Boot turn-up device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a boot manufacturing device capable of overturning a large diameter part of a boot in which the large diameter part and a small diameter part are connected by a connection part, to process the boot to have an umbrella-shape. The boot manufacturing device comprises: a frame; a base installed on the upper end of the frame; a guide post vertically installed on an upper part of the base; a lower plate installed under the guide post to allow a boot to be mounted thereon; an upper plate installed on the upper end of the guide post; a plate guided by the guide post between the upper plate and the lower plate to be vertically movable; an actuator for driving the plate up and down; and a pusher installed on the plate to be able to press the boot by downward movement of the plate.

Description

boot turn-up device

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for manufacturing a flexible boot, and more particularly, to a device for manufacturing a flexible boot used to seal components such as a constant velocity joint or a cross-axis ball joint assembly of an automobile from the surrounding environment while maintaining grease or lubricant.

[0002] Rubber bushes and cross-axis ball joints are used as joints installed in the suspension and steering systems of automobiles, and cross-axis ball joints are mainly used in luxury vehicles.

[0003] Figures 1 and 2 are an exploded cross-sectional view and a combined cross-sectional view of a conventional general cross-axis ball joint, and the main components thereof, namely a ball stud (1), a ball seat (2), a socket (3), a plug (4), and a boot (5, 5'), can be seen. These components are assembled through separate manufacturing processes. In particular, the ball stud (1) is manufactured through cold forging followed by machining, the socket (3) through hot forging and cold forging followed by machining and surface treatment, and the plug (4) through a pressing and machining process. In addition, the ball seat (2) is molded from plastic, and the boot (5, 5') is molded from rubber.

[0004] Looking at the assembly process for conventional cross-axis ball joint components configured as above, a ball seat (2) is assembled inside a socket (3), and then a ball stud (1) is seated on the ball seat (2) while grease is injected into the inner surface of the ball seat (2). Then, a plug (4) is assembled and caulked on the socket (3) to prevent the ball stud (1) from coming off from the socket (3), and then a boot (5, 5') is assembled on the socket (3) to prevent foreign substances from entering the socket (3).

[0005] However, since the above boots are subject to continuous shape deformation and load application, there is a problem that excellent durability is required to maintain grease sealing, but production costs must be reduced.

[0006] In particular, the boot to be manufactured in the present invention is an umbrella-shaped boot, and in the manufacturing process, a boot having a large diameter and a small diameter is manufactured by molding or the like, and then the large diameter is turned over to manufacture it into an umbrella shape. However, since the work of turning over the large diameter is dependent on manual labor, productivity is low, and in winter, there is a problem that the rubber hardens and the work of turning over the boot is not performed smoothly.

[0007] Patent Publication No. 10-2375738 (Published on March 17, 2022)

[0008] Patent Registration No. 10-0843279 (published on July 3, 2008)

[0009] The present invention is intended to improve the conventional problems as described above, and its purpose is to provide a boot manufacturing device capable of turning over the large diameter portion of a boot in which a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion are connected by a connecting portion and processing them into an umbrella-shaped boot.

[0010] The turn-up device of the present invention, in which a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion are connected at a connecting portion, comprises a frame, a base installed on the upper part of the frame, a guide post installed vertically on the upper part of the base, a lower plate installed on the lower part of the guide post on which the boot is placed, an upper plate installed on the upper part of the guide post, a plate guided by the guide post between the upper plate and the lower plate and capable of moving up and down, an actuator for driving the plate up and down, and a pusher installed on the plate for pressing the boot by downward movement of the plate.

[0011] The lower plate of the present invention may be formed with a plurality of step-shaped holes having an upper diameter larger than a lower diameter, and the lower diameter of the holes may be formed to be smaller than the inner diameter of the large diameter portion of the boot before turning up and larger than the outer diameter of the large diameter portion after turning up so as to be able to support the boot before turning up and to be able to discharge the boot downward after turning up, and the upper diameter may be formed to be smaller than the outer diameter of the large diameter portion of the boot before turning up.

[0012] As an example, the inside of the lower plate perforation of the present invention may be Teflon coated.

[0013] In addition, the pusher of the present invention is formed in a hollow cylinder shape with a closed upper end, and the hollow inner diameter of the pusher is formed larger than the diameter of the small diameter portion of the boot and the outer diameter of the pusher is formed smaller than the outer diameter of the large diameter portion of the boot, so that when the boot is pressed by the pusher, the tip of the pusher can be caught on a connecting portion connecting the small diameter portion and the large diameter portion of the boot.

[0014] In addition, the pusher of the present invention has a female screw formed on the upper end to be exchangeable and is fastened to the plate with a fastening bolt, and a stamped portion may be formed on the upper portion of the female screw.

