Patent 7785029 was granted and assigned to TRW Automotive on August, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A ball joint, particularly an axial joint, having a housing, a bearing shell which is arranged in the housing, and a ball pin with a ball head which is arranged in the bearing shell, is characterized in that the bearing shell is bent open elastically by the ball head so that the restoring force resulting from its deformation applies a prestress onto the ball head which attempts to press the latter out of the housing.