Helical differential assembly with preloaded adjustment mechanism
First Claim
1. A vehicle differential assembly, comprising:
- a differential housing rotatable about an axis;
a first output assembly including a first side gear and a first output member, said first side gear disposed within said differential housing and being rotatable about said axis, said first output member coupled to said first side gear for rotation therewith;
a second output assembly including a second side gear and a second output member, said second side gear being disposed within said differential housing and rotatable about said axis, said second output member coupled to said second side gear for rotation therewith;
a helical pinion gear pair disposed within said differential housing and having a first helical pinion gear engaged with said first side gear and a second helical pinion gear engaged with said second side gear and said first helical pinion gear; and
a first coupling assembly engaged with said first output assembly and including a coupling mechanism and a biasing member, said coupling mechanism extending through an opening in said first output member and being displaceable relative to said differential housing in a direction generally parallel to said axis, said biasing member engaged with said coupling mechanism and urging at least one of said first side gear and said first output member into frictional engagement with said differential housing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle differential assembly includes a differential housing rotatable about an axis. A first output assembly includes a first side gear positioned within the differential housing and a first output member coupled to the first side gear and having an aperture aligned with the axis. A second output assembly includes a second side gear positioned within the differential housing and a second output member coupled for rotation with the second side gear. A first helical pinion gear is meshingly engaged with the first side gear. A second helical pinion gear is meshingly engaged with the second side gear and the first helical pinion gear. A first coupling assembly includes a coupling mechanism disposed in the aperture and a biasing member engaged with the coupling mechanism to bias the first output assembly into frictional engagement with the differential housing.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A vehicle differential assembly, comprising:
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a differential housing rotatable about an axis; a first output assembly including a first side gear and a first output member, said first side gear disposed within said differential housing and being rotatable about said axis, said first output member coupled to said first side gear for rotation therewith; a second output assembly including a second side gear and a second output member, said second side gear being disposed within said differential housing and rotatable about said axis, said second output member coupled to said second side gear for rotation therewith; a helical pinion gear pair disposed within said differential housing and having a first helical pinion gear engaged with said first side gear and a second helical pinion gear engaged with said second side gear and said first helical pinion gear; and a first coupling assembly engaged with said first output assembly and including a coupling mechanism and a biasing member, said coupling mechanism extending through an opening in said first output member and being displaceable relative to said differential housing in a direction generally parallel to said axis, said biasing member engaged with said coupling mechanism and urging at least one of said first side gear and said first output member into frictional engagement with said differential housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A vehicle differential assembly, comprising:
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a differential housing rotatable about an axis; a first output assembly including a first side gear and a first output member, said first side gear disposed within said differential housing and being rotatable about said axis, said first output member coupled to said first side gear for rotation therewith and having an aperture aligned with said axis; a second output assembly including a second side gear and a second output member, said second side gear disposed within said differential housing and being rotatable about said axis, said second output member coupled to said second side gear for rotation therewith; first and second helical pinion gears disposed within said differential housing, said first helical pinion gear meshingly engaged with said first side gear, said second helical pinion gear meshingly engaged with said second side gear and said first helical pinion gear; and a first coupling assembly engaged with said first output assembly and including a coupling mechanism and a biasing member, said biasing member biasing said first output assembly into frictional engagement with said differential housing, said coupling mechanism being disposed in said aperture and including an adjustment member that is displaceable relative to said first output member to vary a load applied by said biasing member. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A vehicle differential assembly, comprising:
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a differential housing having a body portion defining a central cavity and first and second end portions defining first and second openings communicating with said central cavity, the differential housing being rotatable about an axis; at least one pair of constantly meshed helical pinion gears rotatably supported by said body portion and at least partially positioned within said central cavity, the pinion gears rotating about axes extending substantially parallel to said differential housing axis of rotation; a first side gear in constant meshed engagement with one of said pinion gears; a second side gear in constant meshed engagement with the other of said pinion gears; a first output shaft extending through said first opening in said differential housing and having a first end and a second end, said first end is located within said central cavity and is coupled for common rotation with said first side gear, and said second end is located outboard of said first end portion of said differential housing; a second output shaft extending through said second opening in said differential housing and having a first end and a second end, said first end is located within said central cavity and is coupled for common rotation with said second side gear, and said second end is located outboard of said second end portion of said differential housing; and a coupling assembly for biasing said first side gear into frictional engagement with said differential housing and including a coupling mechanism and a biasing mechanism, said coupling mechanism extending through an aperture in said first output shaft and having a first segment engaging at least one of said first side gear and said first end of said first output shaft and a second segment located adjacent to said second end of said first output shaft, said biasing mechanism is disposed between said second segment of said coupling mechanism and said second end of said first output shaft. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification