The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 30, 1998
Filed:
May. 06, 1996
Yasutaka Fukumoto, Toyota, JP;
Junichi Kato, Nishikamo-Gun, JP;
Yukio Okamura, Toyota, JP;
Yasuhiro Ishikawa, Nishio, JP;
Tetsuo Kondo, Nishio, JP;
Yoshimi Suzuki, Nishio, JP;
Hidetomi Nagai, Nishio, JP;
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Aichi-Ken, JP;
Otics Corporation, Aichi-Ken, JP;
Abstract
A ball joint generates play when wear of a ball sheet reaches a predetermined allowable amount so that the end of service life of the ball joint can be recognized by a simple inspection. A spherical portion of a ball stud is interposed between an upper sheet and a lower sheet. The upper sheet is displaced toward the lower sheet when the upper sheet or the lower sheet has been worn due to sliding of the spherical portion. The displacement of the upper sheet is restricted so that the upper sheet is supported at a predetermined position relative to the lower sheet.