The present teachings relate to a part time hybrid electric all wheel drive system and more particularly relate to a pair of compact electric wheel motor assemblies that can selectively drive a pair of wheels that are not otherwise driven by an engine.
Typically, a hybrid electric all wheel drive system includes an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine drives the front wheels and a centrally mounted electric motor couples to a rear axle to drive the rear wheels.
Space under a vehicle is relatively limited and the above example requires the rear axle in addition to a relatively large centrally mounted electric motor. While the above system works well in various applications, there remains room in the art for improvement.
The present teachings generally include an electric wheel motor assembly. The electric wheel motor assembly includes a planetary gearset having a sun gear, a ring gear and a planet carrier that rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears. A portion of a wheel spindle includes the ring gear that is maintained in a non-rotating condition. A first wheel bearing and a second wheel bearing rotatably support the planet carrier on the wheel spindle. The first wheel bearing defines a first plane that extends radially therefrom and the second wheel bearing defines a second plane that extends radially therefrom. An electric motor has a stator and a rotor. A portion of the rotor includes the sun gear. The sun gear has a plurality of gear teeth that engages with the planet gears. The plurality of gear teeth on the sun gear is disposed between the first plane and the second plane.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present teachings.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present teachings in any way.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present teachings, their application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals can indicate like or corresponding parts and features.
With reference to
The vehicle 14 can include an engine 18 driving front wheels 20. The electric motor assemblies 10 can replace a conventional wheel and a wheel mounting structure (not specifically shown) that would otherwise rotatably support the rear wheels 22 and couple the rear wheels 22 to the vehicle 14. It will be appreciated that the vehicle 14 can be equipped with the conventional wheel and wheel mounting structure and can be subsequently retrofit with the electric motor assemblies 10. Moreover, the electric motor assemblies 10 can be provided as original equipment in lieu of the conventional wheel and wheel mounting structure.
With reference to
While the vehicle 14 is illustrated as having a front wheel drive powertrain that serves as the primary source of propulsive power and the hybrid electric all wheel drive system 12 that provides supplemental power to the rear wheels of the vehicle 14, it will be appreciated that the all wheel drive system 12 can also be implemented so that the electric motor assemblies 10 can drive the front wheels 20, while the rear wheels 22 can be driven by the engine 18. The all wheel drive system 12 can also be independent of a certain type of engine in the vehicle 14 such that the engine 18 can be an internal combustion engine, a hybrid configuration, an electric motor, other suitable power sources and combinations thereof.
With reference to
In the example provided, the sun gear 28 is the input, the ring gear 34 is maintained in a stationary (non-rotating) condition, and the planet carrier 38 is the output; but it will be appreciated that other configurations are possible such that modifications are within the capabilities of one skilled in the art. The ring gear 34 can be formed onto a portion of the wheel spindle 30, which can be fixedly coupled to the suspension component 24. The sun gear 32 can be driven by the electric motor 26. The planet carrier 38 can be driven by the sun gear 32 via the planet gears 36. Upon activation of the electric motor 26, the planetary gearset 28 can provide, for example, a gear reduction ratio of about 1:2.64.
With reference to
The electric wheel motor assembly 10 can generally be an annular structure symmetrical about the wheel spindle 30. For purposes of this disclosure and with reference to
With reference to
A first wheel bearing B1 and a second wheel bearing B2 can be disposed between the spindle portion 54 and the planet carrier 38 to permit the planet carrier 38 to rotate about the wheel spindle 30. The first wheel bearing B1 can be disposed in a position that is outboard of the second wheel bearing B2. Outboard can refer to a direction away from the suspension component 24 to which the wheel spindle 30 is attached. Inboard can refer to a direction toward the suspension component 24. The first wheel bearing B1 can establish a first imaginary plane PL that can extend in a radial direction outwardly from the first wheel bearing B1 (i.e., radially away from the spindle portion 54). The second wheel bearing B2 can establish a second imaginary plane PR that can extend in a radial direction outwardly from the second wheel bearing B2. The first imaginary PL and the second imaginary plane PR can be generally perpendicular to the central axis 60.
