Patent ID: 6945895

Claim:
A differential gear mechanism, comprising: a case driven by a power source and rotating around a rotation axis; a differential gear set housed in the case and configured to be freely rotatable, the differential gear set comprising a first clutch; an annular plunger movable in a direction of the rotation axis; and an annular electromagnetic actuator for actuation of the plunger in the direction of the rotation axis, the annular electromagnetic actuator comprising an annular solenoid and a core surrounding the solenoid to leave a gap, the gap being continuously spanned by the plunger such that the core and the plunger form a closed magnetic circuit; wherein, the case further comprises a second clutch being slidable in the direction of the rotation axis; and the second clutch is actuated by the plunger so as to be engaged with the first clutch such that the differential gear set is driven by the case.