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A transmission disposed in a housing with a power take off clutch, the clutch including a planetary gear assembly, a cage having an internal gear form engaging a first set of clutch plates, and a second set of clutch plates interleaved with the first set of clutch plates. The sun gear is engaged to

A transmission disposed in a housing with a power take off clutch, the clutch including a planetary gear assembly, a cage having an internal gear form engaging a first set of clutch plates, and a second set of clutch plates interleaved with the first set of clutch plates. The sun gear is engaged to and selectively driven by the second set of clutch plates, and a clutch mechanism engages the clutch plates to transmit a rotational force of the cage to the sun gear. A power take off shaft extends into the housing and is driven by the planetary gear assembly. The power take off shaft has a second axis of rotation that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of a primary input to the transmission.

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1. A drive assembly for use with a prime mover, the drive assembly comprising: a rotational input driven by the prime mover and extending into a housing to drive a transmission disposed in the housing, the rotational input having a first axis of rotation; anda power take off assembly at least partia

1. A drive assembly for use with a prime mover, the drive assembly comprising: a rotational input driven by the prime mover and extending into a housing to drive a transmission disposed in the housing, the rotational input having a first axis of rotation; anda power take off assembly at least partially disposed in the housing and comprising: a planetary gear assembly comprising a sun gear and a plurality of planet gears;a cage driven by the rotational input and having an internal gear form engaging a first plurality of clutch plates;a second plurality of clutch plates interleaved with the first plurality of clutch plates, wherein the sun gear is engaged to and selectively driven by the second plurality of clutch plates;a clutch mechanism operable to force the first plurality of clutch plates into frictional engagement with the second plurality of clutch plates to transmit a rotational force of the cage to the sun gear; anda power take off shaft extending into the housing and driven by the planetary gear assembly, the power take off shaft having a second axis of rotation;wherein the clutch mechanism comprises an activation plate engaged to a cam shaft and disposed axially about the power take off shaft, the activation plate capable of movement axially along the second axis of rotation in a first direction to move a thrust member into engagement with the first plurality of clutch plates and the second plurality of clutch plates to enable the transmission of the rotational force of the cage to the sun gear. 2. The drive assembly of claim 1, wherein the thrust member comprises a thrust washer having a gear form portion engaged to and driven by a portion of the sun gear and a separate thrust bearing between the thrust washer and the activation plate. 3. The drive assembly of claim 2, further comprising a ring gear on which the planet gears rotate, and a brake plate disposed along the second axis of rotation and sandwiched between the activation plate and the ring gear. 4. The drive assembly of claim 3, further comprising a spring disposed about a portion of the sun gear to bias the brake plate to an engaged position where it engages the ring gear to provide a braking force to the sun gear. 5. The drive assembly of claim 3, wherein the brake plate comprises a gear form engaged to the sun gear to permit the brake plate to rotate with the sun gear. 6. The drive assembly of claim 1, wherein the second axis of rotation is perpendicular to the first axis of rotation. 7. The drive assembly of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a main housing portion and a cover attached thereto, the drive assembly further comprising a first set of mating ramps formed on the activation plate and a second set of mating ramps on the cover to engage the first set of mating ramps, wherein activation of the cam shaft causes the first set of mating ramps to engage the second set of mating ramps to cause the activation plate to move axially. 8. The drive assembly of claim 7, wherein the cam shaft extends through a portion of the cover. 9. The drive assembly of claim 1, wherein the rotational input comprises an input tube, and a first bevel gear is engaged to and driven by the input tube, and wherein the first bevel gear drives a second bevel gear engaged to the cage. 10. A drive assembly for use with a prime mover, the drive assembly comprising: a hydraulic transmission comprising a center section disposed in a housing, a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor being rotatably disposed on the center section for separately driving a pair of rotatable output axles extending out opposite sides of the housing;a rotational input driven by the prime mover and extending into the housing to drive the hydraulic pump, the rotational input having a first axis of rotation; anda power take off assembly at least partially disposed in the housing and comprising: an input gear driven by the rotational input;a planetary gear assembly comprising a sun gear and a plurality of planet gears disposed on a planet carrier;a clutch mechanism movable between an engaged position where the sun gear is engaged to and driven by the input gear and a disengaged position where the sun gear is disengaged from the input gear;a brake mechanism comprising a brake plate disposed between the clutch mechanism and the planet carrier to selectively provide a braking force to the planet carrier when the clutch mechanism is in the disengaged position; anda power take off shaft extending into the housing and driven by the planet carrier, the power take off shaft having a second axis of rotation. 11. The drive assembly of claim 10, further comprising a spring disposed about a portion of the sun gear to bias the brake plate to the engaged position. 12. The drive assembly of claim 11, further comprising a ring gear on which the plurality of planet gears rotate, and the brake plate comprises a gear form engaged to the sun gear to permit the brake plate to rotate with the sun gear, and when the brake plate is in the engaged position it contacts the ring gear to provide the braking force to the sun gear. 13. The drive assembly of claim 10, wherein the second axis of rotation is perpendicular to the first axis of rotation, and the pair of output axles share a third axis of rotation that is perpendicular to both the first axis of rotation and the second axis of rotation. 14. The drive assembly of claim 10, wherein the input gear comprises a cage having an internal gear form engaging a first plurality of clutch plates, and the drive assembly further comprises a second plurality of clutch plates interleaved with the first plurality of clutch plates, wherein the sun gear is engaged to and selectively driven by the second plurality of clutch plates when the clutch mechanism is in the engaged position. 