And Final Gear Drive Patents (Class 180/363)
  • Patent number: 8657316
    Abstract: A rear axle support assembly includes a swing arm assembly, a second axle tube, and a rear final gear assembly. The swing arm assembly includes a first support arm, a second support arm laterally spaced from the first support arm, a first axle tube attached to the first support arm, and an axle support bracket attached to the second support arm. Each of the first and second axle tubes is configured to receive an axle therewithin. The second axle tube includes an axle tube mount flange. The first axle tube is releasably attached to the rear final gear assembly. The axle tube mount flange is positioned laterally between, and is releasably attached to each one of, the axle support bracket of the swing arm assembly and the rear final gear assembly, and in direct, contacting engagement with the rear final gear assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2014
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Lee N. Bowers, Jason A. Sovern
  • Patent number: 8172032
    Abstract: The invention is a combination drive and suspension system that includes an upper drive assembly and a lower drive assembly pivotally connected. The pivoting drive system provides improved ground clearance for a farm vehicle capable of carrying a large quantity of field application material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventor: John Buschena
  • Patent number: 7967101
    Abstract: The invention is a combination drive and suspension system that includes an upper drive assembly and a lower drive assembly pivotally connected. The pivoting drive system provides improved ground clearance for a farm vehicle capable of carrying a large quantity of field application material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2011
    Assignee: AGCO Corporation
    Inventor: John Buschena
  • Patent number: 7673719
    Abstract: The invention is a combination drive and suspension system that includes an upper drive assembly and a lower drive assembly pivotally connected. The pivoting drive system provides improved ground clearance for a farm vehicle capable of carrying a large quantity of field application material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2010
    Assignee: Agco Corporation
    Inventor: John Buschena
  • Patent number: 7264079
    Abstract: A steerable rear suspension for a tractor includes a chassis comprising a front end, a rear end, a left side and a right side; an engine mounted on the chassis; a pair of steerable front wheels coupled to the front end, left and right side of the chassis; a left rear suspension including a left rear suspension arm pivotally coupled to the chassis at a leading end of the suspension arm, and a first steerable planetary gear system mounted on a trailing end of the suspension arm; a right rear suspension including a right rear suspension arm pivotally coupled to the chassis at a leading end of the suspension arm, and a second steerable planetary gear system mounted on a trailing end at the right suspension arm; and left and right rear wheels driven by the first and second planetary gear systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2007
    Assignee: CNH America LLC
    Inventor: Giorgio Bordini
  • Patent number: 7207575
    Abstract: A rear tractor suspension for a tractor includes a suspension arm pivotally coupled to the chassis of the tractor, and a hydraulic cylinder coupled to the suspension arm to support it. The hydraulic cylinder conveys only longitudinal forces in a first mode of operation in which the suspension is not substantially loaded. When a substantial load is placed upon the suspension and the suspension arm begins to bend within normal operational and design limits, the hydraulic cylinder counteracts the load applied to the suspension, the torsional moment it produces, and the torsioning of the suspension arm by automatically applying a counteracting torsional moment to the suspension arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: CNH America LLC
    Inventor: Giorgio Bordini
  • Patent number: 7051833
    Abstract: In a gantry axle for low-platform vehicles, the gantry transmission consists of one input spur gear (2) operatively connected with a first intermediate spur gear (3) non-rotatably connected with a second intermediate spur gear (4) operatively connected with an output spur gear (5). The vertical distance of the axis of rotation (10) of the input spur gear to the ground (11) is smaller than the vertical distance of the intermediate spur gears (9, 4) to the ground (11).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2006
    Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AG
    Inventors: Rudolf Neumüller, Stefan Häubler
  • Patent number: 6964317
