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US 2016/0258481 A1Published application
Serviceable Ball Joint with Removable Race
AssigneeClayton Kraatz
InventorClayton Kraatz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A serviceable ball joint features a pin, a housing with a hollow interior, and a removable race. The race has hollow interior chambers, and upper one of which is larger than the lower. The bottom end of the pin is passable through the hollow interior chambers and onward through an open lower end of the housing to situate the top end of the ball joint pin within the upper chamber of the race, from which a remainder of the pin hangs in free floating state. A retaining ring is engaged in an annular groove in the peripheral wall of the housing to clamp the race in place in a seated position abutting a tapered exterior area of the race against a tapered interior portion of the housing, whereby the race is centered and stabilized in the housing to restrain the head of the free-floating pin.
Claims7
A ball joint comprising:
- a housing comprising a housing body having a hollow interior extending thereinto along a housing axis from an open upper end of said housing body toward an opposing lower end of said housing body;
- a ball joint pin having a top end, an opposing bottom end of smaller diameter than the top end, and a longitudinal dimension spanning between the top and bottom ends, the top end of the ball joint pin being smaller in diameter than the hollow interior of the housing at the upper end thereof, and the bottom end of the ball joint pin being smaller in diameter than the hollow interior of the housing at the lower end thereof;
- a race sized to seat within the hollow interior of the housing body adjacent the lower end thereof, the race having a hollow interior upper chamber opening thereinto at a proximal end of the race and a hollow interior lower chamber opening into the hollow interior upper chamber from a distal end of the race that lies opposite to the proximal end, the hollow interior upper chamber being greater diameter than the top end of the ball joint pin and the hollow interior lower chamber being of lesser diameter than the top end of the ball joint pin and greater diameter than the bottom end of the ball joint pin, the bottom end of the ball joint pin being passable through the hollow interior chambers of the race and onward through the open lower end of the housing from the upper end thereof to situate the top end of the ball joint pin within the hollow interior upper chamber;
- an annular groove in a peripheral wall of the hollow interior of the housing body at a position that is adjacent to the top end of the race when said race is seated in the housing body;
- and
- a retaining ring engagable in the annular groove around the peripheral wall of the hollow interior of the housing body to reside between upper and lower walls of the annular groove at a position between the proximal end of the race and the upper wall of the annular groove, which is located between the retaining ring and the open upper end of the housing and blocks movement of the retaining ring toward the open upper end of the housing.
3 more elements
A ball joint comprising:
- a housing comprising a housing body having a hollow interior extending thereinto along a housing axis from an open upper end of said housing body toward an opposing open lower end of said housing body;
- a ball joint pin having a top end, an opposing bottom end of smaller diameter than the top end, and a longitudinal dimension spanning between the top and bottom ends, the top end of the ball joint pin being smaller in diameter than the hollow interior of the housing at the upper end thereof, and the bottom end of the ball joint pin being smaller in diameter than the hollow interior of the housing at the lower end thereof;
- a race seated within the hollow interior of the housing body adjacent the lower end thereof, the race having a hollow interior upper chamber opening thereinto at a proximal end of the race and a hollow interior lower chamber extending from the hollow interior upper chamber to a distal end of the race that lies opposite to the proximal end, the top end of the ball joint pin residing within the hollow interior upper chamber of the race, from which ball joint pin hangs downward from the hollow interior upper chamber through the hollow interior lower chamber and the open lower end of the housing;
- an annular groove in a peripheral wall of the hollow interior of the housing body at a position that is adjacent to the top end of the race when said race is seated in the housing body;
- and
- a retaining ring engaged in the annular groove around the peripheral wall of the hollow interior of the housing body and residing between upper and lower walls of the annular groove at a position between the proximal end of the race and the upper wall of the annular groove, which is located between the retaining ring and the open upper end of the housing and blocks movement of the retaining ring toward the open upper end of the housing.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.