Patent attributes
An apparatus for lubricating power transfer components is described. The apparatus includes a first shaft enclosed by a housing with a main cavity, and an inboard bearing and an outboard bearing supporting the first shaft. An inboard bearing cavity and an outboard bearing cavity surround, respectively, the inboard and outboard bearings. Lubrication fluid flows from an entrance port in the housing, through a flow passage within a wall of the housing to the inboard bearing cavity, through a flow passage within the first shaft from the inboard bearing cavity to the outboard bearing cavity, and through an overflow port in a wall of the outboard bearing cavity. A second shaft provides rotational power to the first shaft (e.g., via an idler gear). A lubrication deflector, such as a frustoconical deflector, surrounds a portion of a second shaft and extends into the main cavity of the housing.
