Ball joint assembly for gas spring
First Claim
1. A ball joint assembly for a gas spring, the ball joint assembly comprising:
- a ball joint comprising an inner wall that defines cavity having an opening at its bottom;
a ball stud comprising a support ball, the ball stud being coupled to the ball joint such that at least a portion of the support ball is disposed within the cavity and at least a portion of the ball stud extends through the opening at the bottom of the cavity;
a gap prevention member interposed between the inner wall and the support ball to inhibit movement of the support ball relative to the inner wall; and
a fixing member secured to the inner wall proximate to the opening at the bottom pf the cavity, thereby preventing the gap prevention member from leaving the cavity.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a ball joint assembly for a gas spring. The ball joint assembly includes a ball joint provided at both ends of the gas spring. The ball joint is formed at an inner portion thereof with a ball insertion hole, into which upper and lower backup rings are sequentially accommodated so as to prevent a support ball of a ball stud from being spaced from an inner wall of the ball insertion hole when the support ball of the ball stud is inserted into the ball insertion hole. An inner nut is coupled into a lower portion of the ball insertion hole or a washer is inserted into the lower portion of the ball insertion hole through a caulking process so as to prevent the upper and lower backup rings from being separated from the ball insertion hole. The ball insertion hole of the ball joint includes an opening section, which is positioned opposite to the ball receiving section. A coupling recess is formed at an upper end of the support ball of the ball stud in order to improve assembling efficiency for the ball stud.
41 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A ball joint assembly for a gas spring, the ball joint assembly comprising:
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a ball joint comprising an inner wall that defines cavity having an opening at its bottom;
a ball stud comprising a support ball, the ball stud being coupled to the ball joint such that at least a portion of the support ball is disposed within the cavity and at least a portion of the ball stud extends through the opening at the bottom of the cavity;
a gap prevention member interposed between the inner wall and the support ball to inhibit movement of the support ball relative to the inner wall; and
a fixing member secured to the inner wall proximate to the opening at the bottom pf the cavity, thereby preventing the gap prevention member from leaving the cavity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A ball joint assembly for a gas spring, the ball joint assembly comprising:
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a ball joint comprising a substantially cylindrical inner wall, wherein the inner wall defines a cavity having a top opening and a bottom opening;
a ball stud comprising a support ball and a bolt section, the support ball comprising an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion comprising a substantially spherical lateral surface, the upper portion being disposed within the cavity and abutting the top opening, at least a portion of the lower portion extending out of the cavity through the bottom opening, wherein the lateral surface is disposed at an interval from the inner wall, and wherein the bolt section extends from the lower portion; and
a spacing member disposed between and engaging the lateral surface and the inner wall so as to prevent changes in the interval. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 13, 14)
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- 10. The ball joint assembly of dam 7, wherein the upper portion of the support ball further comprises a substantially planar upper surface having a recess defined therein, the recess being configured to be engaged by a tool for manipulating the gas spring.
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15. A gas spring comprising:
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a cylinder, a piston rod inserted into the cylinder, a joint coupled to the piston rod, the joint comprising an inner wall that defines cavity having an opening at its bottom;
a stud comprising a support means, the stud being coupled to the joint such that at least a portion of the support means is disposed within the cavity and at least a portion of the stud extends through the opening at the bottom of the cavity;
a gap prevention means interposed between the inner wall and the support means to inhibit movement of the support means relative to the inner wall; and
a fixing means secured to the inner wall proximate to the opening at the bottom of the cavity, thereby preventing the gap prevention means from leaving the cavity. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification