the ball joint 1.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when assembling the ball joint 1, first, one end of the boot 70 (downward in FIG. 4) is attached to the connection portion 13 of the first member A, and the snap ring 50 is attached to the ball stud 10. Fit up to the vicinity of the handle 12. Next, the bearing 40 is assembled into the seat 30, and the ball head 11 of the ball stud 10 is inserted into the seat 30 in a state where the bearing 40 is incorporated. Thereafter, the ball stud 10 with the ball head 11 held by the seat 30 is inserted into the housing 20 from the open end 21 together with the seat 30, and the housing 20 until the lower end of the seat 30 passes through the groove 22 of the housing 20. The ball stud 10 is pushed into the inside.

  Next, the diameter of the snap ring 50 fitted in advance to the vicinity of the handle 12 of the ball stud 10 is reduced by a tool (not shown), and the cutting part 51 is formed in the notch 24 (see FIG. 3) of the housing 20. Then, the sheet is pressed toward the sheet 30 and fitted into the groove 22 of the housing 20. Thereafter, the plug 60 is caulked and fixed to the other end 23 of the housing 20, and finally, the other end (upward direction in FIG. 4) of the boot 70 is locked to the outer peripheral surface of the housing 20.

  As described above, according to the ball joint 1 of the present invention, the outer peripheral portion 53 and the inner peripheral portion 54 of the snap ring 50 are notched at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Further, the rigidity of the inner peripheral portion 54 is reduced by the inner peripheral concave portion 58, and the elasticity of the snap ring 50 as a whole is increased compared to the case where only one of the outer peripheral portion 53 and the inner peripheral portion 54 is cut away. Assembling property can be improved. In addition to this, the snap ring 50 has an outer peripheral concave portion 55 of the outer peripheral portion 53 and an inner peripheral convex portion 56 of the inner peripheral portion 54 facing each other, and an outer peripheral convex portion 57 of the outer peripheral portion 53 and an inner peripheral concave portion 58 of the inner peripheral portion 54. Since it is formed in the corrugated shape which opposes, compared with the case where the outer periphery recessed part 55 and the inner periphery recessed part 58 are made to oppose, intensity | strength and durability can be ensured, without the width | variety of the site | part becoming narrow.

  Next, a snap ring 250 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view of a snap ring 250 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

  The snap ring 50 in the above embodiment is formed in a wave shape in which both the outer peripheral portion 53 and the inner peripheral portion 54 are notched at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, whereas the snap ring 250 in the present embodiment is The inner peripheral portion 254 has no notches, and only the outer peripheral portion 253 is formed in a concavo-convex shape notched at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. In the following description, the same parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. Only parts different from the above embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the snap ring 250 has an outer peripheral portion 253 and an inner peripheral portion 254, and the outer peripheral portion 253 is formed in an uneven shape that is cut out at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. And the outer periphery recessed part 255a of the site | part adjacent to the cutting part 51 of the outer periphery recessed part 255 is notched larger than the outer periphery recessed part 255b of the site | part which faces the cutting part 51. FIG.

  When the snap ring 250 formed as described above is fitted into the groove 22 of the housing 20, the outer peripheral portion 253 is fitted into the groove 22, while the inner peripheral portion 254 projects from the groove 22 to lock the seat 30. To do. Here, since the outer peripheral portion 253 is formed in a concavo-convex shape in which the outer peripheral portion 253 is cut out at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, the snap ring 250 is reduced in rigidity by the outer peripheral concave portion 255 as in the above embodiment. By securing the elasticity as, the assembling property to the housing 20 is not impaired. That is, the assemblability can be maintained while reducing the load on the snap ring 250 by expanding the support area of the seat 30.

  Next, a snap ring 350 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a snap ring 350 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

  The snap ring 50 in the above embodiment is formed in a wave shape in which both the outer peripheral portion 53 and the inner peripheral portion 54 are cut out at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, whereas the snap ring 350 in this embodiment is The outer peripheral portion 253 has no notches, and only the inner peripheral portion 354 is formed in a concavo-convex shape notched at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. In the following description, the same parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. Only parts different from the above embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the snap ring 350 has an outer peripheral portion 353 and an inner peripheral portion 354, and the inner peripheral portion 354 is formed in an uneven shape that is cut out at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. In addition, the inner peripheral recess 358 a in a portion adjacent to the cutting portion 51 of the inner peripheral recess 358 is cut out larger than the inner peripheral recess 358 b in a portion facing the cutting portion 51.

