JPS6332980Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a ball joint, and more particularly to a protector for a ball joint.

PRIOR ART A ball joint that connects first and second members to be connected to each other so as to be able to pivot relative to each other has a ball at one end and a first member at a portion other than the one end. a ball member fixedly connected to the member; a socket member having a socket portion at one end for rotatably supporting the ball around the center thereof and fixedly connected to the second member at the other end; A ball joint is known that includes a rubber dust cover that covers the ball and the socket to prevent foreign matter such as dust and mud from entering between the ball and the socket.

In this type of ball joint, when the ball joint is heated by radiation from a heat source such as an engine, as is the case when it is incorporated into a link mechanism of a transmission of a vehicle such as an automobile, The dust cover deteriorates due to deterioration, and if a flying object such as a flying stone collides with the dust cover, the dust cover is damaged, and as a result, the dust cover is no longer able to perform its original function and the ball and socket become Foreign objects may enter the space between the two members, thereby preventing the first and second members from pivoting relative to each other smoothly.

In order to avoid such problems, a protector that shields the socket portion of the ball joint from heat sources is attached to the ball member using screws or the like. However, in such a protector, since the ball member pivots or rotates with respect to the socket member, the protector is also displaced relative to the socket member, and therefore it is not always possible to effectively protect the dust cover etc. from heat sources etc. In addition, the protector must not interfere with the ball joint over the entire pivot range of the ball joint, so the shape of the protector is limited, and the dust cover must be protected reliably. Therefore, there is a problem in that the protector must be made larger. Furthermore, for these reasons, it is difficult to use a common protector for various ball joints that have different installation positions and ball member pivot angle ranges, and therefore it is necessary to prepare a unique protector for each ball joint. However, there is a problem in that the number of types of parts increases.

Purpose of the invention In view of the various problems mentioned above in conventional ball joint protectors, the purpose of the invention is to provide a ball joint protector that is improved so that these problems do not occur. There is.

According to the present invention, the object is to provide a ball joint which connects first and second members to be connected to each other so as to be able to pivot relative to each other, and which has a ball at one end. and a ball member fixedly connected to the first member at a portion other than the one end, and a socket portion for supporting the ball rotatably around its center at one end, and the first member at the other end. a socket member screwed onto the second member; a nut for fixing the socket member and the second member to each other; and a nut for preventing foreign matter from entering between the ball and the socket portion. A ball joint protector comprising a ball and a rubber dust cover enclosing the socket part, the ball joint protector having a hole through which the ball member is inserted so that the ball member can pivot, and This is accomplished by a protector having a shell portion that covers the dust cover, and a tongue portion that is formed integrally with the shell portion and is fixed together with the second member to the socket member by the nut. .

Effects and Effects of the Invention According to this configuration, the protector is fixed not to the ball member but to the socket member.
The protector does not displace relative to the socket and dust cover, and is always held in the correct position relative to them, so it is more protected from radiant heat and flying stones from more directions than with conventional protectors. The dust cover can be effectively protected. Furthermore, since the protector does not move relative to the socket part and dust cover, the same protector can be used for the same socket member regardless of the size, shape, and pivot angle of the first member. This allows the number of parts to be reduced. Furthermore, when the socket member and the second member are connected and fixed, the protector is fixed to the socket member along with the second member by tightening together with a nut, which is easier than fixing the protector with screws or the like. The protector can be installed quickly, and maintenance is also easy.

According to one detailed feature of the present invention, the protector is provided with a protrusion that projects toward the socket member, and the socket member is provided with a hole that receives the protrusion, thereby ensuring that the protector is properly positioned relative to the socket member. positioned in position.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a plan view showing one embodiment of the protector according to the present invention assembled to a ball joint, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the protector shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; In these figures, 1 and 2 respectively designate a bell crank and a link as first and second members to be pivotally connected to each other by a ball joint 3. The ball joint 3 includes a ball member 5 having a ball 4 at one end and fixedly connected to the bell crank 1 substantially at the center thereof, and a ball member 5 having a ball 4 at its center O.
It has a socket part 6 rotatably supported around the link 2 at one end, and a socket member 7 screwed onto the link 2 at the other end. The ball member 5 has a flange 8 having a hexagonal cross section substantially at its center;
Bell crank 1 has spring washer 9 and nut 10
The ball member 5 is connected and fixed to the ball member 5 in a state where it is pressed against the flange 8.

