Apparatus for Cooling an Engine

This invention relates to cooling apparatus for internal combustion engines having a belt speed converter of the type used in vehicles such as small cars, snowmobiles and power tillers, and particularly to such apparatus for use in snowmobiles.

The engine of a snowmobile is usually mounted within an engine compartment formed by a hood at the front of the vehicle and is cooled by air flowing through the compartment as the snowmobile travels. Such cooling is effective when the vehicle travels at high speeds because the cooling air is rammed through it, but tends to be insufficient during low speeds and when idling. At the same time, it is sometimes difficult to provide a small snowmobile with an effective cooling air inlet.

It is a general object of this invention to provide cooling apparatus for positively producing air flow to cool an engine of a vehicle.

It is another object of the invention to provide such apparatus for positively producing varying amounts of cooling air flow; for example, additional air flow when the vehicle is moving at a low speed or when idling, and vice versa.

The invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures of the drawings, wherein:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a top plan and a side elevational views of a snowmobile with parts broken away, to which apparatus in accordance with the invention may be applied;

FIGS. 3a and 3b are fragmentary views partially in section showing apparatus in accordance with this invention;

FIGS. 4a and 4b are views similar to 3a and 3b but showing an alternative form of the invention;

FIGS. 5a and 5b are fragmentary top plan and fragmentary side views, respectively, partially in section, showing apparatus for directing cooling air;

FIGS. 6 and 8 are fragmentary top plan views partially in section showing alternative apparatus for directing cooling air;

FIGS. 7a and 7b are a side and a top plan views partially in section showing alternative apparatus for directing cooling air;

FIGS. 9a, 9b and 9c are fragmentary views, partially in section, showing still another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 10 is a top plan view partially in section of still another embodiment of the invention.

To enhance understanding of this invention, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a complete small snowmobile 1 having a pair of runners 2 at the front end and a caterpillar or moving track drive system 3 driven by an engine 4 that is mounted under a hood 7 that forms the engine compartment. The engine 4 drives the system 3 through a belt speed converter or stepless transmission 5 and a reduction gear box 6. The transmission 5 includes a driving clutch 5a, a driven clutch 5b and a V-belt 5c interconnecting the two clutches in driving relation. Intake air vents for cooling the engine 4 may be formed in the hood 7 or other convenient locations in the body of the vehicle.

The driving clutch 5a includes a fixed sheave 11 secured to an output drive shaft 10 of the engine and a movable sheave 12 rotatable with the fixed sheave 11 and movable toward and away from it. The driven clutch 5b also has a fixed sheave secured to a driven shaft 8 and a movable sheave. The gear box 6 is connected to be driven by the shaft 8 and the box 6 output drives the system 3. The V-belt 5c passes through the V-shaped annular space between the oppositely facing sheaves of each clutch. The movable sheave 12 of the driving clutch 5a is biased to move closely toward the fixed sheave 11 as shown in FIG. 3a and FIG. 4a as the rotational speed of the engine increases, and the belt 5c tends to move around the clutch 5a at a greater radius due to centrifugal force, while the belt moves around the driven clutch 5b with a smaller radius. As the engine rotational speed decreases and the belt 5a tends to move around the sheave 5a at a smaller radius, the movable sheave 12 then moves away from the fixed sheave 11 against the biasing force as shown in FIGS. 3b and 4b. The foregoing described construction and operation of the clutches 5a and 5b are well known to those skilled in this art.

According to this invention, a variable cooling air supply is also driven by the shaft 10. The movable sheave 12 of the driving clutch 5a has blades 13 (FIGS. 3a and 3b) forming a fan provides thereon, the blades being surrounded by a casing 14 formed with an air inlet opening 14a and an air outlet duct 16 preferably extending from a peripheral wall thereof, as shown in FIG. 5b, and leading to the engine or an engine radiator.

In FIGS. 3a and 3b, the casing 14 has a section 14b, which extends up or is recessed toward the clutch 5a and is axially displaced from the duct 16. The recess 14b has a diameter within which the fan blades 13 can rotate close to the peripheral wall thereof, and an axial length substantially the same as that of the blades 13. In FIG. 3a, the movable sheave 12 has moved close to the fixed sheave 11 during high-speed rotation of the engine, and the fan blades 13 are retracted into the recess 14b and displaced from the duct 16, thus producing relatively little air flow to the duct 16. In the position shown in FIG. 3b, wherein the movable sheave 12 has been moved away from the fixed sheave 11 during low-speed engine operation, the fan 13 is moved out of the recess 14b of the casing and rotates within the duct 16, thus supplying a substantial amount of air flow to the duct 16.

