JP4596516B2 - Ball joint molding equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball joint molding device used in a connecting portion of, for example, a suspension device and a steering device of an automobile.

  Conventionally, ball joints have been frequently used for connecting parts of automobile suspensions and steering devices. As shown in the right half of FIG. 5, such a ball joint 151 includes a ball stud 152 having a spherical ball head 153 and a handle portion 154 extending from the ball head 153, and the ball head of the ball stud 152. A synthetic resin bearing 155 that holds the portion 153 in a swingable manner, a small opening 157 that encloses the bearing 155 and protrudes the handle portion 154 of the ball stud 152 on one side, and a disk shape that is a counterpart member on the other side And a housing 156 having a large opening 158 for caulking and fixing the closing plate 161, and an end portion of the large opening 158 of the housing 156 is caulked inward to form a caulking portion 160.

  A molding apparatus 101 for caulking and molding the end of the large opening 158 of the housing 156 of the ball joint 151 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The molding apparatus 101 shown in the figure includes a caulking receiver 109 and a caulking unit 102 disposed so as to face the caulking receiver 109 in the axial direction. The caulking receiver 109 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and a carved space 110 into which the housing 156 is inserted is defined. The caulking unit 102 includes a disk-shaped caulking roller 103 that forms the caulking portion 160 of the ball joint 151, and a roller head 107 that supports the caulking roller 103. The roller head 107 can be rotated around the axis of the ball stud 152 by mechanical means (not shown). The caulking roller 103 has a caulking surface 104 that is formed in a circumferentially concave shape. As shown in FIG. 6, the caulking surface 104 has a central portion 115 at the center in the width direction and an outer peripheral portion 116 at the outer peripheral side of the housing, and is formed by a curved surface having a single curvature.

  Next, a molding process for caulking and fixing the closing plate 161 in the large opening 158 of the housing 156 of the ball joint 151 using the molding apparatus 101 will be described with reference to FIG.

  A ball stud 152 having a ball head 153 and a handle 154 extending from the ball head 153 in advance, a bearing 155 for holding the ball head 153 of the ball stud 152, and a bearing 155 are included, and one of the balls A preliminary assembly 151A comprising a small opening 157 from which the handle 154 of the stud 152 projects and a housing 156 having a large opening 158 in which a disk-like closing plate 161 is disposed inside is assembled. Next, as shown in the left half of FIG. 5, the housing 156 of the preliminary assembly 151 </ b> A is disposed in the engraving space 110 of the caulking receiver 109. Subsequently, the caulking unit 102 is lowered while rotating the roller head 107 around the axis of the ball stud 152, and when the caulking roller 103 comes into contact with the end of the large opening 158 of the housing 156, the caulking roller 103 is moved to the axis of the roller pin 108. Rotation is started around the center, and the end of the large opening 158 of the housing 156 is bent to the inner peripheral side to perform caulking molding, and the caulking portion 160 is formed, and the closing plate 161 is caulked and fixed inside the large opening 158. The ball joint 151 is formed.

  When the end of the large opening 158 of the housing 156 of the ball joint 151 is caulked using the caulking and forming apparatus 101 as described above, the caulking roller 103 is axially moved to the end of the large opening 158 of the housing 156 as shown in FIG. A large load P4 is applied to the end of the large opening 158 of the housing 156 from the central portion 115 of the caulking portion 104 in the axial direction. On the other hand, the load applied from the outer peripheral portion 116 of the caulking surface 104 is dispersed from the axial direction by the inclined curved surface, and the outer peripheral load P5 from the outer peripheral portion 116 side oblique direction toward the closing plate 161 is smaller than the central load P4. Therefore, it is conceivable that the adhesion between the caulking portion 160 of the housing 156 and the outer peripheral surface of the closing plate 161 is weakened, and the sealing performance between the caulking portion 160 of the housing 156 and the closing plate 161 is lowered.

