JPS6283513A - Abrasion indicating ball joint - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the sealing of a ball joint perfect, by disposing the brim portion of the projecting member of an abrasion indicating device outside a closing plate, and fixing a protection cover with caulking on the outer surface of the closing plate wherein the protection cover isolates the inside and the outside of the ball joint and covers the brim. CONSTITUTION:The projecting member 21 of an abrasion indicating device which projects from the passage hole 24 of a closing plate 9 is provided with a brim portion 22 of which outer diameter is bigger than the inner diameter of the passage hole 24, and the brim portion 22 is disposed outside the closing plate 9. And a protection cover 16 which covers the projecting member 21, isolates the inside and the outside of a ball joint 1, protrudes by the projection of the projecting member 21 and is made of an elastic film 13 such as rubber, is fixed on the side of a washer 11 with baking. Furthermore, the protection cover 16 is fixed with caulking by the edge portion of the big opening 25 of a socket in a condition that the cover is overlapped on the outer surface of the closing plate 9. Thereby, the protection cover 16 can be fixed without obstructing assembling ability, and the sealing of the ball joint can be made perfect.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a wear indicating ball joint used in the front suspension system of automobiles in the industrial field of application.

Conventional technology In a wear-indicating ball joint, the sealing performance of the wear-indicating part can be improved by covering the wear-indicating part with a dust cover made of an elastic material, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-30.
It is known as No. 520.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention The above-mentioned ball joint has the drawback that the dust cover is fixed with a garter spring, so the dust force/knee easily falls off, making it impossible to guarantee the wear indicator. .

On the other hand, in order to prevent the dust cover from falling off, it is conceivable to fix the dust cover to a closing plate or a socket by burning. However, for ball joints in which the wear indicator protrudes outward as the ball joint wears, a dust cover is baked onto the closing plate or socket 1 in advance, as shown in Figure 1. There is a problem in that it is impossible to assemble the ball joint in this condition.

In this regard, as shown in FIG. 2, if the inner diameter of the through hole 24b formed in the closing plate 9b is made larger than the outer diameter of the flange 22b of the protruding member 21b, it becomes possible to assemble the ball joint, but the wear of the ball joint becomes more difficult. Lower bearing 7
If b moves toward the pole stud, the protruding member 21b passes through the through hole 24b as shown by the two-dot chain line, causing a problem in that it no longer functions as a wear indicator.

A means to solve the problem is to use an annular washer in which a hole with an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the flange is formed, and a ring-shaped washer that is integrally baked on the side surface of the core washer to cover the protruding member and isolate the inside and outside of the ball joint. A protective cover made of an elastic coating such as rubber that rises due to the protrusion of the protruding member is superimposed on the outer surface of the closing plate and fixed by caulking at the edge of the socket's large opening.

The hole in the working washer allows the protruding member to move forward and backward, and the protective cover is caulked and fixed together with the closing plate.

Example The configuration of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows a tensile ball joint 1 used in a front suspension. In the figure, 2 is a pole stud, 5 is a socket, 6 is an upper bearing, and 7 is a lower bearing.

This ball joint 1 has a rubber ring part 8 and a closing plate 9 to indicate the wear caused by use of the ball joint spherical head 4 and the bearing 6゜7 which is a head holding member.
, a protective cover 16 consisting of a washer 11 and an elastic coating 13;
It includes a spring 17, a guide protrusion 18 integrally formed with the lower bearing 7, and a protruding member 21.

The closing plate 9 has a flange portion 10 on its inner diameter side, and the inner diameter of the flange portion 10 is smaller than the outer diameter of the collar portion 22 of the protruding member 21 in order to prevent the protruding member 21 from passing through. .

The elastic coating 13 is integrally baked onto the washer 11 and covers the protruding member 21 .

Unfortunately, the inside and outside of ball joint 1 are completely cut off.
Dust, water, etc. do not enter into the ball joint 1. Further, an uneven bellows portion 15 is formed in the center of the elastic coating 13, and is provided with a sufficient membrane length that can be raised in preparation for the protrusion of the protrusion member 21, which will be described later. The protective part 14 is still attached to the elastic coating 13 and the bellows part 15.
The protruding member 21 is formed to have a thicker wall than that of the protruding member 21, and protects the protruding member 21 from being hit by flying stones or the like.

Next, the assembly of the wear indicator in assembling the ball joint 1 will be explained based on FIG. 5.

After the rubber ring part 8 and the closing plate 9 are assembled into the socket 5 in this order, the spring 17 is housed in the recess of the guide protrusion 18, and the protruding member 21 is formed on the guide protrusion 18 through the through hole 24 of the closing plate 9. The protruding member 21 is pushed into the position where the protrusion 19 on the proximal side engages with the locking convex ring 23 of the protruding member 21. Next, a protective cover 16 consisting of a washer 11 and an elastic coating 13 is installed so that the washer 11 comes into close contact with the closing plate 9, and is caulked and fixed at the edge of the socket 5.

Next, the operation of the wear indicator of the ball joint 1 will be explained.

In the initial installation state before use of the pole joint 1, the locking convex ring 23 formed on the protruding member 21 is attached to the protrusion 1 formed on the guide protrusion 18 as shown in FIG.
It is engaged with 9. How to use ball joint 1
As wear progresses, the locking convex ring 23 of the protruding member 21
passes over the protrusion 19 on the base side and engages with the protrusion 20 on the distal side, as shown in FIG. 4, to prevent removal.

Therefore, when the wear of the ball joint 1 exceeds a limit, the protruding member 21 is pressed by the spring 17, protrudes significantly downward from the initial mounting position shown in FIG. 3, and is locked at the position shown in FIG. 4. It turns out.

When the protruding member 21 protrudes in this manner, the bellows portion 15 of the elastic coating 13 is pressed by the protruding member 21 and protrudes as shown in FIG. 4.

Therefore, the protrusion of the elastic coating 13 is an indication of wear of the ball joint 1.

Effects As described above, according to the present invention, the hole in the washer allows the protruding member to move forward and backward, and the protective cover is caulked and fixed together with the closing plate, so the ball joint can be assembled without impeding performance. A protective cover can be fixed to the wear indicator. still,
The elastic coating is firmly bonded to the ball joint, and the joint between the protective cover and the ball joint body is completely sealed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 and 2 are sectional plan views of essential parts of a conventional wear-indicating ball joint. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional plan view of a wear indicating ball joint representing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view of the ball joint shown in FIG. 3 in a state where wear has progressed. FIG. 5 is a sectional plan view of essential parts showing a state in which the ball joint of FIG. 3 is being assembled. (Explanation of symbols) 1...Ball joint. 5...So Ke Note. 9... Closing plate. 11...-... seat
Money. 12...Elastic coating. 15...Protective cover. 20...Protruding member. 21...Tsuba
Department. 23...--Through hole. 24...Large opening.

Claims (1)

[Claims] As wear progresses on the ball joint, the wear indicator protrudes outward from the through hole 24 of the closing plate 9 caulked to the large opening 25 of the socket 5 of the ball joint 1. The member 21 is provided with a flange 22 having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the through hole 24 of the closing plate 9, and the flange 22 is disposed on the outside of the closing plate 9. an annular washer 11 in which a hole 12 is formed;
an elastic coating 13 such as rubber that is integrally baked on the side surface of the ball joint 1 to cover the protrusion member 21 and block the inside and outside of the ball joint 1, and rises due to the protrusion of the protrusion member 21;
A wear-indicating ball joint characterized in that a protective cover 16 consisting of a protective cover 16 is superimposed on the outer surface of the closing plate 9 and fixed by caulking at the edge of the large socket opening 25.