U.S. patent application number 11/139533 was filed with the patent office on 2005-11-03 for gear housing vent.
Invention is credited to Atkins, Mark R., Hamm, Benjamin R., Maloney, Thomas P., Ramajois, Raghu M..
Application Number | 20050241881 11/139533 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34654339 |
Filed Date | 2005-11-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050241881 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ramajois, Raghu M. ; et
al. |
November 3, 2005 |
Gear housing vent
Abstract
A vent assembly or breathing tube adapted to relieve pressure in
an axle assembly or other gear housing. A vent tube may be disposed
within a casing and terminates at an oblique or circular open end
in a skirt portion of the tube. At least one hole may extend
through the side of the casing to allow pressurized gases within
the housing to escape through the vent tube via the oblique
opening. The casing has a hole disposed at the bottom surface to
allow the return of any lubricant which might enter the casing
through the side hole. The side hole is preferably located on a
side opposite the lubricant flow direction. The neck portion may be
integrally formed with the top portion and skirt.
Inventors: |
Ramajois, Raghu M.; (Fort
Wayne, IN) ; Atkins, Mark R.; (Maumee, OH) ;
Maloney, Thomas P.; (Delta, OH) ; Hamm, Benjamin
R.; (Fort Wayne, IN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LINIAK, BERENATO & WHITE
Suite 240
6550 Rock Spring Drive
Bethesda
MD
20817
US
|
Family ID: |
34654339 |
Appl. No.: |
11/139533 |
Filed: |
May 31, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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11139533 |
May 31, 2005 |
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10766917 |
Jan 30, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
184/6.23 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 74/2186 20150115;
F16H 57/027 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
184/006.23 |
International
Class: |
F01M 011/08 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A vent assembly for a gear housing containing a lubricating
fluid and accommodating a gear mechanism, said vent assembly
comprising: a hollow casing including a continuous side wall having
at least one hole there through, the hollow casing having an
opening formed in a lower portion thereof; and a vent tube
extending within said hollow casing so as to form a cavity between
an inner peripheral surface of said casing and an outer peripheral
surface of said vent tube, said vent tube having a first open end
disposed within said hollow casing and a second end extending
outside said casing in communication with an external
environment.
2. The vent assembly according to claim 1, wherein said vent tube
and said hollow casing are substantially cylindrical and said
cavity is between said casing and tube is substantially
annular.
3. The vent assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first open
end of said vent tube is beveled with respect to a length thereof
and defining a long side and a short side along a longitudinal
length of said vent, said at least one hole through said sidewall
of said casing being located on a longitudinal first side portion
of said casing adjacent said long side of said vent tube.
4. The vent according to claim 3, wherein said at least one hole
through said sidewall includes two holes longitudinally spaced
apart and longitudinally coextensive along said first side portion
of said casing.
5. The vent assembly according to claim 1, wherein said vent rube
is non-truncated such that said first open end is obliquely formed
and thereby defines a long side and a short side of said vent tube
within said casing, said at least one hole through said sidewall of
said casing being located on a longitudinal first side portion of
said casing adjacent said long side of said vent tube.
6. The vent assembly according to claim 1, wherein said hollow
casing includes a bottom wall substantially closing said hollow
casing, said opening defined by a hole extending through said
bottom wall to facilitate return of entrained lubricant to said
gear housing.
7. A gear housing for containing a gear assembly and lubricating
fluid, said gear housing having a vent tube secured to and
extending within the housing, said vent tube comprising: a top
portion secured adjacent the housing; a skirt extending into the
housing and having a continuous side wall extending
circumferentially at least 180 degrees; and a vent opening passing
through said skirt, said vent opening being adjacent the top
portion and opposite the side wall.
8. The gear housing according to claim 7, wherein said skirt is
formed as an annular body with a circular opening opposite said top
portion.
9. The gear housing according to claim 7, wherein said top portion
is integrally formed with an external neck portion projecting from
said top end wall portion.
10. The gear housing according to claim 9, wherein said top end
wall portion, said skirt and said external neck portion are
integrally formed as a homogenous body.
