US3913693A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Snowmobile drive suspension system
Assignee: Outboard Marine Corp
•
Filing: 1973-05-18
•
Granted: 1975-10-21
•
Expires: 1993-05-18
Abstract
Abstract Disclosed herein is a snowmobile including a track supporting frame comprising a carriage rotatably mounting a plurality of bogies on fixed axes adjacent the forward and rearward carriage ends, a track which is trained around the bogies and around a forwardly located drive sprocket rotatably mounted on a chassis, and forward and rearward parallel links pivotally connecting the carriage to the chassis with the links having a length and being mounted on the chassis in such manner relative to the chassis and the carriage that the tension in the track is substantially the same, notwithstanding movement of the carriage between an extended, normal running position and a retracted, or partially collapsed position.
Inventors
- 👤 Gordon B Hale
- 👤 Richard A Wlezien
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 15:12
CPC Classifications
B; B62; B62M; B62M27/00; B62M27/02; B62M2027/026
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
299 words
A snowmobile comprising a chassis, a drive sprocket rotatably mounted on said chassis, a movable track supporting carriage including forward and rearward track supporting bogies mounted on said carriage for rotation about axes fixed relative to said carriage adjacent the forward and rearward ends of said carriage and with said track trained thereabout, a track having a fixed length and trained around said drive sprocket and said forward and rearward bogies, and means for mounting said carriage to said chassis for movement between an extended position, a retracted position, and an intermediate position, said extended position being spaced from said chassis at a first distance and locating said forward and rearward bogies to define a first track path having a length equal to said track length, said retracted position being located rearwardly of said extended position and spaced from said chassis at a second distance less than said first distance and locating said forward and rearward bogies to define a second track path having a length equal to said track length, said intermediate position being intermediate said extended and retracted positions and locating said forward and rearward bogies to define a third track path having a length equal to said track length, said carriage mounting means including forwardly and rearwardly spaced rigid links pivotally connected to said carriage about axes fixed relative to said carriage and extending in parallel relation to each other upwardly and forwardly from said carriage, each of said links also being pivotally connected to said chassis and said rearward link being dimensioned such that the distance between the pivotal connections of said rearward link to said chassis and to said carriage is substantially constant and substantially equal to the distance between the pivotal connections of said forward link to said carriage and to said chassis.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
299 words
A snowmobile comprising a chassis, a drive sprocket rotatably mounted on said chassis, a movable track supporting carriage including forward and rearward track supporting bogies mounted on said carriage for rotation about axes fixed relative to said carriage adjacent the forward and rearward ends of said carriage and with said track trained thereabout, a track having a fixed length and trained around said drive sprocket and said forward and rearward bogies, and means for mounting said carriage to said chassis for movement between an extended position, a retracted position, and an intermediate position, said extended position being spaced from said chassis at a first distance and locating said forward and rearward bogies to define a first track path having a length equal to said track length, said retracted position being located rearwardly of said extended position and spaced from said chassis at a second distance less than said first distance and locating said forward and rearward bogies to define a second track path having a length equal to said track length, said intermediate position being intermediate said extended and retracted positions and locating said forward and rearward bogies to define a third track path having a length equal to said track length, said carriage mounting means including forwardly and rearwardly spaced rigid links pivotally connected to said carriage about axes fixed relative to said carriage and extending in parallel relation to each other upwardly and forwardly from said carriage, each of said links also being pivotally connected to said chassis and said rearward link being dimensioned such that the distance between the pivotal connections of said rearward link to said chassis and to said carriage is substantially constant and substantially equal to the distance between the pivotal connections of said forward link to said carriage and to said chassis.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
32 words
A snowmobile in accordance with claim 1 wherein said carriage mounting means includes means for limiting movement of said carriage in the direction away from said chassis to establish said running position.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
27 words
A snowmobile in accordance with claim 1 including means connected between said carriage and said chassis for resiliently opposing movement of said carriage from said extended position.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
A snowmobile in accordance with claim 1 including means connected between said carriage and said chassis for dissipating energy incident to carriage movement relative to said extended position.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
