US-20260124891-A1 - MULTI-SPEED ELECTRIC DRIVE AXLE USING MULTI-LAYSHAFT TRANSMISSION

US20260124891A1US 20260124891 A1US20260124891 A1US 20260124891A1US-20260124891-A1

Abstract

An electric drive axle with an electric motor having a motor shaft that is rotatable about an axis, a differential, and a transmission. The transmission transmits rotary power between the motor shaft and the differential. The multi-speed reduction has an input shaft and at least three on-axis gears. The input shaft is rotatably coupled to the motor shaft. Each of the at least three on-axis gears is co-axial with the input shaft and is rotatable relative to the input shaft in at least one of a first speed ratio and a second speed ratio. The input shaft is axially movable along the axis between a first position, in which a first one of the at least three on-axis gears is rotationally coupled to the input shaft, and a second position in which a second one of the at least three on-axis gears is rotationally coupled to the input shaft.

Inventors

Austin R. Gerding
Jason Bock
Justin Sieferd
Peter Barta
Mandar Ahir
Jonathan TRIM
Shawn S. Proctor
Mario Amerla

Assignees

AMERICAN AXLE & MANUFACTURING, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20260105

Claims (10)

1 . A vehicle driveline component comprising: a housing assembly; and a multi-speed reduction received in the housing assembly, the multi-speed reduction having a movable element that is movable along a shift axis between a first position and a second position, wherein placement of the movable element in the first position causes the multi-speed reduction to operate in a first speed reduction ratio, and wherein placement of the movable element in the second position causes the multi-speed reduction to operate in a second speed reduction ratio that is different from the first speed reduction ratio; and an actuator assembly having an actuator motor, a screw, an actuator output member, a coupler and at least one coupler pad, the screw being driven by the actuator motor about a rotational axis of the screw that is parallel to the shift axis, the actuator output member having a first end and a second end that is opposite the first end, the movable element of the multi-speed reduction being axially fixed but rotatable relative to the first end of the axially movable member, the second end of the axially movable member defining a pocket, the coupler being threadably coupled to the screw and received into the pocket, each of the at least one coupler pads being received in the pocket and mounted to one of the coupler and the axially movable member, each of the at least one coupler pads having a first surface, which abuts an associated surface of the axially movable member, and a second surface that abuts an associated surface of the coupler, one of the first and second surfaces of each of the at least one coupler pads being curved so that contact between the other one of the coupler and the axially movable member and each of the at least one coupler pads occurs over an associated line that extends in a plane that includes the screw axis.
2 . The vehicle driveline component of claim 1 , wherein the at least one coupler pad includes a pad member, onto which the first and second surfaces are formed, and a projection that is received into a recess that is formed in the one of the coupler and the axially movable member.
3 . The vehicle driveline component of claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one coupler pads engages the coupler to inhibit rotation of the coupler relative to the axially movable member.
4 . The vehicle driveline component of claim 1 , wherein the screw is rotatably disposed about the screw axis and includes a screw input and an externally threaded portion.
5 . The vehicle driveline component of claim 1 , wherein the coupler includes an internally threaded hub and a mounting flange mounted to a coupler mount.
6 . The vehicle driveline component of claim 5 , wherein a portion of the mounting flange is received into the pocket defined in the coupler mount such that the mounting flange is axially and non-rotatably coupled to the coupler mount.
7 . The vehicle driveline component of claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one coupler pads is configured to provide vibration damping between the coupler and the actuator output member.
8 . The vehicle driveline component of claim 1 , wherein the actuator motor is coupled to the screw by a reduction gearset disposed between the actuator motor and the screw.
9 . The vehicle driveline component of claim 8 , wherein the reduction gearset includes an actuator input gear driven by the actuator motor and an actuator output gear meshingly engaged with the actuator input gear and rotatable about the screw axis.
10 . The vehicle driveline component of claim 9 , wherein the actuator output gear is coupled to a screw input such that the screw rotates with the actuator output gear.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 19/059,423, filed Feb. 21, 2025, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/442,425, filed Feb. 15, 2024 (U.S. Pat. No. 12,251,999, issued Mar. 18, 2025), which is a by-pass continuation of PCT International Application No. PCT/US2023/032865, filed Sep. 15, 2023, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/442,471 filed Feb. 1, 2023, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/407,007, filed Sep. 15, 2022. The entire disclosure of each of the above applications is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD The present disclosure relates to a multi-speed electric drive axle that uses a multi-layshaft transmission. BACKGROUND This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art. Electric drive axles are becoming increasingly popular in the drivelines of automotive vehicles. There is increasing interest in electric drive axles that employ multi-speed transmissions. One drawback to the such electric drive axles is that heretofore the multi-speed transmission can be difficult to package into a vehicle in such a way that does not impact either cabin space or vehicle clearance. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved electric drive axle having a multi-speed transmission that is relatively compact. SUMMARY This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. In one form, the present disclosure provides an electric drive axle that includes a housing assembly, an electric motor, a differential assembly, and a transmission. The electric motor is coupled to the housing assembly and has a motor shaft that is rotatable about a motor axis. The differential assembly is received in the housing assembly and includes a differential input member, which is rotatable about an output axis, and a pair of differential output members that are rotatable about the output axis. The transmission is received in the housing assembly and transmits rotary power between the motor shaft and the differential input member. The transmission has an input shaft, which is rotatably coupled to the motor shaft and axially movable along the motor axis, a first reduction gearset, a second reduction gearset, and a coupling sleeve. The first reduction gearset has a first intermediate input gear and a first intermediate output gear. The first intermediate output gear is axially slidably and rotatably disposed on the input shaft. The first intermediate output gear is meshingly engaged with the first intermediate input gear and is rotatable about an intermediate axis that is parallel to the motor axis. The second reduction gearset has a second intermediate input gear, a second intermediate output gear, a first intermediate gear, a second intermediate gear, a third intermediate gear and a fourth intermediate gear. The input shaft is rotatable and axially slidable relative to the second intermediate input gear, the third intermediate gear and the fourth intermediate gear. The first intermediate gear is meshingly engaged to the second intermediate input gear. The second intermediate gear is coupled to the first intermediate gear for rotation therewith and is meshingly engaged to the third intermediate gear. The fourth intermediate gear is meshingly engaged to the second intermediate output gear. The coupling sleeve is rotatable about the input shaft but is coupled to the input shaft for translation therewith along the motor axis. The input shaft is movable between a first position, in which the input shaft is rotatably coupled to the first intermediate input gear and the coupling sleeve is rotationally decoupled from at least one of the third intermediate gear and the fourth intermediate gear, and a second position in which the input shaft is rotationally decoupled from the first intermediate input gear, the input shaft is rotationally coupled to the second intermediate input gear, and the coupling sleeve rotationally couples the third and fourth intermediate gears to one another. In another form, the present disclosure provides an electric drive axle that includes a housing assembly, an electric motor, a differential assembly, and a transmission. The electric motor is coupled to the housing assembly and has a motor shaft that is rotatable about a motor axis. The differential assembly is received in the housing assembly and includes a differential input member, which is rotatable about an output axis, and a pair of differential output members that are rotatable about the output axis. The transmission is received in the housing assembly and transmits rotary power between the motor shaft and the differential input member. The transmission has a multi-speed reduction that includes an input shaft, which is rotatably coupled to the motor shaft and axially movable along