A vehicle typically includes a fan positioned to provide a cooling operation to a radiator of the vehicle. Such radiators and fans are typically positioned immediately in front of an engine or other prime mover of the vehicle. Further, the fans are typically directly coupled to the engine and the radiators are typically coupled to the chassis of the vehicle.
One embodiment relates to a vehicle. The vehicle includes a chassis, a cab coupled to the chassis, a prime mover coupled to the chassis and positioned at least one of beneath or behind the cab, and an accessory drive. The accessory drive includes an accessory and connecting shaft. The accessory is positioned forward of a front of the cab such that the accessory is spaced from the prime mover. The connecting shaft extends from the prime mover, past the front of the cab, and to the accessory. The connecting shaft is positioned to facilitate driving the accessory with the prime mover.
Another embodiment relates to a system for a vehicle. The system includes an accessory drive. The accessory drive includes an accessory and a connecting shaft configured to couple the accessory to a prime mover of the vehicle. The connecting shaft has a length such that (i) the accessory is positioned forward of a front of a cab of the vehicle and (ii) the connecting shaft extends rearwardly past the front of the cab to the prime mover when the accessory drive is installed on the vehicle.
Still another embodiment relates to a vehicle. The vehicle includes a chassis, a cab coupled to the chassis, a prime mover coupled to the chassis and positioned at least one of beneath or behind the cab, an accessory positioned forward of a front of the cab such that the accessory is spaced from the prime mover, and a connecting shaft extending from the prime mover, past the front of the cab, and coupled to the accessory. The connecting shaft facilitates driving the accessory with the prime mover. The accessory includes at least one of a fan or an alternator.
The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being carried out in various ways. Alternative exemplary embodiments relate to other features and combinations of features as may be recited herein.
The disclosure will become more fully understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements, in which:
Before turning to the figures, which illustrate the exemplary embodiments in detail, it should be understood that the present application is not limited to the details or methodology set forth in the description or illustrated in the figures. It should also be understood that the terminology is for the purpose of description only and should not be regarded as limiting.
Overview
According to an exemplary embodiment, a vehicle includes various components that improve performance relative to traditional systems. According to an exemplary embodiment, the vehicle of the present disclosure includes a cooling system (e.g., a cooling pack, etc.) positioned remotely from a prime mover (e.g., an engine, etc.) of the vehicle. The cooling system may include a radiator, a fan, a fan shroud, and conduits fluidly coupling the radiator to the engine. According to an exemplary embodiment, the engine is positioned beneath and/or at least partially behind a front cabin of the vehicle and the cooling system is positioned at a front end of the chassis, ahead of the front cabin such that an airgap (e.g., open space, a cab-tilt space, etc.) is formed between the engine and the cooling system. According to an exemplary embodiment, the fan and the fan shroud are coupled to the chassis with a common support structure such that relative movement therebetween may be minimized and/or substantially prevented. Such minimization facilitates reducing the tip clearance between the fan (e.g., the fins, tips, etc. of the fan) and the fan shroud, which may thereby increase the efficiency of the cooling system. According to an exemplary embodiment, the airgap and the minimized tip clearance increases the cooling capacity of the cooling system such that the prime mover may be tuned for increased performance.
According to an exemplary embodiment, the cooling pack of the present disclosure includes a fan system positioned remotely from the prime mover of the vehicle. The fan system may include a fan and a pulley assembly having a plurality of pulleys and a belt. The pulley assembly may be driven by a connecting shaft that extends between the prime mover and the pulley assembly. In other embodiments, the connecting shaft is directly coupled to the fan. The prime mover may thereby drive the remotely positioned fan through the connecting shaft. In some embodiments, the pulley assembly is coupled to an alternator such that the alternator is also positioned remotely from the engine. According to an exemplary embodiment, the engine is positioned beneath and/or at least partially behind a front cabin of the vehicle and the fan system and/or alternator are positioned forward of the front cabin.
According to the exemplary embodiment shown in
According to an exemplary embodiment, the frame 12 defines a longitudinal axis. The longitudinal axis may be generally aligned with a frame rail of the frame 12 of the vehicle 10 (e.g., front-to-back, etc.). In some embodiments, the vehicle 10 includes a plurality of front tractive assemblies 40 and/or a plurality of rear tractive assemblies 42 (e.g., one, two, etc.). The front tractive assemblies 40 and/or the rear tractive assemblies 42 may include brakes (e.g., disc brakes, drum brakes, air brakes, etc.), gear reductions, steering components, wheel hubs, wheels, tires, and/or other features. As shown in
According to an exemplary embodiment, the front cabin 20 includes one or more doors, shown as doors 22, that facilitate entering and exiting an interior of the front cabin 20. The interior of the front cabin 20 may include a plurality of seats (e.g., two, three, four, five, etc.), vehicle controls, driving components (e.g., steering wheel, accelerator pedal, brake pedal, etc.), etc. As shown in
According to an exemplary embodiment, the vehicle 10 includes a powertrain system. The powertrain system may include a primary driver (e.g., an engine, a motor, etc.), shown as prime mover 50, an energy generation device (e.g., a generator, etc.), and/or an energy storage device (e.g., a battery, capacitors, ultra-capacitors, etc.) electrically coupled to the energy generation device. As shown in
Cooling Pack Placement
According to the exemplary embodiment shown in
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Another advantage of the arrangement of the cooling pack 100 includes the positioning of the cooling pack 100 relative to the prime mover 50 such that the airgap 90 is formed therebetween. According to an exemplary embodiment, the airgap 90 facilitates increased cooling of the prime mover 50 and/or the radiator 110. Traditional cooling system arrangements include a radiator and a fan immediately positioned in front of an engine under the hood of a vehicle. Such close positioning between the cooling system and the engine restricts the flow of the air through the fan (e.g., due to the close proximity of the fan to the engine, etc.). The cooling pack 100 of the present disclosure is advantageously positioned ahead of the prime mover 50 such that the flow of air through the fan 120 and pushed rearward of the cooling pack 100 is not restricted, but can freely flow into the airgap 90, increasing the cooling capability of the cooling pack 100 (e.g., more air is drawn through the radiator 110, increased airflow to the prime mover 50, etc.).
