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US 11,698,123 B1Granted
Axle assembly having an interaxle differential unit
AssigneeArvinMeritor Technology, LLC
InventorsAneesh N. Singaran, Avinash Ullagaddi, Harish C. Patel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An axle assembly having an interaxle differential unit. The interaxle differential unit includes first and second side gears and a gear nest but does not have a case. The gear nest includes a spider having at least one spider shaft, a pinion gear that is rotatably disposed on the spider shaft, and a pinion gear retainer that is fastened to the spider shaft to retain the pinion gear.
Claims20
An axle assembly comprising:
- an input shaft that is rotatable about an axis;
- an output shaft that is rotatable about the axis;
- and
- an interaxle differential unit that includes:
- a first side gear that is rotatable about the axis and is selectively couplable to the input shaft;
- a second side gear that is rotatable about the axis with the output shaft;
- and
- a gear nest that includes:
- a spider that is rotatable with the input shaft, the spider having a spider ring that encircles the input shaft, a first spider shaft that extends from the spider ring, and a second spider shaft that extends from the spider ring and is spaced apart from the first spider shaft;
- first and second pinion gears that are rotatably disposed on the first and second spider shafts, respectively, and that mesh with the first side gear and the second side gear;
- and
- first and second pinion gear retainers that are fastened to the first and second spider shafts, respectively, such that the first and second pinion gear retainers are stationary with respect to the first and second spider shafts and engage the first and second pinion gears, respectively, wherein the first and second pinion gear retainers are spaced apart from each other, the first pinion gear retainer has a body and a bearing portion that cooperate to define an aperture that receives the first spider shaft, the body defines a retainer aperture that receives a retainer pin that fastens the first pinion gear retainer to the first spider shaft, the bearing portion engages the first pinion gear and extends further from the first spider shaft than the body extends from the first spider shaft, and the spider ring is the only component of the axle assembly that engages both the first spider shaft and the second spider shaft.
9 more elements
An axle assembly comprising:
- an input shaft that is rotatable about an axis;
- an output shaft that is rotatable about the axis;
- and
- an interaxle differential unit that includes:
- a first side gear that is rotatable about the axis and is selectively couplable to the input shaft;
- a second side gear that is rotatable about the axis with the output shaft;
- and
- a gear nest that includes:
- a spider that is rotatable with the input shaft, the spider having a spider ring that encircles and engages the input shaft, and a set of spider shafts that extend from the spider ring in a direction that extends away from the axis, wherein members of the set of spider shafts are spaced apart from each other;
- a set of pinion gears that mesh with the first side gear and the second side gear, wherein each member of the set of pinion gears is rotatably disposed on a corresponding member of the set of spider shafts;
- and
- a set of pinion gear retainers, wherein each member of the set of pinion gear retainers is fastened to a corresponding member of the set of spider shafts and contacts a corresponding member of the set of pinion gears, wherein the members of the set of pinion gear retainers are spaced apart from each other and do not contact each other, each member of the set of pinion gear retainers has a body and a bearing portion that cooperate to define an aperture that receives a corresponding member of the set of spider shafts, the body defines a retainer aperture that receives a corresponding retainer pin that fastens the pinion gear retainer to a corresponding spider shaft, and the bearing portion engages a corresponding member of the set of pinion gears and extends further from the spider shaft than the body extends from the spider shaft.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.