Bimetallic sensor mount for axles
AssigneeAmerican Axle & Manufacturing, Inc.
InventorRodney J. Campbell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An axle assembly for a vehicle includes an axle housing having a tubular portion. A bimetallic sensor mount having a first region of corrosion resistant material and a second region of weldable material is welded to the tubular portion. A differential unit including a side gear is disposed in a central cavity of the axle housing. An axleshaft having a shaft portion and a target portion with a plurality of teeth is disposed in the tubular portion of the axle housing. The shaft portion is coupled to the side gear. A sensor is coupled to the sensor mount and extends through an aperture in the mount and the tubular portion to locate an end portion of the sensor a predetermined distance from the teeth of the target portion. A method of making an axle assembly having a sintered bimetallic sensor mount is also disclosed.
Claims32
An axle assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- an axle housing having a tubular portion with a throughbore;
- a sensor mount having a first region of corrosion resistant material and a second region of weldable material, said second region being welded to said tubular portion of said axle housing;
- an axleshaft rotatably supported in said tubular portion of said axle housing;
- a target member coupled to said axleshaft, and having a target surface;
- and
- a sensor coupled to said sensor mount, said sensor extending through an aperture in said sensor mount and said throughbore of said axle housing for locating an end portion of said sensor in proximity to said target surface of said target member.
An axle assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- an axle housing defining a central cavity, said axle housing including a tubular portion with a hole extending therethrough;
- a bimetallic sensor mount having a first region of corrosion resistant material and a second region of weldable material, said second region being welded to said tubular portion of said axle housing;
- a differential unit disposed in said central cavity, and including an output gear;
- an axleshaft disposed in said tubular portion of said axle housing, said axleshaft having a shaft portion and a target portion, said shaft portion being coupled to said output gear, said target portion including a plurality of surface discontinuities;
- and
- a sensor coupled to said sensor mount and extending through an aperture in said sensor mount and said hole in said tubular portion to thereby locate a portion of said sensor in proximity to said surface discontinuities on said target portion of said axleshaft.
A method of making an axle assembly, the method comprising:
- providing an axle housing with a tubular portion;
- sintering a non-corrosive powdered metal and a weldable powdered metal to form a sensor mount having a first region of non-corrosive metal and a second region of weldable metal;
- welding said second region to said tubular portion of said axle housing;
- forming a sensor aperture through said sensor mount and said tubular portion;
- inserting an axleshaft into said tubular portion, said axleshaft including a target portion that is aligned with said sensor aperture;
- and
- inserting a sensor within said sensor aperture to position an end of said sensor in proximity to said target portion of said axleshaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.