JPH08240270A - Dust cover - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily and properly confirm the wear of a seal lip, with a dust cover mounted, regarding the dust cover positioned between the first member and the second member jointed to each other with a ball stud, in such a state as surrounding the ball stud. CONSTITUTION: Regarding a dust cover 53 positioned between the first member and the second member jointed to each other with a ball stud 43 in such a state as surrounding the ball stud 43, with a seal lip 55b formed on the first member of a cover body 55 so as to come in contact with the first member, a reference projection for confirming a wear is formed on the outer side of the seal lip 55b of the body 55. In this case, the first member and second member are used respectively as a tie rod arm 41 and a tie rod end 45 laid on the front axle of an automobile.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dust cover arranged around a ball stud between a first member and a second member connected by the ball stud.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an automobile such as a truck, a front axle is arranged for supporting a front wheel load and for steering. FIGS. 3 and 4 show a front axle of this type, which is provided at both ends of the axle body 11.
A knuckle 15 that supports the disc wheel 13 is arranged.

The knuckle 15 can be swung by turning a steering arm 17. Knuckle 15
One end of the tie rod arm 19 is connected to the side, and the other end of the tie rod arm 19 is connected to the ball stud 2
1 is connected to the tie rod end 25 of the tie rod 23.

FIG. 5 shows details of a connecting portion of the tie rod arm 19 to the tie rod end 25. A bearing member 27 is arranged on the tie rod end 25, and the ball member 21a of the ball stud 21 is arranged by the bearing member 27. It is supported. A dust cover 27 made of, for example, rubber or resin is disposed between the tie rod arm 19 and the tie rod end 25 so as to surround the ball stud 21.

As shown in FIG. 6, a seal lip 29a is formed on the cover body 29 of the dust cover 27, and the seal lip 29a is in contact with the tie rod arm 19. The bearing member 27 is supported by the end cover 31, and the end cover 31 is provided with a grease nipple 33 for supplying grease.

On the other hand, the seal lip 29 of the cover body 29
A grease discharge hole 2 for discharging grease is provided on the outer side of a.
9b is formed. In the above-described connection structure, the bearing member 27 is formed by the grease supplied from the grease nipple 33.
Is lubricated and the grease is filled in the dust cover 27, the filled grease is discharged from the grease discharge hole 29b to the outside.

A cover body 29 of the dust cover 27 is also provided.
The seal lip 29a formed in the above is brought into contact with the tie rod arm 19 in a pressed state, and dust from the outside is prevented from entering the bearing portion. Further, in the above-described connecting structure, the ball stud 21 swings and slides with the turning, so that the seal lip 29a of the dust cover 27 has an appropriate tightening margin so that the dust cover 27 follows this movement. And a set load is applied, and in this state, the dust cover 27 is assembled between the tie rod arm 19 and the tie rod end 25.

[0008]

However, in such a conventional dust cover, the seal lip 29a is affected by the influence of the set load, sliding, etc., and aging.
When the amount of wear is increased and the amount of wear exceeds a predetermined amount, the sealing performance may be impaired. Therefore, the amount of wear of the seal lip 29a is checked in a regular inspection or the like, but in general, in such a dust cover 27, the seal lip 29a is hidden by the tie rod arm 19, so that the dust cover There is a problem that it is very difficult to confirm the amount of wear of the seal lip 29a with the 27 attached.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a dust cover that allows easy and reliable confirmation of wear of a seal lip with the dust cover still attached. The purpose is to

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dust cover having a first member and a second member which are connected by ball studs.
Is placed around the ball stud between the member and
In a dust cover formed by abutting the seal lip formed on the first member side of the cover body with the first member, the wear amount of the seal lip is confirmed outside the seal lip of the cover body. It is characterized in that a reference projection for confirming the amount of wear is formed.

A dust cover according to a second aspect of the present invention is the dust cover according to the first aspect, wherein the first member and the second member are a tie rod arm and a tie rod end arranged on a front axle of an automobile.

[0012]

In the dust cover according to the first aspect of the present invention, the distance between the wear amount confirmation reference projection formed on the cover body and the first member is visually or visually confirmed with the dust cover attached. This confirms the wear of the seal lip.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the distance between the reference protrusion for confirming the amount of wear formed on the cover body and the tie rod arm that constitutes the front axle of the automobile is visually checked with the dust cover attached. Alternatively, by checking with a gap gauge, wear of the seal lip is confirmed.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the dust cover of the present invention is arranged at a connecting portion between a tie rod arm and a tie rod end. In the figure, reference numeral 41 indicates a tie rod arm. The tie rod arm 41 is connected to a tie rod end 45 by a ball stud 43.

The tie rod end 45 has a bearing hole 45a.
Is formed, and a bearing member 47 made of, for example, resin is fitted into the bearing hole 45a. The ball member 43a of the ball stud 43 is supported by the bearing member 47. The bearing member 47 is supported by the end cover 49, and the end cover 49 is provided with a grease nipple 51 for supplying grease.

