Patent ID: 7562753

Claim:
A transaxle for auxiliary drive wheels of a vehicle having a main drive wheel and left and right auxiliary drive wheels, comprising: a gear to which a rotary force for driving the main drive wheel is distributed; a pair of left and right axles drivingly connected to the respective left and right auxiliary drive wheels; a pair of clutches, wherein one of the clutches is interposed between the gear and the left axle, and the other clutch is interposed between the gear and the right axle; judging means for judging whether or not the main drive wheel slips; and a shift mechanism for engaging and disengaging the pair of clutches, wherein the shift mechanism simultaneously engages the pair of clutches when the judging means judges that the main drive wheel slips, and wherein the shift mechanism simultaneously disengages the pair of clutches when the judging means judges that the main drive wheel does not slip, the pair of clutches comprising: a cylindrical shaft disposed around the pair of axles so as to be rotatable integrally with the gear; respective balls radially movably disposed through the cylindrical shaft, wherein the pair of axles are formed on outer peripheral surfaces thereof with respective recesses into which the respective balls can be engaged; and respective pressure members disposed on an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical shaft so as to be shifted between a state of pressing the respective balls into the respective recesses through the cylindrical shaft and a state of allowing the respective balls to be removed from the respective recesses through the cylindrical shaft.