JP2019082193A - Ball joint - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a ball joint capable of easily lifting up an apparatus, for example, when a downward apparatus is changed to an upward one in changing a direction of the connected apparatus.SOLUTION: A ball joint 1 includes: a ball stud 2 including a head portion 20 and a stud portion 21; a cylindrical socket 3 having an opening 30 to make the stud portion 21 project therefrom, and including a receiving portion 31 for rotatably supporting the head portion 20; a supporting member 4 holding the head portion 20 with the receiving portion 31; and an elastic member 6 energizing one of the socket 3 and the supporting member 4 by restoring force, and pressing the head portion 20 to the other. The head portion 20 has a spherical first convex surface 23, and a second convex surface 24 formed continuously from the first convex surface 23 and having a distance D from a center of curvature O1 of the first convex surface 23 shorter than a radius of curvature R1 of the first convex surface 23.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball joint whose torque changes at an angle.

  For example, as an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the orientation (angle) of devices such as lights, lights, televisions and cameras, for example, one using a ball joint has been proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a projector having an angle adjustment mechanism using a ball joint. In this patent document 1, the purpose is to adjust the angle of the device when it is used by placing the device via two support plates on a table or the like, and the legs of the support plate are opened by opening the legs. Angle adjustment is possible. A spherical ball joint rotatably fixed to the inside of the device via a fixing portion is connected to the tip of each leg. An adjusting lever is connected to the fixing lever of the fixing portion, and the fixing lever is operated by operating the adjusting lever. The fixed lever cooperates with the ball press arranged at the upper part of the ball joint, and when the fixed lever operates, the ball press rotates around the support pin, and the ball joint stored in the fixed unit is fixed by the ball press As a result, the ball joint can not rotate and the position of the device is fixed.

  However, in the angle adjustment mechanism as described in Patent Document 1 mentioned above, since the ball joint is fixed in the device, it can only be used exclusively for the device. In addition, since the adjustment lever, the fixing lever, the ball retainer, etc. are used to fix the ball joint non-rotatably, there is a problem that the structure is complicated and the manufacturing cost is increased.

  Therefore, the applicant has proposed a ball joint (free lock joint) having a simple structure and capable of easily adjusting the angle of the device (see Patent Document 2). In the ball joint of Patent Document 2, when the head portion of the ball stud rotates in the socket, it is possible to adjust the angle of the device connected to the ball stud. On the other hand, when the sleeve is screwed into the base, the resilient force of the compressed elastic member acts on the socket, and the head portion of the ball stud is pressed against the support member by the socket, thereby restricting the rotation of the head portion. As a result, the device connected to the ball joint is held in an angle-adjusted state.

JP 2008-160595 A Patent No. 6188901

  The device described above may change the orientation of the device by adjusting the angle of the device without loosening the sleeve relative to the base even after adjusting the angle once and in use. The head portion of the ball stud is held between the socket and the support member by the restoring force of the compressed elastic member, and it is difficult to rotate in the socket, so to turn the head portion to change the direction of the device Requires a large force (torque). Also, for example, when changing the downward device upward, if the device is heavy, it is particularly difficult to lift the device and to feel a sense of weight and to change its direction. Therefore, there is a demand for eliminating this feeling of weight and making it easier to lift the device, and the ball joint of Patent Document 2 has room for further improvement in this respect.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and provides a ball joint that can facilitate lifting of a device, for example, to turn the downward device upward when changing the direction of the connected device. The purpose is

  The object of the present invention is to provide a ball stud having a head portion and a stud portion, a cylindrical socket having an opening for causing the stud portion to protrude and a receiving portion for rotatably supporting the head portion, and the head And a resilient member for urging one of the socket and the support member with a restoring force and pressing the head against the other, the head being And a second convex curved surface provided continuously with the first spherical convex surface and the first convex curved surface, wherein the distance from the center of curvature of the first convex curved surface is shorter or longer than the radius of curvature of the first convex curved surface. And a ball joint having

  In the ball joint of the above configuration, the second convex curved surface is a spherical shape having a curvature radius different from that of the first convex curved surface, and the center of curvature of the second convex curved surface is separated from the center of curvature of the first convex curved surface Is preferred.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the opposing surface with the said head part of the said supporting member is a flat surface.

