JPH0557427U - Ball joint - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Corrected) [Constitution] The leaf spring 12 is placed at an appropriate position on the cylindrical portion 3 of the bearing 2.
Is integrally formed, the leaf spring 12 is provided with a convex portion 13 that projects in the outer diameter direction, and the concave portion 11 that engages with the convex portion 13 is provided at an appropriate position on the inner peripheral surface of the housing 4. 13 and the recess 11 are engaged. [Effect] Since the number of components and the assembling process can be reduced, and since it is not necessary to form the flange portion and the annular groove for fixing the bearing in the housing, the housing can be made thicker than necessary and can be made lightweight, and It is not necessary to control the dimensions with high accuracy, the processing of the component parts can be facilitated, and the manufacturing cost of the ball joint can be reduced.
Also, by utilizing the elastic restoring property of the integrally formed leaf spring,
Since the effect of assembling and fixing can be obtained only by inserting the bearing into the housing, it is possible to provide a ball joint which is easy to assemble and therefore excellent in productivity.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial application]

 The present invention relates to a ball joint used for a suspension system and a steering system of a vehicle.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 In a ball joint, in order to swing the ball stud, the ball head of the ball stud is held by the housing through a bearing, and, for example, the ball stud is provided with handle parts at both ends of the ball head. Many of them, such as those disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-173520, are known to have the handle protruding from the opening of the cylindrical housing.

A ball joint of this type is shown in FIG. 7, and will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Reference numeral 101 denotes a ball joint, which is a ball head 107 of the ball stud 106 in which a ball stud 106 having shaft portions 108 and 108 coaxial with both ends of the ball head 107 and a resin bearing 102 are fitted. And a housing 104 for gripping.

The housing 104 has a cylindrical shape, and an annular groove 128 is provided in the vicinity of the opening 117b at one end, and an annular flange 127 is provided in the inner periphery of the opening 117a in the other end. A C ring 129 is fitted in the annular groove 128, and the flange 102 and the C ring 129 regulate the bearing 102 so that it cannot move.

Reference numeral 105 denotes a dust cover made of an elastic material that prevents foreign matter such as water from entering the housing 104, and the body portion expands and contracts to follow the swing of the ball stud 106. ..

[0007]

However, in the above structure, in order to regulate the movement of the bearing 102, the flange 127 of the housing 104 and the annular groove 128 are dimensioned in the axial direction and the bearing 102. Since it is necessary to control the axial length of the ball joint with high accuracy, there is a problem that the processing cost increases and the manufacturing cost of the ball joint 101 increases.

Further, since the flange portion 127 and the annular groove 128 are formed, the housing 104 is thicker than necessary, which causes a problem that the weight of the ball joint 101 becomes heavy. Furthermore, since the C ring 129 for fixing the bearing 102 is required, the number of components increases, and the assembly process increases, resulting in a loss of productivity.

The present invention relates to a fixing structure for restricting the movement of a bearing, and the structure is simplified without impairing the original function, and the purpose is achieved by the mechanical means of the components themselves. It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball joint with which the effect can be easily obtained.

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The present invention has the following configuration.

1. A leaf spring is integrally formed at an appropriate position on the cylindrical portion of the bearing, and the leaf spring is provided with a convex portion projecting in the outer diameter direction, and a concave portion engaging with the convex portion is provided at an appropriate position on the inner peripheral surface of the housing. The projection and the recess are engaged with each other.

2. The leaf spring of the bearing is provided with an elastic protrusion protruding in the inner diameter direction, and is assembled so that the tip of the elastic protrusion is crushed by the ball head.

[0013]

【Example】

 An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a ball joint, which is a ball stud 6 of a gold attribute having coaxial shaft portions 8 at both ends of a ball head 7 and a ball stud 6 to which a resin bearing 2 is fitted. It has a metallic housing 4 for holding the head portion 7, and dust covers 5, 5 for shielding foreign matters such as water from entering the housing 4 by shielding the openings 17, 17 of the housing 4.

