Patent ID: 8459386

Claim:
A road wheel propulsion apparatus for alternately propelling and retarding the rotation of a road wheel supporting an automotive vehicle; the apparatus comprising: a hub configured to be fixed to a vehicle component; a spindle received within the hub and supported by the hub for rotation relative to the hub and the vehicle; an electric drive motor configured to be carried by a vehicle and drivingly connected to a road wheel to provide motive force to the vehicle by driving the road wheel in rotation relative to the vehicle, the electric drive motor comprising: a radially inner motor stator configured to be fixed to the vehicle and including an annular motor stator windings support frame that is carried by the hub and that carries stator windings of the motor stator; and a radially outer annular motor rotor configured to be carried by the spindle concentrically within a road wheel and to be driven in rotation relative to the motor stator by electromagnetic forces developed between the motor stator and the motor rotor.