An on-demand transfer case 107, for a vehicle driveline, is continuously coupled, via input shaft 113 and first output shaft 115, to a main shaft (109, fig 2) and is selectively coupled to an auxiliary drive shaft (111) by a second output shaft 117. The transfer case 107 comprises a first epicyclic gear set 123 having a planet carrier 129 with planetary gears 127, a sun gear 125 and a ring gear 131. In one embodiment a multi-plate clutch 133 controls the epicyclic gear set 123 by, for example, preventing rotation of the sun gear 125 so that the planet carrier 129 drives, via planetary gears 127, the ring gear 131. The ring gear 131 is coupled to a transfer sprocket 139 which drives a drive chain 121 that rotates second output shaft 117. In other embodiments the clutch 133 is coupled to the ring gear 131 and the planet carrier is connected to the transfer sprocket 139. A second epicyclic gear set (841) may provide high and low ranges.
Transfer case
2016-04-27
Patent
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch