Method for making ball and socket type bearings in multiple

Claim 1

The method of constructing ball and socket assemblies in multiple, each ball having a spherical bearing surface between circular ends and central bore therethrough, each socket comprising a hardened material with helically wound reinforcing filaments and a low-friction material adjoining the bearing surface of the ball; which method comprises the steps of assembling and securing said balls in endwise relation on a rigid arbor and between cores, providing said material in the form of a sleeve and tightly applying the same over the assembled balls with sufficient gathering at the joints between balls, simultaneously applying the liquid material to the outside of the sleeve and rotating the arbor and winding the filaments under tension over the sleeve to compress the latter, said filaments being helically wound in a continuous operation by reversing the direction of the helix while winding around the cores and at such angle that the sleeve gatherings are tightened over the balls with a minimum amount of bridging of the sleeve over the joints between balls, maintaining the entire assembly at such temperature which causes the liquid material to harden with rotation as required and to form a rigid tube which includes said filaments and sleeve, and as a final step cutting and finishing the sections of said tube around said balls to separate the same and provide each with the desired socket.

Claim 2

The method of constructing ball and socket assemblies in multiple, each ball having a spherical bearing surface between circular ends and central bore therethrough, each socket comprising a hardened material with helically wound reinforcing filaments and a low-friction material adjoining the bearing surface of the ball; which method comprises the steps of assembling and securing said balls in endwise relation on a rigid arbor and between cores, providing said material in the form of a sleeve and tightly applying the same over the assembled balls with sufficient gathering at the joints between balls, simultaneously applying the liquid material to the outside of the sleeve and rotating the arbor and winding the filaments under tension over the sleeve to compress the latter, said filaments being helically wound in a continuous operation by reversing the direction of the helix while winding around the cores and at such angle that the sleeve gatherings are tightened over the balls with a minimum amount of bridging of the sleeve over the joints between balls, maintaining the entire assembly at such temperature which causes the liquid material to harden with rotation as required and to form a rigid tube which includes said filaments and sleeve, and as a final step cutting and finishing the sections of said tube around said balls to separate the same and provide each with the desired socket.

Claim 6

The method of constructing a metal ball and low-friction socket assembly, the ball being spherical between flat circular ends and having a central bore therethrough, the socket comprising a base material hardened from a liquid, a low-friction fabric embedded in said material and having one side in bearing contact with the ball, and helical reinforcing glass filaments wound in layers around the fabric and embedded in said material; said method comprising the steps of placing the ball on an arbor between circular forms adjoining the flat circular ends of the ball and also carried by said arbor, providing said fabric in the form of a sleeve and shrinking the same over said ball, providing said filaments in a parallel array as a flat tape, transporting the liquid material by applying it to the tape, applying the liquid material to the outside of the fabric by rotating the arbor and helically winding the tape under tension over said forms and the fabric to compress the latter and further conform said one side of the fabric to the ball, thereafter maintaining the entire assembly at such temperature which causes the liquid material to harden while rotating the assembly, and cutting the hardened material to the desired outside diameter and axial dimension to comprise the socket, said axial dimension being less than the distance between the ends of the ball, the cut-away portions of the hardened base material and filaments overlying the ends of the ball and the forms being no part of the assembly.

Claim 7

The method of constructing a metal ball and low-friction socket assembly, the ball being spherical between flat circular ends and having a central bore therethrough, the socket comprising a base material hardened from a liquid, a low-friction fabric embedded in said material and having one side in bearing contact with the ball, and helical reinforcing glass filaments wound in layers around the fabric and embedded in said material; said method comprising the steps of placing the ball on an arbor between circular forms adjoining the flat circular ends of the ball and also carried by said arbor, providing said fabric in the form of a sleeve and shrinking the same over said ball, providing said filaments in a parallel array as a flat tape, transporting the liquid material by applying it to the tape, applying the liquid material to the outside of the fabric by rotating the arbor and helically winding the tape under tension over said forms and the fabric to compress the latter and further conform said one side of the fabric to the ball, thereafter maintaining the entire assembly at such temperature which causes the liquid material to harden while rotating the assembly, and cutting the hardened material to the desired outside diameter and axial dimension to comprise the socket, said axial dimension being less than the distance between the ends of the ball, the cut-away portions of the hardened base material and filaments overlying the ends of the ball and the forms being no part of the assembly.

Claim 9

The method of making a plain spherical bearing having rotatable inner and outer ring members with a spherical sliding interface, which comprises selecting an innerring member with an outer convex spherical surface characterized by a bearing portion thereof that is circumferentially continuous about a central axis, circumferentially enveloping said surface with a flexible low-friction fabric, said fabric being circumferentially continuously wetted with a hardenable material in its liquid state, helically enwrapping the wetted fabric with strands of a reinforcing material to which said hardenable material is bondable, wetting the reinforcing material with liquid hardenable material, whereby fibers of the fabric and of the reinforcing material are embedded in hardenable material, curing the hardenable material to ultimate hardness, and finishing the hardened mass to desired external contour.

