Riding tractor with engine enclosure for noise abatement

Claim 1

A wheeled vehicle driven by an air-cooled internal combustion engine, characterized by the fact that the engine is enclosed for noise abatement, without interfering with proper cooling of the engine, and comprising the combination of: A. a wheel-supported chassis having a generally horizontal deck upon which the engine is mounted, the engine having a vertically oriented crankshaft and an air directing shroud with an upwardly facing inlet and a downwardly facing outlet and by which engine cooling air is conducted over the hot surfaces of the engine, B. an engine enclosure including a hood mounted on the deck, said hood having a top wall and completely enclosing the engine and the inner walls of the hood being lined with sound absorbing material; C. a screened air inlet opening in one of the walls of the hood; D. wall means inside the engine enclosure coacting with the top wall of the hood to form an air passage leading directly from said screened air inlet opening to the upwardly facing inlet of the air directing shroud; E. duct means inside the engine enclosure leading from the downwardly facing outlet of the air directing shroud to a zone outside the engine enclosure; F. a single air impeller driven by the engine and positioned to induce a flow of engine cooling air from said screened air inlet opening, through said air passage and into and out of said duct means; and G. exhaust duct means leading from the exhaust port of the engine to a muffler outside the engine enclosure.