Patent ID: 9140349
Filing Date: 2015-09-22
Classification: B60B,B60Y,F16H

Abstract:
1. An axle assembly comprising: a locking differential assembly having a differential case, a ring gear coupled to the differential case for rotation therewith, first and second output members, and a locking element that is movably mounted to the differential case; an axle housing having a center section that defines a pinion mount portion, a cavity, an opening and a first flange that borders the opening, the opening being sized to admit the locking differential assembly there through, the locking differential assembly being received in the cavity for rotation about an axis, the ring gear extending through the opening, the flange defining a sealing surface that is parallel to and offset from the axis; an input pinion received in the pinion mount portion, the input pinion having a stem and a pinion, the pinion being disposed in the cavity; a pair of pinion bearings received in the pinion mount portion and supporting the stem for rotation relative to the center section; a cover mounted to the flange to partly close an open side of the cavity, the cover defining an actuator aperture that provides access through the cover to the cavity; and an actuator assembly comprising a sleeve and an actuator, the sleeve being mounted on the differential case and movable along the axis between a first sleeve position and a second sleeve position, the actuator being mounted to an exterior side of the cover and extending through the actuator aperture to engage the sleeve, the actuator being configured to selectively move the sleeve between the first and second sleeve positions, wherein the locking differential assembly is configured to operate in an unlocked mode that permits speed differentiation between the first and second output members when the sleeve is in the first sleeve position, and wherein the locking differential assembly is configured to be operated in a locked mode that inhibits speed differentiation between the first and second output members when the sleeve is in the second sleeve position.