Patent ID: 8534409

Claim:
A drivetrain for a vehicle comprising: a pair of front wheels configured to rotate about a front axis that extends in a transverse direction of the vehicle; a pair of rear wheels spaced from the pair of front wheels in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, wherein the longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the transverse direction; a front drive assembly including a front drive gear and a front differential assembly rotationally connected to the front drive gear and each wheel of the pair of front wheels, wherein each of the front drive gear and the front differential assembly is configured to rotate about the front axis, and the front differential is intermediate the pair of front wheels; and an on-demand drive assembly switchable between a FWD mode and an AWD mode, wherein when the on-demand drive assembly is in the FWD mode, the front drive gear is rotationally connected to the pair of front wheels and the front drive gear is rotationally disconnected from the pair of rear wheels, and wherein when the on-demand drive assembly is in the AWD mode, the front drive gear is rotationally connected to the pair of front wheels and at least one of the pair of rear wheels, the on-demand drive assembly including, a rear gear assembly connected intermediate the pair of rear wheels, a first rear clutch intermediate the rear gear assembly and one of the pair of rear wheels, wherein the first rear clutch rotationally disconnects the one of the pair of rear wheels from the rear gear assembly when the on-demand drive assembly is in the FWD mode and the first rear clutch rotationally connects the one of the pair of rear wheels to the rear gear assembly when the on-demand drive assembly is in the AWD mode, and a second rear clutch intermediate the rear gear assembly and another one of the pair of rear wheels, wherein the second rear clutch rotationally disconnects the another one of the pair of rear wheels from the rear gear assembly when the on-demand drive assembly is in the FWD mode; and a power-take-off drive assembly located intermediate the rear gear assembly and the front drive assembly, the power-take-off drive assembly including, a first gear engaging the front drive gear and configured to rotate about an axis substantially parallel to the transverse direction, a second gear configured to rotate about an axis substantially parallel to the transverse direction, a propeller shaft configured to rotate about an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction, the propeller shaft including a front end connected to the second gear and a rear end connected to the rear gear assembly, and a power-take-off clutch intermediate the first gear and the second gear, wherein the power-take-off clutch is configured to rotationally disconnect the second gear from the front drive gear when the on-demand drive assembly is in the FWD mode and the power-take-off clutch is configured to rotationally connect the second gear to the front drive gear when the on-demand drive assembly is in the AWD mode.