JPH1059206A - Steering joint unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce replacement cost and increase productivity. SOLUTION: A first ball joint 11 is connected to one end of a shaft or a wheel supporter, and a second ball joint 21 is connected to the other end thereof. A peripheral wall part 20 having an inner hollow part 19 is formed in an end part of a housing of the first ball, joint 11 so as to face the side of the second ball joint 21. A cylindrical collar member 32 having a female screw hole 33 in its inside periphery is disposed in the inner hollow part 19. A rubber elastic body 31 is secured between the collar member 32 and the peripheral wall part 20. Moreover, a male screw 23a formed in a shank part 23 extending from the second ball joint 21 is screwed into the female screw hole 33 of the collar member 32 to thereby connect the collar member 32 to the second ball joint 21. This can freely establish the distance between centers of two ball joints 11 and 21 to prevent an increase in types of parts, so that the productivity can be improved. When the replacement of the first ball joint 11, the second ball joint 21, the rubber elastic body 31 or the like is performed, a ball stud of the second ball joint 21 can be removed from the collar member 32 to separately replace it and thus the replacement cost can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering joint device for an automobile, for example, and more particularly to a steering joint device for absorbing vibration from wheels.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are various structures for a steering of an automobile. For example, the structure of a rack and pinion type steering is as follows. That is, as shown in FIG.
1 supports the first ball joint 1
1 is connected to a rack shaft (not shown) of the rack assembly 52 via a joint device 101 provided with the same. A steering gear (not shown) provided at the end of the steering shaft 54 extending from the steering wheel 55 meshes with the rack teeth of the shaft of the rack. According to such steering, the steering wheel 55
Is rotated by the steering gear and the rack teeth into a linear motion in the vehicle width direction, and the wheel support 64 is pulled and pressed to change the direction of the wheel 71.

[0003] A joint device 101 for connecting the wheel support 64 and a rack shaft used in this steering.
Was composed of a first ball joint 111 and a second ball joint 121 as shown in FIG. The handle 123 of the ball stud 122 of the second ball joint 121 is disposed in a hollow bore 119 formed at the end of the housing 118 of the first ball joint 111 on the side of the second ball joint. A rubber elastic body 131 is interposed therebetween and fixed by means such as baking or bonding.

[0004] Such a steering joint device 101 generates vibrations from the wheels 71 via a wheel support 64 when the wheels 71 cross over uneven road surfaces or when the vehicle suddenly starts or stops while the vehicle is running. 101, the rubber elastic body 131 of the joint device 101
Absorbed the vibration, and the vibration was not transmitted to the steering wheel 55 directly operated by the driver.

[0005]

In the above-described steering joint device 101, the rubber elastic member 13 is used during traveling.
Since vibration from the wheel 71 is always input to 1, the rubber elastic body 131 is continuously contracted and durability is reduced. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the joint device 101, but replacing the entire joint device 101 may increase the cost. This means that even when one of the first ball joint 111 and the second ball joint 121 needs to be replaced due to abrasion or the like, the entire joint device 101 must be replaced.

[0006] The joint device 101 may be divided into several types depending on the difference between the centers of the ball heads 114 and 124 of the first ball joint 111 and the second ball joint 121. In this case, the length of the handle portion 123 of the housing 118 of the first ball joint 111 or the ball stud 122 of the second ball joint 121 is changed. However, when the length of the handle portion 123 of the housing 118 or the ball stud 122 is changed, the number of types of components is increased, so that productivity may decrease.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a steering joint device which can reduce the cost of replacement and has high productivity.

[0008]

The configuration of the present invention is as follows.

A first ball joint connected to one of the shaft or the wheel support and a second ball joint connected to the other; a hollow bore at an end of the housing of the first ball joint on the second ball joint side; A peripheral wall portion having a peripheral portion is formed, a cylindrical collar member having an internal thread on the inner periphery is disposed in the inner cavity portion, and a rubber elastic body is fixed between the collar member and the peripheral wall portion, and a collar is provided. A male screw formed on a handle extending from the second ball joint is screwed into the female screw of the member to connect the two members.

[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 joint device 1 for steering of a vehicle (automobile) and its peripheral devices. Reference numeral 61 denotes a wheel support 64 for supporting a wheel 71, and the wheel support 64 and the vehicle body are connected and supported. This is a suspension device including an upper arm 62 and a lower arm 63. The wheel support 64 is connected to a rack shaft (not shown) of the rack assembly 52 via the joint device 1 having the first ball joint 11. A steering gear (not shown) provided at the end of the steering shaft 54 extending from the steering wheel 55 meshes with the rack teeth of the rack shaft. According to such steering, the rotational motion of turning the steering wheel 55 is converted into a linear motion in the vehicle width direction by the steering gear and the rack teeth, and the direction of the wheel 71 is changed by pulling and pressing the wheel support 64.

As shown in FIG. 2, the joint device 1 used for such a steering includes a first ball joint 11 and a second ball joint 21 connected to each other.

