Patent ID: 6572506
Filing Date: 2003-06-03
Classification: B60K,F16H

Abstract:
A transfer case comprising:an input shaft; first and second output shafts; a planetary gear assembly interconnecting said input shaft to said first and second output shafts and including first and second gearsets having a common carrier assembly, said first gearset including a first sun gear driven by said input shaft, a ring gear, and a first planet gear supported by said carrier assembly and meshed with said first sun gear and said ring gear, said second gearset including a second sun gear connected to said first output shaft, a third sun gear operably connected to said second output shaft, a second planet gear supported by said carrier assembly and meshed with said second sun gear, and a third planet gear supported by said carrier assembly and meshed with said third sun gear and said second planet gear; a coupling ring interconnecting said ring gear to said first sun gear to permit concurrent movement thereof between a first position and a second position while allowing relative rotation therebetween, said first sun gear rotates relative to said carrier assembly when located in said second position and is coupled to said carrier assembly when located in said first position; a range clutch including a first clutch plate fixed to said input shaft, a second clutch plate fixed to a stationary member, a clutch hub fixed for rotation with said ring gear, and a range sleeve supported for rotation with said clutch hub and movement thereon between a high-range position and low-range position, said range sleeve operable in its high-range position to couple said clutch hub to said first clutch plate such that said ring gear is driven by said input shaft and is further operable in its low-range position to couple said clutch hub to said second clutch plate such that said ting gear is couple to said stationary member; and a shift mechanism for moving said ring gear and said range sleeve to establish high-range and low-range drive connections between said input shaft and said carrier assembly, said high-range drive connection is established when said range sleeve is in its high-range position and said ring gear is in its first position and said low-range drive connection is established when said range sleeve is in its low-range position and said ring gear is in its second position.