A sun gear bearing B3 can be disposed between the planet carrier 38 and the sun gear 32 and can permit the sun gear 32 to rotate relative to the planet carrier 38. The sun gear 32 of the planetary gearset 28 can also be disposed between the first imaginary plane PL and the second imaginary plane PR. Moreover, the sun gear bearing B3 can be disposed between the first imaginary plane PL and the second imaginary plane PR of the first wheel bearing B1 and the second wheel bearing B2, respectively.
Further, the first wheel bearing B1 can have an outboard face B1O (i.e., a face farthest from the suspension component 24), while the second wheel bearing B2 can have an inboard face B2I (i.e., a face closest to the suspension component 24). The outboard face B1O of the first wheel bearing B1 can be associated with a third imaginary plane PLO. The inboard face B2I of the second wheel bearing B2 can be associated with a fourth imaginary plane PRI. The sun gear 32, the planet gears 36 and/or the sun gear bearing B3 can be contained between the third imaginary plane PLO and the fourth imaginary plane PRI.
The planet carrier 38 can be formed from a first carrier member 100 and a second carrier member 102. The first carrier member 100 can rotatably support the planet gears 36. The second carrier member 102 can couple to the wheel rim 44 (
Each planet gear 36 can have a plurality of gear teeth 64 on an outer periphery 112. A needle bearing 114 can be disposed between each planet gear 36 and its respective pin 110. A pair of thrust bearings 116 can be disposed on each side of each of the planet gears 36. While three planet gears 36 are illustrated in
The second carrier member 102 can include a flange portion 118 and a hub portion 120. The hub portion 120 of the second carrier member 102 can couple to the hub portion 104 of the first carrier member 100 and can form a fixed (i.e., rotationless) connection between the first carrier member 100 and the second carrier member 102. The flange portion 118 of the second carrier member 102 can have a plurality of threaded holes formed thereon to receive respective threaded fasteners, such as threaded studs (F) that can extend outwardly from the flange portion 118. Whether using threaded studs (F) or threaded bolts, the brake rotor 40 and the wheel rim 44 can couple to the flange portion 118 of the second carrier member 102.
The electric motor 26 can include a rotor 122 and a stator 124. The rotor 122 of the electric motor 26 can generally include a sun gear portion 126, a bridge portion 128, and a magnet portion 130. The sun gear portion 126 can be concentric with the magnet portion 130 and can be generally perpendicular to the bridge portion 128. The bridge portion 128 can extend between and connect the sun gear portion 126 and the magnet portion 130. The bridge portion 128 can include an annular groove 129 that can receive portions of the pins 110 that rotateably support the planet gears 36. The sun gear portion 126 can include a plurality of gear teeth 132 and can form the sun gear 32 of the planetary gearset 28. To that end, the sun gear portion 126 can meshingly engage with the planet gears 36. The magnet portion 130 can extend from the bridge portion 128 and can hold one or more magnets 134 that can form an additional annular structure around the rotor that can be electrically associated with the electric motor 26.
A plurality of electric windings 136 can be connected to the housing 52 of the electric motor 26 and can at least partially form the stator 124 of the electric motor 26. The housing 52 of the electric motor 26 can be fixedly coupled to the suspension component 24 along with the wheel spindle 30 having its ring gear portion 58. As voltage is applied to the electric motor 26, the input torque can be delivered to the planetary gearset 28 via the sun gear portion 126 of the rotor 122. Because the stator 124 and the ring gear portion 58 of the wheel spindle 30 are maintained in a non-rotating condition (i.e., remain rotationless) in the example provided, the electric motor can drive the planet carrier 38 via the planet gears 36.
The housing 52 of the electric motor 26 can contain the plurality of electric windings 136 that can form the stator 124 of the electric motor 26. The windings 136 can include a suitable copper wire winding pattern. The windings can remain rotationless within the housing 52 but the magnets 134 can be coupled to the magnet portion 130 of the rotor 122 and can be generally opposite the windings 136 and form an air gap therebetween. The magnets 134 of the rotor 122, therefore, can spin relative to the windings 136, when voltage is applied to the electric motor 26.
