Description:FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a mechanism for separating sealant-bond formed between components in manufacturing industries. In particular, the present invention relates to an improved mechanism for separating sealant-bond formed between components in vehicle engines. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mechanism to separate sealant-bond formed between components, e.g. oil-pan and aluminium ladder-frame in engines of off-road vehicles. The present invention also relates to a process for enhancing the engine servicing/maintenance efficiency by preventing damages to the profile and reducing the surface deformation of oil-pan during separation thereof from the ladder-frame joined together by sealant-bond.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is common during the assembly of components by using sealant-bond, e.g. joining an oil-pan with a ladder-frame by applying a liquid sealant therebetween to create a sealing for obtaining a leakproof joint to prevent oil-leakage from the off-road engine.

A liquid sealant forms an adhesive-bond over time which can be separated without any damage to the components. Whereas the components that are adhesive-bonded are difficult to separate. Because their bond is so strong that it might damage the components.

During the servicing of an off-road engine, there are difficulties faced while attempting to separate these sealant-bonded components, like the sealant-bonded oil-pan and ladder-frame, because of a strong bond formed therebetween.
For example, this involves first removing the oil-pan mounting bolts, and then separating it from the ladder-frame and the like. At present, this is achieved by inserting a wedge between the oil-pan and ladder-frame and then applying a force thereon for breaking this sealant bond formed therebetween.

However, the profile and surface of the oil-pan gets damaged during this separation process, which often makes the oil-pan unsuitable for reuse.

Therefore, this is a major disadvantage with the conventional sealant-bonded components, e.g. the oil-pan joined by a liquid sealant to the ladder-frame in an off-road vehicle engine.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Some of the objects of the present invention - satisfied by at least one embodiment of the present invention - are as follows:

An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for easily separating the sealant-bonded components joined together by a liquid sealant for maintenance of corresponding assemblies thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a simple and effective mechanism for separating the sealant-bonded components without any damage to the profiles and surfaces thereof, for maintenance of the corresponding assembly thereof.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for separating the sealant-bonded components, like an oil-pan and ladder-frame without any damage to oil-pan profiles and surfaces thereof, for carrying out the maintenance of the off-road vehicle engine.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a process for easily separating the sealant-bonded components joined together by a liquid sealant for maintenance of corresponding assemblies thereof.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a simple and effective process for separating the sealant-bonded components without any damage to the profiles and surfaces thereof, for maintenance of the corresponding assembly thereof.

A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a process for separating the sealant-bonded components, like an oil-pan and ladder-frame without any damage to oil-pan profiles and surfaces thereof, for carrying out the maintenance of the off-road vehicle engine.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description, when read with the accompanying figures of drawing, which are however not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, threaded metal bushes are bonded with oil-pan using adhesives (thus cannot be separated) while ladder-frame and-oil-pan are assembled using bolts (which can be separated) after applying a liquid sealant therebetween. The purpose of liquid sealant is to avoid the oil leakage between these components.
To achieve the aforesaid objects, the mechanism configured according to the present invention involves a plurality of metal bushes with a respective threaded hole and assembled on the oil-pan by using an adhesive at different locations on the joining surface thereof. These bushes help in separating the oil-pan and ladder-frame, when a bolt is tightened in the threaded hole thereof and the sealant bond formed between the oil-pan and ladder-frame is broken without causing any apparent damage to the oil-pan.

In accordance with the present invention, during the assembly of an oil-pan with the ladder-frame in an off-road engine, e.g. four metal bushes (two at the front and two at the rear joint surface of the oil-pan) with a respective threaded hole are joined by adhesive on the surface of the oil-pan to be joined with the ladder-frame by using a liquid sealant for making a leakproof-joint therebetween. Whenever, the oil-pan is required to be separated from the ladder-frame, e.g. during the maintenance and/or servicing of the off-road vehicle engine, a respective bolt is inserted into the threaded hole of each metal bush and tightened manually until reaching the resistance pad in the ladder-frame. Subsequently, further torque is applied on these bolts to impart a reverse torsional force on these metal bushes, which effectively translates into the application of a pulling force on the oil-pan necessary for breaking the bead formed by the liquid sealant without damaging the oil-pan surface and thereby ensuring the separation of the oil-pan from the ladder-frame without compromising the integrity of the oil-pan.

Although, the present invention is exemplarily explained by the sealant bond formed between oil-pan and ladder-frame in an off-road vehicle engine, it can be used for separating similar leakproof sealant bond between other components without damaging the profiles thereof.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a mechanism for separating sealant-bond formed between components, like oil-pan assembly and ladder-frame in engines, the mechanism comprising:

- a ladder frame;

- a plurality of resistance pads configured at predetermined locations under the ladder-frame;

- an oil-pan assembly having an oil-pan with a flanged surface, and a plurality of washers, each having a threaded hole formed therein, adhesive-bonded on the surface of oil-pan;

- a liquid sealant applied between the oil-pan surface and ladder-frame for making a leakproof joint therebetween; and

- a respective bolt inserted in the holes of each of the washers for tightening thereof, as and when required;

wherein the bolts are configured to be tightened in the holes for first making a contact with respective resistance pads and then on further tightening thereof to generate a reverse torsional force acting on the flange of the oil-pan to create a gap between the ladder-frame and oil-pan for separating the oil-pan assembly from the ladder-frame without causing any damage to the profile/surface of the oil-pan.

Typically, the ladder-frame is an aluminium cast body, the oil-pan is a sheet-metal body, and the washer is a metal washer.
Typically, the resistance pad and the washers are configured to be aligned with each other in a vertical plane.

Typically, the plurality of washers comprises four washers disposed adjacent to four corners of the oil-pan.

Typically, the plurality of resistance pads comprises four resistance pads configured adjacent to four corners of the oil-pan and vertically aligned with the washers.

Typically, the mechanism comprises:

- the ladder frame is aluminium-cast with four resistance pads configured under four corners thereof;

- the oil-pan surface is made of sheet-metal and fixed with four metal washers having a respective threaded hole formed therein, the metal washers fixed on the surface of oil-pan by means of an adhesive;

- a liquid sealant applied between the oil-pan surface and ladder-frame for making a leakproof joint therebetween; and

- a respective bolt inserted in the holes of the washers for tightening thereof, whenever the oil-pan is required to be separated from the ladder-frame for carrying out servicing/maintenance of the engine.

Typically, the resistance pads and the washers are configured to be aligned with each other in a vertical plane.

Typically, each of washers is fixed by vertically aligning under each of the respective resistance pads, preferably disposed over four corners of oil-pan.
Typically, each bolt is first tightened in the holes for making a contact with a respective resistance pad and then further tightened to generate a reverse torsional force acting on the flanged surface of the oil-pan to create a gap between the ladder-frame and the oil-pan to separate the oil-pan assembly from ladder-frame without causing any damage to the profile/surface of the oil-pan.

In accordance with the present invention, there is also provided a process for forming and separating a sealant-bond formed between components, like oil-pan assembly and ladder-frame in engines, by the aforesaid mechanism, the process comprises the steps of:

- inserting a respective bolt in threaded hole of each of the washers;

- tightening the bolt until making contact with the respective resistance pad configured under the ladder-frame; and

- tightening the bolt in the washer for separating the oil-pan from the ladder-frame without causing any damage to the profile/surface of the oil-pan for carrying out servicing/maintenance of the engine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The present invention will be briefly described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows an exemplary off-road engine, e.g. farm-equipment engine fitted with a ladder-frame with an oil-pan sealant-bonded thereunder by making a sealed leakproof joint by applying a liquid sealant therebetween and configured in accordance with the present invention.
Figure 2 shows another view of the off-road engine when seen from the bottom thereof.

Figure 3 shows the exemplary components of the mechanism configured in accordance with the present invention before the assembly thereof, such as an oil-pan assembly to be joined to an aluminium ladder-frame in an off-road engine (Figure 2).

Figure 4 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the ladder-frame and oil-pan assembly of Figure 3 across one of the metal bush with a threaded hole therein and joined on the upper surface of the oil-pan by means of an adhesive.

Figure 5 shows a view from above of the oil-pan with the metal bush having a threaded hole and adhesive-bonded thereto in accordance with the present invention

Figure 6 shows a view from the bottom of the ladder-frame of Figure 3.

Figure 7 shows the oil-pan assembly sealant-bonded to ladder-frame, thus showing the mechanism configured in accordance with the present invention encircled therein, which will be described below in further details.

Figure 8 shows an enlarged view of the mechanism configured in accordance with the present invention encircled in Figure 7.

Figure 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the mechanism shown encircled in Figure 7.

Figure 10 shows the manner of actuating the mechanism of the present invention by tightening of the bolt from below the oil-pan flange for separating the oil-pan from the ladder-frame for carrying out the servicing and/or maintenance of the off-road engine.

Figure 11 shows the reverse torsional force acting on the oil-pan flange by the bolt tightening and contacting thereof with the resistance pad of the ladder-frame to initiate the separation of the sealant-bonded oil-pan therefrom, without causing any damage thereto.

Figure 12 shows the oil-pan separated by the bolt tightening and the gap produced therebetween after ladder-frame is separated from oil-pan therefrom.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

In the following, the mechanism to separate the sealant-bond formed between components, e.g. an exemplary sheet-metal oil-pan and cast-aluminium ladder-frame and configured in accordance with the present invention will be described in more details with reference to the accompanying drawings without limiting the scope and ambit of the present invention.

Figure 1 shows an exemplary off-road engine 100 fitted with a ladder-frame 10 joined to an oil-pan assembly 20 by making a sealed leakproof joint after applying a liquid sealant 30 therebetween in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 shows another view of the off-road engine 100 when seen from the bottom thereof, in which the oil-pan assembly 20 is visibly joined to the ladder-frame (not visible) by tightening the bolts 40 through threaded holes 26 in bushes 24 sealant-bonded on joint surface 28 of oil-pan 26 (Figure 3).

Figure 3 shows the exemplary components of a mechanism 50 configured in accordance with the present invention before the assembly thereof, e.g. oil-pan assembly 20 to be joined to aluminium ladder-frame 10 in an off-road engine 100 (Figure 2). The oil-pan assembly 20 is configured to be separable from the ladder-frame 10 without any damage to the oil-pan 22 of the oil-pan assembly 20 for servicing and/or maintenance of the off-road engine 100. The ladder-frame 10 has a resistance pad 12 formed under the ladder-frame 10 and especially configured in accordance with the present invention. The ladder-frame 10 is to be assembled to the oil-pan assembly 20. A plurality of metal bushes 24, each having a respective threaded hole 26, is placed at different locations on the surface 28 of the oil-pan 22 to be joined to the ladder-frame 10 by making a sealant-bond therebetween. A liquid sealant 30 is applied between metal bushes 24 and oil-pan surface 28 for obtaining the oil-pan assembly 20 joined to the ladder-frame 10 by making a seal proof joint therebetween.

Figure 4 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the ladder-frame 20 and oil-pan assembly 20 of Figure 3, depicted across one of the metal bushes 24 having a threaded hole 26 therein and joined on the upper surface 28 of the oil-pan 22 by means of an adhesive.

Figure 5 shows a view from above the oil-pan assembly 20 having a plurality of metal bushes 24 adhesive-bonded on the surface 28 of the oil-pan 22. For example, four metal bushes 24, each having a threaded hole 26 are visible.

Figure 6 shows a view from the bottom of the ladder-frame 10 of Figure 3 in accordance with the present invention. For example, the ladder-frame 10 has four resistance pads 12 formed thereon, the function of which will be described subsequently. It is to be noted that the configuration of the existing ladder-frame needed change for structural reasons.
Figure 7 shows the oil-pan assembly 20 sealant-bonded to ladder-frame 10, thus showing the mechanism 50 configured in accordance with the present invention encircled therein, which will be described below in further details.

Figure 8 shows an enlarged view of the mechanism 50 encircled in Figure 7. Here, one of the resistance pads 12 formed under the ladder-frame 10 as well as the oil-pan assembly with one of the bushes 24 having a threaded hole 26 adhesive-bonded on the surface 28 of the oil-pan 22 is visible.

Figure 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the mechanism 50 shown encircled in Figure 7. It also shows the resistance pad 12 formed under the ladder-frame 10 and bush 24 having a threaded hole 26 adhesively-bonded on the upper surface 28 of the oil-pan 22. For example, there are four such bushes adhesively-bonded on the oil-pan 22 surface 28, as shown in Figures 3 and 5.

Figure 10 shows the process for actuating the mechanism 50 configured in accordance with the present invention, by tightening of bolt 40 in the hole 26 in the metal washer 24 adhesively bonded on the upper surface 28 of oil-pan 22, i.e., for separating the oil-pan assembly 20 from the ladder-frame 10 for carrying out the servicing and/or maintenance of the off-road vehicle engine. The bolt 40 is screwed into the threaded hole 26 of the bush 24 from below the flange of the oil-pan 22, as shown in the direction of arrow. The above process is carried out for all metal washers 24 to completely separate the oil-pan assembly 20 from the ladder-frame 10 without any damage to the profile/surface of the oil-pan 22.