15. The drive assembly of claim 14, wherein the clutch mechanism comprises an activation plate engaged to a cam shaft and disposed axially about the power take off shaft, the activation plate capable of movement axially along the second axis of rotation in a first direction to move a thrust washer into engagement with the first plurality of clutch plates and the second plurality of clutch plates when the clutch assembly mechanism is in the engaged position. 16. The drive assembly of claim 15, further comprising a separate thrust bearing between the thrust washer and the activation plate. 17. A drive assembly for use with a prime mover, the drive assembly comprising: a housing comprising a main housing portion and a cover attached thereto;a rotational input driven by the prime mover and extending into the housing to drive a transmission disposed in the housing, the rotational input having a first axis of rotation;a power take off shaft extending into the housing and having a second axis of rotation that is perpendicular to the first axis of rotation,an input gear driven by the rotational input and a planetary gear assembly comprising a sun gear and a plurality of planet gears, wherein the plurality of planet gears drives the power take off shaft;a clutch mechanism movable between an engaged position where the sun gear is engaged to and driven by the input gear and a disengaged position where the sun gear is disengaged from the input gear; andan activation plate engaged to a cam shaft, wherein the activation plate is disposed axially about the power take off shaft, the activation plate capable of movement axially along the second axis of rotation in a first direction to engage the clutch mechanism; anda first set of mating ramps formed on the activation plate and a second set of mating ramps on the cover to engage the first set of mating ramps, wherein activation of the cam shaft causes the first set of mating ramps to engage the second set of mating ramps to cause the activation plate to move axially. 18. The drive assembly of claim 17, further comprising a thrust washer having a gear form portion engaged to and driven by a portion of the sun gear and a separate thrust bearing between the thrust washer and the activation plate. 19. The drive assembly of claim 18, further comprising a ring gear on which the planet gears rotate, and a brake plate disposed along the second axis of rotation and sandwiched between the activation plate and the ring gear. 20. The drive assembly of claim 17, wherein the transmission comprises a hydraulic transmission having a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor being rotatably disposed on a center section for separately driving a pair of rotatable output axles extending out opposite sides of the housing. 21. A drive assembly for use with a prime mover, the drive assembly comprising: a transmission disposed in a housing and separately driving a pair of rotatable output axles extending out opposite sides of the housing;a rotational input driven by the prime mover and extending into the housing to drive the transmission, the rotational input having a first axis of rotation; anda power take off assembly at least partially disposed in the housing and comprising: an input gear driven by the rotational input;a planetary gear assembly comprising a sun gear and a plurality of planet gears disposed on a planet carrier;a clutch mechanism movable between an engaged position where the sun gear is engaged to and driven by the input gear and a disengaged position where the sun gear is disengaged from the input gear;a brake mechanism comprising a brake plate disposed between the clutch mechanism and the planet carrier to selectively provide a braking force to the planet carrier when the clutch mechanism is in the disengaged position; anda power take off shaft extending into the housing and driven by the planet carrier, the power take off shaft having a second axis of rotation. 22. The drive assembly of claim 21, wherein the input gear comprises a cage having an internal gear form engaging a first plurality of clutch plates, and the drive assembly further comprises a second plurality of clutch plates interleaved with the first plurality of clutch plates, wherein the sun gear is engaged to and selectively driven by the first plurality of clutch plates when the clutch mechanism is in the engaged position. 23. The drive assembly of claim 22, further comprising: an activation plate engaged to a cam shaft and disposed axially about the power take off shaft, the activation plate capable of movement axially along the second axis of rotation in a first direction to move a thrust washer into engagement with the first plurality of clutch plates and the second plurality of clutch plates when the clutch mechanism is in the engaged position; anda spring disposed about a portion of the sun gear and engaged to the thrust washer, the spring providing a spring force to the brake plate through the thrust washer to bias the brake plate to the engaged position. 24. A drive assembly for use with a prime mover, the drive assembly comprising: a rotational input driven by the prime mover and extending into a housing to drive a transmission disposed in the housing and driving at least one output axle, the rotational input having a first axis of rotation; anda power take off assembly at least partially disposed in the housing and comprising: a planetary gear assembly comprising a sun gear and a plurality of planet gears;a cage driven by the rotational input and having an internal gear form engaging a first plurality of clutch plates;a second plurality of clutch plates interleaved with the first plurality of clutch plates, wherein the sun gear is engaged to and selectively driven by the second plurality of clutch plates;a clutch mechanism operable to force the first plurality of clutch plates into frictional engagement with the second plurality of clutch plates to transmit a rotational force of the cage to the sun gear; anda power take off shaft extending into the housing and driven by the planetary gear assembly, the power take off shaft having a second axis of rotation, wherein the power take off shaft is separately engageable to the rotational input independent of the at least one output axle. 25. The drive assembly of claim 24, wherein the clutch mechanism comprises an activation plate engaged to a cam shaft and disposed axially about the power take off shaft, the activation plate capable of movement axially along the second axis of rotation in a first direction to move a thrust member into engagement with the first plurality of clutch plates and the second plurality of clutch plates to engage the clutch mechanism and provide a driving force between the cage and the sun gear, and wherein the thrust member comprises a thrust washer having a gear form portion engaged to and driven by a portion of the sun gear and a separate thrust bearing between the thrust washer and the activation plate.