JPH10318247A - Ball joint - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize a device, and provide a high oscillating torque for a long time by providing a seal plate made of the spring steel material, which has a diameter larger than a large opening of a housing and which is fitted in a recessed part of the inner periphery of the housing, and providing the seal plate with plural slits formed from the center thereof toward the periphery thereof. SOLUTION: A seal plate 18 of the spring steel material, which has a diameter larger than that of a large opening 15 of a housing 13, is fitted in a recessed part 16 provided in the inner periphery of the housing 13. The seal plate 18 has a central part 19 provided with plural slits 19a extended from the center thereof toward the periphery thereof, and the central part 19 is inclined from the peripheral side toward a spherical head 4 of a ball stud 2, and the seal plate 18 is pressed into the inner periphery of the large opening 15 so as to abut on a bearing 5, and when the inclined surface of the central part 19 is deformed by the pressure applied to an opposite spherical head, reaction is generated so as to reset the bearing to the condition before the press-in, and pushes the bearing with the strong force. With this structure, a caulking part is unnecessary, and a housing can be miniaturized, and even in the case where the inner spherical surface of the bearing is worn, generation of looseness is prevented by the spring effect for a long time, and lowering of the oscillation torque is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ball joint used for a connecting portion of, for example, an automobile suspension system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 shows a ball joint used for a connecting portion of a vehicle suspension or the like. Such a ball joint 101 includes a ball stud 102 having a spherical ball head 104 and a handle 103 projecting from the ball head 104, and a ball stud 102.
The ball head 104 is swingably rotatable and has an opening 1 at one end.
A housing having a small opening 114 at one end for projecting the handle 103 of the ball stud 102 and a large opening 115 at the other end, and a large opening 115 of the housing 113 And a closing plate 118 to be formed.

[0003]

In the ball joint 101 having the above-described structure, a caulking portion 127 is provided at the end of the large opening 115 of the housing 113 so as to caulk and fix the closing plate 118 to the inner periphery of the large opening 115 of the housing 113. Since the ball joint 101 must be provided, the size of the ball joint 101 has been increased.

Further, the ball head 10 of the ball stud 102
In order to apply a predetermined preload to 4, very high dimensional accuracy is required for the position of the contact portion 128 of the closing plate 118 provided on the inner periphery of the large opening 115 of the housing 113 and the dimensions of the bearing 105.

In addition, the ball joint 101 as described above
Swings between the ball head 104 of the ball stud 102 and the bearing 105. Therefore, the inner spherical surface of the bearing 105 wears out due to long-term use, and the ball joint 1
In some cases, backlash occurs in 01. In addition, the swing torque of the ball joint 101 may decrease due to the play.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a ball joint which is small in size, can obtain a high swing torque for a long period of time, and is easy to manufacture.

[0007]

The configuration of the present invention is as follows.

[0008] 1. A ball stud having a spherical ball head and a handle protruding from the ball head, a bearing having a ball head of the ball stud swingably rotatable and having an opening at one end, and a bearing included therein. A housing having a small opening at one end for protruding the handle of the ball stud, a housing having a large opening with a recess at the inner periphery at the other end, and a large opening on the inner periphery of the housing with a diameter larger than that of the housing. And a closing plate made of a spring steel material fitted into the recessed portion, and the closing plate is provided with a plurality of slits from the center toward the outer periphery.

[0009] 2. The bearing has an inner peripheral surface having substantially the same shape as the ball head of the ball stud, and has an inner diameter side receiving portion located on the inner diameter side and an outer diameter side receiving portion located on the outer diameter side. And a thin portion connecting the outer diameter side receiving portion to the outer diameter receiving portion.

[0010] 3. The closing plate has a central portion provided with a plurality of slits extending from the center toward the outer periphery, and the central portion is an inclined surface inclined in the axial direction from the outer peripheral side toward the ball head of the ball stud. .

[0011]

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 according to the configuration of the present invention. This ball joint 1
A ball stud 2 having a spherical ball head 4 and a handle 3 projecting from the ball head 4, and a ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 which swingably rotates and has an opening 12 at one end. A housing 5 having a bearing 5, a small opening 14 that encloses the bearing 5 and protrudes the handle 3 of the ball stud 2 at one end, and a large opening 15 provided with a circumferential concave portion 16 at the other end at the other end; A closing plate 18 made of a spring steel and having a diameter larger than the large opening 15 of the housing 13 and fitted in a concave portion 16 provided on the inner periphery of the large opening 15 of the housing 13, and mounted on the side of the closing plate 18 opposite the ball stud. A sealing member 30 made of an elastic member and a small opening 23 at one end are fitted around the handle 3 of the ball stud 2, and a large opening 24 at the other end is provided in a mounting groove 17 provided on the outer periphery of the housing 13 on the small opening 14 side. Dust cover 22 to be attached It is formed.

