Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080217079 | AUXILLARY DRIVE SYSTEM FOR MOTOR VEHICLES HAVING AXLE ASSEMBLY AND ELECTRIC DRIVE UNIT - A vehicle with an axle assembly, which has a housing, a differential, an input shaft, a pair of shafts and a pair of wheel hubs, and an auxiliary drive unit that includes an electric motor and an overrunning clutch. The differential and the input shaft are disposed in the housing for rotation therein. The differential includes a case and a ring gear that is coupled to the case. The input shaft has a pinion that is meshingly engaged to the ring gear. Each shaft couples the differential to one of the wheel hubs. The clutch includes an input portion, which is coupled to the output shaft of the electric motor, and an output portion, which is coupled to the input shaft. The output portion is de-coupled from the input portion when a rotational speed of the input portion is not greater than a rotational speed of the output portion. | 09-11-2008 |
20090032321 | ELECTRIC WHEEL MOTOR ASSEMBLY - A drive axle assembly for driving a wheel of a vehicle includes a moveable suspension arm and a wheel spindle fixed to the suspension arm. A planetary gearset includes a sun gear, a ring gear and a carrier rotatably supporting a plurality of planet gears in meshed engagement with the sun gear and the ring gear. The carrier encompasses the wheel spindle and is drivingly connected to the wheel. An electric motor includes a rotor and a stator. The rotor drives the sun gear. | 02-05-2009 |
20090032354 | TORQUE TRANSFER DEVICE WITH TORQUE LIMITING MECHANISM - An overrunning torque transmitting device that employs a plurality of cone clutches and an overload mechanism for limiting the torque transmitted through the device in a predetermined rotational direction. A method for transmitting torque is also provided. | 02-05-2009 |
20100038164 | MOTOR VEHICLE WITH DISCONNECTABLE ALL-WHEEL DRIVE SYSTEM - A vehicle with primary and secondary drivelines and a power take-off unit (PTU). The primary driveline has a first differential that is configured to distribute power to a first set of wheels. The PTU has a PTU input, a PTU output and a synchronizer for selectively de-coupling the PTU output from the PTU input. The secondary driveline is configured to distribute power to a second set of wheels and has a propshaft, a second differential, a pair of half-shafts and at least one torque transfer device (TTD). The propshaft transmits rotary power between the PTU output and an input of the second differential. The half-shafts are rotatably coupled to an output of the second differential and are configured to transmit rotary power to the second set of wheels. The at least one TTD is configured to selectively inhibit torque transmission through the second differential to the second set of wheels. | 02-18-2010 |
20100200325 | DRIVESHAFT ASSEMBLY WITH TORQUE SENSOR - A driveshaft assembly that includes a first shaft member, a second shaft member, a bearing assembly and a sensor. The first shaft member has a magnetically encoded zone with a magnetic field that varies as a function of the torque that is transmitted through the first shaft member. The second shaft member is coupled for rotation with the first shaft member. The bearing assembly comprises a bearing support, which is configured to be coupled to a vehicle structure, and a bearing that is housed in the bearing support. The bearing journally supports the first shaft member for rotation about a first axis. The sensor is coupled to the bearing assembly. The sensor is arranged to sense the magnetic field of the magnetically encoded zone and responsively produce an electrical signal. | 08-12-2010 |
20100327674 | WHEEL MOTOR - A wheel motor can include a stator adapted to be coupled to a vehicle. The stator can include a body portion and a core extending radially outward from the body portion. A rotor can be disposed about the stator and can have a portion positioned radially outboard of and around the stator core. The rotor can include a plurality of magnets aligned with the stator core, and can be adapted to be coupled to a rotatable vehicle component. At least one winding element can be disposed circumferentially around the stator core, and a controller can be positioned in a pocket integrally formed in the stator body portion. The controller can be coupled to the at least one winding element and can be arranged to selectively provide a current supply to the at least one winding element to generate a magnetic flux to rotate the rotor relative to the stator. | 12-30-2010 |
20110269595 | CONTROL STRATEGY FOR OPERATING A LOCKING DIFFERENTIAL - A drive train having a locking differential and a control unit for controlling operation of the locking differential. The control unit is responsive to selected vehicle characteristics to sua sponte activate or inactivate a locking mechanism of the locking differential to cause the locking differential to operate in a locked manner or an unlocked manner, respectively. A method for operating a locking differential is also provided. The method includes: utilizing only preselected vehicle criteria indicative of the operational state of the vehicle to identify a situation in which a locking mechanism associated with the locking differential is to be energized; and responsively energizing the locking mechanism. | 11-03-2011 |
20130333493 | MOTOR VEHICLE WITH DISCONNECTABLE ALL-WHEEL DRIVE SYSTEM - A vehicle with a primary driveline that is configured to distribute rotary power to a first set of vehicle wheels and a power transmitting device that can be selectively operated to transmit rotary power to a secondary driveline. The power transmitting device has an input member, which is driven by the primary driveline, and an output member that is selectively coupled to the input member to receive rotary power therefrom. The secondary driveline comprises a differential, a pair of shafts, and a side shaft coupling that selectively interrupts power transmission between the differential and one of the shafts. | 12-19-2013 |
