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:
Sep. 04, 2001
Filed:
Mar. 27, 2000
Raji El-Kassouf, Sterling Heights, MI (US);
Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems, LLC, Troy, MI (US);
Abstract
A vehicle drive axle includes a differential where high pressure is delivered from a stationary source to a rotating source to actuate a differential clutch. The drive axle includes an axle housing, a first rotatable axle shaft for driving a first wheel, and a second rotatable axle shaft for driving a second wheel. The differential controls rotational speed and torque supplied to the first and second axle shafts. The differential clutch is used to selectively lock the axle shafts together when the vehicle experiences unfavorable road conditions. An actuating mechanism is used to control the differential clutch. The actuating mechanism includes a stationary piston actuated by a fluid force and a rotating piston actuated by the stationary piston. This stationary piston moves the rotating piston causing the rotating member to displace a volume of fluid to actuate the differential clutch.