Back to results
US 12,085,161 B2Granted
Vehicle driveline component with weldment having air pocket configured to shift residual stress in weldment away from the weld joint
AssigneeAmerican Axle & Manufacturing, Inc.
InventorsAnoop Vasu, Shizhu Xing, Jifa Mei, Chih-Hung Chung, Ravi S. Desai
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A weldment includes a first component, a second component, and a weld joint coupling the first and second components together. The weld joint forms a heat affected zone in the first component and creates residual tensile stress in the first component. The first and second components cooperate to define a pocket configured to position a highest magnitude of the residual tensile stress in the first component in a location that is outside of the heat affected zone of the first component.
Claims9
A vehicle driveline component comprising:
- a first component formed of cast iron, the first component having a first annular flange that is disposed an axis, the first annular flange having a first lip with a first axial side and a second axial side that is opposite the first axial side;
- a second component formed of steel, the second component having a second annular flange that is disposed about the axis concentric with the first annular flange, the second annular flange abutting the first annular flange, the second annular flange having a second lip with a third axial side and a fourth axial side that is opposite the third axial side;
- and
- a weld coupling abutting edges of the first and second lips to one another, the weld extending along a first plane from the first and third sides of the first and second lips, respectively, to the second and fourth sides of the first and second lips, respectively;
- wherein the first component and the second component cooperate to define a pocket, the pocket having a first pocket side, which intersects the weld and which includes the first and third axial sides, a first peripheral surface and a first corner, the first peripheral surface and the first corner being defined by the first component, the first corner connecting the first axial side and the first peripheral surface;
- and
- wherein the first corner of the pocket is located outside of a heat affected zone in the first component.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.