Patent ID: 8216105

Claim:
A differential apparatus for a vehicle comprising: a differential case; one pair of side gears rotatably accommodated in said differential case; and at least one pair of pinion gears engaging with said one pair of side gears, where an axis of said pinion gear is perpendicular to an axis of said side gear respectively, each of said at least one pair of pinion gears includes a gear barrel portion having a center line in coincidence with said gear axis of said pinion gear, a gear portion having teeth and that engages said side gears at an engaging portion, said gear portion being formed at an outer peripheral side of said gear barrel portion, and a gear collar portion formed at an entire peripheral portion of a gear back surface and formed in one body with said gear barrel portion; said differential case having at least one pair of pinion gear supporting portions rotatably supporting said at least one pair of pinion gears by an outer peripheral surface of said collar portion, each of said pinion gears sliding on one of said pinion gear supporting portions, and wherein said gear portion is axially separated from said gear collar portion along the gear axis of each of said pinion gears such that said gear portion is positioned to the rotational axis of the differential case than is the gear collar portion, wherein no portion of said gear portion is supported by said pinion gear supporting portions, and wherein the diameter of the outer peripheral surface of said gear collar portion is greater than a diameter of a tooth root of the gear teeth at the radially outermost point of the gear portion along the gear axis.