Drive wheel with an integral fan for a hydraulic power unit
View Patent ↗A drive wheel with an integral fan mountable as a unit to a shaft of a hydraulic power unit for rotation therewith. Fan blades extending from the drive wheel circulate air when the drive wheel is rotated. One or more passageways extending through the drive wheel can be provided to allow air to flow axially therethrough to be circulated around the hydraulic unit. A fan assembly for a hydraulic power unit is also provided including a fan element and a rotatable shroud attached thereto.
1. A hydraulic power unit comprising:
a housing;
a rotatably driven shaft extending from the housing, the shaft connected to a rotating element of the hydraulic power unit; and
a fan assembly mounted to the shaft for rotating therewith;
wherein the fan assembly includes a rotatable fan member, and a fan shroud attached to the fan member for rotation therewith;
wherein the fan member includes a hub portion, a plurality of fan blades extending from the hub portion, and an outer ring surrounding the outer circumference of the fan blades and attached to the fan member for rotation therewith.
2. A hydraulic power unit as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the rotatable fan member is an axial flow fan.
3. A hydraulic power unit as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the fan shroud includes a plurality of radially extending slots arranged in a spiral configuration, the slots permitting air to flow through the shroud when circulated by the fan member.
4. A hydraulic power unit as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the fan shroud includes at least one retainer for securing the fan shroud to at least one slot in the fan member.
5. A hydraulic power unit as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the hydraulic power unit is a hydrostatic transmission including a hydraulic pump and motor, and the rotatably driven shaft is an input shaft of the hydraulic pump.
6. A hydraulic power unit as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a fan located on an opposite side of the housing from the fan assembly, wherein the fan and fan assembly are configured to circulate air in the same direction.