According to an exemplary embodiment, the minimization of the fan tip clearance 124 and the formation of the airgap 90 between the cooling pack 100 and the prime mover 50 facilitate expelling increased thermal load/energy generated by the prime mover 50. The arrangement of the cooling pack 100 therefore facilitates increasing the performance of the prime mover 50 (e.g., horsepower output, torque output, etc. thereof) by facilitating the tuning of the prime mover 50 for increased performance (e.g., which then generates increased thermal load during operation which is able to be removed by the cooling pack 100, etc.).
Fan Drive Arrangement
According to the exemplary embodiment shown in
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According to an exemplary embodiment, the connecting shaft 80 facilitates remotely positioning the fan 270 and the alternator 290 ahead of the front cabin 20 towards the front end 18 of the frame 12 away from the prime mover 50 (e.g., which is positioned beneath and/or behind the front cabin 20, etc.). Remotely positioning the alternator 290 ahead of the front cabin 20 may reduce the risk of contact between the alternator 290 and the front cabin 20 during a blast event (e.g., prevents the alternator 290 from becoming a projectile that engages with the front cabin 20, etc.).
The present disclosure contemplates methods, systems, and program products on any machine-readable media for accomplishing various operations. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented using existing computer processors, or by a special purpose computer processor for an appropriate system, incorporated for this or another purpose, or by a hardwired system. Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure include program products comprising machine-readable media for carrying or having machine-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such machine-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. By way of example, such machine-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. When information is transferred or provided over a network or another communications connection (either hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to a machine, the machine properly views the connection as a machine-readable medium. Thus, any such connection is properly termed a machine-readable medium. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of machine-readable media. Machine-executable instructions include, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing machines to perform a certain function or group of functions.
As utilized herein, the terms “approximately”, “about”, “substantially”, and similar terms are intended to have a broad meaning in harmony with the common and accepted usage by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the subject matter of this disclosure pertains. It should be understood by those of skill in the art who review this disclosure that these terms are intended to allow a description of certain features described and claimed without restricting the scope of these features to the precise numerical ranges provided. Accordingly, these terms should be interpreted as indicating that insubstantial or inconsequential modifications or alterations of the subject matter described and claimed are considered to be within the scope of the invention as recited in the appended claims.
It should be noted that the terms “exemplary” and “example” as used herein to describe various embodiments is intended to indicate that such embodiments are possible examples, representations, and/or illustrations of possible embodiments (and such term is not intended to connote that such embodiments are necessarily extraordinary or superlative examples).
The terms “coupled,” “connected,” and the like, as used herein, mean the joining of two members directly or indirectly to one another. Such joining may be stationary (e.g., permanent, etc.) or moveable (e.g., removable, releasable, etc.). Such joining may be achieved with the two members or the two members and any additional intermediate members being integrally formed as a single unitary body with one another or with the two members or the two members and any additional intermediate members being attached to one another.
References herein to the positions of elements (e.g., “top,” “bottom,” “above,” “below,” “between,” etc.) are merely used to describe the orientation of various elements in the figures. It should be noted that the orientation of various elements may differ according to other exemplary embodiments, and that such variations are intended to be encompassed by the present disclosure.
Also, the term “or” is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so that when used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements in the list. Conjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, and Z,” unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the context as used in general to convey that an item, term, etc. may be either X, Y, Z, X and Y, X and Z, Y and Z, or X, Y, and Z (i.e., any combination of X, Y, and Z). Thus, such conjunctive language is not generally intended to imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at least one of Y, and at least one of Z to each be present, unless otherwise indicated.
It is important to note that the construction and arrangement of the systems as shown in the exemplary embodiments is illustrative only. Although only a few embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail, those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter recited. For example, elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple parts or elements. It should be noted that the elements and/or assemblies of the components described herein may be constructed from any of a wide variety of materials that provide sufficient strength or durability, in any of a wide variety of colors, textures, and combinations. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present inventions. Other substitutions, modifications, changes, and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions, and arrangement of the preferred and other exemplary embodiments without departing from scope of the present disclosure or from the spirit of the appended claims.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/529,294, filed Aug. 1, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/957,207, filed Apr. 19, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/491,979, filed Apr. 28, 2017, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/491,981, filed Apr. 28, 2017, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
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Child | 17140506 | US | |
Parent | 15957207 | Apr 2018 | US |
Child | 16529294 | US |