  Furthermore, a base for supporting the support member, and a sleeve disposed around the socket and screwed to the base by a screw connection are further provided, and the sleeve compresses the elastic member by screwing into the base. Preferably, the resilient member is disposed between the socket and the sleeve and biases the socket by a restoring force to press the head portion against the support member.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said base is equipped with the attachment part for attaching an apparatus.

  According to the ball joint of the present invention, when changing the orientation of the connected device, for example, the device can be easily lifted in order to turn the downward device upward.

It is a front view of a ball joint concerning one embodiment of the present invention, and shows the state before screwing a sleeve to a base. It is a top view of the ball joint of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the ball joint of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state after screwing in the sleeve of the ball joint of FIG. 1 to a base. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the state after screwing the sleeve of the ball joint of FIG. 1 into the base, showing the head portion rotating in a predetermined direction in the socket; It is a front view of a ball stud. It is a right side view of a ball stud. It is a top view of a ball stud. It is a bottom view of a ball stud. It is an enlarged view of the head part of a ball stud. It is a front view of a socket. It is a top view of a socket. It is a bottom view of a socket. It is a sectional view of a socket. It is a front view of a sleeve. It is a top view of a sleeve. It is a bottom view of a sleeve. It is a sectional view of a sleeve. It is a top view of a base. It is a bottom view of a base. It is sectional drawing of a base. It is a top view of a press plate. It is a bottom view of a press plate. It is sectional drawing of a press plate. It is explanatory drawing which shows the use condition of a ball joint. It is explanatory drawing which shows the use condition of a ball joint.

  Hereinafter, the actual mode of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show the external appearance of a ball joint 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 to 5 show the internal structure of the ball joint 1. 1 to 3 show a state before screwing the sleeve 5 into the base 7 (a state where the head portion 20 can freely rotate in the socket 3), and FIGS. 4 and 5 show the sleeve 5 as the base 7 FIG. 5 shows a state after screwing in (the state in which the rotation of the head unit 20 in the socket 3 is restricted), and FIG. 5 shows that the head unit 20 is in the socket 3 in a predetermined direction (left direction in FIG. The rotated state is shown in).

  The ball joint 1 is for installing the device 100 such as, for example, a light, a light, a television, a camera, etc. by adjusting its angle so as to be freely changeable. The ball joint 1 includes a ball stud 2, a socket 3, a support member 4, a sleeve 5 provided with a pressure plate 10, an elastic member 6, a base 7, a dust cover 8 and a rotation stop member 9. The ball joint 1 is used, for example, by attaching the device 100 to the base 7 and connecting the support member 101 of the device 100 to the ball stud 2 as shown in FIG. FIG. 25 is merely an example, and the method of using the ball joint 1 is not limited to the example of FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the ball stud 2 is formed of a metal material such as nonferrous metal other than iron and steel, and the head portion 20 and the stud portion 21 continuously provided to the head portion 20. Is equipped. The stud portion 21 is formed in a shaft shape (longitudinal shape) such as a rod shape or a plate shape, and is formed in a round rod shape in the present embodiment. The stud portion 21 is a portion for connecting the ball joint 1 to which the device 100 is attached to the support member 101 for supporting the device 100 shown in FIG. 25, and is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the end portion opposite to the head portion 20. An external thread 22 is formed as a connecting portion.

  The head portion 20 is a portion that rotates in the socket 3 and is formed in a substantially spherical shape. As shown in FIG. 10, the head portion 20 has a first convex curved surface 23 and a second convex curved surface 24 provided continuously with the first convex curved surface on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The first convex curved surface 23 is formed in a spherical shape whose center of curvature is the point O1 and whose radius of curvature is R1. The center of curvature O 1 of the first convex curved surface 23 is located on the axis of the stud portion 21. In the second convex curved surface 24, the distance D from the center of curvature O1 of the first convex curved surface 23 is different from the radius of curvature R1 of the first convex curved surface 23, that is, the curved surface is shorter or longer than the radius of curvature R1. Is formed.

