U.S. patent application number 09/753729 was filed with the patent office on 2001-08-23 for oil filter mounting arrangement for a motorcycle engine.
This patent application is currently assigned to SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Kawamoto, Hitoshi.
Application Number | 20010015191 09/753729 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 18565993 |
Filed Date | 2001-08-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010015191 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kawamoto, Hitoshi |
August 23, 2001 |
Oil Filter mounting arrangement for a motorcycle engine
Abstract
An overall cylindrical oil filter and oil cooler are arranged
widthwise of the vehicle on the left and right and projected
forwards, at the lower front part of the engine case of the engine.
The oil filter is disposed offset to the right side of the
vehicle's width or to the side opposite to the kickstand with
respect to the vehicle's center line while the spacing between the
exhaust pipes for #2 and #3 cylinders are arranged vertically below
the oil filter when the bike is held with the kickstand set down to
the ground.
Inventors: |
Kawamoto, Hitoshi;
(Hamamatsu-shi, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Martin E. Goldstein, Esq.
Darby & Darby
805 Third Avenue
New York
NY
10022
US
|
Assignee: |
SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION
|
Family ID: |
18565993 |
Appl. No.: |
09/753729 |
Filed: |
January 3, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
123/196R |
Current CPC
Class: |
F01M 11/03 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
123/196.00R |
International
Class: |
F01M 001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 21, 2000 |
JP |
2000-43009 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle engine for
use in a motorcycle wherein the inline multi-cylinder engine
comprises: a crankshaft laid out widthwise of the bodywork and
mounted in the front lower part of the bodywork; a multiple number
of exhaust pipes extended from the front upper part of the engine
to the lower part of the engine and bent toward the rear; an oil
pan having both side surfaces inclined; and a multiple number of
exhaust pipes extended to the rear while being split to the left
and right along the inclined side surfaces, forming a spacing
between the exhaust pipes, characterized in that an oil filter and
oil cooler is projectively arranged forwards, side by side, in the
lower front part of the engine; the oil filter is disposed on the
side opposite to the kickstand with respect to the vehicle's center
line; and the spacing between the exhaust pipes is positioned
vertically below the oil filter in the state where the kickstand is
set grounded.
2. The oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle engine for
use in a motorcycle according to claim 1, wherein when the
kickstand is retracted in the unused state, one of the exhaust
pipes is arranged vertically below the oil filter.
3. The oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle engine for
use in a motorcycle according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust pipes
are gathered below the engine while the oil filter is disposed in
front of the gathering of the exhaust pipes.
4. The oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle engine for
use in a motorcycle according to claim 2, wherein the exhaust pipes
are gathered below the engine while the oil filter is disposed in
front of the gathering of the exhaust pipes.
5. The oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle engine for
use in a motorcycle according to claim 1, wherein the motorcycle
bodywork including the engine sides is covered by a fairing.
6. The oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle engine for
use in a motorcycle according to claim 2, wherein the motorcycle
bodywork including the engine sides is covered by a fairing.
7. The oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle engine for
use in a motorcycle according to claim 3, wherein the motorcycle
bodywork including the engine sides is covered by a fairing.
8. The oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle engine for
use in a motorcycle according to claim 4, wherein the motorcycle
bodywork including the engine sides is covered by a fairing.
9. The oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle engine for
use in a motorcycle according to any of claims 1 through 8, wherein
the oil cooler is disposed on the same side as the water pump is,
with respect to the front to rear direction of the motorcycle.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] (1) Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an oil filter mounting
arrangement for a four-cycle, inline multi-cylinder motorcycle
engine.
[0003] (2) Description of the Prior Art
[0004] In many motorcycles having a four-cycle multi-cylinder
engine mounted thereon, an inline multi-cylinder engine unit having
its multiple cylinders inclined forwards with its crankshaft
extending widthwise of the bodywork is arranged and suspended in
the lower front part of the motorcycle bodywork. In the exhaust
system of such an engine, exhaust pipes connected to exhaust ports
on the upper front side of the forward tilting cylinders extend
from the front part of the engine unit downwards and further are
bent around the bottom of the engine unit and directed to the rear
so that they are connected together or individually to the muffler
arranged in the rear part of the motorcycle body.
