JP5122220B2 - Ball joint and its bearing seat - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a bearing seat having a cylindrical bearing seat body that rotatably holds a ball portion of a ball stud, and a ball joint including the same.

Conventionally, for example, a ball joint used for a vehicle suspension system or the like includes a socket that is a substantially cylindrical housing made of metal, a ball stud made of steel inserted through the socket, and a ball portion of the ball stud. A ball seat which is a flexible bearing seat made of a synthetic resin or the like that is rotatably held and is mounted in the socket, and a cylindrical plug that prevents the ball stud and the ball seat from coming off from the socket. It has. In the ball seat, annular groove portions are formed along the circumferential direction on both end faces of the ball seat body, which is a substantially cylindrical bearing seat body, and the inside and outside of the groove portions are ribs. The outer rib is pressed in a state where it is crushed in the axial direction when the plug is assembled to the socket, so that the inner surface of the ball seat body is pressure-bonded to the surface of the ball stud and the friction of the ball stud ball The torque is set to be substantially constant (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-168233 A (page 4-5, FIG. 1)

  However, in the above-described ball joint, for example, when a predetermined load is applied to the ball stud in the axial direction, the ball seat body slightly deforms in the axial direction due to this load and absorbs the load. There is a problem that it is not easy to obtain a load.

  Therefore, although it may be possible to improve the load resistance by attaching a cushion sheet that absorbs the load by flexibly deforming it with respect to the axial load, this ball joint depends only on the characteristics of the cushion sheet. Since the load resistance is set, there is still a problem that it is not easy to obtain a sufficient load resistance.

  This invention is made in view of such a point, and it aims at providing the bearing seat which can improve the load resistance of an axial direction, and a ball joint provided with the same.

The bearing seat according to claim 1, wherein the bearing seat is attached to the inner chamber of the housing having an inner chamber and an opening communicating with the inner chamber, and one end of the bearing seat is supported by the opening in the axial direction from the ball stud. A cylindrical cushion seat that is disposed adjacent to the axial direction with respect to a cylindrical cushion seat that absorbs at least a part of the load by flexible deformation in the axial direction, and rotatably holds the ball portion of the ball stud. The bearing seat body protrudes inward from the outer periphery of the bearing seat body through a spacing portion formed on the outer periphery of the bearing seat body at the end of the bearing seat body , The cushion seat is moved in the axial direction by contacting an inner position from the position supported by the opening of the housing on one end side in the axial direction. It is obtained by including a flexible deformable rib-like protrusion that lifting.

  The bearing sheet according to claim 2 is the bearing sheet according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of protrusions are provided at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the bearing sheet body.

Ball joint according to claim 3 comprises a housing having an opening communicating with the inner chamber and the inner chamber, the bearing seat of Installing Tagged claim 1 or 2, wherein the interior of the housing, the bearing seat of a ball stud having a ball portion pivotally held to the bearing seat body, with one end side is supported in the opening of the housing, the supporting position to the opening of the housing of the one end And a cylindrical cushion seat that is in contact with the protruding portion of the bearing seat and absorbs at least part of the axial load from the ball stud by flexible deformation in the axial direction. It is.

According to the bearing seat of claim 1, the rib-like projecting portion projecting to the position spaced inward from the outer periphery of the bearing seat body at the end portion of the bearing seat body is disposed at one end side in the axial direction of the cushion seat. This cushion sheet is supported in the axial direction by being brought into contact with a position that is inward of the position supported by the opening of the housing, so that the cushion sheet with one end supported by the opening of the housing is absorbed by the flexible deformation. Since the axial load that cannot be fully absorbed can be absorbed by the flexible deformation of the protruding portion and can be received by the bearing seat body through the protruding portion, the axial load resistance can be improved.

  According to the bearing seat of claim 2, in addition to the effect of the bearing seat of claim 1, by providing a plurality of protrusions at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the bearing seat body, the axial load is provided by each protrusion. Can be received substantially evenly by the bearing seat body, and the load resistance in the axial direction can be further improved.

  According to the ball joint of the third aspect, the load resistance in the axial direction can be improved by providing the bearing seat of the first or second aspect.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of a bearing seat according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 11 denotes a ball joint. The ball joint 11 is also called a ball bush. The socket 12 is a substantially cylindrical housing made of metal or the like, and is made of steel inserted into the socket 12 or the like. Ball stud 13, cushion seat 14 attached to socket 12, ball seat 15 as a bearing seat, first dust cover 16 and second dust cover 17 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape by rubber or soft synthetic resin. And.

