Patent ID: 7029414

Claim:
In a traction drive assembly comprising a carrier mountable to a support structure, a center shaft rotatably journaled in said carrier about a central axis; first and second tapered raceways carried by said center shaft and presented outwardly from said axis; a hub surrounding said shaft and having first and second outer raceways presented toward said first and second tapered inner raceways; and first and second planet rollers positioned between said first and second inner and outer raceways, respectively; said planet rollers being rotatable about a planet axis substantially parallel to said central axis; the improvement comprising a load supporting structure to transfer loads from said hub to said carrier and to bypass the central shaft; said load supporting structure comprising said carrier: said carrier comprising a plurality of pockets having radially outwardly directed seats and planet axles received in said pockets and supported on said seats, said pockets substantially preventing said planet axles from moving radially inwardly relative to the central shaft while allowing said planet axles to move radially outwardly relative to said central shaft; said planet rollers being rotatably mounted about said planet axles; whereby, loads from said hub are transferred to said planet rollers, to said planet axles, and then to said carrier, such that said loads bypass said central shaft.