JPH0610195Y2 - Ball seat of ball joint - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Industrial Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ball seat of a ball joint.

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a ball joint including a socket A, a ball seat B fitted in the socket, and a ball stud C having a ball portion fitted and held in the ball seat is Widely used from the past.

In such a ball joint, the ball seat B
In this case, the ball portion C'of the ball stud C is press-fitted from the opening of the ball seat B and then the ball seat B is fitted into the socket A, and the plate D Since the peripheral end surface of the opening of the ball seat B is fixed by crimping through or directly, when the ball portion C ′ of the ball stud C is pushed in from the opening of the ball seat B, the pushing operation is performed. It is necessary to provide a plurality of slits B ′ on the opening side edge of the ball sheet B so that the opening of the ball sheet B can be expanded and elastically deformed by pressure.

The problem to be solved by the invention is that the conventional ball seat in which a plurality of slits (usually about 4 to 6 slits) are evenly provided along the entire circumference on the edge portion on the opening side as described above is in an assembled state. In the above, since the preload of the ball seat B escapes into the slit B ′, the holding force of the ball portion of the ball stud is weak, and especially the rigidity of the ball stud with respect to the load in the pulling direction is low,
There is a problem that friction and rattling accompanying it tend to occur.

The present invention is mainly aimed at addressing the above-mentioned conventional problems.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention is directed to a ball seat in which a plurality of slits for press-fitting the ball portion of the ball stud are formed at the edge portion of the opening on the ball portion press-fitting side as described above. A slit filling portion which is elastically deformed by the subsequent fitting of the ball seat into the socket and is fitted into the slit to fill the slit is formed integrally with the ball seat.

Action As described above, when the ball joint is assembled, the slits are filled without gaps in the slit filling portion, and the ball portion of the ball stud is almost completely held by the ball seat. The strength of the ball stud is significantly improved, and the supporting rigidity of the ball stud against the load in the pulling direction is significantly improved, and the durability of the ball seat can be significantly improved.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 (a), (b) and (c) show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a ball seat integrally formed of synthetic resin, and the ball seat 1 has an internal structure. Has a fitting portion 2 having a substantially spherical concave surface for fitting and embracing the ball portion of the ball stud, and at one end of the fitting portion 2, an opening 3 for allowing the swing of the ball stud is formed. The surface 4 is formed into a substantially cylindrical surface so that it can be fitted into a socket having a substantially cylindrical shape.

Further, a plurality of slits 5 (four in the illustrated embodiment) are formed from the opening of the ball seat 1 to the vicinity of the central portion in the axial direction, and when the ball portion of the ball stud is press-fitted from the opening 3, the slit 5 is divided. The peripheral side wall portion of the ball seat 1 around the opening 3 is elastically deformed outward by the pressing force of the ball portion to expand the diameter of the opening 3.
The ball portion can be fitted into the fitting portion 2, and when the ball portion is fitted into the fitting portion 2, the peripheral side wall portion at the peripheral edge of the opening portion 3 returns to the ball by the elastic restoring force of itself. It is configured to hold the part.

In the slit 5 portion, a slit filling portion 6 having a cross section that substantially matches the cross sectional shape of the slit 5 is provided.
1 is integrally formed in a state of being integrally connected to the bottom of the slit filling portion 6 in the natural state after molding so that the upper end portion of the slit filling portion 6 projects outwardly from the outer peripheral surface 4 of the ball seat 1 as shown in FIG. The state in which it is bent back is maintained, and when the ball portion of the ball stud is press-fitted, the slit filling portion is hardly affected or is slightly deformed outward by the ball portion.

The side edge 5A of the slit 5 and the side surface 6A of the slit filling portion 6 are tapered as shown in the first drawing, and the cross-sectional shapes of the slit 5 and the slit filling portion 6 are formed into a shape close to a trapezoid that is closed toward the center. I am configuring.

The inner surface of the slit filling portion 6 is the fitting portion 2 of the ball seat 1.
It has the same spherical concave surface as the spherical concave surface.

When the ball portion of the ball stud is press-fitted into the ball seat 1 configured as described above from the opening 3 and the ball seat 1 is fitted and assembled in the socket, the ball seat 1 projects outward from the outer peripheral surface 4 of the ball seat 1. The slit filling portion 6 is pushed by the inner peripheral surface of the socket and elastically deforms inward so that the slit 5 is completely filled without a gap.
The inner surface of is substantially integrated with the spherical concave surface of the fitting portion 2 of the ball seat 1 and comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ball portion with a predetermined pressure, so that the ball portion is fitted and held with almost no gap.

By setting the cross-sectional shape of the slit 5 and the slit filling portion 6 to be a trapezoidal shape that is closed in the central direction, the slit filling portion 6 can be smoothly fitted into the slit 5 when the ball seat 1 is press-fitted into the socket. At the same time, the slit filling portion 6 can be filled in the slit 5 without a gap.

In this way, the ball seat 1 is press-fitted into the socket, and then the peripheral edge surface of the opening 3 of the ball seat 1 is fixed by the edge caulking of the socket A through the plate D as in the conventional structure illustrated in FIG. Or fix plate or plate D
Without this, the peripheral edge surface of the opening 3 is pressed and fixed directly by caulking the edge of the socket.

In the above description, the socket and the ball stud are the same as the conventional ones, and therefore illustration and detailed description thereof are omitted.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the slit filling portion 6 is integrally connected at the bottom of the slit 5, whereas in FIG. Shows an example in which the slit filling portion 6 is integrally connected at one side edge of the slit 5, and the other structure is the same as that of FIG. 1 and has substantially the same function as that of FIG. To fulfill.

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of slits are formed in the end portion of the ball seat on the press-fitting side of the ball seat in order to enable press-fitting of the ball portion of the ball stud. By fitting the ball seat after the ball part is fitted into the socket, the slit filling part that elastically deforms inward and enters the slit to fill the slit is integrally formed in the ball seat. The ball seat is in a state in which the ball portion of the ball stud is fitted and held almost completely without a gap, and the supporting rigidity for the load in the pulling direction of the ball stud is greatly improved compared to the conventional one, and friction and the accompanying The conventional problem of rattling is almost completely eliminated, and the durability of this type of ball joint can be significantly improved. Combined with good shape and almost no increase in cost, it can bring about a great effect in practical use.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 (a), (b) and (c) are a plan view, a vertical side view and a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the embodiment of FIG. 2 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view showing a conventional ball joint structure to which the present invention is applied. 1 ... ball seat, 3 ... opening, 5 ... slit,
6 ... Slit filling section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A ball portion press-fitting side opening of the ball seat, comprising: a socket, a ball seat fitted into the socket, and a ball stud having a ball portion fitted and held in the ball seat. In a ball joint in which a plurality of slits are formed at the edge portion to enable press fitting of a ball stud, the ball seat is fitted to the socket after the ball portion is fitted and elastically deformed to fill the slit. A ball seat of a ball joint, wherein the slit filling portion is formed integrally with the ball seat.