Drive axle outer end with brake and gearing

Claim 1

An axle outer end assembly comprising: a hollow spindle, an axle shaft projecting from said spindle, an output member rotatably mounted on said spindle, a planetary drive operably connecting said axle shaft and said output member, said planetary drive including a ring gear having a set of teeth, said gear being fixed to said spindle and a plurality of pinion gears engaging the teeth at one end of said ring gear, a disc brake comprising a plurality of axially movable discs having projections extending radially outward into engagement with the teeth at the other end of said ring gear and second axially movable disc means comprising at least one disc intermediate adjacent ones of said first plurality of discs, said second disc means being non-rotatably secured to an element of said planetary drive, abutment means preventing axial movement of said discs and disc means beyond a predetermined point, and brake actuating means operative to move said discs and disc means axially toward said abutment means and into frictional contact with one another whereby said element and said output member are restrained against rotation.