Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
HYDRAULIC PUMP DRIVE
sackground of the Invention
I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to
hydraulic pump drives and more particularly to a hydraulic
pump drive adapted to be secured to the rear of the engine.
II. Description of the Prior Art
The use of hydraulic pumps in conjunction with
internal combustion engines, or the like, has become more
and more prevalent in modern times to provide power for
accessories or as an assist for brakes and steering for
automobiles for instance. Such hydraulic pumps are driven
by the engine and for this purpose a hydraulic pump drive
rotatably couples the hydraulic pump to the engine.
These previously known hydraulic pumps and
hydraulic pump drives have been typically mounted at the
front of the engine. Only so many pumps can be mounted to
the front of the engine, however, and as the number of
pumps in use on an engine increases, some means will have to
be provided to mount at least some of the pumps to the rear
of the engine.
Also hydraulic pumps and their associated drive
occupy a great deal of space at the forward end of the engine.
In modern automobiles and other vehicles, engine compartment
space at the front of the engine is limited so that elimina-
tion of the hydraulic pump and its drive from the front of
the engine would be an important advantage for this reason
as well.
Further, with hydraulic pumps and their drives
at the forward end of the engine, they are exposed to damage
in the event of a collision or the like. The repair or
~- replacement of either the hydraulic pump or its drive is
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not only expensive, but also time consuming. Moreover, damage
to the hydraulic pump may render the vehicle inoperable. Thus
again it would be advantageous to place at least the more im-
portant and more expensive hydraulic pumps at the rear of the
engine.
Summary of the Present Invention
The present invention provides a hydraulic pump drive
for use in conjunction with an engine having a drive shaft, said
pump drive comprising a housing secured to the rear of said engine,
a driving means rotatably carried by said housing and coaxially
secured to said drive shaft, a driven means rotatably carried in
said housing so that said driving means rotatably drives said
driven means, means for securing a hydraulic pump to said driven
means, said housing having a base and a reservoir formed in said
base for containing a lubricant, and means for supplying lubricant
from said engine to said housing and said housing having a
reservoir for containing said lubricant, said last-mentioned means
comprises a dam formed in said reservoir and a passageway from
one side of the dam to the engine.
As will become hereinafter more apparent, the pump drive
of the present invention is of relatively narrow construction and,
in addition, includes a mounting flange for a clutch, torque
converter or the like. Moreover, the pump drive housing includes
a mounting portion particularly adapted for a starter motor.
Brief Description of the Drawing
A better understanding of the present invention will
be had upon reference to the following detailed description when
read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein like
reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several
;,~
views, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the hydraulic
pump drive of the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken
substantially along line 2-2 in FIG. 1, with parts removed and
broken away for clarity.
Detailed Description of the Present Invention
With reference to the drawing, the hydraulic pump
drive 10 of the present invention is thereshown as being
secured to the rear 12 of an engine 14. The engine 14 is
preferably an internal combustion engine but in any case
rotatably drives a drive shaft 16.
The pump drive 10 further includes a mounting
plate 18 secured to the rear 12 of the engine 14 in any
conventional manner such as by bolts 20. An aperture 22 in
the mounting plate 18 registers with the drive shaft 16 and a
cover housing 24 in turn is secured over and onto the mounting
plate 18.
A spur gear 26 and a fly wheel 28 are respectively
coaxially secured to the drive shaft 16 by bolt members 30
or the like so that the spur gear 26 is contained substantially
within the housing 24 while the fly wheel 28 is exposed at
the rearward end 32 of the pump drive 10. An annular oil
seal 34 is provided between the cover housing 24 and the hub
of the spur gear 26 in order to retail oil within the housing
24 as will be hereinafter described in greater detail.
A bearing adapter 36 having a mounting recess 38
is secured to the mounting plate 18 at a point radially spaced
from the drive shaft 16. The bearing adapter 36 rotatably
supports a second spur gear 42 by bearings 40. Snap rings
44 axially retain the spur gear 42 with respect to the bearing
adapter 36.
The spur gear 42 meshingly engages the first spur
gear 26 so that a rotation of the first spur gear 26 rotatably
drives the second spur gear 42.
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A hydraulic pump 46 having a driven shaft 48, the rotation
of which drives the pump 46, is mounted within the recess 38 on
the bearing adapter 36. Although any conventional means may be
used, preferably the shaft 48 is splined into the hub 50 of the
second spur gear 42 as shown at 52. In this manner, the second
spur gear 42 rotatably drives the hydraulic pump 46.
Preferably the housing 24 includes a mounting flange 54
with an aperture 56 radially spaced from the drive shaft 16 for
mounting a starter motor 57 having a drive gear 60 thereto. A
ring gear 58, may, for example, be formed around the outer
periphery of the fly wheel 28 for selective engagement with
the drive gear 60 of the starter motor 57.
Preferably an annular abutment surface 64 is provided
coaxially with the engine drive shaft 16 on the rear surface
32 of the cover housing 24. The annular surface 64 provides
a convenient mounting pocket for a clutch, a torque convertor
or the like.
Although any conventional lubrication system may be used
to lubricate the hydraulic pump drive 10 of the present inven-
tion, preferably the oil flow through the rear main engine
bearing 66 provides the lubrication for the drive 10. This oil
is thrown radially outward by centrifugal force as it strikes
the first spur gear 26 thus lubricating not only the first spur
gear 26 but also the second spur gear 42. The oil then flows
downwardly due to gravity to a reservoir 68 (FIG. 2) formed in
the base of the housing 24. Preferably a small dam 70 in the
reservoir retains a predetermined level of oil within the reser-
voir 68. Oil in excess of this predetermined level flows over
the dam 70 and returns to the engine oil sump by an appropriate
passageway 71. The dam 70 also serves to maintain the prede-
termined level of oil in the reservoir 68 to provide immediate
lubrication of the spur gears 26 and 42 upon engine start up.
Although the hydraulic pump 10 of the present
invention has been described as utilizing a pair of meshing
spur gears 26 and 42 to provide the driving engagement between
the engine drlve shaft 16 and the hydraulic pump 46, it should
S be apparent to those skilled in the art that a chain and
sprocket arrangement (not shown) between the drive shaft
16 and the hydraulic pump 46 may be substituted for the
meshing spur gears 26 and 42 while remaining within the
scope of the present invention.
Provision has been made to accommodate the
starting motor because these are commonly mounted to the rear
of the engine.
It can thus be seen that the hydraulic pump
drive 10 of the present invention provides a simple, in-
expensive and yet totally effective means for drivingly
connecting a hydraulic pump to the engine drive shaft. More-
over, the drive 10 of the present invention is secured at
the rear end of the engine, rather than the front, thus not
only conserving engine compartment space at the front of the
engine, but also protecting the hydraulic pump and drive from
damage in the event of a collision or other type of accident.
The pump drive 10 in addition receives adequate lubrication
from the engine oil and is virtually maintenance free.
Having described my invention, many modifications
thereto will become apparent to those skilled in the art to
which it pertains without deviation from the spirit of the
invention as defined by the scope of the appended claim.
What is claimed is:
