Snowmobile ski and method
OwnerRobert Musselmaninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A runner for a snowmobile ski is fabricated from flat metal plate stock and incorporates mounting features for securing the runner to the ski and a wear strip of a relatively harder material provided on and projecting from a lower surface of the runner body. A quick release mounting system is provided for attaching the runner to the ski, including quick installation and release wedge mounting systems. The thin runner blade and wear strip are of the same thickness and are joined by a brazed joint. The invention contemplates a method of fabricating the runner and a method of mounting the runner.
Claims36
1-29. (canceled)
A method of fabricating a runner for mounting on a ski of a snowmobile, comprising:
- providing a flat stock plate of metal fabricated of a first metal material;
- cutting a runner body in one piece from the flat plate stock;
- forming mounting features as one piece with the runner body operative for mounting the runner on the ski;
- and
- joining a wear strip to a bottom surface of the runner body formable of a second material that is relatively harder than that of the first material.
49-53. (canceled)
A method of manufacturing a wear bar for mounting on the underside of a ski including the steps of:
- selecting a flat plate of metal lying in a plane and having a predetermined uniform thickness;
- severing the plate of metal to provide a one piece wear bar runner of uniform width including the steps of concurrently stamp cutting
- an elongate thin wear bar runner having opposite ends and upper and lower edges spanning said ends and lying in said plane, and
- a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart runner mounting members integrally extending from said upper edge and lying in the plane of said wear bar runner;
- said step of stamp cutting including the step of concurrently cutting an elongate slot in said lower edge of said runner;
- and mounting an elongate carbide wear rail, having a thickness substantially equal to said uniform thickness, in said slot.
56-61. (canceled)
A method of manufacturing a traction increasing wear bar for mounting on the underside of a ski of an ice-going vehicle, comprising:
- stamping an elongated flat runner body from a single piece of metal plate stock of generally uniform thickness having longitudinally opposite ends, an upper surface and a lower surface, and including at least a pair of mounting members projecting from said upper surface and stamped as one piece with the runner body of the same metal plate stock and being of generally the same uniform thickness as that of the runner body;
- and
- securing a carbide wear strip to the lower surface of the runner body.
67-71. (canceled)
A method of mounting a traction increasing wear bar to a ski of a snowmobile having an elongated runner body with longitudinally spaced ends, an upper edge and a lower edge and including mounting features operative to couple the wear bar to the ski, said method comprising:
- moving the wear bar into engagement with the ski, and
- without tools securing the wear bar releasably to the ski.
A method of mounting a traction increasing wear bar to a ski of a snowmobile having an elongated runner body with longitudinally spaced ends, an upper edge and a lower edge said method comprising:
- positioning the wear bar adjacent the underside of the ski,
- forming mounting features, including a transverse aperture, as one piece with the runner body operative for mounting the runner on the ski;
- and
- coupling said blade to the snowmobile ski by passing a transverse pin transverse through said aperture and a portion of the ski to concurrently wedge said blade into snug engagement with said ski.
77-85. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.