JPH0241371Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) This invention is mainly used for stabilizer bars and absorber shells (or lower arms) for vehicles.
This relates to a ball joint that is attached with a bracket interposed between the ball joint and the ball joint.

(Prior art) Conventionally, this type of ball joint has a ball part of a ball stud and a ball seat that supports the ball stud on a spherical surface built into the inside of the socket. It is covered with a dust cover (for example, see Japanese Utility Model Application No. 57-134418).

As shown in FIG. 4, the general structure of the above-mentioned ball joint is that the ball part 23 of the ball stud 22 is installed inside the socket 21 together with a ball seat 24 made of a material such as synthetic resin that supports it on a spherical surface. It is. The hem 25b of the dust cover 25 made of a material such as rubber is fixed to the outer periphery of the upper opening of the socket 21 with a clip 26, and the lip 25a is press-fitted into the outer periphery of the ball stud 22. It is brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of a stopper plate 27 made of a rigid material such as metal. The flange portion 27a of the stopper plate 27 allows the lip portion 25a of the dust cover 25 to be attached to the ball stud 22.
This prevents the dust cover 25 from moving toward the ball portion 23, that is, from falling down.

The internal space of the dust cover 25 is filled with a lubricant 28 such as grease for lubrication between the ball portion 23 of the ball stud 22 and the ball seat 24 that supports it spherically. .

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the ball joint shown in FIG. 4 above, the stopper plate 27 made of a rigid material such as metal is located inside the dust cover 25. When some external force acts on the dust cover 25, the inner surface of the dust cover 25 may come into contact with the edge of the stopper plate 27 and be damaged, which may cause cracks or the like to occur in the dust cover 25. Ta. However, as described above, the stopper plate 27 is effective for preventing the dust cover 25 from falling, and is effective in preventing the dust cover 25 from falling and preventing damage to the dust cover 25. Countermeasures are needed.

Furthermore, if the internal space of the dust cover 25 is filled with too much lubricant 28 such as grease, the lubricant 28 will leak out when the ball stud 22 is tilted relative to the socket 21. On the other hand, if the lubricant 28 decreased, there was a risk of poor lubrication between the ball portion 23 of the ball stud 22 and the ball seat 24.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the ball joint of the present invention is constructed as follows.

For example, as is clear from FIG. 1, the ball portion 3 of a ball stud 2 and a ball seat 4 that supports the ball stud 2 on a spherical surface are incorporated inside the socket 1, and the opening 1a of the socket 1 and the ball stud 2 are connected to each other. The space between them is covered with a dust cover 10.
A cover holder 12 made of a porous elastic body impregnated with a predetermined lubricant is placed in the internal space of the dust cover 10 at the opening 1 of the socket 1.
It is assembled in such a way that it is always in contact with the peripheral edge a and the inner surface of the dust cover 10 facing thereto.

In the above structure, the dust cover 10 is held in a predetermined state by the cover holder 12 made of an elastic material, and a part of the dust cover 10 moves toward the ball part 3 of the ball stud 2, that is, the dust cover 10 is prevented from falling. In addition, when some external force acts on the dust cover 10 and pushes it inward, the cover holder 12 acts as a cushion between the dust cover 10 and the socket 1 or ball stud 2. However, a situation in which the inner surface of the dust cover 10 is damaged can be avoided.

Furthermore, the above ball stud 2 is connected to the socket 1.
When the cover holder 12 is tilted relative to the dust cover 10, a portion of the cover holder 12 is compressed within the dust cover 10. As a result, the lubricant impregnated in the cover holder 12 is applied to the ball portion 3 of the ball stud 2 and the ball seat 4.
The liquid is poured out toward the spherical surface of the two, thereby maintaining good lubrication of their mutual sliding surfaces.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

First, in FIG. 1, which shows a cross section of a ball joint for a stabilizer, a metal socket 1 is integrally connected to a stabilizer bar (not shown), which is one member to be jointed. 2 is connected to the other jointed member, an absorber shell or a rear arm (neither of which is shown), via a bracket or the like. This ball stud 2
The ball portion 3 is incorporated into the socket 1 from the lower opening side thereof, together with a ball seat 4 made of a synthetic resin material etc. that supports the ball portion 3 on a spherical surface, and the lower opening of the socket 1 is connected to the plug 6. It gets blocked. As a result, the ball part 3 of the ball stud 2 and the ball seat 4 are connected to the socket 1.
is maintained in a predetermined assembled state.

In this assembled state, the socket 1 and ball stud 2 are connected to the above-mentioned ball portion 3 and ball seat 4.
The ball stud 2 is connected to the ball stud 2 so that the ball stud 2 can be tilted by sliding on the spherical surface. The ball stud 2 projects upwardly from the upper opening 1a of the socket 1, and a knuckle 5 is coupled thereto as is generally known. Between the opening 1a of this socket 1 and the ball stud 2,
It is covered with a dust cover 10 made of an elastic material such as rubber.

That is, the hem 10b of the dust cover 10
is fixed to the outer periphery of the opening 1a of the socket 1 by a clip 11, and similarly, the lip 10a of the dust cover 10 is in close contact with the outer periphery of the ball stud 2 and the lower surface of the knuckle 5. . A cover holder 12 made of a porous elastic material such as sponge is incorporated in the internal space of the dust cover 10, and the cover holder 12 keeps the dust cover 10 in a normal state at all times. It provides elastic support. Also,
This cover holder 12 is impregnated with a lubricant such as grease.

In the above configuration, the dust cover 10 is held in a predetermined state by the cover holder 12 made of an elastic material such as sponge, so that the lip portion 10a of the dust cover 10 touches the ball portion 3 of the ball stud 2. This prevents inconveniences such as the dust cover 10 moving in the opposite direction, that is, the dust cover 10 falling.
Furthermore, if some external force acts on the dust cover 10 and pushes it inward, the cover holder 12 acts as a cushion between the dust cover 10 and the socket 1 or ball stud 2. However, a situation in which the inner surface of the dust cover 10 comes into direct contact with the socket 1 or ball stud 2, which is made of a rigid material and has an edge, can be avoided.

When the ball stud 2 is tilted relative to the socket 1, a part of the cover holder 12 inside the dust cover 10 is compressed, and as a result, lubricant such as grease impregnated in the cover holder 12 is transferred to the ball. It is poured toward the spherical surface of the ball portion 3 of the stud 2 and the ball seat 4. This means that an appropriate amount of lubricant impregnated into the cover holder 12 is supplied between the ball portion 3 and the ball seat 4 for a long period of time, and the sliding surfaces between these are well lubricated. It will be maintained at

The cover holder 12 described above can also be arranged in a concentrated manner around the axis of the ball stud 2, as shown in FIG. In this case, it is more effective to prevent the dust cover 10 from falling as described above.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, by interposing a plate 14 made of a material such as rubber or synthetic resin between the cover holder 12 and the upper opening 1a of the socket 1, the cover holder 12 can be attached to the socket 1. It is possible to prevent the ball from entering the ball seat 4 side through the opening 1a.

Furthermore, the cover holder 12 is attached to the dust cover 10.
It is also possible to preliminarily adhere or integrally mold the inner surface of the holder.

(Effects of the invention) As described above, the present invention not only prevents damage to the dust cover due to contact between the inner surface of the dust cover and the hard part by the cushion function of the cover holder built into the internal space of the dust cover. In particular, this cover holder can always keep the dust cover in a normal state relative to the ball stud side and prevent it from falling, so the conventional stopper plate can be eliminated.

Furthermore, the lubricant impregnated into the cover holder eliminates the need to separately fill the interior of the socket with a lubricant such as grease, thereby simplifying the assembly work of this type of ball joint.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 3 show embodiments of the present invention;
The figures are cross-sectional views of the ball joint, Figures 2 and 3.
The figures are cross-sectional views of ball joints showing different embodiments, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional ball joint. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Socket, 1a...Opening, 2...Ball stud, 3...Ball portion, 4...Ball seat, 10...Dust cover, 12...Cover holder.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A ball joint in which the ball portion of a ball stud and a ball seat supporting the ball stud on a spherical surface are incorporated inside a socket, and the space between the opening of the socket and the ball stud is covered with a dust cover. A cover holder made of a porous elastic body impregnated with a predetermined lubricant is placed in the inner space of the dust cover between the periphery of the opening of the socket and the inner surface of the dust cover opposite thereto. A ball joint characterized by being built in such a way that it is always in contact with the ball joint.