Further, since the central load P4 and the outer peripheral load P5 from the axial direction and the oblique direction toward the outer peripheral portion 116 are applied to the end portion of the large opening 158 of the housing 156, the end portion of the large opening 158 of the housing 156 is deformed radially outward and swells. It is conceivable that the protruding portion is formed. Since such a bulging portion comes into contact with the edge-shaped outer peripheral end portion of the caulking surface 104 of the caulking roller 103 and further bulges toward the outer peripheral side, cracks may occur, and durability may be reduced. .
JP 2002-160028

  The problem to be solved is that during the caulking of the large joint end of the ball joint housing, the load applied from the outer periphery of the caulking surface of the caulking roller is dispersed from the axial direction by the inclined curved surface, and from the oblique direction on the outer peripheral side. The outer peripheral load toward the closing plate is smaller than the central load. For this reason, the adhesion between the caulking portion of the housing and the outer peripheral surface of the closing plate is weakened, and the sealing performance between the caulking portion of the housing and the closing plate is lowered. In addition, the bulging portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the housing, and the durability is lowered.

A ball joint having a caulking roller that moves in the axial direction of the housing and rotates about the axis of the roller pin, the caulking roller that deforms the opening end surface of the housing at which at least one opening is formed, and fixes the mating member In the molding apparatus, the caulking surface of the caulking roller has a concave shape that is recessed in a circumferential shape, and is continuous from the first caulking surface to the outer peripheral side of the housing by a first caulking surface formed by a curved surface having a first radius on the inner peripheral side of the housing. And a second caulking surface formed by a curved surface having a second radius smaller than the first radius of the first caulking surface, and a convex curved surface continuously projecting from the second caulking surface to the outer peripheral side of the housing. And a third crimped surface .

The ball joint molding apparatus according to the present invention is a caulking roller that moves in the axial direction of the housing and rotates around the axis of the roller pin, and deforms the opening end surface of the housing in which an opening is formed in at least one of the rollers. A caulking roller for fixing the member, and the caulking surface of the caulking roller has a concave shape that is recessed in a circumferential shape; a first caulking surface (4) formed by a curved surface having a first radius on the inner peripheral side of the housing; A second caulking surface formed from a curved surface having a second radius smaller than the first radius of the first caulking surface from the first caulking surface, and a circumferential shape continuous from the second caulking surface to the housing outer circumferential side. because it has a third caulking surface formed by a curved convex shape protruding in order to be pressed by a strong force from the axial direction and the outer peripheral portion slanted direction from the crimping rollers to the open end of the housing And adhesion improving the large opening end surface and the mating member of the housing, the sealing property is high.
In addition, the third caulking surface can prevent the caulking portion of the housing from being deformed to the outer peripheral side, can prevent the bulging portion from being formed, and can suppress a decrease in durability. In addition, since the third caulking surface is formed by a curved surface, it contacts the housing by a curved surface, so that the outer peripheral surface of the housing is not damaged by preventing deformation to the outer peripheral side.

  The purpose of improving the adhesion between the crimped part formed by caulking the opening end of the housing and the mating member and improving the sealing performance is easily realized by changing the shape of the caulking roller of the ball joint molding device. did.

  A ball joint molding apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Shown in the right half of FIG. 1 is a ball joint 51 formed by using the ball joint forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and a spherical ball head 53 and a handle portion extending from the ball head 53. 54, a synthetic resin bearing 55 for holding the ball head 53 of the ball stud 52 in a swingable manner, and a handle 54 of the ball stud 52 on one side. A substantially cylindrical housing 56 having a small opening 57 to be protruded and a large opening 58 on the other side, and a closing plate 61 fixed by caulking to the inner periphery of the large opening 58 of the housing 56, and an end portion of the large opening 58 of the housing 56 are provided. A caulking portion 60 is formed by caulking inside.

