The invention relates to a sealing apparatus for sealing the ball joint of a kingpin comprising at least one holding ring and at least one seal ring, wherein the seal ring is provided at least partially within a groove of the holding ring, and wherein the groove is provided in a radially inwardly disposed region of the holding ring.

A ball joint (1, 37) for a chassis of a vehicle has an inner joint portion (4) and a one-piece slide bearing (10) made of plastic, A joint ball (35) of the inner joint portion (4) is fitted so that it can swivel in a ball-bearing section (16). The slide bearing (10) has a holding section (12, 38) for the arrangement of a sensor element (13, 39). In order to simplify the structure and/or assembly of the ball joint (1, 37), the outside of the slide bearing (10) has a circular-ring-shaped contact surface (20) which is formed coaxially relative to a central longitudinal axis (19) of the slide bearing (10) and which co-operates with a separate closure ring (9) surrounding the outside of the slide bearing (10) to fix the slide bearing (10) in a joint housing (3).

The ball socket assembly includes a housing with an inner bore, and a bearing is received in the inner bore. The bearing is made as a monolithic piece of a plastic material and has a curved bearing surface which surrounds a ball cavity. The ball socket assembly also includes a ball stud with a ball portion and a shank portion. The ball portion is received in the ball cavity of the bearing and has an equator. The curved bearing surface of the bearing is in slidable contact with the ball portion on opposite axial sides of the equator. The plastic material of the bearing comprises 8-12 mass percent polytetrafluoroethylene, 2-6 mass percent carbon fibers, and the remainder acetal.

The assembly includes a housing that has an inner bore and a ball stud that has a ball portion with opposing first and second hemispheres. A bearing assembly is disposed in the inner bore of the housing and presents a curved first bearing surface that is in slidable contact with only the first hemisphere of the ball portion. The ball socket assembly also includes a curved second bearing surface that is presented on a different component from the bearing assembly and is in slidable contact with the second hemisphere of the ball portion. The bearing assembly has a plastic portion and a plurality of metal segments. The metal segments collectively define the first bearing surface and are fixedly attached with the plastic portion. The plastic portion allows the metal segments to individually move relative to one another to seat against the ball portion of the ball stud.

A ball joint includes a cover plate with a nested portion along an outer perimeter having a nested portion thickness, a domed portion located radially inward of the outer perimeter having a domed portion thickness, and a pressed portion located between the nested portion and the domed portion having a pressed portion thickness. The pressed portion thickness is less than the domed portion thickness, which during manufacture, is formed when the cover plate and bearing are simultaneously pressed into their final form and position. A tool can be used to press the cover plate and bearing in a single operation. The tool can have interchangeable components, allowing for the manufacture of differently sized ball joints.

A chassis component for a wheel suspension which has a strut arrangement with at least one strut which is in the form of a profile component with an open cross-section. The at least one strut has a profile base and two wall sections that extend away from the profile base. An articulation point is provided, at least at one end of the strut, for receiving two joint components movably connected to one another, namely, a first joint component having a spherical joint body and a second joint component that rotatably and/or pivotably holds the joint body. In the area of the at least one articulation point, the wall sections have first and second joint accommodation apertures arranged opposite one another. A cylindrical sleeve is pressed in between the first joint accommodation aperture and the second joint accommodation aperture and keeps the opposite wall sections apart from one another.

A torsion bushing includes a body portion defining a torsion rod-receiving bore, one or more helical flexion ribs defining at least a portion of the torsion rod-receiving bore, and a helical lubrication reservoir adjacent to the one or more helical flexion ribs. The torsion bushing may be included in a torsion busing assembly that further includes a bracket. The bracket may have a saddle to receive the torsion bushing, and one or more flanges for coupling the bracket to a frame. The torsion bushing may be included in a torsion rod assembly that further includes the bracket and a torsion rod.

A bearing structure component for a vehicle bearing, having at least one through-opening for receiving a connecting element or a bearing which is made of foamed synthetic material, and the foamed synthetic material forms an integral foam structure. In an embodiment, at least one first local section of the integral foam structure has a wall thickness of greater than 4 mm.

A steering system includes an arm, a knuckle, a joint, and a steering sensor. The arm defines a first passage. The knuckle has a knuckle arm defining a second passage. The joint has a ball portion and a shaft portion extending. The ball portion is disposed within the first passage and the shaft portion is disposed within the second passage. The ball portion defines a conical recess that has an opening at an upper end of the ball portion and terminates inside the ball portion with a pocket. The steering sensor has a driveshaft extending along a longitudinal axis into the conical recess. The driveshaft includes a head that engages with the pocket. The ball portion is configured to pivot within the first passage relative to the longitudinal axis and the head. The joint and the driveshaft are configured to rotate together about the longitudinal axis as the knuckle is turned.

The ball joint includes a metal ball stud which includes a ball section and a resin housing which rotatably supports the ball section of the ball stud. A limiting member configured to limit molding shrinkage of the housing is embedded in the housing at an interval with respect to an equatorial section of the ball section such that the limiting member is positioned to surround at least the equatorial section of the ball section.