Patent ID: 6634979
Filing Date: 2003-10-21
Classification: F16H

Abstract:
A differential gear mechanism comprising:a casing; a first sun gear rotatably mounted in said casing and adapted to be connected to a first half shaft connected to a road wheel; a second sun gear rotatably mounted in said casing and adapted to be connected to a second half shaft connected to a road wheel; a first set of planetary pinions arranged to surround and to be in meshing engagement with said first sun gear, said first set of planetary pinions being journalled in a first set of pockets defined by said casing; a second set of planetary pinions arranged to surround and to be in meshing engagement with said second sun gear, said second set of planetary pinions being journalled in a second set of pockets defined by said casing, said second set of planetary pinions being in meshing engagement with said first set of planetary pinions, each pocket for one of said first and second sets of pinions intersecting two adjacent pockets for the other of said first and second sets of pinions, whereby each pinion of one of said sets meshes with two adjacent pinions of the other of said sets so that the planetary pinions of said first and second sets mesh with each other and surround the sun gears; and a planetary friction pad on the axially facing outer end of at least one of said planetary pinions, said planetary friction pad being biased against said planetary pinion by a spring; wherein the sun gears and planetary pinions have helical teeth; further comprising a spring adjuster configured to permit adjustment of the spring force applied by said spring onto said planetary friction pad, to change the amount of force between said planetary friction pad and the planetary pinion that said planetary friction pad is biased against; wherein said spring adjuster is accessible externally of said casing, and may be manipulated without need to disassemble said casing; further comprising sun fiction pads biased against the axially facing inner ends of said sun gears.