JPH1037944A - Ball joint structure body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a ball joint structure to be used in a link mechanism such as a suspension device of an automobile, and improve sealing performance. SOLUTION: This ball joint structure 1 is formed as a structure having a ball stud 10 and a socket 20 to rotatably support a ball head part 11 of the ball stud 10. In this case, the socket 20 is composed of a main body 21 which houses the ball head part 11 and whose bottom part side is closed and a collar part 22 where an opening side upper edge part 211 positioned on the stud side 12 in the main body 21 is folded back to the outside. Upper edge parts 211 and 221 of the main body 21 and the collar part 22 are formed so that after the main body 21 is molded straight in a column shape or a square column shape toward the upper edge part 211 side from a central part 212, the ball stud 10 is inserted, and a part or the whole circumference of the upper edge parts 211 and 221 is thereafter narrowed to the inside.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ball joint structure which can be used for a suspension system of a motor vehicle and other link mechanisms, and more particularly to a ball joint structure having a simple structure and excellent sealing properties.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A rotatable ball joint structure is used for a link mechanism such as a suspension system of an automobile. As shown in FIG. 6, a ball joint 90 used for a suspension device or the like includes a ball stud 91 including a ball head 911 and a stud 912, and a ball head 9 of the ball stud 91.
Socket 9 and cap 9 for rotatably supporting 11
3 conjugates.

A cup-shaped sheet 94 is interposed between the ball head 911, the socket 92 and the cap 91. Further, a rubber dust cover 96 or the like is appropriately mounted to prevent entry of dust and the like. In the figure, reference numeral 98 denotes a holder for fixing the socket 92 and the cap 93, and reference numeral 97 denotes a sealing material.

[0004] The outline of the process of assembling the ball joint 90 is as follows. That is, first, the ball stud 91 having the seat 94 mounted on the ball head 911 is brought into contact with the inner surface of the socket 92. And the annular cap 93
Is fitted from the end of the stud 912 so that the joint surface between the cap 93 and the socket 92 is brought into close contact with each other, and a seal member 97 is attached around the joint so as to prevent dust and water from entering.

This is because the socket 92 and the cap 93 are manufactured by press working, and the sealing is incomplete unless the sealing material 97 is provided. Subsequently, at several locations on the outer periphery of the joint between the cap 93 and the socket 92, the cap 98 and the socket 92 are firmly pressed against the holder 98 and fixed.

[0006]

However, the conventional ball joint structure 90 has a problem that the number of parts is large, such as the necessity of the sealing material 97 to ensure the seal between the socket 92 and the cap 93. There is. In addition, the number of assembling steps also increases, and the manufacturing cost also increases. The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a ball joint structure which is simply configured, has excellent sealing properties, and is easy to manufacture.

[0007]

The invention of the present application is a ball joint structure comprising a ball stud comprising a ball head and a stud, and a socket for rotatably supporting the ball head of the ball stud. The socket is composed of a main body that accommodates the ball head and closes the bottom side, and a flange that is formed by folding the upper edge of the opening side located on the stud side of the main body outward. The edge was formed by forming a cylindrical or prismatic shape straight from the center of the main body toward the upper edge, inserting a ball stud, and then narrowing part or the entire circumference of the upper edge inward. A ball joint structure.

What is most notable in the present invention is that the ball stud is rotatably supported by the socket alone, and the socket is composed of the main body and the flange formed by turning the upper edge of the main body outward. It is becoming. After the main body and the upper edge of the flange are formed into a cylindrical or prismatic shape from the center straight upward (see Fig. 2), a part or the entire circumference of the upper edge is turned inside. Pursed (Fig. 1
See)). When a part of the upper edge part is to be narrowed, usually, several places are deformed inward at a fixed interval to narrow down.

That is, unlike the conventional device, the ball joint of the present invention does not have a cap separate from the socket, and supports the ball stud only by the socket. As a structure and a manufacturing method that enables this, the upper edge of the main body and the flange is first formed by forming the main body straight from the center to the top in a columnar or prismatic shape (Fig. 2). It is formed by narrowing a part or the entire circumference of the edge inward (FIG. 1). As a result, it is possible to hold the ball head inside the socket in the same manner as the operation of the conventional cap 93 by the portion which is inwardly tapered.

