GB2506507A - Vehicle axle housing cover having at least two parts one formed with a lubricant guide - Google Patents

Abstract

A housing cover (20, fig 6) for an axle housing (62, fig 6) of a vehicle, the housing cover comprising at least two housing elements 24, 26 connected to one another, wherein at least one lubricant guiding element 30 for catching and/or guiding a lubricant, at least a portion 34 of the guiding element 30 is formed in one piece with one of the housing elements 24, 26. The guiding element 30 may form a collecting chamber (44, fig 4 & 6) for at least partially collecting lubricant. The collecting chamber (44, fig 4 & 6) may have at least one lubricant opening 46, preferably in cooperation with a guiding section (38, fig 6). The housing elements 24, 26 may be stamped from sheet metal and may be welded together.

Description

Housing Cover for an Axle Housing of a Vehicle The invention relates to a housing cover for an axle housing of a vehicle.

Vehicles having differential gear assemblies are well-known from the general prior art.

Usually, such a differential gear assembly is arranged in a differential carrier which bounds at least one free space for receiving the differential gear assembly. This means that the differential gear assembly is arranged in the free space at least partially, wherein the differential gear assembly is rotatable about a rotation axis in relation to the differential carrier. The differential gear comprises a ring gear which can be driven by a drive gear, wherein the ring gear and the drive gear are arranged in the receiving space.

The vehicle comprises an axle housing having at least three components connected to one another. A first one of said components is a bottom half-shell, a second one of said components is a top half-shell and the third component is housing cover which is also referred to as "bowl cover" or "housing bowl cover". In the assembled state the differential carrier is connected to the half-shells so that the differential carrier and the respective components each bound a free space partially in which the differential gear assembly is arranged. Usually, the bowl cover has at least one chamber for collecting lubricant, for example, in the form of oil. The collected lubricant serves for lubricating and/or cooling the differential gear assembly, in particular, bearings inside the axle housing. The bearings can be designed as tapered roller bearing via which the differential gear assembly is rotatably mounted on the differential carrier. In the assembled state a third of the axle housing is filled with lubricant.

The bowl cover also has at least one guiding element for catching and/or guiding the lubricant. During the operation of the vehicle the guiding element, for example, can collect lubricant due to lubricant splashing caused by the ring gear rotation. The collected lubricant can be fed into the bearings through carrier leg caps which have at least one hole.

Usually, said components and the guiding element are separately manufactured parts which are connected to one another. This leads to a high number of parts of the housing as well as high manufacturing costs for the housing.

US 3,365,984 shows a differential unit arranged in a housing which is made out of identical half sections. The half sections are die cast sections secured together to form the housing.

Moreover, a differential gear is known from DE 10 2006 062 200 B4, the differential gear comprising a differential cage and a plurality of compensating gears which are rotatably mounted on the differential cage, the compensating gears and the differential cage can rotate together about a rotation axis.

DE 27 24 468 Al and DE 10 2011 101 166 Al also show a differential gear for a vehicle.

Furthermore, from DE 10 2008 006 627 Al a differential cage for a differential gear of a vehicle is known.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a housing cover for an axle housing of a vehicle, wherein the housing cover can be manufactured in a particularly cost-efficient and time-efficient way.

This object is solved by a housing cover for an axle housing having the features of patent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments with expedient and non-trivial developments of the invention are indicated in the other patent claims.

In order to provide a housing cover for an axle housing, which housing cover can be manufactured in a particularly time-efficient and cost-efficient way, according to the present invention the housing cover comprises at least two housing elements connected to one another and at least one guiding element for catching and/or guiding a lubricant. At least a portion of the guiding element is formed in one piece with one of the housing elements Since the guiding element is formed in one piece with one of the housing elements at least partly, said portion of the guiding element and the housing element can be manufactured simultaneously. Moreover, time-consuming assembling processes can be avoided. Furthermore, by integrating the guiding element into the housing element, the number of parts of the housing cover can be reduced thereby reducing the number of manufacturing steps and the manufacturing costs.

Further advantages, features, and details of the present invention derive from the following description of preferred embodiments as well as from the drawing. The features and feature combinations previously mentioned in the description as well as the features and feature combinations mentioned in the following description of the figures and/or shown in the figures alone can be employed not only in the respective indicated combination but also in any other combination or taken alone without leaving the scope of the invention.

The drawing shows in: Fig. 1 a schematic perspective view of a differential gear assembly which can be arranged in a free space bounded by an axle housing of a vehicle, Fig. 2 a schematic exploded view of a housing cover for the axle housing; Fig. 3 a schematic back view of the housing cover; Fig. 4 a schematic lateral sectional view of a bottom part of the housing cover along a cut line A-A shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 5 part of a schematic lateral sectional view of the bottom part; Fig. 6 a schematic front view of the bottom part; Fig. 7 a schematic top view of the bottom part; and Fig. 8 a schematic exploded view of an axle of the vehicle, the axle comprising the differential gear assembly and the axle housing.

In the figures the same elements or elements having the same function are indicated with the same reference sign.

Fig. 1 shows a differential gear assembly 10 for a vehicle. The differential gear assembly is an axle gear for, for example, an axle in the form of a rear axle 13 of the vehicle.

The rear axle 13 is shown in Fig. 8. The differential gear assembly 10 comprises a differential case 12 and a ring gear 14 which is attached to the differential case 12. The differential gear assembly 10 also comprises compensating gears and side gears which are arranged within the differential case 12, the compensating gears and the side gears being rotatably mounted on the differential case 12 about respective rotation axes. The side gears are attached to axle shafts 16 respectively, the axle shafts 16 being rotatable about a rotation axis.

The differential gear assembly 10 is rotatably mounted on a differential carrier 18 about the rotation axis via bearings in the form of two tapered roller bearings and carrier leg caps 56, 58 which can also rotate about the rotation axis. This means that the differential case 12, the ring gear 14, the side gears and the compensating gears can rotate together about the rotation axis of the axle shafts 16. The vehicle also has a drive gear not shown in Fig. 1, the drive gear meshing with the ring gear 14. Thereby, the ring gear 14 and, thus, the differential gear assembly 10 can be driven by the drive gear about the rotation axis of the axle shafts 16. The differential carrier 18 is generally manufactured by a casting process.

In order to protect the differential gear assembly 10 and the drive gear from dirt, the vehicle, in particular, the rear axle 13 comprises an axle housing 62 for the differential gear assembly 10. The axle housing 62 comprises a top half-shell 64, a bottom half-shell 66 and a housing cover 20 which is also referred to as "bowl cover". The axle housing 62 bounds a free space 22 in the assembled state of the axle housing 62 at least partially.

The differential gear assembly 10 can be arranged in the free space 22. This means that the free space 22 serves for receiving the differential gear assembly 10. Moreover, the drive gear is arranged in the free space 22. The differential carrier 18 and the half-shells 64, 66 each bound the free space 22 partially in the assembled state of the rear axle 13.

As can be seen from an overall view, the half-shells 64, 66 and the housing cover 20 are separately manufactured components which are connected to one another in the assembled state of the axle housing 62 by means of welding.

As can be seen from Figs. 2 and 3, the housing cover 20 is designed as a cover shell and comprises a first housing element in the form of a top part which is referred to as top half-bowl 24". The housing cover 20 also comprises a second a second housing element in the form of a bottom part which is referred to as "bottom half-bowl 26". The half-bowls 24, 26 are connected to one another, wherein the housing elements are welded together.

In other words, the housing cover 20 is composed by the two housing elements (half-bowls 24, 26). This means that the half-bowl 24 and the half-bowl 26 are separately manufactured components which are connected to one another. In Fig. 3 a weld seam 28 along which the housing elements are welded together is illustrated. The axle housing 62, in particular, the half-shells 64, 66, and the half-bowls 24, 26 are made out of sheet metal by stamping.

As can be seen in Fig. 2, the axle housing 62 comprises two guiding elements 30 for collecting and/or guiding a lubricant in the form of oil for lubricating the bearings of the differential gear assembly 10, the guiding elements 30 being arranged in the free space 22. The guiding elements 30 are formed at least partly in one piece with the bottom half-bowl 26. In other words, the guiding elements 30 are integrated at least partly into the bottom half-bowl 26. As can be seen from Fig. 2 the guiding elements 30 protrude from an inner surface 32 of the housing cover 20, in particular, the bottom half-bowl 26, the inner surface 32 bounding the receiving space 22 partly.

