Ball joint
AssigneeRB Distribution, Inc.
InventorsJoseph W. Lonergan, III, David J. Grasso, Thomas Allan Reiff
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A ball joint has a bushing with a defined housing space sized to receive ball joint components. The ball joint further has a cage member having an exterior surface that fits within the housing recess and an interior surface with a pattern of raised and recessed portions, and a cup member over-molded on the cage member component. The cup member complements the interior surface pattern of the cage member and includes an interior surface having a circular configuration. The ball joint also has a stem having a ball portion dimensioned to fit within and complement the interior surface of the cup member.
Claims15
A ball joint comprising:
- a bushing that defines a space sized to receive ball joint components;
- a metallic cage member that fits within the defined space of the bushing, the metallic cage member has a surface with a pattern of raised and recessed portions that form vertically-extending ribs and grooves;
- a bearing having an exterior surface that complements the pattern of raised and recessed portions in the surface of the cage member and an interior surface that defines a circular configuration;
- and,
- a stem having an end with a ball portion dimensioned to fit within the interior surface of the bearing.
A method of making a ball joint comprising the steps of:
- providing a bushing with a defined space sized to receive ball joint components;
- providing a metallic cage member having a surface with a pattern of raised and recessed portions that form vertically-extending ribs and grooves;
- over-molding a polymeric material on the metallic cage member to define a bearing having a first surface that complements the pattern of raised and recessed portions of the cage member, a second surface that forms an interior circular configuration, and a third surface which fits within the defined space of the bushing;
- and
- providing a stem having a ball portion dimensioned to fit within the interior circular configuration of the second surface of the bearing.
A ball joint comprising:
- a bushing with a defined space sized to receive ball joint components;
- a metallic cage member having an exterior surface that fits within the defined space and an interior surface with a pattern of raised and recessed portions that form vertically-extending ribs and grooves;
- a cup member over-molded on the cage member, the cup member complements the interior surface pattern of the metallic cage member and includes an interior surface having a circular configuration;
- and,
- a stem having a ball portion dimensioned to fit within and complement the interior surface of the cup member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.