ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 24 -- United States Patent no. 12,584,550, issued on March 24, was assigned to GKN Automotive Ltd. (Birmingham, Great Britain).
"Differential with disconnect and locking mechanisms" was invented by Paul F. Reichert (Rochester Hills, Mich.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A drivetrain device includes a first housing, a second housing, differential gears coupled to the second housing, and a clutch. The clutch has a first member that is coupled to the second housing, a second member that is coupled to the first side gear, and a third member that is coupled to the first housing. The third member is movable relative to both the first member and the second member so that the cl...