US-12617235-B2 - High efficiency modular carter assembled coaxially to existing holes

Abstract

An axle including a central housing, an axle arm fastened to the central housing via multiple first fasteners, and an oil baffle fixed to the central housing via at least one fastening element that is coaxial with at least one fastener from the multiple first fasteners and at least one hole from multiple pre-existing holes of the central housing.

Inventors

• Gianluca TERRASI
• Davide DEIMECHEI
• ANDREA BORTOLI
• MARCO SCOPESI
• Viviana ENEI

Assignees

• DANA ITALIA S.R.L.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20230908

Claims (20)

1. 1 . An axle comprising: a central housing; a plurality of first fasteners that fasten an axle arm to the central housing; and at least one fastening element fixing a baffle to the central housing; wherein the at least one fastening element is coaxial with at least one fastener from the plurality of first fasteners and at least one hole from a plurality of pre-existing holes of the central housing.
2. 2 . The axle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one fastening element is a screw or a bolt fastened to the baffle through a first existing hole for the at least one fastener at an interface between the axle arm and the central housing and a complementary hole of the baffle.
3. 3 . The axle of claim 2 , wherein the at least one fastening element is adjacent to an insert, and the insert is fit to the first existing hole and the complementary hole of the baffle of the fastening element.
4. 4 . The axle of claim 3 , wherein the complementary hole of the baffle is positioned on a mount of a plurality of mounts, where the plurality of mounts extends in a radial direction from a surface of the baffle.
5. 5 . The axle of claim 4 , wherein the insert comprises a head and a collar, wherein the head abuts the surface of the baffle, the head and collar are positioned adjacent to a through hole of the insert, and the collar receives the fastening element.
6. 6 . The axle of claim 5 , wherein the fastening element is adjacent to a threading of the through hole, and the fastening element is threaded through the through hole of the insert to fasten to the insert and the existing hole.
7. 7 . The axle of claim 6 , wherein the fastening element is passed through the first existing hole from a second existing hole of a plurality of second existing holes, wherein the second existing hole is adjacent to the first existing hole, wherein the one fastener from the plurality of first fasteners is fastened through the first existing hole and the second existing hole.
8. 8 . The axle of claim 6 , wherein the first existing hole comprises a first section of a first diameter and a second section of a second diameter, wherein the first diameter and second diameter are of different distances.
9. 9 . The axle of claim 8 , wherein the fastening element comprises a head and a shank, wherein the head of the fastening element abuts a shoulder of the first existing hole on an opposite side of the first existing hole from the baffle.
10. 10 . The axle of claim 1 , wherein: the fastening element is a snap fit element that is integral to the baffle; and the fastening element fastens the baffle to the central housing through a first existing hole for the at least one fastener at an interface between the axle arm and the central housing.
11. 11 . The axle of claim 10 , wherein: the fastening element physically couples to a mount of a plurality of mounts of the baffle; and the plurality of mounts extends in a radial direction from and are physically coupled to the baffle.
12. 12 . The axle of claim 11 , wherein: the fastening element comprises a body, a head, and a neck; and the body is column shaped and cylindrically shaped, and the neck is positioned between the body and head.
13. 13 . The axle of claim 12 , wherein the fastening element comprises a first prong and a second prong, and a gap between the first prong and second prong is increased in width by a first force such that the width of fastening element is increased, and the gap between the first prong and second prong is decreased in width by a second force.
14. 14 . The axle of claim 1 , wherein the baffle comprises a shield section and a rim section, and when the baffle is positioned adjacent to a gear, the shield section has a first length that is radial with respect to the gear, the rim section has a second length that is axial with respect to the gear; the rim section comprises a first wall and a second wall, wherein the second wall extends at a first angle from the first wall, the second wall extends at second angle from the rim section, and the second wall is curved, connected to, and continuous with the rim section.
15. 15 . An axle comprising: a central housing; a plurality of first fasteners fastening an axle arm to the central housing; and at least one fastening system fixing an oil baffle to the central housing, wherein the at least one fastening system is coaxial with at least one fastener from the plurality of first fasteners and at least one hole from a plurality of pre-existing holes of the central housing; wherein the fastening system comprises a second fastener and an insert and wherein the second fastener has a screw type configuration or a bolt type configuration and the insert is positioned adjacent to the second fastener.
16. 16 . The axle of claim 15 , wherein: there is a plurality of fastening systems of the one fastening system; and each of the fastening systems is concentric to at least a portion of the pre-existing holes and the first fasteners.
17. 17 . The axle of claim 15 , wherein the baffle comprises a shield section and a rim section, and when the baffle is positioned adjacent to a gear, the shield section has a first length that is radial with respect to the gear, the rim section has a second length that is axial with respect to the gear; the rim section comprises a first wall and a second wall, wherein the second wall extends at a first angle from the first wall, the second wall extends at second angle from the rim section, and the second wall is curved, connected to, and continuous with the rim section.
18. 18 . An axle comprising: a central housing; a plurality of first fasteners fastening an axle arm to the central housing; and at least one fastening system fixing an oil baffle fixed to the central housing, wherein the at least one fastening system is coaxial with at least one fastener from the plurality of first fasteners and at least one hole from a plurality of pre-existing holes of the central housing wherein the fastening system comprises a fastening element that is a second fastener; wherein the second fastener is a fastener of a snap fit configuration and comprises a snap fit element and wherein the second fastener is integral or physically coupled to the baffle.
