JPH0250331B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a ball joint.

For example, a gas spring shown in FIG. 1 is provided between the hatchback door and the vehicle body of an automobile. In this gas spring, the tip of a piston rod 2 protruding from one end of the cylinder 1 and the other end of the cylinder 1 are respectively attached to a hatchback door and a vehicle body via a ball joint 3. The ball joint 3 includes a ball stud 4 having a ball portion and attached to the hatchback door or the vehicle body, respectively, and a stepped recess 5 shown in FIG.
a main body 6 fitted to the ball stud 4;
It consists of a ring spring 7 that prevents the ball portion of the ball stud 4 provided in the stepped recess 5 from relatively coming out of the stepped recess 5.

However, in a ball joint having such a structure, once the ball portion of the ball stud 4 and the stepped recess 5 are fitted together, the inner diameter of the ring spring 7 expands to the diameter of the ball portion. Therefore, the main body 6 cannot be removed from the ball stud 4 unless this ball joint is destroyed. Therefore, if you accidentally attach the tip of the piston rod 2 to the vehicle body and the other end of the cylinder 1 to the hatchback door in the opposite direction, you will have to replace the gas spring, and it will be difficult to install the gas spring correctly. It had the disadvantage of being time consuming.

Therefore, a main body 9 made of synthetic resin having a stepped recess 8 shown in Fig. 3 is attached to the piston rod 2 of the gas spring and the other end of the cylinder 1, and the stepped recess 8 of the main body 9 is attached to the hatchback door and the vehicle body, respectively. Then, the dowel pin 10 is driven into the hole provided in the main body 9, the synthetic resin material around the ball stud 4 is pressed against the ball stud 4, and the ball stud 4 is inserted into the main body 9. There is something that prevents it from coming off. However, in this case, the ball stud 4 is prevented from coming off from the main body 9 by using the elastic deformation of the synthetic resin, so after many years of use, the main body 9 becomes flattened and prevents the ball stud 4 from coming off. There was a risk that I would not be able to do so.
In fact, when the main body 9 is made of synthetic resin, the retaining force of the ball stud 4 is very weak, and the gas spring often comes off.

In view of the above circumstances, this invention includes a main body, a small diameter part formed on one side of the main body, a large diameter part formed on the other side and having a threaded part, and a tapered part formed between the small diameter part and the large diameter part. a first locking portion provided in the through hole; and a ring spring fitted into the through hole, with a portion of the ring being cut off so that the cut ends are staggered. a cap that is screwed into the threaded portion of the large diameter portion and maintains the ring spring in a reduced diameter state in cooperation with the through hole; and a second cap that is provided on a surface of the cap that abuts the ring spring. a locking part, and a ball stud having a ball part that passes through the small diameter part and the ring spring and is fitted into the through hole, and the ring spring prevents the ball part from coming out of the main body. is prevented by the reduced diameter state of the ring spring, the inner diameter of which is smaller than the maximum outer diameter of the ball part, and by the first and second locking parts and the ring spring, the cap is screwed in the direction opposite to the direction in which the cap is screwed. When the ring spring is rotated by a predetermined angle, one end of the ring spring is engaged with the first engagement portion, and the other end of the ring spring is engaged with the second engagement portion. A ball that is configured to restrict rotation, allows the ball stud to be easily attached to and removed from the main body, is easy to assemble, and has sufficient strength to prevent the ball stud from coming off the main body. The purpose is to provide joint points.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9. In FIG. 6, 46 is a main body made of a synthetic resin material, and a through hole 47 is formed in this main body 46. This through hole 47 is
6, a small diameter portion 13 formed on one side, a large diameter portion 14 formed on the other side, and a tapered portion 41 formed between the small diameter portion 13 and the large diameter portion 14. As shown in FIG. 5, a cutout recess 42, which serves as a first locking portion, is formed at a predetermined location on the inner surface of the tapered portion 41. As shown in FIG. A threaded portion 16 is provided in the large diameter portion 14 . Further, a locking recess 17 is formed on the other side surface of the main body 46, and a mounting hole 18 is formed on one end of the main body 46.

