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:
Dec. 09, 2003
Filed:
Feb. 15, 2002
Mark C. Smith, Troy, MI (US);
John L. Bennett, Fraser, MI (US);
Chihping Kuan, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
John K. Ma, Rochester, MI (US);
William C. Sullivan, Newark, OH (US);
Edward J. Eshelman, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
Dean M. House, Pataskala, OH (US);
Tomaz Dopico Varela, Gahanna, OH (US);
Meritor Heavy Vehicle Technology, LLC, Troy, MI (US);
Abstract
A drive unit assembly utilizes a single input to drive a pair of laterally spaced wheel ends. Each wheel end is suspended independently from the other. The input is operatively coupled to only one of the wheel ends and an exposed axle shaft assembly interconnects the input to the opposite wheel end. The axle shaft assembly includes multiple shaft members to interconnect the laterally spaced wheel ends. One of the axle shaft members is mounted to a vehicle floor structure with a bearing mount and includes connection joints at either end to accommodate the independent motion of each wheel end. The floor and the shaft member move together during suspension travel, allowing the floor to have a lower profile than is traditionally available.