BACKGROUND ART [0002] Amphibious vehicles have been known for many years. It has been reported that only one amphibious vehicle has been made in commercial production. That was the Amphicar, which was built in Germany from 1961 to 1968. This vehicle had a top speed of only 7 mph on water. It was driven in the water by a pair of propellers.

[0003] Recent amphibious vehicles which are the subject of patents commonly use a jet drive and in spite of the many different designs, none have exhibited significant commercial success to date.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide an amphibious vehicle which looks remarkably like a conventional automobile on land, and yet is capable of relatively high speed in the water.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION [0005] The present invention is for an amphibious vehicle having a frame which supports a body which has a buoyant hull portion. Front and rear wheels are provided with means for raising and lowering the wheels. A water jet pump assembly is supported in the body and has a water intake in the bottom of the hull portion. An impeller moves water rearwardly to a water outlet jet at the stern of the hull portion of the vehicle. An engine is supported by the frame and is mounted over the water jet pump assembly. The engine drives both the wheels and the water jet pump selectively. In one embodiment, the frame of the vehicle has two longitudinal frame members joined near the front by a bridge frame supporting the front wheel controls, and at the rear by a rear bridge frame extending upwardly and connected by a cross member. Port and starboard front and rear wheel bottom plates extend from a recessed position to an extended position where they slide under the raised wheels. The bottom plates do not extend significantly upwardly to cover the sides of wheel wells which open to the sides of the vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0006) Figure 1 is a side view of the amphibious vehicle of the present invention configured for land travel.

[0007] Figure 2 is a front view thereof.

[0008] Figure 3 is a rear view thereof.

[0009] Figure 4 is a side view of the amphibious vehicle of Figure 1 configured for use in water.

[0010] Figure 5 is a front view of the vehicle of Figure 4.

[0011] Figure 6 is a rear view of the vehicle of Figure 4.

[0012] Figure 7 is an exploded front view showing the body portion of the vehicle of Figure 1 above the frame of the vehicle of Figure 1.

[0013] Figure 8 is a view analogous to Figure 7, except showing the body positioned over the frame.

[0014] Figure 8A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the left front wheel and accompanying water diversion plates.

[0015] Figure 9 is an exploded side view of the vehicle of Figure 1.

[0016] Figure 10 is a side view of the engine, transaxle and water jet pump of the amphibious vehicle of Figure 1.

[0017] Figure 11 is a perspective view of the water jet pump of Figure 10.

[0018] Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 12-12 of Figure 10.

[0019] Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 13-13 of Figure 12.

[0020] Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 14-14 of Figure 13.

[0021] Figure 15 is an enlarged side view partly in cross-section of the power transfer assembly of Figure 13.

[0022] Figure 16 is a perspective view of the power transmission member and shifting assembly of Figure 15.

[0023] Figure 17 is a perspective view of the power input member of Figure 15.

[0024] Figure 18 is a top view of the frame, wheel assembly and wheel bottom plates of the vehicle of Figure 1.

[00251 Figure 19 is a perspective view of the frame of Figure 18.

[0026] Figure 19A is a perspective view of the underside of the front of the body of the vehicle of Figure 1.

[0027] Figure 20 is a side view of the vehicle of Figure 1 with the body removed showing the wheel plates in an extended configuration.

[0028] Figure 21 is an enlarged view taken along circle 21 of Figure 20.

[0029] Figure 22 is top view of the frame of the vehicle of Figure 1 with the wheel bottom plates in an extended configuration.

[0030] Figure 23 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 23-23 of Figure 22.

[0031] Figure 24 is a perspective view showing the bottom plate under the raised left front wheel in a partially extended configuration.

[0032] Figure 25 is a perspective view showing the bottom plate under the raised left front wheel in a fully extended configuration.

[0033] Figure 26 is a perspective view of the bottom of the vehicle of Figure 1.

[0034] Figure 27 is a front view of one of the wheels of the vehicle of Figure 1 in a partially raised configuration.

