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 : ZF FRIEDRICHSHAFEN AG
b) Nationality : GERMAN Company
c) Address : 8 8 038 FRIEDRICHSHAFEN
GERMANY
3. PREAMBLE 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 and to a motor vehicle having one or more of such joint- and/or bearing arrangements, in particular in chassis- and/or steering assembly components.
In joint arrangements having a pin that is movably mounted, for example in such a way that the pin is mounted by its widened and for example ball-shaped head region in a relatively movable manner in a receiving joint- or bearing shell, the friction region between head region and bearing shell has to be sealed off as efficiently as possible from the action of particles and/or moisture. For this purpose it is known to surround the pin over a large region of its axial length with a sealing sleeve made of a material that is flexible enough for the sealing sleeve to be able to follow the movements, in parricuilar also the thiking movements, of the pin. This sealing sleeve then has to be held by its end axially remote from the head region in such a way on the pin as to achieve efficient and long-term sealing simultaneously combined with the ability of this end to move with the pin movement.
It is known for the said axial end of the bellows-type seal to be held with an interference fit on the joint pin by means of a metal retaining ring having an axial extent. This, however, entails a further, radially inwardly directed application of force on a seal resting against the outside of the retaining ring, for example by means of a separate tension ring, in order simultaneously to secure the seal on the retaining ring. This complicates assembly and increases the number of required components.
The underlying problem of the invention is to achieve an improvement in joints having movable pins and a sealing sleeve seated thereon.
The invention solves this problem by means of a joint- and/or bearing arrangement having the features of claim 1 as well as by means of a motor vehicle having the features of claim 12. With regard to advantageous refinements and developments of the invention reference is made to the further claims 2 to 11.

The construction according to the invention provides a joint- and/or bearing arrangement that in the region of seating of the sealing sleeve on the pin forms a receiving space closed on at least three sides for grease or a similar sealing and lubricating compound and therefore has a long service life.
There is moreover no need to provide a further, separate tension ring, rather the receiving unit may generate a tension sufficient to press itself and the sealing edge of the sealing sleeve that it accommodates onto the joint pin and to keep these in position there. The number of required components and assembly steps is therefore reduced.
In a particularly advantageous manner the receiving unit according to the invention may form an, as a whole, integral annular body and hence provide a minimum number of components for securing the sealing edge of the sealing sleeve.
In a particularly advantageous manner the receiving unit together with the tightly fitted end region of the sealing sleeve and optionally with a lubricant filling may form a preassembled constructional unit that is mountable onto the joint pin with an axial component of assembly, in particular without a further clamping ring being required for mounting of the receiving unit. Thus, not only is the number of components minimized but assembly is also markedly simplified.
If the receiving unit is inherently rigid and both the inner tension ring and the outer ring are mountable with initial tension on the pin, both rings may contribute towards the mounting on the pin. The outer ring may additionally simultaneously prevent the enclosed sealing edge of the sleeve from slipping out.
In particular, in this case the receiving unit forms a receiving space, which in cross section is closed on three sides and is partially filled with lubricant, for the end region of the bellows-type seal, with the result that the outer ring has not only a retaining function but in a dual function also forms a sealing limb for the received

end region of the bellows-type seal. A flanging or similar bending of the edge of the open U-limb may be provided for a particularly extensive closing of the receiving space in order in this way to form an even better anti-pull-out device and a particularly good holding device for sealant and lubricant.
The edge of the sealing sleeve in the region of its seating on at least one of the U-limbs may further form a lubricant-filled labyrinth so as further to improve the long-term sealing, in particular also against the penetration of moisture.
For the seating on the pin and optionally on a control arm that receives the pin, the inner tension ring may advantageously be provided at the outside with a sealing surface, as is represented here in the drawings.
A motor vehicle having at least one joint- and/or bearing arrangement according to the invention, in particular inside chassis- and/or steering assembly components that are subject to a particular risk of fouling, is claimed separately.
Further advantages and features of the invention arise from embodiments of the subject matter of the invention that are represented in the drawings and described below.
The drawings show in:
Fig. 1 a diagrammatic general arrangement drawing of a joint- and/or
bearing arrangement according to the invention comprising a sealing sleeve, which is secured in the vicinity of the head region by means of a tension ring and is secured at the axially remote end on the pin by means of an annular receiving unit according to the invention, wherein the representation in the drawing is cut open on the left of the longitudinal axis,

Fig. 2 a view similar to Fig. 1, only with deflection of the joint pin,
Fig. 3 a cutout enlargement of the detail III in Fig. 2,
Fig. 4 a view similar to Fig. 3 of an alternative construction of the edge of the
sealing sleeve,
Fig. 5 a view similar to Fig. 4 of a further alternative design of the receiving
unit and of the edge of the sealing sleeve having a core ring vulcanized therein.
The joint arrangement 1 according to Figure 1 comprises an axially extended joint pin 2 having a widened head region 3 that is formed for example by a substantially ball-shaped portion and indicated by dashes in Fig. 1. This head region 3 may be held in a joint shell 4 (represented by a dash-dot line in Fig. 1), which receives the head region and is as a rule permanently lubricated, so as to be rotatable and tiltable relative to the joint shell 4. The joint shell 4, apart from the through-opening for the pin, may be of a substantially closed or, more likely, annular construction. Such a deflected tilting movement of the joint pin 2 relative to the joint shell 4 is represented in Fig. 2.
The joint shell 4 is moreover in turn at least radially at the outside partially held by a housing 5 or a similar surrounding space. Joint shell 4 and receiving space 5 as a whole form a bearing unit. The housing 5 need not take the form of a separate constructional unit but may be an integral component of a control arm, for example a casting or forging, that for example surrounds the bearing unit in the assembled state.
The joint- and/or bearing arrangement 1 further comprises a sealing sleeve 7, which often takes the form of a bellows-type seal and surrounds part of the pin 2. In the region of the through-opening for the pin 2 that is left in the housing 5 the sealing

sleeve 7 is attached to the bearing unit and ensures that as far as possible no particles or moisture can penetrate into the region of the joint shell 4 and the head region 3. For this purpose, the bellows-type seal 7 is fastened by its axial end facing the head region 3 to the housing 5 for example by means of a tension ring 13, The end 11 of the bellows-type seal 7 axially remote from the head region 3, on the other hand, is seated indirectly or directly in a sealing manner on the joint pin 2.
For this seating, according to the invention a receiving unit 10 that in cross section is at least U-shaped - i.e. closed on three sides - is provided for the axial end region 11 of the bellows-type seal 7. The receiving unit 10 comprises a tension ring 6 situated radially at the inside and, at least almost parallel thereto, a second ring 8 situated radially further out, both with an axial component of extent. These two rings 6,8 are connected by a radial connector extending transversely of the rings to form the, in cross section, U-shaped receiving unit 10 for the end region 11. The end region 11 in this case is of a circumferentially thickened construction and in the first embodiment according to Figures 1 to 3 forms radially at the inside, radially at the outside as well as axially remote from the head region 3 in each case a labyrinth 14,15,16 or similar structure. This is used in each case to receive sealing grease or similar lubricant. The sealing grease therefore lies between the labyrinths 14, 15, 16 and the inside of the inner ring 6, of the outer ring 8 and of the radial connector 9 respectively. All of these therefore form preferably closed areas to prevent an escape of the sealing medium. It is therefore possible to achieve particularly thorough sealing of the interior 18 that is to be protected by the bellows-type seal 7 in order to prevent impurities from entering in the direction of the arrow 19 (Fig. 3). To prevent impurities from entering in the direction of the arrow 20, a sealing surface 21 may moreover be provided between the radially inner ring 6 and the pin 2. Equally, the radial connector 9 for seating on a control arm 12 (shown in Fig. 4) that receives the joint pin 2 may optionally be provided at the outside with a sealing surface 22.
For high stability combined with ease of manufacture the receiving unit 10 as a whole may form an integral double annular body that simultaneously comprises the

two rings 6, 8. In this case the receiving unit 10 is inherently rigid, thereby allowing the mounting of both the inner ring under compressive initial tension and of the outer ring 8 with initial tension on the pin 2.
In this case the outer ring 8 not only secures the receiving unit 10 and the end region 11 of the sealing sleeve 7 on the joint pin 2 but in a dual function simultaneously forms a sealing limb for the end region 11, which here is of a substantially rectangular design in cross section and is received between the limbs 6,8.
Thus, by means of the outer ring 8 on the one hand in one assembly step the mounting of the sealing sleeve 7 is possible without a separate component being required for this purpose. At the same time, by means of the additional sealing limb on the inside of the ring 8 the length of the sealing line is considerably enlarged, which leads to a significant improvement of the sealing and the service life.
The receiving unit 10 in this case may be formed from metal material, in particular high-grade stainless steel, or from an in particular fibre-reinforced plastics material. For high stability, also in long-term use, each ring 6,8 of the receiving unit 10 as well as the radial connector 9 have an adequate wall thickness of for example 1.5 millimetres to 2.5 millimetres.
In Fig. 4 an additional embodiment is represented, in which there is no labyrinth seal 16 at the outer limb 8. Here instead the seating on the control arm 12 is represented by the sealing surface 22, so that here an ingression of dirt in the direction of the arrow 20 is doubly prevented by means of the sealing surfaces 21, 22. In Fig. 5, for altered requirements in each case particularly large receiving spaces for sealing grease or the like are provided. The dimensional stability of the end region 11 is moreover ensured by the introduction of a core ring 23. The end region 11 is seated by means of non-positively fitted flanks 17 of its corner regions in each case sealingly in the receiving ring.

