Patent ID: 6855087

Claim:
An axle assembly for transmitting power between a drive shaft and driven wheels of a vehicle, with first and second half shafts coupled to the driven wheels, said axle assembly comprising: at least two crown wheels fixed to one another for rotation together about an axle axis, said axle axis being defined by the half shafts of the driven wheels, said at least two crown wheels comprising a first crown wheel and a second crown wheel; at least two driven gears rotatably coupled to the drive shaft of the vehicle, said driven gears comprising a first driven gear and a second driven gear; at least two driving gears, each of which is rotatably coupled between one of the driven gears and one of the crown wheels, said driving gears for driving the rotation of the at least two crown wheels, said driving gears comprising a third driving gear and a fourth driving gear; and a mechanism coupled to the drive shaft between the first and second driven gears for rotating the first driven gear in a direction opposite to the rotation of the second driven gear, wherein the mechanism comprises: a drive shaft gear positioned on the drive shaft; and an idler gear, wherein one of the driven gears is rotatably coupled directly to the drive shaft gear and the idler gear is coupled between the drive shaft gear and the other driven gear.