Wheel-End Driveline Layout for Compact Off-Highway Maneuvering

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional driveline configurations in off-highway vehicles, featuring long drive shafts and wide drive axles, hinder maneuverability and increase power losses, making them unsuitable for narrow work sites and requiring excessive lubrication.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of separate wheel end drivelines, each with a motor, eliminates the need for a drive shaft and drive axle, reducing vehicle width and length, and allowing for independent motor control to improve maneuverability and reduce lubrication requirements.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a traditional drive shaft and drive axle configuration is used, then power can be transmitted to the wheels, but the vehicle width and length increase, reducing maneuverability

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovemaneuverabilityVSAvoidvehicle length

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLength of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the traditional centralized driveline into separate wheel end drivelines, with each wheel end receiving its own motor. This segmentation eliminates the need for a long drive shaft extending from the transmission to the drive axle, thereby reducing vehicle length and improving maneuverability while maintaining power transmission capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Ease of operation

If a traditional drive shaft and drive axle configuration is used, then power can be transmitted to the wheels, but the vehicle width increases, reducing maneuverability

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovemaneuverabilityVSAvoidvehicle width

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSArea of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the driveline system into independent wheel end units with individual motors, eliminating the need for a wide drive axle and long drive shaft. This reduces the vehicle's overall width and improves maneuverability in narrow work site tracks

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Power

If a long drive shaft is used to extend along the vehicle length, then power can be transmitted to the drive axle, but power losses increase and lubrication requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepower transmissionVSAvoidpower losses

Core Design Contradiction:

PowerVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and eliminates the long drive shaft from the system by placing motors directly at each wheel end. This removes the source of power losses associated with long shafts while maintaining the necessary power transmission function through direct motor-to-wheel connection

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

By segmenting the driveline into separate wheel end units with individual motors, the patent eliminates the need for a long drive shaft, thereby reducing power losses and lubrication requirements while maintaining effective power transmission to each wheel

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS20240399852A1Electric wheel end driveline systems and methods

Publication Date: 2024.12.05 FAIRFIELD MFG CO INC

AI summary

A method for operating an off-highway vehicle, comprising: receiving a torque request; rotating a first wheel at a first speed via a first side motor based on the torque request, wherein the first side motor is positioned coaxially with respect to the first wheel; and rotating a second wheel at a second speed via a second side motor based on the torque request, wherein the second side motor is positioned coaxially with respect to the second wheel.