Four-wheel driving apparatus with an automatic transmission

A four-wheel driving apparatus with an automatic transmission for a vehicle having a torque converter connected to an engine mounted on said vehicle, and a turbine shaft of said torque converter for connecting a turbine of said torque converter with said automatic transmission, comprising

• an output shaft of said automatic transmission, said output shaft being forwardly extended,
• a driving gear secured to said output shaft,
• a driving pinion shaft operatively connected to said driving gear,
• a pinion formed on one end of said driving pinion shaft,
• a final reduction device operatively connected to said pinion for driving front wheels of said vehicle,
• a rear drive shaft rotatably supported and rearwardly extended at the outside of said automatic transmission,
• a driven gear rotatably mounted on said rear drive shaft and operatively connected to said driving gear, and
• a clutch device mounted on said rear drive shaft and adapted to connect said driven gear with said rear drive shaft for driving rear wheels of the vehicle,
• an intermediate shaft extending along the outside of said automatic transmission,
• said rear drive shaft being disposed substantially in alignment with said output shaft, and
• means for transmitting the rotation of said intermediate shaft to said rear drive shaft.

In a four-wheel driving apparatus having a torque converter connected to an engine mounted on a vehicle and having a turbine shaft for connecting the output of the torque converter to an automatic transmission, the improvement coomprising

• an output shaft of said automatic transmission, said output shaft being forwardly extended from the automatic transmission,
• a driving gear secured to the output shaft,
• a driving pinion shaft having a first driven gear operatively connected to the driving gear,
• a pinion formed on one end of the driving pinion shaft,
• means comprising a final reduction device operatively connected to the pinion for driving front wheels of the vehicle,
• a rear drive shaft parallel with said output shaft and rotatably supported and located at a lateral position relative to the output shaft and higher then the driving pinion shaft and rearwardly extended along the outside of said automatic transmission,
• a second driven gear rotatably mounted on the rear drive shaft and operatively connected to the driving gear independently of the first driven gear, and
• a clutch device mounted on the rear drive shaft and adapted to connect said second driven gear with the rear drive shaft for driving rear wheels of the vehicle.

In a four-wheel driving apparatus with an automatic transmission for a vehicle having a torque converter connected to an engine mounted on said vehicle and having a turbine shaft for connecting the output of the torque converter to said automatic transmission, the improvement comprising

• an output shaft of said automatic transmission, said output shaft being forwardly extended from the automatic transmission,
• a driving gear secured to the output shaft,
• a driving pinion shaft having a first driven gear operatively connected to said driving gear,
• a pinion formed on one end of said driving pinion shaft,
• means comprising a final reduction device operatively connected to said pinion for driving front wheels of the vehicle,
• a rear drive shaft rotatably supported and rearwardly extended along the outside of said automatic transmission, and
• a clutch means for operatively connecting said driving gear with the rear drive shaft for driving rear wheels of the vehicle.