Patent ID: 7278948

Claim:
A differential assembly for supplying driving torque from an input shaft to a pair of output shafts, the differential assembly comprising: a differential housing adapted to be rotatably driven by the input shaft, said housing defining a chamber having a substantially spherically shaped inner surface and having shaft openings at opposite ends thereof; a pair of side gears rotatably positioned in said chamber, said side gears being adapted to be non-rotatably mounted to the output shafts which extend through said shaft openings, each side gear including a substantially spherically shaped surface and a trunnion having an end face; a pair of differential pinions rotatably mounted within said chamber, said pinions having a longitudinal axis perpendicular to the axis of said side gears with each of said pinions being meshed with each of said side gears, each of said pinions including a substantially spherically shaped surface; a pair of pinion thrust washers each having substantially spherically shaped inner and outer surfaces positioned between said housing inner surface and one of said substantially spherically shaped surfaces of said pinions; a pair of side gear thrust washers each having substantially spherically shaped inner and outer surfaces positioned between said housing inner surface and one of said substantially spherically shaped surfaces of said side gears; and a pair of springs positioned within said chamber, each spring being engaged with one of said end faces on said trunnions of said side gears to minimize gear lash between said side gears and said pinions.