ABSTRACT
In automotive equipment, the power developed by the engine must be transmitted to the drive wheels to propel the vehicle. This is accomplished by the power train, the elements of which vary from application to application. In probably its simplest form, a bicycle equipped with an auxiliary engine, the power train may consist only of a belt drive with an idler pulley that can be actuated to engage or disengage the drive. At the other extreme, the power train may consist of some combination of a clutch or coupling, a transmission, transfer case, interaxle differential, constant velocity (CV) joints, drive shafts, front and rear differentials—possibly in tandem at the rear, driving axles—and planetary reducers at the wheel end of the axles. Almost any arrangement between these two extremes will be encountered in most types of automotive equipment.
