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:
May. 18, 1999
Filed:
Jul. 02, 1997
Garth B Maughan, Delta, OH (US);
Richard F Brown, Temperance, OH (US);
Dana Corporation, Toledo, OH (US);
Abstract
A ball and socket joint is disclosed. The joint comprises two hard, self-adjusting, tapered side bearing halves with inner spherical faces. The inner spherical faces are lined with a low friction synthetic filament impregnated fabric overlay bonded to the spherical face by stiff reinforced polymer based adhesives, ceramic based adhesives or other high temperature adhesives. The bearing halves receive a ball stud sphere and are compression pre-loaded into a socket. Bearing taper is controlled so that minute filament particles fill microscopic low places of the stud sphere as the sphere moves or articulates within the bearing against the compressed fabric overlay. The sphere becomes very smooth and minimizes friction within the joint and improves bearing life and performance of the joint. The fabric may also be bonded to an inner surface of a hemispherical cup which is placed adjacent the bearing halves prior to assembly of the joint.