20140213412 | CONTROL STRATEGY FOR OPERATING A LOCKING DIFFERENTIAL - A drive train having a locking differential and a control unit for controlling operation of the locking differential. The control unit is responsive to selected vehicle characteristics to sua sponte activate or inactivate a locking mechanism of the locking differential to cause the locking differential to operate in a locked manner or an unlocked manner, respectively. A method for operating a locking differential is also provided. The method includes: utilizing only preselected vehicle criteria indicative of the operational state of the vehicle to identify a situation in which a locking mechanism associated with the locking differential is to be energized; and responsively energizing the locking mechanism. | 07-31-2014 |
20140251081 | HOUSING ASSEMBLY - An assembly that includes a tube mount, a tube, a first fillet weld, and a second fillet weld. The tube mount has a tubular side wall, a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart notches formed on a first end of the tubular side wall, and a securing aperture formed through the tubular side wall. The notches form a plurality of teeth. The tube is received into the tube mount. The first fillet weld couples the tube to the tube mount. The first fillet weld is formed about a perimeter the first end such that each of the first welds is formed substantially completely over the entirety of the teeth. The second fillet weld couples the tube to the tube mount. The second fillet weld is formed about a perimeter of the securing aperture such that the second fillet weld is formed substantially completely over an inside perimeter of the securing aperture. | 09-11-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100270980 | BATTERY CHARGING CONTROL METHODS AND APPARATUS - Embodiments include methods for charging a battery of an electrical system. The electrical system includes the battery, a battery charger, and a controller. The battery charger is adapted to produce an output power in response to a control signal from the controller. The controller is adapted to control a battery charging process by determining a temperature of the battery pack, determining a voltage setpoint for the battery charger based on the temperature, and providing the control signal to the battery charger. According to an embodiment, when the temperature of the battery exceeds a first temperature value, the battery charging process is temporarily suspended prior to satisfying a charging termination criterion. Determining the temperature of the battery is repeated, and when the temperature of the battery is less than a second temperature value, the battery charging process is resumed. | 10-28-2010 |
20100304193 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CONDITIONING ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS OF VEHICLES - A method for conditioning an energy storage system for a vehicle located in a geographic area includes the steps of obtaining data pertaining to an external temperature of the geographic area, measuring a temperature of the energy storage system, heating the energy storage system if the temperature is less than a first predetermined threshold, and cooling the energy storage system if the temperature is greater than a second predetermined threshold. The first predetermined threshold is dependent upon the external temperature. The second predetermined threshold is also dependent upon the external temperature. | 12-02-2010 |
20100324846 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ESTIMATING BATTERY LIFE - Methods and systems for estimating remaining life of an automotive propulsion battery are provided. A total usable capacity of the battery is calculated based on cycling the battery. A first component of degradation is calculated based on driving throughput of the battery. A second component of degradation is calculated based on aging of the battery. The total degradation is calculated based on the sum of the first component and the second component of degradation. | 12-23-2010 |
20110191220 | METHOD FOR CHARGING A PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLE - A method for charging a plug-in electric vehicle with an external power source. In an exemplary embodiment, the method receives one or more utility rate preferences from a user, determines the utility rates of a local utility company, determines the total charging time needed to charge the plug-in electric vehicle, uses the utility rate preferences, the utility rates and the total charging time to develop several charging options that are presented to a user, and charges the plug-in electric vehicle according to the charging option selection made by the user. | 08-04-2011 |
20130289811 | SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR TORQUE CONTROL IN AN ELECTRONIC ALL WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLE - Methods and apparatus are provided for torque control in an electric all wheel drive (e AWD) vehicle. The apparatus is a system having at least one propulsion system capable of determining a desired torque command and torque capability data for a primary and secondary axle. Also included are one or more active chassis systems capable of providing chassis system data and a processor coupled for processing the desired torque command, the torque capability data and the chassis system data to provide a maximum torque limit and a minimum torque limit for the secondary axle. In this way, at least one propulsion system processes the desired torque signal and the maximum torque limit and the minimum torque limit to provide an electric motor torque command and an engine torque command for the eAWD vehicle. A method for torque control in an eAWD vehicle is also provided. | 10-31-2013 |
20140277878 | METHOD FOR OPERATING HYBRID VEHICLE - A method and system used to identify an optimal hybrid vehicle operating mode based on a variety of potential factors, and then recommend the optimal operating mode to the driver so that they can make an informed decision regarding their operating mode selection. In one embodiment, the method uses geographic-, vehicle- and/or environmental-related factors to establish one or more operating zones, monitors the location of the hybrid vehicle and determines when it is within one of the operating zones, and then determines an operating mode that is optimal for that particular operating zone. | 09-18-2014 |