Patent ID: 8695722
Filing Date: 2014-04-15
Classification: B60K,B62D,E02F

Abstract:
1. A bulldozer comprising: a vehicle frame having a front end and a rear end with a center longitudinal axis; a pair of tracks disposed on left and right sides of the center longitudinal axis of the bulldozer, respectively, for supporting the vehicle frame, with the tracks extending rearwardly of the rear end of the vehicle frame to form a cooling module recess that is disposed laterally between the tracks and at a rear end portion of the frame along the center longitudinal axis; a forwardly positioned operator seat secured to the vehicle frame at a location between the front and rear ends in front of the cooling module recess; a bulldozer blade disposed in front of the front end of the vehicle frame and operatively coupled to the vehicle frame, the bulldozer blade including a top center portion disposed along the center longitudinal axis of the bulldozer; a front mounted engine disposed at a front portion on the vehicle frame along the center longitudinal axis of the bulldozer that is in front of the operator seat and behind the bulldozer blade; an engine cover covering the front mounted engine at the front portion of the vehicle frame, the engine cover being downwardly angled towards the bulldozer blade along the center longitudinal axis of the bulldozer and aligned vertically above the front mounted engine, the operator seat, the engine cover and the bulldozer blade being disposed such that, when a lowest point of the bulldozer blade and a lowest point of the tracks are generally on a horizontal plane, the top center portion of the bulldozer blade is visible over a top sloped surface of the engine cover; a first tank module disposed on a rear of a first lateral side of the bulldozer; and a cooling module fluidly coupled to the front mounted engine for cooling the front mounted engine, the cooling module being coupled to the rear end portion of the vehicle frame within the cooling module recess formed between the tracks, at least an upper end of the cooling module being recessed forwardly from a rear end of the first tank module, and a rearmost end of the cooling module being disposed forwardly of a rear end of the tracks.