US-12617231-B2 - Electric actuable wheel hubs

US12617231B2US 12617231 B2US12617231 B2US 12617231B2US-12617231-B2

Abstract

A forked linkage includes a forked end and a control end. An axially translatable spline coupling is supported and carried by the forked end. A pivot is between the forked end and the control end. A cam is configured to interact with the control end of the forked linkage. The cam includes a profile that defines an axial position of the spline coupling relative to an angular position of the cam. A bias biases the control end towards the cam.

Inventors

Bryan M. Averill
Craig Feusse
Russell Conine
Bryce Gould

Assignees

WARN AUTOMOTIVE, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230324

Claims (20)

1 . An actuable wheel coupling comprising: an axially translatable spline coupling; a forked linkage comprising a forked end and a control end, the axially translatable spline coupling being supported and carried by the forked end; a cam configured to rotate and thereby interact with the control end of the forked linkage, the cam comprising a profile that defines an axial position of the spline coupling relative to an angular position of the cam; and a bias biasing the control end towards the cam.
2 . The actuable wheel coupling of claim 1 , wherein the cam is an asymmetric cam.
3 . The actuable wheel coupling of claim 1 , wherein the profile is configured to axially translate the spline coupling into an engaged position at a first rate and axially translate the spline coupling into a disengaged position at a second rate that is slower than the first rate.
4 . The actuable wheel coupling of claim 1 , further comprising a roller attached to the control end of the forked linkage, the roller contacting the cam during normal operation, the roller coupled to the control end such that the roller translates in unison with the control end.
5 . The actuable wheel coupling of claim 1 , comprising a pivot between the forked end and the control end, wherein the pivot comprises: a first triangular protrusion extending along a pivot axis of the fork, a point of the first protrusion being in-line with the pivot axis; and a first triangular receptacle defining a profile to receive the first triangular protrusion, an angle of the first triangular receptacle being greater than an angle of the point of the first protrusion, the angle of the first triangular receptacle terminating along the pivot axis.
6 . The actuable wheel coupling of claim 5 , wherein the pivot further comprises: a second triangular protrusion extending along a pivot axis of the fork linkage, a point of the second protrusion being in-line with the pivot axis, the point of the first protrusion pointing substantially in the opposite direction of the point of the first protrusion; and a second triangular receptacle defining a profile to receive the second triangular protrusion, an angle of the second triangular receptacle being greater than an angle of the point of the second protrusion, the angle of the second triangular receptacle terminating along the pivot axis.
7 . The actuable wheel coupling of claim 1 , wherein the forked end comprises: spline clutch retainers configured to retain the spline coupling, the spline clutch retainers configured to allow rotational movement along a first rotational axis parallel to a pivot axis of the linkage, the spline clutch retainers configured to allow rotational movement along a second rotational axis along a circular center of the spline coupling.
8 . The actuable wheel coupling of claim 7 , wherein the spline clutch retainers comprise: a trunnion mount configured to be received by the forked end; and a profile, opposite of the trunnion, configured to receive and at least partially retain the spline coupling.
9 . The actuable wheel coupling of claim 1 , further comprising: an electric motor; a worm gear rotably coupled to a shaft of the electric motor; and a pinion gear directly coupled to the cam, the pinion gear being engaged with the worm gear such that rotation of the worm gear imparts rotation on the pinion gear and cam.
10 . The actuable wheel coupling of claim 1 , further comprising a cam position sensor comprising: a first magnet at a first side of the cam; a second magnet at a second side of the cam opposite a cam shaft from the first magnet, the second magnet having an opposite polarity from the first magnet; and a Hall Effect sensor adjacent to the cam, the Hall Effect sensor configured to detect the polarity of the first magnet or the second magnet, the Hall Effect sensor configured to produce an output indicative of the cam position.
11 . The actuable wheel coupling of claim 1 , further comprising a spline position sensor comprising: a magnet at the control end; and a Hall Effect sensor configured to determine a position of the control end relative to the sensor, the Hall Effect sensor configured to produce an output indicative of an engagement position of the spline coupling.
12 . The actuable wheel coupling of claim 1 , further comprising: an electric motor arranged to rotate the cam; a cam position sensor configured to produce a first output indicative of the cam position; a spline position sensor configured to produce a second output indicative of an engagement position of the spline coupling; and a controller configured to: receive the first output from the cam position sensor: receive the second output from the spline position sensor; determine the position of the cam based on the received first output; and determine a status of a wheel coupling based on the received second output.
13 . The actuable wheel coupling of claim 12 , wherein the controller is further configured to: determine a stalled actuation based on the received first output and the received second output; and in response to determining the stalled actuation, begin thermal management of the electric motor.
14 . A method comprising: engaging a wheel hub to a drive axle by a spline coupling at a first rate, wherein engaging the wheel hub to the drive axle comprises: rotating a cam, translating an end of a linkage, by a bias, responsive to rotating the cam, and laterally translating the spline coupling responsive to translating the end of the linkage; and disengaging the wheel hub from the drive axle by the spline coupling at a second rate, wherein disengaging the wheel hub from the drive axle comprises: rotating a cam, translating an end of a linkage by rotating the cam, and laterally translating the spline coupling responsive to translating the end of the linkage, wherein the second rate is slower than the first rate.
15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising: determining a stalled actuation of the spline coupling; and in response to determining the stalled actuation, beginning thermal management of an electric motor.
