The present disclosure relates to the field of tools used in an automotive assembly plant. Particularly, the present disclosure relates to tools for detection of a hidden component in an assembly.
BACKGROUND
The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.
The assembly of a differential mechanism of a tractor includes a cage assembly. The cage assembly comprises a cage having a top cover and a bottom cover, a bevel gear, four bevel pinions, a crown gear and a bearing. At a cage assembly station, the operator first fits a first bevel gear and then four bevel pinions and then a second bevel gear inside the cage with the help of a cross pin and a dowel pin. Then the operator puts the top cover of the cage, tightens bolts of the top cover and fits the bearing with the help of a bearing pressing tool by hammering.
While performing the assembly of the cage, the operator occasionally forgets to put the bevel gear inside the cage. Presence or absence of the bevel gear is not visually detectable from the outside of the cage, once the top cover of the cage is fitted. Without the bevel gear in the cage assembly, the rear axle of the tractor either jams or simply does not move and thus is not able to transfer motion to the rear wheel of the tractor. This leads to highly undesirable performance of the tractor.
Therefore, a means for detecting presence of an internal hidden component in an assembly, particularly a means for detecting the presence of a bevel gear in the cage of a differential mechanism is desired.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment satisfies, are as follows.
It is an object of the present disclosure to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a means for detecting fitment of a component in an assembly, particularly, to provide a means for detecting the presence or the absence of a bevel gear in the cage of a differential mechanism.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a means for detecting the presence or the absence of a bevel gear in the cage of a differential mechanism, which helps eliminate human error in assembly.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a means for detecting the presence or the absence of a bevel gear in the cage of a differential mechanism, which is user-friendly.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure envisages a probe for detecting the presence of an internal hidden component in an assembly. The probe comprises a set comprising a plunger and a retracting pin. The plunger is configured to be inserted into an opening in the assembly of components upto the location of the component to be detected. The retracting pin is configured to be oriented in a first position and a second position. In the first position, the pin remains retracted within a seat in the plunger in the presence of the component in the assembly, to ensure insertion and removal of the plunger from the opening. In the second position, the pin is resiliently biased to extend out of the seat in the absence of the component in the assembly, thereby locking the plunger within the opening.
In an embodiment, the retracting pin is biased by a resilient member.
In an embodiment, the retracting pin has a slant surface on an operative bottom side thereof.
In an embodiment, the plunger has a screw configured to allow adjustment of tension of the resilient member.

In an embodiment, the component to be detected has a cylindrical cross-section and is covered by a top cover having a cylindrical opening coaxial with the component in an assembled state. The internal diameter of the cylindrical cross-section is smaller than the internal diameter of the cylindrical opening of the top cover and the external diameter of the cylindrical cross-section is larger than the internal diameter of the cylindrical opening of the top cover. In an embodiment, the plunger has a cylindrical cross-section. Preferably, the plunger has a diameter smaller than the internal diameter of the top cover and larger than the internal diameter of the cylindrical cross-section of the component. In an embodiment, the pin is configured to be extending radially out of the plunger. Preferably, the seat is cylindrical in shape having a longitudinal axis along a radial direction of the plunger.
According to an embodiment, the assembly is a cage assembly of a differential mechanism of a tractor and the component to be detected is a bevel gear located within a cage of the cage assembly. In an embodiment, the probe is provided at the operative bottom end of a bearing pressing tool.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
A probe for detecting a bevel gear in a cage assembly of the present disclosure will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figures la, lb show a solid isometric view and a transparent isometric view respectively of a probe of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates a bearing pressing tool provided with the probe of the present disclosure provided on according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figures 3a, 3b show isometric views of a cage assembly and a bevel gear respectively;
Figure 4 shows isometric view of a partial cage assembly with a bevel gear in position;
Figure 5 illustrates the probe of Figure 2 in an operative configuration relative to the cage assembly;
Figure 6 illustrates the state of the probe relative to the cage assembly in the absence of a bevel gear; and