[0035] Figure 28 is a front view of one of the wheels of the vehicle of Figure 1 in a fully raised configuration.

[0036] Figure 29 is an enlarged perspective view of the top portion of the assembly of Figure 28.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION [0037] The amphibious vehicle of the present invention is shown in side view in Figure 1 and indicated generally by reference character 10. Amphibious vehicle 10 has a body 11, which in one embodiment is fabricated from a composite material, such as a fiberglass composite. Vehicle 10 has a left front tire 12 and a left rear tire 13. A jet drive outlet 14 extends from the rear or stern 15. The front or bow 16 to the stern 15 in the embodiment shown in Figure 1 comprises a single unitary body. A door 17 has a bottom edge 18 which is further away from the bottom 19 of the vehicle than most conventional doors. A left front wheel well exposes essentially all of tire 12. The left rear wheel well 21 exposes essentially all of left rear tire 13. A radiator 111 is shown in phantom view in Figure 1.

[00331 Vehicle 10 is shown in front view in Figure 2 and shows right front tire 22. It also exhibits a central recess 23 which is surrounded by a pair of pontoons 24 and 25, which are part of body 11 and described in more detail below.

[0039] Figure 3 shows a rear view of vehicle 10 where right rear tire is indicated by reference character 26. There it can be seen that jet drive outlet 14 is positioned just above the bottom 19 of body 11. The engine of the vehicle is covered by engine cover 27.

[0040] When the vehicle is in the water, the wheels are raised, as shown in Figure 4. The view of Figure 4 shows the vehicle in motion where the water level 28 is not far above bottom 19. The raised front and rear left tires are indicated by reference characters 12'and 13'.

[0041] When vehicle 10 is at rest in the water, it floats at a level indicated by water level 29 shown in phantom view in Figure 4. Vehicle 10 is shown in front view in the water where the forward motion and the at rest water levels 28 and 29 are shown. Figure 6 shows the vehicle from the rear in the water.

[0042] Figure 7 shows an exploded front view of vehicle 10 where the at rest water level 29 is indicated. The view in Figures 7 and 8 is depicted at the front axle vertical position where the water 30 actually rises in the recess within the otherwise buoyant hull portion 31.

In Figure 7 a right longitudinal frame member 32 supports a right front vertical frame member 33. Similarly, left longitudinal frame member 34 supports a left front vertical frame member 35. A cross arm 36 is affixed across the top of vertical frame members 33 and 35.

[0043] As shown in Figure 18, there are actually a pair of right vertical frame members and left vertical frame members and cross arms 36 and 36'. It is to be understood that the frame members 36 and 36'could be formed in other configurations such as a uni-body construction or an X-frame configuration.

[0044] A cross-sectional view of the body mounted on the frame at the position of the front wheels is shown in Figure 8. An enlarged portion of Figure 8 is shown in Figure 8A.

[00451 An exploded side view of vehicle 10 is shown in Figure 9, where the frame is indicated generally by reference character 40 and left longitudinal frame member 34 is shown extending from its front edge 37 to its rear edge 38. The simplicity of the design of the amphibious vehicle of the present invention is illustrated clearly in Figure 9. Body 11 basically rests on frame 40 and a pair of longitudinal recesses 39 surround the sides and top of longitudinal frame member 34. This is, of course, present at both the right and left sides of the vehicle and provides a streamlined underside of the vehicle.

[0046] The engine 41 is supported by frame 40 and is positioned above water jet pump assembly 42. This provides substantially more room within the vehicle than if the engine were mounted with its output facing the rear of the vehicle in line with the impeller drive of water jet pump assembly 42. This is accomplished by the power transfer assembly shown best in Figures 12 and 13 and discussed below.

[0047] Engine 41 is also mounted above a portion of transaxle 43 from which a left drive shaft 44 extends. Left drive shaft 44 preferably has a water seal 45 mounted between it and transaxle 43.

[0048] The recess around the front wheel assembly, which results in the water shown in Figures 7 and 8, is indicated by phantom line 46 in body 11 in Figure 9. Wheel drive openings 47 and 48 are shown in the body 11. Wheel opening 48 is surrounded on its inside surface by a waterproof tube which leads to transaxle 43 since the left drive shaft is otherwise located within the interior of the buoyant body 11.

[0049] An enlarged view of the engine 41 jet pump assembly 42 and transaxle 43 is shown in Figure 10. The water jet pump assembly is shown in perspective view in Figure 11 and the water outlet is indicated by reference character 49. An impeller 50 is located within housing 51. Impeller 50 is driven by an impeller drive shaft 52 which extends to the front of jet body 53. Jet body 53 is within the interior of the hull portion of body 11. An intake housing 54 has a water intake opening 55. Intake housing 54 is sealed in the bottom of body 11.

[0050] The impeller drive shaft is turned through a CV coupling 56. As shown in Figure 10, the engine crankshaft 57 provides input 58 to clutch 59. Of course, other means for engaging or disengaging the output could be used, such as an automatic transmission. The clutch output turns output shaft 60 when clutch 59 is engaged. Shaft 60 drives pulley 61, which in turn, drives pulley 62 through drive belt 63. Pulley 62 turns transaxle input shaft 64 continuously as long as clutch 59 is engaged. A gear box 65 interconnects transaxle drive shaft 64 with wheel drive shaft 44 when appropriately shifted into a drive configuration in a conventional manner.

[0051] The pulley and belt configuration is shown in Figure 12. The pulleys and belts are preferably provided with teeth to prevent slippage.

[0052] Other details of the power input to the wheels and to the jet pump assembly are shown in Figure 13, where driven pulley 62 is locked to splined shaft 66 through key 67.

Spline shaft 66 turns driven shaft 64 and also turns a power transmission member 67, shown in perspective view in Figure 16 and indicated by reference character 68. Power transmission member 68 has inner teeth 69 which move longitudinally over splines 70, as shown best in Figure 15. As shown in Figure 16, a forked ring control member 71 controls the longitudinal movement of power transmission member 68. Forked ring control member 71 is moved by control shaft 72, which in turn, is moved by the movement of lever 73, which is pivoted at 74 to the gear box 15 cover.

[0053] Returning to Figure 15, when the dog ring 68 is moved in the direction of arrow 75, it interconnects the dog drives 76 with the dog drives 77 on impeller drive upper gear 78.

Impeller drive upper gear 78 is mounted so that it freely rotates about splined shaft 66 through needle bearing 79. Impeller drive upper gear 78 is meshed with impeller input gear 80 which turns CV coupling 56 to turn the impeller input shaft 52.

[0054] Engine 41 is preferably of sufficient horsepower to cause the hull of body 11 to plane as it passes over the water. 300 hp is an example of one embodiment of engine useful in the amphibious vehicle of the present invention.

[0055] Once the wheels are in a raised configuration, such as that shown in Figure 4 of the drawings, plates may be extended so that they pass under the tires and under the wheel wells, as described in more detail below. The frame of vehicle 10 is shown in a top view in Figure 18. The right and left longitudinal frame members 32 and 34 are preferably interconnected by cross member 81. Longitudinal frame members 32 and 34 are angled inwardly at 82 and 83.

The frame members 32 and 34 are also interconnected by rear vertical portions 84 and 85, which are tied together by removable cross member 86, as shown in Figure 19.

[0056] Also shown in Figure 19 is a radiator 111 mounted in a front compartment indicated in Figure 26. Radiator 111 has a coolant inlet tube 112 and a coolant outlet tube 113. Hoses 112 and 113 lead to copper tube 115 which fun along an interior passageway 115 and contain coolant 116. The interior passageway 115 is provided with a flow of cooling water 119 through scoops 117 and 118 as shown in Figures 20 and 26. Heat is readily transferred through the walls of copper pipe 114 into the water 119. The radiator coolant is fed to engine 41 through hoses, not shown, similar to hoses 112 and 113.

