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US 9,840,143 B1Granted
Cooling pump assembly and cooling system for utility vehicle
AssigneeHydro-Gear Limited Partnership
InventorsScott W. Keller, Donald Rousser
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A coolant pump assembly having a combined hydraulic drive pump and a coolant circulating pump is disclosed herein, for use in connection with a utility vehicle, such as a ride-on or stand-on mower. Such a vehicle includes at least one combination pump assembly that utilizes a first fluid circuit to hydraulically drive a wheel of the vehicle and a second fluid circuit to cool one or more vehicle components.
Claims21
A utility vehicle having a frame, a prime mover mounted to the frame, and a pair of rear drive wheels, the utility vehicle comprising:
- a first fluid circuit comprising hydraulic drive fluid;
- a second fluid circuit comprising cooling fluid, wherein the second fluid circuit is hydraulically separated from the first fluid circuit;
- a first drive assembly powered by the prime mover and powering one of the pair of rear drive wheels, wherein the first drive assembly comprises:
- a first hydraulic pump assembly having a first input shaft driving a first hydraulic pump in communication with the first fluid circuit;
- and
- a first hydraulic motor driven by the first hydraulic pump to power the one of the pair of rear drive wheels;
- and
- a circulating pump driven by the first input shaft and in communication with the second fluid circuit, wherein the circulating pump circulates fluid from the second fluid circuit to cool one or more components of the utility vehicle;
- and
- a second drive assembly powered by the prime mover and powering the other of the pair of rear drive wheels, wherein the second drive assembly comprises:
- a second hydraulic pump assembly having a second input shaft driving a second hydraulic pump in communication with the first fluid circuit;
- and
- a second hydraulic motor driven by the second hydraulic pump with fluid from the first fluid circuit to power the other of the pair of rear drive wheels.
10 more elements
A utility vehicle comprising:
- a prime mover;
- a hydraulic drive apparatus disposed on the vehicle and powering at least one driven wheel, the hydraulic drive apparatus comprising:
- a main housing defining an internal sump, and a secondary housing engaged to the main housing;
- a hydraulic pump disposed in the internal sump and connected to a first hydraulic circuit;
- an input shaft driven by the prime mover and extending into the main housing to drive the hydraulic pump;
- and
- a cooling pump disposed in the secondary housing, wherein rotation of the input shaft rotates the cooling pump;
- and
- a coolant circuit in fluid communication with the secondary housing and hydraulically separated from the first hydraulic circuit, whereby the cooling pump is engaged with one or more components of the utility vehicle through the coolant circuit to circulate coolant fluid to the one or more components.
6 more elements
A utility vehicle comprising:
- a prime mover;
- a hydraulic drive motor engaged to and driving at least one driven wheel;
- a pump assembly comprising:
- a main housing;
- an end cap engaged to the main housing to define a sump, the end cap comprising internal porting;
- a hydraulic pump disposed in the sump and in fluid communication with the internal porting;
- a secondary housing and a cooling pump disposed in the secondary housing;
- and
- an input shaft extending through the main housing and the end cap to drive the hydraulic pump and the cooling pump, a first end of the input shaft being external to the main housing and driven by the prime mover;
- a hydraulic circuit in fluid communication with the hydraulic drive motor and with the hydraulic pump;
- and
- a coolant circuit in fluid communication with the secondary housing and engaged with one or more components of the utility vehicle to circulate coolant to cool the one or more components, wherein the coolant circuit is hydraulically segregated from the hydraulic circuit.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.