Figure 7 illustrates the state of the probe relative to the cage assembly in the presence of a bevel gear.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
100 cage assembly
10 cage
12 cage top cover
13 opening
14 cage bottom cover
20 bevel gear
20' cavity
30 crown gear
40 bearing
50 bolt
200 bearing pressing tool
210 main tool body
212 hammered end
214 bearing pressing end
220 connecting rod
222 connecting rod stopper
230 probe
232 plunger
234 retracting pin

235 seat
236 resilient member 238 tensioner screw
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
5 Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawing.
Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the
present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forth,
relating to specific components and methods, to provide a complete understanding of
10 embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the
art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a
15 particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope
of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms “a”, “an” and
“the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly
suggests otherwise. The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “including” and “having”
are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated
20 features, steps, elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the
presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, elements, components, and/or
groups thereof. The particular order of steps disclosed in the method and process of the
present disclosure is not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance as
described or illustrated. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps
25 may be employed.
When an element is referred to as being “mounted on”, “engaged to”, “connected to” or “coupled to” another element, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element.
6

The terms first, second, third, etc., should not be construed to limit the scope of the
present disclosure as the aforementioned terms may be only used to distinguish one
element, component, region, layer or section from another component, region, layer or
section. Terms such as first, second, third etc., when used herein do not imply a
5 specific sequence or order unless clearly suggested by the present disclosure.
Terms such as “inner”, “outer”, “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used in the present disclosure to describe relationships between different elements as depicted from the figures.
In a cage assembly 100 of a differential mechanism of a tractor, as illustrated through
10 Figures 3a, 3b and 4, a number of components including a bevel gear 20 (shown in
Figure 3b but not visible in Figure 3a) and a plurality of bevel pinions (not shown in
Figures) are encased in a cage 10, wherein the cage 10 is formed by a top cover 12 and
a bottom cover 14. If the operator at the subassembly station forgets to fit the bevel
gear 20 in place and completes the cage assembly 100 by fitting the top cover 12, there
15 is no way that the absence of the bevel gear 20 can be detected, until the rear axle of
the tractor jams or fails to move in the field. Hence, there is a need of a means for detecting the presence/absence of a component such as a bevel gear 20 in a cage assembly 100 of a differential mechanism, whose absence in the cage assembly 100 remains visually undetected.
20 The present disclosure envisages a probe for detecting fitment of a component in an
assembly, as shown in Figure 1. The probe 230 comprises a plunger 232 and a retracting pin 234. The plunger 232 is configured to be plunged through an opening in the assembly upto the location of the component to be detected. The retracting pin 234 is retractably disposed within the plunger 232 and is resiliently biased to be extending
25 out of the plunger 232. The pin 234 is configured to orient in a first position, wherein
the pin 234 remains retracted in the presence of the component in the location thereof in the subassembly, thus allowing removal of the plunger 232 from the subassembly, and to orient in a second position, wherein the pin 234 remains extended into a cavity 20’ formed in the absence of the component in the location, thus preventing removal of
30 the plunger 232 from the subassembly.
7