  When the ball joint 51 is formed, as shown in the left half of FIG. 1, a ball stud 52 including a spherical sphere head 53 and a handle 54 extending from the sphere head 53, and a ball stud 52 in advance. A synthetic resin bearing 55 that holds the ball head 53 swingably and freely, a small opening 57 that includes the bearing 55 and projects the handle 54 of the ball stud 52 on one side, and a large opening 58 on the other side. A pre-assembly 51 </ b> A including a substantially cylindrical housing 56 having an annular closing plate 61, which is a counterpart member disposed on the inner periphery of the large opening 58 of the housing 56, is formed. A step portion 59 on which the closing plate 61 is seated is formed on the inner periphery of the large opening 58 of the housing 56. The large opening 58 is continuous with the step portion 59 and extends in a cylindrical shape along the axis.

  Next, a ball joint molding apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows a ball joint molding apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The molding apparatus 11 includes a caulking receiver 9 and a caulking unit 2 disposed so as to face the caulking receiver 9 in the axial direction. The caulking receiver 9 has a substantially cylindrical shape, an inner peripheral wall 11 that is substantially the same diameter as the outer peripheral diameter of the housing 56 from the upper end of the inner periphery thereof, a peripheral seat portion 12 that continuously extends from the inner peripheral wall 11 in the axial direction, and a peripheral seat portion 12 has an inner peripheral hole 13 that extends continuously in the axial direction and has a larger diameter than the handle 54 of the ball stud 52 of the preliminary assembly 51 </ b> A, and the inner peripheral wall 11, the peripheral seat 12, and the inner peripheral hole 13 through the housing 56. A sculpture space 10 into which is inserted is defined. A pre-assembly 51 </ b> A is disposed in the caulking receiver 9.

  The caulking unit 2 includes a disk-shaped caulking roller 3 that forms the caulking portion 60 of the ball joint 51, and a roller head 7 that supports the caulking roller 3. The caulking roller 3 has a hole formed in the center, and a roller pin 8 passes through the hole. The roller pin 8 is rotatable around the roller pin 8. Further, the caulking rollers 3 and 3 are held by the roller head 7 via the roller pins 8 and are disposed in a state of facing the horizontal direction. The roller head 7 can be rotated around the axis of the ball stud 52 by mechanical means (not shown).

The caulking roller 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the caulking roller 3 has a circumferential caulking surface 20 having a central portion 15 at the center in the width direction and an outer peripheral portion 16 on the outer peripheral side of the housing. The caulking surface 20 has a first caulking surface 4 formed on the inner peripheral side of the housing that is formed in a concave shape in a circumferential shape, and a second caulking surface 5 that continues from the first caulking surface 4 to the outer peripheral side of the housing. Yes. The first caulking surface 4 and the second caulking surface 5 are formed by curved surfaces, and the first radius r1 of the first caulking surface 4 is larger than the second radius r2 of the second caulking surface 5 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the curvature of the first caulking surface 4 is smaller than the curvature of the second caulking surface 5. The caulking surface 20 has a third caulking surface 6 formed by a convex curved surface that is continuous from the second caulking surface 5 to the housing outer peripheral side and protrudes in a circumferential shape.

  Next, a process of forming the ball joint 51 from the preliminary assembly 51A using the forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, as shown in the left half of FIG. 1, the end of the small assembly 57 side of the housing 56 of the preliminary assembly 51 </ b> A is seated on the circumferential seat 12 of the crimping receiver 9, and the preliminary assembly 51 </ b> A is engraved on the crimping receiver 9. Arrange in the space 10. Subsequently, the caulking unit 2 is lowered while rotating the roller head 7 around the axis of the ball stud 52, and when the caulking roller 3 comes into contact with the end of the large opening 58 of the housing 56, the caulking roller 3 is moved to the axis of the roller pin 8. Start rotating around the heart. By the roller head 7 that rotates about the axis of the ball stud 52, the caulking roller 3 forms an caulking portion 60 by caulking the end of the large opening 58 of the housing 56 inward over the entire circumference of the housing 56. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the caulking roller 3 abuts against the end of the large opening 58 of the housing 56 in the axial direction. A central load P1 is applied. Here, the load applied from the outer peripheral portion 16 of the caulking surface 20 is dispersed from the axial direction by the inclined curved surface, and the load toward the closing plate 61 from the oblique direction on the outer peripheral portion 16 side is reduced, but the second caulking surface 5 is Since the curvature is larger than that of the first caulking surface 4, the end portion of the large opening 58 of the housing 56 is caulked by the second caulking surface 5 by receiving a stronger load P <b> 2 from the oblique direction on the outer peripheral portion 16 side. At this time, the third caulking surface 6 formed by a convex curved surface that continues from the second caulking surface 5 to the outer periphery of the housing and projects in a circumferential shape receives a load and is caulked inwardly, thereby opening a large opening 58 of the housing 56. Suppresses deformation of the end portion toward the outer peripheral side. In this way, the end portion of the large opening 58 of the housing 56 receives the load P1 in the axial direction from the first caulking surface 4 of the caulking roller 3 and the load P2 from the second caulking surface 5 in the oblique direction toward the outer peripheral portion 16 side. 60 is formed. Finally, the caulking unit 2 moves upward, and the molding of the ball joint 51 is completed.

Therefore, according to the ball joint molding apparatus 1 of the present invention as described above, the caulking surface 20 of the caulking roller 3 has a concave shape that is recessed in a circumferential shape, and is formed by a curved surface having a first radius r1 on the inner peripheral side of the housing. as one crimping surface 4, successively from the first crimping surface 4 on the housing outer circumference side, a second crimping surface 5 formed by the curved surface of the first radius r1 is smaller than the second radius r2 of the first crimping surface 4, the second Since the caulking surface 5 has a third caulking surface 6 which is continuous from the caulking surface 5 to the outer periphery of the housing and is formed by a convex curved surface protruding in a circumferential shape , the second caulking surface 5 obliquely surrounds the end surface of the large opening 58 of the housing 56. Pressing with a strong load P <b> 2 from the direction also improves the adhesion between the caulking portion 60 of the housing 56 and the outer peripheral surface of the closing plate 61.
Further, the end face of the large opening 58 of the housing 56 is prevented from being deformed in the radial direction.

  In the above embodiment, the end of the large opening 58 of the substantially cylindrical housing 56 is caulked and the closing plate 61 is fixed to the housing 56. However, the shape of the ball joint is not limited to this, and the substantially cup-shaped It can also be used when caulking the opening of the housing.

  In the above embodiment, the number of caulking rollers is two, but the number is not limited, and an optimal number may be used as appropriate.

A ball joint molding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a process of caulking and molding the ball joint using the molding apparatus, wherein the left half part is before caulking and the right half part is a state after caulking It is a top view. It is a top view showing the crimping roller of the shaping | molding apparatus of the ball joint by the Example of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view of the right half part of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a caulking surface of the caulking roller shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional plan view showing a conventional ball joint molding device and a step of caulking and molding the ball joint using the molding device, with the left half portion before caulking and the right half portion after caulking. . It is a principal part enlarged view of the right half part of FIG. It is an enlarged view of the caulking surface of the caulking roller of the conventional ball joint molding apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ball joint shaping apparatus 3 Caulking roller 4 First caulking surface 5 Second caulking surface 6 Third caulking surface 20 Caulking surface 56 Housing 58 (housing) opening 61 Counterpart member
r1 first radius
r2 second radius

Claims (1)

An opening end face of the housing (56), which is a caulking roller (3) that moves in the axial direction of the housing (56) and rotates about the axis of the roller pin (8), wherein at least one of the openings (58) is formed. In the ball joint molding apparatus (1) having the caulking roller (3) for deforming the mating member (61), the caulking surface (20) of the caulking roller (3) has a concave shape that is recessed in a circumferential shape. A first caulking surface (4) formed by a curved surface having a first radius (r1) on the inner peripheral side of the housing, and the first caulking surface (4) continuous from the first caulking surface (4) to the housing outer peripheral side . ) And a second caulking surface (5) formed by a curved surface having a second radius (r2) smaller than the first radius (r1) , and the second caulking surface (5) is continuous from the second caulking surface (5) to the outer peripheral side of the housing. Formed by protruding convex curved surface Molding apparatus of the ball joint, characterized in that it comprises a third caulking surface (6) to be.

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