US Patent 7837588 Pre-load mechanism for helical gear differential

Patent 7837588 was granted and assigned to American Axle on November, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

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Is a

Patent

Patent attributes

Current Assignee

American Axle

Patent Jurisdiction

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Patent Number

78375880

Patent Inventor Names

Paul J. Valente0

Date of Patent

November 23, 2010

Patent Application Number

118803760

Date Filed

July 20, 2007

Patent Primary Examiner

‌

Sherry L Estremsky

Patent abstract

A differential assembly for a vehicle includes a differential casing rotatable about an axis. The differential casing defines a cavity. A pair of side gears is disposed within the differential casing cavity. First and second pairs of pinion gears are rotatably positioned in the cavity in driving engagement with the side gears. A thrust block has circumferentially spaced apart recesses. Rotation of the thrust block is restricted by the first and second pairs of pinion gears being in communication with the recesses. A spring biases the thrust block into engagement with one of the side gears.