In an embodiment, the retracting pin 234 is biased by a resilient member 236 such as a helical spring.
In an embodiment, the plunger 232 has a screw 238 configured to allow adjustment of tension of the resilient member 236.
5 In an embodiment, the retracting pin 234 is configured to extend radially out of the
plunger 232. The retracting pin 234 is retractably disposed inside a cylindrical seat 235 in the plunger 232. The seat 235 has a longitudinal axis in a radial direction of the plunger 232.
In an embodiment, the component has a cylindrical cross-section. The component is
10 covered by a top cover having a cylindrical opening coaxial with the cylindrical
component in an assembled state. The internal diameter of the cylindrical component is smaller than the internal diameter of the cylindrical opening of the top cover and the external diameter of the cylindrical component is larger than the internal diameter of the cylindrical opening of the top cover.
15 In an embodiment, the plunger 232 of the probe 230 has a cylindrical cross-section.
The plunger 232 has a diameter smaller than the internal diameter of the top cover and larger than the internal diameter of the cylindrical component.
In case of a cage assembly 100 of a differential mechanism of a tractor as shown in Figure 3a, the component whose presence/absence is desired to be detected is a bevel
20 gear 20 which is fitted inside the cage 10 of the subassembly, as shown in Figure 4.
The cage assembly 100 includes a crown gear 30 fitted around a cage bottom cover 14, four bevel pinions (not shown in Figures) and a bevel gear 20 meshing with the bevel pinions and a bearing 40 fitted outside the cage top cover 12. The bevel pinions and the bevel gear 20 are encased between the cage bottom cover 14 and a cage top cover 12.
25 The cage top cover 12 has a cylindrical opening 13 that is coaxial with the bevel gear
20 fitted underneath the cage top cover 12. The cylindrical opening 13 allows insertion
of the rear axle of the tractor therethrough. Thus, the location of the bevel gear 20 can
be accessed through the cylindrical opening 13 of the cage top cover 12. The bearing
40 is fitted on the cage top cover 12 using a bearing pressing tool 200. The bearing 40
30 is lightly placed with its internal cylindrical surface inserted over the external
8

cylindrical surface of the cage top cover 12 and then pressed in position using the
bearing pressing tool 200. The bearing pressing tool 200 has a hammered end 212 on
the operative top which receives blows from a hand-held hammer and a bearing
pressing end 214 at the operative bottom which presses against the lateral surface of
5 the bearing 40 to be pressed.
According to an embodiment of the probe 230 of the present disclosure, the probe 230 is provided at the operative bottom end of the main tool body 210 of the bearing pressing tool 200, as shown in Figure 2. A connecting rod 220 extends coaxially from the bearing pressing end 214 and the probe 230 is attached to the other end of the
10 connecting rod 220 using a connecting rod stopper 222. As the bearing 40 is hammered
in position around the cage top cover 12 using the bearing pressing tool 200, the probe 230 enters further inside the cage 10 upto a position where the bevel gear 20 is located, as shown though Figures 5-7. As the probe 230 enters inside the inner cylindrical opening 13 of the cage top cover 12, the pin 234 of the probe 230 is pressed by the
15 edge of the cylindrical opening 13, so that the pin 234 retracts into the plunger 232 of
the probe 230 and remains retracted along the length of the cylindrical opening 13. The retraction of the pin 234 is enabled due to a slant surface provided at the operative bottom surface of the pin 234. The slant surface comes into contact with the edge of the cylindrical opening 13 and causes the probe 230 to be pressed inside the plunger
20 232.
As shown in Figure 6, in a first position, in the absence of a bevel gear 20, when the probe 230 travels beyond the length of the cylindrical opening 13 of the cage top cover 12, the pin 234 extends out of the plunger 232. The tension in the resilient member 236 is maintained such that the pin 234 extends beyond the inner diameter of the
25 cylindrical opening 13 of the cage top cover 12. Thus, as an effort is made to pull out
the bearing pressing tool 200 from the cage top cover 12, the pin 234 presses against the bottom surface of the cylindrical opening 13 of the cage top cover 12, preventing further outward travel of the plunger 232, and therefore of the probe 230 and thus the bearing pressing tool 200. The operator is, therefore, able to detect absence of a bevel
30 gear 20 in the cage assembly 100. To correct the assembly, the operator has to remove
the cage top cover 12 from the cage bottom cover 14 by removing the corresponding
9