First, the first ball joint 11 includes a ball stud 12 having a spherical ball head 14 and a handle 13 extending from the ball head 14 and having a threaded portion 13a at an end on the side opposite to the ball head. A bearing 15 made of synthetic resin for enclosing the ball head 14 of the ball stud 12, and a handle 1 of the ball stud 12 which holds the bearing 15 and is connected to the small opening 18a at one end.
3 is projected and the closing plate 16 is caulked and fixed to the inner periphery of the other large opening 18b. A boot 17 made of a rubber elastic body and a closing plate 16 are provided. The housing 18 of the first ball joint 11 includes the ball stud 1
An extension 18c extending in a direction perpendicular to the second axis is provided, and a peripheral wall 20 having a hollow lumen 19 is formed at an end of the extension 18c.

The second ball joint 21 includes a ball stud 22 having a spherical ball head 24 and a handle 23 extending from the ball head 24 and having an external thread 23a at an end on the side opposite to the ball head. A bearing 25 made of synthetic resin for enclosing the ball head 24 of the ball stud 22;
And a boot 29 made of a rubber elastic body having one end attached to the outer periphery of the handle 23 of the ball stud 22 and the other end attached to the outer periphery of the rack assembly.

The connecting portion between the first ball joint 11 and the second ball joint 21 is connected to the inner cavity 19 of the housing 18 of the first ball joint 11,
A cylindrical collar member 32 having a cylindrical member 3 is concentrically arranged, and a rubber elastic body 31 is interposed between the peripheral wall portion 20 of the housing 18 and the collar member 32 and fixed by baking. A female screw 33 formed on the inner periphery of the collar member 32
The ball stud 22 of the second ball joint 21
Are screwed together and fixed by nuts.

Next, a method for mounting the steering of the joint device 1 will be described.

When the male screw 23a of the ball stud 22 of the second ball joint 21 is screwed into the female screw 33 of the collar member 32 in advance, the joint head 1 of the first ball joint 11 and the second ball joint 21
The center-to-center distances 4 and 24 are set to a predetermined distance. Then, the screw portion 13a of the ball stud 12 of the first ball joint 11 is fixed to the wheel support 64, and the screw portion 28 of the housing 26 of the second ball joint 21 is fixed to the shaft of the rack, thereby completing the mounting of the steering.

In the joint device 1 attached to the steering wheel as described above, as shown in FIG. 3, the components are the same, and only the distance between the centers of the ball heads 14, 24 of the first ball joint 11 and the second ball joint 21 is different. Sometimes. In such a case, the distance between the centers of the two ball joints 11 and 21 can be freely set by adjusting the length of the threaded portion between the collar member 32 and the ball stud 22 of the second ball joint 21.

When the first ball joint 11, the second ball joint 21 or the rubber elastic body 31 is replaced, the ball studs 22 of the second ball joint 21 are replaced.
Can be removed from the collar member 32 and replaced alone.

In the joint device 1, the rubber elastic body 31 is directly connected to the housing 18 of the first ball joint 11.
But was fixed by baking, as shown in FIG.
5 and the outer cylinder 45 is attached to the peripheral wall 2 of the housing 18.
It may be fixed by caulking at the end of 0. As a result, the outer cylinder 45, the rubber elastic body 31, and the collar member 32 can be assembled in advance, so that the rubber elastic body 31 is not directly baked on the large-sized housing 18 and the assembly is easy.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, a first ball joint connected to one of a shaft and a wheel support and a second ball joint connected to the other are provided, and the first ball joint in the housing of the first ball joint is provided. A peripheral wall portion having a hollow lumen portion is formed at the two ball joint side end portion, and a cylindrical collar member having a female screw on the inner periphery is arranged in the lumen portion, and the collar member and the peripheral wall portion are formed. A rubber elastic body is fixed between the two ball joints, and a male screw formed on a handle extending from the second ball joint is screwed into a female screw of the collar member to connect the two members. Can be set, and an increase in the number of types of parts can be suppressed, so that productivity can be improved. Further, when replacing the first ball joint, the second ball joint, the rubber elastic body, or the like, the ball stud of the second ball joint can be removed from the collar member and replaced alone, so that the replacement cost can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a steering and peripheral devices thereof.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional front view illustrating a steering joint device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional front view showing another usage state of the steering joint device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional front view showing a steering joint device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing a conventional steering joint device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Joint apparatus 11 1st ball joint 18 Housing 19 Inner cavity 20 Peripheral wall 21 Second ball joint 23 Handle 23a Male screw 31 Rubber elastic body 32 Color member 33 Female screw 64 Wheel support

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A steering joint device for connecting a steering shaft and a wheel support (64), wherein the joint device (1) includes a shaft or a wheel support (6).
4) a first ball joint (11) connected to one side and a second ball joint (21) connected to the other side, and a second ball joint side end of the housing (18) of the first ball joint (11). A peripheral wall portion (20) having a hollow lumen portion (19) is formed in the portion, and a cylindrical collar member (32) having an internal thread (33) on the inner periphery is formed in the lumen portion (19). ) Is disposed, and a rubber elastic body (3) is provided between the collar member (32) and the peripheral wall portion (20).
1) is fixed, and a male screw (23a) formed on a handle (23) extending from the second ball joint (21) is screwed into the female screw (33) of the collar member (32). A steering joint device comprising: