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A ball joint assembly may include a housing having a cavity, a friction seat received within the cavity, and a ball stud having a ball that frictionally contacts the friction seat. In one embodiment, a friction control mechanism moves the friction seat within the cavity to adjust the friction betwee

A ball joint assembly may include a housing having a cavity, a friction seat received within the cavity, and a ball stud having a ball that frictionally contacts the friction seat. In one embodiment, a friction control mechanism moves the friction seat within the cavity to adjust the friction between the ball and the friction seat. In another embodiment, both the cavity and an outer surface of the friction seat may be substantially frustoconically shaped.

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1. A ball joint assembly comprising: a housing having a cavity that is at least partially defined by a first inner surface;a friction seat that: (1) is at least partially received within the cavity; and, (2) has: (a) an outer surface juxtaposed to the first inner surface of the housing; and, (b) an

1. A ball joint assembly comprising: a housing having a cavity that is at least partially defined by a first inner surface;a friction seat that: (1) is at least partially received within the cavity; and, (2) has: (a) an outer surface juxtaposed to the first inner surface of the housing; and, (b) an inner surface;a ball stud having: (1) a ball like portion that: (a) is movable within the cavity; and, (b) has a first outer surface that contacts the inner surface of the friction seat; and, (2) a shank portion that extends out from the cavity;a friction control mechanism comprising: (1) a contact member positioned within the housing; (2) a controller that provides at least one of a mechanical and an electrical signal; (3) a motor that rotates a motor shaft in response to the signal from the controller; and, (4) a motion conversion device that converts rotational motion of the motor shaft into linear movement of the contact member to contact the friction seat to adjust the friction between the ball like portion and the friction seat;wherein the housing has: a first end proximal to the ball stud, a second end distally spaced from the ball stud, and a longitudinal axis extending between the first and second ends; andat least one slot;wherein the motion conversion device comprises: a screw that: (1) is positioned within the housing; (2) is rotatable by the motor shaft; and, (3) has threads on an outer surface; anda nut that: (1) is positioned within the housing; (2) has threads that rotatably engage the threads on the screw; and, (3) moves linearly along the longitudinal axis into contact with the contact member to force the contact member to contact the friction seat; andwherein the at least one slot: receives a portion of the nut, prevents rotation of the nut; and, limits the linear motion of the nut toward the first end of the housing. 2. A ball joint assembly comprising: a housing defining a cavity, the housing having a first end, an opposite second end, and a longitudinal axis extending between the first and second ends;a friction seat disposed within the cavity and having an inner surface and an outer surface;a ball stud including a ball portion disposed within the cavity and a shank portion, the ball portion having an outer surface contacting the inner surface of the friction seat, the shank portion extending from the housing at the first end of the housing;a contact member contacting the friction seat;a biasing member contacting the contact member;a nut member contacting the biasing member to apply a force to the biasing member that is transmitted to the contact member, which in turn transmits a subsequent force to each of the friction seat and the ball portion of the ball stud, the nut member engaging the housing such that rotation of the nut member with respect to the housing is substantially prevented while translation of the nut member along the longitudinal axis of the housing is permitted, the translation of the nut member varying the force applied by the nut member;an electric motor adjacent the second end of the housing having a rotatably driven output shaft;a screw operatively coupled to the output shaft of the electric motor such that rotation of the output shaft rotates the screw, the screw threadedly engaging the nut member such that rotation of the screw translates the nut member along the longitudinal axis of the housing;a controller generating an electrical signal directed to the electric motor for translating the nut member along the longitudinal axis of the housing to vary the force applied by the nut member so as to control a friction level between the friction seat and the ball stud. 3. The ball joint assembly according to claim 2, wherein the housing includes at least one slot receiving a peripheral portion of the nut member, the slot having a depth such that the translation of the nut member with respect to the housing is limited. 4. The ball joint assembly according to 3, wherein the housing includes first and second slots on opposite sides of the housing. 5. The ball joint assembly according to claim 2 further comprising a sensor monitoring an operating condition of the ball joint and generating a feedback signal to the controller. 6. The ball joint assembly according to claim 4, wherein the sensor is a load sensor sensing force applied to the friction seat. 7. The ball joint assembly according to claim 4, wherein the sensor is a rotation sensor sensing rotation of the screw. 8. The ball joint assembly according to claim 2 further comprising a gear mechanism connecting the output shaft of the electric motor to the screw. 9. The ball joint assembly according to claim 2, wherein the housing and the shank portion of the ball stud are respectively connected to first and second chassis components of a vehicle, and wherein the friction level between the friction seat and the ball stud is controllably varied by the controller in response to a varying vehicle condition. 10. The ball joint assembly according to claim 9 further comprising an electronic control unit of the vehicle connected to the controller.