JPH10238532A - Manufacture of ball joint and caulking device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow an assembly work free from the generation of a play due to a caulking device by caulking the opening end of each of a housing and a bearing toward the internal circumferential side thereof, with the shank of a ball stud pressed in the axial direction. SOLUTION: A bearing 5 is forced into a housing 10 via the open part 11 thereof, and a lubricant is applied to the inner circumferential surface 9 of the bearing 5. Thereafter, the spherical head 4 of a ball stud 2 is coupled to the inside of the bearing 5. In this case, space between the spherical head 4 and the inner circumferential surface 9 of the bearing 5 near the bottom 7 thereof falls into such a state as containing the accumulated lubricant. In this state, the end of the open part 11 of the housing 10 is caulked toward the inner circumferential side thereof, with the ball stud 2 pressed by use of a caulking device. As a result, the spherical head 4 is pressed to the inner circumferential surface 9 of the bearing 5, and the accumulated lubricant beyond a necessary amount is forced out for flowing outside through space between the spherical head 4 and the bearing 5, the hole 8 of a bottom 7 and the open part 11. According to this construction, the end of the open part 11 of the housing 10 is not caulked in the condition where the lubricant other than the necessary amount is accumulated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a ball joint for use in a suspension system of an automobile and the like, and a caulking device therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional ball joint having a substantially cup-shaped housing is shown in FIG. The ball joint 101 includes a ball stud 102 including a spherical ball head 104, a handle 103 extending from the ball head 104, and a ball head 104 of the ball stud 102 swingably and rotatably. The ball stud 102 has an opening 106 on one side and a hole 108 on the bottom 107 on the side opposite to the opening.
A bearing 105 having an inner peripheral surface 109 having substantially the same shape as the outer periphery of the ball head 104, and an opening 111 for enclosing the bearing 105 and protruding the handle portion 103 of the ball stud 102 on one side, and the other opening And a housing 110 having a screw portion 115 on the side.

Next, a method of manufacturing the ball joint 101 will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG.
The lubricant 20 is then applied to the inner peripheral surface 109 of the bearing 105. Thereafter, the ball head 104 of the ball stud 102 is mounted on the bearing 1 as shown in FIG.
05, and finally each opening 10 of the housing 110 and the bearing 105 as shown in FIG.
The end of the 6,111 side is swaged to the inner peripheral side, and the manufacture of the ball joint 101 is completed.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Ball joint 10
In the first manufacturing method, when the lubricant 20 is applied to the inner peripheral surface 109 of the bearing 105, the lubricant 20 is first applied almost uniformly to the entire inner peripheral surface 109 of the bearing 105 as shown in FIG. However, ball stud 102
Outer periphery of ball head 104 and inner peripheral surface 109 of bearing 105
When the ball head 104 of the ball stud 102 is fitted inside the bearing 105, the ball head 1 of the ball stud 102 is fitted as shown in FIG.
04 causes the lubricant 20 applied to the inner peripheral surface 109 of the bearing 105 to flow toward the bearing bottom 107. As a result, as shown in FIG.
Is a hole 108 of the bearing 105 and the bearing 105
Inner surface 109 near the bottom 107 and the ball stud 102
May accumulate between the ball head 104 and the head. Therefore, the ball stud 102 is
5 is not fitted to the predetermined position, and in this state, each opening 10 of the bearing 105 and the housing 110 is opened.
The end on the 6,111 side was sometimes caulked.

The inner peripheral surface 10 near the ball head 104 of the ball stud 102 and the bottom 107 of the bearing 105
When the ball joint 101 is swaged and fixed with the lubricant 20 accumulated between the ball joint 101 and the ball joint 9, the lubricant 20 accumulated with the swing of the ball stud 102 is discharged to the outside through the opening 106 of the bearing 105. As a result, a gap is formed between the ball head 104 of the ball stud 102 and the vicinity of the bottom 107 of the inner peripheral surface 109 of the bearing 105, which may cause play.

Accordingly, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method and a caulking device that do not generate backlash in a ball joint that does not use a retaining ring or the like.

[0007]

The present invention has the following arrangement.

[0008] 1. A ball stud having a spherical ball head and a handle extending from the ball head, a bearing for swingably and rotatably enclosing the ball head, and a ball stud handle enclosing the bearing and opening from the opening In a method of manufacturing a ball joint comprising a substantially cup-shaped housing having a protruding portion, a lubricant is applied between an inner peripheral surface of a bearing included in the housing and a ball head of the ball stud, and a ball head of the ball stud is provided. After the part is inserted into the bearing, the open ends of the housing and the bearing are crimped to the inner peripheral side while pressing the handle of the ball stud in the axial direction.