[0005] In a motorcycle of the above type, in order to minimize
bulges to the left and right of the body, the oil filter of the
engine unit is attached to the front part of the engine case. In
particular, this oil filter arrangement is especially necessary for
a motorcycle with its bodywork totally covered by a fairing.
[0006] Since the exhaust pipes are laid out in front of and under
the oil filter, there occurs an inconvenience of the engine oil
dripping and running over the exhaust pipes when the filter is
replaced if no countermeasure is taken.
[0007] As a prior art oil filter layout configuration of an engine
unit of this type, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Hei 10 No.
238327 is disclosed. With reference to FIG. 1 showing this prior
art, of exhaust pipes 113 extending from the engine(power unit
140), two exhaust pipes 113 in the center are laid out to the left
and right sides avoiding the center of the engine, viewed from the
front to form a spacing between the exhaust pipes 113, where an oil
filter 152 is attached to the engine case. That is, it is
considered that the two exhaust pipes 113 in the center are
arranged apart in order to avoid oil dropping since the
inconvenience of oil dripping from oil filter 152 is attributed to
the fact that exhaust pipes 113 are located below oil filter 152.
In this figure, 146, 148 and 155 designate a head cover, AC
generator and breather chamber, respectively.
[0008] The arrangement where the oil filter is arranged in the
engine center while the exhaust pipes are laid out avoiding the
space under the oil filter viewed from the front, however, makes
the exhaust pipes spread and bulge to the left and right sides. As
a result, the motorcycle is possible to touch the road surface even
at a small bank angle when the bike is banked. Thus, this
arrangement constrains and impedes tilting of the bike at a large
bank angle.
[0009] Particularly for sport motorcycles, active riding
performance is important, so that inability to assume a large bank
angle means a low turning performance, a serious drawback.
[0010] There are cases where an oil cooler is provided along with
the oil filter in order to improve the engine cooling performance.
In such a case, if the oil filter and oil cooler are laid one over
another with respect to the motorcycle's front to rear direction,
as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Hei 7 No.
11955, these will not impede the exhaust pipes. However, if the
capacity of the oil cooler is attempted to be increased, the oil
cooler becomes large in diameter, hence unavoidably needing a large
space between the exhaust pipes, again raising the bank angle
concern. Alternatively, if the oil cooler is made too large with
respect to the vehicle's front to rear direction in order to secure
its capacity, there is a possibility that the oil filter might
interfere with the exhaust pipes upon replacement of the
filter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention has been devised in view of the above
drawbacks, and it is therefore an object of the present invention
to provide an oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle
motorcycle engine, which prevents oil dripping from the oil filter
from staining the exhaust pipes upon replacement of the oil filter
and permits riding at a large bank angle while providing an oil
cooler of a large capacity.
[0012] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention
is configured as follows:
[0013] In accordance with the first aspect of the present
invention, an oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle
engine for use in a motorcycle wherein the inline multi-cylinder
engine comprises: a crankshaft laid out widthwise of the bodywork
and mounted in the front lower part of the bodywork; a multiple
number of exhaust pipes extended from the front upper part of the
engine to the lower part of the engine and bent toward the rear; an
oil pan having both side surfaces inclined; and a multiple number
of exhaust pipes extended to the rear while being split to the left
and right along the inclined side surfaces, forming a spacing
between the exhaust pipes, is characterized in that an oil filter
and oil cooler is projectively arranged forwards, side by side, in
the lower front part of the engine; the oil filter is disposed on
the side opposite to the kickstand with respect to the vehicle's
center line; and the spacing between the exhaust pipes is
positioned vertically below the oil filter in the state where the
kickstand is set grounded.
[0014] In accordance with the second aspect of the present
invention, the oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle
engine for use in a motorcycle, having the above first feature is
characterized in that when the kickstand is retracted in the unused
state, one of the exhaust pipes is arranged vertically below the
oil filter.
[0015] In accordance with the third aspect of the present
invention, the oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle
engine for use in a motorcycle, having the above first feature is
characterized in that the exhaust pipes are gathered below the
engine while the oil filter is disposed in front of the gathering
of the exhaust pipes.
[0016] In accordance with the fourth aspect of the present
invention, the oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle
engine for use in a motorcycle, having the above second feature is
characterized in that the exhaust pipes are gathered below the
engine while the oil filter is disposed in front of the gathering
of the exhaust pipes.
