Locking hub system

• US 9,382,951 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2014
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Warn Automotive LLC (Dover Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Warn Industries Incorporated (LKQ Corporation)
• Inventors: Reiner, Adam K., Clohessy, Kip E., Bowers, Michael L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hodge, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): DODD, RYAN P
• Application Number:
  US14/479,117
• Publication Number:
  US 20160069397A1
• Time in Patent Office: 669 Days
• Field of Search: 192/69.43
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 17/344 having a transfer gear
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 17/35 including arrangements for suppressing or influencing the power transfer, e.g. viscous clutches differential gearing with locking devices F16H48/20
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 17/3515 with a clutch adjacent to traction wheel, e.g. automatic wheel hub
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 17/352 manually operated
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 11/14 with clutching members movable only axially F16D11/02, F16D11/08 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 2011/004 using an internal or intermediate axially slidable sleeve, coupling both components together, whereby the intermediate sleeve is arranged internally at least with respect to one of the components

Abstract

A locking hub system in a vehicle is provided. The locking hub system includes an inner drive gear assembly including a drive gear having a drive gear interior splined surface configured to attach to a vehicle axle and a bearing housing rotationally coupled to the drive gear having a bearing housing exterior splined surface configured to mate with a wheel attachment interface and a clutch ring assembly including a pin ring having a plurality of cantilevered pins extending from a support ring, partially enclosing a clutch ring, and unsupported at one end, the clutch ring including a clutch ring splined interior surface slidably moveable to mate with an drive gear splined exterior surface of the drive gear in an engaged configuration and slidably moveable to decouple from the drive gear splined exterior surface in a disengaged configuration.

Claims

1. A locking hub system in a vehicle comprising:

an inner drive gear assembly including a drive gear having a drive gear interior splined surface configured to attach to a vehicle axle, a bearing contacting and positioned around an external cylindrical surface of the drive gear, and a bearing housing fixedly coupled to and positioned around the bearing, the bearing housing having a bearing housing exterior splined surface around a circumference of the bearing housing and configured to mate with a splined surface of a wheel attachment interface; and

a clutch ring assembly including a pin ring comprising an annular support ring and a plurality of cantilevered pins extending from an inward surface of the support ring and toward the bearing housing, partially enclosing a clutch ring, and unsupported at one end, the clutch ring including a clutch ring splined interior surface slidably moveable to mate with a drive gear splined exterior surface of the drive gear in an engaged configuration and slidably moveable to decouple from the drive gear splined exterior surface in a disengaged configuration.

2. The locking hub system of claim 1, further comprising a cap assembly configured to actuate the clutch ring assembly into the engaged and disengaged configurations in response to manual input.

3. The locking hub system of claim 2, where the position of the clutch ring relative to the drive gear is axially shifted in response to the manual input.

4. The locking hub system of claim 2, where the support ring of the pin ring includes an outward surface, and where the outward surface of the pin ring is in face sharing contact with an inward surface in the cap assembly and the unsupported ends of the plurality of cantilevered pins are in face sharing contact with an outward surface of the bearing housing when the clutch ring is in both the engaged configuration and the disengaged configuration.

5. The locking hub system of claim 1, where the bearing housing exterior splined surface extends 360 degrees around the bearing housing and includes a plurality of splines, where consecutive splines are equidistantly spaced.

6. The locking hub system of claim 1, where the unsupported ends of the plurality of cantilevered pins are in face sharing contact with an outward surface of the bearing housing.

7. The locking hub system of claim 1, where the pin ring includes an even number of cantilevered pins positioned substantially evenly around a circumference of the pin ring.

8. The locking hub system of claim 1, where an axial width of the bearing housing is greater than an axial width of the pin ring and where the clutch ring assembly and the drive gear are constructed out of metal.

9. The locking hub system of claim 1, where an inward surface of the bearing housing is in face sharing contact with a wheel bearing outer race.

