Patent ID: 6860519

Claim:
Apparatus including a metal ball joint assembly for permitting limited flexure in attached pressurized fluid lines, said assembly comprising: first and second tubular sections extending on opposite ends of a central bellows which is capable of limited flexure to accommodate differences in axes angles of said tubular sections; and a housing surrounding and constraining said bellows to flexure within predetermined angle limits, said housing comprising: an inner annular element of a first selected arcuate shape varying in diameter along its length from a first end shaped to match the diameter of the first tubular section to a second end of enlarged diameter suitable for overlapping said bellows; and an outer annular element of a second selected arcuate shape varying in diameter from a first end shaped to match the diameter of the second tubular section to an intermediate section of enlarged diameter exceeding the maximum diameter of the inner annular element and then to a necked-down section of reduced diameter at a second end, the intermediate section and the necked-down section overlapping and enclosing the second end of said inner element, the inner and outer annular elements having portions of said arcuate shapes matching in curvature to provide adjacent bearing surfaces which remain in sliding contact during flexure of the bellows; wherein said bellows is formed as an extension of said first tubular section at one end of the bellows; and wherein the inner annular element is not attached to said first tubular section but is maintained in position against sliding along said first tubular section by a first annular restraint collar which is welded to said first tubular section near one end and flared outwardly at the other end to contact the inner surface of said inner annular element and support the inner annular element in a fixed position on said first tubular section.