US-20260124866-A1 - SPINDLE FOR A RECREATIONAL VEHICLE

US20260124866A1US 20260124866 A1US20260124866 A1US 20260124866A1US-20260124866-A1

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure describe a recreational vehicle spindle for use with a snowmobile, a snow bike, all-terrain vehicle (ATV), or a side by side vehicle (S×S or UTV). The spindle includes a body with one or more mounts for securing a suspension component and a ground engaging member thereto. The body of the spindle may include one or more of a window, a recess, a leading edge, a triangular cross-sectional shape, an integrated steering stop, and an outboard side that includes a flat surface.

Inventors

Jacob Tyler Crosby
Nathan Lee Blomker

Assignees

ARCTIC CAT INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251229

Claims (20)

1 . A spindle for a snow vehicle, comprising: a base including a ski mount configured to pivotally couple a ski about an axis of rotation; a spindle body extending upward from the base; an upper control arm mount on the spindle body and having a first mount hole configured to receive a first fastener for pivotally coupling an upper control arm to the spindle body; and a lower control arm mount on the spindle body between the base and the upper control arm mount and having a second mount hole configured to receive a second fastener for pivotally coupling a lower control arm to the spindle body, wherein the spindle body includes an upper portion extending between the upper control arm mount and the lower control arm mount and a lower portion extending between the lower control arm mount and the base, and wherein a first volume of the spindle body in the upper portion is less than a second volume of the spindle body in the lower portion such that the volume of the spindle body increases from the upper control arm mount toward the base.
2 . The spindle of claim 1 , wherein the spindle body has a v-shaped or triangular cross-sectional shape along at least part of a length between the upper control arm mount and the base.
3 . The spindle of claim 1 , wherein the first volume is defined as a volume of the spindle body between the upper control arm mount and the lower control arm mount, and the second volume is defined as a volume of the spindle body between the lower control arm mount and the base.
4 . The spindle of claim 1 , wherein the first volume is between about 65% and about 85% of the second volume.
5 . The spindle of claim 4 , wherein the first volume is between about 73% and about 80% of the second volume, or is less than the second volume by a factor of about 0.3 such that, for a normalized first volume of 1, the second volume is about 1.3.
6 . The spindle of claim 1 , wherein a change in the volume of the spindle body from the upper portion to the lower portion is one of substantially linear or non-linear.
7 . A spindle for a snow vehicle, comprising: a base including a ski mount configured to pivotally couple a ski about an axis of rotation and defining a base longitudinal axis; a spindle body extending upward from the base; an upper control arm mount on the spindle body and having a first mount hole configured to receive a first fastener for pivotally coupling an upper control arm to the spindle body; and a lower control arm mount on the spindle body between the base and the upper control arm mount and having a second mount hole configured to receive a second fastener for pivotally coupling a lower control arm to the spindle body, wherein the spindle body includes an upper portion extending between the upper control arm mount and the lower control arm mount and a lower portion extending between the lower control arm mount and the base, wherein the spindle body includes an inboard side and an outboard side that intersect to define a leading edge extending from the upper control arm mount toward the base, wherein, in a first region of the spindle body in the upper portion, the leading edge is oriented at an acute angle relative to the base longitudinal axis, and, in a second region of the spindle body in the lower portion, the leading edge is oriented substantially parallel to the base longitudinal axis such that an orientation of the leading edge rotates as the spindle body extends from the upper control arm mount toward the base, and wherein a volume of the spindle body in the upper portion is less than a volume of the spindle body in the lower portion.
8 . The spindle of claim 7 , wherein the orientation of the leading edge rotates between about 10° and about 30° as the spindle body extends from the upper control arm mount toward the base.
9 . The spindle of claim 8 , wherein the leading edge in the first region is oriented at about 20° relative to the base longitudinal axis and the leading edge in the second region is oriented at about 0° relative to the base longitudinal axis.
10 . The spindle of claim 7 , wherein a change in the orientation of the leading edge from the first region in the upper portion to the second region in the lower portion is substantially linear.
11 . The spindle of claim 7 , wherein the spindle body has a v-shaped or triangular cross-sectional shape in at least one of the upper portion or the lower portion.
12 . The spindle of claim 7 , wherein at least one cross-section of the spindle body taken between the upper control arm mount and the base includes at least one concave side defined by a recess formed in the spindle body.
13 . A spindle for a snow vehicle, comprising: a base including a ski mount configured to pivotally couple a ski about an axis of rotation and defining a base longitudinal axis; a spindle body extending upward from the base; an upper control arm mount on the spindle body and having a first mount hole configured to receive a first fastener for pivotally coupling an upper control arm to the spindle body; and a lower control arm mount on the spindle body between the base and the upper control arm mount and having a second mount hole configured to receive a second fastener for pivotally coupling a lower control arm to the spindle body, wherein the spindle body includes an upper portion extending between the upper control arm mount and the lower control arm mount and a lower portion extending between the lower control arm mount and the base, wherein the spindle body from the upper control arm mount to the base has a v-shaped or triangular cross-sectional shape at least in part defined by an inboard side and an outboard side that intersect at a leading edge, wherein a volume of the spindle body in the upper portion is less than a volume of the spindle body in the lower portion such that the volume of the spindle body increases from the upper control arm mount toward the base.
14 . The spindle of claim 13 , wherein a bottom flat triangular region is provided where the lower portion of the spindle body is joined to the ski mount, the bottom flat triangular region being substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the ski mount such that, in plan view, a profile of the spindle body is narrower along a forward portion of the base and wider along a rearward portion of the base.
