Snowmobile suspension
AssigneeBombardier Inc.
InventorMichel Bourret
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In a snowmobile track suspension the slide frame that contacts the ground-engaging run of the track belt is carried on front and rear suspension arm assemblies. The front suspension arm assembly is pivoted to the vehicle on the axis of the sprocket drive shaft. The rear suspension arm assembly is articulated, having upper and lower sections that are rearwardly angled and pivotally interconnected and support in the region of the pivotal interconnection the idler wheel that maintains the track under tension. The arrangement eliminates stretching of the track and lengthens the track life. Furthermore the rearwardly angled arrangement of the rear suspension arm assembly allows easier backward motion of the snowmobile because the lower arm section provides an angle of attack to help the track rise above an obstacle.
Claims7
A snowmobile comprising a frame having a forward portion supported on steerable ski means and a rearward portion support on a track belt, said track belt following an endless loop that passes over a forwardly arranged drive sprocket means, through a lower, ground-engaging run to a rearwardly located idler wheel means, and back to the drive sprocket means through an upper return run, said snowmobile including:
- a track suspension formed by an elongate slide frame engaging said lower run of the track belt;
- a front suspension arm assembly pivotally connected between a forward portion of said slide frame and the snowmobile frame;
- a rear suspension arm assembly pivotally connected between the snowmobile frame and a rearward location on said slide frame
- springs acting on said front and rear suspension arm assemblies to urge said slide frame downwardly;
- wherein said rear suspension arm assembly comprises rearwardly angulated upper and lower sections that are pivotally interconnected at their adjacent ends and are pivoted at their opposite ends to the snowmobile frame and the slide frame respectively, said idler wheel means being supported on said rear suspension arm assembly to rotate on an axis in the area of the pivotal interconnectional said upper and lower sections thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.