Figure 11 shows the reverse torsional force R acting on the flange of the oil-pan 22 by tightening of the bolt 40 in the threaded hole 26 of the bush 24. When the bolt 40 contacts the resistance pad 12 of the ladder-frame 10, the separation of the adhesive-bonded oil-pan 22 from the ladder-frame 10 is achieved easily without causing any damage thereto. After the bolt 40 contacts the resistance pad 12, a further tightening of bolt 40 in the threaded hole 26 causes a reverse torque to start working in the downward direction (as shown) which acts on the bush 24 adhesively-bonded on the oil-pan 22 and ultimately the sealant-bond formed between the oil-pan 22 and ladder-frame 10 is broken and oil-pan assembly 20 is easily removed therefrom without causing any damage to the profile/surface of the oil-pan 22. The above process is carried out for all metal washers 24 to completely separate the oil-pan 22 from the ladder-frame 10 without any damage to the profile/surface of oil-pan 22. This helps is reusing the oil-pan assembly 20 after the servicing and/or maintenance of the off-road vehicle engine 100 is completed.

Figure 12 shows the oil-pan 22 separated by tightening of the bolt 40 as shown in Figure 11 and a gap G is produced between the ladder-frame 10 and the oil-pan 22, which is thus separated from the ladder-frame 10 without any damage to the oil-pan 22.

WORKING OF THE INVENTION

Normally, the liquid sealant is first applied between the oil-pan flange and ladder-frame for assembling them together. This liquid sealant forms a bead between them to prevent oil leakage from the oil-pan. However, there were difficulties faced while separating the oil-pan from the ladder-frame due to the liquid sealant forming an adhesive-bond formed therebetween over long period of time. While removing the oil-pan during engine service/maintenance, the oil-pan mounting bolts are removed first. Subsequently, a wedge tool is placed in between these components and a force is applied on the wedge to break this bond.
Therefore, the oil-pan profile gets damaged and the oil-pan flange surface is deformed, which makes the oil-pan separated from the ladder-frame after the above process unfit for reuse.

In order to avoid these damages and reduce the difficulties during separation of the oil-pan from the ladder-frame, e.g. four (M8x1.25) threaded metal bushes (two at the front and two at the rear) are attached to the oil-pan flange by using adhesives in accordance with the present invention.

A respective M8 X 1.25 bolt (min. length 10 mm) is inserted into the threaded hole of each metal bush mounted on the oil-pan flange by an adhesive-bond and then hand-tightened until reaching the resistance pad of the aluminum ladder-frame to contact it. Thereafter, further torque is applied on the bolt. This torque generates a reverse torsional force acting on the bush mounted on the oil-pan. This reverse torsional force is transferred to the oil-pan as a pulling force, capable of easily breaking the sealant/adhesive bead between the oil-pan and ladder-frame.

This separation process is carried at all four locations, which creates a gap for removing the oil-pan from the ladder-frame without causing any profile or surface damage thereto. This innovative process enhances the efficiency of off-road engine servicing/maintenance operation, while ensuring the longevity and reusability of the oil-pan separated from the ladder-frame, or any such other components jointed together by a liquid sealant-bond in a similar manner.

It is reiterated that although the present invention is exemplarily explained by the sealant bond formed between oil-pan and ladder-frame in an off-road vehicle engine, it can be used for separating similar leak proof sealant-bond made between other components without damaging the profile/surface thereof.
TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES AND ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE

The mechanism and process configured in accordance with the present invention for separating sealant-bond formed between components, like oil-pan and ladder-frame in engines, offers the following advantages:

• Prevents damage to the oil-pan after separation thereof from the ladder-frame.

• Strong sealant bond is easily broken without causing any damage to the oil-pan, which remains usable.

• Eliminates the cost of replacing the oil-pan damaged during the conventional process.

• Provides an effortless separation of the oil-pan from the ladder-frame during servicing/maintenance of the engine.

• Improves the efficiency of service by reducing the servicing time.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments.

It is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation. The exemplary embodiments described in this specification are intended merely to provide an understanding of various manners in which this embodiment may be used and to further enable the skilled person in the relevant art to practice this invention.

Although, the embodiments presented in this disclosure have been described in terms of its preferred embodiments, the skilled person in the art would readily recognize that these embodiments can be applied with modifications possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention as described in this specification by making innumerable changes, variations, modifications, alterations and/or integrations in terms of materials and method used to configure, manufacture and assemble various constituents, components, subassemblies and assemblies, in terms of their size, shapes, orientations and interrelationships without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

The numerical values given of various physical parameters, dimensions and quantities are only approximate values and it is envisaged that the values higher or lower than the numerical value assigned to the physical parameters, dimensions and quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure unless there is a statement in the specification to the contrary.

