Patent ID: 11898598
Assignee: ZF FRIEDRICHSHAFEN AG
Field: Mechanical elements (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 15:
16. A joint comprising:
a housing defining an axis and having axially opposite journal openings,
an inner joint portion having an outer surface with a bearing area and first and second neck areas, the bearing area is arranged within the housing, and the first and second neck areas extend axially out of the housing through a respective one of the journal openings,
a bearing body having an inner surface, the bearing body being arranged within the housing such that the bearing body mates with the housing and the inner surface mates with the bearing area of the outer surface of the inner joint portion, the bearing body extending axially through the journal openings and beyond an entire axial length of the housing, the bearing body enclosing the bearing area of the inner joint portion and comprising plastic, the bearing body being materially uniform in a radial direction from the inner surface to the housing and along the entire axial length of the housing,
the bearing area of the outer surface of the inner joint portion being secured within the bearing body on the inner surface such that the inner joint portion is axially fixed and at least one of rotatable and pivotable relative to the bearing body and the housing,
first and second sealing bellows extending axially and surrounding the first and the second neck areas of the inner joint portion, respectively, each of the first and the second sealing bellows having first and second axial ends, the first axial ends of the first and the second sealing bellows mating with a respective contact area of the bearing body while the second axial end of the first sealing bellows mates with a contact area of the first neck area, and the second axial end of the second sealing bellows mates with a contact area of the second neck area, and
each of the first axial ends of each of the first and the second sealing bellows directly contacting a respective first sleeve, and each of the second axial ends of each of the first and the second sealing bellows directly contacting a respective second sleeve, the second sleeves extend axially and surround the inner joint portion and mate with the contact area of the respective one of the first and the second neck areas, the first sleeves extend axially and surround the inner joint portion and mate with the respective contact area of the bearing body, the first and the second sleeves comprising plastic, and the first sleeves at the first axial ends of the first and the second sealing bellows surrounding the first axial ends of the sealing bellows and the second sleeves at the second axial ends of the first and the second sealing bellows being surrounded by the second axial ends of the respective first and the second sealing bellows, and
the first and the second sleeves having a radial limb at an axial end thereof, and the first and the second axial ends of the respective first and the second sealing bellows being respectively axially fixed by the respective radial limbs of the respective first and the second sleeves, the first axial ends of the first and the second sealing bellows are received by the respective contact area of the bearing body from a radial interior of the bearing body.