| 摘要 |
Tandem rear axle assembly for motor vehicles, especially trucks. The tandem rear axle assembly herein does not employ an inter-axle differential. Instead, torque is transmitted from a motor drive shaft to a longitudinally extending through shaft, which may drive a differential for a rearward rear axle. A forward rear axle is selectively engaged or disengaged, as driving conditions require, by a disk-type friction clutch or clutch pack. The clutch pack may be actuated by an actuator assembly which includes sensors for determining the rotational speeds of the two rear axles, and a computer controlled unit or signal generator for generating an output signal when the difference in rotational exceeds a predetermined limit. The output signal actuates, for example, by air pressure, a piston which compresses the clutch pack so as to engage the clutch and thereby transmit torque to both the forward and rearward rear axles simultaneously. The clutch may be manually actuated if desired.
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