The respective guiding element 30 has a first portion 34 which is formed in one piece with the bottom half-bowl 26. The first portion 34 comprises two walls 36, 38 which extend perpendicular or angular in relation to each other. The top half-bowl 24 has second portions 40 having a third wall 42 respectively. The respective second portion 40 is formed in one piece with the top half-bowl 24, wherein the respective second portion 40 can be a respective guiding element for the bottom half-bowl 26 or a respective portion for the respective guiding element 30. Thus, the first portion 34 is formed in one piece with the bottom half-bowl 26 being a bottom housing element, wherein the second portion 40 is formed in one piece with the top half-bowl 24 being a top housing element of the housing cover 20, wherein the half-bowls 24, 26 can be assembled and welded together due to their profile, thereby composing the respective guiding element 30.

As can be seen from Figs. 4 to 7 the walls 36, 38, 42 bound a respective collecting chamber 44 for collecting oil. The respective first wall 36 has a through opening 46 for the oil collected in the respective collecting chamber 44. This means that the oil collected in the collecting chamber 44 can flow out of the collecting chamber 44 through the respective through opening 46.

The respective first portion 34 comprises a guiding section 48 for guiding the oil flowing through the through opening 46, wherein the respective guiding section 48 is designed in the form of a hollow cylinder having a hollow cross section. The guiding sections 48 mate with respective cylinder profiles of the leg caps 56, 58 which each have an oil lube hole 68 through which the oil can flow and reach the bearings. Moreover, bolts 60 can be seen in Fig. 1.

Alternatively or additionally, other guiding elements such as but not limited to oil channels can be integrated into one of the housing elements at least partly. Thereby, the number of parts and, thus, the manufacturing costs of the axle housing 62 can be kept particularly low. Since the guiding elements 30 are integrated into the housing cover 20, the number of fabrication steps for manufacturing the housing can be reduced. Moreover, the housing elements can be welded together in one step so that the housing cover 20 can be manufactured in a particularly time-efficient and cost-efficient way.

As can be seen from Figs. 4 and 5, the bottom half-bowl 26 has a first wall area 50 and a second wall area 52 subsequent to the first wall area 50. As can be seen from Fig. 5, there is an offset 0 between the wall areas 50, 52 and a transitional area 54 between the wall area 50 and the wall area 52, the transitional area 54 being curved. The wall area 52 acts as an oil collecting unit during the operation of the vehicle. The wall area 52 can form a flange which helps weld the bottom half-bowl 26 to the top half-bowl 24 or vice versa.

List of reference signs differential gear assembly 12 differential case 13 rear axle 14 ring gear 16 axle shaft 18 differential carrier housing cover 22 free space 24 top half-bowl 26 bottom half-bowl 28 weld seam guiding element 32 inner surface 34 first portion 36 first wall 38 second wall second portion 42 third wall 44 collecting chamber 46 through opening 46 guiding section first wall area 52 second wall area 54 transitional area 56 leg cap 58 leg cap bolts 62 axle housing 64 top half-shell 66 bottom half-shell 68 oil lube hole C offset

Claims (8)

1. Claims A housing cover (20) for an axle housing (62) of a vehicle, the housing cover (20) comprising: -at least two housing elements (24, 26) connected to one another, -at least one guiding element (30) for catching and/or guiding a lubricant, wherein at least a portion (34) of the guiding element (30) is formed in one piece with one of the housing elements (24, 26).
2. 2. The housing cover (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that a first portion (34) of the guiding element (30) is formed in one piece with a first one of the housing elements (24, 26) and a second portion (40) of the guiding element (30) is formed in one piece with the second housing element (26), wherein the housing elements (24, 26) are connected to one another thereby composing the guiding element (30).
3. 3. The housing cover (20) according to claim 2, characterized in that the first portion (34) comprises a first wall (36) of the guiding element (30) and the second portion (40) comprises a second wall (42) of the guiding element (30), the walls (36, 42) bounding a collecting chamber (44) for collecting the lubricant at least partly.
4. 4. The housing cover (20) according to claim 3, characterized in that
5. 5. the first wall (36) has at least one through opening (46) for the lubricant collected in the collecting chamber (44).
6. 6. The housing cover (20) according to claim 4, characterized in that the first portion (34) comprises a guiding section (38) for guiding the lubricant flowing through the through opening (46), the guiding section (38) protruding from the first wall (36) and having a hollow cross section which overlaps the through opening (46).
7. 7. The housing cover (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing elements (24, 26) are welded together.
8. 8. The housing cover (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing elements (24, 26) are made out of sheet metal by stamping.