Integrated Motor-Gear Box Wheel Hub Drive

Abstract

A monorail vehicle includes a chassis supporting a vehicle body, that includes a passenger floor and at least one side wall, and an electrical motor supported by the chassis. A drive wheel is coupled to a rotor of the electric motor with a rotation axis of the drive wheel substantially coaxial with an axis of the rotor. Portions of the drive wheel and the electric motor are positioned on both sides of an imaginary plane extension of the passenger floor.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A monorail vehicle comprising:
 a chassis coupled to a body of the monorail vehicle;   a drive unit coupled to the chassis, the drive unit comprising an electric motor and a planetary gear assembly rotatably coupled to the electric motor, the planetary gear assembly comprising at least  3  planet gears coupled between a sun gear, which is coupled to a rotor of the electric motor, and a ring gear surrounding the planet gears, the planet gears rotatable within the ring gear in response to rotation of the sun gear by the electric motor; and   a rim assembly coupled to the planetary gear assembly for rotation thereby, the rim assembly including a pair of side-by-side rim sections adapted to support a pair of wheels side-by-side for rotation about a rotation axis of the rim assembly that runs coaxial with a rotation axis of the rotor of the electric motor and a rotation axis of the sun gear, the rim assembly further including a hub that extends radially from the rotation axis of the rim assembly and terminates on an interior surface of the rim assembly, wherein one of the rim sections at least partially surrounds and rotates about the planetary gear assembly in response to rotation of the rim assembly by the planetary gear assembly.   
     
     
         2 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the electric motor is an AC motor. 
     
     
         3 . The vehicle of  claim 2 , wherein the AC motor is a permanent magnet AC motor. 
     
     
         4 . The vehicle of  claim 3 , wherein the permanent magnets are disposed on the rotor. 
     
     
         5 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the hub terminates on the interior surface of the rim assembly between the pair of side-by-side rim sections. 
     
     
         6 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the planetary gear assembly and the electric motor are received within a housing that is coupled to the chassis, wherein the one rim section rotates about a section of the housing that houses the planetary gear assembly. 
     
     
         7 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , further including a brake rotor coupled to an end of the rotor of the electric motor opposite the sun gear. 
     
     
         8 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein an interior of the vehicle defines a passenger pathway that extends longitudinally along one side of the vehicle between an interior surface of the vehicle body and the drive unit. 
     
     
         9 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the electric motor is received within a housing that is coupled to the chassis, the housing including fluid channels adapted to allow the passage of a cooling liquid therethrough for removal of heat generated by the electric motor. 
     
     
         10 . A monorail vehicle comprising:
 a chassis supporting an elongated vehicle body that includes spaced sides and a passenger floor, wherein a length direction, a height direction and a width (or side-to-side) direction of the elongated vehicle body correspond to X, Y and Z axes, respectively, of a Cartesian coordinate system, wherein the X and Y axes define an imaginary plane that bisects the vehicle body in half;   a drive unit coupled to the chassis, the drive unit comprising an electric motor and a gear assembly, the electric motor including a rotor that has an axis that is disposed substantially parallel with the Z axis; and   at least one drive wheel coupled to the rotor via the gear assembly, each drive wheel having a rotation axis that is disposed substantially coaxial with the rotor axis, wherein the drive unit is supported by the chassis with the electric motor and at least part of the gear assembly residing entirely in one of the halves of the vehicle body with at least portions of each drive wheel, the electric motor and the gear assembly residing above a plane of the passenger floor of the vehicle body.   
     
     
         11 . The vehicle of  claim 10 , wherein a portion of the passenger floor is disposed between one side of the vehicle body and the portions of each wheel, the electric motor and the gear assembly. 
     
     
         12 . The vehicle of  claim 10 , wherein the electric motor is a permanent magnet AC electric motor. 
     
     
         13 . The vehicle of  claim 10 , wherein the electric motor is liquid cooled. 
     
     
         14 . The vehicle of  claim 10 , wherein the gear assembly is a planetary gear assembly. 
     
     
         15 . The vehicle of  claim 14 , wherein the planetary gear assembly has  3  planet gears coupled between a sun gear and a ring gear which surrounds the planet gears, wherein the sun gear is coupled between the rotor and the planet gears such that the planet gears are rotatable within the ring gear in response to rotation of the sun gear by the rotor. 
     
     
         16 . The vehicle of  claim 10 , further including a pair of drive wheels supported by a rim assembly which is coupled to the gear assembly by a hub of the rim assembly, wherein at least part of the rim assembly surrounds the gear assembly, which part of the rim assembly is rotatable about the gear assembly in response to rotation of the rim assembly by the motor via the gear assembly. 
     
     
         17 . The vehicle of  claim 16 , wherein the pair of drive wheels have a common rotation axis, the rim assembly includes a pair of rim sections with each rim section supporting one of the drive wheels, and the rim assembly includes the hub which extends radially from the common rotation axis and which terminates substantially at the intersection of the pair of rim sections. 
     
     
         18 . The vehicle of  claim 10 , wherein a bogie couples the drive unit and each drive wheel to the chassis. 
     
     
         19 . A monorail vehicle comprising:
 a chassis supporting a vehicle body that includes a passenger floor and at least one side wall;   an electrical motor supported by the chassis; and   a drive wheel coupled to a rotor of the electric motor with a rotation axis of the drive wheel substantially coaxial with an axis of the rotor, wherein portions of the drive wheel and the electric motor are positioned on both sides of an imaginary plane extension of the passenger floor.   
     
     
         20 . The vehicle of  claim 19 , further including a gear assembly coupled substantially coaxially between the rotor and the drive wheel. 
     
     
         21 . The vehicle of  claim 20 , wherein the gear assembly is a planetary gear assembly that has a rotational axis coaxial with the axis of the rotor and the rotation axis of the drive wheel. 
     
     
         22 . The vehicle of  claim 20 , wherein portions of the gear assembly are positioned on both sides of the imaginary plane extension of the passenger floor. 
     
     
         23 . The vehicle of  claim 20 , wherein the passenger floor runs or extends between a front and a rear of the vehicle body and in a space between the drive wheel and the side wall. 
     
     
         24 . The vehicle of  claim 19 , wherein a bogie couples the electrical motor and the drive wheel to the chassis.