Patent ID: 7537290

Claim:
A lightweight axle for a vehicle comprising: a horizontal, elongated, hollow tube having a wall, an exterior wall surface and an interior wall surface, with the wall being of substantially uniform thickness; a pair of elongated, radially outwardly extending ribs formed as additional wall material on the diametrically opposite, uppermost and lowermost dead centers of the exterior wall surface and extending longitudinally along substantially the full length of the exterior wall surface to form thickened wall sections; said ribs being substantially parallel to the axis of the tube and the pair of ribs and the tube being integrally formed of a one-piece extrusion; the end portions of the axle being adapted to fit within sockets formed in connection members, said sockets provided with parallel grooves arranged for receiving adjacent end portions of the respective ribs for preventing the axle from rotating within the socket due to torsional loads and whereby the ribs provide sufficient additional wall thickness to reinforce the axle against bending and flexing under applied loads during vehicle use.