Pivot joint assembly
AssigneeAirbus Operations GmbH
InventorsJey Williams, Colin West
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pivot joint assembly has a first part with a hole. A pivot pin passes through the hole. A second part is carried by the pivot pin to be rotatable relative to the first part. A bush has an annular sleeve with an inner face engaging the pivot pin and an outer face engaging a bore wall of the first part. A sealing ring between the bush and the first part. The sealing ring has a body attached to the first part, and a sealing member extending away from the body in a radial direction to a sealing lip which engages the bush without being attached thereto. The sealing member is resiliently compressed to urge the sealing lip towards the bush to maintain engagement with the bush in the event that the bush moves away from the body in the radial direction.
Claims15
A pivot joint assembly comprising:
- a first part with first and second side walls and a hole passing through the first part between the side walls, the exterior of the hole being defined by a bore wall;
- a pivot pin passing through the hole, the pivot pin defining a pivot axis;
- a second part which is carried by the pivot pin wherein the first or second part can rotate relative to the other part about the pivot axis;
- a bush comprising an annular sleeve with an inner face which engages the pivot pin and an outer face which engages the bore wall of the first part;
- and a sealing ring for preventing the ingress of contaminants between the bush and the first part,
- wherein the sealing ring has a body which is attached to the first side wall of the first part, and a sealing member which extends away from the body in a radial direction towards the pivot axis to a sealing lip which engages the bush without being attached to it, and
- wherein the sealing member is in a state of resilient compression so that it urges the sealing lip towards the bush and can expand away from the body in the radial direction to maintain engagement with the bush in the event that the bush moves away from the body in the radial direction.
A method of assembling a pivot joint assembly, the method comprising:
- a. providing a first part with first and second side walls and a hole passing through the first part between the side walls, the exterior of the hole being defined by a bore wall;
- b. passing a pivot pin through the hole, the pivot pin defining a pivot axis;
- c. providing a second part which is carried by the pivot pin wherein the first or second part can rotate relative to the other part about the pivot axis;
- d. providing a bush comprising an annular sleeve with an inner face which engages the pivot pin and an outer face which engages the bore wall of the first part;
- and
- e. attaching a body of a sealing ring to the first side wall of the first part, the sealing ring comprising a sealing member which extends away from the body in a radial direction towards the pivot axis to a sealing lip which engages the bush without being attached to it;
- and
- f. placing the sealing member in a state of resilient compression so that it urges the sealing lip towards the bush and can expand away from the body in the radial direction to maintain engagement with the bush in the event that the bush moves away from the body in the radial direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.