JP4441456B2 - Ball joint - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention includes a holder having a ball receiving portion, a shank having a ball portion held by the ball receiving portion at one end and connected to the holder in a swingable manner, and one end portion held by the holder. And a boot made of an elastic material covering the holder and the connecting portion of the shank so that the other end is held by the shank.

One end of a boot in which a metal core having a substantially L-shaped cross-section is embedded is held by a holder, and the other end of the boot abuts and engages with an end of a tool engaging portion provided in the shank. A ball joint that is held by the shank in this way is already known, for example, from US Pat.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-316771

  By the way, in such a ball joint, it is necessary to prevent dust from entering and adhering to the boot as much as possible. For this purpose, it is necessary to improve the holding ability of the end portion of the boot to the holder or the shank.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a first object of the present invention is to provide a ball joint that further enhances the holding ability of one end of a boot to a holder. A second object of the present invention is to provide a ball joint with improved retentivity.

In order to achieve the first object, the invention according to claim 1 has a holder having a ball receiving portion and a ball portion held by the ball receiving portion at one end and can swing to the holder. It said holder comprising a shank to be connected, and an elastic material made of boots as the other end portion is held by the shank covering the connecting portion of the holder and the shank with one end is held by the holder In a ball joint provided with a cylindrical holding tube portion that fits the inner peripheral surface of one end portion of the boot and an abutting step portion that abuts the end surface of the one end portion of the boot, one end portion of the boot includes a cylindrical metal core main portion which is arranged concentrically with respect to one end, a circumferential, respectively at a plurality of locations spaced in a direction being continuously provided radially inward of one end of the core Kinshu unit and a plurality of claw portions extending respectively Rutotomoni metal core having the body is embedded, the tip portion of the claw portion of the core metal, is engaged with the outer peripheral surface of the holding tubular portion is exposed from one end inner peripheral surface of said boot, said Between the end surface of one end of the boot that contacts the contact step portion and the tip of the claw portion, the inner peripheral surface of the one end portion of the boot elastically contacts the outer peripheral surface of the holding cylinder portion. An annular protrusion is integrally provided, and the invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that, in addition to the configuration of the invention according to claim 1, the annular protrusion is formed on an inner peripheral surface of one end of the boot. Another annular protrusion that elastically contacts the outer peripheral surface of the holding cylinder part is integrally provided at a position where the tip part of the claw part is sandwiched therebetween .

  In order to achieve the second object, the invention according to claim 2 has a holder having a ball receiving portion and a ball portion held by the ball receiving portion at one end, and swings to the holder. A ball comprising: a shank that can be connected; and a boot made of an elastic material that covers the holder and the connecting portion of the shank so that one end is held by the holder and the other end is held by the shank. In the joint, a tool locking portion having a non-circular outer cross-sectional shape formed on the end on the ball portion side by forming a locking step portion for contacting and locking the other end portion of the boot to the shank. And an eaves portion projecting outward from the outer periphery of the end of the tool locking portion on the ball portion side.

  Furthermore, in the invention according to claim 3, in addition to the structure of the invention according to claim 2, the intermediate portion of the boot is provided with a folded portion that forms a trough that opens toward the tool locking portion. The eaves part is formed so as to cover the valley part.

According to the first and fourth aspects of the invention, the claw part provided in the core metal embedded in one end part of the boot exhibits a resilience that causes the tip to bite into the holding cylinder part of the holder. One end of the boot can be firmly held by the holder, and dust or the like can be more reliably prevented from entering the boot from one end of the boot. That is, when assembling one end of the boot on the holder side, the holder only needs to be inserted into one end of the boot so as to bend the claw. This exerts a spring force that bites the holder into the holding cylinder portion of the holder. Further, even if an external force in a direction in which one end portion of the boot is detached from the holder is applied, a force in a direction to bite in by the holding cylinder portion of the holder is applied to the claw portion, and the one end portion of the boot is held in the holder. Sex is further enhanced. Moreover it could be scraped holding tubular portion outer surface of the holder at the tip of the claw portion, the boot of the annular projection at the outside than the claw portion is elastically in contact with the holder, it is cut by the claw portion Adhesiveness and retainability can be further improved by bringing the annular protrusion into close contact with the holding cylinder portion of the holder at a portion where there is nothing.