The housing 52 of the electric motor 26 can include a first seal S1 and a second seal S2. The first seal S1 can seal the rotor 122 to the housing 52. The second seal S2 can seal the rotor 122 to the wheel spindle 30 at a location that can be near the spindle bridge portion 56 and the ring gear portion 58. As such, the first seal S1 and the second seal S2 can provide a seal (e.g., a lubrication seal) between the planetary gearset 28 and the plurality of windings 136 of the electric motor 26. The windings 136 can be disposed a predetermined distance away from the plurality of the magnets 134 to insure the air gap therebetween.
A third seal S3 can seal the sun gear bearing B3 to maintain the lubrication for the sun gear bearing B3. A fourth seal S4 can seal the first wheel bearing S1 to the hub portion 120 of the second carrier member 102 and to the wheel spindle 30 and, therefore, seal lubrication in the planetary gearset 28 for, among other things, the first and second wheel bearings B1, B2. A sleeve S5 can be disposed between the first seal S1 and the housing 52.
A plurality of cooling fins 200 can extend radially outward from the housing 52 of the electric motor 26. The cooling fins 200 can be exposed to the environment. In this regard, the cooling fins 200 can facilitate heat removal from the electric motor 26, as heat is dispersed into the surrounding environment.
In one aspect of the present teachings and with respect to
With reference to
In one aspect, the suspension component 24 to which the electric wheel motor assembly 10 can couple can be a wheel bearing mount 400 that can be coupled to a spring pocket 402. A brace 404 can further secure the electric wheel motor assembly 10 to the wheel bearing mount 400. A spring seat 406 can be coupled to the spring pocket 402 and can receive, for example, a spring (not shown) that can suspend the electric wheel motor assembly 10 from the vehicle 14. A control arm 408 can couple to the spring pocket 402 and can further couple to other portions of the vehicle body 14a (
In accordance with one aspect of the present teachings and with reference to
In a stability control situation, the engine computer 500 and/or the electric all-wheel drive module 502 can detect slip from one of the vehicle wheels 20, 22 and can, therefore, provide torque to one or both of the rear wheels 22 to aid in the stability situation. A conventional anti-lock brake system can be employed, for example, to detect slip at each of wheels 20, 22. The electric motor assemblies 10 can be controlled by a control module 512 that can be part of or included with the engine computer 500 and/or the electric all-wheel drive module 502. The control module 512 can also be resident in other portions of the vehicle 14.
A wheel spindle from a conventional rear wheel assembly can be removed from a wheel bearing mount 510. When the conventional rear wheel assembly is removed, the brake rotor, wheel rim and brake caliper or brake drum can also be removed with the conventional assembly. The electric wheel motor assembly 10a, 10b can then be mounted to the wheel bearing mount 510. Specifically and with reference to
In accordance with one aspect of the present teachings, each of the electric wheel motor assemblies 10 can, after the gear reduction of the planetary gearset 28, provide drive torque to each of the rear wheels 22. In particular example provided, each electric wheel motor assemblies 10 can provide a maximum torque of about 250 foot pounds for about sixty seconds. When producing less torque, the electric wheel motor assemblies can be activated for longer periods. It will be appreciated that using the planetary gearset 28 in series with the electric motor 26 can provide the ability to reduce the size of the electric motor 26 because of the mechanical advantage of the planetary gearset 28. Moreover, because the all wheel drive system 12 can be a part time system, and therefore not full time system, liquid cooling of the electric motor 26 may not be necessary. As such, the all wheel drive system 12 can be a completely air-cooled system.
While specific aspects have been described in this specification and illustrated in the drawings, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes can be made and equivalents can be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present teachings, as defined in the claims. Furthermore, the mixing and matching of features, elements and/or functions between various aspects of the present teachings may be expressly contemplated herein so that one skilled in the art will appreciate from the present teachings that features, elements and/or functions of one aspect of the present teachings may be incorporated into another aspect, as appropriate, unless described otherwise above. Moreover, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation, configuration or material to the present teachings without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it may be intended that the present teachings not be limited to the particular aspects illustrated by the drawings and described in the specification as the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the present teachings but that the scope of the present teachings will include many aspects and examples following within the foregoing description and the appended claims.
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