11. A gear housing for containing a gear assembly and lubricating
fluid, said gear housing having a vent tube secured to and
extending within the housing, said vent tube comprising: a top
portion secured adjacent the housing; a skirt extending into the
housing, said skirt being obliquely formed and defines a long side
and a short side of said vent tube within said casing; wherein said
long side of said vent tube is upstream of lubricant flow so that
an oblique opening formed by said skirt faces downstream of said
lubricant flow to deflect lubricant away from said oblique
opening.
12. The gear housing according to claim 11, wherein said top end
wall portion is integrally formed with an external neck portion
projecting from said top end wall portion.
13. The gear housing according to claim 12, wherein said top end
wall portion, said skirt and said external neck portion are
integrally formed as a homogenous body.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention is directed to a vent and more
particularly to a vent for a gear housing such as in a final
reduction gear assembly.
[0003] 2. Discussion of the Related Art
[0004] Gear housings such as final reduction gears in an automobile
experience a problem in that the internal pressure of the casing is
increased as a result of the temperature rise caused by the
operation of mechanisms within the housing. A breather device is
often employed to vent the pressurized gas within the housing while
preventing the entry of foreign matter into the oil casing. In a
final gear case, the oil within the case is stirred vigorously,
particularly when the gears are rotating at high speeds, so that
the rate of recirculation of the oil, as well as the splashing of
the oil, is increased which raises the level of the oil often
leading to leakage of the lubricant. Some prior art devices have
attempted to incorporate deflectors adjacent conventional vents.
However such devices are not sufficiently effective in preventing
the leakage of oil through the vent in such instances of raised oil
levels and other turbulent conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention is directed to a vent assembly or
breathing tube adapted to relieve pressure in an axle assembly or
other gear housing. A vent tube may be disposed within a casing and
terminates at an oblique or circular open end in a skirt portion of
the tube. At least one hole may extend through the side of the
casing to allow pressurized gases within the housing to escape
through the vent tube via the oblique opening. The casing has a
hole disposed on a substantially closed bottom surface to allow the
return of any lubricant which might enter the casing through the
side hole. The side hole may be provided in the skirt when no
casing is used. The side hole is preferably located on a side
opposite the lubricant flow direction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vent tube according to the
present invention.
[0007] FIG. 2 is a side view of the vent of FIG. 1 according to the
present invention.
[0008] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the vent tube taken along line
3-3 of FIG. 2.
[0009] FIG. 4 is a side view of the vent of installed on an axle
housing according to the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 5 is a top view of the vent and housing of FIG. 4.
[0011] FIG. 6 is a cutaway view of a portion of the axle housing of
FIGS. 4-5.
[0012] FIG. 7 is a side view of the vent of FIG. 1 according to an
alternate embodiment of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the vent tube taken along line
8-8 of FIG. 7.
[0014] FIG. 9 is a top view of an alternate vent design.
[0015] FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the vent shown in FIG. 9
taken along section line X-X of FIG. 9.
[0016] FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the vent shown in FIG. 9
taken along section line XI-XI of FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0017] The present invention is directed to a vent or breathing
tube for a gear housing such as an axle assembly. Referring to FIG.
1, the vent 1 includes a vent tube 3 extending through a casing 5
to form a skirt portion terminating at a non-truncated oblique
first open end 7. The vent tube 3 extends upward out of the casing
5, turns orthogonally, and then extends to a second open end 7. A
nipple or widened portion 9 (retention member) is formed on the
second opened end 7 to facilitate retention of an extension member
or breather hose. The casing 5 has a substantially closed bottom
wall 11 with a drain hole 13 extending there through to facilitate
the return or lubricant which may make its way into the casing 5. A
pair of vent holes 15 is provided along through a side wall surface
of the vent tube 5 along a longitudinal length thereof to permit
pressurized gases within a gear housing to enter the casing 5 and
exit through the vent tube 3.
[0018] Referring to FIG. 3, the non-truncated beveled open end of
the vent tub 7 provides a long side 17 and a short side 19 of the
vent tube 5 extending within the casing 5. The holes 15 through the
sidewall of the casing 5 are preferably located proximate/adjacent
the long side 17 of the vent tube 5. The oblique or beveled open
end 7 increases the surface area of the open end 7 thus reducing
the pressure of exiting gases. Furthermore, this overall
arrangement produces a labyrinth effect thereby making it more
difficult for any lubricant which may make its way into the casing
5 to pass through the vent tube 3. Any oil/lubricant which may
enter through holes 15 would have to proceed to the opposite side
of the casing 5 in order to escape through the vent tube 3 which is
unlikely.
