FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT 1970
[39 OF 1970]
AND
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (See section 10; Rule 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
LIQUID RESTRICTION SYSTEM FOR DIFFERENTIAL BREATHER
ASSEMBLY OF A VEHICLE
APPLICANT(S)
TATA MOTORS LIMITED
An Indian Company
Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street,
Hutatma Chowk,
Mumbai 400 001,
Maharashtra, India;
PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a differential breather assembly and, more particularly, to a liquid restriction system for differential breather assembly of a vehicle that prevents ingress of liquid through a differential breather to avoid fluid contamination.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] A vehicle generally includes a breather assembly to release gases which builds up during operation from within a housing for driveline components. During driving a vehicle through liquid wading or in rainy season, liquid such as water gets flash onto the breather and enters into the differential fluid (such as oil) through the breather, resulting in the contamination of differential fluid with the water which may lead to differential failure.
[0003] Hence there remains a need of a mechanism that avoids contamination of differential fluid which may lead to differential failure.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The principal object of the embodiments herein is to provide a liquid restriction system for differential breather assembly of a vehicle that prevents ingress of liquid through a differential breather to avoid fluid contamination.
[0005] Another object of the embodiments herein is to provide a differential breather assembly. The design of the differential breather assembly prevents ingress of liquid through a differential breather to avoid fluid contamination.
[0006] Another object of the embodiments herein is to provide a floater that is arranged in a conical grove of a hallow pipe to prevent the entry of the liquid into

the hallow pipe, and restrict entry of the liquid into the differential breather assembly to avoid contamination of the differential fluid from the entered liquid.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In one aspect the object is satisfied by providing a differential breather assembly of a vehicle. The differential breather assembly includes a hallow pipe, a pair of thin plate members housed in the hallow pipe, and a floater housed between the pair of thin plate members. The hallow pipe includes an upper portion having a liquid passage, a middle portion having a liquid outlet, and a lower portion having an air passage and an air outlet. The entry of liquid into the hallow pipe from the liquid passage pushes the floater in a downward direction to restricts contamination of differential fluid with the entered liquid and discharges the entered liquid through the liquid outlet.
[0008] In an embodiment, a first thin plate member of the pair of thin plate members is housed in the upper portion of the hallow pipe, and wherein the second thin plate member of the pair of thin plate members is housed in the lower portion of the hallow pipe.
[0009] In an embodiment, the floater is arranged in a conical grove of the hallow pipe to prevent the entry of the liquid into the hallow pipe, The floater floats to restrict entry of the liquid into the differential breather assembly to avoid contamination of the differential fluid from the entered liquid.
[0010] In an embodiment, the floater floats and air discharges through the air outlet during normal working condition.
[0011] In an embodiment, the liquid outlet and the air outlet are opened to discharge air through the air outlet and the liquid from the liquid outlet when the liquid enters into the hallow pipe.

[0012] In an embodiment, the pair of thin plate members allows air and gases to pass through freely to equalize the pressure in the hallow pipe.
[0013] In an embodiment, the floater is made of a plastic material.
[0014] In an embodiment, a mass of the plastic material is equivalent to a mass of at least one of the liquid and fluid.
[0015] In another aspect the object is satisfied by providing a liquid restriction system of a vehicle. The liquid restriction system includes a differential fluid source providing differential fluid differential fluid lubricates differential gears of the vehicle, and a differential breather assembly connected to the differential fluid source.
[0016] The differential breather assembly includes a hallow pipe, a pair of thin plate members housed in the hallow pipe, and a floater housed between the pair of thin plate members. The hallow pipe includes an upper portion having a liquid passage, a middle portion having a liquid outlet, and a lower portion having an air passage and an air outlet. The entry of liquid into the hallow pipe from the liquid passage pushes the floater in a downward direction to restricts contamination of differential fluid with the entered liquid and discharges the entered liquid through the liquid outlet.
[0017] These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating preferred embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the scope thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0018] The proposed liquid restriction system for differential breather assembly is
illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters
indicate corresponding part in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be
better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in
which:
[0019] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a liquid restriction system for
differential breather assembly, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0020] FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of the liquid restriction system for the
differential breather assembly in normal working conditions, according to
embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0021] FIG. 3 illustrates a top section view of the liquid restriction system for the
differential breather assembly in normal working conditions, according to
embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0022] FIG. 4 illustrates a front section view of a liquid restriction system during
ingress of the liquid through the differential breather assembly, according to
embodiments as disclosed herein; and
[0023] FIG. 5 illustrates a part of the vehicle having the liquid restriction system,
according to embodiments as disclosed herein.
[0024] It may be noted that to the extent possible, like reference numerals have been used to represent like elements in the drawing. Further, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that elements in the drawing are illustrated for simplicity and may not have been necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimension of some of the elements in the drawing may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve the understanding of aspects of the invention. Furthermore, the one or more elements may have been represented in the drawing by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to the understanding the embodiments of the invention so as not to obscure the drawing with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] The implementations herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting implementations that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating preferred implementations and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the implementations herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the implementations herein include all such modifications. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the implementations herein can be practiced and to further enable those skilled in the art to practice the implementations herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the implementations herein.
[0026] Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the implementations herein. Also, the various implementations described herein are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some implementations can be combined with one or more other implementations to form new implementations.
[0027] Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 5, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown preferred implementations. Further, for the sake of simplicity, and without limitation, the same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components. The implementations herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings.
[0028] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a liquid restriction system (1) for differential breather assembly (2), according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

