HK1071921B - Ball and socket joint for a motor vehicle - Google Patents

Description

Ball joint for a motor vehicle

Technical Field

The invention relates to a ball joint for a motor vehicle, in particular for a vehicle chassis, comprising a ball joint housing which is provided with a joint window, and a ball stud which is mounted in the ball joint housing, can be swiveled and pivoted about its ball joint, and projects from the ball joint housing through the joint window about its ball joint axis. An assembly window is also provided in the ball joint housing, in which a separate blocking element is fastened which at least partially closes the window.

Background

Such ball joints are known from the state of the art and participate in the function of the chassis of the vehicle as an important component of wheel suspensions, vehicle axles and the connection of these axles to the vehicle body. Each wheel of a motor vehicle is usually supported by a wheel carrier, which is connected to the vehicle body by a link. In this case, the end of the guide rod facing the wheel carrier often has a ball joint, which forms a kinematic joint of the link on the wheel carrier. In addition, ball joints also include tie rods, connecting rods, and pivoting supports in the area of the vehicle axle.

For example, the oscillation state of a vehicle can be influenced by a two-part stabilizer, which can be pivoted relative to one another by means of a hydraulic motor. In addition, the headlights can be adjusted according to the load situation. In order to carry out such active interventions on the chassis of a motor vehicle or on other components depending on the actual state of the chassis, in addition to active or passive control devices, electronic components such as measuring and processing evaluation devices are required in order to be able to ascertain, for example, the actual driving situation or the actual load situation. The installation of such a measuring and processing and evaluation device is then carried out by the vehicle manufacturer at the same time as the mechanical component assembly of the chassis.

Disclosure of Invention

The aim of the invention is to reduce the assembly effort of the vehicle manufacturer for mounting electronic components in the chassis.

The object is achieved by a ball joint for a motor vehicle, in particular for a running gear of a motor vehicle. The ball joint has a ball joint housing with a joint window and a ball pin including a pin shaft and a ball joint. The ball pin is mounted in the ball joint housing, can be rotated and pivoted about its ball joint, and is pivoted about its pin axis out of the ball joint housing through the joint window. Furthermore, an assembly window is provided in the ball joint housing, which window is at least partially closed by a separate locking element fastened to the ball joint housing, on which locking element at least one electronic component is mounted.

The use of the ball joint according to the invention makes it possible to avoid the separate assembly of the electronic structural element during the manufacture of the vehicle, since the electronic structural element is already integrated in the ball joint. This saves assembly effort and reduces the cost of the manufacturing process for the automobile manufacturer.

The latching element is intended to at least partially close the window of the ball joint housing. For this purpose, the locking element can be embodied, for example, in the form of a ring whose inner bore forms the joint window of the ball joint. In this case, the assembly window is located at the pin end of the ball joint housing, so that during assembly of the ball joint, the ball pin is inserted with its ball head into the housing through this assembly window. In this embodiment, the end of the ball joint housing opposite the assembly window is generally completely closed.

However, it is advantageous if the ball joint housing has an assembly window, which is closed by a locking element, at the end opposite the joint window. In this case, the ball joint can be assembled by inserting the ball pin with its pin into the housing. At the same time, the ball pin does not have to pass through the blocking element, so that a large area is available on the blocking element for arranging at least one electronic component.

In order to prevent dirt and moisture from penetrating into the interior of the ball joint, it is advantageous if the assembly window is completely closed by the blocking element.

The electronic component can be arranged on the side of the blocking element remote from the ball joint (outside). If the electronic component is mounted on the side of the blocking element facing the ball joint (inside), the electronic component can be easily protected from environmental contamination or damage such as thermal stress.

The electronic component can be arranged freely on the blocking element, but an advantageous embodiment provides that a protective element is mounted on the blocking element, which element at least partially covers the blocking element, preferably completely covers the electronic component. In the case of an arrangement of the electronic component inside the locking element, the protective element serves to protect against the lubricant medium, such as is usually present in automotive ball joints.

In the case of electronic components mounted on the outside of the blocking element, the primary task of the protective element is to prevent environmental pollution.

The protective element may be a protective layer made of metal, ceramic or plastic, which is mounted as a separate component on the ball joint. It is preferred that the protective element is made of an electrically insulating material, such as plastic, since plastic is particularly advantageous for weight reduction.

The protective element made of plastic can be clamped or glued to the blocking element.

The invention is further based on the idea that the material of the protective element is a plastic material suitable for spraying, so that the protective element can be sprayed directly onto the electronic component, thus eliminating the need for assembly of the protective element and also protecting the electronic component well, in particular against moisture.

