US-12624723-B2 - Fastening device for articulated fastening of a first construction unit to a second construction unit

US12624723B2US 12624723 B2US12624723 B2US 12624723B2US-12624723-B2

Abstract

A fastening device for the articulated fastening of a first construction unit, e.g., a drive device which can be varied in length by motor, to a second construction unit, e.g., a motor vehicle. The fastening device comprises a ball pin with a bolt shaft defining a bolt axis. One end of the bolt shaft is configured for fastening to the second construction unit and the other end comprises a ball head mounted in a ball socket of a ball socket unit. An attachment unit attaches the ball socket unit to the first construction unit. The ball socket unit has two integral contact portions, which are diametrically opposed to one another with respect to the bolt axis and are in contact with the bolt shaft. The contact portions may each be provided with an indentation area, such that they are elastically deformable in a direction away from the bolt shaft.

Inventors

Jonathan Kessler
Axel Knopp
Thorsten Müller
Bernd Arenz

Assignees

STABILUS GMBH

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230614
Priority Date: 20220630

Claims (11)

1 . A fastening device for the articulated fastening of a first construction unit to a second construction unit, comprising: a ball pin having a bolt shaft which defines a bolt axis, wherein one end of the bolt shaft is configured to be fastened to the second construction unit, and the other end of the bolt shaft comprises a ball head, wherein the bolt shaft and the ball head are separated by a neck region; and a ball socket unit comprising a ball socket, in which the ball head is mounted, and an attachment unit configured to attach the ball socket unit to the first construction unit, wherein the ball socket unit further comprises two integral contact portions in contact with the bolt shaft but not the ball head or the neck region, each contact portion comprising an indentation area and configured to be elastically deformable in a direction away from the bolt shaft.
2 . The fastening device of claim 1 , wherein the contact portions are configured to exert a biasing force in a direction toward the bolt shaft.
3 . The fastening device of claim 1 , wherein the indentation areas further comprise respective web portions configured to restrict the elastic deformation of the contact portions-in the direction away from the bolt shaft.
4 . The fastening device of claim 1 , wherein the ball socket unit is made of a plastic.
5 . The fastening device of claim 4 , wherein the ball socket unit is made of a polyamide.
6 . The fastening device of claim 5 , wherein the ball socket unit is made of PA66.
7 . The fastening device of claim 1 , wherein the ball socket unit is produced by an injection molding process.
8 . The fastening device of claim 1 , wherein the ball pin is comprised of at least one of a metal material or a metal alloy.
9 . The fastening device of claim 1 , wherein the first construction unit is a drive device which can be varied in length by a motor.
10 . The fastening device of claim 1 , wherein the second construction unit is a motor vehicle.
11 . The fastening device of claim 1 , wherein the contact portions of the ball socket unit are diametrically opposite one another with respect to the bolt axis.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to German Patent Application No. 10 2022 116 310.5, filed in Germany on Jun. 30, 2022, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by this reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a fastening device for the articulated fastening of a first construction unit, in particular a drive device which can be varied in length by motor, to a second construction unit, in particular a motor vehicle, comprising a ball pin with a bolt shaft which defines a bolt axis and whose one end is intended for fastening to the second construction unit, while at its other end a ball head is provided, and a ball socket unit with a ball socket in which the ball head is mounted, and an attachment unit which is intended for attaching the ball socket unit to the first construction unit, wherein the ball socket unit has two integral contact portions which are diametrically opposite to one another with respect to the bolt shaft and are in contact with the bolt shaft. SUMMARY Such fastening devices with ball joint are used in particular in motor vehicle technology, for example in the field of motor-driven opening and closing devices of pivotable flaps, preferably tailgates, doors or similar. In this case, the opening and closing force is provided by a drive device which can be changed in length by motor and which, for example, comprises a engine-transmission assembly and a spindle assembly which converts a rotational movement about the longitudinal axis of the drive device into an axial extension or shortening movement. A fastening device comprising a ball joint is provided at one end, preferably at both ends, of the drive device, wherein the axis of the bolt shaft of the ball pin extends substantially parallel to the pivot axis of the pivotable flap. In principle, conventional hinges which have a fastening plate with a bore penetrated by a hinge bolt could also be used, as is known, for example, from DE 10 2004 040 170 A1. However, the use of ball joints has the advantage of a high tolerance to movement components that deviate from the strict pivoting movement about the pivot axis and, for example, are structurally unavoidable or occur as a result of different thermal expansion coefficients of the materials used. In the case of drive devices with an engine-transmission assembly and a spindle assembly that are variable in length by motor, the torque generated by the motor and transmitted to the spindle or the spindle nut must be supported in such a manner that the respective other component of the spindle assembly, namely the spindle nut or the spindle, does not rotate freely, but remains rotationally fixed with respect to a housing accommodating the engine-transmission assembly, in such a manner that the desired axial movement results. This torque support takes up radial installation space and thus increases the installation space required for the drive device. In order to overcome this disadvantage and to enable a space-saving design of such a drive device, it has been proposed, for example, in DE 10 2012 214 674 A1, to carry out the torque support outside the actual drive device and, in particular, to displace it into the fastening device by providing the ball socket unit with the contact portions mentioned above, which take over this task. However, it becomes evident in this process that in some applications of such fastening devices, undesired noise in the form of a clicking or rattling can occur, for example when the already mentioned tailgate driven by a drive device that is variable in length by motor of a vehicle is moved manually in opposite directions. This noise generation is based on the fact that the torque situation on the ball socket unit changes in the described movement forms, in such a manner that the contact portions supporting the torque come into contact with the ball pin. Although the approach to choose the distance between the contact portions and the ball pin as small as possible has been pursued in DE 10 2012 214 674 A1, it is possible, for example, for a significant impact of the ball pin to occur on the contact portions even under these circumstances due to elastic deformation of the corresponding components, as a result of which the undesired noise generation mentioned is explained. Although it has also been proposed in DE 10 2012 214 674 A1 to provide a separate elastic buffer element, preferably a rubber buffer, between the contact portions and the bolt shaft, this represents a significant additional outlay in the manufacture of the corresponding fastening device, and there is the risk that such buffer elements become brittle over time and the desired function can no longer be sufficiently fulfilled. Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to further develop a generic fastening device of the type described above in such a manner that noise generation is reliably prevented even in the case of