Covering for rotating flexible axle joints

Claim 1

A boot for sealingly enclosing a flexible rotating joint comprising: a boot body (100) of flexible, resilient material, said boot body, prior to its affixation to enclose the joint, consisting of a generally tubular bellows segment having first and second end openings (104, 109) and at least one sealable joint (130, 135) running from one end opening to the other, said boot body further having an external clamp groove (111, 113) encircling each end opening (104, 109), clamping means (110, 112) cooperating with each of said external clamp grooves (111, 113) to encircle each said end opening (104, 109) and compress the interior surface of each end opening radially inward toward the portion (60, 70) of the joint encircled by each said end opening; and wherein said at least one sealable joint (130, 135) consists of: a first edge, and a second edge cooperating with said first edge, said second edge having a generally U-shaped channel (133, 137) formed thereon, said U-shaped channel having sufficient space between its legs to receive said first edge, and said U-shaped channel (133, 137) further being aligned on said second edge so that upon joining, said first and second edges are substantially aligned with each other to form a tubular bellows having a substantially annular cross-section.