Ball joint for torque rod

Abstract

This invention relates to a ball joint to use without supplying oil in a torque rod of an automobile, in a mechanism for connecting brackets fitted to the chassis of an automobile, brackets fitted to a wheel axle supporting member and torque rods connecting the said brackets, in which a spherical bearing ring made of strong synthetic resin, for example an acetal resin such as Delrin or the like is provided inside a bearing housing to support a shaft having a spherical ball portion fixed to the said bracket adhering onto the central periphery of the said ball portion, oil-containing fabrics are provided on the both sides of the said spherical bearing ring adhering onto the periphery of the said ball portion, and the said bearing housing is connected to a boss of the torque rod. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a ball joint to use without supplying oil in a torque rod of an automobile. Heretofore, a ball joint has generally been used for a torque rod interposed between a wheel axle of a heavy vehicle having a double-axle rear wheel arrangement and a chassis thereof thereby to automatically adjust to the movement of the wheel axle relative to the chassis while the vehicle is running on rough or uneven roads. A ball joint in a torque rod should be simple in its construction so as to be easily produced, and it should be smoothly operated and be capable of being used for a long period of time without being supplied with any further oil, and further its life should be semipermanent. The first object of the present invention is to provide a ball joint which can satisfy the above requirements. When a strong impulsive force is instantaneously imparted to wheels, wheel axles and torque rods e.g. at the time of braking, a conventional ball joint takes the complete shock, and the shock acts directly on a shaft having a spherical ball portion and a bearing metal. This results in damage or a large degree of wear on the ball portion of the shaft, the bearing metal and/or torque rod, and also damage to the bracket. The second object of the present invention is to eliminate the above defects by interposing an elastic band made of a strong elastic substance such as rubber or synthetic resin between a bearing housing and a torque rod. The load given to the elastic band by the abovementioned impulsive force is extremely large in comparison with the ordinary vibrating load of anti-vibration rubber. Therefore the deformation induced by the load in this case is remarkably large. Accordingly, when an elastic band of conventional shape is used, the exposed surfaces of the band swell due to the load compression and rub with the housing portion to cause damage to the ball joint. The third object of the present invention is to eliminate the above drawbacks by forming the exposed surfaces of the elastic band into a parabolic shape, i.e. a deeply recessed shape. The other objects and the feature of the present invention will be apparent by a few examples embodying the present invention described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.