FORM 2
THE PATENT ACT 1970 (39 of 1970)
The Patents Rules, 2003 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION See Section 10, and rule 13
1. TITLE OF INVENTION
JOINT AND/OR BEARING ARRANGEMENT

2. APPLICANT(S)
a) Name
b) Nationality
c) Address

ZF FRIEDRICHSHAFEN AG GERMAN Company 88038 FRIEDRICHSHAFEN GERMANY

3. PRE/AMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed : -


The invention relates to a joint and/or bearing arrangement according to the preamble of Claim 1 as well as a motor vehicle with one or a plurality of joint and/or bearing arrangement(s) of this kind, in particular in chassis and/or steering parts.
In the case of joint arrangements having a pin which is to be retained in a mobile manner with its head region in a joint shell, wherein the joint shell is in turn accommodated in a housing and secured against extraction here, the difficulty arises of having to seal the housing interior with the boundary surfaces between the housing and the joint shell on one side and between the joint shell and the head region on the other in order thus to form a protection against soiling and to prevent lubricant from escaping.
In order to secure the sealing sleeve to the housing, it is known to provide a clamping ring which embraces the sealing sleeve from outside and presses it against the edge of the housing. This makes the assembly process complicated.
It is known from DE 297 21 050 Ul to form the sealing sleeve directly onto a flange of the bearing shell. Since, however, the sealing sleeve is formed from soft material with a low melting point, it becomes more difficult to assemble joint arrangements of this kind in which the joint shell is directly embedded in a housing, for example injection-coated, with material which is initially still liquid and hot upon assembly, for example metallic material.
The invention is based on the problem of achieving an improvement in the assembly conditions in a formation with a sealing sleeve integrally connected to the joint shell and metallic embedding and/or injection coating of the joint shell with an initially hot material
The invention solves this problem by means of a joint arrangement having the features of Claim 1 or of Claim 2 as well as by means of a motor vehicle having the

features of Claim 12. The additional Claims 3 to 11 are to be referred to regarding advantageous configurations and developments of the invention.
Even when the sealing sleeve is formed directly onto the joint shell, the invention enables the joint shell to be embedded in a hot and, for example, metallic material, for example die-casing zinc, which forms a housing after solidifying, without the sealing sleeve, which is formed on in one piece, being damaged by the hot material. This sleeve is formed onto a retaining region at an axial spacing from a deflector acting as a heat shield, so that here the temperature is distinctly reduced with respect to the deflector lying against the liquid material.
It is in particular possible to injection coat the joint shell with the liquid material, which does not necessarily have to be metallic. However an inexpensive and stable joint arrangement is rendered possible by a die-casting injection coating.
Provided that at least one deflector is formed as an edge which projects all round, shielding conditions which are of uniform reliability over the circumference are created through this heat shield.
Just like the sealing sleeve, the deflector can also be formed in one piece with the joint shell, so that the manufacture of the joint shell and the sealing sleeve is inexpensive and simple and the good sealing properties are also preserved.
If the deflector is in contact with the injection coating and the sealing sleeve, the penetration of moisture or particles into the space between the joint shell and the housing can additionally be prevented by the stable deflector.
In this respect it is particularly expedient for the sealing sleeve to lie in a sealing manner against the deflector without a gap remaining here. For this purpose the sealing sleeve is advantageously pressed in a sealing manner against the deflector by

a part of the joint shell, in particular the retaining regipn. This deflector in turn lies in a sealing manner against the housing.
A retaining region of the joint shell which points outwards with a radial component, is at a spacing from the deflector - approximately Dv 5 to 10 millimetres - and behind which the sealing sleeve engages axially in the direction of the housing expediently secures for the sealing sleeve an intimate connection with good sealing properties. A temperature gradient is in addition guaranteed due to the spacing.
The softer sealing sleeve can also engage in an undercut of the joint shell or be injected into penetration channels of the joint shell at the retaining region in a particularly expedient manner.
For injection coating it is expedient to provide at least one spacer for preventing all-over abutment of the joint head against the injection-coated join* shell, so that friction and breakaway torques are reduced.
Further features and advantages of the invention will emerge from embodiments of the subject matter of the invention which are represented in the drawings and described in the following.
In the drawings:
Fig. 1 is a schematic general drawing of a joir^t and/or bearing arrangement
according to the invention with a one-piece formation of the joint shell and injected-on sealing sleeve and with an encircling deflector between the housing and the sealing sleeve,
Fig. 2 is a view in the direction of the arrow li in Fig. 1 onto the open side of
the joint shell at its retaining collar fefore being connected to the sealing sleeve.

