US 7,730,642 B2Granted

Snow blower

AssigneeYamaha Motor Power Products Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorKeisuke Sugiura

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Abstract

An engine of a snow blower is arranged with a crankshaft along a front to rear direction of the snow blower, and an output shaft, with an outer circumferential portion on which a drive pulley is fixed, is provided in a front end portion of the crankshaft. Further, an intermediate shaft with a rear end circumference on which a driven pulley is fixed and with a front end circumference, on which an impeller drive pulley is fixed, is arranged to extend toward a front direction higher than the output shaft. An impeller drive shaft with a rear end circumference on which an impeller driven pulley is fixed is arranged to extend toward the front direction more downward than the intermediate shaft. A first transmission belt is meshed with the drive pulley and the driven pulley, and a second transmission belt is meshed with the impeller drive pulley and the impeller driven pulley. Using this arrangement, it is possible to provide a snow blower with a low center of gravity.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A snow blower comprising:

an engine including a crankshaft arranged along a front to rear direction of the snow blower;
an output shaft provided on a front end portion of the crankshaft, arranged substantially coaxially with the crankshaft, and including an outer circumferential portion to which a drive pulley is attached;
an intermediate shaft arranged to extend along the front to rear direction and above the output shaft, the intermediate shaft including a rear end outer circumferential portion on which a driven pulley is fixed and a front end outer circumferential portion on which an impeller drive pulley is attached;
an impeller drive shaft arranged to extend in the front to rear direction and below the intermediate shaft, the impeller drive shaft including a rear end outer circumferential portion on which an impeller driven pulley is attached;
a first transmission belt meshed with the drive pulley and the driven pulley;
a second transmission belt meshed with the impeller drive pulley and the impeller driven pulley;
and
an impeller connected to, and arranged to be rotated by, the impeller drive shaft;
wherein
the output shaft and the impeller drive shaft are arranged at substantially the same height in a vertical direction of the snow blower.

7 more elements

A snow blower comprising:

an engine including a crankshaft arranged along a front to rear direction of the snow blower;
an output shaft provided on a front end portion of the crankshaft, arranged substantially coaxially with the crankshaft, and including an outer circumferential portion to which a drive pulley is attached;
an intermediate shaft arranged to extend along the front to rear direction and above the output shaft, the intermediate shaft including a rear end outer circumferential portion on which a driven pulley is fixed and a front end outer circumferential portion on which an impeller drive pulley is attached;
an impeller drive shaft arranged to extend in the front to rear direction and below the intermediate shaft, the impeller drive shaft including a rear end outer circumferential portion on which an impeller driven pulley is attached;
a first transmission belt meshed with the drive pulley and the driven pulley;
a second transmission belt meshed with the impeller drive pulley and the impeller driven pulley;
and
an impeller connected to, and arranged to be rotated by, the impeller drive shaft;
wherein
the intermediate shaft and the impeller drive shaft are arranged such that a virtual straight line connecting shaft axes of the intermediate shaft and the impeller drive shaft is inclined to one side of a width direction of the snow blower when viewed from a front of the snow blower;
and
a belt clutch mechanism, arranged to enable or interrupt transmission of a rotational force of the intermediate shaft to the impeller drive shaft by changing a tensile stress of the second transmission belt, is arranged on an outer circumferential side of the second transmission belt between the impeller drive pulley and the impeller driven pulley.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.