In addition, a cap 4 is attached to the threaded portion 16 of the through hole 47.
4 is removably screwed in. This cap 44 is made of a synthetic resin material, has a fitting recess 20 with a circular cross section, and has a threaded portion 21 formed on its outer periphery. Further, a cutout recess 45 having an inclined surface and serving as a second locking portion is formed on the outer periphery of the lower surface of the cap 44. Further, a lever plate-shaped tail portion 22 is formed at the top of the cap 44. Protrusions 23 and 24 are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of this tail portion 22, respectively. The projection 4 is fitted into the locking recess 17 when the cap 44 is screwed into the through hole 47 by a predetermined amount. A plurality of small holes 25 are formed in the upper surface of the cap 44 for rotating the cap 44 with a tool. 26 is a rib. Further, the through hole 47 has a tapered portion 41.
A ring spring 43 is fitted on the side. This ring spring 43 is made of a spring member, and as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, it is formed into a substantially C-shape in which a part of the ring is cut off and the cut ends are staggered. The outer diameter of the cap 19 is larger than the diameter of the fitting recess 20 of the cap 19, and the inner diameter is slightly smaller than the maximum outer diameter of a ball portion 29 of a ball stud 28, which will be described later.

The ball portion 29 of the ball stud 28 is inserted into the small diameter portion 1 of the through hole 47 in the fitting recess 20 of the cap 44.
3. It is rotatably fitted through the ring spring 43. This ball stud 28 includes a rod portion 31 having a threaded portion 30 and a ball portion 29.
It is made up of.

Therefore, in order to attach the ball stud 28 to the main body 46, as shown in FIGS.
Position both ends of ring spring 4
3 into the through hole 47, screw the cap 44 into the large diameter part 14 to a predetermined depth, and then screw the cap 44 into the large diameter part 14 to a predetermined depth.
The ball portion 29 of the ball stud 28 is fitted into the cap 44 through the inside of the ring spring 43, and the cap 44 is further screwed into the main body 46, and the protrusion 24 is fitted into the locking recess 17. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the ball portion 29 of the ball stud 28 is caught by the ring spring 43 whose diameter has been reduced due to the cooperation of the cap 44 and the through hole 47, so that it cannot be removed from the main body 46. The vertical surface 45 shown in FIG. 6 of the second notch recess 45 at this time
a is located at the position indicated by M in FIG. In this state, to remove the ball stud 28 from the main body 46, remove the cap 44 from the seventh position relative to the main body 46.
In the figure, it is rotated by a predetermined angle, for example, 180 degrees, in the direction of arrow A. Then, as the ring spring 43 expands in diameter due to its elasticity, one end of the ring spring 43 is caught on the inner wall of the first notch recess 42 as shown in FIG. 9, and the other end of the ring spring 43 is expanded as shown in FIG. As shown, it hooks into the second notch recess 45 of the cap 44. As a result, the cap 44 is prevented from further rotation in the direction of the arrow A by the ring spring 43, and the ring spring 43 can only rise to a position below the bottom of the threaded portion 16 shown in FIG. . Therefore, since the ring spring 43 does not get wedged in the threaded part 16, the ring spring 43 prevents the threaded part 1
6 can be prevented from being damaged. By pulling the ball stud 28 to the side opposite to the cap 44 with respect to the main body 46, the inner diameter of the ring spring 43 can be expanded beyond the maximum diameter of the ball portion 29, so that the ball stud 28 is removed from the main body 46. . This allows the ball stud 28 to be attached without separating the cap 44 from the main body 46.
can be attached to and detached from the main body 46.

In the above embodiment, the ring spring 43 made of metal is in direct contact with the tapered part 41 of the main body 46 made of synthetic resin material, but the structure is not limited to this, and for example, the tapered part 4
A metal ring may be embedded in 1 to form a metal tapered surface, and the ring spring 43 may be in contact with this metal tapered surface. This increases the strength of the tapered surface and improves the durability of the ball joint as a whole.

