APPLICATION OF BALL JOINTS TO FRONT SUSPENSIONS

A knowledge of ball joints has been applied to the development of a novel improvement in their application to front suspensions.

Two functionally different units have been created from the “full ball” type of joint, which has been applied in the past to both upper and lower sockets:

1. 1.
   A lower socket, hanging on the stud, carries the load on a loose ring of balls and provides a free turning motion for steering.
2. 2.
   An upper socket, provided with a spring-loaded clutch, dampens the steering motion, and those vibrations resulting from the gyroscopic thrusts of the front wheel.

Mr. Booth’s paper delves into the historic background behind the idea of applying ball joints to front suspensions in order to combine suspension and steering action at one point into a neat package. It emphasizes the ability of ball joints to prevent suspension stiffness that results from misalignment.