15 . The spindle of claim 13 , wherein a vertex of the v-shaped or triangular cross-sectional shape defines the leading edge and, when the spindle is attached to the snow vehicle, the leading edge is configured to engage and shed snow as the snow vehicle moves through snow.
16 . The spindle of claim 13 , wherein the spindle body has a curvilinear perimeter when viewed from at least one of a side view, a top view, or a front view.
17 . The spindle of claim 13 , wherein at least one cross-section of the spindle body between the upper control arm mount and the base includes one or more concave sides defined by recesses positioned along a length of the spindle body.
18 . The spindle of claim 13 , wherein the spindle body further includes an outboard side having a flat surface positioned between an upper portion of the outboard side and a lower portion of the outboard side, the flat surface extending generally vertically between a location below the lower control arm mount and a location above the lower control arm mount and being positioned at least partially outboard of the base; and wherein the upper portion of the outboard side extends inward from the flat surface and the lower portion of the outboard side extends inward from the flat surface such that the flat surface forms a flat vertex of a V-shape when viewed from at least one of a top view or a front view.
19 . The spindle of claim 13 , wherein an angle between the upper portion of the spindle body and the lower portion of the spindle body, when viewed from at least one of a side view or an outboard view, is one of an obtuse angle or approximately 90°.
20 . The spindle of claim 13 , wherein a vertex of a V-shape defined by the upper portion and the lower portion of the spindle body is positioned at one of: between a tie rod mount and the lower control arm mount, between the upper control arm mount and the lower control arm mount, or adjacent to the lower control arm mount.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/955,842, filed on Nov. 21, 2024, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/988,304, filed on Nov. 16, 2022, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/404,841, filed Sep. 8, 2022 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/310,276, filed Feb. 15, 2022. A claim of priority is made to the aforementioned applications. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. BACKGROUND Snowmobiles are popular land vehicles used for transportation or recreation in cold and snowy conditions. All-terrain vehicles (ATVs), side-by-side vehicles (S×S or UTVs), and other four-wheeled vehicles are utilized in both on-and off-road recreational and productive activities. In general, a snowmobile has a chassis on or around which the various components of the snowmobile are assembled. Typical snowmobiles include skis for steering a seat, handlebars, and an endless track for propulsion mounted to a central chassis. The skies serve to facilitate steering as well as to provide flotation of the front of the snowmobile over the snow in which it is operated. The skis may be pivoted to steer the snowmobile, for example, by turning the handlebars. The skis support the front of the snowmobile using a suspension system that may include suspension or connecting arms mounted to the snowmobile chassis that attach to and support a spindle. Each spindle may be attached to a ski to form the operative link in the steering system whereby movement of the handlebars causes rotation of the spindles, which causes the skis to turn. Additionally, four-wheelers such as ATVs and UTVs can utilize one or more spindles. Although this disclosure generally discusses snowmobiles, methods and structures discussed herein in the context of snowmobiles may also be used with four-wheelers having wheels or tires, as opposed to skis. SUMMARY In some embodiments, a spindle includes a body and a fin, wherein the body has at least one recess and the fin has at least one window. Embodiments further include a spindle with a body with a triangular cross-sectional shape. Embodiments include a spindle that has a body with an outboard side, wherein the outboard side has a flat surface positioned between two inboard extending portions of the body. In at least one embodiment a spindle includes a base defining a ski mount, an upper control arm mount, a body extending between the base and the upper control arm mount, and a lower control arm mount positioned on the body between the base and the upper control arm mount; wherein at least a first portion of the body between the base and the upper control arm mount is substantially flat along an outboard edge. In some embodiments, a spindle includes: a base including a ski mount defining an axis of rotation; an upper control arm mount; a lower control arm mount; a tie rod mount including a fin extending therefrom; a body defining a leading edge extending between the base and the upper control arm mount, wherein a first portion of the leading edge extending from the base to adjacent the lower control arm mount extends along a first line that intersects a horizontal plane extending through the ski mount axis of rotation forward of the ski mount axis of rotation, wherein a second portion of the leading edge extending from adjacent the lower control arm mount to adjacent an upper connection between the fin and the body extends along a second line that intersects the horizontal plane rearward of the ski mount axis of rotation. Optionally the body further includes a third portion of the leading edge extending from adjacent the upper connection between the fin and the body to the upper control arm mount extends along a third line that intersects the horizontal plane forward of the ski mount axis of rotation. In other embodiments, a spindle includes: a base including a ski mount defining an axis of rotation; an upper control arm mount; a lower control arm mount; a body defining a leading edge comprising a complex shape extending from the base to the upper control arm mount, wherein a first portion of the leading edge extending from the base to adjacent the lower control arm mount extends along a first line that intersects a horizontal plane extending through the ski mount axis of rotation forward of the ski mount axis of rotation, wherein a second portion of the leading edge extending from a point on the body between the lower control arm mount and the upper control arm mount extends along a second line that intersects the horizontal plane rearward of the ski mount axis of rotation. In additional embodiments, a spindle includes: a base including a ski mount defining an axis of rotation; an upper control arm mount; a lower control arm mount; a body defining a leading edge extending between the base and the upper control arm mount, wherein a first