GB991243A - Improvements in or relating to boot seals - Google Patents

Abstract

991,243. Ball and socket joints. THOMPSON RAMO WOOLDRIDGE Inc. April 20, 1964 [April 30, 1963], No. 16285/64. Heading E2F. [Also in Division F2] A boot seal for a ball and socket joint comprises a resilient sleeve 21 which is formed at one end with an end wall 36 that sealingly engages a member 38 secured to the ball pin 49 and, at the opposite end, with an internal sealing lip 26 which normally engages the socket 28 but is unseated, as shown in Fig. 6, by expansion of the sleeve to relieve any excess pressure occurring in the sleeve, for example during lubrication of the joint. The sleeve is reinforced adjacent the wall 36 by an embedded ring and has at the other end an external bead 24 surrounded by a rigid ring 22 having a skirt 39 which lines the bore 23 of the sleeve terminating at the lip 26, embraces the face 27a of the socket 28 and has axial grooves 44 which interconnect the low pressure side of the lip 26 with the atmosphere. When the joint is charged with lubricant through a nipple 56 any excess pressure in the sleeve interior 61 causes the lip 26 to unseat and excess lubricant then escapes through grooves 44 until the pressure returns to normal and the lip again engages the socket. The sleeve is preferably of synthetic material, such as neoprene, and the ring 22 is preferably of corrosion resistant metal such as zinc or cadmium plated steel. In a modification, the ring 22 is replaced by a segmental L-section ring 62, Fig. 7, having a gap 66 between its ends 63, 64 through which excess pressure can escape as shown in Fig. 10. In a further modification, the ring 72, Fig. 11, has transverse slots 73 in its outer periphery which act as relief passages as shown in Fig. 14. The ball member 48 is supported in the socket 28 by a split bearing ring 51 of nylon urged upwardly by a spring 52.