As explained above, according to the present invention, a main body, a small diameter part formed on one side of the main body, a large diameter part having a threaded part formed on the other side, and the small diameter part,
A through hole consisting of a tapered part formed between the large diameter parts, a first locking part provided in the through hole, and a ring that is inserted into the through hole and a part of the ring is cut out. a ring spring whose opposite ends are staggered; a cap that is screwed into the threaded portion of the large diameter portion and cooperates with the through hole to maintain the ring spring in a reduced diameter state; and the ring spring of the cap. a second locking part provided on a surface that comes into contact with the main body; and a ball stud having a ball part that passes through the small diameter part and the ring spring and is fitted into the through hole. Escape of the ball part is prevented by a reduced diameter state of the ring spring, in which the inner diameter of the ring spring is smaller than the maximum outer diameter of the ball part, and by the first and second locking parts and the ring spring. , when the cap is rotated by a predetermined angle in the direction opposite to the screwing direction, one end of the ring spring engages with the first locking portion, and the other end of the ring spring engages with the second locking portion. (a) When the ball stud is removed from the main body, the rotation regulating mechanism consisting of the first and second locking parts and the ring spring prevents the main body from rotating. The ring spring locks onto the cap and restricts the rotation of the cap in the direction opposite to the direction in which it is screwed in, that is, in the direction in which it is removed, within a predetermined angle. (b) Separate the cap from the main body. (c) Therefore, the ball joint of the present invention is applied to a gas spring provided between an automobile body and a hatchback door, and this gas spring is Even if the gas spring is installed in the wrong direction by mistake, it can be easily replaced, and assembly is simple. (e) Furthermore, if the main body, cap, etc. are made of synthetic resin, it will have excellent corrosion resistance, and will also be lightweight and inexpensive. have an effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view showing an example of a conventional ball joint applied to a gas spring, Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing a ring spring inserted into the main body of the ball joint, and Fig. 3 is a schematic side view showing an example of a conventional ball joint applied to a gas spring. This shows another example of a conventional ball joint, and FIGS. 4 to 9 are cross-sectional views showing a state in which a dowel pin is driven into the main body of the ball joint. FIGS. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the ring spring is fitted into the main body, and FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the ring spring is fitted into the main body.
Figure 6 is a sectional view showing the state when the ball stud is attached to the main body, Figure 7 is a view taken from the direction of the arrow in Figure 6 with the cap indicated by a two-dot chain line, and Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the state when the ball stud is attached to the main body. FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 8. 13...Small diameter part, 14...Large diameter part, 16...Threaded part, 28...Ball stud, 29...Ball part, 41...Tapered part, 42...First notch recess, 43...Ring Spring, 44... Cap, 45... Second notch recess, 46... Main body, 4
7...Through hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A main body, a small diameter part formed on one side of the main body, a large diameter part formed on the other side and having a threaded part, and a tapered part formed between the small diameter part and the large diameter part. a first locking portion provided in the through hole; and a ring spring fitted into the through hole and having a portion of the ring cut off so that the cut ends are staggered. , a cap that is screwed into the threaded portion of the large diameter portion and maintains the ring spring in a reduced diameter state in cooperation with the through hole; and a second cap that is provided on a surface of the cap that comes into contact with the ring spring. The ball stud includes a locking part and a ball part that passes through the small diameter part and the ring spring and is fitted into the through hole, and prevents the ball part from coming out of the main body. This is prevented by the reduced diameter state of the ring spring whose inner diameter is smaller than the maximum outer diameter of the ball part, and the first and second locking parts and the ring spring prevent the cap from being screwed in the direction opposite to the direction in which the cap is screwed. When rotated by a predetermined angle, one end of the ring spring
The ball joint is configured such that the other end of the ring spring is respectively locked to the second locking portion to restrict further rotation of the cap. . 2. The ball joint according to claim 1, wherein the first and second locking portions are comprised of cutout recesses.