Motor vehicles – Having four wheels driven – Including pump and fluid motor – or generator and electric...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-20
2001-02-06
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Motor vehicles
Having four wheels driven
Including pump and fluid motor, or generator and electric...
C180S243000, C074S66500G
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182780
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a multiple wheel drive assembly for a utility vehicle such as a skid steer.
Utility vehicles such as skid steers commonly have four wheel drive systems, wherein power is transferred to the front wheels independently of one another and is also transferred to the rear wheels independently of one another unlike passenger and transport vehicles such as automobiles and trucks. Currently, skid-steer types of utility vehicles have at least one elongate gear box extending substantially the length of the frame with a plurality of gears disposed in the oil-filled gear box. A drive shaft powered by the engine actuates the gears in the gear box, of which, in turn, actuates the axles to which the wheels are mounted at a gear reduction of up to fifty to one. This type of drive system is usually limited to a vehicle having just one wheel base length. Any changes to the length of the wheel base would involve changing the gear box and the number of gears therein, a problem not easily solved. In addition, because of the number of gears in the gear box and the oil contained therein, this type of drive system is exposed to many other problems, such as breakage of gears and the difficulty of repairing them and also leakage of oil from the large gear box.
Other types of utility vehicles commonly use chains and sprockets in their drive systems, wherein either the front or rear axles are driven by the drive shaft and the other of which is driven by an endless chain carried about sprockets mounted to the axles. This type of drive system has even more problems than the drive system having at least one large elongate gear box. Because of the herky-jerky motion typical of utility vehicles and the number of moving parts of the endless chains and sprockets, this type of drive system is more easily apt to break down, and the chains tend to stretch which commonly results in the chains slipping about the sprockets, all problems not encountered with by the present drive system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention includes a multiple wheel drive assembly which includes a plurality of conventional differential gears with a different differential gear being proximate to each wheel and also with a different differential gear being intermediate to each pair of front and rear wheels, and further includes a plurality of stub axles with one stub axle rotatably extending within each wheel differential gear, and also includes a plurality of drive shafts interconnecting each intermediate differential gear to each pair of respective front and rear wheel differential gears and interconnecting the intermediate differential gears, and further includes a plurality of support members one interconnecting the front wheel differential gears and one interconnecting the rear wheel differential gears for structural support and strength. Each differential gear includes a housing, a pinion gear and a ring gear disposed within the housing.
One objective of the present invention includes a multiple wheel drive assembly which can be quickly and conveniently adjusted to any wheel base size unlike the known prior art.
Another objective of the present invention includes a multiple wheel drive assembly which also strengthens the structural frame of the utility vehicle.
Also, another objective of the present invention includes a multiple wheel drive assembly which is operated essentially with drive shafts rather than gears thus substantially reducing the possibility of breakdowns commonly associated with gears which are more likely to wear out or be stripped than are drive shafts.
Yet, another objective of the present invention includes a multiple wheel drive assembly which costs substantially less than the known prior art and which is virtually maintenance free.
Further objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
REFERENCES:
patent: 2900843 (1959-08-01), Zeletzky et al.
patent: 3115936 (1963-12-01), Blews, Jr.
patent: 3980151 (1976-09-01), Murayama et al.
patent: 4103753 (1978-08-01), Holdeman
patent: 4449604 (1984-05-01), Suzuki
patent: 4962821 (1990-10-01), Kim
patent: 5201378 (1993-04-01), Bamford
Ellis Christopher P.
Lingbeck David A.
Sharma Rashmi
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