DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , a partial sectional view of a differential gear assembly is shown at 10 . The differential gear assembly 10 generally includes a differential housing 12 with a ring gear 14 mounted externally and a gear set 15 mounted therein. It is noted that, as seen in FIG. 1 , only one half of the assembly 10 is illustrated. The opposing half, however, is a mirror image of the illustrated half. A full view of the assembly 10 is therefore not believed necessary as one skilled in the field will readily appreciate the full construction and extent of the assembly 10 .

[0021] The gear set 15 includes a pair of pinion gears 18 (one shown) and a pair of side gears 16 . The pinion gears 18 are mounted onto a pinion pin 20 that is supported so as to rotate with the differential housing 12 . Mounting of the pinion gears 18 onto the pinion pin 20 is such so as to allow rotational movement of the pinion gears 18 .

[0022] The pinion pin 20 extends across the diameter of the differential housing 12 . A portion of the pinion pin 20 extends beyond the differential housing 12 and partially across the ring gear 14 . The ring gear 14 includes features which receive the ends of the pinion pin 20 to support and position the pinion pin 20 relative to the ring gear 14 . In this manner, the pinion pin 20 is directly supported by the ring gear 14 , and load is transferred directly from the ring gear 14 to the pinion pin 20 . Preferably, the ring gear 14 and the pinion pin 20 are formed from hardened steel, however it is to be understood that other materials with similar hardness and strength properties could be used with substantially equal results. A more detailed discussion of how the pinion pin 20 is supported on the ring gear 14 is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/062,009, filed on Jan. 31, 2002 (attorney docket no. 10541-932/V201-0423) entitled “Differential Gear Assembly” which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is hereby incorporated by reference into the present application.

[0023] The differential housing 12 includes a pair of extending neck portions 22 , each of which are adapted to rotatably support a proximal end of an axle half-shaft 24 . The distal ends of each of the axle half-shafts 24 are connected to a wheel of the vehicle. The proximal end of each of the axle half-shafts 24 are attached to one of the side gears 16 and the side gears 16 are engaged with the pinion gears 18 . As such, rotation of the differential housing 12 is transferred through the pinion gears 18 , to the side gears 16 and thereby to the axle half-shafts 24 , all while allowing the axle half-shafts 24 to rotate relative to one another.

[0024] The ring gear 14 is generally annularly shaped having a substantially circular inner surface 26 , a substantially circular outer surface 28 and a plurality of circumferentially spaced teeth 30 extending from a side face of the ring gear 14 . The teeth 30 are adapted to provide smooth engagement with corresponding teeth of a bevel gear on the end of a drive shaft (not shown) of the vehicle. The ring gear 14 further includes an annular flange 32 extending from the outer surface 28 , the purpose of which is more fully described below.

[0025] The differential housing 12 further includes an annular flange 36 extending therefrom. The annular flange 36 provides axial support for the ring gear 14 when the ring gear 14 is mounted onto the differential housing 12 .

[0026] A clamp 38 secures the ring gear 14 to the differential housing 12 . The clamp 38 extends annularly around the differential housing 12 and includes an annular channel formed within an inner surface of the clamp 38 . The annular channel defines a pocket 40 that receives both the flanges 32 , 36 of the differential housing 12 and the ring gear 14 therein. In the preferred embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5 , the clamp 38 comprises a pair of matched halves, a first half 42 and a second half 44 . When the first and second halves 42 , 44 are fastened to each other, the flanges 32 , 36 are captively retained within the pocket 40 .

[0027] The first and second halves 42 , 44 can be made from sheet metal, wherein the sheet metal is formed into a channel to define the pocket 40 . The first and second halves 42 , 44 could also be made through a casting or powder metal process, wherein the two halves 42 , 44 are made in a single die with a small amount of material connecting the two halves 42 , 44 . After removal from the die, the two halves 42 , 44 are broken apart and the flash is removed. The advantage of this process would be minimized variability in the manufacturing process to insure that the two halves 42 , 44 match properly.

