Remote Idler Gear Mounting for Vertical Engine Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing idler gear mounting configurations often restrict access to fasteners and cannot accommodate vertical orientation, especially when a portion of the idler gear is positioned above the cylinder block with no vertical surface available for mounting.
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, drain bores for oil management, and alignment marks for precise positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the idler gear is mounted directly to the cylinder block using fasteners that pass through parallel to the axis of rotation, then the mounting structure is simple, but access to the fasteners is limited and vertical orientation is not permitted
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting structure is divided into two separate components: a gear mounting plate that interfaces with the idler gear and an attachment bracket that mounts to the cylinder head. This segmentation allows the fasteners for the gear (on the mounting plate) to be accessible from the side, while the attachment bracket provides the mounting interface to the cylinder head, thereby improving access to fasteners without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The gear mounting plate acts as an intermediary component between the idler gear and the attachment bracket. It provides a perpendicular mounting surface that allows fasteners to access the gear from the side while transferring the mounting load to the attachment bracket, which then connects to the cylinder head.
2Reliability
If the idler gear is positioned with a portion above the cylinder block, then the gear can be positioned in the required location, but no vertical surface is available for receiving mounting fasteners
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of mounting the gear vertically to a vertical surface, the gear mounting plate provides a horizontal mounting surface perpendicular to the gear axis. This changes the mounting dimension from vertical-to-vertical to horizontal-to-perpendicular, allowing the gear to be positioned above the cylinder block while still providing adequate fastener access through the perpendicular mounting plate surface.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the gear mounting plate uses a perpendicular inner surface, then the gear can rotate about an axis parallel to the crankshaft, but the mounting becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The gear mounting plate serves multiple functions: it provides the mounting interface for the idler gear, establishes the correct rotational orientation (axis parallel to crankshaft), and transfers loads between the gear and the attachment bracket. By consolidating these functions into a single perpendicular plate structure, the design achieves versatility without proportionally increasing complexity.
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.