US 7,802,940 B2Granted

Forged knurled socket housing

AssigneeFederal-Mogul World Wide, Inc.

InventorGlen C. Parker

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Abstract

A ball and socket joint assembly comprises a housing having an interior socket and an exterior surface at least partially knurled for press fit into a mating first suspension part, such as a control arm. A ball is rotatably seated within the socket to provide an articulating joint. A mounting shank extends from the ball, outwardly from the housing, for attaching to a second suspension component, such as a suspended wheel. The housing, together with its knurls, is formed in a forging tool. As distinguished from the prior art technique of machining, knurls formed in the forging process allow economical, high-volume production. In addition, the forging technique allows greater design flexibility to place knurls in surface configurations and with longitudinal profiles and non-uniform shapes previously unattainable or impractical with conventional machining techniques.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A ball and socket joint assembly for a vehicular suspension, said assembly comprising:

a housing having an interior socket extending between upper and lower ends of said housing, and an exterior surface having an upper portion adjacent said upper end having an enlarged outer diameter and an at least partially knurled lower portion operative for being press fit into a mating first suspension part, said at least partially knurled portion of said exterior surface comprising a plurality of elongate knurls each having a cross-section having a root and a crest and having a substantially uninterrupted material hardness as forged within each of said knurls, said housing including a shoulder extending radially from said exterior surface between said upper portion and said knurls and extending contiguously and substantially perpendicularly immediately from said crest of each of said knurls;
wherein said lower portion has a smaller diameter than said upper portion, and said interior socket has an enlarged bore diameter within said upper portion for receiving a cover plate and a smaller bore diameter within said lower portion for receiving a ball;
a ball rotatably seated within said socket adjacent said lower end;
and
a shank fixedly joined to said ball and extending outwardly from said housing for attaching to a second suspension component.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/422,746Filed 7 Jun 2006
Published: US 2006/0222454 A15 Oct 2006
Granted: 28 Sep 2010
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

B21K 1/762
Elements not mentioned in one of the preceding groups: coupling members for conveying mechanical motion, e.g. universal joints
F16C 11/0623
The female part comprising a blind socket receiving the male part: construction or details of the socket member
Y10T 29/49657
Self-adjusting or self-aligning, including ball and socket type, bearing and component making: socket making
Y10T 403/32196
Including static joint: articulate joint is ball and socket