  In the present embodiment, the second convex curved surface 24 is formed in a spherical shape with the point O2 as the center of curvature and the radius of curvature as R2. The radius of curvature R2 of the second convex curved surface 24 is different from the radius of curvature R1 of the first convex curved surface 23, and is longer than the radius of curvature R1 of the first convex curved surface 23 in the present embodiment. The curvature center O2 of the second convex curved surface 24 is at an eccentric position deviated in the radial direction opposite to the second convex curved surface 24 with respect to the curvature center O1 of the first convex curved surface 23. The second convex curved surface is set by setting the eccentric distance (distance between the centers of the first convex curved surface 23 and the second convex curved surface 24) to the curvature center O1 of the curvature center O2 larger than the difference (R2-R1) of the curvature radius The distance D from the center of curvature O1 of the first convex curved surface 23 is shorter than the radius of curvature R1 of the first convex curved surface 23. At the boundary between the second convex curved surface 24 and the first convex curved surface 23, the distance D from the curvature center O 1 of the first convex curved surface 23 is equal to the curvature radius R 1 of the first convex curved surface 23.

  In the present embodiment, the second convex curved surface 24 is formed in the head portion 20 so as to be surrounded by the first convex curved surface 23. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in the head portion 20, the first convex curved surface 23 abuts on the support member 4 in a state where the ball stud 2 extends perpendicularly to the support member 4 (base 7), As shown in FIG. 5, the head portion 20 is rotated in a predetermined direction, and the ball stud 2 is inclined in a predetermined direction with respect to the support member 4 (base 7) (for example, when the ball stud 2 is horizontal) The position of the second convex curved surface 24 is set such that the second convex curved surface 24 abuts on the support member 4 in a state where the direction of the base 7 changes downward.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 to 14, the socket 3 is a substantially cylindrical member having an opening at both axial ends, and is formed of a metal material such as nonferrous metal other than iron and steel. On the inner peripheral surface on the side of one opening 30 of the socket 3, a receiving portion 31 protruding inward is provided, and the diameter of the opening 30 is smaller than the diameter of the head portion 20. The part 20 is prevented from coming out of the opening 30. The head portion 20 is rotatably supported by the receiving portion 31 in the socket 3 and rotates in a state of being held between the receiving portion 31 and the support member 4. Also, the stud portion 21 protrudes from the opening 30 of the socket 3 to the outside. The surface of the receiving portion 31 is in the form of a curved surface along the spherical shape of the head portion 20, whereby the head portion 20 smoothly rotates in the socket 3.

  A concave groove 32 is formed on the outer peripheral surface on one end side of the socket 3 over the entire circumference. The groove 32 is for fixing a dust cover 8 described later. Further, a flange portion 33 is provided on the outer peripheral surface on the other end side of the socket 3 so as to project over the entire circumference. A plurality of (six in the drawing) through holes 34 are formed in the flange portion 33 at predetermined intervals.

  The support member 4 is disposed on the base 7 and accommodated in the socket 3 as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. The support member 4 is formed of a cylindrical member, and is formed of a metal material such as nonferrous metal other than iron and steel. The surface (upper surface in the drawing) of one side of the support member 4 opposed to the head portion 20 is a flat surface, and the head portion 20 is in contact with the flat surface.

  The sleeve 5 is rotatably disposed around the socket 3. The sleeve 5 is a cylindrical member having an upper surface portion 50 at one end (upper end in the drawing) and an open end (lower end in the drawing) as shown in FIGS. A through hole 51 penetrating the upper surface portion 50 is formed at a central position of the upper surface portion 50 of the sleeve 5, and the socket 3 is inserted through the through hole 51. An external thread 52 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve 5 to be engaged with an internal thread 72 of the base 7 described later. Further, at least one concave portion 53 is provided on the outer peripheral surface on one end side of the male screw 52 of the sleeve 5. In the present embodiment, four recesses 53 are provided at predetermined intervals. The recess 53 can be hooked with a tool for rotating the sleeve 5 such as a hook pin spanner, for example, and the sleeve 5 can be easily rotated relative to the base 7 by turning the tool.

