Patent ID: 8616799

Claim:
A ball and socket joint for a vehicle, the ball and socket joint comprising: a ball pin ( 3 ) comprising a joint ball ( 2 ), a ball socket enclosing the joint ball ( 2 ) and being provided with a pin opening ( 11 ) in which the joint ball ( 2 ) of the ball pin ( 3 ) being rotatably supported, and the ball pin extending out of the ball socket through the pin opening ( 11 ), the ball socket comprising first and second ball socket parts ( 18 , 6 ), the second ball socket part having an inner circumferential surface which slidably supports the first ball socket part such that the first and the second ball socket parts are movable relative to one another in an axial direction, the inner circumferential surface of the second ball socket part has a conical region that acts on one side of the joint ball ( 2 ) that is axially opposite another side of the joint ball on which the first ball socket part acts, an adjusting device ( 21 ) comprising a transmission ( 22 ) having first and second transmission parts, and a pre-loaded spiral spring having a first end that is coupled to the first transmission part and a second end that is coupled to the second transmission part, the first transmission part ( 23 ) having ball tracks ( 28 , 29 , 30 ) which rise in the axial direction and extend curved around a rotational axis oriented in the axial direction and in each of which a transmission ball ( 31 , 32 , 33 ) is movably guided, and the second transmission part ( 24 ) contacts the transmission balls ( 31 , 32 , 33 ), which are disposed between the first and the second transmission parts ( 23 , 24 ) in the axial direction, the second transmission part is axially fixed relative to the second ball socket part, and the first transmission part is axially fixed and rotatable relative to the first ball socket part, and the transmission balls ( 31 , 32 , 33 ) and the first transmission part ( 23 ) being rotatable relative to one another about the rotational axis ( 16 ) by the spiral spring such that the first and the second ball socket parts exert an axial pressure on the joint ball.