Patents by Inventor Volker Hainz

Volker Hainz has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11248659
    Abstract: A cage for a constant-velocity ball joint is annular and has cage windows arranged spaced apart from one another along a circumferential direction for guiding balls of the constant-velocity ball joint; wherein each cage window has at least on one side a ball guiding surface facing in an axial direction. The cage can be produced by: a) providing a cage having cage windows; b) applying at least one compressive force via an outer circumferential surface of the cage, facing in a radial direction, in a first region of at least one ball guiding surface of at least one cage window; c) deforming the cage in the first region of the at least one ball guiding surface, so that the at least one ball guiding surface is displaced inwardly in the radial direction with respect to an adjacent second region of the cage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: GKN Driveline Deutschland
    Inventors: Volker Hainz, Norbert Krancioch, Johannes Günther
  • Publication number: 20190226528
    Abstract: A cage for a constant-velocity ball joint is annular and has cage windows arranged spaced apart from one another along a circumferential direction for guiding balls of the constant-velocity ball joint; wherein each cage window has at least on one side a ball guiding surface facing in an axial direction. The cage can be produced by: a) providing a cage having cage windows; b) applying at least one compressive force via an outer circumferential surface of the cage, facing in a radial direction, in a first region of at least one ball guiding surface of at least one cage window; c) deforming the cage in the first region of the at least one ball guiding surface, so that the at least one ball guiding surface is displaced inwardly in the radial direction with respect to an adjacent second region of the cage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2017
    Publication date: July 25, 2019
    Inventors: Volker Hainz, Norbert Krancioch, Johannes Günther
  • Patent number: 7172510
    Abstract: A hub member and shaft joint assembly includes an inner joint part of a constant velocity joint and a shaft journal. The hub member has a central through-aperture with inner toothing for receiving the shaft journal, and outer ball tracks. The inner toothing is formed in a predetermined limited length as far as a toothing run-out and is followed by a bore with a reduced diameter. The shaft journal has shaft toothing and, at a distance from the shaft end, a first conical step serving as a top face relative to the toothing run-out and directly contacting same. A larger second conical step is positioned axially spaced from the first step and forms a toothing end of the shaft toothing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2007
    Assignee: GKN Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Peter Fuhrmann, Herbert Frielingsdorf, Volker Hainz, Jean Spolmayeur
  • Publication number: 20050176514
    Abstract: A production method involving forming an inner joint part of a constant velocity universal ball joint in the form of a hub member (11) which comprises a central through-aperture (14) with inner toothing (16) for receiving a shaft journal (12), and ball tracks (15) for receiving torque transmitting balls on the outer circumference, wherein a blank with largely finish-formed ball tracks is produced by non-chip-forming deformation; wherein, at the blank, outer surfaces and a smooth through-aperture (14) are finish-turned; and wherein, during simultaneous working stages, the ball tracks (15) are calibrated by non-chip-forming deformation and the inner toothing (16) in the through-aperture (14) is produced by pressing in a non-chip-forming way.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2005
    Publication date: August 11, 2005
    Inventors: Peter Fuhrmann, Herbert Frielingsdorf, Volker Hainz, Jean Spolmayeur
  • Patent number: 6877350
    Abstract: A production method involving forming an inner joint part of a constant velocity universal ball joint in the form of a hub member (11) which comprises a central through-aperture (14) with inner toothing (16) for receiving a shaft journal (12), and ball tracks (15) for receiving torque transmitting balls on the outer circumference, wherein a blank with largely finish-formed ball tracks is produced by non-chip-forming deformation; wherein, at the blank, outer surfaces and a smooth through-aperture (14) are finish-turned; and wherein, during simultaneous working stages, the ball tracks (15) are calibrated by non-chip-forming deformation and the inner toothing (16) in the through-aperture (14) is produced by pressing in a non-chip-forming way.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2005
    Assignee: GKN Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Peter Fuhrmann, Herbert Frielingsdorf, Volker Hainz, Jean Spolmayeur
  • Patent number: 6708549
    Abstract: A method of and device for forming a tripode star for a tripode joint, which tripode star comprises an annular hub member and three arms which adjoin the hub member, extend radially relative to a longitudinal axis (A) and form faces of spherical portions each positioned circumferentially relative to arm axes (Z) of the arms, wherein, in a first production stage, the hub member and the three arms are preformed from a blank by means of a first tool divided in a plane (E1) containing the arm axes (Z) and wherein, in a second production stage, pairs of burr-free faces of spherical portions positioned opposite one another in the circumferential direction relative to the hub member (12) are formed on to the preformed arms by means of a second tool divided in planes extending through the longitudinal axis (A) of the hub member and through the arm axes (Z).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2004
    Assignee: GKN Löbro GmbH
    Inventors: Volker Hainz, Norbert Hofmann, Michael Ricks
  • Publication number: 20030130048
    Abstract: A production method involving forming an inner joint part of a constant velocity universal ball joint in the form of a hub member (11) which comprises a central through-aperture (14) with inner toothing (16) for receiving a shaft journal (12), and ball tracks (15) for receiving torque transmitting balls on the outer circumference, wherein a blank with largely finish-formed ball tracks is produced by non-chip-forming deformation; wherein, at the blank, outer surfaces and a smooth through-aperture (14) are finish-turned; and wherein, during simultaneous working stages, the ball tracks (15) are calibrated by non-chip-forming deformation and the inner toothing (16) in the through-aperture (14) is produced by pressing in a non-chip-forming way.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2002
    Publication date: July 10, 2003
    Inventors: Peter Fuhrmann, Herbert Frielingsdorf, Volker Hainz, Jean Spolmayeur
  • Publication number: 20030029217
    Abstract: A method of and device for forming a tripode star for a tripode joint, which tripode star comprises an annular hub member and three arms which adjoin the hub member, extend radially relative to a longitudinal axis (A) and form faces of spherical portions each positioned circumferentially relative to arm axes (Z) of the arms, wherein, in a first production stage, the hub member and the three arms are preformed from a blank by means of a first tool divided in a plane (E1) containing the arm axes (Z) and wherein, in a second production stage, pairs of burr-free faces of spherical portions positioned opposite one another in the circumferential direction relative to the hub member (12) are formed on to the preformed arms by means of a second tool divided in planes extending through the longitudinal axis (A) of the hub member and through the arm axes (Z).
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2002
    Publication date: February 13, 2003
    Inventors: Volker Hainz, Norbert Hoffmann, Michael Ricks
  • Patent number: 6161414
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of finishing cage windows in a ball cage for a constant velocity universal ball joint. The ball cage for use with the present invention has the shape of an annular member which comprises two parallel annular edges and a convex outer face. On the outer face, there are punched uniformly circumferentially distributed cage windows each having two circumferentially extending edges. The circumferentially extending edges of the cage windows are smoothed and parallelized by a non-chip-producing method of deformation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2000
    Assignee: GKN Lobro GmbH
    Inventor: Volker Hainz