Further, according to the inventions of claims 2 and 3, the shank is provided with a tool locking portion having a locking step portion at the end on the ball side for contacting and locking the other end of the boot. Since the eaves part protrudes outward from the ball side end of the tool locking part, even if an external force acts on the other end of the boot over the tool locking part and then comes off, the eaves part prevents it. As a result, the retention of the other end of the boot to the shank can be enhanced. Moreover, since the eaves portion exhibits a function of positioning the tool along the longitudinal direction of the shank when the tool is engaged with the tool locking portion, workability is improved.

  Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent dust and the like from accumulating in the valley portion of the folded portion of the boot as much as possible by the eaves portion.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on one embodiment of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

  1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a side view of a four-wheel buggy vehicle to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a part of the boot in a natural state where no external force acts.

  First, in FIG. 1, a vehicle body frame F of a four-wheel buggy is composed of a front frame 15, a rear frame 16, and a center frame 17 connecting the front frame 15 and the rear frame 16, and an engine E and a transmission. A power unit P composed of M is mounted on the center frame 17. An intake device 19 having an air cleaner 18 at the upstream end extends backward from the engine E, and an exhaust device 21 having an exhaust muffler 20 at the downstream end extends backward from the engine E.

  Above the power unit P, the center frame 17 is provided with an upper partition wall 22 that separates the power unit P side and the passenger compartment side. A pair of side partition walls 23 are provided. A fuel tank 24 is mounted on the center frame 17 in front of the power unit P, and a riding seat 25 is provided on the upper partition wall 22.

  A steering handle 27 protrudes from the front cover 26 covering the front frame 15 so that a steering operation by the vehicle driver on the riding seat 25 is possible, and a cargo box 28 is tiltably mounted on the rear frame 16. It is done.

  The pair of left and right front wheels WF are rotatably supported by a pair of left and right knuckles 29 and are disposed on both the left and right sides of the front frame 15, and the driving force from the power unit P is transmitted to the front wheels WF. Also, the pair of left and right rear wheels WR are rotatably supported by a pair of left and right knuckles 30 and are disposed on both sides of the rear frame 16, and the driving force from the power unit P is transmitted to these rear wheels WR. .

  In FIG. 2, knuckles 29 that support the front wheels WF are integrally provided with knuckle arms 29a that extend rearward, and tie rods 34 that operate in the longitudinal direction in response to the operation of the steering handle 27. Are connected to the knuckle arms 29a through first ball joints 35.

  One end of an upper arm 31 formed by combining a pair of arm members 31a, 31b in a substantially V shape in plan view, and a pair of arm members 32a, One end of a lower arm 32, which is formed by combining 32b in a substantially V shape in plan view, is supported so as to be swingable up and down, and between the upper arm 31 and the upper portion of the front frame 15. Is provided with a cushion unit 33.

  The other end of the upper arm 32 is connected to the upper part of the knuckle 29 through second ball joints 36. The other end of the lower arm 33 is connected to the knuckle 29 through third ball joints 37. It is connected to the lower part.

  Referring to FIG. 1 again, in a part spaced apart vertically on both sides of the rear frame 16, one end of an upper arm 38... Formed by combining a pair of arm members 38 a and 38 b in a substantially V shape in plan view, The arm members 39a, 39b of the lower arm 39, which are combined in a substantially V shape in plan view, are supported so as to be swingable up and down, and the upper arm 38, Cushion units 40 are provided between the upper portion.

  The other end of the upper arm 38 is connected to the upper part of the knuckle 30 through fourth ball joints 41, and the other end of the lower arm 39 is connected to the knuckle 30 through fifth ball joints 42. It is connected to the lower part.

