Patent ID: 8894317

Claim:
A ball joint with a joint housing ( 1 ), that includes an inner chamber ( 4 ) that houses a joint ball ( 2 ) of a ball pin ( 3 ), as well as an opening ( 5 ), on one side, to facilitate passage of the joint ball ( 2 ) therethrough, whereby the joint bail has an attached pin portion ( 6 ) of the ball pin ( 3 ); a contact area ( 7 ) disposed on an outer surface of the housing ( 1 ) which forms a seal with an edge ( 8 ) of a sealing bellows ( 31 ); an integrated joint closure ( 9 ′) formed on the housing ( 1 ), for securing the joint ball ( 2 ) of the ball pin ( 3 ) within the inner chamber ( 4 ) so that the joint ball ( 2 ) can both rotate and pivot; a closure area ( 9 ′) being formed by a forming section, following insertion of the ball pin ( 3 ) in the inner chamber ( 4 ); the closure area, shaped by a cold forming method, forms the joint closure ( 9 ′) after the assembly of the ball joint; a bearing shell ( 13 ) is inserted into the inner chamber ( 4 ) of the housing ( 1 ); an inner surface of the bearing shell defining a sphere having an opening on one side; a plane ( 16 ) extending through a midpoint (M) of the joint ball ( 2 ) and perpendicular to a longitudinal axis ( 15 ) of a non-deflected bah pin ( 3 ); and the contact area ( 7 ) comprising an axial section ( 20 ) and a slope section ( 21 ) which both engage with an end of the sealing bellows extending radially outward from a part of the sealing bellows adjacent the end thereof, the plane ( 16 ) is coincident with both the end of the sealing bellows and with the axial section ( 20 ) of the contact area ( 7 ), at substantially an axial mid-point of the axial section ( 20 ).