The differential breather assembly (2) includes a hallow pipe (3), a pair of thin plate members (11, 12) housed in the hallow pipe (3), and a floater (13) housed between the pair of thin plate members (11, 12).
[0029] The hallow pipe (3) includes an upper portion (4), a middle portion (5), and a lower portion (6). The upper portion (4) of the hallow pipe (3) includes a liquid passage (7) to pass the liquid into the hallow pipe (3) that may contaminate with the differential fluid. The middle portion (5) of the hallow pipe (3) includes a liquid outlet (8) to discharge the entered liquid so as to avoid contamination of the entered liquid with the differential fluid. The lower portion (6) of the hallow pipe (3) includes an air passage (9) and an air outlet (10).
[0030] The pair of thin plate members (11, 12) is housed in the hallow pipe (3) so as to allow the air and gases to pass through freely to equalize the pressure in the hallow pipe (3).
[0031] In an embodiment, the floater (13) described herein is a ball that floats over the liquid or air. The floater (13) is housed between the pair of thin plate members (11, 12) such that the floater floats to restrict entry of the liquid into the differential breather assembly (2) to avoid contamination of the differential fluid from the entered liquid. For example, a first thin plate member (11) is housed in the upper portion (4) of the hallow pipe (3), and the second thin plate member (12) is housed in the lower portion (6) of the hallow pipe (3). In an embodiment, the floater (13) is arranged in a conical grove of the hallow pipe (3) to prevent the entry of the liquid into the hallow pipe (3). In an embodiment, the floater (13) is made of a plastic material. A mass of the plastic material is equivalent to a mass of at least one of the liquid and fluid.
[0032] In an embodiment, the entry of the liquid into the hallow pipe (3) from the liquid passage (7) pushes the floater (13) in a downward direction to restricts contamination of differential fluid with the entered liquid and discharges the entered liquid through the liquid outlet (8). The liquid outlet (8) and the air outlet

(10) are opened to discharge air through the air outlet (10) and discharge the liquid from the liquid outlet (8) when the liquid enters into the hallow pipe (3).
[0033] FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of the liquid restriction system (1) for the differential breather assembly (2) in normal working conditions, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. In normal working condition, the floater (13) floats and air discharges through the air outlet (10). During the normal working condition, the ball acting as restrictor in the arrangement described herein is neutral.
[0034] FIG. 3 illustrates a top section view of the liquid restriction system (1) and FIG. 4 illustrates a front section view of the liquid restriction system (1) during ingress of the liquid through the differential breather assembly (2), according to embodiments as disclosed herein. During the ingress condition, the liquid such as water may ingress through the hallow pipe (3). A symbol ‘W’ indicates a direction of a flow of the air or moisture or liquid as shown in the FIG. 3. The entry of the liquid into the hallow pipe (3) from the liquid passage (7) pushes the floater (13) in a downward direction to restrict contamination of differential fluid with the entered liquid and discharges the entered liquid through the liquid outlet (8). The liquid outlet (8) and the air outlet (10) are opened to discharge air through the air outlet (10) and the liquid from the liquid outlet (8) when the v enters into the hallow pipe.
[0035] For example, the liquid such as water may enter through the breather passes from a first plate member (11). Further, it will be arrested by the floater (13). The floater (13) blocks the water entry into a differential and is drained by the liquid outlet (8). At the same time, the air outlet (10) is opened to discharge the air. The liquid restriction system (1) is provided such that the liquid outlet (8) and the air outlet (10) are opened so as to discharge the air and water during the water entry through the breather.
[0036] FIG. 5 illustrates a part of the vehicle having the liquid restriction system (1), according to embodiments as disclosed herein. The liquid restriction system (1) of a vehicle includes a differential fluid source (14) providing differential fluid

differential fluid lubricates differential gears of the vehicle, and a differential breather assembly (2) connected to the differential fluid source (14). The construction of the differential breather assembly (2) is described with respect to the FIGS. 1-4. The differential breather assembly (2) provide the opening for the air outlet (10) of the liquid restriction system (1).
[0037] In an embodiment, the liquid restriction system (1) can be provided below the differential breather assembly (2). In an embodiment, the liquid restriction system (1) can be installed on an axle of the vehicle.
[0038] During the normal condition, the liquid restriction system (1) allow the exhaust of contaminated gas from the differential fluid source (14) through the differential breather assembly (2) and the air outlet (10) of the liquid restriction system (1).
[0039] Further, during the ingress condition, entry of liquid into the hallow pipe (3) from the liquid passage (7) pushes the floater (13) in a downward direction to restricts contamination of differential fluid with the entered liquid and discharges the entered liquid through the liquid outlet (8). The liquid outlet (8) and the air outlet (10) are opened to discharge the air through the air outlet (10) and the liquid from the liquid outlet (8) when the water enters into the hallow pipe.
[0040] Hence unlike the conventional systems, the proposed liquid restriction system (1) restricts ingress of the liquid, moisture, and foreign material into the differential assembly. The proposed liquid restriction system (1) restricts the entry of the liquid such as water by directing it away from the breather assembly.
[0041] The foregoing description of the specific implementations will so fully reveal the general nature of the implementations herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such modifications and adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and

range of equivalents of the disclosed implementations. 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 implementations herein have been described in terms of preferred implementations, those skilled in the art will recognize that the implementations herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the implementations as described herein.
[0042] List to reference numerals:

