American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc.

Matthew T Blakeman

Gregory Alan Marsh

James Preston Downs

Paul Joseph Valente

Frederick E Zink

Jonathan P Prichard

Steven Grider

Matthew A Umerley

An electrically-operated electric drive module for use in a vehicle framework that is configured for a powertrain that includes an internal combustion engine. The electrically-operated electric drive module permits the vehicle to be converted to an electrically propelled vehicle in a manner that is cost-effective and which is relatively low in weight.

Electric drive module configured as a beam axle

Various improvements to axle assemblies are disclosed herein that are especially adapted for highly robust and compact configurations for use in front (i.e., steering) axle configurations.

Axle assembly

An axle assembly having a carrier housing, a pair of axle tubes, a differential case, a pair of differential bearings and a pair of bearing adjusters. The carrier housing includes a cavity, which is configured to receive the differential case, and a pair of axle tubes that are mounted to the carrier housing. The differential case includes bearing bores into which the outer races of the differential bearings are received. The bearing adjusters are threaded to the carrier housing and support the differential bearings on a side opposite the differential case.

Axle assembly having differential assembly with inverted differential bearings

An axle assembly having a carrier housing, a locking differential assembly, a pair of differential bearing and an actuator assembly. The carrier housing includes a cavity. The locking differential assembly includes a differential case that is received in the cavity. The differential case includes a bearing bore into which an outer race of the differential bearing is received. The actuator assembly includes a sleeve that is movable between a first sleeve position, which is configured to cause the locking differential assembly to operate in an unlocked mode, and a second sleeve position that is configured to cause the locking differential assembly to operate in a locked mode. The sleeve is at least partly radially in-line with the differential bearing when the sleeve is in the first and/or second sleeve positions such that a plane taken perpendicular to the axis extends through both the sleeve and the differential bearing.

Compact axle assembly with locking differential

An axle assembly having an axle housing assembly that is configured to house an input pinion, a differential assembly and a ring gear. The axle housing assembly defines first and second lubricant galleries that provide lubricant to one or more bearings that support the input pinion relative to the axle housing assembly. The first lubricant gallery is configured to receive lubricant slung from the ring gear when the ring gear is rotated in a first rotational direction relative to the axle housing assembly. The second lubricant gallery is configured to receive lubricant slung from the input pinion when the ring gear is driven in a second, opposite direction.

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South Rockwood, MI, United States of America

Matthew T Blakeman