The socket main body and the flange with the upper edge of the main body turned outward can be manufactured by a single process by pressing a single plate-like body.
By adopting the above structure, the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced. Further, since a cap separate from the socket is not required, a seal member 97 for sealing between the socket and the cap and a holder 98 for fixing the socket and the cap are not required as in the related art.

As a result, the number of parts is reduced and the number of assembling steps (assembly of the socket, cap, seal material and holder) is reduced. Therefore, the manufacturing cost is reduced as compared with the conventional product. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a ball joint structure that is simple, has excellent sealing properties, and is easy to manufacture.

The ball joint structure can be used, for example, in a suspension arm of a vehicle suspension system. That is, an arm integrated with the flange is extended from the flange to constitute a suspension arm of the suspension device (see FIG. 4). Since the arm has a structure which can be usually formed by press working, the arm and the socket can be formed by a single press work, which facilitates manufacture.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1 As shown in FIG. 1, a ball head 11 and a stud 1
Ball stud 10 and ball stud 10
And a socket 20 for rotatably supporting the ball head 11 of FIG. Socket 20
Is the main body 21 that houses the ball head 11 and closes the bottom 213 side.
And a flange portion 22 obtained by folding an upper edge portion 211 on the opening side located on the stud side 12 of the main body 21 outward.

The upper edge 2 of the main body 21 and the flange 22
As shown in FIG. 2, the ball stud 1 is formed by forming the main body 21 straight from the central portion 212 toward the upper edge portion 211 into a cylindrical shape (cross-sectional shape = FIG. 3).
0, and then, as shown in FIG.
21 is formed by narrowing a part or the entire circumference of the inside toward the inside.

The socket 20 is formed by first pressing a single plate-like body, and as shown in FIG. 2, bending a flange portion 22 into a bottomed cylindrical main body 21 which is opened without being narrowed upward. Molded as Next, the ball stud 10 covered with the seat 15 is inserted into the socket 20, and thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper edges 211 and 221 are swaged inward to hold the ball head 11 inside the socket 20. So that

After that, a dust cover 31 made of rubber is attached between the flange portion 22 and the stud 12 to prevent dust and moisture from entering. The ball joint structure 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with a cap (reference numeral 9 in FIG. 6) separate from the socket 20.
Since 3) is unnecessary, a seal member (97 in FIG. 6) for sealing between the socket and the cap as in the conventional product and a holder (9 in FIG. 6) for fixing the socket and the cap are used.
8) is unnecessary.

As a result, the total number of parts is reduced and the number of assembling steps is reduced. Therefore, the manufacturing cost is reduced as compared with the conventional product. As described above, according to this example,
The ball joint structure 1 which is simple, has excellent sealing properties, and is easy to manufacture can be obtained.

Embodiment 2 In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, in the ball joint structure 1 of Embodiment 1, an arm 41 integrated with the flange 22 extends laterally from the flange 22. 1 is a suspension arm 40 of an automotive suspension system. Arm 4
1 has a waveform cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG.
It is formed integrally with the socket 20 by press working. Therefore, the strength is excellent and the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 45 denotes a ring portion into which the bush is pressed, and the ball stud 10 is connected to a knuckle or the like. For others, Embodiment 1
Is the same as

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a ball joint structure having a simple structure, excellent sealing properties, and easy manufacture.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a ball joint structure according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the ball joint structure according to the first embodiment before a ball stud is fixed to a socket.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a suspension arm according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 5;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional ball joint structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1. . . 9. ball joint structure, . . Ball studs, 11. . . Ball head, 12. . . Stud, 20. . . Socket, 21. . . Main body, 211, 221. . . Upper edge, 212. . . Central part, 22. . . Tsubabe,

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A ball joint structure comprising: a ball stud comprising a ball head and a stud; and a socket for rotatably supporting the ball head of the ball stud, wherein the socket comprises a ball head. And a flange formed by folding the upper edge of the opening side located on the stud side of the main body outward, and the upper edge of the main body and the flange are located at the center of the main body. Is formed into a cylindrical or prismatic shape straight from the edge toward the upper edge side, then the ball stud is inserted, and then part or all of the upper edge is narrowed inward. Ball joint structure. 2. A suspension system for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein an arm integrated with said flange portion extends from said flange portion in a direction perpendicular to a ball stud. Suspension arm.