US Patent 7886863 Driveshaft assembly with torque sensor

Patent 7886863 was granted and assigned to American Axle on February, 2011 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

7886863

Date of Patent

February 15, 2011

Patent Application Number

12369998

Date Filed

February 12, 2009

Patent Primary Examiner

Paul N Dickson

Patent abstract

A driveshaft assembly that includes a first shaft member, a second shaft member, a bearing assembly and a sensor. The first shaft member has a magnetically encoded zone with a magnetic field that varies as a function of the torque that is transmitted through the first shaft member. The second shaft member is coupled for rotation with the first shaft member. The bearing assembly comprises a bearing support, which is configured to be coupled to a vehicle structure, and a bearing that is housed in the bearing support. The bearing journally supports the first shaft member for rotation about a first axis. The sensor is coupled to the bearing assembly. The sensor is arranged to sense the magnetic field of the magnetically encoded zone and responsively produce an electrical signal.