RU160616U1 - ROUNDED FIST - Google Patents

Abstract

The steering knuckle, which includes the housing of the steering knuckle and ball bearing, upper and lower pivots, made in the form of fingers with heads, pivot bearings with recesses and liners of antifriction material, set in the recesses of the pivot bearings, characterized in that each pivot bearing is made in in the form of a cylindrical body with a recess, the depth of which exceeds the radius of the king pin head, and is equipped with a protective cover filled with grease, the head of each king pin is made spherical, and the liner covers most the spherical surface of the head, is equipped with a side cavity filled with grease, and is fixed in the recess of the kingpin support with a locking ring.

Description

The utility model relates to transport engineering, namely to the design of the steering knuckle of a wheeled vehicle.

From the description of patent RU33357U1, IPC B62D 7/18, publ. 10.20.2003, the design of the steering knuckle of a wheeled vehicle is known, comprising a housing of the steering knuckle, a ball bearing with two opposing hemispherical pivot bearings equipped with liners of antifriction material, clearance adjustment mechanisms and pivots made in the form of fingers with hemispherical heads. The clearance adjustment mechanism, which includes a threaded sleeve, is designed for preloading the kingpin onto the kingpin support.

The design of the knuckle described above has the following disadvantages:

- increased design complexity due to the presence of two clearance control mechanisms;

- increased complexity of the assembly of the knuckle due to the need to adjust the magnitude of the pre-loading of the pivots on the supports;

- low reliability of operation of the steering knuckle, which is due to the shallow depth of the recesses in the pivot bearings and unreliable fixation of the liners in them (during operation, the liners can be squeezed out of the pivot supports)

- low wear resistance of the structure due to displacement of the lubricant during operation from the contact area of the surfaces of the liner and the head of the kingpin;

- increased maintenance costs due to the need to perform during operation of the adjustment of the magnitude of the pre-loading of the pivots on the supports due to wear of the liners in the absence of lubrication.

From the description of the patent RU 826667 U1, IPC B62D 7/18, publ. 05/10/2009, the design of the knuckle is known, containing the housing of the knuckle, ball bearing with two opposing pivot bearings equipped with liners of antifriction material, clearance control mechanisms and pivots made in the form of fingers with hemispherical heads.

In the aforementioned patent, the problem of increasing the wear resistance of the knuckle was solved by making through axial holes (oil channels) in the pivots, into which grease nipples are installed from the outside, and also making metal inserts.

To increase the reliability of fixing the liners in the pivot supports, it was proposed to equip the liners with special protrusions, and the supports with corresponding grooves.

The design of the above knuckle has the following disadvantages:

- increased design complexity due to the presence of nipples;

- increased complexity of manufacturing, due to the need to perform through the pivots through axial holes, and in the supports - grooves for fixing the liners;

- increased complexity of the assembly of the knuckle due to the need to adjust the magnitude of the pre-loading of the pivots on the supports;

- increased costs of servicing the steering knuckle during operation, which includes adjusting the magnitude of the pre-loading of the pivots onto the supports with liners installed in them, as well as pumping lubricant into the grease fittings.

From the description of patent RU 2272187 C2, IPC F16C 11/06, publ. 03/20/2006, the known design and method of assembly of the ball joint of the vehicle. The design includes a housing with a recess, a ball pin with a spherical head mounted in the recess, an insert of antifriction material located between the body and the head, and a locking device made in the form of a ring. When assembling the hinge, the head is installed in the socket of the insert, inserted into the recess of the housing, a retaining ring is installed, to which a load is applied to ensure pre-loading of the spherical head of the finger, after which the insert and ring are fixed by pressing or by pressing the upper part of the housing in the housing.

The one-piece design of the ball joint with an anti-friction liner does not require maintenance and can withstand a long service life. It excludes the appearance of the defect "squeezing the liner out of the housing."

Known and widely used are the designs of ball joints, see, for example, the description of patent RU 12199 U1, IPC F16C 11/06, publ. 12/16/1999, in which the liner is equipped with cavities and / or grooves that perform the functions of a collection of lubricant.

From the prior art, see, for example, the description of patent RU 26256 U1, IPC F16C 11/06, publ. November 20, 2002, the effectiveness of equipping a vehicle’s ball joint with a thermoplastic polymer protective cover filled with grease is also known to prevent leakage of lubricant during operation and to protect it from dirt and water entering the joint.

For the closest analogue of the knuckle, a design is adopted, known from the description of patent RU 104914U1, IPC B62D 7/18, publ. 05/27/2011 The design of the closest analogue includes a steering knuckle body, a ball bearing with two opposing pivot bearings, in the recesses of which liners of antifriction material are installed, and pivots made in the form of fingers with hemispherical heads.

The depth of the notches in the supports of the pivots of the closest analogue is small and does not exceed the radius of the hemisphere of the pivot. To increase the reliability of fixing the insert in the pin support and reduce the likelihood of it being squeezed out of the pin support during vehicle operation, grooves are made in the pin support and the insert is provided with corresponding protrusions that are recessed into the grooves during assembly.

