Fan shroud for pump
A hydrostatic apparatus is disclosed. The hydrostatic apparatus comprises a pump, an input shaft, a fan and a fan shroud. The pump comprises a housing, an end cap, a first end and a second end. The input shaft extending from the first end and the second end of the pump. The fan is attached to one end of the input shaft. The fan shroud is also attached to the pump.
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The present invention relates generally to hydraulic pumps, and more specifically, to hydraulic pumps incorporating a fan or other similar cooling device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFans mounted on hydraulic pumps are increasingly seen as a relatively low-cost way of providing cooling for such pumps. While these pumps are typically located in a protected location that would minimize contact between the fan blades and an object, providing such protection or the lack of such protection on a vehicle may limit the ability to use a fan mounted to a pump in some applications. Thus, there is a need for a fan shroud that can readily and inexpensively be attached to a stand alone hydraulic pump.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA fan shroud capable of being mounted to a stand alone hydraulic pump is disclosed herein. Embodiments are described wherein the shroud may be mounted to a bracket that is attached to the pump, or the shroud may be directly attached to a pump element such as an end cap or housing. The details of this invention are set forth below in connection with the detailed description of the embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is discussed herein in relation to a hydraulic pump and, in particular, a bantam duty variable displacement pump. Nevertheless, other uses of the present invention will be apparent from the teachings disclosed herein. Further, the present invention will be best understood from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings, wherein like reference numerals and characters refer to like parts, and by reference to the following claims.
Additionally, cylinder block 34 runs against end cap 44, which is preferably attached to housing 48 by a plurality of fasteners 46. Some pumps may also incorporate a valve plate 50 as a running surface for cylinder block 34.
As illustrated in
Additional elements and details of the operation of hydraulic pumps may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,393, to Trimble, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
To aid in guarding fan 58 from debris, as well as unintentional contact, fan shroud 60 is provided, as shown in
Fan shroud 60 is then mounted onto shroud bracket 62. The mounting may preferably be done by means of snaps 66 formed near the base of fan shroud 60. Snaps 66 are inserted into openings 68 formed in shroud bracket 62, where the configuration of snaps 66 then retains fan shroud 60 on shroud bracket 62. Snap stops 70 formed adjacent to snaps 66 on fan shroud 60 will come into contact with opening stops 72 formed adjacent to openings 68 on shroud bracket 62, thus establishing the position of fan shroud 60 during installation. Louvers 74 on the top of fan shroud 60 will limit the entry of debris and other objects while allowing air to flow through openings 76 between louvers 74 of fan shroud 60 and into fan 58.
Air enters fan shroud 60 through openings 76 between louvers 74 by the action of fan 58, which has been removed from
Fan shroud 60 also includes angled skirt 80 that serves several functions. First, angled skirt 80 moves the lower edge of fan shroud 60 away from fan 58, further minimizing the ability of objects to inadvertently reach fan 58 from the bottom of fan shroud 60. Second, angled skirt 80 also opens the bottom of fan shroud 60 outward, providing additional cross-section and air guidance as air exits fan shroud 60.
This embodiment also includes a feature to prevent fan shroud 160 from being pushed onto end cap 144 to the point where fan shroud 160 might contact fan 58 (fan 58 is not shown in
Openings 88 are available to allow a die to be positioned to form ring 86 from the top side. There are other die configurations such as side pulls that could also be used to form ring 86. The size of die access openings such as openings 88 should be minimized to the extent possible to reduce the ability for objects to enter shroud 160. As will be shown in a subsequent embodiment, openings 88 may be blocked by a plug to further limit access to the interior of shroud 160. Another consideration for this embodiment is the ability to maneuver rings 86 between fan blades 59, shown in
As illustrated in
The various embodiments described herein describe fan shroud 60 as having snaps 66 or the equivalent. This configuration is advantageous because of the ease of forming snap features into an injection molded part versus the components to which shroud 60 is attached. However, it is also anticipated that shroud 60 could be formed with openings while mating components such as bracket 62 could be formed with mating snaps.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements of the shroud, bracket, end cap, pump, etc. disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any equivalents thereof.
Claims
1. A hydrostatic apparatus comprising:
- a pump having a housing, an end cap, a first end and a second end;
- an,input shaft extending from the first end and the second end of the pump;
- a fan attached to one end of the input shaft; and
- a fan shroud attached to the pump.
2. The hydrostatic apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
- a bracket attached to the pump;
- wherein the fan shroud is attached to the bracket.
3. The hydrostatic apparatus of claim 2, wherein the bracket is attached to the end cap.
4. The hydrostatic apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:
- a charge pump having a housing attached to the end cap;
- wherein the bracket is attached to the charge pump housing.
5. The hydrostatic apparatus of claim 2, wherein the fan shroud further comprises a plurality of snaps that engage the bracket.
6. The hydrostatic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fan shroud engages the end cap.
7. The hydrostatic apparatus of claim 1, wherein an input from a prime mover is attached to an end of the input shaft opposite the one end to which the fan is attached.
8. A pump comprising:
- a housing;
- an end cap;
- a charge pump mounted on the end cap;
- a first end;
- a second end;
- an input shaft extending from the first end and the second end of the pump;
- a fan attached to one end of the input shaft; and
- a fan shroud attached to the pump, the fan shroud being positioned to generally enclose the fan.
9. The pump of claim 8, further comprising a bracket to which the fan shroud is attached.
10. The pump of claim 8, further comprising:
- a plurality of first fasteners attaching the end cap to the housing;
- a plurality of second fasteners attaching the charge pump to the end cap; and
- a bracket attached to the pump by at least one of the first fasteners and the second fasteners;
- wherein the fan shroud is mounted on the bracket.
11. The pump of claim 10, wherein the fan shroud comprises a plurality of snaps, and the snaps interface with a feature on the bracket to secure the fan shroud.
12. The pump of claim 11, wherein the fan shroud comprises a stop to position the fan shroud relative to the bracket.
13. The pump of claim 8, further comprising:
- a plurality of fasteners attaching the end cap to the housing;
- wherein at least one of the fasteners attaches the fan shroud to the end cap.
14. The pump of claim 8, wherein the fan shroud is attached to the end cap by a plurality of snaps.
15. The pump of claim 14, further comprising:
- a plurality of fasteners attaching the end cap to the housing;
- wherein the fan shroud comprises a plurality of locating features that work with the plurality of fasteners to aid in maintaining the position of the fan shroud.
16. A fan shroud apparatus for use in a hydrostatic apparatus comprising:
- a bracket; and
- a fan shroud comprising at least one fastener, the fan shroud being attached to the bracket;
- wherein the bracket engages an end of a hydrostatic pump to allow the fan shroud to generally enclose a fan attached to the end of the hydrostatic pump.
17. The fan shroud apparatus of claim 16, further comprising means for establishing the position of the fan shroud relative to the bracket.
18. The fan shroud apparatus of claim 17, further comprising plugs on the fan shroud.
19. The fan shroud apparatus of claim 17, wherein the fan shroud includes a skirt portion.
20. The fan shroud apparatus of claim 19, further comprising plugs on the fan shroud.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 24, 2005
Publication Date: Oct 6, 2005
Applicant: Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership (Sullivan, IL)
Inventors: Thomas Kopel (Sullivan, IL), Thomas Roth (Lerna, IL), Thomas Gavin (Sullivan, IL), Keith Harshman (Sullivan, IL), Bryce Steenburg (Mattoon, IL), Raymond Hauser (Sullivan, IL), Lonnie Holder (Sullivan, IL)
Application Number: 11/088,560