The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 12, 2006
Filed:
May. 21, 2004
Norman O. Berg, Roseau, MN (US);
Norman O. Berg, Roseau, MN (US);
Polaris Industries Inc., Medina, MN (US);
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for propelling snowmobiles are disclosed. A snowmobile in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a chassis defining a tunnel, a drive shaft at least partially disposed in the tunnel, and at least one drive sprocket fixed to the drive shaft. A drive track overlays a portion of the at least one drive sprocket. A bearing is disposed within an interior of the drive track for rotatably supporting the drive shaft. The drive shaft is preferably operatively coupled to an engine by a drivetrain. In an advantageous embodiment, the drivetrain comprising a reduction mechanism that is substantially disposed within the tunnel defined by the chassis. In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the reduction mechanism is disposed within a projection extending from a drive sprocket fixed to the drive shaft.