Offset Portal Drive Layout for Compact 4WD Ground Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drive units for all-wheel-drive vehicles require significant installation space, limiting their ability to achieve adequate ground clearance necessary for off-road driving and obstacle navigation.
Innovation Solution
A drive unit design featuring a central shaft unit with offset portal gears that allow for a compact installation while maximizing ground clearance, utilizing a central shaft unit with first and second portal gears oriented to provide high ground clearance and efficient power distribution to the drive axles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If a conventional drive unit is used, then the vehicle can achieve adequate ground clearance, but the installation space required is large
Solution Approach 1:
The drive unit employs a nested arrangement where the central shaft unit is positioned within the prime mover housing, and portal gears are integrated into the central shaft structure. This nesting allows multiple components to occupy overlapping spatial volumes, reducing the overall installation footprint while preserving ground clearance
Solution Approach 2:
The drive unit transitions from a conventional longitudinal power train layout to a transverse layout where the central shaft unit extends in the transverse direction rather than the longitudinal direction. This dimensional reorientation allows the drive unit to fit within the vehicle's width rather than length, reducing the longitudinal installation space while maintaining ground clearance
2Area of stationary object
If the drive unit is compacted to reduce installation space, then ground clearance is reduced, but adequate ground clearance is necessary for off-road capability
Solution Approach 1:
The drive unit is segmented into functionally independent modules: the prime mover, the central shaft unit with portal gears, and the differential units. This segmentation allows each module to be optimized independently for compactness while the overall arrangement maintains the necessary ground clearance through strategic positioning of these modular components
Solution Approach 2:
By reorienting the central shaft unit to extend in the transverse direction and positioning portal gears at transverse offsets, the design achieves compactness in the longitudinal dimension while preserving vertical clearance to the ground through the elevated mounting of the drive unit assembly
Data Source
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AI summary
A drive device for an all-wheel drive vehicle has a drive unit (1) comprising a prime mover (11, 12) and a central shaft unit (20), as well as a first and a second portal transmission (30, 40). The central shaft unit (20) is operatively connected to the prime mover (11, 12) for receiving a drive force and has a first and a second central output element (21, 22) for outputting the drive force. The first and the second portal transmission (30, 40) are operatively connected to the drive unit (1) via the first and the second portal transmission (40) respectively for receiving the drive force. The first and the second portal transmission (30, 40) each have a portal output element (33, 43) which is operatively connected to a first and a second drive axle (71) via a first and a second transmission element (51, 52) respectively for outputting the drive force.The first and second portal output elements (33, 43) are each arranged offset in a direction relative to a rotational axis of the first and second central output elements (21, 22), respectively.