JPH0667918U - Ball joint structure - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] The present invention relates to an improvement of a ball joint used for a steering linkage of an automobile, etc., and a wobbling and sliding torque value after assembly is made substantially constant, and a wobbling and sliding of a ball stud is smoothed as a whole. The purpose is to be able to. A ball stud sways the ball portion of a ball stud into a housing portion of a socket having a housing portion capable of housing a majority of a spherical body and an annular wall that circulates around the inner circumference of an opening neck portion of the housing portion. It is inserted so that it can be moved and the accommodated portion of the ball portion is covered with a ball seat so as not to come into direct contact with the inner wall of the accommodating portion. In a ball joint that fixes an annular plate having an outer circumference to be fitted to a socket in a state where the annular plate presses a ball portion and a ball seat, a thread groove that meshes with the annular wall and the outer circumference of the annular plate is formed, Female screw wall 11 and male screw plate 1 respectively
2, the annular plate is fixed to the socket while the male screw plate 12 is screwed into the female screw wall 11.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an improvement of a ball joint (swayable and slidable coupling element) used in, for example, a steering linkage (a steering connection mechanism) of an automobile.

The conventional ball joint has a drawback that there is a large variation in the value of the rocking sliding torque of the ball stud (rocking slidable rod).

[0003]

[Prior art]

 FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the structure of a conventional ball joint. By the way, as disclosed examples of the structure of a conventional ball joint, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 50-22205, Japanese Patent Publication No. 49-10780, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-123267, and Japanese Patent Application No. 3-78367 are disclosed. is there.

In the figure, 1 is a socket, 2 is a ball stud, 3 is its ball portion, 4 is a ball seat (ball receiving thin plate), and 5 is a boot (dustproof cover). As shown in the drawing, the accommodating portion of the socket 1 is filled with the ball portion 3 and the ball seat 4.

Focusing on the opening neck portion of the accommodating portion, 6 is an annular wall, 7 is an annular plate, 8 is an outer periphery thereof that is loosely fitted to the annular wall 6, and 9 is an end of the annular wall. In the figure, since the boot 5 is made of a flexible material such as rubber, the ball stud 2 is capable of tilting (swinging) and rotating (sliding) over a wide range around the ball portion 3, so-called rocking. It is slidable.

Further, the resin ball seat 4 surrounding the ball portion 3 in the accommodating portion functions as if it were a bearing for the ball portion 3. Further, since the annular plate 7 is fixed to the socket 1 in a state of pressing the ball portion 3 and the ball seat 4, the ball portion 3 does not come out of the housing portion, and the above-described overall structure serves as a ball joint. Plays the role of.

[0007]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the conventional ball joint, when assembling this, the ball stud 2 stands upright on the socket 1 along the annular wall 6 where the outer periphery 8 of the annular plate 7 fits gently. Since it is pushed into a uniform depth in parallel with the axial direction of, for example, to the end 9 of the annular wall, it is fixed to the socket 1 by means of "caulking" or the like. Due to the variation in dimensions, there was a problem that the variation range of the oscillating sliding torque value of the ball stud after assembly was very large.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, to make the rocking sliding torque value after assembly almost constant, and thus to reduce the ball stud overall without the possibility of impairing the maneuverability. The point is to provide a structure of a ball joint that can make a smooth sliding motion.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the principle structure of the present invention. In the figure, only the portion directly related to the present invention will be described. 11 is a female screw wall formed by forming a thread groove on an annular wall, and 12 is formed by forming a thread groove on the outer periphery of an annular plate. It is a male screw plate. The names of parts and portions corresponding to the other numbers are exactly the same as those in FIG. 4 showing the structure of the prior art.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has the following structure as shown in FIG. That is, the ball stud is fitted with a ball portion of the ball stud in the accommodating portion of the socket having the accommodating portion capable of accommodating the majority of the spherical body and the annular wall surrounding the inner circumference of the opening neck portion of the accommodating portion. Inserted in such a manner that it can be slidably slid and covered with a ball seat so that the receiving part of the ball part does not come into direct contact with the inner wall of the accommodating part, and is arranged on the inner circumference of the annular wall. In the ball joint in which the annular plate having an outer periphery that is loosely fitted to the annular wall is fixed to the socket in a state where the annular plate presses the ball portion and the ball seat, A thread groove that meshes with the outer periphery of the plate is formed to form a female screw wall 11 and a male screw plate 12, respectively, and the male screw plate 12 is screwed to the female screw wall 11. The annular plate is fixed to the socket in the state I.