Sr. No. Description
1 liquid restriction system
2 differential breather assembly
3 hallow pipe
4 upper portion
5 middle portion
6 lower portion
7 liquid passage
8 liquid outlet
9 air passage
10 air outlet
11 thin plate members
12 thin plate members
13 floater
14 differential fluid source

We Claim:
1. A differential breather assembly (2) of a vehicle, comprises:
a hallow pipe (3) comprising an upper portion (4) having a liquid passage (7), a middle portion (5) having a liquid outlet (8), and a lower portion (6) having an air passage (9) and an air outlet (10);
a pair of thin plate members (11, 12) housed in the hallow pipe (3); and a floater (13) housed between the pair of thin plate members (11, 12),
wherein entry of liquid into the hallow pipe (3) from the liquid passage
(7) pushes the floater (13) in a downward direction to restricts contamination
of differential fluid with the entered liquid and discharges the entered
liquid through the liquid outlet (8).
2. The differential breather assembly (2) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a first thin plate member (11) of the pair of thin plate members (11, 12) is housed in the upper portion (4) of the hallow pipe (3), and wherein the second thin plate member (12) of the pair of thin plate members (11, 12) is housed in the lower portion (6) of the hallow pipe (3).
3. The differential breather assembly (2) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floater (13) is arranged in a conical grove of the hallow pipe (3) to prevent the entry of the liquid into the hallow pipe (3), and wherein the floater (13) floats to restrict entry of the liquid into the differential breather assembly (2) to avoid contamination of the differential fluid from the entered liquid.
4. The differential breather assembly (2) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floater (13) floats and air discharges through the air outlet (10) during normal working condition.
5. The liquid restriction system (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the liquid outlet
(8) and the air outlet (10) are opened to discharge air through the air outlet (10)

and the liquid from the liquid outlet (8) when the v enters into the hallow pipe.
6. The differential breather assembly (2) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pair of thin plate members (11, 12) allows air and gases to pass through freely to equalize the pressure in the hallow pipe (3).
7. The differential breather assembly (2) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floater (13) is made of a plastic material.
8. The differential breather assembly (2) as claimed in claim 6, wherein a mass of the plastic material is equivalent to a mass of at least one of the liquid and fluid.
9. A liquid restriction system (1) of a vehicle, comprises:
a differential fluid source (14) providing differential fluid differential fluid lubricates differential gears of the vehicle; and
a differential breather assembly (2) connected to the differential fluid source (14), wherein the differential breather assembly (2) comprises:
a hallow pipe (3) comprising an upper portion (4) having a liquid passage (7), a middle portion (5) having a liquid outlet (8), and a lower portion (6) having an air passage (9) and an air outlet (10),
a pair of thin plate members (11, 12) housed in the hallow pipe (3), and
a floater (13) housed between the pair of thin plate members (11, 12), wherein entry of liquid into the hallow pipe (3) from the liquid passage (7) pushes the floater (13) in a downward direction to restricts contamination of differential fluid with the entered liquid and discharges the entered liquid through the liquid outlet (8).
10. The liquid restriction system (1) as claimed in claim 9, wherein a first thin plate
member (11) of the pair of thin plate members (11, 12) is housed in the upper
portion (4) of the hallow pipe (3), and wherein the second thin plate member

(12) of the pair of thin plate members (11, 12) is housed in the lower portion (6) of the hallow pipe (3).
11. The liquid restriction system (1) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the floater (13) is arranged in a conical grove of the hallow pipe (3) to prevent the entry of the liquid into the hallow pipe (3), and wherein the floater (13) floats to restrict entry of the liquid into the differential breather assembly (2) to avoid contamination of the differential fluid from the entered liquid.
12. The liquid restriction system (1) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the floater (13) floats and air discharges through the air outlet (10) during normal working condition.
13. The liquid restriction system (1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the liquid outlet (8) and the air outlet (10) are opened to discharge air through the air outlet (10) and the liquid from the liquid outlet (8) when the liquid enters into the hallow pipe.
14. The liquid restriction system (1) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the pair of thin plate members (11, 12) allows air and gases to pass through freely to equalize the pressure in the hallow pipe (3).
15. The liquid restriction system (1) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the floater (13) is made of a plastic material.
16. The liquid restriction system (1) as claimed in claim 15, wherein a mass of the plastic material is equivalent to a mass of at least one of the liquid and fluid.