[00571 The wheel bottom plates are held in right and left frames 87 and 88 affixed to longitudinal frame members 32 and 34. Hydraulic cylinders 89,90, 91, and 92 control the movement of the plates. A hydraulic motor 93 provides hydraulic fluid under pressure to the cylinders.

[0058] The plates indicated generally by reference character 94 are shown in an extended configuration in Figure 20 and slide outwardly from frame 88 and completely enclose the bottom opening of the wheel well under which they slide. The plates are telescoped, as shown in Figure 21 of the drawings.

[0059] Turning now to Figure 23, the forward half 95 telescopes outwardly from frame 88 when the piston rod 96 is extended from cylinder 91. Similarly, the rear plate 97 is extended rearwardly by the extension of piston rod 98 from cylinder 92.

[0060] As shown in Figure 23, plates 95 and 99 are held at the frame end by a pair of slots 100 and 101. A channel 102 holds the upturned outer edges 103 and 104 of plates 99 and 95, respectively.

[0061] The movement of forward plate 95 is shown in perspective view in Figures 24 and 25 where it can be seen that the plates extend completely between longitudinal frame member 34 and the outer portion of plate frame 88. Thus, the underside of the hull, as shown in Figure 26, is remarkably smooth. A portion of the underside is shown in Figure 8A. In Figure 26, the forward recess is visible, as is water intake 55. A pair of plate support tabs 105 and 106 are held on a support arm 107 and provide end support to plate 95 when it is fully extended.

As can also be seen from Figure 21, the plates overlap in the center section between the front and rear wheel wells so that all four plates overlap when recessed.

[0062] As also shown in Figure 26, the frame members 32 and 34 are held in recesses 120 formed in the body 11. The recesses 120 and frame members 32 and 34 are configured to expose the bottom 121 of the frame members in a smooth planar manner with the bottom of body 11.

[0063] The central recess 23 has a portion 122 which is positioned below radiator 111. A plurality of openings 123 permit air or air and water to pass therethrough to provide additional cooling to radiator 111. Since the radiator 111 is above the waterline, only a limited amount of water will splash through the openings. Such water will also drain out of the openings 123.

[0064] The wheel raising mechanism of vehicle 10 is shown in Figures 27, 28, and 29.

The wheel is shown partially raised in Figure 27, where it can be seen to be supported by an upper pivot arm 107 and a lower pivot arm 108. The wheel is raised by cylinder 108, which drives piston rod 109, which pulls shock absorber 110 upwardly. The fully raised position is shown in Figure 28. Cylinder 108 is shown in Figure 29. It also can be seen in Figure 29 that there are a pair of upper arms 107. There are also a pair of lower arms 108.

[00651 Returning now to Figure 4 of the drawings, the plates 95 and 97 extend the entire width of wheel wells 20 and 21. They do not, however, extend significantly upwardly to cover the side opening of wheel wells 20 and 21. Because of the smooth and planing nature of the bottom 19 of body 11, the amphibious vehicle planes at the water surface sufficiently high so that no significant turbulence occurs at the wheel well sides when the vehicle is in a planing configuration.

[0066] The result is an amphibious vehicle which has a very attractive vehicle appearance and yet, is capable of significant speed and maneuverability in the water. By providing sufficient horsepower, the amphibious vehicle can reach speeds appropriate for water skiing and other such sports. The ease of assembly of the vehicle makes it appropriate for kit manufacturing.

[0067] While a jet drive has been described herein, other drive means may be provided, such as an inboard/outboard drive or other propeller-utilizing drives. While a pair of front wheels is shown, it is to be understood that a single front wheel could be used when desired.

['The present embodiments of this invention are thus to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive ; the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY [0069] The disclosed technology has industrial applicability in the vehicle, particularly amphibious vehicle, arts. The disclosed technology provides enhanced capabilities and performance characteristics which allow for conventional automobile performance on land while also providing relatively high speed performance in water.