Patent ID: 7607670

Claim:
An apparatus for connecting an axle to a suspension, comprising: an axle shell coupled to a suspension member; the axle shell having an inner surface complementary to the axle for receiving the axle; the axle shell having first and second ends separated along an imaginary axis generally parallel to an axis of the axle when the axle is received by the axle shell inner surface; the axle shell having opposed sides; each axle shell side having one of an angled groove and a wedge flange extending between the first and second ends of the axle shell; and a wedging shell having an inner surface complementary to the axle for receiving the axle; the wedging shell having first and second ends separated along an imaginary axis generally parallel to the axis of the axle when the axle is received by the wedging shell inner surface; the wedging shell having opposed sides; each wedging shell side having one of a wedge flange and an angled groove extending between the first and second ends of the wedging shell; wherein the wedging shell is coupled to the axle shell by interaction between the wedge flanges and the angled grooves; and wherein the interaction between the wedge flanges and the angled grooves provides a clamping force between the axle shell and the wedging shell to maintain the axle in a desired position between the axle shell and the wedging shell.