  When the snap ring 350 formed as described above is fitted into the groove 22 of the housing 20, the outer peripheral portion 353 is fitted into the groove 22, while the inner peripheral portion 354 projects from the groove 22 to lock the seat 30. To do. Here, since the inner peripheral portion 354 is formed in a concavo-convex shape in which the inner peripheral portion 354 is cut out at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, the snap ring 350 is reduced in rigidity by the inner peripheral concave portion 358 as in the above embodiment. By ensuring the elasticity of 350 as a whole, the assembling property to the housing 20 is not impaired. That is, the assembling property can be maintained while the load of the snap ring 350 is reduced by increasing the support area of the seat 30.

  The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be easily made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Can be inferred.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the ball joint of the present invention is used for a suspension device of an automobile has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and may be applied to an application other than an automobile steering device or an automobile. good.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the ball stud 10 is formed integrally with the first member A and connected to the first member A via the connecting portion 13 having a diameter larger than that of the ball head 11 has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, and the handle 12 of the ball stud 10 may be connected to the first member A with a nut or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the single-shaft type ball joint 1 in which the handle 12 of the ball stud 10 protrudes only from the open end 21 of the open end 21 and the other end 23 of the housing 20 has been described. The ball stud 10 may be a double-axis type ball joint in which the handle portion 12 of the ball stud 10 protrudes from both ends of the housing 20.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ball joint 10 Ball stud 11 Ball head 12 Handle 20 Housing 21 Open end 22 Groove 30 Sheet 50 Snap ring 51 Cutting part 53 Outer part 54 Inner part 55 Outer part recessed part 55a Outer part recessed part (recessed part)
55b Outer peripheral recess (recess)
56 Inner circumferential convex portion 57 Outer circumferential convex portion 58 Inner circumferential concave portion 58a Inner circumferential concave portion (concave portion)
58b Inner peripheral recess (recess)
250 snap ring 253 outer periphery 254 inner periphery 255 outer periphery recess 255a outer periphery recess (recess)
255b Peripheral recess (recess)
350 Snap ring 353 Outer peripheral part 354 Inner peripheral part 358 Inner peripheral concave part 358a Inner peripheral concave part (recessed part)
358b Inner peripheral recess (recess)
X Housing shaft

Claims (4)

A ball stud (10) having a spherical ball head (11) and a handle (12) extending from the ball head (11), and swinging the ball head (11) of the ball stud (10) A sheet (30) to be freely held, a cylindrical housing (20) having at least one axial end opened to hold the sheet (30), and an open end (21) of the housing (20) An annular snap ring (50, 250, 350) that is elastically fitted in a groove (22) formed on a peripheral surface to lock the seat (30),
The snap ring (50, 250, 350) includes an outer peripheral portion (53, 253, 353) that fits into the groove (22) of the housing (20) when viewed in the axial (X) direction of the housing (20). And an inner peripheral part (54,254,354) for locking the sheet (30), and at least one of the outer peripheral part (53,253,353) or the inner peripheral part (54,254,354) Is formed into a concavo-convex shape cut out at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction.   The snap ring (50) has the outer peripheral portion (53) and the inner peripheral portion (54) cut out at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction when the housing (20) is viewed in the direction of the axis (X). The outer circumferential concave portion (55) of (53) and the inner circumferential convex portion (56) of the inner circumferential portion (54) face each other, and the outer circumferential convex portion (57) of the outer circumferential portion (53) and the inner circumferential portion (54) of The ball joint according to claim 1, wherein the ball joint is formed in a corrugated shape facing the inner peripheral recess (58).   The snap ring (50, 250, 350) is formed in a C shape having a cut portion (51) obtained by cutting a part of the annular shape in the axial (X) direction view of the housing (20). The ball joint according to claim 1, wherein the ball joint is characterized.   In the snap ring (50, 250, 350), the recess (55a, 58a, 255a, 358a) adjacent to the cutting portion (51) is cut off when viewed in the axial (X) direction of the housing (20). 4. The ball joint according to claim 3, wherein the ball joint is cut out larger than the concave portion (55b, 58b, 255b, 358b) at a portion facing the portion (51).

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