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US 9,022,892 B1Granted
Axle assembly having differential assembly with inverted differential bearings
AssigneeAmerican Axle & Manufacturing, Inc.
InventorsGregory A. Marsh, Jr., Matthew T. Blakeman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An axle assembly having a carrier housing, a pair of axle tubes, a differential case, a pair of differential bearings and a pair of bearing adjusters. The carrier housing includes a cavity, which is configured to receive the differential case, and a pair of axle tubes that are mounted to the carrier housing. The differential case includes bearing bores into which the outer races of the differential bearings are received. The bearing adjusters are threaded to the carrier housing and support the differential bearings on a side opposite the differential case.
Claims21
An axle assembly comprising:
- a housing assembly having a carrier housing and a pair of axle tubes, the carrier housing having a carrier body and a pair of tube mounts that are disposed on opposite lateral sides of the carrier body, the carrier body having a wall that defines a differential cavity and a pair of bulkheads, each of the bulkheads being integrally, unitarily and non-separably formed with a remaining portion of the wall and defining a through bore with a set of internal threads, the tube mounts being in fluid connection with the throughbores and the differential cavity, each of the axle tubes being received in an associated one of the tube mounts and fixedly coupled to the carrier housing;
- a differential assembly received in the cavity and having a differential case with opposite lateral ends, wherein a bearing bore is formed in each of the opposite lateral ends of the differential case;
- a pair of differential bearings, each of the differential bearings having an outer bearing race that is received in an associated one of the bearing bores and engaged to the differential case;
- a pair of bearing adjusters, each bearing adjuster having a threaded portion and a bearing mount portion, the threaded portion being threadably engaged to the internal threads of an associated one of the bulkheads, the bearing mount portion being disposed on a first end of the bearing adjuster that is opposite a second end on which the threaded portion is formed, the bearing mount portion defining a shoulder against which an associated one of the differential bearings is abutted, the bearing mount portion supporting a side of the associated one of the differential bearings that is opposite the differential case such that each differential bearing is in juxtaposed relation with the differential case and an associated one of the bearing adjusters.
1 more element
An axle assembly comprising:
- a housing assembly having a carrier housing, a pair of axle tubes and a cover, the carrier housing having a carrier body and a tube mount, the carrier body having a wall that defines a cavity, a first bulkhead, a cover flange and a lock member aperture, the first bulkhead being integrally, unitarily and non-separably formed with a remaining portion of the wall and defining a through bore with a set of internal threads, the cover flange bordering an open side of the cavity and having a flange member, the lock member aperture being formed through the cover flange and intersecting the cavity, the tube mount being in fluid connection with the through bore and the differential cavity, the axle tube being received in the tube mount and fixedly coupled to the carrier housing;
- a differential assembly received in the cavity and having a differential case with opposite lateral ends, wherein a bearing bore is formed in a first one of the lateral ends of the differential case;
- a first differential bearing having an outer bearing race that is received in the bearing bore and engaged to the differential case;
- a first bearing adjuster having a threaded portion, a bearing mount portion and an adjuster lock portion, the threaded portion being threadably engaged to the internal threads of the first bulkhead, the adjuster lock portion being disposed axially between opposite axial ends of the first bearing adjuster and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart locking features;
- and
- an adjuster lock member received in the lock member aperture and having a plurality of mating locking features that are engaged to a portion of the locking features on the first bearing adjuster;
- wherein the cover is sealingly engaged to the flange member and abuts the adjuster lock member to limit movement of the adjuster lock member in the adjuster lock aperture in a direction away from the first bearing adjuster.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.