  The elastic member 6 is disposed between the socket 3 (specifically, the flange portion 33) and the sleeve 5 (specifically, the pressing plate 10 described later), as shown in FIGS. There is. In the present embodiment, the elastic member 6 is formed of a coil spring, and is disposed around the main body 90 of the anti-rotation member 9 described later. The elastic member 6 is in the state of natural length before screwing the sleeve 5 into the base 7. On the other hand, when the sleeve 5 is screwed into the base 7, the elastic member 6 is compressed as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, and the restoring force (spring pressure) of the elastic member 6 tends to return. The socket 3 is energized. Thus, the head portion 20 is pressed against the support member 4 by the receiving portion 31 of the socket 3. In addition to the coil spring, as the elastic member 6, various members such as metal collars can be used as long as they have elasticity.

  As shown in FIGS. 19 to 21, the base 7 includes a bottom wall 70 having a circular shape in a plan view, and a peripheral wall 71 erected on the periphery of the bottom wall 70. The inner diameter of the peripheral wall portion 71 is set larger than the outer diameter of the socket 3 (specifically, the flange portion 33) so that the socket 3 can be accommodated inside. On the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 71, a female screw 72 to be screwed with the male screw 52 of the sleeve 5 is formed. A circular shallow recess 73 is provided at a central position of the bottom wall portion 70. The support member 4 is disposed in the recess 73 to position the support member 4. A plurality of (six in the drawing) through holes 74 are formed at predetermined intervals around the recess 73 of the bottom wall 70. In the present embodiment, the through hole 74 is a screw hole in which a female screw is formed on the inner peripheral surface. A plurality of (four in the drawing) bolt accommodation holes 75 are formed in the peripheral wall portion 71 at predetermined intervals. A bolt (not shown) is inserted into the bolt receiving hole 75, and constitutes a mounting portion for mounting the base 7 to the device 100 using a bolt (not shown).

  The locking member 9 plays a role of regulating the rotation of the socket 3 with respect to the base 7. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, in the present embodiment, the anti-rotation member 9 has a male screw formed at one end of the rod-like main body, and an enlarged head at the other end. Is formed of a member. A plurality (six in the figure) of the detent members 9 are fixed to the base 7 by being screwed into the through holes 74 of the base 7 through the through holes 34 of the flange portion 33 of the socket 3. The rotation of the socket 3 relative to the base 7 is restricted.

  The sleeve 5 is provided with a pressing plate 10 for compressing the elastic member 6 by screwing into the base 7. The pressing plate 10 may be formed integrally with the sleeve 5 or may be formed separately from the sleeve 5, and is separately formed in the present embodiment. The pressing plate 10 is a disk-shaped member having a predetermined thickness, as shown in FIGS. 22 to 24, and is continuous with the through hole 51 of the sleeve 5 at the center position of the pressing plate 10 and has the same size. A through hole 11 is formed, and the socket 3 is inserted through the through hole 11.

  The pressing plate 10 is provided with a plurality of (six in the drawing) accommodation recesses 12 at predetermined intervals. In addition, a through hole 13 is formed at a central position of the bottom surface of the housing recess 12. The head 91 of the anti-rotation member 90 is accommodated in the accommodation recess 12, and the main body 91 of the anti-rotation member 9 protrudes from the through hole 13.

  The dust cover 8 covers the upper portion of the socket 3 and the head portion 20 housed in the socket 3 as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. The dust cover 8 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the stud portion 21 at the opening edge at one end (upper end in the drawing), and the other end (lower end in the drawing) is fitted into the groove 32 of the socket 3 and fixed. The dust cover 8 prevents water, dust and foreign matter from entering the socket 3. The dust cover 8 is formed of an elastically deformable rubber material or a soft synthetic resin material.

