Power-assisted differential assembly
AssigneeAmerican Axle & Manufacturing, Inc.
InventorBruce A. Duncan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An axle assembly for a motor vehicle. The assembly comprises a carrier housing and a differentially assembly rotatably mounted to the carrier housing. A ring gear is fixed to the differential assembly. A first pinion is in meshing engagement with the ring gear. The first pinion is driven by a combustion engine and is operable to drive the ring gear. An electric drive assembly is mounted to the carrier housing. The electric drive assembly comprises an electric motor and a second pinion. The second pinion is in meshing engagement with the ring gear. The second pinion is driven by the electric motor and is operable to drive the ring gear.
Claims35
An axle assembly for a motor vehicle comprising:
- a carrier housing;
- a differential assembly rotatably mounted to said carrier housing;
- a ring gear fixed to said differential assembly for rotation therewith;
- a first pinion in meshing engagement with said ring gear, said first pinion being adapted to be driven by a combustion engine and operable to drive said ring gear;
- and
- an electric drive assembly mounted to said carrier housing, said electric drive assembly including:
- an electric motor;
- and
- a second pinion in meshing engagement with said ring gear, said second pinion being selectively driven by said electric motor and operable to drive said ring gear, said first and second pinions operable to rotate about a substantially common axis of rotation.
An axle assembly for a motor vehicle comprising:
- a carrier housing;
- a ring gear rotatably mounted within said carrier housing;
- a first pinion in meshing engagement with said ring gear and operable to drive said ring gear;
- an electric motor mounted to said carrier housing;
- a second pinion in meshing engagement with said ring gear and arranged to rotate about a common axis of rotation with said first pinion, said second pinion being operable to drive said ring gear;
- and
- a controller monitoring operating parameters of the motor vehicle, said controller selectively activating and deactivating said electric motor in response to the status of the operating parameters.
A method for propelling a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, the internal combustion engine being selectively operable to provide drive torque to a ring gear rotatably mounted within a carrier housing, the electric motor being selectively operable to provide drive torque to the ring gear, the method comprising:
- drivingly interconnecting the ring gear and the combustion engine;
- drivingly interconnecting the ring gear and the electric motor;
- monitoring predetermined operating parameters of the motor vehicle using a controller;
- selectively activating and deactivating the electric motor based on the status of the predetermined operating parameters;
- and
- reducing the speed of the combustion engine to idle and activating the electric motor to drive the ring gear when the motor vehicle exceeds a predetermined cruising speed.
An axle assembly for a motor vehicle, comprising;
- a housing defining a central cavity and an opening;
- a differential assembly rotatably supported within said central cavity of said housing;
- a ring gear fixed for rotation with said differential assembly;
- a first pinion meshed with said ring gear and adapted to be driven by a powertrain for driving said ring gear;
- and
- an electric drive assembly mounted to said housing and including an electric motor and a second pinion selectively driven by said electric motor, said second pinion extending through said opening in said housing so as to mesh with said ring gear such that driven rotation of said second pinion is operable to drive said ring gear.
An axle assembly for a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a housing;
- a differential assembly rotatably supported by said housing;
- a ring gear fixed for rotation with said differential assembly;
- a first pinion meshed with said ring gear and adapted to be driven by a powertrain for driving said gear;
- and
- an electric drive assembly mounted to said housing, said electric drive assembly including an electric motor and a second pinion selectively driven by said electric motor for driving said ring gear, said electric motor having a component fixed to said second pinion.
An axle assembly for a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a housing;
- a differential assembly rotatably supported by said housing;
- a ring gear fixed for rotation with said differential assembly;
- a first pinion meshed with said ring gear and adapted to be driven by a powwertrain for driving said ring gear;
- and
- an electric drive assembly mounted to said housing and including an electric motor and a second pinion adapted to be selectively driven by said electric motor, said second pinion is moveable between a first position whereat said second pinion is meshed with said ring gear and a second position whereat said second pinion is released from meshed engagement with ring gear.
An axle assembly for a motor vehicle having a powertrain, comprising:
- a housing;
- a ring gear rotatably supported within said housing;
- a first pinion meshed with said ring gear and rotatably driven by the powertrain;
- a second pinion meshed with said ring gear;
- an electric motor operable for selectively driving second pinion, said electric motor mounted within a casing that is secured to an opening of said housing;
- and
- a controller for monitoring operating characteristics of the motor vehicle and selectively activating said electric motor in response to the status of the operating characteristics.
An axle assembly for a motor vehicle having a powertrain and first and second wheels, comprising:
- a housing defining a central cavity and first and second openings;
- a differential assembly rotatably supported in said central cavity, said differential assembly including an input member, a first output member driving the first wheel and a second output member driving the second wheel;
- a first pinion meshed with said ring gear and rotatably driven by the powertrain;
- a ring gear fixed for rotation with said input component of said differential assembly;
- a first pinion extending through said first opening in said housing and having a first end segment adapted to be driven by the powertrain and a second end segment defining a first pinion gear meshed with said ring gear;
- a second pinion extending through said second opening in said housing and having a first end segment and a second defining a second pinion gear meshed with said ring gear;
- and
- an electric motor mounted to said housing and operable for selectively driving said first end segment of said second pinion.
The axle assembly 32 where in said ring gear is a hypoid gear and said first and second pinion gears have helical teeth meshed with said hypoid gear.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.