Patent ID: 7588384

Claim:
A bearing seat provided in a socket with a socket opening, and a spherical sliding surface for rotatably holding an approximately globular ball portion of a ball stud arranged in the socket and wherein the bearing seat has a latitudinal direction, a longitudinal direction, and a bearing seat opening for approximately coinciding with the opening in the socket, comprising: a plurality of housing concave portions that are along first and second adjacent longitudinal direction positions on the sliding surface in a manner opposed to an outer circumferential surface of the ball portion for housing a lubricant; wherein the housing concave portions comprise: a plurality of first dimples respectively arranged apart from each other so as to form at least one tier along the latitudinal direction, opened in approximately circular forms, and having opening areas approximately equal to each other; and a plurality of second dimples including: a plurality of small diameter dimples respectively arranged apart from each other along the latitudinal direction at positions of a side opposite the socket opening with respect to the at least one tier of the first dimples forming a tier, opened in approximately circular forms, and having opening areas approximately equal to each other; and a plurality of large diameter dimples respectively arranged apart from each other along the latitudinal direction at positions of a side of the socket opening with respect to the small dimples, opened in approximately circular forms, and having opening areas larger than those of the first dimples and approximately equal to each other.