Four-wheel vehicle for traveling on irregular road

A four-wheel vehicle for traveling on an irregular road wherein a driving force of an engine is transmitted to front wheels, comprising:

• a power drive shaft operatively connected to said engine for imparting rotary motion thereto;
• a torque converter operatively positioned between said power drive shaft and a crank shaft of said engine up to an input shaft of a transmission;
• a center line of rotation of said torque converter, including a pump impeller, a turbine runner and a stator impeller disposed on one side of the vehicle with respect to a longitudinal center line of a body of the vehicle;
• a drive shaft and a front propeller shaft for transmitting the driving force from said transmission to the front wheels disposed on an opposite side of the vehicle with respect to the longitudinal center line of the body of the vehicle;
• and
• a gear train for connecting the drive shaft to the front propeller shaft in a manner such that the drive shaft and the front propeller shaft have longitudinal axes which are offset from one another,
• said torque converter being disposed so that a radial center line of the rotating section thereof is parallel to the longitudinal center line of the vehicle body.

A four-wheel vehicle for traveling on an irregular road wherein a driving force of an engine is transmitted to front or rear wheels, comprising:

• a torque converter operatively positioned in a power transfer path extending from a crank shaft of said engine up to an input shaft of a transmission;
• a rotating section of said torque converter, including a pump impeller, a turbine runner and a stator impeller, disposed on one side of the vehicle with respect to a longitudinal center line of a body of the vehicle;
• a drive shaft and a rear propeller shaft for transmitting the driving force from said transmission to the rear wheels disposed on an opposite side of the vehicle with respect to the longitudinal center line of the body of the vehicle;
• a front propeller shaft connected to the drive shaft, the front propeller shaft also being disposed on the opposite side of the vehicle with respect to the longitudinal center line of the body of the vehicle,
• wherein a distance between the front propeller shaft and the longitudinal center line of the body being smaller than a distance between the rear propeller shaft and the longitudinal center line of the vehicle,
• said torque converter being disposed so that a radial center line of the rotating section thereof is parallel to the longitudinal center line of the vehicle body.

A four-wheel vehicle for traveling on an irregular road wherein a driving force of an engine is transmitted to rear wheels, comprising:

• a power drive shaft operatively connected to said engine for imparting rotary motion thereto;
• a torque converter operatively positioned between said power drive shaft and a crank shaft of said engine up to an input shaft of a transmission;
• a center line of rotation of said torque converter, including a pump impeller, a turbine runner and a stator impeller disposed on one side of the vehicle with respect to a longitudinal center line of a body of the vehicle;
• a drive shaft and a rear propeller shaft for transmitting the driving force from said transmission to the rear wheels disposed on an opposite side of the vehicle with respect to the longitudinal center line of the body of the vehicle;
• and
• a gear train for connecting the drive shaft to a front propeller shaft in a manner such that the front propeller shaft and the rear propeller shaft have longitudinal axes which are offset from one another, the front propeller shaft also being disposed on the opposite side of the vehicle with respect to the longitudinal center line of the body of the vehicle,
• said torque converter being disposed so that a radial center line of the rotating section thereof is parallel to the longitudinal center line of the vehicle body.