Ball joint
A ball joint has a bushing with a defined housing space sized to receive ball joint components. The ball joint further has a cage member having an exterior surface that fits within the housing recess and an interior surface with a pattern of raised and recessed portions, and a cup member over-molded on the cage member component. The cup member complements the interior surface pattern of the cage member and includes an interior surface having a circular configuration. The ball joint also has a stem having a ball portion dimensioned to fit within and complement the interior surface of the cup member.
1. A ball joint comprising:
a bushing that defines a space sized to receive ball joint components;
a metallic cage member that fits within the defined space of the bushing, the metallic cage member has a surface with a pattern of raised and recessed portions that form vertically-extending ribs and grooves;
a bearing having an exterior surface that complements the pattern of raised and recessed portions in the surface of the cage member and an interior surface that defines a circular configuration; and,
a stem having an end with a ball portion dimensioned to fit within the interior surface of the bearing.
2. The ball joint of claim 1 , wherein the bushing is metallic.
3. The ball joint of claim 1 , wherein the bearing is non-metallic.
4. The ball joint of claim 3 , wherein the bearing is a polymeric material.
5. The ball joint of claim 1 , wherein the vertically-extending ribs and grooves are alternating.
6. The ball joint of claim 5 , wherein material that forms the bearing fills the grooves, covers the ribs and forms the circular configuration of the bearing.
7. The ball joint of claim 1 , wherein the cage member has a series of apertures, the bearing is a polymeric material, and the polymeric material of the bearing is in the series of apertures.
8. A method of making a ball joint comprising the steps of:
providing a bushing with a defined space sized to receive ball joint components;
providing a metallic cage member having a surface with a pattern of raised and recessed portions that form vertically-extending ribs and grooves;
over-molding a polymeric material on the metallic cage member to define a bearing having a first surface that complements the pattern of raised and recessed portions of the cage member, a second surface that forms an interior circular configuration, and a third surface which fits within the defined space of the bushing; and
providing a stem having a ball portion dimensioned to fit within the interior circular configuration of the second surface of the bearing.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the vertically-extending ribs and grooves are alternating, and wherein the polymeric material fills the grooves and covers the ribs during the over-molding step to form the interior circular configuration of the bearing.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the cage member includes a series of apertures and the polymeric material fills the series of apertures.
11. A ball joint comprising:
a bushing with a defined space sized to receive ball joint components;
a metallic cage member having an exterior surface that fits within the defined space and an interior surface with a pattern of raised and recessed portions that form vertically-extending ribs and grooves;
a cup member over-molded on the cage member, the cup member complements the interior surface pattern of the metallic cage member and includes an interior surface having a circular configuration; and,
a stem having a ball portion dimensioned to fit within and complement the interior surface of the cup member.
12. The ball joint of claim 11 , wherein the bushing is metallic.
13. The ball joint of claim 11 , wherein the cup member is non-metallic.
14. The ball joint of claim 13 , wherein the cup member is a polymeric material.
15. The ball joint of claim 11 , wherein the vertically-extending ribs and grooves are alternating.