bolts 50, remove the probe 230 stuck inside the cage top cover 12, place a bevel gear 20 in place meshing with the bevel pinions, replace the cage top cover 12 back over the cage bottom cover 14 and fix using the bolts 50.
As illustrated in Figure 7, in a second position, in the presence of a bevel gear 20,
5 when the probe 230 travels beyond the length of the cylindrical opening 13 of the cage
top cover 12, the pin 234 extends out of the plunger 232, the inner diameter of the
bevel gear 20 being less than the outer diameter of the plunger 232, the plunger 232
presses against the operative top surface of the bevel gear 20. Thus, further travel of
the plunger 232 and therefore of the bearing pressing tool 200 is prevented. The
10 operator senses that a bevel gear 20 is correctly assembled inside the cage assembly
100. Also, since the pin 234 remains retracted inside the plunger 232, the probe 230 and therefore the bearing pressing tool 200 can be removed from the cage top cover 12 without any hindrance. The assembly 100 can be conveyed to the next workstation for integrating with the rear axle assembly.
15 Thus, the probe 230 of the present disclosure, when combined with the bearing
pressing tool 200, helps in detecting the presence or the absence of a bevel gear 20 in the cage 10 of a differential mechanism. The probe 230 helps eliminate human error in assembly and is user-friendly. Moreover, the probe 230 does not require incorporation of sophisticated and costly non-contact type sensors. Since the probe 230 is combined
20 with the bearing pressing tool 200, there is no need of a separate tool for detection. The
step of detection of fitment of the bevel gear 20 in the cage assembly 100 is incorporated in the step of pressing the bearing 40 on the cage top cover 12. Thus, no additional step of verification of the assembly is required.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of
25 illustration and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Individual
components of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, are interchangeable. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present disclosure, and all such modifications are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
30
10

TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS
The present disclosure described hereinabove has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of a probe for detecting the presence of an internal hidden component in an assembly, which:
5 • helps eliminate human error in assembly;
• is user-friendly; and
• does not require use of costly sensors.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description.
10 Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting
15 the scope of the embodiments herein.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and
20 modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments
25 herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
11

The use of the expression "at least" or "at least one" suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.

WE CLAIM:

A probe (230) for detecting the presence of an internal hidden component (20) in an assembly (100), said probe (230) comprising:
a set comprising a plunger (232) and a retracting pin (234);
said plunger (232) configured to be inserted into an opening (13) in said assembly (100) of components upto the location of said component (20) to be detected; and
said retracting pin (234) configured to be oriented in:
a first position in which said pin (234) remains retracted within a seat (235) in said plunger (232) in the presence of said component (20) in said assembly (100), to ensure insertion and removal of said plunger (232) from said opening (13); and
a second position in which said pin (234) is resiliency biased to extend out of said seat (235) in the absence of said component (20) in said assembly (100), thereby locking said plunger (232) within said opening (13).
. The probe (230) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said retracting pin (234) is biased by a resilient member (236).
. The probe (230) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said retracting pin (234) has a slant surface on an operative bottom side thereof.
. The probe (230) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plunger (232) has a screw (238) configured to allow adjustment of tension of said resilient member (236).
. The probe (230) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said component (20) to be detected has a cylindrical cross-section and is covered by a top cover (12) having a cylindrical opening (13) coaxial with said component (20) in an assembled state, the internal diameter of said cylindrical cross-section being smaller than the internal diameter of said cylindrical opening (13) of said top cover (12) and the external diameter of said cylindrical cross-section being larger than the internal diameter of said cylindrical opening (13) of said top cover (12).

The probe (230) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plunger (232) has a cylindrical cross-section.
The probe (230) as claimed in claim 6, wherein said plunger (232) has a diameter smaller than the internal diameter of said top cover (12) and larger than the internal diameter of said cylindrical cross-section of said component (20).
The probe (230) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pin (234) is configured to be extending radially out of said plunger (232).
The probe (230) as claimed in claim 8, wherein said seat (235) is cylindrical in shape having a longitudinal axis along a radial direction of said plunger (232).
The probe (230) as claimed in claim 5, wherein said assembly (100) is a cage assembly (100) of a differential mechanism of a tractor.
The probe (230) as claimed in claim 10, wherein said component (20) to be detected is a bevel gear located within a cage (10) of said cage assembly (100).
The probe (230) as claimed in claim 10, wherein said probe (230) is provided at the operative bottom end of a bearing pressing tool.