The disadvantages of the prototype are:

- increased design complexity due to the presence of two clearance control mechanisms;

- increased laboriousness of manufacture, due to the need to perform grooves in the supports for fixing the liners;

- increased complexity of the assembly of the knuckle due to the need to adjust the magnitude of the pre-loading of the pivots on supports with liners;

- low wear resistance of the structure due to displacement of the lubricant during operation from the contact area of the liner and the kingpin;

- increased complexity of maintenance, due to the need to perform during operation of the adjustment of the value of the pre-loading of the pivots on supports with liners due to wear of the liners in the absence of lubrication.

The technical results to which the claimed technical solution is aimed are to reduce the complexity of the assembly of the knuckle, increase its service life and reduce the complexity of maintenance.

These technical results can be obtained in a design that includes the housing of the knuckle and ball bearings, upper and lower pivots, made in the form of fingers with heads, pivot bearings with recesses and liners made of antifriction material, mounted in the recesses of the pivot bearings.

Technical results are achieved in that each pin of the pin is made in the form of a cylindrical body with a recess, the depth of which exceeds the radius of the head of the pin, and is equipped with a protective cover filled with grease; the head of each king pin is made spherical, and the liner covers most of the spherical surface of the head, is provided with at least one side cavity filled with grease, and is fixed in the recess of the kingpin support with a locking ring.

Implementation of pivot pylons with recesses with a depth exceeding the radius of the pivot head allows several positive aspects to be achieved at once:

- eliminate the possibility of extrusion of the liners during operation and thereby increase the reliability and service life of the knuckle;

- apply liners with side recesses filled with grease, which improves lubrication of rubbing surfaces, increases the amount of lubricant in the bearing, reduces wear on the liners, increases the service life of the steering knuckle and eliminates the use of clearance adjustment mechanisms in the design of the rotary cam;

- use retaining rings for fixing the inserts, which, after seaming the edges of the recesses of the pivot bearings, securely fix the inserts in the recesses of the supports.

The implementation of the heads of the spherical kingpins objectively increases their strength and reliability of the kingpin in operation.

The technological process for producing fingers with a spherical head is well developed by the industry, which increases the manufacturability of the design of the pin and the steering knuckle as a whole, and allows the use of workpieces from the existing row of fingers for ball joints. The lack of need for fillets reduces the complexity of manufacturing pivots.

The design of protective covers and the technology for their manufacture are also well established in the production of ball joints of vehicles.

The pivot assembly, including the pivot bearing, the pivot, the liner, the retaining ring, the protective cover and the spring ring, is assembled using technology well developed in the manufacture of ball bearings.

When assembling the pivot assembly, the normalized value of the preliminary loading of the spherical finger head onto the support with the liner installed in its recess is automatically ensured, which increases the service life of the assembly and the knuckle as a whole.

The use of finished pivot knots in the design of the knuckle sharply reduces the laboriousness of assembling the knuckle and eliminates the use of clearance adjustment mechanisms in its design, reduces the laboriousness of servicing the knuckle and simplifies its repair.

The essence of the utility model is illustrated by the following drawings.

In FIG. 1 shows a rotary fist in a section.

In FIG. 2 shows the upper kingpin of the steering knuckle.

In FIG. 3 shows a top section of a pivot assembly.

In FIG. 4 shows a lower pivot assembly in section.

The positions in the figures indicated:

1 - housing steering knuckle;

2 - ball bearing;

3 - support of the upper kingpin;

4 - liner of the upper kingpin;

5 - finger of the upper kingpin;

6 - spherical head of the upper kingpin;

7 - threaded section on the pin of the kingpin;

8 - a lock ring of the upper kingpin;

9 - a protective cover of the upper kingpin;

10 - upper sleeve;

11 - support of the lower king pin;

12 - liner of the lower king pin;

13 - finger of the lower king pin;

14 - spherical head of the lower kingpin;

15 - a lock ring of the lower kingpin;

16 - a protective cover of the lower king pin.

17 - lower threaded sleeve;

18 - a spring ring;

19 - the cavity in the liner for lubrication.

The steering knuckle (see Fig. 1) contains the housing 1 of the steering knuckle, spherical bearing 2, bearing 3 of the upper kingpin, liner 4 of the upper kingpin, upper kingpin with finger 5 and head 6, bearing 11 of the lower kingpin, liner 12 of the lower kingpin; lower king pin with finger 13 and head 14.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the proposed design of the steering knuckle differs from the design of the closest analogue, inter alia, by the changed arrangement of the housing 1 relative to the ball joint 2, in which the holes in the housing 1 and the holes in the ball joint 2 located along the common pivot axis alternate (at the analog of the hole in the housing knuckle located outside with respect to the holes in the ball joint). Such a change in the design of the steering knuckle made it possible to obtain an unexpected additional technical result, consisting in a significant, compared with the construction of the closest analogue, increase in the angle of rotation of the wheel and increase the maneuverability of the wheeled vehicle.

The support 3 of the upper king pin is installed in the hole of the housing 1 of the steering knuckle, the support 11 of the lower king pin is installed in the hole of the ball joint 2.

