The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 09, 1991
Filed:
Oct. 27, 1988
Kazuo Niide, Hiroshima, JP;
Hideki Yamada, Hiroshima, JP;
Haruki Higashi, Hatsukaichi, JP;
Noboru Nakamura, Hiroshima, JP;
Mazda Motor Corporation, Hiroshima, JP;
Abstract
A vehicle equipped with four-wheel drive has a transfer case including a center-differential which delivers driving power to both front and rear axle assemblies when needed and is shiftable between a two-wheel and a four-wheel drive mode of operation and between a differential-locked and a differential-unlocked drive mode of operation. A free wheeling drive mechanism with a clutch member is incorporated in an output shaft of an axle differential in association with wheels non-driven in the two-wheel drive mode of operation and is adapted to disconnect when the vehicle is in the two-wheel drive mode of operation. A controller causes a forced drive mode shift of the center-differential from the four-wheel differential-underlined drive mode of operation either to the four-wheel differential-locked or to the two-wheel drive mode of operation when the disconnection of the free-wheeling drive mechanism is detected while the vehicle is in the four-wheel differential-unlocked drive mode of operation.