Mounting assembly for a vehicle
A mounting assembly a vehicle includes a lateral support member having a first end connected to a first front suspension and a second end connected to a second front suspension, a length of the lateral support member being adjustable. The mounting assembly further includes a longitudinal support member having a front end and a rear end, the rear end being attached to a rear portion of the vehicle, a portion of the longitudinal support member between the front end and the rear end being attached to the lateral support member. The length of the lateral support member adjusts with independent movement of any one of the first front suspension and to the second front suspension relative to each other.
The present disclosure generally relates to accessory mounting systems for vehicles, and more particularly, to a mounting assembly for a vehicle.
BACKGROUNDVehicles such as all terrain vehicles, tractors, riding lawn mowers, small trucks, and other similar vehicles can be provided with accessories that allow such vehicles to provide additional functions. Such accessories may include a snow plow, a scoop for loading and unloading materials, forklift, or a power brush. Because these accessories require support by a vehicle, a mounting system is required to be attached to the vehicle to accommodate any one of the noted accessories.
Typical mounting systems for vehicles include a longitudinal beam and a shorter lateral beam that are attached together to form a cross-like structure. The rear end of the longitudinal beam can be attached to a rear part of the vehicle and is typically attached to a hitch on the back end of the vehicle. The front end of the longitudinal beam is configured to allow mounting of an accessory thereto. The ends of the lateral beam can be connected to the front suspension of the vehicle. Accordingly, the lateral support beam and the rear end of the longitudinal beam attach to the vehicle, while an accessory can be attached to the front end of the longitudinal beam. This arrangement, and in particular the attachment of the rear end of the longitudinal beam to a hitch at the back end of the vehicle, transfers the loads exerted on the vehicle by the accessory to the rear suspension of the vehicle.
A drawback to such mounting systems for vehicles having independent front suspension is that by attaching the lateral beam to the vehicle as described above, the front suspension of the vehicle becomes inoperative. Because any travel of the front suspension changes the distance between the left and right front suspensions, attachment of the lateral beam does not allow the distance to change, thereby locking the front suspension. U.S. Patent Publication 2004/0187358 provides a leaf spring structure for the lateral beam to thereby allow the ends of the leaf spring, i.e., the ends of the lateral beam, to independently travel with the front suspension. However, a leaf spring as a replacement for the lateral beam has several drawbacks. One drawback is that the leaf spring has to bend to adjust in length. Because a force is required to bend the leaf spring, the bending of the leaf spring will affect the performance of the front suspension. Another drawback is that the accessory will change height according to the bending of the leaf spring. Yet another drawback is that the leaf spring cannot be locked to prevent bending thereof in situations where such locking is necessitated by heavy loads carried by the vehicle.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a vehicle mounting system or assembly that can provide front suspension travel without affecting the performance of the suspension while an accessory is attached to the vehicle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSCertain embodiments are shown in the drawings. However, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the attached drawings, wherein:
For the purposes of promoting and understanding the principles disclosed herein, reference will now be made to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope is thereby intended. Such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device and such further applications are the principles disclosed as illustrated therein as being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure relates.
In accordance with one principal aspect of the present disclosure, a mounting assembly for a vehicle includes a lateral support member having a first end connected to a first front suspension and a second end connected to a second front suspension, a length of the lateral support member being adjustable. The mounting assembly further includes a longitudinal support member having a front end and a rear end, the rear end being attached to a rear portion of the vehicle, a portion of the longitudinal support member between the front end and the rear end being attached to the lateral support member. The length of the lateral support member adjusts with independent movement of any one of the first front suspension and to the second front suspension relative to each other.
In accordance with another principal aspect of the present disclosure, a mounting assembly for a vehicle includes a lateral support member including a tube configured to slidably house a rod, the tube having a tube end connected to a first front suspension, and the rod having a rod end connected to a second front suspension. The mounting assembly further includes a longitudinal support member having a front end and a rear end, the rear end being attached to a rear portion of the vehicle, a portion of the longitudinal support member between the front end and the rear end being attached to the tube. The rod slidably moves in the tube with independent movement of any one of the first front suspension and to the second front suspension relative to each other.
In accordance with another principal aspect of the present disclosure, a lateral support member for a mounting assembly having a longitudinal support member mounted underneath the vehicle and attached to the lateral support member and the vehicle having independent front suspension includes a first end connected to the first front suspension, a second end connected to the second front suspension, and a length defined by a distance between the first end and the second end, the length being adjustable. The length adjusts with movement of any one of the first front suspension and the second front suspension.