The finger 5 of the upper kingpin is fixed in the hole of the ball joint 2 with the help of the upper sleeve 10 with a tapered hole and a nut.

The lower hole in the housing 1 of the knuckle is threaded.

The finger 13 of the lower kingpin is fixed in the lower hole of the housing 1 using the lower threaded sleeve 17 with a tapered hole and a nut.

Each bearing 3.11 pivot is made in the form of a cylindrical body with a recess, the depth of which exceeds the value of the radius R of the pivot head (see Fig. 2).

The design of the support 3 of the upper kingpin differs from the design of the support 11 of the lower kingpin by the presence of an annular groove designed to fix the support 3 on the housing 1 of the steering knuckle using a split spring ring (in Fig. The ring is not indicated by the position).

Each pivot bearing 3, 11 is equipped (see Fig. 3, 4) with a protective cover 9, 16 filled with grease. The cover 9, 16 is made of thermoplastic elastomer and is fixed on the shaft support by the spring ring 18. The purpose of the cover 9, 16 is to prevent leakage of lubricant during operation and to protect it from dirt and water entering the support 3, 11.

Each pin of the steering knuckle (see Fig. 2) is made without the fillet characteristic of the ball joints of vehicles, since the pin does not need to tilt the pin of the pin relative to the common pivot axis. Due to the lack of fillet, the mechanical strength of the kingpin is very high. The heads 6, 14 of the pivots are made spherical in shape. The fingers 5, 13 of the pivots are equipped with a threaded section 7.

The liners 4, 12 are cast from an antifriction polymer material. At least one lubricant cavity 19 is formed in each of the liners (see Figs. 3, 4).

The lower threaded sleeve 17 is made of metal. The hole in the sleeve 17 is made conical. The sleeve 17 is provided with a groove for a screwdriver and a slotted groove for the entire length. The purpose of the sleeve 17 is the tight fixation of the finger 13 of the lower pin in the lower hole of the housing 1 of the steering knuckle.

Before assembling the knuckle, the upper and lower pivot assemblies are assembled (see Figs. 3 and 4), each of which includes a pivot bearing, an insert, a pivot, a snap ring, a protective cover, and a spring ring.

The method of assembly of the upper and lower pivot assembly largely repeats the method of assembly of the vehicle ball joint, known from the description of patent RU 2272187 C2.

In the cavity 19 on the inner surface of the liner 4 (12) put the grease. The liner 4 (12) is put on the head 6 (14) of the kingpin. Then the king pin with the liner is installed in the recess of the support 3 (11) of the king pin and close with the retaining ring 8 (15). Then, a load is applied to the retaining ring 8 (15) to provide pre-loading of the kingpin head 6 (14) to the support 3 (11), after which, by rolling or squeezing the upper part of the kingpin support 3 (11), the insert 4 (12) and the retaining ring are fixed 14 (15) in the bearing 3 (4) of the kingpin.

The steering knuckle assembly includes:

- installation in the upper hole of the housing 1 of the knuckle of the upper pivot assembly (with the finger 5 up) and fixing the support 3 of the pivot on the housing 1 of the knuckle using a split spring ring;

- screwing into the lower threaded hole of the housing 1 of the knuckle of the lower threaded sleeve 17 with a tapered hole;

- installation in the conical hole of the sleeve 17 of the lower pivot node (finger 13 down) and fixing the finger 13 of the lower pivot with a nut on the housing 1 of the knuckle;

- installation of the ball joint 2 so that the finger 5 of the upper king pin enters the upper hole of the ball joint 2, and the lower pin support 11 in the lower hole of the support 2;

- installation of the upper sleeve 10 on the finger 5 of the upper kingpin;

- fixing the ball bearings on the housing 1 of the knuckle by tightening the nut on the threaded section 7 of the finger of the upper kingpin.

The lower threaded sleeve 17 is twisted into the lower hole of the housing 1 of the knuckle until it sits tightly on the conical portion of the surface of the finger 13 of the lower kingpin.

The steering knuckle in the vehicle operates in a known manner.

When a control force acts on the housing 1 of the knuckle, it rotates around a common pivot axis along with the upper and lower pivots. When this occurs, the sliding of the spherical surfaces of the heads 6, 14 of the pivots on the surfaces of the respective liners 4, 12, which provides the rotation of the steered wheel of the vehicle.

Patent studies carried out regarding the designs of the steering knuckles confirm the world novelty of the claimed technical solution.

The implementation of the utility model and the operation of prototypes in vehicles confirmed its industrial applicability and the achievement of the claimed technical results.

Claims (1)

The steering knuckle, which includes the housing of the steering knuckle and ball bearing, upper and lower pivots, made in the form of fingers with heads, pivot bearings with recesses and liners of antifriction material, set in the recesses of the pivot bearings, characterized in that each pivot bearing is made in in the form of a cylindrical body with a recess, the depth of which exceeds the radius of the king pin head, and is equipped with a protective cover filled with grease, the head of each king pin is made spherical, and the liner covers most the spherical surface of the head, is equipped with a side cavity filled with grease, and is fixed in the recess of the kingpin support with a locking ring.

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