Patent ID: 8046992

Claim:
An axle driving apparatus for being mounted on the body frame of a vehicle, said axle driving apparatus comprising: a housing; a single axle defining a longitudinal axis and having a proximal end portion rotatably mounted in said housing and a distal end portion extending outwardly only from a first side of said housing; a region defined by said housing, said region extending substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of said axle; and a hydraulic stepless speed change assembly disposed within said region, said speed change assembly including a hydraulic pump having an input shaft projecting from said region, said input shaft having a rotational axis substantially perpendicular to said single axle, and including a hydraulic motor having an output shaft drivingly connected to said single axle; wherein said hydraulic pump is mounted within said region a first preselected distance from said single axle, and said hydraulic motor is mounted within said region a second preselected distance from said single axle, said first preselected distance being greater than said second preselected distance, said input shaft of said hydraulic stepless speed change assembly which is mounted within said region being mounted a distance from said single axle which is greater than the distance from said output shaft to said single axle; and wherein said housing defining a length greater than a width of said housing, said width of said housing is essentially equal to a width of said region.