[0028] In a first preferred embodiment, shown in FIG. 4 , the first and second halves 42 , 44 are seen as half circles, with each half circle including a pair of tabs 46 extending radially outward from the ends. The tabs 46 of the second half 44 include threaded holes 48 and the tabs 46 of the first half 42 include smooth holes 50 . Bolts 52 , extended through the smooth holes 50 , thread into the threaded holes 48 to secure the first and second halves 42 , 44 together.

[0029] The ring gear 14 is supported on the differential housing 12 by the flange 32 . After the ring gear 14 is placed to the differential housing 12 , the two halves 42 , 44 of the clamp are placed such that the flanges 32 , 36 are received within the pocket 40 . The bolts 52 are then inserted through the smooth holes 50 and engaged with the threaded holes 48 to secure the first and second halves 42 , 44 to one another. Alternatively, both holes 48 and 50 may be smooth with the threaded end of the bolt 52 extending beyond hole 48 and engaged by a nut. With the two halves 42 , 44 of the clamp 38 secured to one another, the flanges 32 , 36 are trapped within the pocket 40 , thereby securing the ring gear 14 to the differential housing 12 .

[0030] As readily seen in FIG. 3 , the annular flange 32 of the ring gear 14 is provided with an angled surface 54 and the annular flange 36 of the differential housing 12 is provided with an angled surface 56 . The angled surfaces 54 , 56 face away from one another when the ring gear 14 is placed to the differential housing 12 . Correspondingly, the pocket 40 of the clamp 38 includes opposing angled sides 58 . When the clamp 38 engages the flanges 32 , 36 the angled surfaces 54 , 56 engage the angled sides 58 such that the clamp 38 provides an axial clamping force to the flanges 32 , 36 .

[0031] In a second preferred embodiment, one of the tabs 46 of the second half 44 includes a threaded hole 48 and the other tab 46 of the second half 44 is formed as an appendage 60 . On the first half 42 , one of the tabs 46 includes a smooth hole 50 and the other tab 46 includes an aperture 62 adapted to engage the appendage 60 , as shown in FIG. 5 .

[0032] As the ring gear 14 is placed onto the differential housing 12 , the appendage 60 of the second half 44 is engaged with the aperture 62 of the first half 42 . The clamp 38 is then placed to the differential housing 12 with the first and second flanges 32 , 36 positioned within the pocket 40 . A bolt 52 is then placed through the smooth hole 50 and engages the threaded hole 48 to secure the first and second halves 42 , 44 to one another. Alternatively, hole 48 may be smooth and the bolt 52 engaged and retained by a nut. Once the two halves 42 , 44 of the clamp 38 are secured to one another, the flanges 32 , 36 are trapped within the pocket 40 , thereby securing the ring gear 14 to the differential housing 12 .

[0033] In a third preferred embodiment, the clamp 38 can comprise a single piece of formed sheet metal. A single piece clamp 54 would comprise a substantially circular ring with a break formed therein defining opposing first and second ends 56 , 58 thereof. The sheet metal is ductile such that the first and second ends 56 , 58 can be pulled apart to open up the single piece clamp 54 and allow the single piece clamp 54 to be placed over the flanges 32 , 36 of the ring gear 14 and the differential housing 12 .

[0034] Each of the ends 56 , 58 include features to allow the ends to be connected. As shown in FIG. 6 , each of the ends 56 , 58 of the single piece clamp 54 includes a tab 60 , 62 extending radially outward therefrom. The tab 60 of the first end 56 includes a threaded hole 64 , and the tab 62 of the second end 58 includes a smooth hole 66 . A bolt 68 , extends through the smooth hole 66 , and threads into the threaded hole 64 to secure the first and second ends 56 , 58 together.

[0035] It can be appreciated that the tabs 46 of the two halves 42 , 44 of the first and second preferred embodiments, and the ends 56 , 58 of the third preferred embodiment can be attached by other known methods such as riveting, welding, swaging a pin head, upsetting of a bolt head, or any other suitable method.

[0036] The foregoing discussion discloses and describes two preferred embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion, and from the accompanying drawings and claims, that changes and modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the true spirit and fair scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology which has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation.