Importance

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Abstract

A wheel hub assembly for heavy-duty vehicles comprises a hollow body containing a liquid lubricant having a first compartment housing wheel drive reduction gear and a second compartment adjacent the first compartment housing a wheel brake mechanism. A portion of the sidewall of the hollow body annularly surrounds one of the compartments (preferably the second) and comprises at least one pair of longitudinally extending, oppositely sloping generally oblique grooves for circulating the lubricant between the compartments. The grooves of each pair are preferably symmetrical. Grooves sloping in a first direction are arranged along a first semi-circumferential zone and the grooves sloping in the opposite direction are arranged in a second semi-circumferential zone. In the illustrated embodiment and annular interior wall separates the compartments and comprises a planetary pinion carrier and has channels in alignment with the oblique grooves for carrying liquid between the oblique grooves and the first compartment. The depth of the grooves may vary in accordance with the circumferential position thereof.

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First Claim