The ball stud 6 has a hollow shape with a through hole 9 formed in its axial center, and its stalks 8 and 8 project from the openings 17 and 17 of the cylindrical housing 4, and the ball head 7 thereof. Is surrounded by a bearing 2 and is swingably and rotatably supported in a housing 4.

The resin bearing 2 has a substantially cylindrical outer shape, and has an inner spherical surface 19 having substantially the same curvature as the outer spherical surface 18 of the ball head 7 of the ball stud 6 on the inner peripheral surface thereof. A leaf spring 12 is integrally formed in an appropriate position of the cylindrical portion 3 of the bearing 2 in the axial direction of the cylindrical portion 3, and the leaf spring 12 is provided with a convex portion 13 protruding in the outer diameter direction. The housing 4 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a concave portion 11 to be engaged with the bearing 2 convex portion 13 is provided at an appropriate position on the inner peripheral surface 10 thereof. The shape of the concave portion 11 may be either a concave shape having substantially the same shape as the convex portion 13 to be engaged, or a band groove shape extending in the radial direction with the same width as the convex portion 13. The leaf spring 12 is preferably provided such that the wall thickness thereof is slightly thinner on the inner diameter side than the wall thickness of the cylindrical portion 3 of the bearing 2 at the same position. Therefore, as shown in FIG. When assembled, there is a gap 15 between the ball head 7 and the leaf spring 12. By engaging the convex portion 13 and the concave portion 11, the bearing 2 is mounted on the housing 4 so as not to move in the axial direction.

Further, the leaf spring 12 of the bearing 2 is provided with an elastic projection 14 protruding in the inner diameter direction, and the tip of the elastic projection 14 is crushed by the ball head 7 of the ball stud 6 to be assembled. Attached.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of slits 30 extending in the axial direction are formed at appropriate positions of the cylindrical portion 3 of the bearing 2, and the slits 30 are alternately provided at both ends of the cylindrical portion 3. It is open. The slit 30 is provided for the purpose of expanding the diameter of the bearing 2 and assembling it to the ball stud 6. As an embodiment of the present invention, the material of the bearing 2 is not limited to resin, but hard urethane rubber or the like can be used. In that case, the material of the hard urethane rubber itself has the elasticity required for assembly. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide such a slit 30.

Reference numerals 5 and 5 are dust covers made of an elastic material that prevent foreign matter such as water from entering the housing 4. The dust covers 5 and 5 have their large openings fitted into and fixed to the openings 17 and 17 of the housing, and the small openings are swingably and rotatably attached to the shafts 8 and 8 of the ball stud 6. 4 and the stalks 8 of the ball stud 6 are interposed.

In the ball joint 1 having the above structure, it is not necessary to form the flange portion for fixing the bearing 2 or the annular groove in the housing 4. Therefore, it is not necessary to control the dimensions of the housing 4 with high precision, and the processing cost does not increase. Further, the housing 4 does not become thicker than necessary, and there is no problem that the weight of the ball joint 1 becomes heavy.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing the ball joint 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

The ball stud 6 having the bearing 2 as shown in FIG. 1 fitted on the ball head 7 is fitted into the housing 4 as shown in FIG. 2 and pressed downward.

The bearing 2 is formed integrally with the cylindrical portion 3 because the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 3 is set to be slightly larger than or equal to the outer diameter of the housing 4 so as to be fitted in the housing 4. The outer diameter of the bearing 2 at the position of the convex portion 13 provided on the flat spring 12 so as to project in the outer diameter direction is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the housing 4. Therefore, with the progress of the insertion by the above-mentioned pressing, as shown in FIG. 5 by enlarging the A portion of FIG. 2, the convex portion 13 is pressed in the inner diameter direction while contacting the inner peripheral surface 10 of the housing 4. Be done. At that time, the leaf spring 12 provided with the convex portion 13 is continuously fitted while being bent in the inner diameter direction by the above-mentioned pressing in the inner diameter direction.

