Patent ID: 7051833

Claim:
A gantry axle comprising a driven differential gear unit which is connected, via an axle shaft ( 1 ) and via a respective gantry transmission, with each vehicle wheel, and each vehicle wheel being rotatable around an axis of rotation ( 12 ) of the vehicle wheel and resting up on ground ( 11 ), each gantry transmission having an input spur gear ( 2 ) driven by the axle shaft ( 1 ), the input spur gear ( 2 ) being operatively connected with a first intermediate spur gear ( 3 ) and the first intermediate spur gear ( 3 ) being non-rotatably connected with a second intermediate spur gear ( 4 ), both the first and the second intermediate spur gears ( 3 , 4 ) rotating around an axis of rotation ( 9 ) of the intermediate spur gears ( 3 , 4 ), and the second intermediate spur gear ( 4 ) being operatively connected with an output spur gear ( 5 ) which is connected with the vehicle wheel and rotates around the axis of rotation ( 12 ) of the vehicle wheel; wherein a vertical spacing ( 15 ) of an axis of rotation ( 10 ) of the input spur gear ( 2 ) to the ground ( 11 ) is less than a vertical spacing ( 17 ) of the axis of rotation ( 9 ) of the intermediate spur gears ( 3 , 4 ) to the ground ( 11 ) and is less than a vertical spacing ( 18 ) of the axis of rotation ( 12 ) of the output gear ( 5 ) to the ground ( 11 ); the input, the first and second intermediate and the output spur gears ( 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ) of the gantry transmission have helical cut teeth that are inclined with respect to axes of rotation ( 10 , 9 , 12 ) of the input, the first and second intermediate and the output spur gears ( 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ); and a sloping angle of the helical cut teeth of the first and of the second intermediate spur gears ( 3 , 4 ) are designed so that the axial forces of the first and of the second intermediate spur gears ( 3 , 4 ) are substantially neutralized.