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US 6,973,783 B1Granted
Zero turn drive apparatus
AssigneeHydro-Gear Limited Partnership
InventorsRaymond Hauser, Lonnie E. Holder
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A drive apparatus for a zero turn vehicle or similar application comprising a pair of pumps mounted in a common housing and having coaxial input shafts and an input shaft mounted in the common housing perpendicular to the two pump shafts. A pair of center sections or end caps including hydraulic porting are mounted to opposite ends of the common housing, and each center section has a hydraulic motor mounted thereon external to the common housing.
Claims30
A hydraulic drive apparatus, comprising:
- a housing having a first pump chamber, a second pump chamber, a gear chamber, a first opening in a first end adjacent to the first pump chamber and a second opening in a second end opposite the first end and adjacent to the second pump chamber;
- a first pump rotatably mounted in the first pump chamber;
- a first pump shaft drivingly engaged to the first pump;
- a second pump rotatably mounted in the second pump chamber;
- a second pump shaft drivingly engaged to the second pump;
- an input shaft drivingly engaged to the first and second pump shafts;
- a first center section having hydraulic porting formed therein secured to the first end of the housing to close the first opening and a second center section having hydraulic porting formed therein secured to the second end of the housing to close the second opening;
- a first hydraulic motor affixed to the first center section and hydraulically connected to the first pump and a second hydraulic motor affixed to the second center section and hydraulically connected to the second pump.
5 more elements
A hydraulic drive apparatus, comprising:
- a housing having a first pump chamber, a second pump chamber, a gear chamber, a first opening in a first end adjacent to the first pump chamber and a second opening in a second end opposite the first end and adjacent to the second pump chamber;
- a first pump rotatably mounted in the first pump chamber;
- a first pump shaft drivingly engaged to the first pump;
- a second pump rotatably mounted in the second pump chamber;
- a second pump shaft drivingly engaged to the second pump and coaxially aligned with the first pump shaft;
- an input shaft having a first end and a second end mounted in and extending through the housing generally perpendicular to each of the pump shafts and drivingly engaged to the first and second pump shafts, wherein the first end of the input shaft extends from one side of the housing and the second end of the input shaft extends from an opposite side of the housing;
- a first center section having hydraulic porting formed therein and being comprised of a first pump section that is separate from and removably attached to a first motor section, wherein the pump section is secured to the first end of the housing to close the first opening;
- a second center section having hydraulic porting formed therein and being comprised of a second pump section that is separate from and removably attached to a second motor section, wherein the second pump section is secured to the second end of the housing to close the second opening;
- a first hydraulic motor affixed to the first motor section and hydraulically connected to the first pump and a second hydraulic motor affixed to the second motor section and hydraulically connected to the second pump.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.