ball joint

Abstract

Ball joint, which has a joint ball (1) which is rotatably mounted in a joint housing (10) and which merges into a conically tapered joint pin (2) which extends away from the joint ball (1) and to which a lever eye (6) is fastened, wherein a sealing bellows (3) is fastened to the joint housing (10), which has, at an end facing away from the joint housing (10), a section (3') which is received in an annular channel (4') of a race (4) arranged on the joint pin (2), which is delimited by a radial annular flange (7) facing the joint housing (10) and an annular flange (8) facing the lever eye (6), wherein the race (4) is firmly mounted on the joint pin (2) and the sealing bellows (3) has at least one projection (9) which adjoins the section (3') and which projects beyond the lever eye (6) facing the annular flange (8) protrudes in the axial direction, characterized in thatthat the projection (9) encloses the ring flange (8) facing the lever eye (6).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a ball joint with a sealing bellows, a race and a lever eye.

[0002] Ball joints are widely used in automotive engineering. Generally, the design of a ball joint consists of a joint ball that opens into a pivot pin. The joint ball is rotatably mounted in a joint housing connected to a sealing bellows made of elastic material, which is attached to a race at its end facing away from the joint housing. Ball joints with a lever eye are also known. This is then attached to the pivot pin in the tapered direction of the pin behind the sealing bellows and serves to transfer the force to the ball joint. As is well known, the race ring must be sealed against the lever eye, which is usually done using a sealing compound that can be sprayed or vulcanized onto the race ring.When using stainless steel, neither spraying nor vulcanizing has yet achieved sufficient results to maintain the desired seal over the service life of the ball joint.

[0003] A ball joint with a sealing bellows of the type mentioned above is known from DE 198 43 063 C1. An additional L-ring is provided between a race and the sealing bellows. A projection of the sealing bellows extends beyond a ring flange of the race toward the lever eye and extends away from the ring flange, creating a cavity behind the sealing lip.

[0004] A ball joint with the aforementioned design is disclosed in DE 10 2008 005 295 A1, which also addresses the sealing problem of the race. To optimize the sealing of the ball joint, it is proposed to design the race as a structural ring made of metal, coated on its inner side with a sealing layer made of a rubber-like material.

[0005] DE 10 2008 014 695 A1 also relates to a generic race or retaining ring having a ring axis and a radial ring flange with a flange top and an opposite flange bottom. The retaining ring is associated with a sealing element of a sealing assembly. The sealing element rests against both the flange top and the flange bottom of the retaining ring and is connected to it exclusively by a positive fit. The positive fit connection is designed such that the retaining ring and the sealing element are fixed to one another without play in the axial and radial directions, and the flange top has an exposed contact surface for a sealing bellows.

[0006] Based on this state of the art, the task arises to create a ball joint with a race that can rest on the lever eye in a sealed construction throughout its service life.

[0007] This object is achieved by the ball joint having the features of claim 1.

[0008] Further developments of the device are set out in the subclaims.

[0009] The ball joint according to the invention comprises a joint ball rotatably mounted in a joint housing. This ball transitions into a conically tapered pivot pin extending away from the joint ball, to which a lever eye is attached. Furthermore, a sealing bellows is attached to the joint housing. At an end facing away from the joint housing, the sealing bellows has a section that is received in an annular channel of a race arranged on the pivot pin. The annular channel is defined by a radial annular flange facing the joint housing and an annular flange facing the lever eye.

[0010] According to the invention, the race is firmly mounted on the pivot pin, and the sealing bellows has a projection that borders the section accommodated in the annular channel of the race. This projection projects axially beyond the annular flange facing the lever eye. Thus, the elastic material of the sealing bellows comes into direct contact with the lever eye, thereby acting as a seal. This embodiment eliminates the disadvantage that the elastic material could become detached if applied to the stainless steel race. Thus, by using the sealing bellows as a sealant on the lever eye, the desired seal is achieved independently of the race.

[0011] The invention further proposes that the race be pressed onto the pivot pin. In a suitable embodiment, the radial annular flange of the race facing the joint housing is provided with a larger radial extension than the annular flange facing the lever eye, thus forming a "short" race.

[0012] Due to the shortness of this annular flange, it can even be appropriately enclosed by the sealing bellows' protrusion, thus further increasing the sealing surface. This is advantageous because the strength of the sealing capability depends on the size of the sealing bellows' protrusion, as this is compressed by the application of the lever eye. The compression is limited by the aforementioned short annular flange, against which the lever eye even strikes if the protrusion does not encompass the annular flange.

[0013] Finally, the sealing bellows can be pressed onto the race by means of a clamping ring arranged around the portion of the end of the sealing bellows facing away from the joint housing.

