Vehicle Ball Joint Slide Bearing With Closure Ring Sensor Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The production of ball joints with a metallic closure element and plastic slide bearing requires complex perforations, increasing production effort and cost, and complicates the assembly and orientation of sensor elements.
Innovation Solution
A ball joint design featuring a one-piece plastic slide bearing with a holding section for sensor elements, using a closure ring without perforations to secure the slide bearing in a joint housing, allowing for simplified assembly and reliable sensor element orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a metallic closure element with perforations is used to secure the plastic slide bearing, then the slide bearing can be fixed in the joint housing, but the production effort and cost increase due to the complex perforations
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the perforation feature from the closure element and transfers it to the slide bearing itself. The slide bearing is provided with openings that allow it to be secured to the closure element, eliminating the need for a perforated closure element. This simplifies the closure element to a solid structure while maintaining the fixation function through the openings in the slide bearing.
2Reliability
If a metallic closure element with perforations is used, then the slide bearing can be fixed, but the assembly and orientation of sensor elements becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the sensor element mounting function directly into the slide bearing structure. The holding section for the sensor element is integrated into the slide bearing, which already contains the openings for securing to the closure element. This integration simplifies the overall assembly by combining multiple functions (fixation and sensor mounting) into a single component rather than requiring separate mechanisms.
3Ease of manufacture
If a separate closure ring is used without perforations, then production costs are reduced, but the securing mechanism must be alternative
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the closure element perforated to secure the slide bearing, the invention inverts the approach by making the slide bearing itself perforated (providing openings) to secure to the solid closure element. This reversal maintains the securing function while allowing the use of a simpler, non-perforated closure ring that is easier and cheaper to manufacture.
Data Source
AI summary
A ball joint (1, 37) for a chassis of a vehicle has an inner joint portion (4) and a one-piece slide bearing (10) made of plastic. A joint ball (35) of the inner joint portion (4) is fitted so that it can swivel in a ball-bearing section (16). The slide bearing (10) has a holding section (12, 38) for the arrangement of a sensor element (13, 39). In order to simplify the structure and/or assembly of the ball joint (1, 37), the outside of the slide bearing (10) has a circular-ring-shaped contact surface (20) which is formed coaxially relative to a central longitudinal axis (19) of the slide bearing (10) and which co-operates with a separate closure ring (9) surrounding the outside of the slide bearing (10) to fix the slide bearing (10) in a joint housing (3).