RECREATIONAL VEHICLE

• US 3,623,565 A
• Filed: 08/04/1969
• Issued: 11/30/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/1969
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Eugene T. Ward, Harvey H. Pierman, Richard Sklar
• Original Assignee: Eugene T. Ward, Harvey H. Pierman, Richard Sklar
• Inventors: Ward, Eugene T., Sklar, Richard, Pierman, Harvey H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hersh, Benjamin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Paperner, Leslie J.
• Application Number:
  US04/847,119
• Time in Patent Office: 848 Days
• Field of Search: 180/6.2,6.7,76 192/18A 64/27R,27C,28R 115/1
• US Class Current: 180/6.2
• CPC Class Codes: B60F 3/0069 Recreational amphibious vehicles toy vehicles A63H17/00 - A63H31/00
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 61/10 with more than four wheels tractors of the low ground pressure type B62D49/002

Abstract

An all-terrain recreational vehicle as disclosed which is capable of operating on water, on very soft terrain and on rough terrain. Three low-pressure tires are journalled on each side of a watertight fiber-reinforced plastic body. All wheels are driven by a rear mounted engine and steering is accomplished by declutching and braking the wheels on one side or the other of the vehicle. The wheels are journalled directly on the plastic body without separate framing making it possible to have a low operating center of gravity. Overload slip clutches at each wheel prevent excessive strain from being applied to the suspension system or the power-transmission system. A belly pan formed of tough abrasion resistant plastic is mounted on the underside of the vehicle body for impact and abrasion resistance. The transmission system includes parallel chain drives extending along each side of the vehicle, each driven by the engine through a separate clutch and brake mechanism. The clutch and brake mechanisms are selectively operated for steering by hydraulic pressure developed in response to steering wheel movement and are operated simultaneously by a hydraulic-brake system for braking. The engine is mounted on a floating frame to minimize noise and vibration transmission and to provide tensioning of the primary drive chains. The throttle system is arranged for direct actuation in combination with a governor which acts only to prevent overspeeding.

Claims

1. An all-terrain vehicle comprising a body, a plurality of nonsteerable wheels mounted in each of a pair of groups thereof that are respectively journalled on each side of said body, rotary power drive means mounted in said body providing two drive output assemblies with each of the latter including alternately operable clutch and brake means and a rotary output element, a pair of separate driving trains each individually connecting one of said output elements to one of said groups of drive wheels, and a rotary hand-steering control unit commonly connected to both of said output assemblies for alternate operation thereof, wherein the improvement comprises in each of said output assemblies a rotary drive plate which is nonaxially translatable, a nonrotary and axially translatable brake plate spaced axially from the latter and a rotary and axially translatable driven plate located between said drive and brake plates for alternate engagement thereof, first spring means biasing said brake plate axially out away from said driven plate to an axially fixed position, said driven plate to an axially fixed position, said driven plate being rotationally fixed to the associated output element for drive of the latter, second spring means normally biasing said driven plate to driving engagement of said drive plate, said driven plate being axially movable by rotation of said hand-steering control unit against the biasing of said second spring means out of driving engagement with said drive plate and to braking engagement with said brake plate, and footcontrol-operated means to force said brake plate axially inward against the biasing of said first spring means to braking engagement with said driven plate while the latter is in driving engagement with said clutch drive plate.

2. The all-terrain vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein the rotation of said hand-steering control unit and the actuation of said foot-control-operated means that effect selective operation of said clutch and brake assemblies is accomplished by fluid-pressurizing systems having therein a pair of master clutch pressurized fluid supply controls that are alternately manipulated by rotation of said hand-steering control unit in opposite directions, a pair of fluid pressure-responsive slave motors individually flow connected to said master clutch controls and located respectively in said clutch and brake assemblies with each of said slave motors mechanically connected to the biased rotary driven plate are located for axial retraction of the latter from engagement with the associated rotary drive plate therein to engagement of the nonrotary brake plate therein, a single master brake pressurized fluid supply control mechanically operated by a foot control unit, and a pair of fluid-pressure responsive, brake slave motors commonly flow connected to said single master brake control and located respectively in said clutch and brake assemblies with each mechanically connected to said biased, axially translatable and nonrotary brake plate in the same assembly to force this brake plate axially to engagement of the associated driven plate while the latter is in driving engagement of the associated clutch drive plate, the pair of separate brake plates being simultaneously axially translated by said pair of brake slave motors upon manipulation of said foot control unit for effecting braking action in the pair of clutch and brake assemblies without declutching the latter.