In the arrangement shown in FIG. 4, the casing 14 and the duct 16 are widened so that the fan blades 13 always rotate within the duct. Attached to the movable sheave 12 is an axial shaft 10a that extends outwardly from the sheave 12 through the inlet opening 14a of the casing 14. The shaft 10a has a valve member 15 at its outer end which is adjacent the opening 14a and can externally choke or at least partially close the opening 14a. During high-speed operation of the engine (FIG. 4a), the valve member 15 is retracted with the movable sheave 12 and is close to and chokes or closes the inlet 14a, thus supplying little air flow to the duct 16. During low-speed engine operation (FIG. 4b), the valve member 15 is moved outwardly and opens the inlet 14a, allowing the fan 13 to supply a substantial air flow.

In FIG. 5, the variable air supply is similar to the arrangement shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b. The duct 16 includes spaced plates 16a that lead to the front side of the engine 4 to directly cool an air-cooled engine.

FIG. 6 shows the invention applied to a liquid-cooled engine. A radiator 17 is connected to engine cooling jackets by hose 17a and the coolant flows through the radiator 17 during engine operation. The duct 16 leads to the radiator 17 in order to cool the engine coolant.

FIGS. 7a and 7b also show a liquid-cooled engine including a radiator 18 mounted under the seat 19 and the floor of a snowmobile but over the caterpillar drive 3. The duct 16 leads to the radiator 18 and cools the radiator even though there is no snow which would be thrown up by the caterpillar drive 3 to cool it.

In FIG. 8, the duct 16 leads from the casing 14 to the front side of an air cooled engine 4 to cool the engine, which is also adapted to be cooled by ram air entering the engine compartment through a front opening 19 in the vehicle hood 7. This arrangement constitutes a combination of ram or natural air cooling and positive or fan drive air cooling.

In FIGS. 9a, 9b and 9c, the duct 16 includes branches 16a having outlets or nozzles 16b directed toward the engine 4 and extending in front of the engine. The ducts 16a form a generally rectangular configuration that has at least one central opening 20 through which air can flow from outside the engine while the positive air flow can also be supplied through the duct 16 and the nozzles 16b. An opening 21 in the hood 7 admits air to the engine compartment.

In the arrangement shown in FIG. 10, a radiator 22 of a liquid cooled engine 4 is mounted in front of the engine 4. The duct 16 opens to the front side of the radiator 17 so that the radiator is cooled by the fan 13 driven variable air supply. The duct 16 is also arranged so that air can pass therethrough from the outside to the radiator through a hood opening 23, so that the engine is cooled by the coolant, the variable air supply, and the ram air.

FIGS. 6 and 7 also illustrate still another variable air supply arrangement. A relatively wide fan casing 24 has no recess 14a that the fan 25 can be retracted into, and there is no such valve member 15 to choke the inlet opening of the casing. However, during low-speed operation of the engine, the fan 25 is adjacent to the inlet 26 of the casing 24 and can therefore supply a relatively large amount of air flow to the duct 16, and during a high-speed operation, the fan is moved inwardly away from the inlet 26, forming a free air space therebetween, which produces less air flow.

Thus, according to this invention, apparatus has been provided comprising a fan attached to the movable sheave of a variable speed driving clutch to positively produce air flow, and a duct system for directing the air flow to cool an engine or a radiator. As the rotational speed of the engine becomes higher, the movable sheave of the clutch moves to place the fan blades so as to produce less air flow, or to choke the air inlet for the fan, so that the fan produces less air flow. As a result, during high-speed engine rotation, the engine will not be loaded substantially due to the cooling by air and will thus effectively drive the vehicle.

A number of different variable air supply arrangements have been disclosed along with different duct arrangements and both air-cooled and liquid-cooled engines. It should be apparent that any of the variable air supply arrangements may be used in all of the different duct and engine constructions disclosed herein.