Remote Idler Gear Mounting for Vertical Engine Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing idler gear mounting configurations often limit access to fasteners and do not allow for vertical orientation, particularly when the idler gear needs to be positioned above the cylinder block without a vertical surface on the cylinder head.
Innovation Solution
A remote mount idler gear assembly that includes a gear mounting plate and an attachment bracket, allowing the idler gear to be mounted to a horizontal surface of the cylinder head while maintaining a vertical orientation, with features such as bores for fasteners, mounting openings for bolts, and oil drainage paths to facilitate installation and operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the idler gear is mounted directly to the cylinder block using fasteners parallel to the axis of rotation, then the mounting structure is simple, but access to fasteners is limited and vertical orientation cannot be achieved when positioned above the cylinder block
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting structure is divided into two separate components: a gear mounting plate that attaches to the cylinder block and a gear hub that holds the idler gear. This segmentation allows the fasteners to be positioned on the cylinder block surface where they are easily accessible, while the gear hub provides the vertical mounting orientation. The separation of functions resolves the contradiction by making fastener access easy without requiring complex integrated structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The gear mounting plate acts as an intermediary component between the cylinder block and the idler gear hub. It provides a mounting surface on the cylinder block where fasteners can be easily accessed and positioned, then transfers the mounting function to the hub which achieves the desired vertical orientation. This intermediary element enables both easy fastener access and proper gear orientation without direct mounting.
2Shape
If the idler gear is positioned above the cylinder block to achieve vertical orientation, then the desired orientation is obtained, but no vertical surface is available for receiving mounting fasteners
Solution Approach 1:
The solution changes the dimension of the mounting surface from vertical to horizontal by positioning the gear mounting plate on the top surface of the cylinder block. The fasteners are then oriented vertically, perpendicular to the cylinder block surface, rather than horizontally along a vertical surface. This dimensional change allows the gear to achieve vertical orientation while fasteners are received on a horizontal surface where they are easily accessible.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of mounting the gear directly to a vertical surface with horizontally oriented fasteners, the invention inverts the approach by mounting a plate to a horizontal surface with vertically oriented fasteners, then extending vertically from that plate to hold the gear. This inversion of the mounting geometry resolves the contradiction by providing both vertical gear orientation and accessible fastener positions.
3Ease of operation
If a remote mount structure is used to enable vertical orientation and fastener access, then ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases with additional components like gear mounting plate and attachment bracket
Solution Approach 1:
The gear mounting plate and attachment bracket are merged into a single integrated component that performs both functions: providing a mounting surface on the cylinder block and extending to hold the gear hub. This merging reduces the number of separate parts from two to one, simplifying the overall structure while maintaining the benefits of remote mounting, including easy fastener access and proper gear orientation.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a remote mount for an idler gear assembly, comprising: a gear mounting plate including a plurality of bores configured to receive a corresponding plurality of fasteners to mount a gear assembly to the gear mounting plate; and an attachment bracket including a plurality of mounting openings configured to receive a corresponding plurality of bolts to mount the remote mount to a cylinder head. The gear mounting plate supports the gear assembly such that a gear of the gear assembly rotates about an axis that is parallel to an axis of a crankshaft of an engine and the attachment bracket mounts to an upper surface of the cylinder head.