[0015] According to the present invention as described above, the boot in which the large diameter part and the small diameter part are connected at the connecting part can be turned over while being pressurized by a turn-up device, so that the production cost can be reduced compared to the conventional manual manufacturing method, and there is an effect that the boot can be easily turned up even in a situation where the rubber hardens, such as in winter.

[0016] In addition, the present invention has the effect of improving the durability of the boot by stably fixing the pusher installed in the boot turn-up device and coating the portion where the boot is supported and the pusher with Teflon to prevent damage to the boot during the turn-up process.

[0017] Figure 1 is an exploded cross-sectional view of a conventional general cross-axis ball joint.

[0018] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the joint of Figure 1.

[0019] Figure 3 is a photograph of a boot, to which the boot turn-up device of the present invention is applied, before and after turn-up, in which the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion are connected by a connecting portion.

[0020] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view before turning up the boot in which the large diameter and small diameter parts are connected by a connecting part.

[0021] Figure 5 is an example diagram showing the use of the turned-up boot of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the boot turn-up device of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the lower plate of Figure 6.

[0024] Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the pusher of Fig. 6.

[0025] Fig. 9 is an explanatory drawing showing a stamped portion formed on the upper part of the female screw at the top of the pusher of Fig. 6.

[0026] The terms used in this application are used only to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0027] In this application, the terms “include” or “have” are intended to indicate the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but should be understood as not excluding in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0028] In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

[0029]

[0030] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments for achieving the purpose of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings attached to the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 3 is a photograph of a boot, to which a boot turn-up device of the present invention is applied, before and after turn-up, in which a large-diameter portion and a small-diameter portion are connected by a connecting portion, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a boot before turn-up in which a large-diameter portion and a small-diameter portion are connected by a connecting portion, FIG. 5 is an example of a turned-up boot of the present invention being used, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the boot turn-up device of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the lower plate of FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the pusher of FIG. 6, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of a stamped portion formed on the upper part of the female screw of the upper part of the pusher of FIG. 6.

[0032]

[0033] A boot turn-up device according to an embodiment of the present invention is an invention relating to a device capable of turning up a boot (10) in which a large diameter portion (11) and a small diameter portion (12) are connected by a connecting portion (13) as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 so that the boot can be used as shown in FIG. 5.

[0034] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the boot (10) to be turned up by the present invention is made of rubber and has a large diameter portion (11) and a small diameter portion (12), and the large diameter portion (11) and the small diameter portion (12) are connected through a connecting portion (13), and the inside of the large diameter portion (11) and the small diameter portion (12) are formed in an empty hollow shape.

[0035] In addition, the boot (10) before the turn-up is formed so that a portion of the tip of the large-diameter portion (11) is gently bent inward so that the tip can be coupled to the boot retainer (17) as shown in FIG. 5 after the turn-up, and a small-diameter portion (12) of the boot (10) is formed with a protrusion (14) on the inside so that it can be coupled to a linear boot groove (18) formed to extend in the longitudinal direction on a portion of the outer surface of the drive sleeve (16), and a concave portion (15) is formed on the outside of the small-diameter portion (12) so that it can be fastened with a boot band (19).

[0036]

[0037] Referring to the following Figures 5 to 9, a boot turn-up device for turning up a boot (10) manufactured in the above shape will be described.

[0038] Referring to FIG. 5, a boot turn-up device (100) for turning up a boot (10) in which a large diameter portion (11) and a small diameter portion (12) of the present invention are connected by a connecting portion (13) comprises, as shown in FIG. 6, a frame (20), a base (21) installed on the upper end of the frame (20), a guide post (22) installed vertically on the upper end of the base (21), a lower plate (23) installed on the lower end of the guide post (22) and on which the boot (10) is placed, and an upper plate (24) installed on the upper end of the guide post (22), a plate (30) guided by the guide post (22) between the upper plate (24) and the lower plate (23) and capable of moving up and down, an actuator (25) for driving the plate (30) up and down, and a pusher (40) installed on the plate (30) and pressurizing the boot (10) by the downward movement of the plate (30). It consists of including.

[0039] The above frame (20) is configured to support an upper structure constituting the boot turn-up device (100), and casters are installed at the bottom to facilitate movement of the device, a base (21) is installed at the top, and a space is formed between the top and bottom to collect the boot (10) that is discharged after being turned up.

[0040] The above base (21) is a plate installed on the top of the frame (20) and is a space where control unit installation and work preparation materials can be loaded.

[0041] On one side of the upper portion of the above base (21), a pillar (26) is installed to support the lower plate (23) and guide post (22) to be described later, and on the other side, a bracket (50) to which an area sensor (51) can be attached is installed.

