Apparatus for supporting an internal combustion engine

The apparatus is employed to fixedly position an internal combustion engine upon a frame. The engine is normally provided with a pair of oppositely positioned arms which are affixed to the engine and project outwardly for connection to a frame. A supporting structure intermediate the engine and the frame is connected to the arms extending from the engine at a first point and to the frame at a second point. This supporting structure comprises a first and second spaced apart generally U-shaped members which have sloping parallel sides provided with a resilient mass therebetween. The first member is provided with a cover plate which is affixed thereto, and thereby forms a hollow chamber with the first member. Within this hollow chamber is disposed another resilient mass that in turn is enclosed by an abutment positioned thereabove. The second member is likewise provided with still another resilient mass which is positioned on a surface beneath the first member. The supporting structure defines the limit of travel of the engine due to external forces such as vibration.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to an apparatus for supporting an 
internal combustion engine on a frame such as is to be found in an 
automobile and a frame for such automobile. More particularly, the 
invention is directed to an apparatus employing a resilient mass disposed 
intermediate the automobile engine and frame in such a fashion as to 
eliminate undesirable instability and the like when the engine is in 
operation and is acted upon by certain external forces. The attempts by 
the prior art to overcome the basic problem of engine instability caused 
by vibration has experienced a number of shortcomings. 
Where the arms extending from the engine for connection to the body frame 
extend obliquely from each side in a downward direction, and a resilient 
member is interposed between the arms and the frame of the body of the 
automobile, there is difficulty associated in successfully isolating the 
engine from vibration and in turn the position of the engine with respect 
to the exhaust system. This is due to the fact that the resilient mass 
normally employed is deformed in the shearing direction causing the engine 
to deflect from its fixed position. In turn the engine exhaust system 
exhibits a marked decreased life span. 
Attempts to overcome this problem by the prior art have not been 
successful. A number of important considerations relating to engine 
support structure have not been considered and designed for deflection in 
the shearing direction by the resilient mass interposed between the engine 
and the frame. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The principal features of the present invention are directed to an 
apparatus for fixedly positioning an internal combustion engine upon a 
frame member, where the engine is provided with connecting arms which 
connect the engine to a body frame. The apparatus of the invention 
provides a support structure intermediate the engine and frame where a 
first support means is disposed above the frame and in fixed relation to 
the connecting arms. A second support, spaced from the first support is 
affixed to the frame member, and a resilient mass is interposed in the 
space between the first and second support means. 
It is the main object of the present invention to overcome the defects of 
the prior art. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an engine 
support structure disposed intermediate the engine and the frame upon 
which such engine is mounted to minimize the undesirable forces which may 
act upon the engine during operation. 
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a support 
structure including resilient members which are disposed intermediate the 
respective elements forming the support structure where such elements act 
chiefly in the compression direction of the resilient mass so that 
deflection in the shearing direction of the mass can be decreased and the 
engine in turn can be more stable during operation. 
Other objects of the present invention if not specifically set forth herein 
will be obvious to one skilled in the art from a reading of the detailed 
description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, taken in 
conjunction with the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
In general the present invention is directed to an improved engine support 
structure generally shown in FIG. 1. An internal combustion engine 1 is 
normally provided with arm members 2 projecting outwardly from both sides 
which are fixedly attached thereto. The arm members 2 are provided on 
their lower surfaces with attached leg members 3 which are generally 
U-shaped in cross-section. A car body frame 4 positioned below the engine 
is provided with seat plates 5 which are similarly U-shaped in 
cross-section. The leg members 3 are each supported on the seat plates 5 
through an intermediate resilient member 6 which is interposed between the 
inclined surfaces 3a, 5a as shown in FIG. 2. 
Each leg member 3 can be formed for an example by bending a sheet of 
material into a generally U-shaped structure such that a hollow portion 7 
is formed therein. An abutment 8 fixed to the car body frame 4 is passed 
through the hollow portion 7. The top open surface of the generally 
U-shaped member 3 has fixed thereto a plate 9 so that the attachment of 
the arm 2 of the engine 1 may be readily carried out. A resilient 
projection 10 such as formed of rubber or the like, is disposed in the 
lower portion of the interior of hollow 7. This resilient member or 
projection 10 serves in a fashion that when the resilient member 6 is 
extended beyond a predetermined limit such as by vibration of the engine 1 
or the like, the projection 10 strikes the abutment 8 and thereby prevents 
the leg member 3 and in turn the engine 1 from moving in a upward 
direction. The seat plate 5 is fixedly attached to the car body frame 4 
which may be a beam or the like, at the flat surface 11 formed at the 
bottom portion of the seat plate 5. 
The lower surface 11 of the seat plate 5 is provided with still another 
resilient projection 12. This projection serves to prevent the leg member 
3 from being urged in a downward direction beyond a predetermined limit. 
This can occur due to vibration forces applied to the engine. 
A reinforcing member 13 is intergral with the seat plate 5 and serves to 
reinforce the sloping surface 5a of seat member 5 from the rear. 
The resilient mass 6 is interposed between the seat plate 5 and the 
associated leg member 3 at the sloping surfaces which are formed in 
parallel spaced relationship with respect to one another. This resilient 
member which has a comparatively small spring constant is acted upon by 
the leg member 3 chiefly in the compression direction so that deflection 
in the shearing direction of the resilient member 6 can be decreased. As a 
result, the engine 1 can be made more stable during operation and the 
exhaust system associated therewith will have an increased life span and 
the overall effective operation of the engine is increased due to 
isolation of engine vibration. 
FIG. 3 illustrates a typical prior art configuration. The internal 
combustion engine a is supported on arm members b extending obliquely 
downwards from the opposite sides of the engine a. Respective resilient 
members c formed of rubber or the like are provided intermediate the arm 
members b and the seat surfaces e which extend from the car body frame d. 
Due to the vibratory forces applied to the engine during operation, the 
resilient member c is deformed in its shearing direction and the position 
of the engine changes and is deflected from its set position, with the 
result that the exhaust system associated therewith has a marked decrease 
in life span. 
It will be obvious to one skilled in the art from a reading of the 
foregoing description that many modifications and variations may be made 
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.