Modular electric motor assembly

A vehicle comprising:

• an electric drive system comprising:
• an electric motor assembly comprising:
• a gear assembly comprising a ring gear and a plurality of adjacent gears coupled to the ring gear, the ring gear being coupled to a drive plate to transmit a torque to an external component, the plurality of adjacent gears comprising inner adjacent gears coupled to the ring gear inside a perimeter of the ring gear and one or more outer adjacent gears coupled to the ring gear outside a perimeter of the ring gear, and
• a plurality of electric motors, each of the plurality of electric motors coupled to an adjacent gear of the plurality of adjacent gears;
• a control system to activate and deactivate one or more motors of the plurality of electric motors;
• an energy storage system coupled to the electric motor assembly;
• and
• a power demand system to communicate a torque need to the control system to activate or deactivate the one or more motors,
• wherein the control system is configured to activate and deactivate the one or more motors based on the torque need such that a number of simultaneously activated motors of the plurality of electric motors depends on the torque need.

An electric motor assembly, comprising:

• a housing comprising a plurality of cavities;
• a gear assembly, comprising:
• an output gear coupled to a rotatable output shaft configured to transfer a torque to an external component, and
• a plurality of adjacent gears coupled to the output gear and to a plurality of rotatable adjacent shafts;
• a plurality of electric motors at least partially within the plurality of cavities, each of the plurality of electric motors coupled to an adjacent gear of the plurality of adjacent gears via a rotatable adjacent shaft of the plurality of rotatable adjacent shafts;
• a controller to activate and deactivate one or more motors of the plurality of electric motors;
• and
• a plurality of clutches to mechanically engage and disengage the plurality of electric motors from the plurality of adjacent gears, each of the plurality of clutches selectively securing an adjacent gear of the plurality of adjacent gears relative to a rotatable adjacent shaft of the plurality of rotatable adjacent shafts.

A vehicle comprising:

• an electric drive system comprising:
• an electric motor assembly comprising:
• a gear assembly comprising an output gear and one or more adjacent gears coupled to the output gear, the output gear being coupled to a rotatable output shaft and the one or more adjacent gears being coupled to one or more rotatable adjacent shafts,
• a plurality of electric motors comprising:
• one or more adjacent electric motors, each of the one or more adjacent electric motors coupled to an adjacent gear of the one or more adjacent gears via a rotatable adjacent shaft of the one or more rotatable adjacent shafts, and
• one or more clutches to mechanically engage and disengage the one or more adjacent electric motors from the one or more adjacent gears, each of the one or more clutches selectively securing an adjacent gear of the one or more adjacent gears relative to a rotatable adjacent shaft of the one or more rotatable adjacent shafts;
• a control system to activate and deactivate one or more motors of the plurality of electric motors and to operate the one or more clutches;
• an energy storage system coupled to the electric motor assembly;
• and
• a power demand system to communicate a torque need to the control system to activate or deactivate the one or more motors,
• the control system being configured to:
• activate and deactivate the one or more motors based on the torque need such that a number of simultaneously activated motors of the plurality of electric motors depends on the torque need, and
• mechanically disengage, by operating a clutch of the one or more clutches, a deactivated adjacent electric motor of the one or more adjacent electric motors from an adjacent gear of the one or more adjacent gears in conjunction with the deactivated adjacent electric motor being deactivated.