[0042] At the top of the above pillar (26), a lower plate (23) on which a turn-up target boot (10) is loaded and a guide post (22) are vertically installed.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 7, the lower plate (23) may have a plurality of through holes (31) formed in a step shape in which the diameter of the upper portion (32) of the through hole is larger than the diameter of the lower portion (33) of the through hole. The through hole (31) is formed to be smaller than the inner diameter of the large-diameter portion (11) of the boot (10) before it is turned up and larger than the outer diameter of the large-diameter portion (11) after it is turned up so that the boot (10) can be discharged to the lower portion of the lower plate (23) before it is turned up, and the diameter of the upper portion (32) of the through hole is formed to be smaller than the outer diameter of the large-diameter portion (11) of the boot (10) before it is turned up.

[0044] Meanwhile, the opening (31) of the lower plate (23) may be coated with Teflon (34) around the entire circumference to prevent damage to the rubber boot (10) when the boot (10) to be turned up is loaded and turned up by the pusher (40) described later.

[0045] The above guide post (22) is supported on the pillar (26), has an upper plate (24) installed on the upper side, and performs the function of guiding a plate (30) that is installed so as to be able to move up and down between the upper plate (24) and the lower plate (23).

[0046] The above plate (30) is a plate that can move up and down by being guided by the above guide post (22), and a plurality of pushers (40) that can pressurize the boot (10) to be turned up are installed on the plate (30).

[0047] The above pusher (40) is configured to pressurize and turn up the boot (10) to be turned up, and is installed on the plate (30) to correspond to a plurality of holes (31) formed in the lower plate (23). As shown in FIG. 8, the shape is a hollow cylinder shape with a closed upper end (41) and a thickness, and the pusher (40) is formed such that the hollow inner diameter is larger than the diameter of the small diameter portion (12) of the boot (10) and the outer diameter of the pusher (40) is smaller than the outer diameter of the large diameter portion (11) of the boot (10), so that when the boot (10) is pressed by the pusher (40), the tip of the pusher (40) is formed so that it can press the connecting portion (13) of the small diameter portion (12) and the large diameter portion (11) of the boot (10).

[0048] Meanwhile, the pusher (40) is fixed to the plate (30) with a fastening bolt (42) so that it can be exchanged. To this end, the pusher (40) has a female screw (43) for bolt fastening formed on the closed upper end (41), but a typical bolt fastening structure may loosen due to repeated loads, causing shaking in the fixed pusher (40). If shaking occurs like this, the boot (10) to be turned up may not be pressed at the exact point and may be twisted and pressed, which may damage the boot (10). In the present invention, taking this into consideration, a stamped portion (44), as illustrated in FIG. 9, may be formed on the upper portion of the female screw (43) for bolt fastening.

[0049] As shown above, a portion of the screw thread collapses due to the imprinted portion (44) formed on the upper portion of the female screw (43), thereby reducing the pitch of the screw. When the pusher (40) is later fastened by the fastening bolt (42), the collapsed screw thread causes the contact angle with the screw thread of the fastening bolt (42) to increase, thereby stably fixing the fastening bolt (42), thereby preventing the pusher (40) from shaking.

[0050] In addition, since the above pusher (40) is a component that pressurizes the rubber boot (10), it is formed of a material with a strength greater than that of the rubber boot (10), so the pusher (40) can be coated with Teflon to prevent damage to the rubber boot (10).

[0051] The above top plate (24) is installed on the top of the guide post (22) to stably support the guide post (22), and an actuator (25) for driving the plate (30) to be described later is installed thereon.

[0052] The above actuator (25) is installed vertically on the upper plate (24), and its tip is connected to the plate (30) by a joint (3) to enable up-and-down movement of the plate (30), thereby enabling up-and-down movement of the pusher (40) installed on the plate (30).

[0053] Meanwhile, a bracket (50) is installed on one side of the base (21), and an area sensor (51) is attached to the bracket (50) to detect whether a foreign substance has entered, so that when a part of the worker's body enters the range of the area sensor (51) while the boot turn-up device (100) actuator (25) is operating, a signal is sent to stop the operation of the device.

[0054]

[0055] Below, the process of turning up the boot (10) by the boot turn-up device (100) configured as above is described.

[0056] After the boot (10) to be turned up is loaded onto the hole (31) formed in the lower plate (23) of the boot turn-up device (100) of the present invention, the actuator (25) is driven to move the plate (30) downward.

[0057] As the plate (30) moves downwards under the guidance of the guide post (22) by the driving of the actuator (25), the pusher (40) installed on the plate (30) also moves downwards.

