Dust boot for a tie rod end of a sickle bar of a combine and a method of making
AssigneeFederal-Mogul Motorparts LLC
InventorTrevor G. Seibert
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The tie rod end includes a housing with an inner bore that extends along a central axis. A stud is partially received in the inner bore and has a shank portion which extends out of the inner bore for attachment with a gearbox. The tie rod end further includes an elastic boot body which extends from a first boot end, which is sealed with the housing, to a second boot end. A boot bearing, which is made of a plastic material, is secured with the second boot end. The boot bearing is in a dynamic sealing engagement with the shank portion of the stud. The boot bearing presents a plurality of radially inwardly extending and annularly-shaped ribs that contact the shank portion.
Claims16
A joint, comprising:
- a housing with an inner bore that extends along a central axis;
- a stud partially received in said inner bore and having a shank portion which extends out of said inner bore for attachment with a gearbox;
- an elastic boot body which extends from a first boot end that is sealed against said housing to a second boot end;
- a boot bearing made of a plastic material and secured to said second boot end and establishing a seal between said second boot end of said elastic boot body and said shank portion of said stud;
- said boot bearing presenting a plurality of radially inwardly extending and annularly shaped first ribs that contact said shank portion of said stud and that are spaced from one another in an axial direction by a plurality of first grooves for reducing surface-to-surface contact area between said bearing and said shank portion of said stud;
- and
- said elastic boot body further including an annular sealing lip on one axial side of said boot bearing, said sealing lip directly contacting said stud.
A joint, comprising:
- a housing with an inner bore that extends along a central axis;
- a stud partially received in said inner bore and having a shank portion which extends out of said inner bore for attachment with a gearbox;
- an elastic boot body which extends from a first boot end that is sealed against said housing to a second boot end;
- a boot bearing made of a plastic material and secured to said second boot end and establishing a seal between said second boot end of said elastic boot body and said shank portion of said stud;
- said boot bearing presenting a pair of flanges which are axially spaced apart from one another on opposite sides of a radially outwardly facing channel;
- and
- said second end of said elastic boot body contacting said boot bearing in said radially outwardly facing channel and said second end presenting a plurality of spaced apart ridges for reducing surface-to-surface contact between said elastic boot body and said boot bearing.
A method of making a joint, comprising the steps of:
- inserting a portion of a stud into an open bore of a housing such that the stud extends along a central axis out of the inner bore through an open end of the housing;
- preparing an elastic boot body that extends from a first boot end to a second boot end;
- fixedly attaching a boot bearing that is made of a more rigid material than the elastic boot body with the second boot end of the elastic boot body and wherein the boot bearing has a plurality of radially inwardly extending and annularly shaped first ribs that are separated from one another by at least one first groove;
- establishing a static seal between the first boot end of the elastic boot body and the housing;
- and
- establishing a dynamic seal between the first ribs of the boot bearing and the stud and between a lip formed on the elastic boot body and the stud.
The method as set forth in claim 13 wherein the boot bearing further includes a plurality of axially extending and annularly shaped second ribs that are spaced radially from one another by at least one second groove.
The method as set forth in claim 14 wherein the boot bearing is made as a single, monolithic piece of polyoxymethylene.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.