[0009] 2. A stamping space defined by a straight portion having a mold opening that is open on one side and extending in the axial direction from the mold opening and a curved surface portion that continues from the straight portion and gradually decreases in diameter toward the mold opening side; A first die having a holding hole provided continuously from a curved surface of the space, and a pressing portion which is located on the same axis as the first die and is in contact with a housing arranged on the first die. A caulking device including a second die having a holding member having an elastic member in a holding hole of the first die.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a ball joint 1 formed by the manufacturing method of the present invention. The ball joint 1 has a ball stud 2 composed of a spherical ball head 4 and a handle 3 extending from the ball head 4, and a ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 that swingably rotates. A bearing 5 having an opening 6 on one side and a hole 8 on the bottom 7 on the other side of the opening, and having an inner peripheral surface 9 having substantially the same shape as the outer periphery of the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2;
The housing 10 includes a bearing 5, and has an opening 11 on one side for projecting the handle 3 of the ball stud 2, and a housing 10 provided with a screw portion 15 on the other side opposite to the opening side.

Next, a caulking device for the ball joint 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 40 denotes a caulking device, which comprises a first die 51 and a second die 41. First
The die 51 includes a caulking mold 52 and a lower mold 61 provided below the caulking mold 52, and is integrated by bolts (not shown). The caulking mold 52 has a mold opening 56 that opens to the second die 41 side, and a straight portion 55 extending in the axial direction from the mold opening 56 and having the same diameter as the outer diameter of the housing 10 of the ball joint 1. do it,
A stamping space 53 comprising a curved surface 54 having a gradually decreasing diameter toward the opposite side of the opening, and a lower mold 61 which is continuous with the stamping space 53.
And a continuous hole 57 connected to a central hole 62 (described later). The lower die 61 is provided with a central hole 65 formed at the center thereof, continuous with the engraving space 53 of the caulking die 52 and the continuous hole 57, and a holding hole 62 formed by the central hole 65 and the continuous hole 57. It is formed. The inner diameter of the holding hole 62 is larger than the outer diameter of the handle 3 of the ball stud 2. A holding member 63 is provided on the anti-crimping side of the holding hole 62 in contact with the end of the threaded portion 15 of the ball stud 2, and a spring portion 6 is further provided on the anti-crimping side of the holding member 63.
4 are provided. The second die 41 is disposed so as to face the opening 56 side of the first die 51 on the same axis. A ring-shaped protrusion 42 is provided on the first die 51 side of the cylindrical column portion 42 of the second die 41. The protrusion 43 has a hole 4 having a diameter larger than that of the screw 15 of the housing 10 at the center.
5 and the first die 51 side end face is
A pressing portion 44 for pressing the shoulder portion 13 of FIG.
Also, an axis perpendicular surface connecting the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 42 and the outer periphery of the protrusion 43 comes into contact with the end surface of the caulking die 52 of the first die 51 on the second die 41 side, and a predetermined position when the second die 41 descends. A stop surface 46 for stopping at

Next, a method of manufacturing the ball joint 1 using the caulking device 40 will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, as shown in FIG.
The bearing 5 is press-fitted through the opening 11 of the zero, and then the lubricant 20 is applied to the inner peripheral surface 9 of the bearing 5. Thereafter, the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 is fitted inside the bearing 5 as shown in FIG. At this time, since the outer periphery of the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 and the inner peripheral surface of the bearing 5 are substantially the same, the lubricant 20 applied to the inner peripheral surface 9 of the bearing 5 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, the ball stud 2 is pressed by the ball head 4 and flows, and as shown in FIG. 4C, the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 and the inner peripheral surface near the bottom 7 of the bearing 5 as shown in FIG. 9 and the lubricant 20 is accumulated. In this state, as shown in the left half part of FIG.
3 is inserted from the handle 3 of the ball stud 2, and the end of the threaded portion 15 of the ball stud 2 is inserted into the holding hole 62 so that the step 13 of the housing 10 and the end face on the opening 56 side of the caulking mold 52 are in a horizontal position. It is installed on the holding member 63. afterwards,
As shown in the right half of FIG. 2, the second die 41 is lowered, the pressing end surface 45 of the pressing portion 44 is applied to the step portion 13 of the housing 10, and the end surface of the contacting portion 43 of the second die 41 is opened by the caulking mold 52. Lower the end face on the 56 side until it hits.
Due to the lowering of the second die 41, the housing 10 of the ball joint 1 moves downward in the engraving space 53 of the caulking mold 52, and the end of the housing 10 on the opening 11 side is caulked toward the inner peripheral side by the curved surface 54. As described above, the ball joint 1 is pressed by the lowering of the second die 41, and the crimping mold 52 is pressed.
At this time, a spring 64 which is an elastic member is provided on the opposite side of the caulking mold 52 of the holding member 63 to which the handle 3 of the ball stud 2 is attached. A reaction force acts on the crimping die 52 toward the opening 56, and the spring 64 tries to push the ball stud 2 up toward the second die 41. That is, while the ball stud 2 is pressed toward the second die 41 as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3D, the end of the housing 10 on the side of the opening 11 is swaged inward.

When the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 is pressed against the inner peripheral surface 9 of the bearing 5 as described above, the ball head 4 and the inner peripheral surface 9 near the bottom 7 of the bearing 5 as shown in FIG.
Is pressed between the ball head 4 and the bearing 5 where the required amount of the lubricant 20 is not interposed, the hole 8 in the bottom 7, and the housing 1.
The fluid flows from the opening 11 to the outside. Therefore, there is no possibility of caulking in a state in which an unnecessary amount of the lubricant 20 is accumulated between the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 and the inner periphery near the bottom 7 of the bearing 5.

In the above embodiment, the second die 41 is installed above the first die 51, and the second die 41 is lowered, so that the housing 10 is swaged by the caulking mold 52 of the first die 51.
The end of the housing 10 is crimped by pressing against the curved surface 54, but the positions of both dies may be arranged upside down as shown in FIG. This case will be described with reference to FIG. Numeral 70 denotes a caulking device including a first die 71 and a second die 81. The second die 81 holds the ball joint 1. The first die 71 installed above the second die 81
In the center, there is provided a stamping space 82 for caulking the end of the housing 10 and a central hole 83 continuous from the stamping space 82, and a holding member 8 is provided on the side opposite to the first die of the central hole 83.
4 and a spring portion 85 are provided. This caulking device 70
When caulking the ball joint 1 using
The ball joint 1 is set on the second die 81 as shown in the left half. Next, the first die 71 is lowered, and the first die 71 is lowered.
5 presses the end of the housing 10 to crimp the end of the housing 10 inward as shown in the right half of FIG. At this time, since the holding portion 84 comes into contact with the handle 3 of the ball joint 1, a reaction force acts on the spring 85 in the direction opposite to the second die, and the spring 85 tries to push down the ball stud 2 toward the first die 71. That is, while the ball stud 2 is pressed toward the first die 71, the opening 11
The side end is crimped to the inner peripheral side.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, a ball stud having a spherical ball head and a handle extending from the ball head, and the ball head are swingably and rotatably held. Bearings,
In a method of manufacturing a ball joint including a substantially cup-shaped housing including a bearing and projecting a handle portion of a ball stud from an opening, a method of manufacturing a ball joint between an inner peripheral surface of a bearing included in the housing and a ball head of a ball stud. After applying the lubricant to the inside of the bearing, insert the ball head of the ball stud into the inside of the bearing, and then press the handle of the ball stud in the axial direction while caulking the open ends of the bearing and the housing to the inner peripheral side. In addition, since there is no possibility of caulking in a state in which an unnecessary amount of lubricant is accumulated between the ball head of the ball stud and the inner circumference near the bottom of the bearing, rattling can be prevented.

A mold engraving defined by a straight portion having an opening at one end, the straight portion extending in the axial direction from the mold opening, and a curved portion continuous from the straight portion and having a gradually decreasing diameter toward the mold opening. A first die having a space, a holding hole provided continuously from the curved surface of the die-sinking space, and a housing positioned on the same axis as the first die and disposed on the first die. In the caulking device including the second die having the pressing portion to be brought into contact with the second die, the caulking device including the holding member having the elastic member in the holding hole of the first die is used. It is possible to easily crimp the respective open ends of the bearing and the housing toward the inner peripheral side while pressing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional plan view illustrating a ball joint manufactured according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional plan view showing a ball joint caulking device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a left half portion shows a state before caulking and a right half portion shows a state after caulking.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional plan view illustrating a method of manufacturing a ball joint manufactured according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of a ball joint manufactured according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional plan view showing a ball joint caulking device according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which a left half portion shows a state before swaging and a right half portion shows a state after swaging.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional plan view showing a conventional ball joint.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional plan view illustrating a conventional ball joint manufacturing method.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a main part of a conventional ball joint.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 ball joint 2 ball stud 3 handle 4 ball head 5 bearing 6 (bearing) opening 9 inner peripheral surface 10 housing 11 (housing) opening 20 lubricant 41 second die 44 pressing portion 51 first die 53 engraving space 54 Curved surface portion 55 Straight portion 56 Mold opening 59 Anti-curved surface 62 Holding hole 63 Holding member 64 Elastic member

Claims (2)

[Claims] A ball stud (2) having a spherical ball head (4) and a handle (3) extending from the ball head (4).
A bearing (5) for swingably and rotatably enclosing the ball head (4), and a handle (5) of the ball stud (2) including the bearing (5) through an opening (11). 3) A method of manufacturing a ball joint comprising a substantially cup-shaped housing (10) protruding, wherein an inner peripheral surface (9) of the bearing (5) contained in the housing (10) and the ball stud (2). A lubricant (20) is applied between the ball stud (2) and the ball stud (2), and the ball head (4) is inserted into the bearing (5). ), The ends of the bearings (5) and the housing (10) on the opening (6) and (11) sides are swaged inwardly while pressing the handle (3) in the axial direction. Manufacturing method of the joint. 2. A mold opening (56) having one opening,
Die engraving defined by a straight portion (55) extending in the axial direction from the mold opening (56) and a curved surface portion (54) that continues from the straight portion (55) and gradually decreases in diameter toward the counter mold opening side. And a holding hole (6) provided continuously from the curved surface portion (54) of the space (53) and the engraving space (53).
2), and the first die (5).
The pressing portion (4), which is located on the same axis as that of (1) and is in contact with the housing arranged on the first die (51).
4) a swaging apparatus (40) comprising a second die (41) having a holding hole (6) of the first die (51).
2) A ball joint caulking device comprising a holding member (63) having an elastic member (64) inside.