When the convex portion 13 of the bearing 2 is fitted into a predetermined position, that is, the position of the concave portion 11 provided on the inner peripheral surface 10 of the housing 4, the inner peripheral surface 10 of the housing 4 allows the inner peripheral direction The convex portion 13 that has received the pressing force is urged in the outer diameter direction by the elastic restoring force of the leaf spring 12 and fitted into the concave portion 11, so that the convex portion 13 and the concave portion 11 are engaged with each other. The bearing 2 fitted in the housing 4 in this manner is assembled so as not to move relative to each other with a desired tightening margin and by the concave and convex engagement as described above.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the elastic projection 14 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the leaf spring 12 is assembled so that the tip end thereof is crushed by the ball head 7 of the ball stud 6. Since the elastic projection 14 applies an elastic preload to the ball head 7 in the inner diameter direction, rattling of the bearing is prevented.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the dust cover 5 is attached to the assembly of the ball stud 6 and the housing 4 to complete the ball joint 1.

The leaf spring 12 is not limited to the structure of the above-described embodiment, but may be integrally provided in the radial direction, for example. Further, the structure of the present invention may be adopted in a ball joint having a handle portion at one end of the ball head, in which case the housing is a cup shape having only one end open. Further, the shape of the housing may be integral with the arm for connection with other members other than the embodiment of the present invention.

[0028]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, the outwardly projecting convex portion provided on the leaf spring integrally formed with the bearing cylindrical portion and the concave portion provided on the inner peripheral surface of the housing are formed into a concave convex engagement. Since the bearing is mounted immovably with respect to the housing, there is no need for a separate component such as a C-ring for fixing the bearing, which can reduce the number of component parts and the assembly process, as well as fixing the bearing to the housing. Since it is not necessary to form the flange part and annular groove of the housing, the housing can be made thicker than necessary and can be made lightweight, and it is not necessary to manage the dimensions with high accuracy, and the processing of the component parts is facilitated. The manufacturing cost of the ball joint can be reduced. In addition, since the elastic recovery of the integrally formed leaf spring is used, the effect of assembly and fixing can be obtained only by inserting the bearing into the housing, so that the ball joint is easy to assemble and therefore excellent in productivity. Can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a molding process of a ball joint according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a bearing is assembled to a ball stud.

2 is a sectional plan view showing a molding process of a ball joint according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the assembly shown in FIG. 1 is fitted into a housing.

FIG. 3 is a sectional plan view showing a ball joint according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a bearing according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 2. FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of part B in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a conventional ball joint.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ball Joint 2 Bearing 3 Cylindrical Part 4 Housing 5 Dust Cover 6 Ball Stud 7 Ball Head 8 Handle 10 Housing Inner Surface 11 Recessed 12 Leaf Spring 13 Convex 14 Elastic Protrusion 17 Housing Opening

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A ball stud (6) having a handle (8) on at least one end of a ball head (7) and the ball stud (6) fitted with a resin bearing (2).
In a ball joint (1) having a cylindrical or cup-shaped housing (4) for holding the ball head (7) of the above, and a dust cover (5) for shielding the opening (17) of the housing (4). A leaf spring (12) is integrally formed at an appropriate position of the cylindrical portion (3) of the bearing (2), and the leaf spring (12) is provided with a convex portion (13) protruding in an outer radial direction, A recess (11) that engages with the protrusion (13) is provided at an appropriate position on the inner peripheral surface (10) of the housing (4), and the protrusion (13) and the recess (11).
A ball joint characterized by being engaged with. 2. Leaf spring (12) for the bearing (2)
Is provided with an elastic protrusion (14) protruding in the inner diameter direction, and is assembled so that the tip of the elastic protrusion (14) is crushed by the ball head (7) of the ball stud (6). The ball joint according to claim 1, wherein: