Abstract:
A method of mounting a radiator onto a support member in a vehicle comprises the steps of securing to the radiator a resilient mounting bush having a first annular groove in its outer surface, providing a second annular groove in the inner surface of a radiator mounting bore formed in the support member, positioning a spring clip in one of the two annular grooves and inserting the bush into the bore, the spring clip being compressed radially during insertion of the bush into the bore and being released when the annular grooves are axially aligned with one another to lock the bush within the bore.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to the mounting of a radiator on the chassis of a vehicle and is particularly applicable to vehicles, such as tractors, where access to the opposite side of the support member onto which the radiator is to be mounted is restricted.  
           [0002]    The chassis in a tractor is commonly formed by the engine block and transmission housing. A bolster or front support member is secured to the front end of the engine and forms a structural part of the chassis which projects forward of the engine block. This bolster may be used to attach an implement to the front end of the tractor and often carries heavy blocks to weigh down the front end of the tractor.  
           [0003]    The bolster is also used to support the radiator of the engine cooling system. For this purpose, bores are provided in the bolster and the radiator is secured by means of bolts that are screwed from the underside of the bolster into legs of the radiator.  
           [0004]    A difficulty encountered in mounting a radiator in this manner is caused by the fact that the bolster is located above the front axle of the tractor. Access to its underside, to allow the bolts to be screwed into the radiator legs, is severely restricted by the front axle and this precludes the use of power tools. As a result, mounting the radiator on its support member in a tractor has hitherto proved to be a cumbersome and time-consuming task.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    With a view to mitigating the foregoing disadvantage, the present invention provides in accordance with a first aspect, a method of mounting a radiator onto a support member in a vehicle, which comprises the steps of securing to the radiator a collar having a reduced diameter portion or a groove that defines a shoulder facing towards the radiator, providing a groove or reduced diameter portion in the inner surface of a radiator mounting bore formed in the support member to define a second shoulder facing away from the radiator, positioning a spring clip against one of the shoulders on the collar and the bore and inserting the collar into the bore, the spring clip being compressed radially during insertion of the collar into the bore and being released after full insertion of the collar into the bore to abut both shoulders and prevent withdrawal of the collar from the bore.  
           [0006]    In its broadest aspect, the invention proposes mounting a radiator on the support member using a locking mechanism analogous to those adopted in security seals that are used to prevent tampering with shipping containers and trailers. Such seals, one example of which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,883, have a metal bolt which can be inserted into a lock body and once so inserted cannot be separated from the lock body. The bore in the lock body has an internal groove within which there sits a spring clip. The end of the bolt is tapered so that as it is inserted into the lock body, the spring clip expands into the groove and does not impede insertion of the bolt. The bolt also has a groove on its outer surface which on reaching the spring clip releases compression forces on the latter. The spring clip then expands and prevents withdrawal of the bolt from the lock body.  
           [0007]    This form of secure fixing is used in the present invention to allow a radiator to be mounted on its support member by assembling retaining collars on the legs or mounting points of the radiator and then pushing the collars into the bores in the support member until the spring clips engage. This simple operation does not require access to the opposite side of the support member for the purpose of assembling the radiator on the support member.  
           [0008]    To hold the radiator in place, it is only necessary to prevent it from being pulled out of the bore in the support member and for this purpose it suffices to have just two opposed shoulders straddling the spring clip. However, in order to retain the spring clip in position, it is preferred for one of the shoulders to be defined by means of a groove slightly wider than the spring clip. It is still further preferred for both shoulders to be defined by grooves only slightly wider than the spring clip as this allows the spring clip to prevent movement of the radiator in both directions.  
           [0009]    Though the radiator cannot be pulled away from the support member, if the retaining collar is bolted onto the radiator then the radiator can be removed from the support member by unbolting the collar from the radiator. This allows the radiator to be separated from the support member while leaving the collar in place. Such removal would require tool access to the opposite side of the support member.  
