Disconnectable driveline for all-wheel drive vehicle
AssigneeAmerican Axle & Manufacturing, Inc.
InventorsJames P. Downs, Paul J. Valente
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rear drive module for an all-wheel drive vehicle. The rear drive module includes a disconnect clutch, a differential assembly and a hollow shaft. The disconnect clutch has a first clutch member, which is coupled to the spool for rotation therewith, and a second clutch member. The differential assembly includes a differential case. The hollow shaft is coupled to the differential case for rotation therewith and is configured to transmit rotary power in a power path between the disconnect clutch and the differential assembly.
Claims19
A rear drive module for a drivetrain of an all-wheel drive motor vehicle, the rear drive module comprising:
- an axle housing;
- an input pinion rotatably coupled to the axle housing;
- a spool rotatably coupled to the axle housing;
- a ring gear coupled to the spool for rotation therewith, the ring gear being meshingly engaged with the input pinion;
- a disconnect clutch having a first clutch member and a second clutch member, the first clutch member being coupled to the spool for rotation therewith, the disconnect clutch being configured to selectively transmit rotary power between the first and second clutch members;
- a hollow shaft coupled for rotation with the second clutch member, the hollow shaft being received in the spool;
- a differential assembly having a differential case and a differential gearset with a pair of differential outputs, the differential case being coupled to the hollow shaft for rotation therewith, the differential gearset being configured to receive rotary power from the differential case and to output rotary power to the differential outputs;
- and
- a pair of axle shafts, each axle shaft being coupled to a corresponding one of the differential outputs for rotation therewith.
A rear drive module for a drivetrain of an all-wheel drive motor vehicle, the rear drive module comprising:
- an axle housing;
- an input pinion rotatably coupled to the axle housing;
- a spool rotatably coupled to the axle housing;
- a ring gear coupled to the spool for rotation therewith, the ring gear being meshingly engaged with the input pinion;
- a disconnect clutch having a first clutch member and a second clutch member, the first clutch member being coupled to the spool for rotation therewith, the disconnect clutch being configured to selectively transmit rotary power between the first and second clutch members;
- a two-speed transmission having a transmission input member, which is coupled to the second clutch member for rotation therewith, and a transmission output member;
- a hollow shaft that is configured to be driven by the transmission output member, the hollow shaft being received in the spool;
- a differential assembly having a differential case and a differential gearset with a pair of differential outputs, the differential case being coupled to the hollow shaft for rotation therewith, the differential gearset being configured to receive rotary power from the differential case and to output rotary power to the differential outputs;
- and
- a pair of axle shafts, each axle shaft being coupled to a corresponding one of the differential outputs for rotation therewith.
A rear drive module for a drivetrain of an all-wheel drive motor vehicle, the rear drive module comprising:
- an axle housing;
- an input pinion rotatably coupled to the axle housing;
- a spool rotatably coupled to the axle housing;
- a ring gear coupled to the spool for rotation therewith, the ring gear being meshingly engaged with the input pinion;
- a disconnect clutch having a first clutch member and a second clutch member, the first clutch member being coupled to the spool for rotation therewith, the disconnect clutch being configured to selectively transmit rotary power between the first and second clutch members;
- a differential assembly having a differential case and a differential gearset with a pair of differential outputs, the differential gearset being configured to receive rotary power from the differential case and to output rotary power to the differential outputs;
- a hollow shaft received in the spool and being coupled to the differential case for rotation therewith, the hollow shaft being configured to transmit rotary power in a power path between the disconnect clutch and the differential assembly;
- and
- a pair of axle shafts, each axle shaft being coupled to a corresponding one of the differential outputs for rotation therewith.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.