The joint arrangement 1 which is represented in Figure 1 comprises an axially extended joint pin 2 with a widened head region 3 which is formed by a substantially spherical formation, for example. This can be retained in a mobile manner in and with respect to a joint or bearing shell 4, which as a rule is prelubricated and in turn is partly surrounded at least on the radial outside by a housing 5.
For assembly purposes the joint head 3 is firstly introduced into the joint shell. The housing 5 is then, for example, formed as an injection coating 8 or casting coating of the joint shell 4 with the joint head 3 retained therein. For injection or casting coating of this kind a liquid, hot material can be used which, for instance, is metallically in the form of die-cast zinc, is rigid and dimensionally stable after subsequent cooling in a mould and can form a housing 5 which is formed integrally with, for example, an axle carrier or a control arm without further finishing.
The joint and/or bearing arrangement 1 also comprises a sealing sleeve 9 which is frequently formed as sealing bellows and adjoins the joint shell 4 at the retaining region 12 in the region of the through-opening 6, left by the housing 5, for the pin 2 and is formed with this joint shell into a common, one-piece unit. For example, the joint shell 4 and the sealing sleeve 9 are produced in a two-component injection moulding process, with which different materials are brought together to form an integral construction unit.
The sealing sleeve 9 is formed from an elastically deformable material which is soft when compared with the joint shell 4, for example of soft polymer material such as, for instance, chloroprene rubber, natural rubber, thermoplastic elastomer based on polyester, polyurethane or polyolefin.
However the joint shell 4. can be formed from a PA, POM, PBT, PEEK or crosslinked types of these materials (for example by electron beam crosslinking). These afford

the required thermal stability and prevent incipient fusion of the joint shell 4 upon contact with the hot material.
While injecting or casting around the joint shell 4 with the hot material the joint shell 4 is already integrally connected to the more sensitive sealing sleeve 9.
According to the invention a deflector. 7 is provided which prevents contact of the sealing sleeve 9 with the hot material 8 during assembly. This deflector 7 is in the form of a closed, encircling and radially projecting edge and is formed onto the joint shell 4 in one piece. Here it is disposed such that on one side it has direct contact as a shield with the injection coating 8 and on its other side is in contact with/ although without being connected to, the sealing sleeve 9, which is not in each case absolutely necessary, although is favourable for a reliable seal and mechanical stability. Dirt or moisture is as a result reliably prevented from penetrating into the gap between the housing 5 and the joint shell 4. Additional protection against corrosion is unnecessary.
Furthermore, on the other side of the injection coating 8 and the deflector 7 a retaining region 12, which consists of the material of the joint shell 4, is at an axial spacing from the deflector 7 and points radially outwards is also provided for the actual mechanical connection with the sealing sleeve 9. Here this region lies parallel to the deflector 7 and forms a collar 12, which is embraced axially above and below by the sealing bellows 9 and is thereby connected to the sealing bellows 9. Due to its preloading, this retaining region 12 also causes the end of the sealing sleeve 9 which engages behind it to press axially onto the deflector 7. In addition, for good retention of the sealing sleeve 9 at the retaining region 12 - and therefore at the joint shell 4 -the joint shell 4 is also provided with a plurality of channels 13 which are distributed over the circumference and through which the material of the sealing sleeve 9 can be injected on and therefore achieve intimate interlocking with the joint shell 4 (Fig. 2).
A clamping ring 10 for the sealing sleeve 9 can be provided at the other end.

In order to enable the axial and radial forces occurring in operation to be absorbed, a tight fit of the joint shell 4 in the housing 5 is to be guaranteed. On the other hand, however, the joint head 3 must remain slightly mobile, as far as possible, with respect to the joint shell 4, which can be rendered difficult upon injection coating and subsequent solidification of the material 8. In order nevertheless to keep the friction and breakaway torques low, at least one spacer 11 can be provided to prevent all-over abutment.
Joint and/or bearing arrangements 1 of this kind can be used to advantage in the formation according to the invention in particular inside chassis and/or steering parts of motor vehicles. In this respect the high degree of tightness and mobility of the head region 3 with simultaneous easy manufacture through integral injection coating or casting coating, so that it is not necessary to separately press the housing into a control arm or similar, proves to be highly advantageous.

List of reference characters

1 joint or bearing arrangement
2 pin
3 head region
4 joint shell
5 housing
6 through-opening
7 deflector
8 injection coating of the joint shell
9 sealing sleeve
10 clamping ring
11 spacer
12 retaining region of the joint shell
13 channels of the joint shell

CLAIM:
1. Joint and/or bearing arrangement (1) with a joint pin (2) whose head region
(3) is mobile with respect to an accommodating joint shell (4), and with a
sealing sleeve (9), which adjoins in the region of a through-opening (6), left by
a housing (5) accommodating the joint shell (4), for the pin, which sleeve is
formed with the joint shell (4) into a common, one-piece unit,
characterised in
that the joint shell (4) is surrounded by a housing (5) with or of metallic material and in the region of the through-opening (6) has a deflector (7), which is provided with a component pointing radially outwards, for shielding the sealing sleeve (9) from the housing (5) as well as a separate retaining region (12) at an axial spacing therefrom for forming the sealing sleeve onto the joint shell (4).
2. Joint and/or bearing arrangement (1) with a joint pin (2) whose head region
(3) is mobile with respect to an accommodating joint shell (4), and with a
sealing sleeve (9), which adjoins in the region of a through-opening (6), left by
a housing (5) accommodating the joint shell (4), for the pin (2), which sleeve is
formed with the joint shell (4) into a common, one-piece unit, in particular
according to Claim 1,
characterised in
that the housing (5) is formed as an injection coating of the joint shell (4).
3. Joint and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to either of Claims 1 and 2,
characterised in
that the deflector (7) is formed as an edge which projects all round.
4. Joint and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 3,
characterised in
that at least one deflector (7) is formed in one piece with the joint shell (4).

5. Joint and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to any one of Claims 2 to 4,
characterised in
that the deflector (7) is in contact with the injection coating (8) and the sealing sleeve (9).
6. Joint and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 5,
characterised in
that the sealing sleeve (9) lies in a sealing manner against the deflector (7)
7. Joint and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to Claim 6,
characterised in
that the sealing sleeve (9) is pressed in a sealing manner against the deflector (7) by the retaining region (12) for sealing abutment.
8. Joint and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to Claim 7,
characterised in
that at the through-opening (6) for the pin (2) the retaining region (12) of the joint shell (4) forms a collar which points outwards with a radial component, behind which the sealing sleeve (9) engages in the axial direction of the housing (5) and which is disposed parallel to the deflector (7).
9. Joint and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 8,
characterised in
that the sealing sleeve (9) engages in an undercut of the joint shell (4) or is injected into penetration channels (13) of the joint shell (4).
10. Joint and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 9,
characterised in
that the sealing sleeve (9) is formed from an elastically deformable material which is soft when compared with the joint shell (4).

11. Joint and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to Claim 10,
characterised in
that the joint shell (4) is provided with at least one spacer (11) for preventing all-over abutment between the joint head (3) and the joint shell (4).
12. Motor vehicle with at least one joint and/or bearing arrangement (1)
according to any one of Claims 1 to 11, in particular inside chassis and/or
steering parts.
Dated this 24th day of December, 2008