[0011]

[Action]

 2 shows the principle structure of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the boot 5 in FIG. 1 is removed, and the portion other than the ball portion 3 of the ball stud 2 is cut off to directly see the engaging portion between the male screw plate 12 and the female screw wall 11. FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a state in which the male screw plate 12 is started to be screwed into the female screw wall 11 when it is assumed that The arrow in the figure indicates the rotation direction τ of the screw.

As shown in the figure, as the male screw plate 12 that has started to be screwed is further deeply screwed into the female screw wall 11, the torque required for screwing, that is, the required rotational force becomes the second largest. This is because the male screw plate 12 must overcome the compressive stress received from the ball portion 3 and the ball seat 7 that increases with the screwing in order to screw in.

The relationship between the screw-in depth and the required rotational force is not the same for all ball joints, and even if the screw-in depth is the same due to the variation in the dimensions of the components such as the ball seat and socket to be incorporated. If the ball stud rocks tightly, that is, if the rocking torque value is large, the required rotational force is smaller than if the ball stud rocks smoothly, that is, if the rocking torque value is small. It becomes big.

On the contrary, when assembling a plurality of ball joints, when the screwing is stopped when a predetermined constant rotating force is required, the smoothness of the ball studs of these plurality of ball joints can be slid smoothly. (Alternatively, "tightness"), that is, the wobbling sliding torque values are almost equal.

In the present invention, when assembling the ball joint, the screwing is stopped at the screwing depth at which the rotational force required to screw the male screw plate 12 into the female screw wall 11 reaches a predetermined constant value. Here, the male screw plate 12 is mechanically fixed to the socket 1. Therefore, the wobbling torque is almost the same in all the assemblies, and the wobbling can be smoothed as a whole.

In the prior art, after the annular plate is pushed to a certain depth in parallel with the axial direction of the ball stud in a state where the ball stud stands upright on the socket, the annular plate is pushed along the annular wall where the outer periphery is loosely fitted. In order to fix the socket to the socket, the annular plate must withstand the compressive stress, that is, the pushing back force, which is received from the ball portion and the ball seat until the fixing is completed.

In this respect, in the present invention, unless the pitch of the screw groove is abnormally large, the screw is not unscrewed by the compressive stress received from the ball portion and the ball seat until the fixing is completed. In addition, the finer the pitch of the thread groove, the more precise the torque can be set to stop screwing.

[0018]

【Example】

 FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. Similar to FIG. 2, this figure is also a view assuming that the boot is removed, the ball stud other than the ball portion is cut off, and the engaging portion between the male screw plate 12 and the female screw wall 11 is directly seen. However, this state is different from FIG. 2 and shows a position where the male screw plate 12 is completely screwed into the female screw wall 11. Reference numeral 13 in the figure indicates a "staking" portion described later.

For screwing, a preset type torque wrench is used as an example. With a preset type torque wrench, screwing automatically stops when the preset torque value is reached, so the screwing depth is three in the example shown in the figure, but in general, multiple screws are provided. The plate 12 is "caulked" to the socket 1 at the "caulked" point 13 to be mechanically firmly fixed.

[0020]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to prevent the annular plate from being pushed back after being pushed to a certain depth and before being fixed in the socket. It is possible to realize a ball joint structure in which the rocking sliding torque value is made substantially constant, and therefore the ball stud can be smoothly rocked and slid generally without fear of impairing maneuverability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle structural diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a structural diagram according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Socket 2 Ball Stud 3 Ball Part 4 Ball Seat 5 Boot 6 Ring Wall 7 Ring Plate 8 (Ring Plate) Outer Edge 9 Ring Wall End 11 Female Thread Wall 12 Male Thread Plate

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. The ball portion of a ball stud is provided in the accommodating portion of a socket having an accommodating portion capable of accommodating a majority of a spherical body and an annular wall that surrounds an inner circumference of an opening neck portion of the accommodating portion. The stud is slidably slidable, and is inserted in a manner covered with a ball seat so that the accommodated portion of the ball portion does not come into direct contact with the inner wall of the accommodating portion. A ball joint for fixing an annular plate having an outer circumference that is loosely fitted to the annular wall to the socket while the annular plate presses the ball portion and the ball seat, wherein the annular wall and the annular A female screw wall (11) and a male screw plate (12) are formed by forming screw grooves that mesh with the outer periphery of the plate, and the male screw plate (12) is formed into the female screw wall. Structure of the ball joint, characterized in that in a state screwed in 11) securing said annular plate to said socket.