Motor vehicles – Frame – With structure adapted to receive or support a motor,...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-03
2004-06-01
Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)
Motor vehicles
Frame
With structure adapted to receive or support a motor,...
C180S299000, C267S293000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06742619
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a skid steer loader and like off-road vehicles with engine mounts having internally snubbed shocks and vibrations isolators, particularly for mounting three and four cylinder engines and for minimizing shocks from the chassis to the engine and vibrations from the engine to the chassis.
2. Background Information
U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,674 illustrates a skid steer loader typical of an off-road construction vehicle, having an eccentric axle housing which permits the use of common components to construct skid steer loaders with different wheel base lengths. The skid steer loader comprises wheels supported in a support frame or chassis. The frame also supports a housing which accommodates a power unit which may possibly be a three or four cylinder engine.
Due to the nature of their working environment of rugged terrain, off-road vehicles and particularly engines thereof are subjected to considerable stress in terms of shocks and vibrations.
In general terms, means to counteract shocks and vibrations are disposed between first and second components, such as for example, to minimize shocks from a chassis to an engine and to minimize vibrations from an engine to a chassis.
Vibrations isolators, or like resilient mountings, serve, inter alia, for connecting two components, for example, for connecting a cab structure to a vehicle main frame and to diminish vibrations between the cab structure and the vehicle main frame by being disposed between the cab structure and the vehicle main frame. Other applications of vibrations isolators comprise the mounting of engines to the vehicle frame with attendant reduction of detrimental vibrations between the vehicle frame and the engine due to the vibrations isolator being disposed between an engine and the vehicle frame. The foregoing comprise applications that relate to moving vehicles, however, vibrations isolators are also of use in stationary applications such as in compressors, pumps and generators.
Furthermore, moving vehicles such as automobiles, trucks, aircraft, missiles, ships and rail vehicles carry components that require protection against severe shocks from impact caused by rough terrain or other disturbances as the case may require. Such components include vehicle electronics, motors, fans, machinery, transformers, shipping containers, railroad equipment, pumps, numerical control equipment and aircraft/missile electronics. Generally such protection is provided by a shocks and vibrations isolator or like component.
One function of a vibrations isolator is to provide a means whereby a component is protected against handling impact loads being transmitted from a further component, such as, for example, a base or frame of a vehicle such as an aircraft on which the component may be mounted. Protection against such loads is usually accomplished by storing energy within a resilient medium and then releasing such energy at a relatively slower rate. Generally, such isolators comprise a rubber member which, together with the mass of the mechanism which it supports, has a natural frequency that is sufficiently lower from that of the disturbing force so as to bring about a minimum transient response of the supported mechanism, and yet have sufficient static load-carrying capacity to support the load of such mechanism. Correct matching of a vibrations isolator to specific application is essential; for example, a given vibrations isolator may be effective in a case where the mechanism is to be subjected to a relatively high magnitude of loading within a short time interval and yet may tend to magnify the shocks where the mechanism is to be subjected to a loading of considerably smaller magnitude but with a longer time interval.
In many applications the vibrations isolators will experience all the modes of loading or combinations thereof. In particular, the vibrations isolator will not only have to support the protected component, but will also have to hold it to the structure wherein the vibrations isolator is in tension or help the protected component from shifting wherein the vibrations isolator is in shear.
This invention is directed to the case wherein various types of loads including compression, shear or tension modes and shocks and vibrations or combinations thereof are incurred by the vibrations isolator. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to have one mount design that could simultaneously accommodate all possible modes of loads.
One type of vibrations isolator used to support protected components that incur various types of loads has an inner, intermediate and outer rigid members with a first elastomer disposed between the inner and intermediate members and a second elastomer disposed between the intermediate and outer members wherein the elastomeric members are not bonded to the rigid members. As a result of the lack of bonding, dynamic characteristics are not truly predictable since they vary due to rubber to metal interface slippage conditions such as moisture, oil contamination, surface roughness, etc. Furthermore such unbonded mounts accommodate loads primarily in elastomeric compression. As such, there are response abnormalities associated with first or second elastomeric sections lifting off at higher dynamic excursions.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a skid steer loader, and the like off-road vehicles, with an engine mount, particularly for mounting three and four cylinder engines against shocks from the chassis and vibrations from the engine to the chassis.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an economic yet effective shocks and vibrations isolator or engine mount which can serve as resilient connection and to minimize shocks from a chassis to an engine and vibrations of an engine to a chassis.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention teaches that these objects can be accomplished by a s skid steer loader, comprising a utility vehicle configured to maneuver in confined spaces, said skid steer loader comprising: a body comprising a chassis having a forward portion and a rearward portion, a first side and a second side; a first upright tower portion on said first side near said rearward portion; a second upright tower portion on said second side near said rearward portion; an operator's cab mounted to said chassis; a first set of wheels at said first side, said first set comprising a forward wheel and a rearward wheel; a second set of wheels at said second side, said second set comprising a forward wheel and a rearward wheel; said first and second tower portions being disposed rearward of the centers of said rear wheels; an engine, such as, a three-cylinder engine or a four-cylinder engine, mounted to said chassis between said upright tower portions and rearward of the centers of said rear wheels; a first transmission configured and disposed to drive said first set of wheels on said first side in forward and backward direction; a second transmission configured and disposed to drive said second set of wheels on said second side in forward and backward direction; said first transmission and said second transmission together being configured to turn said first set of wheels driving in one direction and to turn said second set of wheels driving in the opposite direction; left and right interconnected lift arm assemblies each comprising: a lift arm pivotally connected with the corresponding tower portion of said body at a lift arm pivot point located a first horizontal distance rearward of the centers of said front wheels; and a lift actuator connected between said body ad said lift arm, said lift actuator being connected with said lift arm at a fixed second distance from said lift arm pivot point and connected with the tower portion of said body elevationally higher than said rear wheel at a lift actuator pivot point; a material-moving implement pivotally connected with said lift arm assemblies about an implement pivot axis located at a distance from said lift arm pivot points; an
Farbotnik Don
Roworth Derek
Johnson Brian L.
Nils H. Ljungman & Associates
Phan Hau
Trelleborg AB
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