Parallel-axis gear differential with pinion mounted brake shoes

摘要

Parallel-axis gear differentials include a housing rotatable about a common axis of a pair of output shafts, and a planetary gearset mounted in the housing for interconnecting the output shafts. The gearset includes a pair of side gears positioned within the housing and fixed for rotation with the output shafts, and two or more pairs of meshed pinions journally mounted in gear pockets formed in the housing, with each pinion having a gear segment meshed with a gear segment of the other pinion and with one of the side gears. An anti-tipping mechanism includes brake shoes that are journalled on stub shaft segments of the pinions. Each brake shoe has a first support surface which mates with the outer diameter surface of a corresponding side gear, a second support surface which mates with the outer diameter surface of the gear segment on the adjacent meshed pinion, and a third support surface which mates with the wall surface of the gear pocket. As an optional feature, the interface between the shaft segment of the pinion and the brake shoe can be modified to include a cone clutch for generating supplemental braking forces in response to axial movement therebetween.