[0014] In a further embodiment, the projection of the sealing bellows can be designed as one or more sealing lips.

[0015] These and other advantages are set forth in the following description with reference to the accompanying figures.

[0016] Reference to the figures in the description serves to support the description and facilitate understanding of the subject matter. Objects or parts of objects that are essentially the same or similar may be provided with the same reference numerals. The figures are merely a schematic representation of an embodiment of the invention.

[0017] Showing: Fig. 1 a side sectional view of the ball joint area around the race, Fig. 2 a side sectional view of a ball joint according to the invention.

[0018] How Fig. 2, the ball joint according to the invention has a joint ball 1 which is rotatably mounted in a joint housing 10. This ball joint merges into a conically tapered pivot pin 2 which extends away from the joint ball 1. The joint ball 1 is held in a bearing shell and is received therewith in the joint housing 10, the joint ball 1 being held in the joint housing 10 by a locking ring 11 which is approximately sleeve-shaped here and has an outer circumferential annular collar 11', in that the locking ring 11 with the annular collar 11' is non-releasably clamped into a circumferentially flanged edge section 10' of the housing 10.

[0019] The rubber-elastic sealing bellows 3 is attached, on the one hand, to the joint housing 10, for example, with a spring washer 12 as sketched in Figures 1 and 2, and, on the other hand, not to the pivot pin 2 as previously, but rather, according to the invention, to the race 4 to prevent the penetration of dirt or moisture into the interior of the ball joint. A sealing bellows section 3', located at the end of the sealing bellows 3 facing away from the joint housing 10, is received in the annular channel 4' of the race 4.

[0020] As can be seen, the present sealing bellows 3 is pressed onto the raceway 4 by means of a clamping ring 5 arranged around the section 3' of the sealing bellows 3. This ensures a secure hold of the sealing bellows 3 on the raceway 4. As can also be seen, the raceway 4 has a radial annular flange 7 facing the joint housing 10 and an annular flange 8 facing the lever eye 6, which define the annular channel 4' in which the section 3' of the sealing bellows 3 is arranged.

[0021] How Fig.2 shows, the race 4 sits firmly on the pivot pin 2, so that rotation only occurs between the sealing bellows 3 and the race 4. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sealing bellows 3 according to the invention has a projection 9 that borders the section 3'. It extends axially beyond the annular flange 8 facing the lever eye 6 and borders the lever eye 6 in a sealing manner. Thus, a sealed connection between the sealing bellows 3 and the lever eye 6 is achieved, regardless of a connection between the race 4 and the sealing bellows 3. The radial annular flange 7 of the race 4, which faces the joint housing 10, can have a greater radial extent than the annular flange 8 facing the lever eye 6, which is particularly advantageous when the projection 9 of the sealing bellows 3 is to enclose the annular flange 8 in order to increase the strength of the sealing ability.This depends on the size of the projection 9 of the sealing bellows 3, as this is squeezed by the application of the lever eye 6 to the journal 2. The squeezing is limited by the race flange 8. In particular, if the projection 9 does not enclose the race flange 8, the lever eye 6 can strike the race collar.

[0022] Thus, the design of the ball joint according to the invention, in particular the arrangement of the sealing bellows 3 and the race 1 designed according to the invention, provides a permanently sealed ball joint in a simple manner.

Claims

[1] Ball joint, which has a joint ball (1) which is rotatably mounted in a joint housing (10) and which merges into a conically tapered joint pin (2) which extends away from the joint ball (1) and to which a lever eye (6) is fastened, wherein a sealing bellows (3) is fastened to the joint housing (10), which has, at an end facing away from the joint housing (10), a section (3') which is received in an annular channel (4') of a race (4) arranged on the joint pin (2), which is delimited by a radial annular flange (7) facing the joint housing (10) and an annular flange (8) facing the lever eye (6), wherein the race (4) is firmly mounted on the joint pin (2) and the sealing bellows (3) has at least one projection (9) which adjoins the section (3') and which projects beyond the the ring flange (8) facing the lever eye (6) protrudes in the axial direction, characterized bythat the projection (9) encloses the ring flange (8) facing the lever eye (6). [2] Ball joint according to claim 1, characterized by that the race (4) is arranged, in particular pressed, on the pivot pin (2) in a force-fitting manner. [3] Ball joint according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the projection (9) is designed as one or more sealing lips. [4] Ball joint according to at least one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by that the radial annular flange (7) of the race (4) facing the joint housing (10) has a greater radial extent than the annular flange (8) facing the lever eye (6). [5] Ball joint according to at least one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by that the sealing bellows (3) is pressed onto the race (4) by means of a clamping ring (5) which is arranged around the section (3') of the end of the sealing bellows (3) facing away from the joint housing (10).

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