  In the ball joint 1 configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 3, when the sleeve 5 is not screwed into the base 7, the biasing force of the elastic member 6 does not act on the socket 3. The head portion 20 of the head is not strongly pressed. Therefore, the head unit 20 can freely rotate in the socket 3. Therefore, the angle of the device 100 attached to the base 7 can be adjusted, and the direction of the device 100 can be set to a desired direction such as up, down, left, right, or diagonal.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 25, after setting the direction of the device 100 to a desired direction (downward in FIG. 25), the sleeve 5 is rotated by using a tool such as a hook pin spanner, and screwed into the base 7. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5, the elastic member 6 is compressed by the pressing plate 10, and a restoring force (spring pressure) generated by the compression of the elastic member 6 acts on the socket 3. As a result, the head portion 20 of the ball stud 2 is pressed against the support member 4 by the socket 3 and the rotation of the head portion 20 in the socket 3 is restricted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 25, the direction of the device 100 attached to the ball joint 1 does not change, and the device 100 can be held in the set direction (downward in FIG. 25).

  Even in a state in which the sleeve 5 is screwed into the base 7 and the device 100 is held in a predetermined direction (downward in FIG. 25), the device 100 is manually moved as needed to move the head portion 20 of the ball stud 2 into the socket 3 By forcibly rotating at this position, as shown in FIG. 26, the orientation of the device 100 can be changed, for example, upward.

  When changing the downward device 100 upward, the head portion 20 of the ball stud 2 is in contact with the support member 4 with the second convex curved surface 24 as shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 10, in the second convex curved surface 24, the distance D from the center of curvature O1 of the first convex curved surface 23 is shorter than the radius of curvature R1 of the first convex curved surface 23 as compared with the first convex curved surface 23. ing. Therefore, the elastic member 6 is somewhat compressed in the compressed state between the socket 3 (flange portion 33) and the sleeve 5 (the pressing plate 10) by the difference (R1-D) of this distance, and thus the head Compared with the case where the first convex curved surface 23 of the portion 20 is in contact with the support member 4, the restoring force (spring pressure) of the elastic member 6 is weakened. The restoring force (spring pressure) of the elastic member 6 is a force for pressing the head portion 20 against the support member 4 via the socket 3, and therefore the restoring force (spring pressure) of the elastic member 6 is weakened. The head portion 20 can be easily rotated in the socket 3. Thus, the feeling of lifting of the device 100 can be reduced when the downward adjustment of the device 100 is performed, and the device 100 can be easily lifted. In addition, even in the case of adjusting the angle of the downward device 100 in the left-right direction, the restoring force (spring pressure) of the elastic member 6 is weakened while the second convex curved surface 24 of the head portion 20 is in contact with the support member 4. Therefore, the head portion 20 is easy to rotate in the socket 3 and the angle adjustment is easy.

  On the other hand, when the first convex curved surface 23 of the head portion 20 of the ball stud 2 abuts on the support member 4, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the elastic member 6 is in a compressed state without loosening. Therefore, the head unit 20 is strongly pressed against the support member 4 via the socket 3 without weakening the restoring force (spring pressure) of the elastic member 6, so that the rotation of the head unit 20 in the socket 3 is strongly restricted. Ru.

  As described above, according to the ball joint 1 of the present embodiment, the head portion 20 of the ball stud 2 has the first convex curved surface 23 and the second convex curved surface 24, and the first convex curved surface 23 corresponds to the support member 4. The restoring force (spring pressure) of the elastic member 6, that is, the head portion 20 via the socket 3 in the case of contact and the case where the second convex curved surface 24 is in contact with the support member 4 4 and the force for restricting the rotation of the head unit 20 is changing. Therefore, the force (torque) required to rotate the head unit 20 to change the direction (angle) of the device 100 changes in accordance with the direction (angle) of the device 100. Therefore, by appropriately arranging the second convex curved surface 24 in the head unit 20, for example, when changing the downward device 100 upward, the device 100 can be easily lifted, and the angle adjustment of the device 100 becomes easy.

