Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The present disclosure generally relates to method for servicing components and parts of a vehicle, and more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a mounting arrangement and a method for facilitating servicing of vehicle components/parts such as transmission system and engine block of the vehicle.
BACKGROUND
[002] Vehicles need regular servicing and maintenance. Apart from regular servicing and maintenance, if a fault is developed in the vehicle or the performance of the vehicle is affected, certain parts of the vehicle may need to be checked, repaired and serviced. A transmission system of the vehicle which transmits the power generated by an engine to drive other parts of the vehicles, and the engine, both, are crucial components of the vehicle which are required to be serviced and maintained for assuring efficient functioning of the vehicle. A fault in the engine or the transmission system directly affects the performance of the vehicle.
[003] Various parts and sub-assemblies of the vehicle are mounted and assembled on a chassis which is a base frame that provides support for parts mounted on it. There are different types of chassis which are used in the vehicle assembly based on the requirement, utility and design of the vehicle. A fabricated ladder frame chassis is a light weight solution against heavy castings used in vehicles e.g. tractors. Another advantage of the ladder frame chassis is that, it provides ease of assembly of parts/ sub-assemblies and body of the vehicle on the chassis. The basic structure of the ladder frame chassis comprises of two longitudinal members and a plurality of short latitudinal members or cross members. The cross members are laterally attached between the two longitudinal members, which provides strength and rigidity to the chassis and the vehicle. The simple construction and structure of ladder chassis frame facilitates the ease of assembling vehicle parts on the chassis.
[004] Conventionally, for servicing the vehicle such as tractor and specifically for servicing the engine or transmission system of the vehicle, the parts in forefront of the engine or transmission system need to be parted away from the vehicle’s body in order to access the components of the transmission system or engine. Also, to access the components of the transmission system, normally the engine is parted away from the chassis of the vehicle. This process of disassembling and assembling of vehicle parts while servicing is time consuming, cumbersome and risk to safety. Also, when the servicing time is crucial, such as in cases of emergencies or high demand of operation, such servicing processes affect the quickness of serviceability.
[005] Therefore, there is a need for a method for facilitating servicing of a vehicle with a minimal disassembling of parts of the vehicle, and which is efficient, faster and simple.
OBJECTS
[006] The principal object of an embodiment of this invention is to provide a mounting arrangement for facilitating servicing of vehicle components/parts such as an engine and transmission system of a vehicle.
[007] Another object of an embodiment of this invention is to provide a method for servicing a vehicle having a ladder frame type chassis and particularly for servicing of an engine block and a transmission system of the vehicle.
[008] Another object of an embodiment of this invention is to provide the method for servicing the vehicle which provides easy access for components of the transmission system and the engine block for servicing and repair.
[009] Yet another object of an embodiment of this invention is to provide the method for servicing the vehicle which does not require removal of engine block, transmission housing, and other sub-assemblies of the vehicle from the vehicle’s chassis for servicing purpose.
[010] Still another object of an embodiment of this invention is to provide the method for servicing the vehicle which is faster, simple and efficient for servicing of the transmission system and engine of the vehicle.
[011] These and other objects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[012] The embodiments herein are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[013] Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a vehicle with a ladder frame type chassis in first position, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein;
[014] Fig. 2 depicts a side view of the ladder frame type chassis on which a steering arrangement, an engine block and a transmission system is mounted in the first position, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein;
[015] Fig. 3 depicts an isometric view of the ladder frame chassis, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein;
[016] Fig. 4 depicts a side view of the engine block disconnected from the transmission system of the vehicle, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein;
[017] Fig. 5 depicts an isometric view of the ladder frame type chassis on which the steering arrangement, and the engine block is rotated to a second position, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein; Fig. 6 depicts a side view of the ladder frame type chassis on which the steering arrangement, and the engine block is rotated to the second position, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein; and
[018] Fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for servicing of a vehicle having a ladder frame type chassis, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein.

