Captive ball and end connector assembly

An improved high retention force, high strength, easily controllably removable captive ball and end connector assembly comprising:

• a shaft including a first end and having a longitudinal central axis;
• a ball on the first end of the shaft, the ball including an outer, generally spherical zone surface defined by and between a first plane and a second plane and having a preselected radius;
• an end connector including a first surface, a second surface and a ball receiving socket that has a longitudinal axis, with the first and second surfaces being substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the socket and being on opposite sides of the socket, the connector including (a) a first opening in its first surface, which opening communicates with the socket, and with the first opening being larger than the ball so that the ball may be selectively inserted into and removed from the socket through the first opening, and (b) a second opening in its second surface, which opening communicates with the socket, with the second opening being smaller than the ball but larger than the shaft so that the shaft may extend selectively out of one of the first and second openings when the ball is inserted into the socket through the first opening;
• the socket including a first recess having an inner, generally spherical zone surface defined between a third plane and a fourth plane, with the radius of the inner spherical zone surface being selected so that the outer spherical zone surface of the ball is in substantial surface-to-surface contact with the inner spherical zone surface when the ball is mounted in the first recess and so that the dimensions of the inner spherical zone surface, in the third plane, permit the ball to be selectively removed from surface-to-surface contact with the inner spherical zone surface;
• the socket also including a second recess disposed adjacent to the third plane and between the third plane and the first opening, the second recess including a first annular groove and a second annular groove, with the first groove being adjacent to the third plane and having an outer peripheral surface whose radius is longer than the preselected radius of the ball and with the second groove being adjacent to the first groove and having an outer peripheral surface whose radius is longer than the radius of the ball but is shorter than the outer radius of the outer peripheral surface of the first groove and also having an inwardly extending shoulder adjacent to the first opening;
• a ball retaining ring disposed within the second recess, the ring being selectively movable between an expanded position, in the first groove, where the length of its inner expanded radius is equal to the radius of the ball so that the ball can pass therethrough and a retaining position where its outer radius is substantially equal to but less than the radius of the outer peripheral surface of the second groove and where the length of its inner radius is less than the length of the radius of the ball so that the ring, in its retaining position, bears against the ball and against the inwardly extending shoulder so as to retain the ball in the socket;
• the second recess also including a third peripheral surface that extends from the outer peripheral surface of the first groove to the outer peripheral surface of the second groove, the third surface being sloped, so that ring can move, with a minimum of fictional resistance and while remaining in plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the socket, along the third surface between the first and second grooves;
• and
• means for permitting access to the ball retaining ring from without the socket so that the ball retaining ring may be moved from its retaining position to its expanded position from without the connector.