Ball Joint Dust Cover Structure to Prevent Flange Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ball joints with dust covers face issues where the dust cover's body portion contacts the ball stud's flange portion during deformation, leading to reduced durability due to repeated contact and potential breakage.
Innovation Solution
A dust cover with a deformable bellows-shaped body portion that includes a cover portion continuously covering the radially outward tip end of the flange portion and a part decreasing in diameter towards the spherical portion, preventing contact with the flange portion during deformation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the bellows-shaped body portion is employed to increase the amount of deformation without increasing the outer diameter, then the sealing performance during swinging motion is improved, but the body portion comes in contact with the ball stud flange portion causing reduced durability
Solution Approach 1:
A cover portion is introduced as an intermediary element between the body portion and the flange portion. This cover portion extends from the sealing portion to cover the flange portion, preventing direct contact between the body portion and flange portion while allowing the bellows-shaped structure to deform freely for maintaining sealing performance during swinging motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover portion extends in the radial direction to cover the flange portion, adding a dimensional barrier that prevents contact without restricting the axial deformation capability of the bellows-shaped body portion. This dimensional approach allows the body portion to deform sufficiently to maintain sealing while preventing harmful contact.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the outer diameter of the body portion is increased to prevent contact with other members, then the contact prevention is improved, but the amount of deformation is limited reducing sealing performance
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing the outer diameter in the axial direction, the cover portion extends in the radial direction to provide contact prevention. This dimensional shift allows the body portion to maintain its deformation capability while still preventing contact with the flange portion and other members.
Solution Approach 2:
The dust cover is segmented into distinct functional portions: the bellows-shaped body portion for deformation and sealing, the sealing portion for maintaining the seal, and the cover portion for contact prevention. This segmentation allows each portion to perform its specific function optimally without compromising the others.
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
This configuration effectively suppresses contact between the dust cover's body portion and the ball stud's flange portion, enhancing the durability of the dust cover by preventing degradation and maintaining sealing performance during ball stud movement.
Implementation Method 1
a deformable bellows-shaped body portion made of an elastic body
Implementation Method 2
the sealing portion 730 slides relative to the shank portion 120 of the ball stud 100 so that the sealing performance is maintained
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided are a ball joint and a dust cover that make it possible to suppress contact of a body portion of the dust cover with the vicinity of a flange portion of a ball stud. Adust cover 400 integrally includes: a deformable bellows-shaped body portion 410 made of an elastic body; a fixed portion 420 made of an elastic body and provided on one end side of the body portion 410; and a sealing portion 430 made of an elastic body and provided on the other end side of the body portion 410. The sealing portion 430 includes: an inner peripheral sealing portion 432 configured to be slidable on a part of a shank portion 120 on the opposite side of the shank portion 120 from a spherical portion 110 with respect to a flange portion 140; and a cover portion 432 that continuously covers, in an outer wall surface of the flange portion 140, a radially outward tip end portion and a part of a portion that decreases in diameter from the tip end portion toward the spherical portion 110 side.