Patent ID: 7546731

Claim:
An axle driving apparatus for a vehicle, comprising: a first integrated hydrostatic transmission disposed in a first housing, and including a first hydraulic pump having a first pump shaft, a first hydraulic motor drivingly connected to the first hydraulic pump, a first driving axle drivingly connected to the first hydraulic motor, and a first check bypass means enabling the first hydraulic motor to idle; and a second integrated hydrostatic transmission disposed in a second housing, the second integrated hydrostatic transmission including a second hydraulic pump having a second pump shaft, a second hydraulic motor drivingly connected to the second hydraulic pump, a second driving axle drivingly connected to the second hydraulic motor, and a second check bypass means enabling the second hydraulic motor to idle; wherein the first integrated hydrostatic transmission and the second integrated hydrostatic transmission are aligned side-by-side such that the first driving axle and the second driving axle have a common axis of rotation, the first pump shaft runs parallel to the second pump shaft, and the first and second pump shafts run perpendicular to the common axis of rotation of the driving axles; wherein each housing defines a length greater than a width thereof, wherein the length of each housing extends in a direction perpendicular to the axle, and the width of each housing extends in a direction parallel to the axle.