           [0010]    In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of mounting a radiator onto a support member in a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of securing to the radiator a resilient mounting bush having a first annular groove in its outer surface, providing a second annular groove in the inner surface of a radiator mounting bore formed in the support member, positioning a spring clip in one of the two annular grooves and inserting the bush into the bore, the spring clip being compressed radially during insertion of the bush into the bore and being released when the annular grooves are axially aligned with one another to lock the bush within the bore.  
           [0011]    In this aspect of the invention, the mounting collar forms part of a resilient mounting bush serving to absorb shocks and vibrations. Resilient mounts and bushes have been used to support radiators on vehicle bodies and examples of such mounts are shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,467 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,140. In its second aspect, the invention succeeds in combining the advantages of a resilient mounting with ease of assembly and mounting.  
           [0012]    According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle having a radiator mounted on a support member, wherein the radiator is fitted with a retaining collar having a first annular groove in its outer surface, the support member has a radiator mounting bore within which the retaining collar is received, the wall of which mounting bore is formed with a second annular groove, and a spring clip engages within both grooves to prevent the radiator from being separated from the support member.  
           [0013]    Advantageously, the collar is the outer collar of a resilient bush which additionally comprises an inner sleeve and a rubber molding separating the inner sleeve from the outer collar.  
           [0014]    The rubber molding is preferably shaped to make direct contact additionally with the radiator body and the wall of the bore in the support member. It is further preferred to interpose a washer between the end of the inner sleeve and the head of a bolt or a nut serving to secure the retaining collar to the radiator and to shape the rubber molding to make direct contact with the washer.  
           [0015]    These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a method of mounting a radiator onto a support member in a vehicle including the steps of securing to the radiator a resilient mounting bush having a first annular groove in its outer surface, providing a second annular groove in the inner surface of a radiator mounting bore formed in the support member, positioning a spring clip in one of the two annular grooves and inserting the bush into the bore, the spring clip being compressed radially during insertion of the bush into the bore and being released when the annular grooves are axially aligned with one another to lock the bush within the bore. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    The advantages of this invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed disclosure of the invention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 is a side view of a tractor showing the location of the radiator;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2 is a schematic partly cut-away side elevation of the engine compartment of the tractor shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 shows to a much enlarged scale a detail of FIG. 2 framed in dotted lines; and  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4 is a section through the resilient radiator mounting bush shown in FIG. 3 prior to installation. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0021]    [0021]FIGS. 1 and 2 show the manner in which a radiator  10  is mounted in a tractor  12 . The chassis of the tractor  12  is formed by the engine block  14  and transmission housing. A bolster or front support member  16  is secured to the front end of the engine block  14  and forms a structural part of the chassis which projects forward of the engine block  14 . This bolster  16  may be used to attach an implement to the front end of the tractor  12  and often carries heavy blocks  18  to weigh down the front end of the tractor  12 .  
         [0022]    The bolster  16  is also used to support the radiator  10  of the engine cooling system. For this purpose, bores are provided in the bolster  16  and conventionally the radiator would be secured by means of bolts that are screwed from the underside of the bolster into legs of the radiator  10 .  
         [0023]    A difficulty encountered in mounting a radiator in this conventional manner is caused by the fact that the bolster  16  is located above the front axle  20  of the tractor. Access to its underside, to allow the bolts to be screwed into the radiator legs, is severely restricted by the front axle  20  and this precludes the use of power tools. As a result, mounting the radiator on the bolster  16  in a tractor  10  has hitherto proved to be a cumbersome and time consuming task.  
         [0024]    To mitigate this problem, the invention provides a mounting that allows the radiator  10  to be dropped into position from above. The mounting of the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown within the frame drawn in dotted lines in FIG. 2, this part of the drawing being shown to a much enlarged scale in FIG. 3.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 3 shows just one leg  50  of the radiator  10  mounted in a bore  52  in the bolster  16 . The radiator has two (or more) legs  50 , each of which is formed by a U-shaped bracket welded to the lower tank of the radiator  10  and has a nut  54  welded to the upper surface of the base  56  of the bracket.  
         [0026]    A mounting bush  60  is fitted to each leg  10  of the radiator before it is introduced into the bolster  16 . The bush  60  comprises a central metal sleeve  62  and an outer retaining collar  64  separated from one another by a rubber molding  66  which acts to absorb shocks and prevent vibrations. The bush is secured to the leg  50  by means of a bolt  70  and a washer  72 .  
         [0027]    The outer retaining collar  64  is formed with a circumferential groove  68  within which there is placed a spring clip  74 . The natural outer diameter of the spring clip  74  is greater than that of the narrower section of bore  52  and its inner diameter is smaller than the outer diameter of the collar  64 . The clip  74  is not continuous around the circumference of the collar  64  but can be compressed to lie entirely within the annular groove  68  surrounding the collar  64 .  
         [0028]    After the bushes  60  have been bolted on to the legs  50  of the radiator  10 , the bushes  60  are pushed into the bores  52  in the bolster  16 . The bores  52  have a conically tapering mouth which has the effect of compressing the spring clip  74  as the bush  60  is lowered in the bore  52 .  
         [0029]    The bush  60  continues to penetrate into the bore  52  until the groove  68  in the collar  64  becomes axially aligned with the corresponding groove in the wall of the bore  52 . At this point, the clip  16  springs out into the position shown in FIG. 3 and prevents the retaining collar  64 , from being withdrawn from the bore  52 .  
         [0030]    This locking is permanent and the collar  64  cannot be removed from the bolster  16  without damage to one or other of the collar  64  and the bore  52 . Should the radiator  10  need to be removed for any reason, unscrewing the bolt  70  will allow the radiator  10  to be raised from the support member while leaving the bush  60  in place. Of course, removal of the bolt  70  and its re-insertion upon replacement of the radiator  10  can only be carried out in the conventional manner from the underside of the bolster  16 .  
         [0031]    While the rubber molding  66  could be a cylindrical body sandwiched between the inner sleeve  62  and the outer collar  64  of the bush  60 , it is preferred to form it in the manner illustrated in FIG. 4. In FIG. 3, the rubber molding is shown in its compressed state and a relaxed state is shown in dotted lines to indicate the manner in which it is compressed after the bush  60  has been inserted in the bore  52 .  
         [0032]    It will be seen that, when installed, the rubber molding makes contact with the foot  50  of the radiator  10 . This provides additional compression damping and support of the radiator and also helps the molding to remain in contact with the bore  52 .  
         [0033]    The direct contact of the molding  66  with the bore  52  reduces noise an vibration by restricting relative movement between the bush  60  and the bolster  16 . This contact also restricts the movement of the retaining collar  64 , thus allowing the width of the groove within the bore  52  to be large or to be formed only by one shoulder. Lastly, the contact of the molding with the bore  52  provides additional resistance as the radiator, with its bushes attached, is pushed into the bores  52  in the bolster  16 .  
         [0034]    The rubber molding additionally makes contact with the washer  72  to provide rebound damping. The washer  72  also serves to prevent the radiator  10  from separating from the bolster  16  if the rubber molding should fail.  
         [0035]    The bush  60  is made by placing a retaining collar  64  and a conically tapering sleeve  62  within a die, the cavity of which is then filled with a suitable elastomer, for example a vulcanized rubber of type M170-60. The vulcanization process bonds the molding  66  to the two meal parts  62  and  64  to form a unitary bush  60 .  
         [0036]    It is possible to provide the base  56  of the leg  50  with an annular projection or ring on its side facing the bush  60  to surround the sleeve  62 . Such a ring would assist in centering the bush  60  relative the foot  50  during initial assembly and for reinstallation of a radiator during servicing.  
         [0037]    It will be clear to the person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the described preferred embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. In particular, it is not essential to form grooves in both the collar and the support member, it suffices for there to be a shoulder on the collar facing the radiator and another on the bore facing in the opposite direction. Furthermore, the molding  66  need not be a single molding and could for example be constituted by a two rubber bodies separated by a washer, the latter defining the shoulder that prevents the radiator from being separated from the support member.  
         [0038]    It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are intended to protect the invention broadly as well as in the specific form shown.