Ball joint

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11279191-B2
Application number	US-201816611330-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 18, 2018
Priority date	May 18, 2017
Publication date	Mar 22, 2022
Grant date	Mar 22, 2022

Abstract

A ball joint (1), for a vehicle chassis, having a joint housing (3) and a joint body (4) having a spherical portion (5). The joint body (4) is held by the joint housing (3) at the spherical portion (5) of the joint body such that the joint body is mounted for articulation movement relative to the joint housing. A sensor assembly comprises a first sensor element (6) associated with the joint housing (4) and a second sensor element (7) associated with the joint body (4). The second sensor element interacts with the first sensor element (6) in order to sense the position of the joint body (4) relative to the joint housing (3). The ball joint is characterized in that the second sensor element (7) is arranged in the region of the spherical portion (5) of the joint body (4).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A ball joint for a vehicle chassis, the ball joint having a joint housing and a joint body with a spherical section,
the joint body being held around its spherical section by the joint housing so that the joint body is movable relative to the joint housing in an articulated manner,
a sensor arrangement comprising a first sensor element which is associated with the joint housing and a second sensor element which is associated with the joint body, the second sensor element co-operating with the first sensor element to detect a position of the joint body relative to the joint housing, and the second sensor element being arranged in an area of the spherical section of the joint body,
the spherical section of the joint body having a recess that is filled either with the second sensor element or with the second sensor element and a cover, the second sensor element or the cover having an outer surface with a contour that matches an outer surface of the spherical section of the joint body such that the spherical section of the joint body has an uninterruptedly spherical-section-shaped external contour despite a presence of the second sensor element, and
the second sensor element is arranged outside a main load-bearing area of the spherical section of the joint body.

2. The ball joint according to claim 1 , wherein the spherical section of the joint body is in contact with the joint housing.

3. The ball joint according to claim 1 , wherein a bearing shell is associated with the joint housing, which is in direct contact with the spherical section of the joint body.

4. The ball joint according to claim 1 , wherein the first and the second sensor elements are arranged relative to one another in such a manner that a contact area formed between the spherical section of the joint body and the joint housing, or between the spherical section of the joint body and a bearing shell associated with the joint housing is located between the first and the second sensor elements.

5. The ball joint according to claim 1 , wherein the ball joint is a ball sleeve joint, and the joint body is in a form of a ball sleeve with a longitudinal axis.

6. The ball joint according to claim 1 , wherein the ball joint is one of a radial joint, a supporting joint and an axial joint, and the joint body is in a form of a ball stud with a longitudinal axis.

7. The ball joint according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor arrangement detects an angular position of the joint body relative to the joint housing, and the angular position relates to a longitudinal axis of the joint body.

8. The ball joint according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor arrangement is based on a magnetic measurement principle.

9. The ball joint according to claim 1 , wherein the first sensor element is a magnetic field sensor and the second sensor element is a permanent magnet.

10. The ball joint according to claim 1 , wherein the joint body has a recess, in an area of the spherical section, in a form of either a bore or a groove, and the recess accommodates the second sensor element.

11. The ball joint according to claim 1 , wherein the recess is filled by the second sensor element and the outer surface of the second sensor element has a contour that matches a contour of the spherical section such that the spherical section of the joint body has the uninterruptedly spherical-section-shaped external contour.

12. Use of a ball joint according to claim 1 , for detecting the angular position of the joint body relative to the joint housing, wherein the joint body is associated with a first chassis element and the joint housing is associated with a second chassis element, whereby the detected angular position corresponds with an angular position of the first and the second chassis elements relative to one another.

13. A ball joint for a vehicle chassis, the ball joint having a joint housing and a joint body with a spherical section,
the joint body being held around its spherical section by the joint housing so that the joint body is movable relative to the joint housing in an articulated manner,
a sensor arrangement comprising a first sensor element which is associated with the joint housing and a second sensor element which is associated with the joint body, the second sensor element co-operating with the first sensor element to detect a position of the joint body relative to the joint housing, and the second sensor element being arranged in an area of the spherical section of the joint body,
the spherical section of the joint body having a recess that is filled either with the second sensor element or with the second sensor element and a cover, the second sensor element or the cover having an outer surface with a contour that matches an outer surface of the spherical section of the joint body such that the spherical section of the joint body has an uninterruptedly spherical-section-shaped external contour despite a presence of the second sensor element, and
the recess is filled by the second sensor element and the cover, the recess has a number of steps such that the second sensor element is held at a deepest level of the recess and the cover is supported at a higher level of the recess relative to the joint body.

14. A method of producing a joint body for a ball joint for a vehicle chassis, the ball joint having a joint housing and a joint body with a spherical section, the joint body being held around its spherical section by the joint housing so that the joint body is movable relative to the joint housing in an articulated manner, and a sensor arrangement comprising a first sensor element which is associated with the joint housing and a second sensor element which is associated with the joint body, the second sensor element co-operates with the first sensor element to detect a position of the joint body relative to the joint housing, and the second sensor element is arranged in an area of the spherical section of the joint body, the method comprising:
preparing the joint body,
producing a recess in an area of the spherical section of the joint body,
inserting the second sensor element into the recess,
after inserting the second sensor element, additionally inserting a cover into the recess, and
surface machining the joint body and the cover such that the spherical section has an uninterrupted spherical-section-shaped external contour and an external contour of the cover matches the external contour of the spherical section of the joint body.

Assignees

• Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen
• Zf Friedrichshafen

Inventors

• Holtheide Josef
• Bäumer Florian
• Kallass Felix

Classifications

• F16C41/007 Primary

  Encoders, e.g. parts with a plurality of alternating magnetic poles · CPC title

• B60G7/005 Primary

  Ball joints (B60G7/006 takes precedence; for steering linkage B62D7/16; ball joints per se F16C11/06) · CPC title

• F16C11/0685 Primary

  Manufacture of ball-joints and parts thereof, e.g. assembly of ball-joints · CPC title

• B60G2600/24

  permanent magnets · CPC title

• F16C41/00

  Other accessories, {e.g. devices integrated in the bearing not relating to the bearing function as such} · CPC title