Bellowed seal

A seal for inhibiting road debris from contaminating a constant velocity joint of a vehicle about which said seal is mounted thereby submitting the seal to constantly changing flexural forces, said constant velocity joint being comprised of two rotatably interconnected components axially extending from opposite ends of said seal, said seal comprising:

• a one-piece hollow and elongated body having first and second ends and a plurality of thin walled bellow-like configurations arranged end-to-end between said first and second ends, said first and second ends each having a generally cylindrical configuration extending axially away from the bellow-like configurations, and wherein each bellow-like configuration has root and crest diameters with a constant wall thickness therebetween to inhibit fatigue failure of said seal in response to the flexural forces imparted thereto, and wherein the elongated body is constructed of a grade of thermoplastic elastomers having about a 7 melt flow rate at about 220.degree. C. and under a 2160 g load and with a 500% elongation at break characteristic thereby offering extended flex, crack and abrasion resistance during use so as to enhance the durability and life of said seal.

A seal for protecting a constant velocity joint of a vehicle about which said seal is mounted thereby submitting the seal to constantly changing flexural forces, said seal comprising:

• a hollow, elongated and bellowed member having first and second open ends and a plurality of thin walled bellow-like configurations arranged end-to-end and disposed about an elongated axis of said member and between said first and second ends, and wherein said member is constructed of a material selected from the class consisting of:
• thermoplastic elastomer materials having about a 7 melt flow rate at about 220.degree. C. under a 2160 g load and about a 500% elongation at break thereby offering enhanced flex, crack and abrasion resistance during use so as to enhance the durability and life of said seal.