Axle assembly having a multi-speed transmission

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11209072-B2
Application number	US-201916594932-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 7, 2019
Priority date	Oct 7, 2019
Publication date	Dec 28, 2021
Grant date	Dec 28, 2021

Abstract

An axle assembly having a countershaft transmission. The countershaft transmission may operatively connect a rotor shaft of an electric motor to a drive pinion that may be rotatable about a drive pinion axis. The electric motor and the countershaft transmission may be positioned on opposite sides of a differential assembly.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An axle assembly comprising:
an electric motor having a rotor that is rotatable about a first axis;
a rotor shaft that is operatively connected to the rotor and is rotatable about the first axis;
a drive pinion that is rotatable about a drive pinion axis;
a countershaft transmission that operatively connects the rotor shaft to the drive pinion; and
a differential assembly that is operatively connected to the drive pinion, wherein the electric motor and the countershaft transmission are positioned on opposite sides of the differential assembly, the differential assembly has a ring gear that has a back side and a set of ring gear teeth that face away from the back side and mesh with a gear portion of the drive pinion, and the back side faces away from the rotor shaft.

2. The axle assembly of claim 1 wherein the differential assembly is rotatable about a second axis that is disposed substantially perpendicular to the first axis, and the differential assembly is positioned between the electric motor and the countershaft transmission such that the electric motor and the countershaft transmission are positioned on opposite sides of the second axis.

3. The axle assembly of claim 1 wherein the differential assembly is rotatable about a second axis and is positioned between the electric motor and the countershaft transmission such that the electric motor and the countershaft transmission are positioned on opposite sides of the second axis.

4. The axle assembly of claim 1 wherein the differential assembly has a differential case, the ring gear is fixedly mounted to the differential case such that the differential case and the ring gear are rotatable about a second axis, and the differential case is disposed closer to the rotor shaft than the ring gear is positioned to the rotor shaft.

5. An axle assembly comprising:
an electric motor having a rotor that is rotatable about a first axis;
a rotor shaft that is operatively connected to the rotor and is rotatable about the first axis;
a drive pinion that is rotatable about a drive pinion axis;
a countershaft transmission that operatively connects the rotor shaft to the drive pinion; and
a differential assembly that is operatively connected to the drive pinion, wherein the electric motor and the countershaft transmission are positioned on opposite sides of the differential assembly, the differential assembly has a ring gear that has a back side and a set of ring gear teeth that face away from the back side and mesh with a gear portion of the drive pinion, and the back side faces toward the rotor shaft.

6. The axle assembly of claim 5 wherein the differential assembly has a differential case, the ring gear is fixedly mounted to the differential case such that the differential case and the ring gear are rotatable about a second axis, and the ring gear is disposed closer to the rotor shaft than the differential case is positioned to the rotor shaft.

7. An axle assembly comprising:
an electric motor having a rotor that is rotatable about a first axis;
a rotor shaft that is operatively connected to the rotor and is rotatable about the first axis;
a drive pinion that is rotatable about a drive pinion axis;
a countershaft transmission that operatively connects the rotor shaft to the drive pinion; and
a differential assembly that is operatively connected to the drive pinion, wherein the electric motor and the countershaft transmission are positioned on opposite sides of the differential assembly, the differential assembly has a differential case and a ring gear that is fixedly mounted to the differential case such that the differential case and the ring gear are rotatable about a second axis, and the ring gear is disposed closer to the rotor shaft than the differential case is positioned to the rotor shaft.

8. An axle assembly comprising:
an electric motor having a rotor that is rotatable about a first axis;
a rotor shaft that is operatively connected to the rotor and is rotatable about the first axis;
a drive pinion that is rotatable about a drive pinion axis;
a countershaft transmission that operatively connects the rotor shaft to the drive pinion; and
a differential assembly that is operatively connected to the drive pinion, wherein the electric motor and the countershaft transmission are positioned on opposite sides of the differential assembly, the differential assembly has a differential case and a ring gear that is fixedly mounted to the differential case such that the differential case and the ring gear are rotatable about a second axis, and the differential case is disposed closer to the rotor shaft than the ring gear is positioned to the rotor shaft.

9. An axle assembly comprising:
an electric motor having a rotor that is rotatable about a first axis;
a rotor shaft that is operatively connected to the rotor and is rotatable about the first axis;
a drive pinion that is rotatable about a drive pinion axis that is spaced apart from the first axis;
a countershaft transmission that operatively connects the rotor shaft to the drive pinion, wherein the countershaft transmission includes a set of countershaft gears that are fixedly coupled to the rotor shaft and a set of drive pinion gears that are selectively couplable to the drive pinion, wherein the set of countershaft gears includes a first countershaft gear and a second countershaft gear that are rotatable about the first axis, and the set of drive pinion gears includes a first gear and a second gear that are rotatable about the drive pinion axis and through which the drive pinion extends, wherein the first countershaft gear meshes with the first gear, the first gear is selectively couplable to the drive pinion, the second countershaft gear meshes with the second gear, and the second gear is selectively couplable to the drive pinion;
a differential assembly that is operatively connected to the drive pinion, wherein the electric motor and the countershaft transmission are positioned on opposite sides of the differential assembly;
a first clutch that selectively couples the first gear to the drive pinion; and
a second clutch that selectively couples the second gear to the drive pinion, wherein torque is transmitted between the electric motor and the drive pinion via the second gear when the first clutch does not couple the first gear to the drive pinion and the second clutch couples the second gear to the drive pinion such that the second gear rotates about the drive pinion axis with the drive pinion.

10. The axle assembly of claim 9 wherein torque is transmitted between the electric motor and the drive pinion via the first countershaft gear and the first gear when the first clutch couples the first gear to the drive pinion such that the first gear rotates about the first axis with the drive pinion.

11. The axle assembly of claim 9 wherein the first countershaft gear is positioned along the first axis between the second countershaft gear and the electric motor and the first gear is positioned along the drive pinion axis between the second gear and the differential assembly.

12. The axle assembly of claim 9 wherein the first clutch selectively couples the second gear to the drive pinion, wherein torque is transmitted between the electric motor and the drive pinion via the second gear when the first clutch does not couple the first gear to the drive pinion and the first clutch couples the second gear to the drive pinion such that the second gear rotates about the drive pinion axis with the drive pinion.

13. The axle assembly of claim 9 wherein the set of countershaft gears includes a third countershaft gear that is rotatabl

Assignees

• Arvinmeritor Technology Llc

Inventors

• Ghatti Chetankumar
• Soffner Rodrigo
• Keeney Christopher
• Smith Mark

Classifications

• B60Y2400/422

  Synchromesh type clutches or brakes · CPC title

• F16H3/089 Primary

  all of the meshing gears being supported by a pair of parallel shafts, one being the input shaft and the other the output shaft, there being no countershaft involved · CPC title

• B60Y2400/421

  Dog type clutches or brakes · CPC title

• F16H2200/0039

  the gear ratios comprising three forward speeds · CPC title

• B60K17/165 Primary

  provided between independent half axles (B60K17/18, B60K17/20 take precedence) · CPC title