Patent ID: 7596946

Claim:
A working vehicle, comprising: a prime mover having a vertical output shaft; a transaxle drivingly coupled to the output shaft of the prime mover through a belt and pulley combination, wherein the transaxle includes, a first integrated hydrostatic transmission disposed in a first housing; and a second integrated hydrostatic transmission disposed in a second housing and aligned side-by-side with the first integrated hydrostatic transmission; wherein each integrated hydrostatic transmission includes, an input shaft extending from an upper surface of the housing and drivingly coupled to the output shaft of the prime mover through an input pulley mounted on an end of the input shaft, a cooling fan mounted on the input shaft proximate to the input pulley, and a hydrostatic transmission, including a pump and a motor, drivingly coupled to the input shaft and drivingly coupled to an axle which projects from a side surface of the housing; wherein the housing of each integrated hydrostatic transmission is longer than it is wide, wherein the length of each housing extends in the direction between the pump and the axle, and the width of each housing extends in a direction parallel to the axle, and wherein the pump, motor, and axle are aligned respectively so that the pump is nearest a rear end of the vehicle and the axle is nearest a front end of the vehicle, and wherein the housing forms an oil sump having a reservoir for accommodating the expansion of oil; a pair of driven wheels, each coupled to and driven by one of the integrated hydrostatic transmissions; and a speed control arm coupled to and laterally extended from each integrated hydrostatic transmission to control the direction and speed of the driven wheels, each speed control arm having a rotational axis running parallel to a rotational axis of the axle of each integrated hydrostatic transmission; wherein the output shaft of the prime mover is disposed approximately in a lateral center of the vehicle and forms a triangular arrangement with the input shafts of the integrated hydrostatic transmissions.