Drive unit assembly with a regenerative retarder

A vehicle comprising:

• an engine;
• an axle having a housing extending between a pair of wheels and including an axle shaft rotatably supported with respect to said housing for driving said wheels;
• a driveshaft extending between said engine and said axle, said driveshaft for providing input to said axle shaft to drive said vehicle wheels;
• a braking system including a first brake member supported on one of said wheels, a second brake member supported on the other of said wheels, and an actuator for selectively moving said first and second brake members between an unactuated position and an actuated position, said braking system for producing a braking force to slow the rotation of said wheels when said first and second brake members are in said actuated position;
• and
• a retarding system including at least one magnet supported for rotation with said axle shaft and an inductor mounted to said housing, said retarding system for producing a retarding force as said magnet rotates with respect to said inductor to slow the rotation of said wheels when said actuator moves said first and second brake members to the actuated position.

A method for simultaneously retarding the speed of a vehicle and regenerating operating power for a vehicle system comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a drive axle powered by an engine and including an axle housing extending between a pair of wheels with a rotating member for driving the wheels;
• b) generating a braking force to slow rotation of the wheels;
• c) generating a magnetic field between the rotating member and the axle housing during braking to produce a retarding force to additionally slow rotation of the wheels;
• and
• d) storing energy generated by the magnetic field in an accumulator.

A vehicle drive unit assembly comprising:

• a driveshaft driven by an engine;
• an axle extending between a pair of wheels and including an axle shaft coupled to said driveshaft for driving said wheels;
• a retarding system having an actuated position and an unactuated position, said retarding system including at least one magnet mounted for rotation with at least one of said driveshaft or axle shaft and an inductor held fixed independently from said magnet wherein said retarding system selectively produces a retarding force as said magnet rotates with respect to said inductor to slow the rotation of said driveshaft or axle shalt when said retarding system is in said actuated position;
• and
• a controller for moving said retarding system between said actuated and unactuated positions.

A vehicle drive train assembly comprising:

• an engine;
• an axle having a housing extending between a pair of wheels and including an axle shaft rotatably supported with respect to said housing for driving said wheels;
• a driveshaft extending between said engine and said axle, said engine for providing driving input to said axle shaft via said driveshaft to drive said vehicle wheels;
• a braking system including a brake member supported on each of said wheels and an actuator for selectively moving said brake members between an unactuated position and an actuated position, said braking system for producing a braking force to slow the rotation of said wheels when said brake members are in said actuated position;
• and
• a retarding system including at least one magnet separated from an inductor to define a gap such that said magnet and inductor can move relative to one another without interference wherein said magnet is directly mounted to either one of said housing or to one of said axle shaft or driveshaft and said inductor is directly mounted to the other of said axle shaft or driveshaft or to said housing, said retarding system for producing a retarding force as said magnet and inductor move relative to one another to slow the rotation of said wheels when said actuator moves said brake members to the actuated position.