Referring to
When the mounting assembly 22 is attached to the vehicle 20, the front end 26 can be positioned near the front portion of the vehicle 20. Accordingly, the front end 26 can receive any one of a number of functional attachments for particular operations of the vehicle. For example, the attachment can be a dump bucket, a forklift, a plow, or simply a scrapping blade. As shown in
Referring to
The lateral support member 30 includes a tube 60 and a rod 62. The rod 62 is partially housed in the tube 60 and can slide relative to the tube 60. The tube 60 is attached to the beam 40 by a pair of C-clamps 64 that are secured to a support plate 68 by fasteners 70. The length L1 is adjustable by the rod 62 simply sliding in and out of the tube 60. Although the rod 62 and the tube 60 are shown to be circular in cross section, any cross sectional shape for the tube 60 and the rod 62 can be used as long as it provides the above described length adjustability. Therefore, when the first end 32 is connected to the first front suspension 36 and the second end 34 is connected to the second front suspension 38, any movement of the first suspension 36 and the second suspension 38 may cause the rod 62 and the tube 60 to slide relative to each other to compensate for the change in the distance between the first end 32 and the second end 34.
Referring to
Referring to
Furthermore, while the particular preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the teaching of the disclosure. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as limitation. The actual scope of the disclosure is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the related art.
Claims
1. A mounting assembly for a vehicle, the mounting assembly comprising:
- a lateral support member having a first end connected to a first front suspension and a second end connected to a second front suspension, a length of the lateral support member being adjustable;
- a longitudinal support member having a front end and a rear end, the rear end being attached to a rear portion of the vehicle, a portion of the longitudinal support member between the front end and the rear end being attached to the lateral support member; and
- wherein the length of the lateral support member adjusts with independent movement of any one of the first front suspension and to the second front suspension relative to each other.
2. The mounting assembly of claim 1, further comprising a lock operable between a locked position wherein the length of the lateral support member is not adjustable and an unlocked position wherein the length of the lateral support member is adjustable.
3. The mounting assembly of claim 1, wherein the lateral support member comprises a tube and at least one rod, a portion of the rod being slidably housed in the tube to provide length adjustability of the lateral support member.
4. The mounting assembly of claim 3, wherein the tube includes a plurality of apertures and the portion of the rod housed in the tube includes a plurality of apertures, wherein slidable movement of the rod in the tube aligns the apertures of the tube with the apertures of the rod, and wherein the rod can be locked to the tube with a locking pin inserted in the aligned apertures of the tube and the rod.
5. The mounting assembly of claim 1, wherein the longitudinal support member is attached to the lateral support member with fasteners.
6. The mounting assembly of claim 1, wherein the rear end of the longitudinal support member is attached to a hitch at the rear of the vehicle.
7. A mounting assembly for a vehicle, the mounting assembly comprising:
- a lateral support member including a tube configured to slidably house a rod, the tube having a tube end connected to a first front suspension, and the rod having a rod end connected to a second front suspension;
- a longitudinal support member having a front end and a rear end, the rear end being attached to a rear portion of the vehicle, a portion of the longitudinal support member between the front end and the rear end being attached to the tube; and
- wherein the rod slidably moves in the tube with independent movement of any one of the first front suspension and to the second front suspension relative to each other.
8. The mounting assembly of claim 7, wherein the tube includes a plurality of apertures and the portion of the rod housed in the tube includes a plurality of apertures, wherein slidable movement of the rod in the tube aligns the apertures of the tube with the apertures of the rod, and wherein the rod can be locked to the tube with a locking pin inserted in the aligned apertures of the tube and the rod.
9. The mounting assembly of claim 7, wherein the longitudinal support member is attached to the tube with fasteners.
10. The mounting assembly of claim 7, wherein the rear end of the longitudinal support member is attached to a hitch at the rear of the vehicle.
11. A lateral support member for a mounting assembly for a vehicle having a first front suspension and second front suspension independent from the first front suspension, and the mounting assembly having a longitudinal support member mounted underneath the vehicle and attached to the lateral support member, the lateral support member comprising:
- a first end connected to the first front suspension;
- a second end connected to the second front suspension;
- a length defined by a distance between the first end and the second end, the length being adjustable; and
- wherein the length adjusts with movement of any one of the first front suspension and the second front suspension.
12. The mounting assembly of claim 11, wherein the tube includes a plurality of apertures and the portion of the rod housed in the tube includes a plurality of apertures, wherein slidable movement of the rod in the tube aligns the apertures of the tube with the apertures of the rod, and wherein the rod can be locked to the tube with a locking pin inserted in the aligned apertures of the tube and the rod.
13. The mounting assembly of claim 11, wherein the longitudinal support member is attached to the tube with fasteners.
14. The mounting assembly of claim 11, wherein the rear end of the longitudinal support member is attached to a hitch at the rear of the vehicle.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 16, 2005
Publication Date: Dec 21, 2006
Inventor: Ronald Hickenbottom (Sullivan, IL)
Application Number: 11/155,257
International Classification: E01H 5/04 (20060101);