| 摘要 |
Title Preloaded Steering Ball Joint Assembly and Method of the Invention A preloaded steering ball joint assembly provides a system wherein relatively constant torque may be realized over the useful life of the joint. In a preferred form, the joint assembly included a housing having a ball socket cavity, and a ball and a shaft integral with the ball. Top and bottom bearing seats are disposed for positioning and retaining the ball within the housing. The bottom seat includes an aperture for permitting passage of the shaft, while the top seat includes both an aperture as well as radial passageways for permitting access of lubricant into a lubricant chamber portion of the socket cavity. A preferred method of manufacture includes insert molding an elastomer disc over the top bearing seat by a pre-measured amount of overfill, then after its formation compressing the elastomer dics by means of a second disc made of metal by peening the latter metallic disc over the elastomer disc. The metallic disc is utilized to compress the predetermined "overfill" of elastomer, which provides a mechanism by which consistency of torque preload may be achieved in spite of tolerance variations in part dimensions. Also, the top seat includes a barrier lip which extends circumferentially about its upper surface for preventing leakage of molten elastomer into the lubricant chamber during the insert molding process. |
