ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 23 -- United States Patent no. 12,422,032, issued on Sept. 23, was assigned to Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG (Herzogenaurach, Germany).
"Electronic differential disconnect clutch" was invented by Brian Lee (Charlotte, N.C.) and Michael Hodge (Wadsworth, Ohio).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An electronic differential disconnect clutch includes a differential unit, a first flange, a hub, a second flange, a hub sleeve and a solenoid. The differential unit has a pair of splines arranged for receiving a pair of axle shafts. The first flange has a first face spline and is fixed to the differential unit. The hub is rotatable relative to the differential unit and arranged ...