  The socket 12 is formed by casting or forging, for example, a member such as aluminum, and then cutting and forming, and a sheet fitting portion 21 that is a space having a circular cross section as an inner chamber is provided inside. Further, the cushion seat 14 communicates with the seat fitting portion 21 in the direction along the center axis O of the socket 12 indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 3, that is, on one end portion in the axial direction, in other words, on the upper side in FIG. A first opening 22 is formed as an opening to which is attached, and a second opening 23 communicating with the seat fitting portion 21 is formed at the other end in the axial direction, in other words, the lower side in FIG. An opening is formed.

  Hereinafter, for convenience, the vertical direction will be described as corresponding to the vertical direction in FIGS.

  The opening direction of the first opening 22 is provided along the axial direction of the socket 12. Further, the first opening 22 includes a holding step portion 24 that is a holding portion for holding the lower end side of the cushion seat 14 at an inner edge portion communicating with the seat fitting portion 21. The holding step portion 24 is provided in a circular shape along the radial direction of the socket 12 and over the entire circumference of the socket 12. Further, a cylindrical caulking deformation portion 27 coaxial with the socket 12 is formed at the upper end portion of the socket 12 which is the peripheral portion of the first opening 22. The caulking deformed portion 27 is caulked inwardly (in the direction of the central axis), so that the cushion sheet 14 is sandwiched between the holding step portion 24 and locked.

  The second opening 23 is gradually expanded in diameter toward the opposite side of the socket 12 in the axial direction of the socket 12. In addition, a cylindrical cover set portion 28 to which the upper end side of the second dust cover 17 is fitted is formed in a stepped shape on the lower outer peripheral surface, which is the peripheral portion of the second opening 23. .

  The ball stud 13 includes a ball portion 31 that is a spherical head, and a substantially cylindrical first stud portion 33 and a second stud portion that are shaft portions that protrude from the ball portion 31 in the vertical direction opposite to each other. 34 are projected.

  The ball portion 31 is formed larger in diameter than the stud portions 33 and 34, and is held in the ball seat 15 so as to be slidable (rotatable), together with the ball seat 15 in the seat fitting portion 21 of the socket 12. Is held in. Further, each stud portion 33, 34 is formed so that the central axis is positioned on a straight line passing through the center of the ball portion 31.

  The first stud portion 33 is inserted into the cushion sheet 14 and protrudes above the socket 12. Further, a first dust cover groove portion 35 into which the upper end side of the first dust cover 16 is fitted is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the first stud portion 33, that is, the upper end side opposite to the ball portion 31. Is provided.

  On the other hand, the second stud portion 34 is formed in a shape substantially equal to the first stud portion 33, and projects downward from the second opening 23 of the socket 12 to the socket 12. That is, the second stud portion 34 has an outer diameter dimension substantially equal to that of the first stud portion 33, and the lower end of the second dust cover 17 is arranged on the outer peripheral surface on the tip end side, that is, on the lower end side opposite to the ball portion 31. A second dust cover groove portion 41 to which the side is fitted is provided.

  The cushion sheet 14 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape by a synthetic resin such as polyurethane, polyester, or rubber having elasticity, and receives at least a part of an axial load applied from the outside to the ball stud 13 and flexibly deforms in the axial direction. Thus, this load is absorbed. Further, the cushion sheet 14 is formed with a cylindrical surface cover set portion 42 into which the lower end side of the first dust cover 16 is fitted, in a stepped shape on the outer peripheral surface on the upper end side. The cover set portion 42 corresponds to the cover set portion 28, and is formed to have a diameter substantially equal to that of the cover set portion 28. Further, a protrusion holding portion 43 protruding in the radial direction is formed at the lower end portion of the cushion sheet 14, and the lower end side of the protrusion holding portion 43 is a plane along a direction intersecting (orthogonal) with respect to the axial direction. The contact surface portion 44 is a shape-shaped contact portion. The contact surface portion 44 is supported at the outer peripheral edge portion by the holding step portion 24 of the socket 12, and the inner peripheral side protrudes inward from the inner wall of the seat fitting portion 21, and the base end portion of the first stud portion 33 ( It extends to the vicinity of the lower end.