10. The locking hub system of claim 1, where the bearing is a roller bearing including an outer race fixedly coupled to the bearing housing and a plurality of rollers contacting the external cylindrical surface of the drive gear.

11. The locking hub system of claim 2, where the pin ring is positioned between and in face sharing contact with each of an inward surface of the cap assembly and an outward surface of the bearing housing when the clutch ring is in both the engaged configuration and the disengaged configuration.

12. A locking hub system comprising:

an inner drive gear assembly including a drive gear having a drive gear interior splined surface configured to attach to an axle and a bearing housing coupled to the drive gear via a roller bearing, the bearing housing having a bearing housing exterior splined surface configured to mate with a splined surface of a wheel attachment interface;

a clutch ring assembly including a pin ring having a plurality of cantilevered pins extending from an inward surface of a support ring of the pin ring and toward the bearing housing, the plurality of cantilevered pins partially enclosing a clutch ring and unsupported at one end, where a first end of each pin of the plurality of cantilevered pins is directly coupled to the inward surface of the support ring and a second end of each pin is in face sharing contact with an outward surface of the bearing housing, and where the clutch ring includes a clutch ring splined interior surface slidably moveable to mate with a drive gear splined exterior surface of the drive gear in an engaged configuration providing joint rotational movement of the drive gear and the clutch ring and slidably moveable to decouple from the drive gear splined exterior surface in a disengaged configuration providing independent rotation of the drive gear from the clutch ring; and

a cap assembly including a dial arranged within a cap including an inward surface, where the cap assembly is configured to actuate the clutch ring into the engaged configuration and disengaged configuration in response to manual input via the dial, and where in both the engaged configuration and disengaged configuration, an outward surface of the support ring of the pin ring is in face sharing contact with the inward surface of the cap and the second end of each pin is in face sharing contact with the outward surface of the bearing housing.

13. The locking hub system of claim 12, where the pin ring is constructed out of metal.

14. The locking hub system of claim 12, where an axial width of the bearing housing is greater than an axial width of the drive gear.

15. The locking hub system of claim 12, where the roller bearing includes an outer race fixedly coupled to an interior surface of the bearing housing and a plurality of rollers in contact with an external cylindrical surface of the drive gear.

16. The locking hub system of claim 12, where an inward surface of the bearing housing is in face sharing contact with a wheel bearing outer race.

17. A locking hub system in a vehicle comprising:

a clutch ring assembly including a pin ring having a plurality of cantilevered pins extending from a support ring and toward an inner drive gear assembly, where the plurality of cantilevered pins partially encloses a clutch ring, the pin ring positioned against and between each of an outward surface of a bearing housing of the inner drive gear assembly and an inward surface of a cap of a cap assembly of the locking hub system when the clutch ring is both engaged and disengaged with the inner drive gear assembly, the pin ring only held axially inward toward an axle by the cap assembly, the clutch ring held inward toward the axle by an inward surface of the support ring of the pin ring, the inner drive gear assembly coupled to the axle.

18. The locking hub system of claim 17, where the inner drive gear assembly includes a drive gear having a drive gear interior splined surface configured to attach to the axle, where the bearing housing is rotationally coupled to the drive gear and has a bearing housing exterior splined surface configured to mate with a wheel attachment interface, and where the clutch ring includes a clutch ring splined interior surface slideably moveable to mate with a drive gear splined exterior surface of the drive gear in an engaged configuration providing joint rotational movement of the drive gear and the clutch ring and slidably moveable to decouple from the drive gear splined exterior surface in a disengaged configuration providing independent rotation of the drive gear from the clutch ring.

19. The locking hub system of claim 18, where the clutch ring includes an outward surface in face sharing contact with the inward surface of the cap in the cap assembly, where unsupported ends of the plurality of cantilevered pins do not axially extend between splines in the bearing housing exterior splined surface, and where the cap assembly is configured to actuate the clutch ring assembly in the engaged and disengaged configurations in response to manual input.

20. The locking hub system of claim 18, where an axial width of the bearing housing is greater than an axial width of the pin ring.