The blocking element can be made as a disk or ring from sheet metal, but it is advantageous if the blocking element itself is made as an electronic terminal board, to which the electronic structural element is assembled. The electrical components are therefore usually soldered to the blocking element in order to communicate, for example, the electrical components via the conductor tracks on the printed circuit board.

The blocking element, which is made as an electronic wiring board, may be made of, for example, a cardboard or a ceramic.

In addition, according to the invention, the outer surface of the electrical connection board can be reinforced by an additional disk or an additional ring made of sheet metal. Advantageously, the blocking element, which is to be formed as an electronic terminal block, is made of glass fiber reinforced plastic in order to meet the requirements with regard to the mechanical load-bearing capacity of the ball joint closure of a motor vehicle.

The electronic wiring board may have the conductor circuit arranged only on the surface, but may have the conductor circuit (multilayer circuit) arranged in the entire volume of the electronic wiring board.

The housing may be electrically insulated from the electronic circuit board and may be used as an electromagnetic shield without additional wiring connections by direct connection of the electronic circuit board to the housing. The housing itself can also be used as a cooling body for electronic components.

In order to ascertain the driving and loading conditions of the motor vehicle, a sensor can be fitted in or on the ball joint housing in order to ascertain physical parameters which characterize the condition of the ball joint, the state of the ball joint, for example the actual offset and/or rotation of the ball pin relative to the ball joint housing. In addition, the force occurring in the ball joint can be detected by means of a force sensor. The actual track width of the vehicle body can thus be inferred, for example, from the ascertained state of the ball joint. The diagnosis also allows conclusions to be drawn about the state of the entire vehicle.

The sensor may be arranged as a separate sensor in the ball joint, but it is preferred to integrate it with the electronic structural element for reasons of saving on the space occupied by the sensor.

Alternatively, a plurality of electronic components can be combined to form an electronic assembly which is mounted on the blocking element, but preferably the electronic components are designed as dedicated integrated switching circuits (ASIC), so that a plurality of different electrical switching circuits can be realized with a single electronic component. This results in considerable savings in space occupation and in a wide variety of solutions for the ball joint according to the invention.

In order to be able to send signals to the outside and to ensure the energy supply of the electronic component, a plug-in board connected to the electronic component can be attached to the locking element in a first variant for connection to an external instrument.

However, according to a second variant, it is also possible to install in the ball joint a device electrically connected to the structural element in order to emit electromagnetic waves, enabling the exchange of information between the structural element and the external instrument without an electrical connection.

The electrical components may be connected to the vehicle power supply via electrical wires. It is also possible to install a battery in the ball joint to supply the electrical components with electrical energy. However, it is preferred that the energy required for operation is transmitted to the electronic structural element by an external transmitter in the form of electromagnetic waves. For this purpose, the electronic component is provided with a device for receiving electromagnetic waves in the mounting ball joint. In addition, a storage medium for storing electrical energy may be provided. This energy input is particularly advantageous in that the electronic components have only a low power consumption.

Drawings

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below based on the accompanying drawings. The attached drawings show that:

FIG. 1 is a first embodiment of a ball joint of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a second embodiment of a ball joint of the present invention;

figure 3 a third embodiment of the ball joint of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of the ball joint according to the invention, in which a ball pin 3 having a ball joint 1 and a pin 2 is mounted in a ball joint housing 4 and is rotated and swiveled about its ball joint 1. The ball pin 3 is mounted with its ball joint 1 in a bearing shell 5 which is mounted in a ball joint housing 4 and is made of plastic, and with its pin 2 passes through a joint window 6 in the ball joint housing 4 and out of the ball joint housing 4.

In order to prevent dirt and moisture from penetrating into the interior of the ball joint, a sealing cap 7 made of an elastic material is mounted, one end of which is fixed to the ball joint housing 4; the other end is slidably supported on the pin 2. The ball joint housing 4 and the interior of the sealing boot 7 are each filled with a lubricating medium (not shown in the figures) to facilitate the mechanical state of the ball joint. In addition, they are also protected against dirt and moisture.

The ball joint housing 4 is integrally connected to a flange 8 and has, at the end remote from the joint window 6, an assembly window 9 which is closed by a locking element 10 designed as an electronic terminal block. In order to fix the blocking element 10 in the housing 4, the shape of the housing edge of the assembly window 9 around the housing 4 is changed. On the inner face of the blocking element 10, a plurality of electronic components 11 are mounted, which are completely covered by a protective element 12 made of plastic. One of the electronic components is designed as a magnetic field sensor 13 which interacts with a magnet M which is accommodated in the ball joint 1. The electrical components 11, 13 are at least indirectly electrically connected to a plug-in board 14 which is arranged outside the locking element 10, by means of which the electrical components 11, 13 are operatively connected to an external instrument (not shown). In addition, the electrical components 11, 13 are supplied with energy during operation via the connector board 14.

A second embodiment of the ball joint according to the invention is evident from fig. 2, in which the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment are used for identical or functionally identical features.

The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that there is no patch panel outside the blocking element 10. However, in order to be able to communicate with external instruments (not shown), an electronic component, which is designed here as a dedicated switching circuit (ASIC)15, is mounted on the inside of the closure element 10, at least with a transmitting element 16 which is electrically connected indirectly thereto in order to transmit electromagnetic waves carrying information, which can be received by external instruments and evaluated. The external meter is thus provided with a suitable receiver and an analysis processing device.

Furthermore, one of the electronic structural elements is made to receive the receiving element 17 of the information-carrying electromagnetic wave, so that the second embodiment performs a two-way wireless information exchange between the ball joint and the external meter, which is provided with a suitable transmitting device for this purpose.

In contrast to the first embodiment, the locking element 10 is not fixed to the housing periphery around the assembly window 9, but rather a separate retaining ring 18 is provided, which is fixed to the housing 4 and is flanged inward in order to fix the locking element 10. Furthermore, a pressure ring 19 is provided between the bearing shell 5 and the protective element 12 for additional support of the bearing shell 5.

A third variant of the ball joint according to the invention, in which the same reference numerals as in the previous embodiment are used for the same or functionally identical features, is evident from fig. 3. The method of fixing the blocking element 10 to the ball joint housing 4 is the same as in the first embodiment.

The third embodiment differs from the first two embodiments in that there is no protective element, so that, with the same dimensions, there is a larger free space (which can be filled with lubricating medium) between the blocking element 10 and the ball joint 1, so that a compact design is possible with a large pivot range of the ball pin 3.

Description of the symbols

1 ball joint

2 pin shaft

3 ball pin

4-ball joint housing

5 bearing shell

6 connect the window

7 sealing cover

8 Flange

9 assembling window

10 blocking element

11 electronic structural element

12 protective element

13 sensor

14 plugboard

15 ASIC

16 transmitting unit

17 receiving unit

18 fixed ring

19 insert ring

M magnet

Claims (14)

1. Ball joint for a motor vehicle, in particular for a vehicle chassis, having a ball joint housing (4) which is provided with a joint window (6), having a ball pin (3) which has a ball joint (1) and a pin shaft (2) and which is mounted in the ball joint housing (4) so as to be rotatable and pivotable about its ball joint (1) and so as to pass its pin shaft (2) through the joint window (6) out of the ball joint housing (4), having an assembly window (9) in the ball joint housing, in which a separate locking element (10) is mounted which closes the window at least partially,

it is characterized in that the utility model is characterized in that,

at least one electronic component (11) is mounted on the locking element (10).

2. Ball joint according to claim 1, characterised in that the assembly window (9) is arranged at the end of the ball joint housing (4) remote from the joint window (6) and is closed by a blocking element (10).

3. Ball joint according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the electronic structural element (11) is mounted on the side of the blocking element (10) facing the ball joint.

4. Ball joint according to claim 1, characterised in that a protective element (12) is mounted on the blocking element (10) and covers the electronic structural element (11).

5. Ball joint according to claim 4, characterised in that the protective element (12) is made of an electrically insulating material, in particular plastic, and is directly sprayed onto the electronic structural element (11).

6. Ball joint according to claim 1, characterised in that the blocking element (10) itself is made as an electronic terminal block on which the electronic structural element (11) is assembled.

7. Ball joint according to claim 6, characterised in that the blocking element (10) is made of glass fibre reinforced plastic.

8. Ball joint according to claim 1, characterised in that the electronic structural element (11) is electrically connected to a sensor (13) mounted in or on the ball joint housing (4) in order to obtain a physical parameter characteristic of the condition of the ball joint.

9. Ball joint according to claim 8, characterised in that the sensor (13) is integral with the electronic structural element (11).

10. Ball joint according to claim 1, characterised in that the electronic structural element is a dedicated integral switching circuit (15).

11. Ball joint according to claim 1, characterised in that a plug plate (14) is mounted on the side of the blocking element (10) remote from the ball joint (1), said plug plate being electrically connected to the electronic component (11).

12. Ball joint according to claim 1, characterised in that a device (16) is mounted in the ball joint, which is electrically connected to the electronic structural element (11), in order to emit electromagnetic waves.

13. Ball joint according to claim 1, characterised in that in the ball joint there is mounted a device (17) for electrical connection to the electronic structural element (11) in order to receive electromagnetic waves.

14. Ball joint according to claim 1, characterised in that the housing (4) forms an electrical shield or cooling body for the electronic structural element (11).