Sealed joint assembly

A device for mounting a sealing mechanism on a joint assembly having a constant velocity joint with an outer joint part having outer ball tracks, an inner joint part having inner ball tracks, torque transmitting balls which are guided in pairs of tracks each consisting of an outer ball track and an inner ball track, and a cage with cage windows in which the balls are received and held in a common plane, a sleeve which is firmly connected to the inner joint part and is coaxially arranged thereto, and a sealing mechanism comprising an annular cap fixed to the outer joint part, a sealing diaphragm which, by an outer collar, is firmly connected to the annular cap and which, by an inner collar, is sealingly connected to the sleeve, and a securing ring for fixing the inner collar on the sleeve, the sleeve having a continuous annular groove that is engaged by the sealing diaphragm by an inner annular bead formed on the inner collar, the mounting device comprising:

• a mounting sleeve with a central aperture whose inner diameter is such that the mounting sleeve can be slid onto the sleeve, wherein the annular groove is covered by the mounting sleeve, the mounting sleeve comprises a first portion with a lesser wall thickness to be slid on to the sleeve and an axially adjoining second portion with a radially inwardly widened greater wall thickness, an end of the first portion for engaging an end face of the inner joint part when the mounting sleeve is fully engaged with the sleeve;
• a slidable sleeve with an end face which can be axially displaced on the mounting sleeve, wherein the inner collar of the sealing diaphragm is displaced from the end face of the slidable sleeve during the displacement of same towards the inner joint part on the mounting sleeve and thus slid on to the sleeve;
• wherein, after the sealing diaphragm has been slid on to the sleeve, the mounting sleeve is retractable, wherein the annular groove is released and the inner annular bead snaps into the annular groove.

A sealed joint assembly for use in a driveshaft of a motor vehicle, comprising:

• a constant velocity joint with an outer joint part having outer ball tracks, an inner joint part having inner ball tracks, torque transmitting balls that are guided in pairs of tracks each consisting of an outer ball track and an inner ball track, and a cage with cage windows in which the balls are received and held in a common plane;
• a sleeve connected to the inner joint part and coaxially arranged thereto;
• and
• a sealing mechanism comprising an annular cap fixed to the outer joint part, a sealing diaphragm which, by an outer collar, is firmly connected to the annular cap and which, by an inner collar, is sealingly connected to the sleeve, and a securing ring for fixing the inner collar on the sleeve, the inner collar comprising a continuous recess at its outer face that is form-fittingly engaged by the securing ring;
• and
• wherein the sleeve comprises a continuous annular groove and the sealing diaphragm comprises an inner annular bead formed on the inner collar that engages the annular groove, the inner collar having a greater radial wall thickness in the region of the annular bead than in the region of the recess that is engaged by the securing ring.