Axle shaft and assembly
AssigneeSypris Technologies, Inc.
InventorsStephen W. Straub, Patrick T. Maled
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An axle shaft has radially outwardly extending drive fingers which drivingly engage drive slots in a wheel hub cover. The hub cover is rigidly secured to a wheel hub and maintains the axial position of the axle shaft. A shock absorber may be positioned between the drive fingers and the drive slots. The axle shaft may be formed from a hollow tube or a solid shaft by cutting an end portion of the shaft and deforming a cut section radially outwardly to form a drive finger.
Claims20
An axle shaft comprising a longitudinal axis, a radially outer surface, and first and second axially spaced end portions, wherein the first axle shaft end portion comprises a first drive finger extending radially outwardly from the outer surface of the shaft, the drive finger having a radial length and an axial thickness, the radial length being greater than the axial thickness.
An axle shaft assembly comprising an axle shaft having a longitudinal axis and a hub cover drivingly engaging the axle shaft, the hub cover configured for driving connection with a wheel hub, wherein the shaft comprises a radially extending drive finger, and wherein the hub cover comprises a radially extending drive slot in driving engagement with the drive finger.
A method of forming an axle shaft, comprising the steps of:
- providing a shaft having a longitudinal axis and first and second axially spaced end portions, providing a first slot in the first end portion to form a first segment, and deforming the first segment radially outwardly to form a first drive finger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.