Claims
- 1. An axle assembly comprising:
a housing; a differential mechanism that is rotatably supported within said housing, said differential mechanism including a rotatable input shaft; and an electrical generator supported on said housing, said electrical generator being responsive to rotation of said input shaft for generating electrical power.
- 2. The axle assembly defined in claim 1 wherein said electrical generator includes a stator that is supported within said axle housing and a rotor that is supported on said input shaft.
- 3. The axle assembly defined in claim 1 further including an electrical component that receives the electrical power generated by said electrical generator.
- 4. The axle assembly defined in claim 3 wherein said electrical component is a piezo-based device that is attached to an either inner surface or an outer surface of a driveshaft tube connected to said input shaft, or is embedded within said driveshaft tube.
- 5. A drive train system comprising:
a source of rotational power; a driveshaft assembly connected to said source of rotational power; and an axle assembly including a housing, a differential mechanism that is rotatably supported within said housing and includes an input shaft that is connected to said driveshaft assembly, and an electrical generator supported on said housing, said electrical generator being responsive to rotation of said input shaft for generating electrical power.
- 6. The axle assembly defined in claim 5 wherein said electrical generator includes a stator that is supported within said axle housing and a rotor that is supported on said input shaft.
- 7. The axle assembly defined in claim 5 further including an electrical component that receives the electrical power generated by said electrical generator.
- 8. The axle assembly defined in claim 7 wherein said electrical component is a piezo-based device that is attached to an either inner surface or an outer surface of a driveshaft tube connected to said input shaft, or is embedded within said driveshaft tube.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/366,191, filed Mar. 21, 2002, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60366191 |
Mar 2002 |
US |