Claim 10

The method of making a plain spherical bearing having rotatable inner and outer ring members with a spherical sliding interface, which comprises selecting an innerring member with an outer convex spherical surface characterized by a bearing portion thereof that is circumferentially continuous about a central axis, circumferentially enveloping said surface with a flexible low-friction fabric, said fabric being circumferentially continuously wetted with a hardenable material in its liquid state, helically enwrapping the wetted fabric with strands of a reinforcing material to which said hardenable material is bondable, wetting the reinforcing material with liquid hardenable material, whereby fibers of the fabric and of the reinforcing material are embedded in hardenable material, curing the hardenable material to ultimate hardness, and finishing the hardened mass to desired external contour.

Claim 13

The method of making a plurality of plain spherical bearings each having rotatable inner and outer members with a spherical sliding interface, which comprises assembling a plurality of such inner members in longitudinally aligned array, whereby the external contour of the assembly is characterized by plural spaced spherical surfaces, circumferentially enveloping said contour with a flexible low-friction fabric, enwrapping the fabric with helical strands of a reinforcing material to which hardenable-liquid bonding material is bondable, said wrapped strands and fabric being impregnated with said material, whereby fibers of the fabric and of the reinforcing material are enbedded in hardenable material, curing the hardenable material to ultimate hardness, and severing separate bearings by radial-plane cutting of the hardened mass at substantially bearing-unit intervals.

Claim 14

The method of making a plurality of plain spherical bearings each having rotatable inner and outer members with a spherical sliding interface, which comprises assembling a plurality of such inner members in longitudinally aligned array, whereby the external contour of the assembly is characterized by plural spaced spherical surfaces, circumferentially enveloping said contour with a flexible low-friction fabric, enwrapping the fabric with helical strands of a reinforcing material to which hardenable-liquid bonding material is bondable, said wrapped strands and fabric being impregnated with said material, whereby fibers of the fabric and of the reinforcing material are enbedded in hardenable material, curing the hardenable material to ultimate hardness, and severing separate bearings by radial-plane cutting of the hardened mass at substantially bearing-unit intervals.

Claim 15

The method of making a plurality of plain spherical bearings each having rotatable inner and outer ring members with a spherical sliding interface, and the innerring member having a cylindrical mounting bore, which comprises selecting an elongated cylindrical mandrel of size to fit and concentrically support the inner-ring bore assembling a plurality of such inner-ring members to the mandrel in longitudinally aligned array, whereby the external contour of the mandrel is characterized by plural spaced spherical surfaces, circumferentially enveloping said contour with a flexible low-friction fabric, helically enwrapping the fabric with strands of a reinforcing material to which hardenable-liquid bonding material is bondable, said wrapped strands and fabric being impregnated with said material, whereby fibers of the fabric and of the reinforcing material are embedded in hardenable material curing the hardenable material to ultimate hardness, finishing the hardened mass to desired external contour, and severing separate plain-spherical bearings by radial-plane cutting of the hardened mass at substantially bearing-unit intervals.

Claim 16

The method of making a plurality of plain spherical bearings each having rotatable inner and outer ring members with a spherical sliding interface, and the innerring member having a cylindrical mounting bore, which comprises selecting an elongated cylindrical mandrel of size to fit and concentrically support the inner-ring bore assembling a plurality of such inner-ring members to the mandrel in longitudinally aligned array, whereby the external contour of the mandrel is characterized by plural spaced spherical surfaces, circumferentially enveloping said contour with a flexible low-friction fabric, helically enwrapping the fabric with strands of a reinforcing material to which hardenable-liquid bonding material is bondable, said wrapped strands and fabric being impregnated with said material, whereby fibers of the fabric and of the reinforcing material are embedded in hardenable material curing the hardenable material to ultimate hardness, finishing the hardened mass to desired external contour, and severing separate plain-spherical bearings by radial-plane cutting of the hardened mass at substantially bearing-unit intervals.

Claim 18

The method of making a plurality of bearings each having relatively rotatable inner and outer members in engagement at a sliding interface which is a surface of revolution about an axis of rotation, which comprises adjacently assembling a plurality of such inner members with their axes in longitudinally aligned array, whereby the external contour of the assembly is characterized by a succession of the convex surfaces of said inner members, circumferentially enveloping said contour with a flexible low-friction fabric, helically enwrapping the fabric with strands of a reinforcing material to which hardenable-liquid bonding material is bondable, said wrapped strands and fabric being impregnated with said material, whereby fibers of the fabric and of the reinforcing material are embedded in hardenable material, curing the hardenable material to ultimate hardness, and severing separate bearings by radial-plane cutting of the hardened mass at substantially bearing-unit intervals.

Claim 19

The method of making a plurality of bearings each having relatively rotatable inner and outer members in engagement at a sliding interface which is a surface of revolution about an axis of rotation, which comprises adjacently assembling a plurality of such inner members with their axes in longitudinally aligned array, whereby the external contour of the assembly is characterized by a succession of the convex surfaces of said inner members, circumferentially enveloping said contour with a flexible low-friction fabric, helically enwrapping the fabric with strands of a reinforcing material to which hardenable-liquid bonding material is bondable, said wrapped strands and fabric being impregnated with said material, whereby fibers of the fabric and of the reinforcing material are embedded in hardenable material, curing the hardenable material to ultimate hardness, and severing separate bearings by radial-plane cutting of the hardened mass at substantially bearing-unit intervals.