Hydraulic pump for an ATV

A hydraulic pump unit comprising:

• an assembly casing adapted to be removably mounted to a power unit mounting structure;
• a hydraulic pump mounted to the assembly casing, the hydraulic pump having a rotatable input shaft;
• a shaft extension carried by the assembly casing and adapted to be coaxial with an output shaft of a power unit;
• a coupler, coupling the shaft extension to the input shaft, comprising
• a first coupling member carried by the shaft extension, the first coupling member being rotationally linked to the input shaft of the hydraulic pump such that rotating the first coupling member forces the input shaft to rotate, and
• a second coupling member selectively coupleable to the first coupling member and adapted to be rotatably fixable to the output shaft, the second coupling member being at least partially carried by the shaft extension;
• and
• a rotational linkage, linking the first coupling member to the input shaft, comprising
• a shaft gear carried by the shaft extension, the shaft gear being rotationally fixed to the first coupling member, and
• a pump gear rotatably fixed to the input shaft of the hydraulic pump, the pump gear meshing with the shaft gear,
• wherein the shaft gear and the first coupling member are each rotatably fixed to the shaft extension such that the shaft gear and first coupling member are rotatably fixed to each other.

A hydraulic pump unit comprising:

• a shaft extension provided with a first gear;
• and
• a hydraulic pump having an input shaft provided with a second gear that is operatively connected with the first gear,
• wherein the shaft extension and input shaft are positioned perpendicular to one another, and
• wherein the first and second gears are mating bevel gears.

A method of retrofitting a hydraulic pump unit onto an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) having a power unit with an output shaft and a mounting structure, the method comprising:

• providing a hydraulic pump unit, the hydraulic pump unit comprising an assembly casing adapted to be mounted to the power unit of the ATV, a hydraulic pump mounted to the assembly casing and having a rotatable input shaft, a shaft extension adapted to be coupled to the output shaft and carried by the assembly casing so as to be coaxial with the output shaft, and a coupler coupling the shaft extension to the input shaft, the coupler comprising
• a first coupling member carried by the shaft extension, the first coupling member being rotationally linked to the input shaft of the hydraulic pump such that rotating the first coupling member forces the input shaft to rotate, and
• a second coupling member selectively coupleable to the first coupling member and adapted to be rotatably fixable to the output shaft, the second coupling member being at least partially carried by the shaft extension,
• wherein the first coupling member is rotationally linked to the input shaft with a rotational linkage, the rotational linkage between the input shaft and the first coupling member comprising
• a shaft gear carried by the shaft extension, the shaft gear being rotationally fixed to the first coupling member, and
• a pump gear rotatably fixed to the input shaft of the hydraulic pump, the pump gear meshing with the shaft gear,
• wherein the shaft gear and the first coupling member are each rotatably fixed to the shaft extension such that the shaft gear and first coupling member are rotatably fixed to each other;
• and
• mounting the hydraulic pump unit to the mounting structure of the ATV.