Fan drive assembly

Abstract

A fan drive assembly for a cooling system of an engine is provided. The engine includes an engine housing and a crankshaft. The fan drive assembly includes a fan pulley, a drive pulley, and a connection assembly. The fan pulley rotates a fan unit. The drive pulley defines a central cavity and rotates the fan pulley about a first axis. The connection assembly is provided in association with the engine and the drive pulley. The connection assembly includes a coupling member and a support bracket. The coupling member couples the crankshaft to the drive pulley. The support bracket is attached to the engine housing and is extended along a second axis. The second axis is perpendicular to the first axis. The support bracket further includes at least two attachment members and a hollow projecting portion. The hollow projecting portion axially extends through the central cavity of the drive pulley.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A fan drive assembly for a cooling system of an engine, the engine including a crankshaft and an engine housing, the fan drive assembly comprising:
 a fan pulley adapted to rotate a fan unit;   a drive pulley adapted to rotate the fan pulley about a first axis, the drive pulley defining a central cavity therewithin; and   a connection assembly provided in association with the engine and the drive pulley, the connection assembly including:
 a coupling member adapted to couple the crankshaft to the drive pulley; and 
 a support bracket fixedly attached to the engine housing and extending along a second axis, wherein the second axis is perpendicular to the first axis, the support bracket including at least two attachment members provided spaced apart from each other, the support bracket further including a hollow projecting portion axially extending through the central cavity of the drive pulley, 
 wherein the connection assembly is adapted to at least partially decouple a fan belt load from the crankshaft.