Positive clutch differential

Claim 1

In a differential assembly for rotatably driving a pair of axially aligned axle-like shafts and having a housing within which adjacent end portions of the two shafts extend, with said housing being rotatable about an axis aligned with the axes of said shafts, an improved means arranged within the housing for releasably interconnecting the shaft ends to the housing for thereby rotating the shafts, comprising: a center driving ring axially aligned with and connected to the housing for rotation therewith; a pair of annular pressure rings, each axially aligned with said arranged adjacent one end of the center driving ring, with the pressure rings each being axially movable a short distance towards and away from the center driving ring, said pressure rings and center driving ring having adjacent facing portions; interengaging, generally v-shaped, wedge-like teeth integrally formed on the adjacent facing portions of the center driving ring and each of the pressure rings, with said adjacent interengaging wedge-like teeth being loosely meshed so that rotation of the center driving ring causes the pressure ring teeth to engage with and wedge axially outwardly of the center driving ring teeth, but with rotation of either of the pressure rings at a speed in excess of the center ring speed, resulting in the pressure ring teeth gapping away from contact with their respective adjacent center driving ring teeth, so that the wedging action is released, wherein the pressure ring may move axially in a direction towards the center driving ring; a stop ring extending within and being coaxial with the center driving ring and through an axially aligned opening formed in each of the annular pressure rings, said stop ring having gear-like teeth formed upon its opposite outer peripheral edge portions, and meshing with corresponding inner gear-like teeth formed on the periphery edge portion defining the opening formed in each adjacent pressure ring, with said stop ring and inner pressure ring teeth being loosely interfitted for limited relative rotational movement of the stop ring and each pressure ring, before engagement of their respective teeth; and with the spacing between adjacent inner pressure ring teeth and stop ring teeth being formed so that such adjacent teeth will engage when the center ring wedge-like teeth and adjacent pressure ring wedge-like teeth are gapped apart to thereby roughly center the gapped apart teeth from each other and prevent the opposite tooth surfaces of the gapped apart teeth from engaging each other; a relasable clutch means for inter-engaging each pressure ring with its respective adjacent axle end when the respective pressure ring is wedged in a direction outwardly of the center pressure ring during engagement of the respective teeth and for releasing the pressure ring from its adjacent axle end when the respective teeth are gapped apart; a spring extending between and pressing apart the two pressure rings for resiliently urging the pressure rings into engagement with their respective clutch means; whereby normal rotation of the center driving ring, with the housing, rotates both pressure rings and the axle shafts through the respective clutch means, but during any over-speed of either axle, relative to the housing rotation, the meshing wedge-like teeth of its respective pressure ring gaps relative to the corresponding wedge-like teeth of the center driving ring so that the pressure ring moves axially towards the center driving ring for thereby releasing its clutch connection to its axle so that its axle is free to rotate independently of the housing.