3. The all-terrain vehicle as set forth in claim 2 wherein said pair of master clutch supply controls are in the form of fluid pressure-creating clutch master cylinders which are mounted in substantial opposed relation to each other with each having a thrust piston equipped with a thrust stem, a relatively stiff, reciprocative thrust member supported between these thrust stems in opposed relation thereto for applying forward thrust alternately to said piston stems, means limiting retractive following of each of said stems relative to the intervening reciprocative thrust member when the latter is thrusting the other stem forward, and mechanism for translating rotary action to reciprocal action mechanically connecting said rotary hand-steering control unit to said reciprocative thrust member whereby rotation of said steering control unit in one direction thrusts one of said stems forward without continuous retraction of said other stem and vice versa.

4. The all-terrain vehicle as set forth in claim 1 in which said body comprises an assembly including a molded lower body member formed of fiber-reinforced plastic with each drive wheel being provided with an axle assembly journalled in bearings directly supported on said fiber-reinforced plastic.

5. An all-terrain vehicle as set forth in claim 4 wherein said body assembly includes a belly pan mating with and secured to the underside of said lower body, said belly pan being formed of a tough, abrasion resistent material.

6. An all-terrain vehicle as set forth in claim 5 wherein said belly pan is molded from polyethylene or the like.

7. An all-terrain vehicle as set forth in claim 4 wherein said lower body includes a horizontally extending bottom portion, and vertically extending side portions, each axle being journalled on a first bearing mounted in the associated wall portion, and a second bearing spaced from said first bearing supported by said bottom potion, said first bearing being mounted so that substantially no forces along the axis of said axle are transmitted to said wall portion, and said second bearing being mounted so that it is operable To transmit axial forces along the axis of said axle to said bottom portion.

8. An all-terrain vehicle as set forth in claim 7 wherein the body assembly includes a separate plastic floor member providing a floor for a passenger compartment, said floor member providing a floor portion spaced above said bottom portion by a distance substantially equal to the diameter of said second bearing.

9. An all-terrain vehicle as set forth in claim 8 wherein each of said separate driving trains includes a belt and belt-driving means subassembly which extends along the side of said body assembly to which the group of said drive wheels on this side are journalled with said belt and belt-driving means on this side providing a driving connection between said drive unit and the adjacent wheels, and said floor member and lower body member are shaped structurally relative to each other to define a closed tunnel along each side of said body assembly which encloses an appreciable part of each belt and belt-driving means subassembly.

10. An all-terrain vehicle as set forth in claim 9 wherein said floor member is removable to provide access to both of said belt and belt-driving means subassemblies.

11. An all-terrain vehicle as set forth in claim 7 wherein said body assembly also includes a rearward deck and a molded seat member which cooperates with said lower body member to define an engine compartment enclosing said drive unit, seat member being removable to provide access to said drive unit.

12. An all-terrain vehicle vehicle as set forth in claim 11 wherein said drive unit includes an air-cooled internal combustion engine, and said engine includes an engine driven fan and duct means, said fan being operable to pump engine-cooling air from said engine compartment, over said engine and then out of said vehicle through said duct means.

13. An all-terrain vehicle as set forth in claim 12 wherein a grille is provided in said rearward deck and said duct means exhausts through said grille.

14. An all-terrain vehicle as set forth in claim 13 wherein a grille is provided in said seat member open to said engine compartment through which air can move into said engine compartment.