Wear indicating joint

Claim 2

A joint construction comprising a housing, a stud member projecting from the housing, bearing means supporting the stud member in the housing, wear take-up means shifting the bearing means to compensate for wear of the bearing means and stud member, said wear take-up means being a conical skirt integral with said bearing means, and a protrusion on said bearing means projecting from the housing to show the degree of wear.

Claim 3

In a joint construction having a housing, a joint part projecting into the housing, bearing means in the housing supporting said joint part for movement relative to the housing, said bearing means including a movable wearable take-up part seated on said joint part and means biasing said wearable bearing parts against said joint part to maintain the bearing means in bearing engagement with said joint part, the improvements of, said housing having an apertured portion providing an external face, an externally visible wear indicator on said wearable bearing part projecting through the aperture of said portion beyond said external face, a cap mounted on the projecting portion of said wear indicator, said biasing means in the housing acting upon said wearable bearing part to retract the projecting portion of the wear indicator into the housing to release the cap when wear develops between the joint part and the bearing means beyond an acceptable level.

Claim 4

In a joint construction having a housing, a joint part projecting into the housing, bearing means in the housing supporting said joint part for movement relative to the housing, said bearing means including a movable wearable take-up part seated on said joint part and means biasing said wearable bearing parts against said joint part to maintain the bearing means in bearing engagement with said joint part, the improvements of, said housing having an apertured portion providing an external face, an externally visible wear indicator on said wearable bearing part projecting through the aperture of said portion beyond said external face, a cap mounted on the projecting portion of said wear indicator, said biasing means in the housing acting upon said wearable bearing part to retract the projecting portion of the wear indicator into the housing to release the cap when wear develops between the joint part and the bearing means beyond an acceptable level.

Claim 5

The joint construction of claim 2 wherein the releasable cap engages the external face of the apertured portion of the housing upon retraction of the projecting portion of the wear indicator into the housing for ejection of the cap to show the worn condition of the joint components in the housing.

Claim 6

A ball and socket joint which comprises a housing, a ball stud having a ball end in the housing and a shank extending from said ball end beyond said housing, a load carrying bearing in the housing surrounding the ball end of the stud adjacent the shank, a wear take-up bearing in the housing surrounding the free end of the ball end of the stud, a spring urging the wear take-up bearing toward the load-carrying bearing, a protrusion on the wear take-up bearing, said housing having a counterbore and an inturned lip on the end of the housing underlying said counterbore, an apertured closure disk slidable in said counterbore in the housing and pressed against the spring by said lip to a predetermined degree and having an exposed visible outer face surrounding the aperture thereof providing a fixed reference surface for the joint, said protrusion having an end projecting through the aperture of said closure disk beyond said face in an amount readable outside of the housing from the fixed reference surface to show acceptable wear of the joint components in the housing and said loaded spring retracting said protrusion with the end of the protrusion close to said reference surface to show unacceptable worn conditions of the joint components in the housing thereby providing a visual wear indicator for the joint parts.

Claim 7

A ball and socket joint which comprises a housing, a ball stud having a ball end in the housing and a shank extending from said ball end beyond said housing, a load carrying bearing in the housing surrounding the ball end of the stud adjacent the shank, a wear take-up bearing in the housing surrounding the free end of the ball end of the stud, a spring urging the wear take-up bearing toward the load-carrying bearing, a protrusion on the wear take-up bearing, said housing having a counterbore and an inturned lip on the end of the housing underlying said counterbore, an apertured closure disk slidable in said counterbore in the housing and pressed against the spring by said lip to a predetermined degree and having an exposed visible outer face surrounding the aperture thereof providing a fixed reference surface for the joint, said protrusion having an end projecting through the aperture of said closure disk beyond said face in an amount readable outside of the housing from the fixed reference surface to show acceptable wear of the joint components in the housing and said loaded spring retracting said protrusion with the end of the protrusion close to said reference surface to show unacceptable worn conditions of the joint components in the housing thereby providing a visual wear indicator for the joint parts.