| 主权项 |
1. A front differential for a four wheel drive vehicle, the front differential comprising:
a differential housing; a pinion assembly including a first pinion with a pinion shaft and a pinion gear on an end, and a second pinion with a pinion shaft and a pinion gear on an end, the second pinion being mounted concentrically within the first pinion and is configured to be rotatable independent from the first pinion; a ring gear assembly engaged with the pinion assembly for transferring rotary motion between a drive-shaft and two driven shafts, the ring gear assembly including a first ring gear with gear teeth, a hub and a stub shaft, and a second ring gear with gear teeth, a hub and recess, the stub shaft of the first ring gear being disposed within the recess of the second ring gear so as to arrange the first and second ring gears concentric with each other and adapted to rotate about the same axis, each hub including a set of splines which are configured to engage with mating splines on one of the driven shafts for transmitting rotation between that hub and the associated driven shaft, the first and second ring gears being mounted so as to be independently rotatable within the differential housing; the first pinion gear engaged with the first ring gear teeth so that rotation of the first pinion produces corresponding rotation of the first ring gear, the second pinion gear engaged with the second ring gear teeth so that rotation of the second pinion produces corresponding rotation of the second ring gear, the first pinion and first ring gear combination mounted so as to be rotatable independent from the second pinion and second ring gear combination, thus permitting one to rotate relative to the other, the first pinion and first ring gear combination adapted to rotate one of the driven shafts, and the second pinion and second ring gear combination adapted to rotate the other of the driven shafts; a bi-directional overrunning clutch assembly comprising:
a clutch housing located within the differential housing and mounted so as to be rotatable inside the differential housing, the clutch housing includes a portion which is configured to engage with an end of the drive shaft for transmitting rotary motion between the drive shaft and the housing, the clutch housing having a contoured internal surface defining cam surfaces; anda roll cage assembly located within the clutch housing and including a roll cage with two sets of rolls, each roll disposed within a slot formed in the roll cage, the rolls spaced around the circumference of the cage, and a plurality of springs for positioning the rolls in the slots, wherein one set of rolls is located between a portion of the contoured surface of the clutch housing and a portion of the first pinion shaft, and wherein the other set of rolls is located between a portion of the contoured surface of the clutch housing and a portion of the second pinion shaft; an electromagnetic control system for indexing the roll cage relative to the clutch housing, the electromagnetic control system include an indexing device for indexing the roll cage, and an electronic control system connected to the indexing device which, when activated, is adapted to cause the indexing device to index the roll cage relative to the clutch housing; and a spring assembly configured to bias the roll cage to a neutral position where the roll cage is not indexed. |
