Ball Joint Elastic Body Groove Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ball joints with elastic bodies face challenges in recycling and repair due to the difficulty in disassembling and reassembling, as well as the need for bonding, which leads to increased costs and potential damage during the process, especially when the elastic bodies are large or have complex shapes.
Innovation Solution
A ball joint design featuring a compact, tubular elastic body with grooves and ridges for stable engagement without bonding, allowing for easy assembly and disassembly, and featuring flanged expansions for protection and precise positioning, enabling the elastic body to deform differently based on force direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the elastic body is made large with edge expansions to surround the eye for stable engagement, then the engagement stability is improved, but the ball joint becomes bulky and the elastic body becomes costly and difficult to disassemble
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a circular eye geometry instead of an elliptical one, which allows the elastic body to be smaller while maintaining stable engagement. The circular shape distributes forces more evenly, reducing the need for large expansion margins and enabling a more compact ball joint design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a positioning system consisting of positioning elements on the eye and corresponding recesses on the elastic body. This intermediary mechanism ensures precise angular positioning and stable engagement without requiring the elastic body to be oversized, thus reducing the overall ball joint volume.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the elastic body is bonded to metal members to prevent movement, then the positional stability is improved, but the disassembly becomes difficult and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the retention mechanism into separate positioning elements on the eye and corresponding recesses on the elastic body. This segmentation allows the elastic body to be retained securely during operation while enabling easy removal by simply disengaging the positioning elements from the recesses, eliminating the need for bonding.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning system is designed to be self-retaining during operation through the interaction of positioning elements and recesses, yet self-releasing during disassembly. The elastic body's own elasticity and the geometric配合 of the positioning features provide the retention force needed, without requiring external bonding agents.
3Measurement precision
If a non-circular elliptical eye is used to position the elastic body angularly, then the positioning precision is improved, but the structural strength decreases and machining complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
While the eye itself remains circular for strength, the patent introduces asymmetric positioning elements and recesses that provide precise angular positioning. This allows the maintenance of a strong circular eye geometry while achieving the positioning precision previously thought to require an elliptical shape.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains a circular (spheroidal in 3D) eye geometry which is structurally stronger than an elliptical shape. The angular positioning precision is achieved not through the eye's overall shape but through specific positioning elements and recesses that guide the elastic body into the correct angular position.
4Reliability
If the elastic body has complex expanded parts for stable engagement, then the engagement reliability is improved, but the disassembly becomes more difficult and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the engagement mechanism into simple, distinct components: positioning elements on the eye and corresponding recesses on the elastic body. This segmentation achieves reliable engagement through geometric配合 rather than complex expanded parts, making the elastic body structure simpler and easier to disassemble.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the positioning function from the overall shape of the elastic body and implements it through specific, localized positioning recesses. This extraction allows the majority of the elastic body to remain simple and unexpanded, while only specific areas have the necessary features for reliable engagement, reducing overall complexity.
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
The design facilitates simple and cost-effective assembly and disassembly, enhances durability with a compact structure, and simplifies recycling by eliminating the need for bonding and protecting the elastic body from damage, while maintaining stability and strength.
Implementation Method 1
The elastic body is elastically deformed by the forces which are exerted between the case - incorporating a ball head - and the eye
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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AI summary
There is described a ball joint (1) comprising a case (5) having an inner chamber (6) suitable to house a ball head (4), an annular eye (8) external to the case (5), and an elastic body (9) positioned between the case (5) and the eye (8), and having different deformation capacities according to the direction of the forces, the elastic body (9) and the eye (8) being provided with grooves (9a, 10) mutually countershaped and suitable to define a predetermined angular position for insertion of the elastic body (9) between the case (5) and the eye (8), and the case (5) being provided with flanged expansions (11a, 12a) suitable to act as opposite sides to contain and protect the elastic body (9).