Swivel joint

A swivel joint for transmitting torque between drive and driven members at a synchronized speed, comprising an outer joint member having an interior cavity, a first plurality of ball receiving grooves formed on the interior wall surface of said cavity, an inner joint member carried within said cavity, said inner joint member being capable of angular displacement relative to said outer joint member for a maximum permissible angle of displacement, a second plurality of ball receiving grooves formed on the exterior surface of said inner joint member, the number of grooves of said first plurality of ball receiving grooves corresponding to the number of grooves of the second plurality of ball receiving grooves, a ball carried between at least one pair of corresponding ball receiving grooves of said first and second plurality of grooves for transmitting torque between said inner and outer joint members, said ball in at least one pair of said grooves being subjected to a force caused by play when a diameter of said ball passes through a plane containing the axis of rotation of both said inner joint member and said outer joint member, a cage arranged between said inner and outer joint members, said cage having window recesses, said ball being retained in one of said window recesses, a stop face located on the inside of said outer joint member, and a cooperating bearing surface carried on said cage for engaging said stop face when said inner joint member is angularly displaced relative to said joint member for an angle smaller than the maximum permissible angle of displacement so that further angular displacement of said inner joint member relative to said outer joint member forces said ball out to its homokinetic plane in a direction causing an increase in the angle between a plane through the center of said ball and the intersection of the axes of said inner and outer joint members and the axis of said inner joint member which is greater than the bisecting angle between the axes of said inner and outer joint members.