Slip sensitive differential gearing

Claim 1

In a limited slip differential mechanism for a motor vehicle, said differential mechanism comprising a rotatable housing, means for drivingly connecting said rotatable housing to a vehicle drive shaft, a differential gearing assembly located in said housing, said differential gearing assembly including at least two planetary pinions located opposite each other within said rotatable housing and operatively connected thereto, two side gears located within said rotating housing in mesh with said planetary pinions, said side gears having their axis of rotation corresponding to the axis of rotation of said housing and perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said planetary pinions, two rotatable output shafts having one end thereof connected to each of said two side gears and their other ends drivingly connected to vehicle drive wheels, a clutch assembly slidably mounted along a common axis along said output shafts and located between each side gear and the end of said rotatable housing adjacent thereto, said clutch assembly comprising, a plurality of outer clutch plates and inner clutch plates, said outer and inner clutch plates arranged in an alternating manner between said end wall of said rotatable housing and said side gear, said outer clutch plates having a plurality of radially outwardly extending projections engaging respective grooves in the interior of said rotatable housing, said inner clutch plates having a splined connection with the exterior surface of an axially extending portion of said side gears, wherein the improvement comprises, a plurality of openings in each end of said rotatable housing corresponding to the grooves therein, adjustable clamping means connected to said clutch assembly independently of said rotatable housing and located at each opening in the ends of said rotatable housing for clamping the clutch plates of each clutch assembly together, and biasing means positioned between said clamping means and said clutch plates independent of said rotatable housing for placing said cLutch plates under predetermined axial compression, whereby said adjustable clamping means may be adjusted through the openings in the ends of said rotatable housing for changing the preload axial pressure on said clutch plates without requiring disassembly of said differential mechanism.