Figures 1 to 4 moreover show that the open ends of the U-limbs 6, 8 after introduction of the end region 11 may be flanged or bent inwards in a similar manner in order thereby to achieve a particularly good anti-pull-out device and at the same time enclose the space for receiving grease or a similar sealing- and lubricating medium as tightly as possible.
In a departure from what is represented, it is moreover also possible for the radial connector 9 to have a different shape, for example to be rounded or extend obliquely relative to the radial direction, so that the receiving region 10 in cross section will instead look C-shaped. The receiving region 10 is however at any rate surrounded by an outer and inner annular surface 8,6 as well as by 9 therebetween.
A particular advantage of the invention is that the receiving unit 10 together with the tightly inserted end region 11 of the sealing sleeve 7 and optionally with a lubricant filling may form a preassembled constructional unit that is mountable onto the joint pin 2 with an axial component of assembly in a single step because a separate outer ring for mounting the sealing end region 11 on the inner ring 6 is no longer necessary. Even without this separate ring the receiving unit 10 according to the invention may be held with an interference fit on the joint pin 2.
An incorporation of a stabilizing core ring 23 by vulcanization, as represented in Fig. 5, in no way whatsoever alters either the capability of preassembly into a constructional unit to be mounted in a single assembly step or the simplification that is achieved thereby.
Because of the good long-term properties, the invention is also particularly suitable for fouling-intensive regions of motor vehicles that may comprise such joint- and/or bearing arrangements in particular also inside chassis- and/or steering assembly components.

List of reference characters
1 joint- or bearing arrangement
2 pin
3 head region
4 joint shell
5 housing
6 inner ring
7 sealing sleeve

8 outer ring
9 radial connector
10 receiving unit
11 annular end region
12 control arm
13 tension ring
14 labyrinth seal
15 labyrinth seal
16 labyrinth seal
17 flank
18 interior
19 direction

20 direction
21 sealing surface
22 sealing surface
23 core ring

WE CLAIM:
1. Joint- and/or bearing arrangement (1) comprising a joint pin (2), the head region (3) of which is movable relative to a receiving shell (4) or housing unit (5), wherein the joint pin (2) at least over part of its extent is surrounded by a circumferential sealing sleeve (7), which is seated by its end axially remote from the head region (3) indirectly or directly in a sealing manner on the joint pin (2) and for this purpose comprises a radially inner tension ring (6), characterized in that associated with the sealing sleeve (7) in the region of its seating on the joint pin (2) and at least almost parallel to the first tension ring (6) is a second ring (8) situated radially further out and having an axial component of extent, which is connected by a radial connector (9) to the first tension ring (6) in order to form an, in cross section portal-shaped, receiving unit (10) for an axial end region (11) of the bellows-type seal (7).
2. Joint- and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to claim 1, characterized in
that the receiving unit (10) forms an integral annular body.
3. Joint- and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to one of claims 1 or 2,
characterized in
that the receiving unit (10) is inherently rigid and both the inner tension ring (6) and the outer ring (8) are mountable with initial tension on the pin (2).
4. Joint- and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3,
characterized in
that the receiving unit (10) forms a receiving space for the end region (11) of the bellows-type seal (7) that in cross section is closed on three sides and is partially filled with lubricant.

5. Joint- and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4,
characterized in
that the outer ring (8) forms a sealing limb for the received end region (11) of the bellows-type seal (7).
6. Joint- and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to claim 5,
characterized in
that the end region (11) in the region of its seating on the outer limb forms a labyrinth that may be filled with lubricant.
7. Joint- and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to claim 6,
characterized in
that the receiving unit (10) is formed from metal material, in particular high-grade stainless steel, or from an in particular fibre-reinforced plastics material.
8. Joint- and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to claim 7,
characterized in
that each ring (6; 8) of the receiving unit (10) as well as the radial connector (9) have a wall thickness of 1.5 millimetres to 2.5 millimetres.
9. Joint- and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8,
characterized in
that the inner tension ring (6) for seating on the joint pin (2) and optionally the radial connector (9) for seating on a control arm (12) that receives the joint pin (2) is or are provided at the outside with a sealing surface (21; 22).
10. Joint- and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9,
characterized in
that the receiving unit (10) together with the tightly inserted end region (11) of the sealing sleeve (7) and optionally with a lubricant filling forms a preassembled constructional unit that is mountable onto the joint pin (2) with an axial component of assembly.

11. Joint- and/or bearing arrangement (1) according to one of claims 1 to 10,
characterized in
that the receiving unit is mountable without a further tension ring with an interference fit on the joint pin (2).
12. Motor vehicle having at least one joint- and/or bearing arrangement (1)
according to one of claims 1 to 11, in particular inside chassis- and/or steering
assembly components.