16 . A vehicle comprising: a wheel hub; a drive axle; an actuable wheel coupling configured to actuably couple the wheel hub and the drive axle to rotate in unison with one another, the actuable wheel coupling comprising: an axially translatable spline coupling configured to be translated between an engaged position and a disengaged position, the engaged position coupling the wheel hub and drive axle, the disengaged position decoupling the wheel hub and drive axle; a forked linkage comprising a forked end and a control end, the axially translatable spline coupling being supported and carried by the forked end; a cam configured to rotate and thereby interact with the control end of the forked linkage, the cam comprising a profile that defines an axial position of the spline coupling relative to an angular position of the cam; and a bias biasing the control end towards the cam.
17 . The vehicle of claim 16 , further comprising a roller attached to the control end of the forked linkage, the roller contacting the cam during normal operation, the roller coupled to the control end such that the roller translates in unison with the control end.
18 . The vehicle of claim 16 , further comprising: an electric motor; a worm gear rotably coupled to a shaft of the electric motor; and a pinion gear directly coupled to the cam, the pinion gear being engaged with the worm gear such that rotation of the worm gear imparts rotation on the pinion gear and cam.
19 . The vehicle of claim 16 , further comprising a cam position sensor comprising: a first magnet at a first side of the cam; a second magnet at a second side of the cam opposite a cam shaft from the first magnet, the second magnet having an opposite polarity from the first magnet; and a Hall Effect sensor adjacent to the cam, the Hall Effect sensor configured to detect the polarity of the first magnet or the second magnet, the Hall Effect sensor configured to produce a cam position stream indicative of the cam position.
20 . The vehicle of claim 16 , further comprising a spline position sensor comprising: a magnet at the control end; and a Hall Effect sensor configured to determine a position of the control end relative to the sensor, the Hall Effect sensor configured to produce an engagement position stream indicative of an engagement position of the spline coupling.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. Application No. 63/323,927, filed on Mar. 25, 2022, the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to wheel hubs that are actuable to couple and decouple the wheel hubs from a drive axle. BACKGROUND Some vehicles employ four-wheel drive systems to increase traction for off-road driving as well as low traction for on-road driving. However, it may be desirable to provide optional engagement/disengagement of the four-wheel drive system to increase the versatility of the vehicle. Specifically, two of the drive wheels may be disengaged to provide two-wheel drive during on-road driving to increase the vehicle's fuel and/or battery economy. On the other hand, four-wheel drive may be used to provide increased traction during certain driving conditions, such as vehicle operation on dirt roads, snow, etc. In this way, a user may adjust a vehicle's drivetrain based on the driving circumstances and the desired vehicle performance characteristics. Engagement of four-wheel drive systems may be automatically activated or manually activated. Although automatic four-wheel drive engagement has a number of benefits, such as decreased user interaction, automatic four-wheel drive engagement systems also may have some drawbacks, such as greater manufacturing costs as well as repair and maintenance costs. On the other hand, manually engaged four-wheel drive systems have certain benefits over automatically engaged systems, such as increased reliability and decreased manufacturing and repair costs. Therefore, manual four-wheel drive systems may be desired by users who prefer less complex and more reliable four-wheel drive systems, such as off-road enthusiasts. SUMMARY This disclosure describes technologies relating to electric actuable wheel hubs. An example implementation of the subject matter described within this disclosure is an actuable wheel coupling with the following features. A forked linkage includes a forked end and a control end. An axially translatable spline coupling is supported and carried by the forked end. A pivot is between the forked end and the control end. A cam is configured to interact with the control end of the forked linkage. The cam includes a profile that defines an axial position of the spline coupling relative to an angular position of the cam. A bias biases the control end towards the cam. Aspects of the example wheel coupling, which can be combined with the wheel coupling alone or in other aspects, include the following. The cam is an asymmetric cam. Aspects of the example wheel coupling, which can be combined with the wheel coupling alone or in other aspects, include the following. The cam is a symmetric cam. Aspects of the example wheel coupling, which can be combined with the wheel coupling alone or in other aspects, include the following. The profile is configured to axially translate the spline coupling into an engaged position at a first rate and axially translate the spline coupling into a disengaged position at a second rate that is slower than the first rate. Aspects of the example wheel coupling, which can be combined with the wheel coupling alone or in other aspects, include the following. A roller is attached to the control end of the forked linkage. The roller contacts the cam during normal operation. The roller is coupled to the control end such that the roller translates in unison with the control end. Aspects of the example wheel coupling, which can be combined with the wheel coupling alone or in other aspects, include the following. The pivot includes a first triangular protrusion extending along a pivot axis of the fork. A point of the first protrusion is in-line with the pivot axis. A first triangular receptacle defines a profile to receive the first triangular protrusion. An angle of the first triangular receptacle is greater than an angle of the point of the first protrusion. The angle of the first triangular receptacle terminates along the pivot axis. Aspects of the example wheel coupling, which can be combined with the wheel coupling alone or in other aspects, include the following. A second triangular protrusion extends along a pivot axis of the fork linkage. A point of the second protrusion is in-line with the pivot axis. The point of the first protrusion points substantially in the opposite direction of the point of the first protrusion. A second triangular receptacle defines a profile to receive the second triangular protrusion. An angle of the second triangular receptacle is greater than an angle of the point of the second protrusion. The angle of the second triangular receptacle terminates along the pivot axis. Aspects of the example wheel coupling, which can be combined with the wheel coupling alone or in other aspects, include the following. The forked end includes the following features. Spline clutch retainers are