Accessory drive assembly

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6422195
  • Patent Number
    6,422,195
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, October 12, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, July 23, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
An accessory drive assembly is provided for a vehicle and includes housing having first and second chambers for first and second accessory drive components, respectively. The first and second accessory drive components may be a water pump and steering pump, a water pump and alternator, or some other combination of accessory drive components. First and second driven elements are disposed within the first and second chambers, respectively. The driven elements correspond appropriately to the accessory drive component. That is, the driven element for a water pump may be an impeller, and a driven element for a power steering pump may be a gerotor assembly. A common driveshaft is supported in the housing and is coupled to the first and second driven elements. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the housing may be a rocker cover. The rocker cover includes a chamber formed therein for an accessory drive component such as a water pump. A driven element is disposed within the chamber and a driveshaft is supported by the rocker cover housing and is coupled to the driven element.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




This invention relates to an accessory drive assembly for use with an internal combustion engine, and more particularly, the invention relates to an accessory drive assembly including multiple accessory drive components such as a water pump, power steering pump and/or, or alternator.




Accessory drive components are used in vehicles to provide fluid, electrical or other power for accessory systems. The accessory drive components are typically secured to an internal combustion engine by brackets and driven by belts and pulleys that are coupled to the engine's crankshaft. Accessory drive components include water pumps, alternators, power steering pumps, air pumps, and air conditioning compressors. The accessory drive components have separate housings that are individually supported on the engine by brackets. Each accessory drive component includes a driveshaft coupled to a drive element which is driven by a drive pulley. The drive element produces power for the accessory drive systems one or more belts connect the pulleys of all the accessory drive components together to the engine's crankshaft. Because the accessory drive components are secured to the engine separately, the components require more space in the vehicle's engine compartment. More parts are also required because each accessory drive component has its own housing, driveshaft, and fasteners and brackets that are used to secure the component to the engine. Therefore, what is needed is an accessory drive assembly which incorporates two or more accessory drive components so that parts may be shared between the accessory drive components and the space required in the engine compartment may be reduced.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES




The present invention provides an accessory drive assembly for a vehicle including a housing having first and second chambers for first and second accessory drive components, respectively. The first and second accessory drive components may be a water pump and steering pump, a water pump and alternator, or some other combination of accessory drive components. First and second driven elements are disposed within the first and second chambers, respectively. The driven elements correspond appropriately to the accessory drive component. That is, the driven element for a water pump may be an impeller, and a driven element for a power steering pump may be a gerotor assembly. A common driveshaft is supported in the housing and is coupled to the first and second driven elements. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the housing may be a rocker cover. The rocker cover includes a chamber formed therein for an accessory drive component such as a water pump. A driven element is disposed within the chamber and a driveshaft is supported by the rocker cover housing and is coupled to the driven element.




In this manner, the present invention utilizes a common housing and driveshaft for multiple accessory drive components. Accordingly, the present invention provides an accessory drive assembly which incorporates two or more accessory drive components so that parts may be shared between the accessory drive components and the space required in the engine compartment may be reduced.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




Other advantages of the present invention can be understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:





FIG. 1

is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention accessory drive assembly;





FIG. 2

is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention accessory drive assembly;





FIG. 3

is a cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of the present invention accessory drive assembly; and





FIG. 4

is a front elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIG.


3


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




An embodiment of an accessory drive assembly


10


of the present invention is shown in FIG.


1


. The accessory drive assembly


10


has a common housing


11


for a first accessory drive component


12


and a second accessory drive component


13


. In the embodiment shown in

FIG. 1

, the first accessory drive component


12


is a water pump, and the second accessory drive component


13


is a power steering pump. The housing


11


includes flanges


14


having apertures


15


for receiving fasteners (not shown) for securing the accessory drive assembly


10


to an appropriate mounting structure such as an engine.




The housing


11


defines a first chamber


18


and a second chamber


20


separated by an intermediate wall


26


. A driveshaft


22


is supported in the housing


11


by bearings


24


. In particular, the intermediate wall


26


may include a hole


25


for supporting bearings


24


and the driveshaft


22


. The driveshaft


22


has an end extending from the housing


11


that may be secured to a pulley


23


for receiving rotational drive from a belt that is connected to the engine's crankshaft. However, it is to be understood that the driveshaft


22


may be driven by other means such as an electric motor. Coolant is pumped through the chamber


18


from an input


30


through an output


32


by an impeller


28


that is secured to the driveshaft


22


. Preferably, the impeller


28


is molded onto the driveshaft


22


.




The housing


11


may include a thermostat housing portion


33


in fluid communication with the input


30


for receiving a thermostat


34


. In this manner, the thermostat may be incorporated into the accessory drive assembly


10


. The housing


11


may also include a temperature sensor


35


supported therein for sensing the temperature of the coolant and further integrating components into the accessory drive assembly


10


. Hoses are secured to the input


30


and output


32


, as is known in the art, for carrying the coolant from the water pump


12


to the engine components.




The power steering pump


13


is also received in the housing


11


. A gerotor assembly


36


is supported on the driveshaft


22


for pumping power steering fluid to the rack and pinion assembly for assisting the driver in steering the vehicle. The second fluid chamber


20


includes an output


46


. A power steering fluid reservoir


38


is secured over an opening in the housing


11


to provide the needed fluid to the gerotor assembly


36


for pumping to the power steering components. Reservoir


38


includes an input or return


44


. The reservoir


38


may be secured to the housing


11


by interlocking members


40




a


,


40




b


and sealed against one another by seal


42


. The reservoir


38


includes a removable fill cap


48


threadingly received by a portion of the reservoir


38


.




To facilitate assembly of the accessory drive assembly


10


the housing


11


may include openings to permit the insertion of the driven elements, such as the gerotor assembly


36


. The water pump


12


may also include an opening that is later closed by an end cap. For example, the chamber


20


of the housing


11


is closed by reservoir


38


. Alternatively, the housing


11


may be formed from halves that are secured together by fasteners, welding, or other means. Preferably, the housing


11


is constructed from a plastic material, and the chambers


18


,


20


are formed using a lost core process. An end cap


50


is secured over an opening in the housing


11


to close the chamber once a component of the accessory drive assembly


10


is inserted into the housing


11


, such as the impeller


28


of the water pump


12


, as shown in FIG.


2


.




Another embodiment of the present invention accessory drive assembly


10


is shown in FIG.


2


. The accessory drive assembly


10


includes a water pump


12


that may be secured to the front of an engine block as is commonly done with prior art engine assemblies. In addition to having the water pump


12


, the accessory drive assembly


10


includes an accessory drive component


51


such as a alternator. The alternator


51


includes permanent magnets


56


that are disposed within the chamber


20


. Coils


58


are supported on the driveshaft


22


. A current is generated in the coils


58


as the coils


58


are rotated by the driveshaft


22


adjacent to the permanent magnets


56


. The housing


11


may also include a voltage regulator housing portion


60


for receiving a voltage regulator


62


. In this manner, additional components of the alternator may be incorporated into the accessory drive assembly


10


thereby further reducing accessory drive components that are separately secured to the engine or vehicle. Connectors


64


may be molded into the housing


11


.





FIG. 3 and 4

depict another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the housing


11


forms a rocker cover


70


. An accessory drive component


71


, such as a water pump, is integrated into the rocker cover


70


. A chamber


72


is formed in the rocker cover


70


on a side opposite a cavity


74


. The cavity


74


covers such engine components as rocker arms, intake and exhaust valves, and springs. As is known in the art, the rocker cover


70


includes a flange


76


with a plurality of apertures


78


for receiving fasteners (not shown) that secure the rocker cover


70


to the engine cylinder head. A lip


70


extends from the flange


76


to locate the rocker cover


70


relative to the cylinder head. A seal


82


is disposed between the flange


76


and the cylinder head for sealing the two relative to one another. An end cap


50


may be secured to the front of the housing


11


after the driveshaft


22


and impeller


28


have been inserted into the chamber


72


. The water pump


71


may extend along the entire length of the top portion of the rocker cover


70


, or only a portion of it as shown in FIG.


3


. By extending the water pump


71


along the entire length of the rocker cover


70


, sound from the valve train may be dampened by the additional housing material and fluid in the water pump


71


. The housing


11


of the rocker cover


70


may be formed from a nylon


66


, that is reinforced with glass fibers, or any other suitable material.




The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology that has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.



Claims
  • 1. An accessory drive assembly for a vehicle comprising:a housing having first and second chambers for first and second accessory drive components, respectively, wherein said housing is a substantially unitary structure, and said housing includes an intermediate wall separating said first and second chambers; first and second driven elements disposed within first and second chambers, respectively; and a drive shaft supported in said housing coupled to said first and second driven elements.
  • 2. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first and second driven elements are supported on said shaft.
  • 3. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 1, further including a pulley supported on an end of said shaft for receiving rotational drive from a drive belt.
  • 4. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 1, wherein said housing is a substantially unitary structure, and said housing includes an intermediate wall separating said first and second chambers.
  • 5. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 1, wherein said first accessory drive component is a water pump, and said first chamber is a coolant chamber having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet.
  • 6. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 5, wherein said first driven element is an impeller molded onto said drive shaft.
  • 7. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 5, wherein said housing includes a thermostat housing portion with a thermostat disposed therein.
  • 8. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 1, wherein said second accessory drive component is a power steering pump, and said second chamber is a power steering fluid chamber having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet.
  • 9. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 8, wherein said second drive element is a gerotor coupled to said drive shaft.
  • 10. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 1, further including a bearing received within a hole in said intermediate wall, said bearing supporting said drive shaft.
  • 11. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 1, wherein said housing is constructed from plastic.
  • 12. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 1, wherein said housing includes apertures for receiving fasteners that secure said housing to an internal combustion engine.
  • 13. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 1, wherein said second accessory drive component is an alternator, and said second chamber includes a permanent magnet disposed therein.
  • 14. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 13, wherein said second driven element including at least one wire coil supported on said shaft.
  • 15. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 13, wherein said housing includes a voltage regulator housing portion with a voltage regulator disposed therein.
  • 16. An accessory drive assembly for a vehicle comprising:a housing having first and second chambers for first and second accessory drive components, respectively, wherein said second accessory drive component is a power steering pump, and said second chamber is a power steering fluid chamber having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet; first and second driven elements disposed within first and second chambers, respectively; a drive shaft supported in said housing coupled to said first and second driven elements; and wherein said power steering pump includes a reservoir supported by said housing and in fluid communication with said fluid inlet.
  • 17. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 16, wherein said reservoir and said housing are secured in a snap-fit relationship.
  • 18. An accessory drive assembly for a vehicle comprising:a housing having first and second chambers for first and second accessory drive components, respectively; first and second driven elements disposed within first and second chambers, respectively; and a drive shaft supported in said housing coupled to said first and second driven elements; and wherein said housing includes an opening into said second chamber for receiving said second driven element, and said accessory drive assembly further includes an end cap received in said opening for closing said second chamber.
  • 19. The accessory drive assembly according to claim 18, wherein said second accessory drive component is a power steering pump, and said end cap is a reservoir.
RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/159,851 filed on Oct. 15, 1999.

US Referenced Citations (2)
Number Name Date Kind
4662320 Moriya May 1987 A
6241481 Keyes et al. Jun 2001 B1
Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
60/159851 Oct 1999 US