Differential mechanism

Claim 1

In a differential mechanism including a rotatable casing, a pair of output members rotatably received in said casing and adapted to be driven thereby, a gear train comprising intermeshing gears rotatably carried in said casing and interconnecting said output members and said casing, said gear train also comprising a pinion shaft fixedly carried in said housing, the improvement comprising: an output member retaining device in said casing, said device comprising a pair of parallel flat plates and a resilient center plate joining a corresponding side of each said parallel plate, said resilient center plate being curved in a generally omega-shaped configuration to form an unclosed generally cylindrical portion between said parallel plates, said device being located in said casing with said cylindrical portion surrounding said pinion shaft, said cylindrical portion having at least one opening through the wall thereof whereby said output members may be biased against said pinion shaft, each of said parallel plates having a slot extending inward from the side thereof opposite said resilient center plate, said slots being adapted to engage said output members, said resilient center plate being extended to bias said output members inward against said pinion shaft and thus positively retain said output members within said casing and limit lateral movement of said output members.