Patent attributes
An electric wheel motor assembly generally includes a planetary gearset having a sun gear, a ring gear and a planet carrier that rotatably supports a plurality of planet gears. A portion of a wheel spindle includes the ring gear that is maintained in a non-rotating condition. A first wheel bearing and a second wheel bearing rotatably support the planet carrier on the wheel spindle. The first wheel bearing defines a first plane that extends radially therefrom and the second wheel bearing defines a second plane that extends radially therefrom. An electric motor has a stator and a rotor. A portion of the rotor includes the sun gear. The sun gear has a plurality of gear teeth that are meshed with the planet gears. The sun gear is disposed between the first plane and the second plane.