 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[019] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[020] The embodiments herein achieve a mounting arrangement for servicing vehicle components/parts such as an engine block and transmission system of a vehicle. Further, the embodiments herein achieve a method for servicing a vehicle having a ladder frame type chassis and particularly for servicing of an engine block and a transmission system of the vehicle. Furthermore, the embodiments herein achieve the method for servicing the vehicle which provides easy access for components of the transmission system and the engine block for servicing and repair. Additionally, the embodiments herein achieve the method for servicing the vehicle which does not require removal of engine block, transmission housing, and other sub-assemblies of the vehicle from the vehicle’s chassis for servicing purposes. Moreover, the embodiments herein achieve the method for servicing of the vehicle which is faster, simple and efficient for servicing of the transmission system and engine block of the vehicle. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 4, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.
[021] Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a vehicle with a ladder frame type chassis in first position, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein. The vehicle (100) includes a ladder frame type chassis (101) (hereinafter also referred to as chassis of the vehicle), a front wheel assembly (107), an engine block (102), a steering arrangement (103), a steering assembly (103a) wherein a plurality of tie rods (105, 106) are operatively connected to the steering assembly (103) and the front wheel assembly (107), a transmission system (104), a seating arrangement (108), and a rear wheel assembly (not shown in the figure). The front wheel assembly (107), the engine block (102), the steering arrangement (103) including the steering assembly (103a) and the plurality of tie rods (105, 106), the transmission system (104), the seating arrangement (108) and the rear wheel assembly are mounted on the ladder frame chassis (101) at predetermined positions along a longitudinal axis of the ladder frame type chassis (101).
[022] As shown in Fig.1, according to an embodiment of the invention, the engine block (102) which provides/ generates the power to drive the vehicle (100) is mounted in an initial mounting orientation which is also referred to as predetermined first position on a front end of the ladder frame type chassis (101). The engine block (102) is mounted in a position adjacently and rearwards to the front wheel assembly (107). Further, the engine block (102) is mounted on the ladder frame chassis (101) such that the engine block (102) is movable / rotatable along the longitudinal axis of the chassis (101) without demounting the engine block (102) entirely from the chassis (101) of vehicle. The steering arrangement (103) i.e. the steering assembly (103a) and the tie rods (105, 106) together which facilitates the turning and controlling of direction of the wheels is mounted in a mounting orientation, adjacently and rearwards of the engine block (102), at a predetermined position on the ladder frame chassis (101). The steering block (103) is mounted on the ladder frame chassis (101) such that it is movable/ rotatable along the longitudinal axis of the chassis (101) without dismounting the steering arrangement (103) from the chassis (101). According to an embodiment, the steering arrangement (103) is operatively connected to the front wheel assembly (107) through a longitudinal tie-rod (105) and a cross tie-rod (106), wherein both the longitudinal tie rod (105) and the cross tie rod (106) extend from the steering assembly (103a) towards the front end of the ladder frame chassis (101), and are attached to the front wheel assembly (107) at predetermined positions. In an embodiment, the engine block (102) and the steering arrangement (103) are connected together, such that the engine block (102) and the steering arrangement (103) are moved together in a predetermined angle for creating an access space to service or perform repair works in the engine or transmission system (104) of the vehicle. The transmission system (104) transmits the power generated by the engine to the wheels of the vehicles and comprises of components which transmit and control the torque generated by the engine to the wheels. In an embodiment, the transmission system (104) is mounted on the ladder frame type chassis (101) at a predetermined position, adjacently and rearwards to the engine block (102), along the longitudinal axis of the ladder frame chassis (101) as shown in Fig. 2.
[023] In a conventional method for servicing the transmission system and engine of the vehicle with the ladder frame chassis, the components such as the front wheel assembly are dismounted to have access to the engine block. Further, to access the transmission system, the engine block and the steering arrangement block are dismounted from the chassis for ease of servicing of components of the transmission system. The present disclosure provides a mounting arrangement for servicing of transmission system (104) and engine block (102) of the vehicle (100) using the ladder frame type chassis (101), without the requirement of dismounting vehicle parts such as the front wheel assembly (107) or the engine block (102) to access the components of the engine and the transmission system (104) for servicing.
[024] In an embodiment, to perform repair or to service the engine block (102) or the transmission system (104) initially the steering assembly (103a) is disconnected from the longitudinal tie-rod (105). After disconnecting the steering assembly (103a), the engine block (102) is disconnected from the chassis (101) by removing a fastening means connecting the engine block (102) to the chassis (101) as shown in Fig. 4. The steering assembly (103a) and the engine block (102) are free to move along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle (100). The steering assembly (103a) along with steering handle and the engine block (102) may be rotated to a predetermined angle about perpendicular axis to chassis of the vehicle (100) as shown in Fig. 5 and 6. In an embodiment, the steering assembly (103a) along with steering handle and the engine block (102) may be rotated +/-180 ̊. The rotation of the steering assembly (103a) and the engine block (102) creates the space to access the engine parts and the transmission system (104) of the vehicle (100).
[025] Fig. 3 depicts an isometric view of the ladder frame type chassis, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein. The ladder frame type chassis (101) includes at least two main frame members which are disposed parallelly in a spaced relation. The two main frame members are connected by a plurality of cross beam members as shown in Fig. 3. Further, the ladder frame type chassis (101) includes the platform (109) upon which the steering arrangement (103) and the engine block (102) are mounted. The ladder frame type chassis forms a mounting arrangement for mounting the steering assembly (103a) and the engine block (102). The rotation of the steering assembly (103a) and the engine block (102) through the predetermined angle moves the steering assembly (103a) and the engine block (102) to the second position. The platform (109) of the chassis (101) is adapted to support the steering assembly (103a) and the engine block (102) in both first and second positions so that the steering assembly (103a) and the engine block (102) is rotated about the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
[026] Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method for servicing of a vehicle with a ladder frame chassis, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein. The method (200) includes disconnecting a plurality of tie-rods (105) connected to a steering assembly (103) of the vehicle (100) (at step 201). Further, the method (200) includes disassembling a plurality of fastening members connected between an engine block and a chassis (101) of the vehicle (at step 202). Furthermore, the method (200) includes rotating the steering arrangement and engine block (102) from an initial first predetermined position to a second predetermined position in a predetermined direction to create an access space for servicing said vehicle component/part (at step 203). As shown in Fig. 2, according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein, the longitudinal tie rod (105) are disconnected from the steering arrangement (103) and the front wheel assembly (107). The disconnection and removal of the longitudinal tie-rod (105), and plurality of fastening members allows separation of the engine block (102) and the steering arrangement (103), towards the front end of the chassis (101). The method (200) includes moving the engine block (102) from an initial predetermined position to a second predetermined position in the predetermined direction on the chassis (101) and along the longitudinal axis of the chassis (101), whereby an access space is created on the chassis (101) for accessing the transmission system (104) of the vehicle (100). Thus, the method (200) eliminates the need for dismounting of vehicle parts for servicing the parts and sub-assemblies such as the transmission system and the engine of the vehicle. By eliminating the requirement of dismounting and remounting, the servicing time is reduced by the method (200).
[027] The technical advantages achieved by the embodiments disclosed herein include ease of accessibility of components of transmission system and engine for servicing, reduction in number of parts and components of the vehicle that need to be disassembled, decrease in cumulative servicing time, and simplicity.
[028] 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 understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
, Claims:We claim,
1. A method (200) of rotating a steering arrangement (103) and engine block (102) of a vehicle (100), comprising:
disconnecting a plurality of tie-rods (105) connected to a steering assembly (103a) of the vehicle (100);
disassembling a plurality of fastening members connected between an engine block and a chassis (101) of the vehicle; and
rotating the steering arrangement (103) and the engine block (102) from an initial first predetermined position to a second predetermined position in a predetermined direction to create an access space for servicing a vehicle component/part.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said chassis (101) is at least a ladder frame type chassis.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the steering arrangement (103) and the engine block (102) are in-line with said chassis (101) in said first position, said steering arrangement (103) and the engine block (102) are rotated transversely to a predetermined angle in said second position.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the steering arrangement (103) and the engine block (102) are moved to the second predetermined position towards one of a left side or right side of the chassis (101) from an initial mounting orientation by rotating said steering arrangement (103) and the engine block (102) about a rotational axis defined perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of said vehicle.
5. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the steering arrangement (103) and engine block (102) are rotated +/-180 ̊ from the initial mounting orientation.

6. The method (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a longitudinal tie rod (105) connected to the steering assembly (103) are disconnected from the steering arrangement (103) to disconnect said steering assembly (103a) from said vehicle (100).

7. A mounting arrangement provided in a vehicle (100) for servicing a vehicle component/part, said vehicle having a steering arrangement (103) connected to said vehicle by a plurality of tie rods (105 and 106), an engine block (102) and a transmission system (104), said mounting arrangement comprising:
a chassis (101) of predetermined configuration assembled to vehicle (100), said chassis (101) having at least one platform (109); and
said steering arrangement (103), said engine block (102) and said transmission system (104) mounted on said platform (109) of said chassis (101);

8. The mounting arrangement provided in the vehicle as claim in claim 7, wherein said steering arrangement (103), said engine block (102) combinedly are configured to be moved from an initial first predetermined position to a second predetermined position in a predetermined direction to create an access space for servicing said vehicle component/part.

9. The mounting arrangement provided in the vehicle as claim in claim 7, wherein said the steering arrangement (103) and engine block (102) are rotated +/- 180 ̊ from an initial mounting orientation.