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:
May. 27, 2003
Filed:
Sep. 05, 2001
Wagner Yukio Hirao, Troy, MI (US);
I-Chao Chung, Troy, MI (US);
Meritor Heavy Vehicle Technology, LLC, Troy, MI (US);
Abstract
A drive axle assembly is provided that includes an axle housing having a cavity. A differential case is disposed within the cavity. The ring gear is supported on the differential case such as by fastening the ring gear to a flange extending from the differential case. A pinion cage eccentrically supports the driveshaft and pinion, which are rotatable about a first axis. The pinion cage may be used for different axle assemblies having different gear ratios. Moreover, the same differential case may be used for the different axle assemblies. The pinion cage is rotatable relative to the carrier housing between first and second positions in which the first axis is spaced from the ring gear first and second distances, respectively. In this manner, the pinion offset and gear mounting distance may be varied. The pinion cage is secured to the housing, preferably by fasteners, in one of the positions to accommodate a particular gearset.