Supports – Machinery support – Including vibration isolation means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-30
2001-05-22
King, Anita M. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Machinery support
Including vibration isolation means
C248S674000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06234445
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to an industrial vehicle equipped with a fluid pump and an electric pump motor for rotatingly driving the fluid pump, and more specifically to a pump motor mounting arrangement that allows easier mounting and demounting of the pump motor while permitting lateral sliding movement of the pump motor between an in-use position and an easy-to-access maintenance position.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Forklift trucks have been used either to lift goods of relatively heavy weight up to an elevated location or to lower the goods on the ground. The forklift trucks also can be used to move the goods from one place to another within a limited working area. Depending on the power sources employed, the forklift trucks are classified into an engine-driven forklift truck which may usually operate in an outdoor area and an electromotive forklift truck which are suitable for indoor operation, thanks to its reduced or little emission of exhaust gas and operating noise. The electromotive forklift truck is usually provided with an electric pump motor which in turn serves to rotatingly drive a fluid pump for discharging high pressure working fluid to be supplied to a steering system, a brake system and a variety of working implements.
With reference to
FIGS. 1 and 2
, there is illustrated a typical motor mounting structure wherein a pump motor
10
is detachably mounted to a frame
12
of a forklift truck. The pump motor
10
is adapted to be supplied with electricity from a rechargeable battery(not shown) and can produce torque needed to rotate a fluid pump
14
which remains directly coupled to the pump motor
10
.
In the illustrated prior art example, the pump motor
10
is provided with a motor bracket
16
firmly secured at four points to the frame
12
by bolt-nut fastener units
18
in a suspended condition. Each of the bolt-nut fastener units
18
consists of a bolt
20
passing through the thickness of the frame
12
and the motor bracket
16
, a couple of washers
22
, a bushing
24
and a nut
26
threadedly coupled to the bolt
20
.
One drawback of the above-mentioned prior art motor mounting structure is that, in order to attach or detach the pump motor to or from the forklift trucker frame, all of the fastener units have to be completely tightened or untigthened through the use of a suitable wrench not shown in the drawings. This would make the task of mounting or demounting the pump motor time-consuming and laborious. The narrow spacing left between the pump motor and the motor bracket makes it difficult to gain access to and then turn the nut with a wrench.
The prior art mounting structure as set forth above is also disadvantageous in that it has a single fixed mounting position and therefore cannot be shifted to a temporary maintenance position wherein parts or components of the pump motor may be readily checked, repaired and replaced with little possibility of interference with environmental structures. This means that complete removal of the pump motor from the vehicle frame is unavoidable whenever needs exist for maintenance of the motor components, however trivial the nature of maintenance may be. Attendant problems in the complete removable of the pump motor is that fluid lines and/or electrical harness must be disconnected and reconnected before and after the pump motor removal operation. In addition to the above shortcomings, the prior art pump motor mounting structure is unsuitable for effectively inhibiting vibration of the pump motor from delivery to the vehicle frame, which would hinder comfortable driving of the industrial vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
With the deficiencies inherent in the prior art taken into account, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pump motor mounting arrangement for industrial vehicles which facilitate the task of mounting and demounting a pump motor to and from a vehicle frame.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pump motor mounting arrangement of the type capable of permitting a pump motor to be shifted to a temporary maintenance position without having to completely detach the pump motor from a vehicle frame.
A further object of the invention is to provide a pump motor mounting arrangement for industrial vehicles that can effectively preventing vibration of a pump motor from being transmitted to a vehicle frame, thus improving the comfort of a vehicle driver.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a pump motor mounting arrangement for detachably mounting a pump motor to an industrial vehicle, comprising: a vehicle frame; a motor bracket fixedly secured to the pump motor, the motor bracket having an upper extension and a lower extension; a bottom positioning member provided on the lower extension of the motor bracket and having a downwardly projecting head; a support ledge affixed to the vehicle frame for supporting the lower extension of the motor bracket, the support ledge having a slot extending generally in parallel to the vehicle frame, the head of the bottom positioning member adapted to be in sliding engagement with the slot of the support ledge; and fixture means for, when tightened, depressing the upper extension of the motor bracket against the vehicle frame to keep the pump motor in place and for, when loosened, allowing the pump motor to be slidingly moved on the support ledge into a temporary maintenance position.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1609939 (1926-12-01), Gehrung
patent: 1656426 (1928-01-01), Cunningham
patent: 4865289 (1989-09-01), Lawson
Daewoo Heavy Industries Ltd.
King Anita M.
Staas & Halsey , LLP
Sy Holly N.
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