The present invention relates to engines, and more particularly to engines having a fuel tank mounted thereon.
When used in applications such as walk-behind lawn mowers and snow throwers, small, one or two-cylinder engines often have a fuel tank mounted thereon. Such a fuel tank is often connected to the engine by several fasteners. However, to use the same engine in a riding application, such as a riding lawn mower, it is often desirable to position the fuel tank remote from the engine. As a result, several components of the engine often need to be substantially re-configured to provide for the remote positioning of the fuel tank, which can yield increased costs to the engine manufacturer.
The fuel tank of the present invention allows the same engine to be used in both walk-behind applications requiring an attached fuel tank and riding lawn mower or other applications requiring a remotely-positioned fuel tank. When the engine is to be used with a walk-behind mower, the engine manufacturer may provide an engine assembly including an engine housing, a fan that generates an airflow, a fan housing at least partially covering the engine housing and the fan to direct the airflow over the engine housing, and a fuel tank including a plurality of integrally-formed projections engaging the fan housing to couple the fuel tank to the fan housing.
When the engine is to be used with a riding mower or other application having a detached or remote fuel tank, in which a remote fuel tank is often provided by the original equipment manufacturer, the engine manufacturer may interchange the fan housing configured to receive the integrally-formed projections on the fuel tank to a fan housing that is not configured to receive the projections. Such interchangeability allows the engine manufacturer to use the same tooling to create both fan housings. Only an extra manufacturing step is required to configure the fan housing to receive the projections, and a longer fuel line may be needed for the remote fuel tank.
The present invention provides, in another aspect, a fuel tank adapted to be coupled to an engine. The fuel tank includes a hollow body defining a fuel chamber therein and a plurality of locking members integrally formed with the body. The locking members are adapted to engage the engine to couple the body to the engine.
The present invention provides, in yet another aspect, an engine assembly including an engine housing, a crankshaft rotatably supported in the engine housing, one end of the crankshaft including a threaded bore defining a central axis, a flywheel positioned adjacent the engine housing and coupled for rotation with the crankshaft about the central axis, a fan separate from the flywheel and rotatable with the flywheel about the central axis, and a screen rotatable with the fan about the central axis. The engine assembly also includes a retainer cup rotatable with the screen about the central axis. The retainer cup includes a flange extending radially outwardly from the central axis and engaging the screen. The engine assembly further includes a single fastener passing through the retainer cup, the screen, and the fan to threadably engage the threaded bore in the crankshaft and axially retain the flywheel, the fan, the screen, and the retainer cup to the crankshaft. The screen and the fan are sandwiched between the flywheel and the flange of the retainer cup. The fan is axially restrained in a first direction along the central axis by the flywheel. The fan is axially restrained in a second direction along the central axis only by the screen and the flange of the retainer cup.
Other features and aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
With reference to
With reference to
The illustrated engine 14 is also configured as an overhead valve engine 14 including a valve train incorporating a cam shaft gear driven by a crankshaft gear, and a cam shaft coupled to the cam shaft gear. The cam shaft includes intake and exhaust cam lobes thereon. Respective intake and exhaust tappets, supported in the engine housing 18 for reciprocating movement, engage the respective cam lobes on the cam shaft. The tappets engage respective intake and exhaust push rods, which, in turn, engage respective intake and exhaust rocker arms to translate the rotational movement of the cam shaft to vertical movement of intake and exhaust valves as is understood in the art. Alternatively, the engine may be configured as a side-valve or L-head engine.
The engine 14 may also include a lubrication system to provide lubricant to the working or moving components of the engine 14. As is understood in the art, the lubrication system may include a slinger that is drivably coupled to the cam gear or cam shaft, such that the slinger is intermittently submerged into the lubricant held in the crankcase, to circulate a lubricant throughout the crankcase to lubricate the working components or the moving components of the engine 14.
With reference to
With reference to
The fuel tank 30 comprises a hollow body defining therein a fuel chamber 40 (see
With reference to
As shown in
Upon continued movement of the fuel tank 30 toward the fan housing 34, the ramp portions 62 disengage the side edges 66 of the slots 58, allowing the snap tabs 46 to “snap back,” or resume an undeflected state. Respective hook portions 74 of the snap tabs 46 abut a back surface of the fan housing 34 adjacent the side edges 66 to secure the fuel tank 30 to the fan housing 34 and substantially prevent the fuel tank 30 from being easily removed or easily separated from the fan housing 34.
With reference to
With reference to
Spacers 82 may also be positioned between the fuel tank 30 and the engine housing 18. The spacers 82 may be made from an elastomeric or vibration-damping material to reduce the amount of vibration transferred from the engine 14 to the fuel tank 30.
The fuel tank 30 illustrated in
When the engine 14 is to be used with a walk-behind mower, the engine manufacturer may provide the engine assembly 10, including the fan housing 34 having the holes 54 and slots 58, to receive the alignment posts 50 and snap tabs 46 of the fuel tank 30, respectively. When the engine 14 is to be used with a riding mower, in which a remote fuel tank is often provided by the mower manufacturer, the engine manufacturer may interchange the fan housing 34 including the holes 54 and slots 58 to a fan housing without the holes and slots (not shown). Such interchangeability allows the engine manufacturer to use the same tooling to create both fan housings. Only an extra manufacturing step is required to create the holes 54 and slots 58, and a longer fuel line may be needed for the remote fuel tank. Alternately, the fan housing 34 having holes 54 and slots 58, may be used in both attached fuel tank and remote fuel tank applications.
With reference to
With continued reference to
As shown in
Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
This application claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/689,962 filed on Jun. 13, 2005 and co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/684,689 filed on May 26, 2005, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20060266308 A1 | Nov 2006 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60689962 | Jun 2005 | US | |
60684689 | May 2005 | US |