New Design That Prevents Ball Joint And Tierod End Failure

Submitted 2 years ago

Every year, thousands of motor vehicles are involved in crashes due to failure of ball joints, tierod ends and other ball joints in the front suspension system. Even with frequent inspections and servicing, ball joints and tierod ends do fail due to wear of the ball and socket, leading to their separation. This problem affects motor vehicles designed by all manufacturers including SUVs, saloons, trucks and buses. In the past, some inventors have tried to address this challenge by coming up with alternative designs. To date none of these alternative designs have been adopted due to various weaknesses.

Over the past years, our team has been doing some work aimed at addressing the problem of ball joint failure. Our work has culminated in the issuing of a patent by USPTO titled "Ball Joint With A Retainer/Safety Nut That Prevents Accidental Separation Of The Ball Stud From The Socket" (Patent # 10,677,284 issued by USPTO on June 9th, 2020).

Our new design has various advantages including the following:
• The design relies heavily on a retainer nut which ensures that ball and socket assembly does not separate ensuring better vehicle safety.
• Design applies to all motor vehicles by different manufacturers - SUVs, buses, light vehicles.
• Design applies to all sorts of ball joints and links including tie rod ends - which both cause numerous accidents.
• Design makes ball joints and tierod ends renewable as they can be disassembled and renewed by adding new bearings.
• Design is ideal for un-surfaced roads and roads with pot holes. These increase rate of wear and tear for tierod ends and ball joints •Ball joints and tierod ends using this design, can fit into existing vehicle models and new ones. There is no need for modifications to old models.
Our new design has great market potential since it has potential to become standard equipment in all new and old motor vehicle models.

Detailed Description & Features
This design is a new method for preventing accidental separation of ball and socket in a ball joint assembly due to ball and socket wear. The design also presents a new method for extending the service life of the ball joint as it allows for screwing in the socket cap to remove free play as well as unscrewing of the socket cap and replacing of polymer bearings. The new design relates to a ball joint assembly having shafts on both sides of the ball and a socket with openings on both sides to accommodate the two shafts. The main shaft, as is found in standard ball joints, serves the purpose of joining components while the second shaft has a bell-shaped retainer/safety nut, which prevents accidental separation of the ball joint. The bell shape, allows for wider angular movement of the shaft or ball stud as is common with standard ball joints or outer tie rod ends. The retainer nut ensures that the ball cannot come out of the socket in the event of ball and socket wear. The side of the socket that has the retainer nut can be closed by either welding, press-fitting or by way of a cap that is screwed into the socket. For the version with a screw-in cap, the cap can be screwed into the socket towards the ball to eliminate free play. After screwing in the cap, the retainer nut must also be adjusted accordingly. The cap can also be unscrewed and removed for the purpose of servicing or renewing the ball joint to replace worn out polymer bearing using pre-molded replacement polymer bearings. Both shafts are protected from dust and natural elements by rubber boots. Our work has culminated in the issuing of a patent by USPTO titled "Ball Joint With A Retainer/Safety Nut That Prevents Accidental Separation Of The Ball Stud From The Socket" (Patent # 10,677,284 issued by USPTO on June 9th, 2020). Exact specifications may vary upon manufacturing.
Designer: Paul Ndebele email [email protected].