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US 2003/0156895 A1Published application
Ball joint
AssigneeMusashi Seimitsu Industry Co., Ltd.
InventorTokuji Yokoyama
Life of this patent
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AssigneeMusashi Seimitsu Industry Co., Ltd.
InventorTokuji Yokoyama
Estimating the term…
In a ball joint including a retaining ring to which a boot is mounted and which is press-fitted to a ball stud, the ball stud is formed with a press-fit portion to which a cylindrical portion of the retaining ring is press-fitted, and an annular projection having a tapered forming face rising with an upgrade from a press-fit terminal end of the press-fit portion. When the cylindrical portion is press-fitted to the press-fit portion, a particular cylindrical portion set at a tip end of the cylindrical portion is expanded by pressing the particular cylindrical portion against the tapered forming face, thereby forming a small flange. Thus, the small flange of the retaining ring can be simultaneously formed utilizing a force of press-fitting of the cylindrical portion of the retaining ring to the ball stud. This can contribute to a reduction in the number of assembling steps.
A ball joint comprising a ball stud, a ball socket for swingably retaining a ball-shaped head of said ball stud with a bearing interposed therebetween, a retaining ring having a cylindrical portion press-fitted to an outer peripheral surface of a shank and a pair of large and small flanges protruding from axially outer and inner ends of said cylindrical portion, and a boot having first and second annular beads fitted to said retaining ring and said ball socket, respectively, said first mounting bead being formed with an inner periphery seal portion and an end face seal portion which are adapted to come into close contact with said cylindrical portion and said large flange, respectively,
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.