Air Diffuser Ball Joint Wear Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Air vent ball joints experience a decrease in holding forces over time due to wear and age-related decline in elasticity of plastic materials, leading to potential play and noise issues.
Innovation Solution
A multipart ball head with spring members that push spherical segments apart, increasing friction with the bearing shell to maintain consistent holding forces, even with wear, and allowing for adjustable operating forces without additional moving parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a ball joint with a bearing shell and ball head is used to mount the air guiding means, then the air guiding means can be swiveled in the housing, but the holding forces decrease over time due to wear and age-related decline in elasticity
Solution Approach 1:
The ball head is designed as a multipart configuration with at least two spherical segments that can move relative to each other, transforming the static ball joint into a dynamic system. The spring member enables the spherical segments to adjust their position dynamically, compensating for wear and maintaining holding force throughout the service life.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring member changes the physical state of the ball joint by introducing elastic force. The spring constant is selected to provide sufficient force even after wear occurs, effectively changing the force parameters of the system to maintain consistent holding force over time.
2Force
If the ball head is braced against the bearing shell to produce friction, then holding force is achieved, but wear and loss of elasticity reduce the holding force over time
Solution Approach 1:
The spring member is pre-loaded to exert a spreading force on the spherical segments before wear occurs. This preliminary action ensures that the segments are constantly pressed against the bearing shell, compensating for future wear and maintaining consistent friction-based holding force throughout the service life.
Solution Approach 2:
The ball head is divided into multiple spherical segments that can move independently relative to each other. This segmentation allows the spring member to effectively spread the segments apart, creating and maintaining friction contact with the bearing shell throughout operation.
3Reliability
If a multipart ball head with spring member is used to maintain holding force, then consistent holding force is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spring member serves multiple functions: it spreads the spherical segments apart to create friction, compensates for wear over time, and maintains constant contact pressure. This multi-functionality justifies the added complexity by achieving reliable holding force consistency without requiring multiple separate components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures the air guiding means is securely mounted in the housing without play throughout its service life, with adjustable forces to compensate for wear and maintain optimal performance.
Implementation Method 1
a spring member is provided that acts upon the spherical segments of the ball head with a force that seeks to push the spherical segments apart
Implementation Method 2
The invention is based on the consideration of producing the friction between the bearing shell and the ball head by spreading the ball head apart
Data Source
AI summary
An air vent (10) having a housing (12) and an air guiding means (14) that is swivel-mounted in the housing (12) includes a mounting (24) by means of which the air guiding means (14) is mounted on the housing (12) for swiveling about at least one swivel axis, the mounting (24) being formed by a ball joint (30) having a bearing shell (34) and a ball head (32) mounted in the bearing shell (34), and the ball head (32) being of a multipart configuration with at least two spherical segments (50, 52), and a spring member (54) being provided that acts upon the spherical segments (50, 52) of the ball head (32) with a force that seeks to push the spherical segments (50, 52) apart.