  3, the first ball joint 35 is constructed according to the present invention, and includes a holder 44 having a bottomed screw hole 43 (see FIG. 2) into which an end of a tie rod 34 is screwed, and the knuckle. 29, a shank 45 fixed to the knuckle arm 29a and swingably connected to the holder 44, and a boot 46 made of an elastic material covering the holder 44 and the connecting portion of the shank 45.

  At the middle part in the longitudinal direction of the shank 45 having the ball part 47 at one end, a tool locking part 48 which can lock a tool such as a spanner with a non-circular cross-sectional shape of the outer periphery such as a hexagonal shape is provided as a locking step part 48a. Are formed integrally at the end of the ball portion 47 so as to project outward in the radial direction, and the tool locking portion 48 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the knuckle arm 29a so as to contact the shank 45. The other end is inserted through the knuckle arm 29a. Thus, the knuckle arm 29a is provided with a tapered insertion hole 51 having a large diameter on the holder 44 side, and on the other end side of the shank 45, there is a tapered shaft portion 49 inserted into the insertion hole 51. The screw shaft portion 50 is provided so as to protrude downward from the knuckle arm 29a and to be coaxially connected to the taper shaft portion 50.

  Thus, while the tool locking portion 48 in a state where a tool such as a spanner is engaged is brought into contact with the upper surface of the knuckle arm 29a, the nut 52 screwed into the screw shaft portion 50 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the knuckle arm 29a. By tightening, the other end of the shank 45 is fixed to the knuckle arm 29a.

  The holder 44 has a ball receiving portion 53 provided with holding holes 54 open at both ends, and the ball portion 47 at one end of the shank 45 has a resin liner 56 in the holding hole 54 of the ball receiving portion 53. Be embrace through. In addition, the ball receiving portion 53 is provided with annular locking portions 53 a and 53 b that engage with both ends of the resin liner 56, respectively. The locking portions 53 a and 53 b allow the resin liner 56 and the holder 44 of the ball portion 47 to be engaged. The withdrawal from is reliably prevented.

  The boot 46 has a large-diameter cylindrical portion 46a on one end side and a small-diameter cylindrical portion 46b on the other end side, and a folded portion 46c that forms an annular valley 57 that faces the tool locking portion 48 side in the middle portion. A large-diameter cylindrical portion 46a that is one end portion of the boot 46 is held by the ball receiving portion 53 of the holder 44, and a small-diameter cylindrical portion 46b that is the other end portion of the boot 46 is a shank. Held at 45.

A portion of the holder 44 facing the knuckle arm 29 a side of the ball receiving portion 53 includes a cylindrical holding cylinder portion 59 that forms one end portion of the holding hole 54 on the knuckle arm 29 a side, and the holding cylinder portion 59. The large-diameter cylindrical portion 46a, which is one end portion of the boot 46, is in contact with the abutting step portion 60. The abutting step portion 60 facing the knuckle arm 29a is provided. It is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the holding cylinder part 59.

  In FIG. 4, a plurality of, for example, two locations spaced apart in the axial direction of the inner circumference of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 46a of the boot 46 are annular projections projecting inward in a natural state where no external force acts on the boot 46. 46d and 46e are integrally protruded, and these annular protrusions 46d and 46e are crushed when the large-diameter cylindrical portion 46a is fitted to the holding cylinder portion 59, and are elastically formed on the outer periphery of the holding cylinder portion 59. It will be in close contact, thereby improving the sealing performance.

A cored bar 58 is embedded in the large-diameter cylindrical part 46a. The cored bar 58 has a cylindrical cored bar main part 58a and a tip part between the annular projecting parts 46d and 46e. A plurality of claw portions 58b... Which are connected to one end of the core metal main portion 58a so as to be exposed on the inner peripheral surface of the diameter cylindrical portion 46a, and the other end portion of the core metal main portion 58a. And a plurality of claw portions 58b are continuously provided at a plurality of locations spaced in the circumferential direction at one end of the core metal main portion 58a. It is formed so as to extend from one end of the cored bar main portion 58a substantially at right angles toward the radially inward side . And the front-end | tip part of each nail | claw part 58b is exposed from the internal peripheral surface of the said large diameter cylindrical part 46a, and is engaging with the outer peripheral surface of the said holding | maintenance cylinder part 59. FIG.

  The small-diameter cylindrical portion 46b, which is the other end portion of the boot 46, is fitted to a portion of the shank 45 near the tool locking portion 48 so as to contact the locking step portion 48a of the tool locking portion 48. In addition, on the outer periphery of the end portion of the tool locking portion 48 on the ball portion 47 side, an eave portion 61 that projects outward in the radial direction so as to be flush with the locking step portion 48 a is integrally provided.

  Moreover, the folded portion 46 c that forms the trough portion 57 is provided at the intermediate portion of the boot 46, but the eaves portion 61 is formed so as to cover the trough portion 57.

  Further, grease 62 is filled between the shank 45 and the holder 44 at the portion covered with the boot 46 and the other end side of the holding hole 54, and a cap 63 that closes the other end of the holding hole 54 is attached to the holder 44. It is done.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The first ball joint 35 provided between the knuckle arm 29a of the knuckle 29 supporting the front wheel WF and the tie rod 34 has a ball receiving portion 53 and is fixed to the tie rod 34. A holder 44, a shank 45 that is fixed to the knuckle arm 29 a and is held by the ball receiving portion 53 at one end and is connected to the holder 44 so as to be able to swing, and one end portion at the holder 44. A large-diameter cylinder, which is an end portion of the boot 46, is provided with a boot 44 made of an elastic material that covers the connecting portion of the holder 44 and the shank 45 so that the other end portion is held by the shank 45. the parts 46a, a cylindrical metal core main portion 58a, the metal core main portion 58 so as to expose the distal end portion on the inner peripheral surface of the large diameter cylindrical portion 46a Metal core 58 having a plurality of claw portions 58b ... and that will be provided continuously in a plurality of locations spaced in the circumferential direction of the end of the are embedded.

  Therefore, the large-diameter cylindrical portion 46a of the boot 46 is firmly held by the holder 44 by exerting a resilience such that the claw portions 58b of the cored bar 58 bite the tip of the claw portion 58b into the holding cylinder portion 59 of the holder 44. It is possible to prevent dust and the like from entering the boot 46 from one end side of the boot 46 more reliably. Moreover, the claw portions 58b of the metal core 58 bite into the holding cylinder portion 59 between a pair of annular protrusions 46d and 46e provided on the inner periphery of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 46a in order to improve the sealing performance. The sealing performance by the annular protrusions 46d and 46e is not impaired by the biting of the claw portions 58b into the holding cylinder portion 59.

  Thus, when the one end portion of the boot 46 is assembled to the holder 44 side, the holding cylinder portion 59 of the holder 44 is a large-diameter circular cylinder of the boot 46 so that the claw portions 58b are bent toward the core metal main portion 58a side. As long as the claw portions 58b are bent, the cored bar 58 bites the tip of the claw portions 58b into the holding cylinder portion 59 of the holder 44. At this time, there is a possibility that the outer surface of the holding cylinder part 59 in the holder 44 is damaged at the tip part of the claw part 58b..., But the annular protrusion 46d of the boot 46 is outside the claw part 58b. Since the ring-shaped protrusion 46d can be brought into close contact with the holding cylinder 59 at a portion that is not displaced by the claw portions 58b, the contact and retention are further improved with a simple configuration. Can do.

  Further, the shank 45 is formed with a locking step portion 48a for contacting and locking the small-diameter cylindrical portion 46b, which is the other end portion of the boot 46, at the end portion on the ball portion 47 side, so that the outer cross-sectional shape is noncircular And the eaves portion 61 projecting outward from the outer periphery of the end of the tool locking portion 48 on the ball portion 47 side.