A snowmobile in accordance with claim 4 wherein said energy dissipating means includes a pair of hydraulic shock absorbers.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
222 words
A snowmobile comprising a chassis, a drive sprocket rotatably mounted on said chassis, a track trained, in part, around said drive sprocket, a track supporting frame including a carriage, track supporting bogies mounted on said carriage for rotation about fixed axes adjacent the forward and rearward ends of said carriage and with said track trained thereabout, and means for movably mounting said carriage to said chassis so as to afford movement between a running position spaced from said chassis and a retracted position rearwardly of said running position and closer to said chassis than said running position, said carriage mounting means including forwardly and rearwardly spaced rigid links pivotally connected to said carriage and extending in parallel relation to each other upwardly and forwardly from said carriage, each of said links also being pivotally connected to said chassis and said rearward link being formed such that the distance between the pivotal connections of said rearward link to said chassis and to said carriage is substantially constant and substantially equal to the distance between the pivotal connections of said forward link to said carriage and to said chassis, a compression spring, and means mounting said spring between said carriage and said chassis for increasing and then decreasing the resisting torque created by spring compression occurring consequent to carriage movement from said running position.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
222 words
A snowmobile comprising a chassis, a drive sprocket rotatably mounted on said chassis, a track trained, in part, around said drive sprocket, a track supporting frame including a carriage, track supporting bogies mounted on said carriage for rotation about fixed axes adjacent the forward and rearward ends of said carriage and with said track trained thereabout, and means for movably mounting said carriage to said chassis so as to afford movement between a running position spaced from said chassis and a retracted position rearwardly of said running position and closer to said chassis than said running position, said carriage mounting means including forwardly and rearwardly spaced rigid links pivotally connected to said carriage and extending in parallel relation to each other upwardly and forwardly from said carriage, each of said links also being pivotally connected to said chassis and said rearward link being formed such that the distance between the pivotal connections of said rearward link to said chassis and to said carriage is substantially constant and substantially equal to the distance between the pivotal connections of said forward link to said carriage and to said chassis, a compression spring, and means mounting said spring between said carriage and said chassis for increasing and then decreasing the resisting torque created by spring compression occurring consequent to carriage movement from said running position.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
168 words
A track vehicle comprising a chassis, a drive sprocket supported by said chassis, a track trained, in part, around said drive sprocket, a carriage including forwardly and rearwardly spaced wheel means around which said track is also trained, means including forwardly and rearwardly spaced rigid links pivotally connecting said carriage to said chassis for swinging movement of said carriage relative to said chassis, said links each extending upwardly and forwardly from said carriage to said chassis and said links being formed such that the distance between the pivotal connections of said rearward link to said chassis and to said carriage is substantially constant and substantially equal to the distance between the pivotal connections of said forward link to said carriage and to said chassis, and means for limiting swinging movement of one of said links above said carriage in the direction from the forward end of said carriage to the rearward end thereof to establish a normal running position of maximum spacing of said carriage from said chassis.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
168 words
A track vehicle comprising a chassis, a drive sprocket supported by said chassis, a track trained, in part, around said drive sprocket, a carriage including forwardly and rearwardly spaced wheel means around which said track is also trained, means including forwardly and rearwardly spaced rigid links pivotally connecting said carriage to said chassis for swinging movement of said carriage relative to said chassis, said links each extending upwardly and forwardly from said carriage to said chassis and said links being formed such that the distance between the pivotal connections of said rearward link to said chassis and to said carriage is substantially constant and substantially equal to the distance between the pivotal connections of said forward link to said carriage and to said chassis, and means for limiting swinging movement of one of said links above said carriage in the direction from the forward end of said carriage to the rearward end thereof to establish a normal running position of maximum spacing of said carriage from said chassis.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
43 words
A track vehicle in accordance with claim 7 and further including means for limiting swinging movement of said carriage relative to said chassis to establish a retracted carriage position rearwardly of said running position and closer to said chassis than said running position.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
A track vehicle in accordance with claim 7 and further including means yieldably resisting carriage movement in the direction toward said chassis.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
26 words
A track vehicle in accordance with claim 7 and further including means for dissipating energy in response to movement of said carriage relative to said chassis.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
132 words
A track suspension assembly comprising a carriage havIng adjacent the forward and rearward ends thereof a plurality of bogie wheels rotatably mounted about axes fixed relative to said carriage, a pair of fowardly and rearwardly spaced rigid links pivotally connected to said carriage, each of said links including means located remotely from said carriage and adapted for pivotal connection to a snowmobile frame such that the distance between said pivotal connections of said links to said carriage and said means adapted for pivotal connection to a snowmobile frame is constant and is the same for both of said links, and means on said carriage limiting pivotal movement of at least one of the said links in the direction from the forward end of said carriage to the rearward end of said carriage.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
132 words
A track suspension assembly comprising a carriage havIng adjacent the forward and rearward ends thereof a plurality of bogie wheels rotatably mounted about axes fixed relative to said carriage, a pair of fowardly and rearwardly spaced rigid links pivotally connected to said carriage, each of said links including means located remotely from said carriage and adapted for pivotal connection to a snowmobile frame such that the distance between said pivotal connections of said links to said carriage and said means adapted for pivotal connection to a snowmobile frame is constant and is the same for both of said links, and means on said carriage limiting pivotal movement of at least one of the said links in the direction from the forward end of said carriage to the rearward end of said carriage.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
198 words
A snowmobile comprising a chassis, a drive sprocket rotatably mounted on said chassis, a movable track supporting carriage including forward and rearward track supporting bogies mounted on said carriage for rotation about axes fixed relative to said carriage adjacent the forward and rearward ends of said carriage and with said track trained thereabout, a track trained around said drive sprocket and said forward and rearward bogies, and means pivotally mounting said carriage to said chassis for swinging movement between an extended position relatively spaced from said chassis and a retracted position relatively adjacent said chassis, said mounting means including spaced forward and rearward rigid links each pivotally connected to said carriage and extending in parallel relation upwardly and forwardly from said carriage and pivotally connected to said chassis, each of said links having the same length between the pivotal connections thereof to said chassis and said carriage, and means for limiting swinging movement of said carriage between said extended position and said retracted position, said carriage movement limiting means and said carriage mounting means being arranged so that the length of the path of travel of said track is substantially the same at said extended and retracted positions.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
198 words
A snowmobile comprising a chassis, a drive sprocket rotatably mounted on said chassis, a movable track supporting carriage including forward and rearward track supporting bogies mounted on said carriage for rotation about axes fixed relative to said carriage adjacent the forward and rearward ends of said carriage and with said track trained thereabout, a track trained around said drive sprocket and said forward and rearward bogies, and means pivotally mounting said carriage to said chassis for swinging movement between an extended position relatively spaced from said chassis and a retracted position relatively adjacent said chassis, said mounting means including spaced forward and rearward rigid links each pivotally connected to said carriage and extending in parallel relation upwardly and forwardly from said carriage and pivotally connected to said chassis, each of said links having the same length between the pivotal connections thereof to said chassis and said carriage, and means for limiting swinging movement of said carriage between said extended position and said retracted position, said carriage movement limiting means and said carriage mounting means being arranged so that the length of the path of travel of said track is substantially the same at said extended and retracted positions.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
50 words
A snowmobile in accordance with claim 12 wherein said carriage movement limiting means and said carriage mounting means is arranged so that the length of the path of travel of said track is also substantially the same when said carriage is at a position intermediate said extended and retracted positions.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3068950A
Cited
US3485312A
Cited
US3613810A
Cited
US3613811A
Cited
US3761143A
Cited
US3719242A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-10-20 | 1979-04-21 | 1979-10-21 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-10-20 | 1983-04-21 | 1983-10-21 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-10-20 | 1987-04-21 | 1987-10-21 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |