Plunging assembly for a driveshaft

A plunging assembly for a driveshaft, comprising:

• an outer part (3) defining a bore (4) and including a longitudinal axis (x), the bore (4) including circumferentially distributed outer running grooves (5) which extend parallel to the longitudinal axis (x);
• an inner part (1) whose outer face is provided with inner running grooves (10) which extend parallel to the longitudinal axis (x) and which are positioned opposite the outer running grooves (5);
• a plunging unit (2) comprising a cage (16) which is sleeve-shaped, which is arranged co-axially around the inner part (1), which is positioned in the bore (4) so as to be displaceable relative to the outer part (3) and inner part (1) and which, in accordance with the pairs of opposed outer running grooves (5) and inner running grooves (10), comprises apertures (17), as well as balls (15) which are held in the apertures (17) and engage the outer running grooves (5) and the inner running grooves (10);
• and
• a first moving-in stop (6) and a second moving-in stop (12) for delimiting the path which can be covered by the inner part (1) relative to the outer part (3) during the moving-in motion, and a first moving-out stop (9, 22, 22′) and a second moving-out stop (11) for delimiting the path which can be covered by the inner part (1) relative to the outer part (3) during the moving-out motion;
• wherein the first moving-in stop (6) and the first moving-out stop (9, 22, 22′) delimit the effective length of the outer running grooves (5) with respect to the path which can be covered by the plunging unit (2) relative to the outer part (3), and wherein the second moving-in stop (12) and the second moving-out stop (11) delimit the effective length of the inner running grooves (10) with respect to the path which can be covered by the plunging unit (2) relative to the inner part (1), the length of the finer running grooves (10) being different from the length of the outer running grooves (5);
• and
• wherein the first moving-in stop (6) for the plunging unit (2) is formed by stop faces delimiting the end of the outer running grooves (5) in the outer part (3), and the cage (16), in the moved-in condition of the plunging unit (2), is supported on the first moving-in stop (6) in such a way that a gap exists between the stop faces of the outer running grooves and the balls (15) directly adjoining the stop faces.