GB1049659A - Improvements in or relating to a vehicular driving axle - Google Patents

Abstract

1,049,659. Variable-speed gearing. AXEL WICKMAN TRANSMISSIONS Ltd. Nov. 23, 1964 [Nov. 22, 1963], No. 46155/63 Heading F2D. A motor-vehicle axle unit, for either rigid beam axles or the kind which drive independently suspended road wheels, includes a two speed epicyclic overdrive, or underdrive, gear the output ring gear 18 of which is directly connected to the input driving bevel pinion 36 of a differential gear and comprises an input shaft 12, connected through the usual propeller shaft and change-speed gearing to the engine of the vehicle, splined to which is a planet carrier 13 having planet gear wheels 17 meshing the output ring gear 18 and a sun gear 15 which is freely journalled at 16 and axially movable on the shaft 12 and is splined fast at 22 to an axially movable frusto-conical friction clutch brake member 19 spring-biased at 23 into clutching engagement at 20 with the annulus 18 for direct drive, or, braked at 21 to the axle casing 57, or in Fig. 1 (not shown) a non- rotatable piston 27, for overdrive, or underdrive, when pressure oil is supplied through a valve 29 and passage 32, to a piston 27 or the piston 27 (Fig. 1, not shown), the output ring gear 18 being splined at 42 to a shaft 39 of the bevel pinion 36 which meshes a crown wheel 37 to drive halfshafts 38. As shown, the hydraulically operated piston 27 operates the clutchbrake member 19 through a second set of springs 35 retained on studs 59 axially fast with a thrust race 26 secured to the hub of the clutch-brake member 19, and a one-way clutch 61 in an extension of the output ring gear 18 maintains forward drive during free-movement of the clutch-brake member 19. The pinion shaft 39 carries the splined hub extension of the ring gear 18 clamped by a nut 48 to the pinion 36 through thrust bearings 46 sandwiched together with a speedometer-oil pump drive skew gear (not shown) arranged therebetween or formed on the extension of the ring gear 18, the bearings 46 being located in a housing 44 shimmed at 55 for longitudinal mesh adjustment of the pinion 36 to the crown wheel 37. The rightangled axes of the pinion 36 and crown wheel 37 are offset, with the two-speed overdrive gear arranged on the opposite side of the crown wheel 44 to the connection of the input shaft 12 with the propeller shaft etc., the input shaft 12 extending to drive the planet carrier 13 and the driving pinion 36 being coaxially arranged on the input shaft 12. In Fig. 1 (not shown) the axially movable clutch-brake member 19 is spring-biased at 23 through a facial thrust race 26 into clutching engagement with the ring gear, the hydraulically operated axially movable non-rotatable piston 27 providing a progressive take-up from the clutched to braked position of the member 19, for overdrive, which avoids the necessity for the one-way clutch in the other arrangement.