Ball joint and method for the production thereof

A bail joint with a joint housing, that includes an inner chamber that houses a joint ball of a ball pin, as well as an opening, on one side, to facilitate passage of the joint ball therethrough, whereby the joint ball has an attached pin portion of the ball pin;

• an outer surface of the housing having a contact area which forms a seal with an end of a sealing bellows;
• an integrated joint closure formed on the housing, for securing the joint ball of the ball pin within the inner chamber so that the joint ball is both rotatable and pivotable;
• a closure area being formed by a forming section, following insertion of the ball pin in the inner chamber, the closure area, shaped by a cold forming method, forms the joint closure after the assembly of the ball joint;
• a bearing shell is inserted into the inner chamber of the housing, an inner surface of the bearing shell defining a sphere having an opening on one side;
• a plane extending through a midpoint of the joint ball and perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of a non-deflected ball pin;
• the end of the sealing bellows extending radially outward from a part of the sealing bellows adjacent the end thereof;
• and
• the contact area comprising an axial section and a slope section which both engage with the end of the sealing bellows, the plane is coincident with both the end of the sealing bellows and the contact area on the outer surface of the housing, at substantially an axial mid-point of the axial section.

A ball joint assembly comprising a joint housing and a ball pin, the joint housing comprises a wall that defines an inner chamber and has an axial section and a forming section, the forming section defines an opening of the inner chamber, the inner chamber of the housing receives a bearing shell through the opening, the ball pin defines a longitudinal axis and comprises a joint ball and a pin portion that is attached to the joint ball, the joint ball is received by the bearing shell within the inner chamber through the opening thereof;

• prior to formation of the ball joint assembly, the axial and the forming sections of the wall are cylindrical and define an axis that is collinear with the longitudinal axis of a non-deflected ball pin, and the forming section of the wall has a radial thickness that is smaller than a radial thickness of the axial section of the wall;
• the forming section of the wall of the housing being deflected, to form the ball joint assembly, by a cold forming method such that the forming section is progressively deflected toward the longitudinal axis of the non-deflected ball pin from adjacent the axial section to the opening of the inner chamber;
• after formation of the ball joint assembly an inner surface of the bearing shell defines a sphere and the joint ball is fixed axially and radially and is rotatable and pivotable in relation to the housing;
• the axial section of the wall of the housing engages an end of a sealing bellows forming a seal therebetween, the end of the sealing bellows extends radially outward from an adjacent part of the sealing bellows to which the end is attached;
• and
• a plane extending through a midpoint of the joint ball and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the non-deflected ball pin is coincident with the axial section of the wall of the housing at substantially an axial mid-point of the axial section and with the radially extending end of the sealing bellows.