  Further, in the free lock joint 1 of the present embodiment, the head portion 20 of the ball stud 2 is pressed against the support member 4 by the socket 3 along with the screw connection of the sleeve 5 and the base 7 and its rotation is restricted. Therefore, even if friction is applied to the socket 3 by rotating the head portion 20 in order to change the direction (angle) of the device 100, the socket 3 can be screwed to the sleeve 5 and the base 7 Since there is no direct relationship, it is possible to prevent the screw connection between the sleeve 5 and the base 7 from being loosened and weakening the pressing force of the head portion 20 against the support member 4 by the socket 3.

  As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible unless it deviates from the meaning of this invention. For example, in the ball joint 1 according to the above embodiment, the head portion 20 of the ball stud 2 has only one second convex curved surface 24. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Good.

  Moreover, in the ball joint 1 of the above embodiment, the second convex curved surface 24 of the head portion 20 of the ball stud 2 is formed in a spherical shape with the point O2 as the center of curvature and the radius of curvature as R2. The present invention is not limited to this, and any curved surface may be formed as long as the distance D from the center of curvature O1 of the first convex curved surface 23 is shorter than the radius of curvature R1 of the first convex curved surface 23.

  Further, in the ball joint 1 of the above embodiment, the second convex curved surface 24 is formed into a curved surface in which the distance D from the curvature center O1 of the first convex curved surface 23 is shorter than the curvature radius R1 of the first convex curved surface 23 However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the distance D may be formed in a curved shape longer than the curvature radius R1 of the first convex curved surface 23.

  Moreover, in the ball joint 1 of the said embodiment, although the rotation prevention member 9 is provided, it is not restricted to this, It is not necessary to provide the rotation prevention member 9. FIG. In addition, when the rotation prevention member 9 is not provided, the spring 6 does not necessarily need to use a coil spring, and a leaf spring etc. can also be used. Further, the pressing plate 10 does not have to be separate from the sleeve 5 but may be integral.

  Further, in the ball joint 1 of the above embodiment, the elastic member 6 in the compressed state urges the socket 3 by its restoring force (spring pressure), whereby the head portion 20 is moved by the receiving portion 31 of the socket 3. Although it is pressed against the supporting member 4, the present invention is not limited to this, and the supporting member 4 is biased by a restoring force (spring pressure), whereby the head portion 20 is received by the supporting member 4 by the receiving portion 31 of the socket 3. The ball joint 1 may be configured to be pressed against.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ball joint 2 ball stud 3 socket 4 support member 5 sleeve 6 elastic member 7 base 9 rotation stop member 10 pressing plate 20 head portion 21 stud portion 23 first convex curved surface 24 second convex curved surface 30 opening 31 receiving portion

Claims (5)

A ball stud comprising a head portion and a stud portion;
A cylindrical socket having an opening for causing the stud portion to protrude and having a receiving portion for rotatably supporting the head portion;
A support member for holding the head portion between the support portion and the support portion;
An elastic member which biases one of the socket and the support member by a restoring force to press the head portion against the other;
The head unit is
A spherical first convex surface,
A ball joint provided continuously with the first convex surface, and having a second convex surface whose distance from the center of curvature of the first convex surface is shorter or longer than the radius of curvature of the first convex surface.   The second convex surface according to claim 1, wherein the second convex surface is a spherical shape having a curvature radius different from that of the first convex surface, and the center of curvature of the second convex surface is separated from the center of curvature of the first convex surface. Ball joint.   The ball joint according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the support member facing the head portion is a flat surface. A base supporting the support member;
And a sleeve disposed around said socket and screwed to said base.
The sleeve includes a pressing plate that compresses the elastic member by screwing into the base.
The ball joint according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the elastic member is disposed between the socket and the sleeve and biases the socket by a restoring force to press the head portion against the support member.   The ball joint according to claim 4, wherein the base comprises a mounting portion for mounting a device.