Snowmobile and road wheel units therefor

Claim 2

A road wheel unit adapted to support the front end of a snowmobile having an endless track unit constructed and arranged to support the rear of the snowmobile, said road wheel unit comprising an elongated support having a top face and an underface, a plurality of axles parallel to each other and extending transversely of and over said elongated support and secured to the top face of said elongated support, a first series of closely spaced wheels rotatably mounted on one end of every second one of said plurality of axles along one side of said elongated support, a second series of closely spaced wheels rotatably mounted on one end of the other of said plurality of axles along the other side of said elongated support, said wheels projecting below the underface of said elongated support on both sides thereof, said underface being smooth and free of protruding obstructions, said wheels being of the same diameter and said parallel axles being spaced apart along the lengths of the elongated member a distance less than said diameter, the axles of said wheels being arranged along a curve longitudinally of said elongated support with its concavity facing upwardly, whereby the wheels at the ends of the elongated support lay higher than the intermediate wheels and do not normally engage flat ground.

Claim 3

A road wheel unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said elongated member has an upwardly inclined extension at one end extending away from, and free of, said wheels.

Claim 4

A road wheel unit as claimed in claim 2, further including a pair of spring connecting means fixed on the opposite end portions of said elongated support and arranged to be connected to the ends of a leaf spring to provide a resilient suspension for the front end of the snowmobile.

Claim 5

A road wheel unit as claimed in claim 3, further including an additional wheel of larger diameter than said first-named wheels rotatably mounted on said inclined extension of said elongated support about an axle transverse to said elongated support, said larger diameter wheel not touching flat ground when the unit is engaging flat ground and serving to facilitate the climbing of an obstacle by rolling of said larger diameter wheel over the latter.

Claim 6

A road wheel unit adapted to support the front end of a snowmobile having an endless track unit constructed and arranged to support the rear of the snowmobile, said road wheel unit comprising an elongated support, a plurality of axles fixed parallel to each other and extending transversely of said elongated support, a first series of closely spaced wheels rotatably mounted on one end of every second one of saiD plurality of axles along one side of said elongated support, a second series of closely spaced wheels rotatably mounted on one end of the other of said plurality of axles along the other side of said elongated support, said elongated support forming a downwardly concave curve and arranged whereby the wheels at the ends of the elongated support normally lay higher than the intermediate wheels and do not normally engage the ground when the unit is in normal ground-engaging position, a pair of spring connecting means fixed on the opposite ends of said elongated support and arranged to be connected to the ends of a leaf spring to provide a resilient suspension for the front end of the snowmobile, said wheels being of the same diameter, said parallel axles being spaced apart along the lengths of the elongated member a distance less than said diameter, one end of said elongated member being curved more sharply than the other, and a larger wheel is rotatably mounted on said more sharply curved end, said larger wheel being constructed and arranged to lay above the ground when the unit is engaging flat ground, whereby to facilitate the climbing of an obstacle by rolling of said larger wheel over the latter.

Claim 7

A road wheel unit adapted to support the front end of a snowmobile having an endless track unit constructed and arranged to support the rear of the snowmobile, said road wheel unit comprising an elongated support, a plurality of axles fixed parallel to each other and extending transversely of said elongated support, a first series of closely spaced wheels rotatably mounted on one end of every second one of saiD plurality of axles along one side of said elongated support, a second series of closely spaced wheels rotatably mounted on one end of the other of said plurality of axles along the other side of said elongated support, said elongated support forming a downwardly concave curve and arranged whereby the wheels at the ends of the elongated support normally lay higher than the intermediate wheels and do not normally engage the ground when the unit is in normal ground-engaging position, a pair of spring connecting means fixed on the opposite ends of said elongated support and arranged to be connected to the ends of a leaf spring to provide a resilient suspension for the front end of the snowmobile, said wheels being of the same diameter, said parallel axles being spaced apart along the lengths of the elongated member a distance less than said diameter, one end of said elongated member being curved more sharply than the other, and a larger wheel is rotatably mounted on said more sharply curved end, said larger wheel being constructed and arranged to lay above the ground when the unit is engaging flat ground, whereby to facilitate the climbing of an obstacle by rolling of said larger wheel over the latter.

Claim 8

In a snowmobile having an endless track unit constructed and arranged to support the rear thereof, a pair of road wheel units each as defined in claim 5 and arranged parallel to each other, a pair of parallel leaf springs, each of which is connected at its opposite ends to one of said road wheel units, and an axle pivotally connected to said leaf springs and to a steering assembly of the snowmobile for pivotal movement of said wheel units about a pitch axis defined by said axle and a jaw axis defined by said steering assembly.