Differential

Claim 1

In a differential with inner friction forces being variable as a function of the ratio of rotational speeds of the driven axle shafts, adapted especially for axles of vehicles, comprising multiple-disc friction clutch, having an outer hub, constituting a part of the differential housing, connected with an inner hub over inner friction discs and outer friction discs outside of which axially arranged helical compression springs are mounted, and a roller-type clutch means on the inside of the inner hub including a polygonal sleeve mounted non-rotatively on one axle shaft in such way that between its walls and the inner cylindrical surface of the inner hub a plurality of rollers are disposed with a small radial clearance, said rollers being sustained by a cage the improvements comprising a spring-loaded centering device for the roller clutch means mounted in a flexible way in a position symmetrical in relation to the walls of the polygonal sleeve, said cage having a generally conically shaped friction portion with a radial flange, said portion being engageable in a conical recess in the differential housing, and the radial flange of the cage being adapted to contact an annular pressure plate, said pressure plate being axially urged toward and away from said flange by means of a plurality of axially arranged tappets disposed uniformly around the axle shaft, said tappets having cam follower means on the other ends thereof which contact a crown-shaped annular cam mounted non-rotatively in relation to the axle housing, the front face of said cam being provided with recesses disposed uniformly around the periphery thereof in a number equal to the number of the tappets, the tappets being connected to a thrust disc, said disc and the housing being axially connected by tension springs.