  The protruding holding portion 43 is a portion that is held between the holding step portion 24 by the caulking deformable portion 27, and the upper side surface gradually decreases from the inside to the outside so that the thickness decreases in the radial direction. It is inclined downward.

  The ball seat 15 is formed of a synthetic resin such as polyacetal having rigidity and elasticity, and is held in the seat fitting portion 21 of the socket 12 adjacent to the cushion seat 14 in the axial direction. Further, the ball sheet 15 includes a ball seat body 45 as a bearing seat body which is a substantially cylindrical body portion, and a notch groove portion 46 which is a separation portion formed on the outer peripheral surface on the upper end side of the ball sheet body 45. Further, a rib portion 47 is provided as a projecting portion as a projecting portion that can be flexibly deformed and projects upward from the upper end portion of the ball seat main body 45, that is, toward the cushion seat 14.

  The ball seat main body 45 has a first opening 48 that is communicated with the first opening 22 of the socket 12 and through which the first stud 33 of the ball stud 13 is inserted. The second stud portion 34 of the ball stud 13 communicated with the portion 23 is inserted, and a second opening 49 is formed at the lower end. Furthermore, a holding surface 51 is formed in the ball seat body 45 to hold the outer peripheral surface of the ball portion 31 so as to be slidable (turnable). Between the holding surface 51 and the outer peripheral surface of the ball portion 31 of the ball stud 13, grease (not shown) as a lubricant is held.

  The notch groove portion 46 is formed over the entire outer peripheral surface of the upper end portion of the ball seat body 45, and is separated from the inner peripheral surface of the lower portion of the holding step portion 24 that is the upper end side of the seat fitting portion 21. It faces the inner peripheral surface. Therefore, a space 53 is formed between the notch groove 46 and the inner peripheral surface of the sheet fitting portion 21.

  A plurality of, for example, eight rib portions 47 are provided in the circumferential direction of the ball seat body 45 so as to be spaced apart from each other at substantially equal intervals. That is, the rib portions 47 are provided at positions that are substantially equiangular with each other in plan view with respect to the central axis of the ball seat body 45, that is, at positions corresponding to the apexes of the regular octagon. However, the recesses 55 are upper end surfaces of the ball seat body 45, respectively. The rib portions 47 are formed in a longitudinal shape along the circumferential direction of the ball seat body 45. Furthermore, the leading end side (upper end side) of these rib portions 47 is in contact with the abutting surface portion 44 of the cushion seat 14 at the edge on the inner peripheral side substantially vertically, that is, along the radial direction of the ball seat body 45 The cushion sheet 14 is supported in the axial direction.

  The dust covers 16 and 17 are also called dust seals or boots. The first dust cover 16 has an upper end fitted into the first dust cover groove 35 of the first stud portion 33 and a lower end fitted into the cover set portion 42 of the cushion sheet 14, and the lower end side is an annular first. One clip 54 is locked to the cover set portion 42. Further, the second dust cover 17 is provided in a shape substantially equal to the first dust cover 16. That is, the second dust cover 17 has a lower end fitted into the second dust cover groove 41 of the second stud portion 34, and an upper end fitted into the cover set portion 28 of the socket 12, and the upper end is annular. The second clip 57 is locked to the cover set portion 28.

  Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

  First, the ball portion 31 of the ball stud 13 is rotatably held by the holding surface 51 of the ball seat body 45 of the ball seat 15, and the ball stud 13 and the ball seat 15 are inserted into the seat fitting portion 21 of the socket 12. To do.

  Next, the caulking deformation portion 27 is caulked and deformed in the direction of the central axis with a predetermined caulking machine or the like with the outer peripheral edge portion of the contact surface portion 44 of the cushion sheet 14 placed on the holding step portion 24 of the socket 12. Thus, the cushion sheet 14 is held in the first opening 22 of the socket 12, and the rib portion 47 abuts against the abutment surface portion 44 of the cushion sheet 14, so that the ball seat 15 is pressed from above and the seat fitting portion Secured to 21.

  Thereafter, the dust covers 16 and 17 are attached to cover the openings 22 and 23, and the ball joint 11 is assembled.

  When a load is applied to the first stud portion 33 of the ball joint 11 perpendicular to the axial direction, the cushion sheet 14 is first flexibly deformed in the axial direction, and at least a part of the axial load is absorbed by this deformation. .

