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).
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Patent number: 11248659Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: July 13, 2017Date of Patent: February 15, 2022Assignee: GKN Driveline DeutschlandInventors: Volker Hainz, Norbert Krancioch, Johannes Günther
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Publication number: 20190226528Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: July 13, 2017Publication date: July 25, 2019Inventors: Volker Hainz, Norbert Krancioch, Johannes Günther
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Patent number: 7172510Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: April 7, 2005Date of Patent: February 6, 2007Assignee: GKN Automotive GmbHInventors: Peter Fuhrmann, Herbert Frielingsdorf, Volker Hainz, Jean Spolmayeur
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Publication number: 20050176514Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: April 7, 2005Publication date: August 11, 2005Inventors: Peter Fuhrmann, Herbert Frielingsdorf, Volker Hainz, Jean Spolmayeur
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Patent number: 6877350Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: November 26, 2002Date of Patent: April 12, 2005Assignee: GKN Automotive GmbHInventors: Peter Fuhrmann, Herbert Frielingsdorf, Volker Hainz, Jean Spolmayeur
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Patent number: 6708549Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: August 26, 2002Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignee: GKN Löbro GmbHInventors: Volker Hainz, Norbert Hofmann, Michael Ricks
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Publication number: 20030130048Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: November 26, 2002Publication date: July 10, 2003Inventors: Peter Fuhrmann, Herbert Frielingsdorf, Volker Hainz, Jean Spolmayeur
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Publication number: 20030029217Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: August 26, 2002Publication date: February 13, 2003Inventors: Volker Hainz, Norbert Hoffmann, Michael Ricks
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Patent number: 6161414Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: May 27, 1999Date of Patent: December 19, 2000Assignee: GKN Lobro GmbHInventor: Volker Hainz