Radial joint and process for manufacturing such a radial joint for a motor vehicle

Abstract

A radial joint is provided for a motor vehicle with a metallic housing (1), through the opening (2) on one side of which a ball pivot (3) can be inserted into an interior space (4) of the housing (1). The joint ball (5) of the ball pivot (3) is mounted pivotably and rotatably in a bearing area of the interior space (4), and a pivot section (6) of the ball pivot (3), which section is connected to the joint ball (5), protrudes from the housing (1) through opening (2) of housing (1). The housing (1) has, in the area of its opening (2), a section (7), which is prepared by machining and which is deformed by a cold forming process. Furthermore, a process for manufacturing a radial joint is provided that includes the steps: manufacturing of the housing blank, machining of section (7) close to the opening (2) of housing (1), inserting the joint ball (5) of ball pivot (3) into the interior space (4) of housing (1), cold forming of the opening-side edge section of housing (1) until a metallic overlap (13), which guarantees a sufficient extraction strength for the joint to be manufactured and thus makes possible a positive-locking connection between the components contacting each other, is attained between the joint ball (5) and housing (1).

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a United States National Phase application of International Application PCT / DE 2007 / 000443 and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of German Patent Application DE 10 2006 016 060.6 filed Apr. 4, 2006, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention pertains to a radial joint for a motor vehicle as well as to a process for manufacturing such a radial joint.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]A distinction is made among ball and socket joints between axial joints and radial joints. This distinction depends on the particular direction of action of the forces acting on the ball pivot. The position of the non-deflected ball pivot is used as a reference for this definition of the different ball and socket joints. Accordingly, the principal load on an axial joint is in the direction of the central longitudinal axis of the ball pivot, whereas the...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a radial joint with a simple design and a low cost of manufacture. The joint has a housing with a one-piece metallic interior space, which can be easily manufactured at a low cost. The housing has only one section in the area of the opening, which can be deformed by cold forming, resulting in a simplified manufacturing process. The joint also has a bearing shell that can be made of plastic or a plastic composite, which can be selected based on the desired property of the joint. The bearing shell can have a support flange to optimally support the bearing forces acting via the housing or the pivot. The invention provides a radial joint with a high strength and a maximized extraction force, which can be used in the wheel suspension of motor vehicles.

Problems solved by technology

A complicated and expensive rechucking of the workpiece is no longer necessary.

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