Vehicle wheel assembly with protected washer
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorAvissai Alcantara
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Vehicles, wheel assemblies for vehicles, and methods for suppressing noise from vehicles are provided. A wheel assembly for a vehicle includes a knuckle; a wheel hub configured to rotate within the knuckle, the wheel hub extending from a proximal end to a distal end, wherein the distal end is configured for engaging a wheel; a constant velocity (CV) joint configured for transferring torque from power plant to the wheel hub, wherein the CV joint has an outer surface including a shoulder; a recess formed between the proximal end of the wheel hub and the shoulder of the CV joint; and a noise-canceling washer positioned in the recess, wherein the noise-canceling washer abuts the proximal end of the wheel hub and the shoulder of the CV joint.
Claims19
A wheel assembly for a vehicle, the wheel assembly comprising:
- a knuckle;
- a wheel hub configured to rotate within the knuckle, the wheel hub extending from a proximal end to a distal end, wherein the distal end is configured for engaging a wheel;
- a constant velocity (CV) joint configured for transferring torque from power plant to the wheel hub, wherein the CV joint has an outer surface including a shoulder and a distal portion extending through the wheel hub;
- a recess formed between the proximal end of the wheel hub and the shoulder of the CV joint;
- a noise-canceling washer positioned in the recess, wherein the noise-canceling washer abuts the proximal end of the wheel hub and the shoulder of the CV joint, wherein the noise-canceling washer comprises a magnetic metal, and wherein the noise-canceling washer has a flat proximal surface abutting the proximal end of the wheel hub and a flat distal surface abutting the shoulder of the CV joint;
- and
- a nut threaded onto the distal portion of the CV joint to clamp the wheel hub and the CV joint together, thereby exerting a compression force on the noise-canceling washer between the shoulder of the CV joint and the proximal end of the wheel hub.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.