Throughout this specification, the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, shall be understood to imply including a described element, integer or method step, or group of elements, integers or method steps, however, does not imply excluding any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or method steps.

The use of the expression “a”, “at least” or “at least one” shall imply using one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as used in the embodiment of the disclosure in order to achieve one or more of the intended objects or results of the present invention.

The description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description, relative terms such as “lower”, “upper”, “horizontal”, “vertical”, “above”, “below”, “up”, “down”, “top”, and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g. “horizontally”, “inwardly”, “outwardly”; “downwardly”, “upwardly” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. , Claims:We claim:

1. A mechanism (50) for separating sealant-bond formed between components, like oil-pan assembly (20) and ladder-frame (10) in engines, said mechanism (50) comprises:

- said ladder frame (10);

- a plurality of resistance pads (12) configured at predetermined locations under said ladder-frame (10);

- said oil-pan assembly (20) having an oil-pan (22) with a flanged surface (28), and a plurality of washers (24), each having a threaded hole (26) formed therein, adhesive-bonded on said surface (28) of oil-pan (22);

- a liquid sealant (30) applied between said oil-pan (22) surface (28) and ladder-frame (10) for making a leakproof joint therebetween; and

- a respective bolt (40) inserted in the holes (26) of each of said washers (24) for tightening thereof, as and when required;

wherein said bolts (40) are configured to be tightened in said holes (26) for first making a contact with respective resistance pads (12) and then on further tightening thereof to generate a reverse torsional force (R) acting on the flange of said oil-pan (22) to create a gap (G) between said ladder-frame (10) and oil-pan (22) for separating said oil-pan assembly (20) from said ladder-frame (10) without causing any damage to the profile/surface (28) of said oil-pan (22).

2. The mechanism (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ladder-frame (10) is an aluminium cast body, said oil-pan (22) is a sheet-metal body, and said washer (24) is a metal washer.
3. The mechanism (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said resistance pad (12) and said washers (24) are configured to be aligned with each other in a vertical plane.

4. The mechanism (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of washers (24) comprises four washers (24) disposed adjacent to four corners of said oil-pan (22).

5. The mechanism (50) as claimed in claim 4, wherein said plurality of resistance pads (12) comprises four resistance pads (12) configured to be adjacent to four corners of said oil-pan (22) and vertically aligned with said washers (24).

6. The mechanism (50) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mechanism (50) comprises:

- said ladder frame (10) is aluminium-cast with four resistance pads (12) configured under four corners thereof;

- said oil-pan surface (28) is made of sheet-metal and fixed with four metal washers (24) having a respective threaded hole (26) formed therein, said metal washers (24) fixed on the surface (28) of oil-pan (22) by means of an adhesive;

- a liquid sealant (30) applied between said oil-pan surface (28) and ladder-frame (10) for making a leakproof joint therebetween; and

- a respective bolt (40) inserted in the holes (26) of said washers (24) for tightening thereof, whenever said oil-pan (22) is required to be separated from said ladder-frame (10) for carrying out servicing/maintenance of said engine (100).
7. The mechanism (50) as claimed in claim 6, wherein said resistance pads (12) and said washers (24) are configured to be aligned with each other in a vertical plane.

8. The mechanism (50) as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of said washers (24) is fixed by vertically aligning under each of said respective resistance pads (12), preferably disposed over four corners of said oil-pan (22).

9. The mechanism (50) as claimed in claim 8, wherein each bolt (40) is first tightened in said holes (26) for making a contact with a respective resistance pad (12) and then further tightened to generate a reverse torsional force (R) acting on the flanged surface (28) of said oil-pan (22) to create a gap (G) between said ladder-frame (10) and said oil-pan (22) to separate said oil-pan assembly (20) from ladder-frame (10) without causing any damage to the profile/surface (28) of said oil-pan (22).

10. A process for separating a sealant-bond formed between components, like oil-pan assembly (20) and ladder-frame (10) in engines by the mechanism (50) as claimed in preceding claims, said process comprises the steps of:

- inserting a respective bolt (40) in threaded hole (26) of each of said washers (24);

- tightening said bolt (40) until making contact with the respective resistance pad (12) configured under said ladder-frame (10); and

- tightening said bolt (40) in said washer (24) for separating said oil-pan (22) from said ladder-frame (10) without causing any damage to the profile/surface (28) of said oil-pan (22) for carrying out servicing/maintenance of said engine (100).

Dated this 28th day of March 2024.

Digitally / e-Signed by:

(SANJAY KESHARWANI)
APPLICANT’S PATENT AGENT
REGN. NO. IN/PA-2043.