Torque proportioning differential
AssigneeEaton Corporation
InventorJames Robert Bawks
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A differential gear mechanism including a gear case having a body defining a gear chamber having a pair of opposed openings with a pair of output gears rotatably supported in the gear chamber adjacent to the openings. At least one of the output gears has a hub with a tapered portion facing an adjacent opening. At least one of the openings includes an inner chamfer portion that corresponds to an adjacent tapered portion. The gear case and gear set cooperate to move the output gear such that the tapered portion is disposed in frictional, torque translating engagement with a chamfered portion to bias torque translated through the differential to the output shafts under predetermined conditions.
Claims20
A differential gear mechanism for supplying torque from a drive shaft to a pair of aligned output shafts, said differential gear mechanism comprising:
- a gear case including a body that defines a gear chamber having a pair of opposed openings adapted to support a corresponding pair of axle half shafts defining an axis of rotation;
- a gear set including a pair of output gears rotatably supported in said gear chamber adjacent to a corresponding opening;
- at least one of said output gears including a hub having a tapered portion facing an adjacent opening;
- at least one of said openings defining an inner chamfer portion that corresponds to an adjacent tapered portion on said hub of one of said output gears;
- said gear case and said gear set cooperating to move said output gear such that said tapered portion is disposed in frictional, torque-translating engagement with said chamfer portion of an adjacent, corresponding opening to bias the torque translated through the differential to the half shafts under predetermined conditions.
A differential gear mechanism for supplying torque from a drive shaft to a pair of aligned output shafts, said differential gear mechanism comprising:
- a gear case including a body that defines a gear chamber having a pair of opposed openings adapted to support a corresponding pair of axle half shafts defining an axis of rotation;
- a gear set including a pair of output gears rotatably supported in said gear chamber adjacent to a corresponding opening;
- a plurality of pinion gears rotatably supported in said gear chamber wherein at least some of said plurality of pinion gears are in meshing engagement with at least one of said pair of output gears;
- at least one of said output gears including a hub having a tapered portion facing an adjacent opening;
- at least one of said openings defining an inner chamfer portion that corresponds to an adjacent tapered portion on said hub of one of said output gears;
- said gear case, plurality of pinion gears and said output gears cooperating to move said output gear such that said tapered portion is disposed in frictional, torque-translating engagement with said chamfer portion of an adjacent, corresponding opening to bias the torque translated through the differential to the half shafts under predetermined conditions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.