    Abstract: A high ground clearance drive assembly includes a drop box and an articulation drop box. The drop box is fixed to the vehicle frame and the articulation drop box pivots relative thereto as a suspension system is exercised. The articulation drop box is pivotable about a pivot pin which extends through both the articulation drop box and the drop box to provide an axial preload therebetween. A first chain interconnects an input sprocket on the input shaft and an intermediate sprocket assembly. A second chain interconnects a second intermediate sprocket and the output sprocket to drive an output shaft connected thereto. A hollow shaft supports the first and second intermediate sprockets about the pivot pin such that rotation of the articulation drop box relative the drop box is accommodated without additional complex structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2005
    Assignee: AxleTech International IP Holdings, LLC
    Inventors: Barry Stuart Groves, Patrick Michael Cadaret
  • Patent number: 6808033
    Abstract: A wheel suspension assembly for a vehicle having wheels and a chassis, the vehicle suspension system comprising a suspension unit for at least one wheel, the suspension unit including a first pivot arm of which a wheel is mounted and a second pivot arm mounted on the chassis, a drive unit mounted to the chassis, and a transmission unit between the drive unit and the wheel, the transmission unit arranged to accommodate pivoting of the second pivot arm relative to the chassis during operation of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2004
    Assignee: Transportation Techniques, LLC
    Inventor: Val J Dare-Bryan
  • Patent number: 6805210
    Abstract: An engine half-trolley (10) of simplified structure for industrial vehicles set at the side of a vehicle chassis and comprising a casing (12) from which there comes out at least one wheel hub (13) for a respective wheel (14), an input shaft (17) to said half-trolley (10) being connected to a differential (16) of the vehicle, in the said half-trolley, between the input shaft (17) and the wheel hub (13), there being provided, in succession, two bevel-gear pairs (18, 19; 21, 23) housed in an arm (15, 115) forming part of the casing (12), in which at least one bottom area of the arm (15, 115), for attachment to the wheel hub (13), has ample bevels (26).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2004
    Assignee: Dana Italia S.p.A.
    Inventor: Fabrizio Panizzolo
  • Patent number: 6659217
    Abstract: A drive unit assembly utilizes a single input to drive a pair of laterally spaced wheel ends. Each wheel end is suspended independently from the other. The input is operatively coupled to only one of the wheel ends and an exposed axle shaft assembly interconnects the input to the opposite wheel end. The axle shaft assembly includes multiple shaft members to interconnect the laterally spaced wheel ends. One of the axle shaft members is mounted to a vehicle floor structure with a bearing mount and includes connection joints at either end to accommodate the independent motion of each wheel end. The floor and the shaft member move together during suspension travel, allowing the floor to have a lower profile than is traditionally available.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: Meritor Heavy Vehicle Technology, LLC
    Inventors: Mark C. Smith, John L. Bennett, Chihping Kuan, John K. Ma, William C. Sullivan, Edward J. Eshelman, Dean M. House, Tomaz Dopico Varela
  • Patent number: 6588538
    Abstract: A wheel and final drive assembly for a work machine, such as a mining truck, having a driven rotatable wheel having inboard and outboard rims mounted thereto. The final drive assembly including a first and a second reduction gear assembly. A ring gear adapter having an inboard end, an outboard end, and an inner surface, a plurality of teeth disposed about the inner surface and interacting with a plurality of planetary gears of the first and second gear reduction assemblies and the inboard end of the ring gear adapter removably coupled to the outboard flange of the wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2003
    Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
    Inventors: David R. Hinton, Keith A. Kabrick
  • Publication number: 20030010564
    Abstract: A wheel and final drive assembly for a work machine, such as a mining truck, having a driven rotatable wheel having inboard and outboard rims mounted thereto. The final drive assembly including a first and a second reduction gear assembly. A ring gear adapter having an inboard end, an outboard end, and an inner surface, a plurality of teeth disposed about said inner surface and interacting with a plurality of planetary gears of the first and second gear reduction assemblies and said inboard end of said ring gear adapter removably coupled to said outboard flange of said wheel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2001
    Publication date: January 16, 2003
    Inventors: David R. Hinton, Keith A. Kabrick
  • Patent number: 5417297
    Abstract: A heavy duty work vehicle for rough terrain is provided with tandem axles wherein engine power is transferred equally to both the front and rear wheels of the tandem axles. A gear train having a torque divider splits any unequal torque on the front and rear wheels into two equal torques to obviate wheel lifting and loss of traction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 23, 1995
    Assignee: Neunkirchner Maschinen-und Achsenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Ernst Auer