POWER TRANSFER UNIT STRADDLE MOUNT RING GEAR DISCONNECT
First Claim
1. A gear assembly for a power transfer unit assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- an input shaft;
a drive ring gear assembly along a common axis as the input shaft, the drive ring gear assembly having a gear face portion with a plurality of teeth, wherein the gear face portion and the plurality of teeth have an axial extent with respect to the common axis;
a pair of input/ring bearings straddle mounted on either side of the drive ring gear;
a first clutch member fixedly connected to the input shaft and positioned between the input/ring bearings;
a driven pinion gear assembly operatively engaged with the drive ring gear;
a second clutch member fixedly mounted to the drive ring gear, the second clutch member residing generally radially underneath the gear face portion of the drive ring gear assembly and residing generally axially within the axial extent of the gear face portion and the plurality of teeth; and
an actuator assembly that operates to move the first clutch member into engagement with the second clutch member so as to cause the drive ring gear to rotate with the input shaft, thereby causing the driven pinion gear assembly to rotate.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A gear assembly includes an input shaft, a drive ring gear assembly, a pair of input/ring bearings, a driven pinion gear assembly, a first and second clutch members, and an actuator assembly. The first cutch member is fixedly connected to the input shaft. The drive ring gear assembly is mounted about the input shaft. The input/ring bearings are mounted so as to straddle the drive ring gear. The driven pinion gear assembly is operatively engaged with the drive ring gear. The second clutch member is slidingly mounted to the drive ring gear and the actuator assembly operates to move the second clutch member into engagement with the first clutch member to cause the drive ring gear to rotate when the input shaft rotates.
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Citations
5 Claims
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1. A gear assembly for a power transfer unit assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
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an input shaft; a drive ring gear assembly along a common axis as the input shaft, the drive ring gear assembly having a gear face portion with a plurality of teeth, wherein the gear face portion and the plurality of teeth have an axial extent with respect to the common axis; a pair of input/ring bearings straddle mounted on either side of the drive ring gear; a first clutch member fixedly connected to the input shaft and positioned between the input/ring bearings; a driven pinion gear assembly operatively engaged with the drive ring gear; a second clutch member fixedly mounted to the drive ring gear, the second clutch member residing generally radially underneath the gear face portion of the drive ring gear assembly and residing generally axially within the axial extent of the gear face portion and the plurality of teeth; and an actuator assembly that operates to move the first clutch member into engagement with the second clutch member so as to cause the drive ring gear to rotate with the input shaft, thereby causing the driven pinion gear assembly to rotate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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Specification