[0019] The casing 5 and vent tube 3 are preferably cylindrical
members, the vent tube 3 being concentrically disposed within the
casing 5 to define an annular cavity there between. The casing 5
includes a bolstered cylindrical portion 31. This cylindrical
bolstered portion 31 is disposed within a correspondingly sized
bored extending through the surface of the housing to position the
casing 5 and vent tube 3 within the inner cavity of the gear
housing. A top end wall 33 seals the casing 5 and is provided with
a wider annular surface to abut an outer surface of the housing. In
one embodiment the top end wall 33 is integrally formed with the
vent tube 5. To assembly the vent assembly, the vent tube 5 and top
end wall 33 are positioned atop the casing 5 as best can bee seen
in FIG. 3. An annular recess may be formed in the bottom portion of
the top end wall 33 in which an upper portion of the casing 5 may
be disposed. The top end wall 33 and casing 5 may be welded
together or otherwise adhered to one another to form a hermitic
seal there between.
[0020] FIGS. 4-5 depict the vent assembly 1 connected to an axle
assembly 51 containing a differential gear assembly. The gear
assembly contains conventional gearing to facilitate differential
speed rotation between a pair of output shafts 56, 58 as driven by
an input shaft 60. The details of the internal gearing will not be
further explained in detail as such assemblies are well understood
to those of ordinary skill in the art. The vent assembly 1 is
simply inserted through a bore extending through a flat shoulder
portion 53 formed in the axle housing 51 slightly axially offset
from the input shaft as shown in FIG. 5. The top end wall 33 may
then be simply secured to the flat shoulder portion 53 is a sealed
fashion such as by welding or other means known in the art. So long
as the vent assembly 1 is positively retained in a sealed fashion,
any conventional means may be employed to sealing connect the cent
assembly 1 with the housing 51.
[0021] The shoulder portion 51 may be formed as a raised surface to
define an interior cavity 55 within the housing 51 to accommodate a
lower portion of the casing 5 and vent tube opening 7 as best shown
in FIG. 6. However, it is noted that the vent tube may be sized
appropriately for retrofit installation and may be simply inserted
through a wall of a conventional gear housing where sufficient
space will accommodate the case 5 and vent tube 3. The top end wall
33 may be contoured to mate a multidimensional exterior surface of
the housing 51. Such assembly techniques are believed to be well
within the skill of one or ordinary skill in the art a no further
elaboration is necessary.
[0022] During operation of the axle assembly, the rotation of the
gearing will cause violent displacement of lubricating oil there
within. As the lubricant heats, the pressure within the housing 51
will increase. Such pressure increase is undesirably as such can
cause oil leakage through seals as well as other problems
understood in the art. The vent tube assembly 1 provides a
necessary release of pressurizes gases while retaining the oil
lubricant within the housing 51.
[0023] FIG. 9 shows a top view of an alternate vent design
according to this invention. FIGS. 10 and 11 show sectional view of
the vent shown in FIG. 9. The vent is adapted to be secured to and
extend within the housing described above, and the vent comprises a
top portion 233 secured adjacent the housing, a skirt 210 extending
into the housing and having a continuous side wall extending
circumferentially at least 180 degrees; and a vent opening 215
passing through the skirt 210, where the vent opening 215 is
adjacent the top portion 233. The neck portion 203 is integrally
formed with the top portion 233 and skirt 210, and the neck portion
203 turns 90 degrees as shown in FIGS. 9-11.
[0024] While the foregoing invention has been shown and described
with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by
those possessing skill in the art that various changes and
modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention. For example, the vent tub has been shown
secured to a clamshell axle assembly. However, it is to be
understood that the vent arrangement of the present invention may
be used with any gear housing as well as other types of axle
assemblies. For example, as shown in FIGS. 7-8, the bottom of the
casing 115 may remain open at a lower terminal end rather than the
small hole 13. An additional side hole 115 may also be provided at
the height of the upper hole 15 of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3 and
offset 90.degree. therefrom. These and other variations are
believed to be within the scope of the present invention as
detailed in claims below.
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