Forward carrier assembly for tandem axle

Abstract

A tandem axle assembly includes a forward drive axle coupled to a rear drive axle with a connecting driveshaft. An inter-axle differential (LAD) located in a carrier assembly for the forward drive axle takes driving input and splits the input between the forward and rear drive axles. The LAD transfers driving force to a ring and pinion gear assembly in the carrier assembly for the forward drive axle and transfers driving force to a thru-shaft that is operably coupled to drive the rear drive axle via the connecting driveshaft. The pinion gear includes a first portion defining a pinion gear head and a second portion defining a hollow pinion support shaft that extends into the IAD. The pinion support shaft applies a thrust load to an IAD bearing via an IAD gear assembly to permit reverse load sharing. The thru-shaft extends through the hollow pinion support shaft such that the thru-shaft and the pinion gear rotate about a common axis. The ring and pinion gear assembly are coupled to a differential assembly that drives a pair of axle shafts. The differential assembly includes first and second case halves that attach to each other at an interface to define a case split line. The ring gear, first case half, and second case half are all connected together via a single bolted joint with the case split line being located behind the ring gear.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.