  Therefore, even if an external force acts on the small diameter cylindrical portion 46b of the boot 46 in the direction of overcoming the tool locking portion 48 and coming off, it is blocked by the eaves portion 61, and the shank 45 of the small diameter cylindrical portion 46b of the boot 46 is moved. The retention property can be improved. Further, the eaves portion 61 exerts a function of positioning the tool along the longitudinal direction of the shank 45 when a tool such as a spanner is engaged with the tool locking portion 48, so that workability is improved.

  Further, a folded portion 46 c that forms a trough portion 57 that opens toward the tool locking portion 48 is provided in the middle portion of the boot 46, but the eaves portion 61 is formed so as to cover the trough portion 57. Therefore, it is possible to prevent dust or the like from accumulating in the valley portion 57 of the folded portion 46 c of the boot 46 by the eaves portion 61 as much as possible.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes can be made without departing from the present invention described in the claims. It is.

It is a side view of a four-wheel buggy car to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a part of boot in the natural state where an external force does not act.

35 ... Ball joint 44 ... Holder 45 ... Shank 46 ... Boots
46a .. Large diameter cylindrical part as one end
46b... Small diameter cylindrical part 46c as the other end part ... Folded part 46d ... Annular projection
46e ... Other annular protrusion 47 ... Ball portion 48 ... Tool locking portion 48a ... Locking step portion 53 ... Ball receiving portion 57 ... Valley portion 58 ... Core metal 58a ... core metal main part 58b ... claw part
59 ... Holding cylinder
60: Contact step 61 ... Eaves

Claims (4)

A holder (44) having a ball receiving part (53) and a ball part (47) held by the ball receiving part (53) at one end are connected to the holder (44) in a swingable manner. The holder (44) and the shank (45) and the one end (46a) are held by the holder (44) and the other end (46b) is held by the shank (45). 45) and a boot (46) made of an elastic material that covers the connecting portion of 45) ,
The holder (45) has a cylindrical holding tube portion (59) for fitting the inner peripheral surface of one end portion (46a) of the boot (46), and an end surface (46a) end surface of the boot (46). In the ball joint provided with the contact step (60) to be contacted ,
One end (46a) of the boot (46) has one end and (46a) a cylindrical metal core main portion which is arranged concentrically with respect to (58a), the one end of the metal core main portion (58a) circumferential core metal having a plurality of claw portions extending respectively are respectively continuously arranged in a plurality of locations spaced radially inward and (58b) together (58) is embedded in Rutotomoni, the core metal The tip of each claw part (58b) of (58) is exposed from the inner peripheral surface of one end (46a) of the boot (46) and is engaged with the outer peripheral surface of the holding cylinder part (59),
The skilled Seddan portion (60) and one end (46a) end face of the boot to contact (46) to said one end of said boot (46) between the tip portion of the claw portion (58b) (46a) in An annular protrusion (46d) that elastically contacts the outer peripheral surface of the holding cylinder part (59 ) is integrally projected on the peripheral surface .   A holder (44) having a ball receiving part (53) and a ball part (47) held by the ball receiving part (53) at one end are connected to the holder (44) in a swingable manner. The connecting portion between the shank (45) and the holder (44) and the shank (45) is configured so that one end is held by the holder (44) and the other end is held by the shank (45). A ball joint including a boot (46) made of an elastic material for covering, the ball portion includes a locking step (48a) for contacting and locking the other end of the boot (46) to the shank (45). (47) A tool locking part (48) formed at the end on the side and having a noncircular outer cross-sectional shape, and an outer periphery of the end of the tool locking part (48) on the ball part (47) side Eaves part (61) projecting outward from Ball joint characterized by Rukoto.   A folded portion (46c) that forms a trough (57) that opens toward the tool locking portion (48) is provided in an intermediate portion of the boot (46), and the eaves portion (61) The ball joint according to claim 2, wherein the ball joint is formed so as to cover the valley portion (57). On the inner peripheral surface of one end (46a) of the boot (46), the holding tube portion (59) has a position where the tip of the claw portion (58b) is sandwiched between the annular protrusion (46d). 2. The ball joint according to claim 1, wherein another annular protrusion (46e) that elastically contacts the outer peripheral surface is integrally provided.

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