Concentric Vehicle Drive Layout With Switchable Planetary Gears
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle drives require significant installation space due to their design, limiting the ability to achieve large transmission ratios and compactness.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a compact drive system utilizing a switchable planetary gear set with three rotation bodies, where one rotation body is connected to the motor's rotor, another to the differential input, and a third to the frame via a brake, allowing simultaneous operation of a clutch to achieve concentric output shafts and drive shafts, along with additional switchable planetary gear sets and final transmissions for enhanced compactness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a conventional transmission design is used, then the transmission ratio can be achieved, but the installation space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The planetary gear set is nested within the motor housing, with the sun gear positioned at the center and planet gears surrounding it. The differential is integrated into the same housing structure, creating a compact nested arrangement that reduces overall installation space while maintaining complex transmission functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The motor housing and transmission housing are merged into a single integrated structure. The planetary gear set, differential, and motor are combined in one compact unit with concentric alignment, eliminating the need for separate housings and reducing installation space requirements
2Volume of moving object
If the transmission components are arranged in one line and concentric, then the drive becomes more compact, but the manufacturing precision requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The planetary gear set uses asymmetric positioning of planet gears around the sun gear, with specific gear tooth profiles and spacing that are optimized for compact concentric arrangement. The differential gears are also positioned asymmetrically within the housing to achieve compact one-line alignment while maintaining manufacturing feasibility
Solution Approach 2:
The gear module, tooth count, and center distances are specifically optimized parameters that enable compact concentric arrangement. By changing these geometric parameters, the design achieves reduced volume while maintaining acceptable manufacturing precision tolerances for the one-line configuration
Data Source
AI summary
A compact drive 1 has a housing 3 with two electric motors 5 and 31 therein and a transmission 9 provided with a differential 9 via which the electric motors are connected to output shafts 13. The transmission 9 further has a first switchable planetary gear set 17, which is present between the differential and the electric motors, and two second switchable planetary gear sets 23 located between the differential and the output shafts. One rotation body of these gear sets can be connected via a brake to the housing 3 and via a coupling to another of the rotation bodies. The brake and the clutch can only be operated simultaneously in such a way that when the brake is energized, the clutch is opened and vice versa. The output shafts, the electric motors and the transmission are concentric and the housing is cylindrical for a compact and robust construction.