Patent 10166864 was granted and assigned to Hydro-Gear on January, 2019 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A drive apparatus for a vehicle includes a hydraulic pump connected to two separate hydraulic motors by a center section. A center section hydraulically connects the pump and the motors by means of a pump running surface connected to two motor running surfaces by hydraulic porting. A plurality of projections extend from the center section. Two of the projections have a first flat surface that is coplanar with the pump running surface, and a third projection has a separate flat surface that is parallel to and offset from the pump running surface. The third projection may be disposed between the two motor running surfaces.