Patent Application
20080079308
A better understanding of the present invention will be had upon reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, and in which.
With reference first to
With reference now particularly to
With reference now to
For example, as shown in
With reference now to
Referring again to
Oil baffles 39 may also be secured to the center housing 22. These oil baffles 39 not only add structural support for the center housing 22, but also facilitate the final assembly of the axle.
Alternatively, the tubes 26 may be arranged so that the outwardly flared portions 28 of the tubes 26 abut against an inner surface of the center housing 22. In this event, the outwardly flared ends 28 of the tubes 26 are positioned in between the rear shell 32 and front shell 34 of the center housing 22 when the shells 32 and 34 are secured together. Thereafter, the tubes 26 are slid outwardly until the outwardly flared ends abut against inner surfaces of the center housing 22 whereupon these ends 28 are welded to the center housing 22.
In some situations, one or both of the tubes 26 may have deformed slightly due to the welding operations performed to attach the tubes 26 to the center housing 22 and such deformation is outside acceptable limits for friction welding the bearing supports in proper alignment with the front face of stamping 22. In that event, the tubes 26 are bent as described below to return the alignment of the outer ends of the tubes and the front face of the center housing 34 to acceptable specifications.
With reference then to
With reference now to
Although any conventional means may be utilized to secure the wheel bearing supports 30 to the ends of the tubes 26, preferably the wheel bearing supports 30 are attached to the tubes 26 by friction welding. In friction welding, the tubes 26 and center housing 22 are mounted in a jig while the wheel bearing supports 30 are rotatably spun and pressed onto the ends of the tubes 26. The resulting friction between the wheel bearing supports 30 and the tubes 26 then forms the weld.
With reference now to
Since the stamping used to form the front shell 34 of the center housing 22 is relatively thin and cannot provide sufficient thread length, an internally threaded boss 64 is preferably welded to each of the openings 62 formed during the stamping process of the front shell 34. Any conventional means, such as conductive heat-resistant welding, deformation resistance welding, or mechanical clinching may be used to secure the threaded bosses 64 to the front shell 34. In other types of axle housings 20, it is desirable to have a plurality of outwardly extending threaded studs extending outwardly from the front shell 34 of the center housing 22 for attaching the axle housing 20 to the differential. Consequently, in this situation an externally threaded stud 66, such as shown in
With reference now to
Although different means may be employed to form the fill and drain openings 72 and 70, respectively, as best shown in
Alternatively, as shown in
From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention provides a novel axle housing and method for making the axle housing which overcomes a number of disadvantages suffered by the previously known axle housings. Specifically, the present invention completely eliminates the need for machining the axle housing during its manufacture. In particular, it is no longer necessary to machine the front of the center housing for the axle housing in order to create a flat surface for mounting the center housing to the vehicle differential. Instead, the flat surface formed during the stamping operation for the front shell 34 of the center housing 22 is sufficiently flat to mate against the differential without further machining.
Similarly, the present invention avoids the necessity of machining a flat surface on the rear of the center housing in preparation for attaching a rear cover to the center housing Previously, such a machined surface was required in order to assure a leak-free attachment between the rear cover and the center housing. Such machining is avoided by the present invention by simply forming the center housing from two stamped shells.
In addition the use of pre-machined bearing supports which are welded in proper alignment to the outboard ends of the tubes and the front face of the center housing eliminates the need to machine them as a part of the complete axle assembly thus avoiding a costly investment in special purpose machining centers.
The present invention also provides a unique manner to correct by heat treatment distortion which occurred during the manufacture of the axle housing. Such correction of distortion is not only less expensive and more rapid than the previously known mechanical bending to correct for such distortions, but also more accurate.
Additionally, as a result of the unique construction the present invention results in lower weight reduced welding and improved utilization of materials.
Having described my invention, however, many modifications thereto will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains without deviation from the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the appended claims.
This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/827,479 filed Sep. 29, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60827479 | Sep 2006 | US |