The socket portion 6 of the socket member 7 has a cylindrical hole 13 extending along an axis 12 perpendicular to the axis 11.
The ball 4 is placed in the hole 13 with the center O.
a substantially spherical depression 1 rotatably received around the
A resin sheet member 17 having a diameter of 8 is disposed. The socket portion 6 is provided with a frusto-conical hole 15 through which the ball member 5 is inserted so that the ball member 5 can pivot about the center O. A cylindrical recess 16 is provided at the upper end of the hole 13 , and an annular washer 19 that presses a sheet member 17 is fitted into the recess. An annular projection 6a provided around the socket member 7 is rigidly fixed to the socket member 7 by being caulked radially inward as shown in FIG. Also, the socket member 7
A rubber dust cover 20 is attached to the socket part 6 to cover the ball and the socket part in order to prevent foreign matter such as dust or muddy water from entering between the ball 4 and the seat member 17. The dust cover 20 has a hole 21, and the portion around the hole 21 is tightly pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the ball member 5 by its own elasticity.

A threaded hole 23 is provided along the axis 11 at the other end 22 of the socket member 7, and a male thread 25 is formed at the connecting end 24 of the link 2 with the socket member 7 to be screwed into the female thread of the threaded hole 23. The link 2 is fixedly connected to the socket member 7 by screwing the connecting end 24 into the screw hole 23 and tightening the nut 26 screwed into the male screw 25 in the direction approaching the other end 22. It's getting old.

A protector 27 according to the present invention is arranged around the socket member 7 to protect the socket portion 6, sheet member 17, and dust cover 20 from radiant heat and flying objects such as flying stones. The protector 27 is substantially bowl-shaped and covers the socket portion 6 with the dust cover 20.
a shell portion 28 that covers the surrounding area, a tongue portion 30 that has a hole 29 through which the connecting end portion 24 of the link 2 is inserted and extends perpendicularly to the axis 11, and a semi-cylindrical cylinder that extends along the axis 11. It consists of an intermediate part 31 which has a shape and integrally connects the shell part 28 and the tongue part 30. Shell part 2
Reference numeral 8 has a hole 32 into which the ball member 5 is inserted so that the ball member 5 can pivot, and a protrusion 33 that is formed by cutting and raising and protruding toward the axis 11 is provided in the intermediate portion 31. . socket member 7
is provided with a hole 34 for receiving a protrusion 33, which allows the protector 27 to fit into the socket member 7.
It is designed to be properly positioned.
Further, the protector 27 is spaced apart from the socket member 7 and the dust cover 20, thereby forming an insulating air layer therebetween. The tongue portion 30 may be formed with a U-shaped groove 35 for receiving the connecting end 24 of the link 2 instead of the hole 29, as shown in phantom in FIG.
Further, the protrusion 33 connects the protector 27 and the socket member 7.
If the distance between the two is relatively small, a protrusion formed by a punch or the like may be used.

The illustrated ball joint and protector are assembled as follows. First, the ball 4 of the ball member 5 is inserted into the recess 18 of the sheet member 17,
They are placed in the hole 13 from above as seen in FIG. 2 with the protrusion 6a not caulked. Next, the washer 19 is fitted into the recess 16 with the washer 19 in contact with the seat member 17, and the protrusion 6a is swaged radially inward, so that the seat member 17 and the washer 19 are inserted into the socket portion 6 of the socket member 7. Fix it firmly. Next, the hole 21 of the dust cover 20
The ball member 5 is inserted into the socket, and the dust cover 20 is attached to the socket part 6 as shown in FIG.

Next, screw the nut 26 into the connecting end 24 of the link 2 to the left in the figure from the illustrated position, fit the protrusion 33 of the protector 27 into the hole 34, and then insert the connecting end 24 into the tongue part of the protector 27. 30 holes 2
9 and screw the connecting end 24 into the screw hole 23 to a predetermined position. Next, the nut 26 is rotated so as to move to the right in the figure and tightened, thereby connecting the socket member 7 and the link 2, and also connecting the tongue portion 30 of the protector 27 with the nut 26 and the end surface 22a of the other end 22. It is fixed in a state where it is sandwiched between. Thereafter, the bell crank 1 is fixedly connected to the ball member 5 by means of a spring washer 9 and a nut 10.

FIG. 4 is a partial plan view showing the main parts of another embodiment of the protector according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 4. In these figures, parts that are substantially the same as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In this embodiment, a male thread 36 is provided on the other end 22 of the socket member 7, and the other end 22 is screwed into a screw hole 37 formed in the connecting end 24 of the link 2, thereby connecting the socket member 7 and the link 2. It is configured to be applied to a ball joint configured to perform. In this example,
Thread the nut 26 to a position to the right in these figures from the position shown in Figures 4 and 5;
The other end 22 is inserted into the hole 29 of the tongue portion 30 of the protector 27.
The protector 27 is fixed to the socket member 7 by screwing the other rear end 22 into the threaded hole 37 of the link 2, and then tightening the nut 26 by rotating it in a direction that moves leftward in the figure.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing yet another embodiment of the ball joint according to the present invention. Note that in FIG. 6, parts that are substantially the same as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the shell 28 of the protector 27 is deeper than the embodiment shown in FIGS. is provided, and after the protector 27 is assembled to the socket member 7, the edge portion 38 is bent radially inward by plastic deformation, thereby forming a lower portion of the dust cover 20 as seen in FIG. can be protected more effectively than in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 5.

Although the present invention has been described above in detail with reference to several embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention. This will be clear to those skilled in the art.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing one embodiment of the protector according to the present invention assembled to a ball joint, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line - of Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the protector shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a partial plan view showing main parts of another embodiment of the protector according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a portion taken along the line - in FIG. 4. The sectional view, FIG. 6, is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 3, showing still another embodiment of the protector according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Bell crank, 2... Link, 3... Ball joint, 4... Ball, 5... Ball member, 6... Socket part, 7... Socket member, 8
... Flange, 9 ... Spring washer, 10 ... Nut, 11, 12 ... Axis line, 13 ... Hole, 14 ...
...Protrusion, 15...hole, 16...recess, 17...
Sheet member, 18... Recess, 19... Washer, 20
...Dust cover, 21...hole, 22...other end,
23...Screw hole, 24...Connecting end, 25...Male thread, 26...Nut, 27...Protector, 2
8... Shell part, 29... Hole, 30... Tongue part, 31
... middle part, 32 ... hole, 33 ... protrusion, 34 ...
... hole, 35 ... groove, 36 ... male thread, 37 ... screw hole, 38 ... edge, 39 ... slit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A ball joint for pivotally connecting first and second members to be connected to each other, the ball joint having a ball at one end and connecting the first member at a portion other than the one end. a ball member fixedly connected to the second member; a socket member having a socket portion at one end for rotatably supporting the ball around its center and screwed to the second member at the other end; a nut for fixing the socket member and the second member to each other; and a rubber dust covering the ball and the socket to prevent foreign matter from entering between the ball and the socket. A ball joint protector comprising a cover, a shell portion having a hole through which the ball member is inserted so that the ball member can pivot, and a shell portion that covers the socket portion around the dust cover; a tongue piece formed integrally with the second member and fixed together with the second member to the socket member by the nut.