Between the tie rod arm 41 and the tie rod end 45, a cylindrical dust cover 53 made of, for example, rubber or resin is arranged so as to surround the ball stud 43. Cover body 5 of this dust cover 53
As shown in FIG. 2, the ring-shaped seal lip 55b is integrally formed with the ring 5 along the outer periphery of the bottom surface portion 55a.

The seal lip 55b is pressed against the tie rod arm 41. Cover body 5
On the outer side of the seal lip 55b of No. 5, a grease discharge hole 55c for discharging grease is formed. A reinforcing core metal 57 is embedded in the bottom surface portion 55a.

Further, in this embodiment, the cover body 55
On the bottom surface 55a, a wear amount confirmation reference projection 55d is integrally formed outside the seal lip 55b. The wear amount confirmation reference projection 55d is formed in an annular shape concentric with the seal lip 55b. Further, the wear amount confirmation reference projection 55d is formed such that the reference surface 55e thereof is parallel to the lower surface of the tie rod arm 41 when the dust cover 53 is attached.

Further, in this embodiment, the seal lip 5
A wear amount confirmation reference projection 55d is formed at a position where the lower surface of the tie rod arm 41 contacts the reference surface 55e of the wear amount confirmation reference projection 55d when the 5b is completely worn. In the above-described connecting structure, the ball stud 43 swings and slides as the steering wheel turns, so the dust cover 53
The seal lip 55b of the dust cover 53 is given an appropriate tightening margin and a set load so that the dust cover 53 follows this movement, and in this state, the dust cover 53 is assembled between the tie rod arm 41 and the tie rod end 45. .

Then, the cover body 5 of the dust cover 53
The seal lip 55b formed at 5 is brought into contact with the tie rod arm 41 in a pressed state, and dust from the outside is prevented from entering the bearing portion. Also, the grease nipple 5
When the bearing member 47 is lubricated by the grease supplied from No. 1, the dust cover 53 is filled with the grease, the filled grease is discharged to the outside from the grease discharge hole 55c.

In the dust cover constructed as described above, the distance between the abrasion amount reference projection 55d formed on the cover body 55 and the tie rod arm 41 forming the front axle of the automobile is visually or visually determined. Since the wear of the seal lip 55b can be confirmed by confirming with the gauge, the wear of the seal lip 55b can be easily and surely confirmed with the dust cover 53 still attached.

Further, in the above-mentioned dust cover, when the seal lip 55b is completely worn, the lower surface of the tie rod arm 41 has the reference surface 5 of the wear amount confirmation reference projection 55d.
Since the wear amount confirmation reference projection 55d is formed at the position where the wear amount confirmation reference protrusion 55d abuts the lower surface of the tie rod arm 41 and the reference surface 55e of the wear amount confirmation reference protrusion 55d, no dust is present during inspection. The cover 55 is replaced.

Further, for example, when the measurement with the gap gauge is 0.5 to 1 mm or less, the dust cover 5
5 are exchanged. It should be noted that in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the wear amount confirmation reference projection 55d is formed in an annular shape on the outer side of the seal lip 55b of the cover body 55 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. not,
For example, a plurality of wear amount confirmation reference projections may be formed so as to project at a predetermined angle.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the grease discharge hole 55c for discharging grease is formed outside the seal lip 55b of the cover body 55, but the present invention is limited to such embodiment. The grease discharge hole is not always necessary. Further, in the above-described embodiments, the example in which the present invention is applied to the front axle of a vehicle has been described, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment and is widely applied to a connecting portion having a similar structure. be able to.

[0026]

As described above, in the dust cover according to the first aspect of the present invention, the distance between the reference protrusion for wear amount confirmation formed on the cover body and the first member can be checked visually or by a gap gauge. Since the wear of the seal lip can be confirmed, the wear of the seal lip can be easily and surely confirmed with the dust cover still attached.

In the dust cover according to the second aspect of the present invention, the seal is provided by visually or visually confirming the gap between the reference protrusion for wear amount confirmation formed on the cover main body and the tie rod arm constituting the front axle of the automobile. Since the wear of the lip can be checked, there is an advantage that the wear of the seal lip can be easily and surely checked with the dust cover still attached.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a state in which an embodiment of a dust cover of the present invention is arranged at a connecting portion between a tie rod arm and a tie rod end.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the dust cover of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a top view showing a front axle of an automobile.

FIG. 4 is a front view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a conventional dust cover is arranged at a connecting portion between a tie rod arm and a tie rod end.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing the dust cover of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 41 Tie rod arm 43 Ball stud 45 Tie rod end 53 Dust cover 55 Cover body 55b Seal lip 55d Reference projection for wear amount confirmation

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A seal lip, which is disposed between a first member and a second member connected by a ball stud so as to surround the ball stud, and which is formed on the first member side of a cover body, In the dust cover that is in contact with the first member, a wear amount confirmation reference projection for confirming the wear amount of the seal lip is formed on the outside of the seal lip of the cover body. And dust cover. 2. The dust cover according to claim 1, wherein the first member and the second member are a tie rod arm and a tie rod end arranged on a front axle of an automobile.