[0058] When the pusher (40) moves downward, the small diameter portion (12) of the boot (10) loaded in the hole (31) of the lower plate (23) gradually enters the hollow interior of the pusher (40), and when the pusher (40) moves further downward, the tip of the pusher (40) touches the connecting portion (13) of the boot (10), gradually pressurizing the boot (10).

[0059] When the pusher (40) presses the connection part (13) of the boot (10), the large diameter part (11) of the boot (10) is supported by the circumference of the hole (31), and the small diameter part (12) of the boot (10) is located inside the hollow of the pusher (40), so that the large diameter part (11) of the boot (10) is turned over with the connection part (13) of the boot (10) as the center.

[0060] When the large diameter part (11) of the boot (10) is turned over and the pusher (40) continues to move downward, the boot (10) is no longer supported by the large diameter part (11) and the large diameter part (11) and the small diameter part (12) are smaller than the diameter of the lower part (33) of the hole formed in the lower plate (23), so the boot (10) is pushed by the pusher (40) and moves downward, and the turned-up boot (10) falls into the collecting space.

[0061] Through the above process, an umbrella-shaped boot (10) can be manufactured as desired in the present invention.

[0062] Meanwhile, when a part of the worker's body enters the boot turn-up device (100) during the operation of the actuator (25) as described above, the area sensor (51) installed on one side of the base (21) of the boot turn-up device (100) detects this and transmits a signal to the control unit to stop the operation of the actuator (25), thereby preventing an unexpected accident.

[0063]

[0064] According to the present embodiment configured as above, the boot (10) in which the large diameter portion (11) and the small diameter portion (12) are connected by the connecting portion (13) can be turned over while being pressed by the pusher (40) of the boot turn-up device (100), so that the production cost can be reduced compared to the conventional manual manufacturing method, and the boot (10) can be easily turned up even in a situation where the rubber hardens, such as in winter.

[0065] In addition, the release of the pusher (40) installed in the boot (10) turn-up device is prevented, so that vibration or movement in an inclined direction of the pusher (40) is suppressed, so that the boot (10) can always be pressed in a constant direction, and since the hole (31) of the lower plate (23) and the pusher (40) are Teflon-coated, the boot (10) is not damaged, so there is an effect of improving the durability of the boot (10).

[0066]

[0067] Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, these are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom, and therefore the true technical scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of ​​the appended claims.

[0068] 10: Boot 11: Daegyeongbu

[0069] 12: Small diameter part 13: Connecting part

[0070] 14: Protrusion 15: Concave

[0071] 16: Drive sleeve 17: Boot retainer

[0072] 18: Boot Home 19: Boot Band

[0073] 20: Frame 21: Base

[0074] 22: Guide post 23: Lower plate

[0075] 24: Top plate 25: Actuator

[0076] 26: Pillar

[0077] 30: Plate 31: Hole

[0078] 32: Upper part of the hole 33: Lower part of the hole

[0079] 34: Teflon

[0080] 40: Pusher 41: Pusher Top

[0081] 42: Fastening bolt 43: Female screw

[0082] 44: Stamped area

[0083] 50: Bracket 51: Area Sensor

[0084] 100: Boot turn-up device

Claims

1. A turn-up device for a boot in which a large diameter part and a small diameter part are connected at a connecting part, The above turn-up device comprises a frame and, A base installed on the top of the above frame, A guide post installed vertically on the upper part of the above base, A lower plate installed under the above guide post and on which a boot is attached, A top plate installed on top of the above guide post, A plate that can move up and down while being guided by the guide post between the upper and lower plates, An actuator that moves the above plate up and down, A boot turn-up device characterized by including a pusher installed on the plate and capable of pressurizing the boot by downward movement of the plate.

2. In claim 1, A boot turn-up device characterized in that a number of step-shaped perforations are formed in the lower plate, the upper diameter of which is larger than the lower diameter.

3. In claim 2, A boot turn-up device characterized in that the lower diameter of the above-mentioned hole is formed to be smaller than the inner diameter of the large-diameter portion of the boot before the turn-up and larger than the outer diameter of the large-diameter portion after the turn-up so as to be able to support the boot before the turn-up and to allow the boot to be discharged downward after the turn-up, and the upper diameter is formed to be smaller than the outer diameter of the large-diameter portion of the boot before the turn-up.

4. In claim 2 or 3, A boot turn-up device characterized by the inside of the above-mentioned opening being Teflon coated.

5. In claim 1, The above pusher is formed in a hollow cylinder shape with a closed top, A boot turn-up device characterized in that the hollow inner diameter of the pusher is formed larger than the diameter of the small diameter part of the boot and the outer diameter of the pusher is formed smaller than the outer diameter of the large diameter part of the boot, so that when the boot is pressed by the pusher, the tip of the pusher is formed to be caught at the connection part of the small diameter part and the large diameter part of the boot.

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