The bearing 5 includes a handle-side bearing 6 located on the small opening 14 side of the housing 13 and a ball-side bearing 7 located on the large opening 15 side of the housing 13.
An axially two-part bearing 5 comprising: The handle-portion bearing 6 is made of a synthetic resin, and has a flange portion 6a that protrudes circumferentially on the outer peripheral side and extends in the axial direction at the end of the large opening 15 on the housing 13 side. Further, the ball head side bearing 7 is made of synthetic resin and has a shoulder 7a which protrudes circumferentially on the outer peripheral side and extends in the axial direction at the end of the small opening 14 side of the housing 13, and the handle 7 side bearing is provided on the shoulder 7a. 6 is seated on the flange 6a. Also, the ball head side bearing 7
The inner peripheral surface of the ball stud 2 has substantially the same shape as the ball head 4 and has an inner diameter side receiving portion 8 located on the inner diameter side and an outer diameter side receiving portion 29 located on the outer diameter side. A thin portion 9 that connects the receiving portion 8 and the outer diameter side receiving portion 29 is provided. In addition, a convex portion 11 is provided at the center on the end face of the ball head side bearing 7 on the side of the large opening 15 of the housing 13.

The dust cover 22 has the shape of a bell, and a metal reinforcing ring 25 is embedded in the small opening 23. A circlip 26 is attached to the outer periphery of the large opening 24.

As shown in FIG. 2, the closing plate 18 has a hole 21 at the center and a central portion 19 provided with a plurality of slits 19a extending radially from the hole 21 toward the outer periphery.
The central portion 19 is an inclined surface inclined in the axial direction toward the center. In the outer periphery, a plurality of outer peripheral slits 20a extending from the outer peripheral end toward the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2 are provided.
The outer peripheral portion 20 is an inclined surface that is inclined in the axial direction toward the central portion 19.

The sealing member 30 has substantially the same shape as the side face of the closing plate 18 opposite to the ball stud, and is mounted on the closing plate 18 so as to cover the side face of the closing plate 18 opposite to the ball stud.

Next, a method of manufacturing the ball joint 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the handle bearing 6 is fitted into the housing 13 from the large opening 15 side of the housing 13.
Subsequently, the ball stud 2 is inserted from the handle 3 side so that the handle 3 projects from the small opening 14. Next, the ball head side bearing 7 is fitted inside the housing 13, and then the closing plate 18 on which the seal member 30 is baked in advance is engaged with the convex portion 11 of the ball head side bearing 7 by the hole 21 of the closing plate 18. Then, the outer peripheral portion 20 of the closing plate 18 is press-fitted into the concave portion 16 provided on the inner periphery of the large opening 15 of the housing 13. At this time, the vicinity of the center of the seal member 30 is pressed by the convex portion 11 of the ball head side bearing 7,
As shown in FIG. 1, it extends toward the anti-ball head side so as to cover the convex portion 11.

Finally, the dust cover 22 is mounted on the mounting groove 17 of the housing 13 with the large opening 24 having the circlip 26 mounted on the outer periphery, and the small opening 23 is mounted on the handle 3 of the ball stud 2. The ball joint 1 is completed.

Therefore, the ball joint 1 is manufactured by fitting the outer peripheral portion 20 of the closing plate 18 into the concave portion 16 formed on the inner periphery of the large opening 15 of the housing 13. The end does not need to be swaged, and the swaged portion is unnecessary.

Further, since the closing plate 18 has a plurality of slits 19a in the center portion 19, even if a slight error occurs in the dimensions of the housing 13, the handle portion side bearing 6, and the ball head side bearing 7, the closing plate 18 is closed. Due to the spring effect of the central portion 19 of the plate 18, the handle portion side bearing 6 and the ball head side bearing 7
Is pressed and set at a predetermined position. In addition, even if the inner spherical surfaces of the handle-portion bearing 6 and the ball-head-side bearing 7 are worn, the handle-portion-side bearing 6 and the ball-head-side bearing 7 are similarly caused by the spring effect of the central portion 19 of the closing plate 18. Pressed.

Further, since the ball head side bearing 7 is provided with the thin portion 9, the ball head side bearing 7 is easily deformed as compared with the related art, and the pressing force of the central portion 19 of the closing plate 18 due to the spring effect is easily transmitted. In any case, the bearing 5 is not limited to being divided into two parts, and may be an integral bearing 5 as shown in FIG. Further, in this embodiment, the thin portions are provided at two places, but the number of the thin portions provided is not limited.

