Patent ID: 8561735

Claim:
A self-contained axle module with independent suspension for a vehicle, comprising: a housing having a sump portion and an interface portion, wherein the housing is configured to be coupled to a support structure of the vehicle; an electric motor supported by the interface portion of the housing and disposed along a first axis, wherein the electric motor is rotatably coupled to a gear train positioned within the sump portion of the housing, the gear train having an input along the first axis and a first output and a second output disposed coaxially along a second axis; a heat exchanger mounted on the housing and configured to provide cooling for a component within the housing from a supplemental cooling source; a first wheel end assembly coupled to the first output of the gear train; a second wheel end assembly coupled to the second output of the gear train; a first independent suspension assembly having a first end coupled to the housing and a second end coupled to the first wheel end assembly; a first spring having a first end coupled to the housing and a second end coupled to the first independent suspension assembly; a second independent suspension assembly having a first end coupled to the housing and a second end coupled to the second wheel end assembly; and a second spring having a first end coupled to the housing and a second end coupled to the second independent suspension assembly; wherein the independent suspension assemblies and the wheel end assemblies and the housing and the electric motor and the gear train and the springs are configured to be removable from the support structure as a unit by removing the housing from the support structure.