  Further, the axial load that cannot be absorbed by the axial deformation of the cushion sheet 14 is absorbed by the flexible deformation of the rib portion 47 that contacts the contact surface portion 44 on the lower end side of the cushion sheet 14, and is also dispersed by the rib portion 47. While being received by the ball sheet 15, it is absorbed.

  Thus, according to the above-described embodiment, by supporting the cushion seat 14 in the axial direction by bringing the rib portion 47 protruding from the ball seat body 45 into contact with one end in the axial direction of the cushion seat 14, Since the axial load that cannot be absorbed by the flexible deformation of the cushion sheet 14 can be absorbed by the flexible deformation of the rib portion 47 and can be received by the ball seat body 45 through the rib portion 47, for example, the ball sheet 15 That is, the load capacity in the axial direction can be improved without increasing the size of the ball joint 11 more than necessary or changing the material of the cushion sheet 14.

  That is, when the so-called two-piece ball joint 11 having the cushion sheet 14 and the ball sheet 15 is used, only the ball sheet is absorbed by absorbing the axial load by the flexibility (elasticity) of the cushion sheet 14. Although the load resistance in the axial direction can be improved as compared with the so-called one-piece type ball joint, the cushion seat 14 can be used even if such a two-piece type ball joint has an excessive axial load. In some cases, a part of the axial load cannot be absorbed by only the flexible deformation. Therefore, as described above, by providing the rib portion 47 on the ball seat 15 and supporting the cushion seat 14 in the axial direction, the load resistance in the axial direction can be increased while utilizing the configuration of the two-piece ball joint 11. It becomes possible to improve further.

  Also, by providing a plurality of rib portions 47 at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the ball seat body 45, the axial load can be received by the ball seat body 45 substantially uniformly by each rib portion 47, and the axial load resistance Can be improved.

  Furthermore, by providing the rib-shaped rib portion 47 as the protruding portion that supports the cushion sheet 14 in the axial direction, even when an axial load is applied, the rib portion 47 can be reliably attached to the contact surface portion 44 of the cushion sheet 14. Contact can distribute the axial load at multiple points and support it reliably.

  The holding step 24 supports the outer edge of the abutting surface 44 of the cushion sheet 14 and the rib 47 supports the inner edge of the abutting surface 44 of the cushion sheet 14. The ball seat 15 side of the cushion seat 14 can be reliably and well supported by the holding step portion 24 and the rib portion 47.

  In the above-described embodiment, the ball stud 13 may have only one of the stud portions 33 and 34, or may not have any of the stud portions 33 and 34.

  Further, an arbitrary number of ribs 47 can be provided as long as the axial load of the cushion sheet 14 can be supported.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the bearing seat of one embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows a bearing seat same as the above. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the ball joint provided with the bearing seat same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

11 Ball joint
12 Socket which is a housing
13 Ball stud
14 Cushion seat
15 Ball seat as a bearing seat
21 Seat fitting part as inner room
22 First opening as opening
31 Ball
45 Ball seat body as bearing seat body
46 Notch groove that is a separation part
47 Ribs that are protrusions

Claims (3)

A bearing seat attached to the inner chamber of the housing having an inner chamber and an opening communicating with the inner chamber,
The ball is disposed adjacent to the axial direction with respect to a cylindrical cushion seat that is supported at one end by the opening and absorbs at least a part of the axial load from the ball stud by flexible deformation in the axial direction. A cylindrical bearing seat body that rotatably holds the ball portion of the stud,
One end side in the axial direction of the cushion seat projects at a position spaced inward from the outer periphery of the bearing seat body through a spacing portion formed on the outer periphery of the bearing seat body at the end of the bearing seat body. And a rib-shaped projecting portion that can be deformed flexibly to support the cushion seat in the axial direction by contacting an inner position with respect to the position supported by the opening of the housing. Sheet. The bearing sheet according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of protrusions are provided at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the bearing sheet body. A housing having an inner chamber and an opening communicating with the inner chamber;
The bearing seat according to claim 1 or 2, attached to the inner chamber of the housing;
A ball stud having a ball portion rotatably held on the bearing seat body of the bearing seat;
One end side is supported by the opening of the housing, and an inner position of the one end side than the position supported by the opening of the housing is in contact with the protruding portion of the bearing seat, and the shaft from the ball stud is A ball joint comprising: a cylindrical cushion seat that absorbs at least a part of a directional load by flexible deformation in an axial direction.

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