19. 19 . The axle of claim 18 , wherein the second fastener is physically coupled to a mount that is physically coupled to the baffle, wherein the second fastener comprises a body, a neck, and a head, wherein the head is positioned between the body and the neck, and wherein the head and neck have a variable width that elastically expands or contracts when force is applied.
20. 20 . The axle of claim 19 , wherein: the second fastener comprises a first prong and a second prong separated by a gap; the first prong comprises a first portion of the head and a first portion of the neck; the second prong comprises a second portion of the head and a second portion of the neck, and a distance of the gap is variable, such that an application of force the gap expands or contracts elastically; and the baffle comprises a shield section and a rim section when the baffle is positioned adjacent to a gear, the shield section has a first length that is radial with respect to the gear, the rim section has a second length that is axial with respect to the gear; the rim section comprises a first wall and a second wall; the second wall extends at first angle from the first wall; the second wall extends at second angle from the rim section; and the second wall is curved, connected to, and continuous with the rim section.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD A modular carter for an axle assembly incorporating a first fastening system or a second fastening system. The first and second fastening system may be installed coaxially with existing fasteners and holes of the housing for the axle assembly, such that the modular carter may be mounted to a housing of the axle assembly. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY Vehicles, such as off-highway vehicles, may have axles of a driveline architecture comprising two reduction stages. There may be a first reduction stage comprising a bevel set gear ratio. There may be a second reduction stage comprising a planetary gear train. The reduction stages may be incorporated or rotationally coupled to portions of an axle assembly, such as a differential gear assembly. A first axle assembly may incorporate a first differential housing, which may be a central housing that may house a differential gear assembly. A second axle assembly may incorporate a second differential housing, which may be a central housing, that may house a differential gear assembly. The differential gear assemblies of the first and/or second differential housings may comprise the bevel gear ratio. The differential gear assemblies of the first and/or second differential housings may comprise the planetary gear train. The first and second axle assemblies may incorporate axle half shaft housing that may be fastened to their respective first and second differential housings. At least one of the housings for an axle half shaft may be fastened to the first differential housing via fasteners and complementary holes of the first differential housing and the axle half shaft housing. Likewise, at least one of the housings for an axle half shaft may be fastened to the second differential housing via fasteners and complementary holes of the first differential housing and the axle half shaft housing. There the differential housings may comprise a plurality of first complementary holes and the axle half shaft housings may incorporate a plurality of second complementary holes for the fasteners. Power losses may be increasingly important to reduce in an off-highway vehicle, especially as fuel/energy efficiency becomes more prioritized. Splashing or churning of a fluid, such as lubricant, that may fill or partially fill the volumes of the axle assembly housing may cause power losses that reduce efficiency. The fluid may be splashed or churned via rotational elements, such as gears or shafts, housed in the axle housing. Lubricants used as fluid may include oil. To minimize or mitigate the splashing and churning of fluid, baffles, such as carters, may be positioned about portions of a rotational element. One such baffle may be a carter positioned about a portion of a crown gear. A bevel set of gears may comprise the crown gear. The differential may comprise the bevel set of gears, and the bevel set of gears may be housed in the differential housing. The bevel set of gears may distribute rotational energy to the half shafts housed in the axle assembly. The carter positioned about the crown gear, may prevent splashing or churning losses from fluid thrown from or perturbed by the rotation of the crown gear. However, a baffle for a crown gear may be installed using specialized fasteners. The fasteners for the baffle may only be mounted to the housing after machining or other alterations are made to pre-existing housing. For example, mounts may be installed on the inner surfaces of the housing about the crown gear. The mounts may be compatible with the fasteners of the baffle. The mounts may be joined or physically coupled to the inner surfaces of the housing. Installing the mounts may increase the manufacturing time, as the shapes of the mounts are complex and are to be assembled with precision. Additionally, the mounts may use specific tools for creating the shape of the mounts and installing the mounts. The internal shape of housing may increase in complexity with the mounts. The mounts may disrupt the flow of fluid. Likewise, there may be more points of degradation and the mounts may be more prone to degradation compared to other features of the housing. If mounts are not use, additional holes complementary to the fasteners of the baffle may alternatively be machined through or created from the housing. However, creating holes from the material of the housing may decrease the structural strength of the housing. Likewise, the holes of the housing may degrade the housing. The inventors herein have recognized these and other issues with such systems and have come up with a way to at least partially solve them. As developed in one example, is an axle comprising: a central housing; an axle arm fastened to the central housing via a plurality of first fasteners; and an oil baffle fixed to the central housing via at least one fastening element that is coaxial with at least one fastener from the plurality of first fasteners and at least one hole from a plurality of pre-existing holes