Automatic hub for four wheel drive vehicles and the like

Claim 1

In an automatic hub of the type described for a vehicle, the hub including an inner generally annular clutch member adapted for driven rotation by an optionally driven axle of the vehicle carried in an adjacent non-rotating portion of the vehicle''s suspension and an outer generally annular clutch member concentric with the inner clutch member and adapted for attachment to a wheel of the vehicle, the outer clutch member having an inner cylindrical clutching surface formed integrally therewith concentric with the two clutch members and spacedly encompassing the periphery of an outer clutching surface formed integrally with the inner clutch member, a plurality of clutch means between the inner and outer clutching surfaces spaced peripherally about the outer clutching surface, means biasing the clutch means into engagement with the outer clutching surface but out of engagement with the inner clutching surface whereby the clutch means are driven about the axis of the inner clutch member only during driven rotation of the inner clutch member by the axle, brake means for the clutch means effective to restrain rotation of the clutch means relative to the inner clutch member upon driven rotation of the inner clutch member by the axle, the outer clutching surface having a plurality of portions formed integrally therewith, said portions and the brake means together being effective to urge the clutch means radially outwards against the biasing means into engagement with the inner clutching surface and to maintain said engagement upon and throughout driven rotation of the inner clutch member by the axle at a rotational speed greater than that of the outer member, the improvement in which the brake means comprises a brake member having a relatively extensive axially facing annular friction surface, the brake member being adapted to be operatively associated with the non-rotating portion of the vehicle''s suspension so as to be restrained against rotation relative to the inner clutch member, the clutch means having a relatively extensive axially facing braking surface in continuous engagement with the friction surface of the brake member, and means resiliently urging the braking and friction surfaces into engagement with each other.