JPH0615882B2 - Ball joint assembly protector - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a protector for protecting a ball joint assembly used in an automobile suspension system and the like from flying stones and the like.

2. Related Art and Problems Generally, it is known that in this type of ball joint assembly, a dust cover is provided at the connecting portion between the housing and the ball stud, and the dust cover is protected by a protector.

Conventionally, such a protector has a structure shown in FIG. 4 showing a typical example thereof and individual examples such as Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-194919 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-194920. Referring briefly to FIG. 4, a typical example of the prior art will be briefly described. The ball joint assembly covers the housing 1, the ball stud 2 mounted on the housing for spherical movement, and the connecting portion between the housing and the ball stud. And a dust cover 3 attached to the housing. A protector 4 is supported between the dust cover 3 and a member 5 to which a ball stud is attached so as to protect the dust cover. However, the typical example of FIG.
Both the prior arts disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 19 and Japanese Patent No. 194920 have a structure that protects only the dust cover. Therefore, parts other than the dust cover, such as the housing, cannot be protected from flying stones. In particular, there is a closure plate 6 and a caulking portion 7 of the housing for fixing the closure plate in the opening on the side opposite to the ball stud of the housing, and these parts are easily damaged when hit by flying stones, and the function of the ball joint is improved. It had the drawback of making it impossible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a protector for a ball joint assembly which is practically useful and which completely eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art.

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention can effectively protect not only the dust cover but also the entire parts of the ball joint assembly such as the housing. The protector is attached to the end of the housing opposite to the ball stud.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an embodiment in which the protector according to the present invention is applied to a ball joint assembly used in an automobile suspension system.

The ball joint assembly comprises a housing 10 and a ball stud 11 mounted in the housing for spherical movement. The housing 10 is fixed to a usual suspension arm (not shown). The housing has openings 12, 12 'at opposite ends, respectively.

The ball stud 11 includes a ball portion 13 and a stud portion 14 extending from the ball portion 13. The ball portion 13 is inserted into one opening 12 of the housing, and in the illustrated embodiment, the ball portion is inserted into the spherical recess 16 of the elastic bearing 15 made of synthetic resin or the like housed in the housing so as to be spherically movable. There is.

Knuckle arm at the end of stud 14 of the ball stud
It is fixed at 17.

Between the knuckle arm and the housing 10, a dust cover 20 of a usual form is arranged.

The dust cover is made of a material such as rubber, and its open end is fixed to the housing 10. This dust cover is intended to prevent dust from entering the connecting portion between the ball stud and the housing, and the inside of the dust cover is filled with grease for lubricating the ball stud and the bearing.

A protector according to the present invention for protecting the entire ball joint assembly is shown at 30.
The protector is located at the end of the housing opposite the ball studs and is attached to the housing such that it closes the housing opening 12 '.

The protector is configured to have an outer surface 31 that is larger than the outermost surface of the ball joint assembly for the purpose of protecting the entire ball joint assembly.

If the housing and the dust cover are normally formed in a circular shape, the protector is formed in a circular shape as a whole. In this case, the protector is, as shown in FIG. 1, a circular base portion 32 having a relatively thick wall, a circular flange portion 33 extending integrally from the periphery of the base portion, and a housing mounting integrally provided on one side surface of the base portion. Consisting of part 34. In this embodiment, the outer diameter of the flange portion 33 is set to be larger than the outermost diameter of the ball joint assembly, that is, the outermost diameter of either the housing or the dust cover.

In this embodiment, the protector has its housing mount 34
Is fixed to the housing by being inserted into the opening 12 'of the housing and fitted into the opening edge. However, it is not necessarily limited to this mounting method. For example, the protector may be fixed to the housing with screws or the like.

When the protector is fixed to the housing as described above, the protector acts so as to cover the entire ball joint assembly such as the housing and the dust cover, and the pebbles 40 etc. try to hit the ball joint assembly as shown in FIG. Also protected by this protector.

The protector is preferably made of a flexible synthetic resin or rubber so as not to be deformed by collision with flying stones.
It also has sufficient strength to withstand the impact of flying stones.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the protector, in which the protector has a plurality of slits 35 radially arranged on the flange 33.

FIG. 3 shows still another embodiment of the protector. In this embodiment, the flange portion 33 is formed in a hemispherical shape protruding toward the housing. With this configuration, the hemispherical surfaces can collectively direct the flying stones and the like in a direction away from the ball joint assembly without scattering.

According to the present invention, since the protector protects the entire ball joint assembly, it is possible to protect not only the dust cover but also the housing and the like as compared with the prior art in which only the dust cover is protected. The real benefit is that the safety of the ball joint can be significantly improved. Further, in particular, since the protector can protect the caulking portion of the opening of the housing, it is possible to prevent damage to the caulking portion and rusting of the caulking portion as in the prior art.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a protector according to the present invention attached to a ball joint assembly, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the protector, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment of the protector. A side view and FIG. 4 are sectional views of a conventional ball joint assembly. 10 …… Housing, 11 …… Ball stud 20 …… Dust cover, 30 …… Protector

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A housing having openings at opposite ends, a ball stud inserted into the one opening and attached to the housing for spherical movement, and a housing for closing the ball stud side opening of the housing. A protector for protecting a ball joint assembly having a dust cover attached to a housing, the housing being integrally provided on one side surface of the base and a flange extending integrally from the periphery of the base. A mounting portion, the housing mounting portion is fitted and mounted in an opening on the side opposite to the ball stud side of the housing, and the outer diameter of the flange portion is larger than the outermost diameter of the ball joint assembly. A protector for a ball joint assembly having a diameter.