The closing plate 18 has a central portion 1 provided with a plurality of slits 19a extending from the center toward the outer periphery.
Since the central portion 19 has an inclined surface that is inclined in the axial direction from the outer peripheral side toward the ball head 4 of the ball stud 2, the closing plate 18 is pressed into the inner periphery of the large opening 15 of the housing 13. Then, when the inclined surface of the central portion 19 is deformed by contact with the bearing 5 and receiving pressure toward the anti-ball head side, a reaction force acts to return to the state before press-fitting, and it is more difficult to return from the horizontal plane. The bearing 5 is pressed with a strong force.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, a ball stud having a spherical ball head and a handle protruding from the ball head is provided, and the ball head of the ball stud is swingably and rotatably wrapped. A bearing having an opening at one end, a housing including the bearing, a small opening at one end for projecting the handle portion of the ball stud, and a housing having a large opening at the other end provided with a recess on the inner periphery; A closing plate made of a spring steel material having a diameter larger than the large opening and fitted in a concave portion provided on the inner periphery of the large opening of the housing, wherein the closing plate is provided with a plurality of slits from the center toward the outer periphery. Therefore, since it is manufactured by fitting the outer peripheral portion of the closing plate into the concave portion formed on the inner periphery of the large opening of the housing, the end portion of the large opening side of the housing does not need to be caulked. Can be reduced and in addition the caulking part Since the unnecessary, it is possible to reduce the size of the housing. In addition, since the closing plate has a plurality of slits in the center, even if there is some error in the dimensions of the housing, the handle side bearing, and the ball head side bearing, due to the spring effect of the center of the closing plate, Since the handle part side bearing and the ball head side bearing are pressed and installed at a predetermined position, it is possible to apply a desired preload to the ball head of the ball stud even if the dimensions of the housing and the bearing vary. it can. Furthermore, even if the inner spherical surface of the bearing is worn, the handle portion side bearing and the ball head side bearing are similarly pressed by the spring effect of the central portion of the closing plate. No rattling occurs. Further, the swing torque does not decrease.

The bearing has an inner peripheral surface having substantially the same shape as the ball head of the ball stud, and has an inner diameter side receiving portion located on the inner diameter side and an outer diameter side receiving portion located on the outer diameter side. Since a thin portion is provided to connect the inner diameter side receiving part and the outer diameter side receiving part, the pressing force due to the spring effect at the center of the closing plate can be easily transmitted. No backlash occurs. Further, the swing torque does not decrease.

In addition, the closing plate has a central portion provided with a plurality of slits extending from the center toward the outer periphery, and the central portion is inclined in the axial direction from the outer peripheral side toward the ball head of the ball stud. Because it is inclined, it is pressed into the inner circumference of the large opening of the housing, contacts the bearing, receives pressure on the anti-ball head side, and deforms the inclined surface at the center, trying to return to the state before press-fitting The reaction force acts to press the bearing with a stronger force than when trying to return from the horizontal plane, so that the preload can be adjusted by the inclination angle of the inclined surface.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIGS. 2A and 2B show a closing plate according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 2A is a plan view and FIG.

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

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view illustrating a ball joint according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional plan view showing a conventional ball joint.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Ball Stud 3 Handle 4 Ball Head 5 Bearing 12 (Bearing) Opening 13 Housing 14 (Housing) Small Opening 15 (Housing) Large Opening 16 Concave Portion 18 Closing Plate 19a Slit

Claims (3)

[Claims] A ball stud (2) having a spherical ball head (4) and a handle (3) projecting from the ball head (4).
A bearing (5) having a ball head (4) of the ball stud (2) swingably and rotatably and having an opening (12) at one end; and a bearing (5) including the bearing (5). A housing (13) having a small opening (14) for projecting the handle portion (3) of the ball stud (2), and a large opening (15) having a concave portion (16) on the other end at the other end; A closing plate made of a spring steel material having a diameter larger than that of the large opening (15) of the housing (13) and fitted into a concave portion (16) provided on the inner periphery of the large opening (15) of the housing (13). 18), wherein the closing plate (18) is provided with a plurality of slits (19a) from the center to the outer periphery. 2. The bearing (5) has an inner peripheral surface having substantially the same shape as the ball head (4) of the ball stud (2), and has an inner diameter side receiving portion (8) located on the inner diameter side and an outer diameter side. And a thin portion (9) for connecting the inner diameter side receiving portion (8) and the outer diameter side receiving portion (29) is provided. The ball joint according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The closing plate (18) has a central portion (19) provided with a plurality of slits (19a) extending from the center toward the outer periphery, and the central portion (19) is provided with a ball from the outer peripheral side. The ball joint according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the stud (2) has an inclined surface that is inclined in the axial direction toward the ball head (4).