Socket bearing
AssigneeDana Corporation
InventorMickey L. Love
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A socket bearing for use in a ball and socket joint includes a plurality of lubrication grooves, some having annular, others having helical, orientations over the interior surface thereof. In a preferred form, the socket is cup-shaped having a spherical interior surface, and includes three parallel radially oriented annular grooves intersected by three longitudinally oriented helical grooves. Each groove defines a radius, and each pair of adjacent grooves defines a land between the grooves. An interface boundary is defined by one side of one groove and the land associated with the side of that particular groove. The interface boundary is radiused, wherein the radius thereof has a value of at least fifty percent of that of the radius of the groove.
Claims10
In a ball and socket joint, a socket bearing adapted for accommodating a ball, said bearing having an internal bearing surface for engagement with and support of said ball, said internal bearing surface comprising a plurality of lubrication grooves, each groove defining a depth, each adjacent pair of grooves defining a land therebetween, each groove defining a pair of arcuate sidewalls, each sidewall defining an interface boundary with one land;
- an improvement comprising each of said grooves defining a groove radius, and wherein each sidewall interface boundary defines a boundary radius, said boundary radius being at least fifty percent of said groove radius.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.