Drive axle assembly with lubricant cooling system
US5540300A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 9, 1995 |
| Grant date | Jul 30, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 9, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T74/2189
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A drive axle assembly has a gear housing, two axle tubes extending outwardly of the gear housing, a lubricant reservoir in the gear housing and a gear assembly rotatably mounted in the gear housing that has a rotatable member that is partially disposed in lubricant in the lubricant reservoir. The drive axle assembly also has a lubricant cooling system that includes a lubricant passage in fluid communication with the lubricant reservoir via an inlet that is juxtaposed the rotatable member so that the level of lubricant in the lubricant passage is raised when the rotatable member rotates. The lubricant passage has elevated outlets that deliver lubricant to lubricant ducts disposed in the respective axle tubes when the lubricant in the lubricant passage rises above a predetermined level. The lubricant flows away from the gear housing in the lubricant ducts and returns to the reservoir along the interior of the axle tubes which cools the lubricant as it returns to the reservoir.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.