[0017] In accordance with the fifth aspect of the present
invention, the oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle
engine for use in a motorcycle, having the above first feature is
characterized in that the motorcycle bodywork including the engine
sides is covered by a fairing.
[0018] In accordance with the sixth aspect of the present
invention, the oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle
engine for use in a motorcycle, having the above second feature is
characterized in that the motorcycle bodywork including the engine
sides is covered by a fairing.
[0019] In accordance with the seventh aspect of the present
invention, the oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle
engine for use in a motorcycle, having the above third feature is
characterized in that the motorcycle bodywork including the engine
sides is covered by a fairing.
[0020] In accordance with the eighth aspect of the present
invention, the oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle
engine for use in a motorcycle, having the above fourth feature is
characterized in that the motorcycle bodywork including the engine
sides is covered by a fairing.
[0021] In accordance with the ninth aspect of the present
invention, the oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle
engine for use in a motorcycle, having any of the above first
through eighth features is characterized in that the oil cooler is
disposed on the same side as the water pump is, with respect to the
front to rear direction of the motorcycle.
[0022] According to the present invention, since the oil filter and
oil cooler are arranged side by side and projected forwards, at the
lower front part of the engine, it is possible to enlarge the oil
filter and oil cooler in their radius direction and hence enlarge
their capacities without having to take care of obstacles. Further,
since the oil filter is arranged offset on the side opposite to the
kickstand with respect to the vehicle's center line while the
spacing between the exhaust pipes are formed vertically below the
oil filter when the kickstand is set down, the oil dropping during
replacement of the oil filter will not stain the exhaust pipes.
[0023] In the present invention, one of the preferable features is
that one of the exhaust pipes is arranged vertically below the oil
filter when the kickstand is retracted in its unused position. With
this arrangement, when the kickstand is set down(in the parking
state), the spacing between the exhaust pipes can be positioned
vertically below the oil filter. Since the spacing between the
exhaust pipes is not located vertically below the oil filter when
the motorcycle is set upright where the oil filter is not usually
replaced, it is possible to inhibit the spread of the exhaust pipes
to the left and right sides as low as possible. As a result, it is
possible to assume a large bank angle. Since the oil filter and oil
cooler are arranged side by side in the present invention, the
position of the oil filter is offset from the center of the
vehicle. If, in such a motorcycle, the spacing between the exhaust
pipes is positioned vertically below the oil filter with the
motorcycle positioned upright, the exhaust pipes will further
spread to the left and right.
[0024] Another preferable feature of the present invention is that
the exhaust pipes are gathered under the engine while the oil
filter is disposed in front of the gathering of the exhaust pipes.
Since there is a difference in exhaust pipe temperature across the
gathering and the temperature of the exhaust pipes after the
gathering is higher than that before that, placement of the oil
cooler at a site open to the atmosphere located before the
gathering where the exhaust pipes are lower in temperature, makes
it possible to improve the performance of cooling the oil. Further,
as to the oil filter, this configuration similarly makes the oil
unlikely to be affected by heat from the exhaust pipes, producing a
preferable result.
[0025] Still another preferable feature of the present invention is
that the bodywork of the motorcycle including the engine sides is
covered by the faring. Since, in such a motorcycle with a fairing,
the left and right sides of the engine are enclosed by the fairing,
the oil filter and oil cooler need to be arranged in front of the
engine. Therefore, this configuration of the invention is
particularly effective. Further, the oil cooler is arranged on the
mounted side of the water pump on the engine with respect to the
front to rear direction of the vehicle, the distance between the
oil cooler and water pump can be reduced thus making it possible to
minimize the length of the water hose. Accordingly, it is possible
to prevent the cooling water from being warmed by heat from the
engine and hence improve the cooling efficiency.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] FIG. 1 is a front view showing a layout configuration of an
oil filter in a conventional engine unit;
[0027] FIG. 2 is a side view of a motorcycle as an example of the
embodiment of the present invention;
[0028] FIG. 3 is a front view showing the motorcycle;
[0029] FIG. 4 is a front view showing the detail of the engine;
[0030] FIG. 5 is a left side view showing the engine;
[0031] FIG. 6 is a right side view showing essential parts of the
engine; and
[0032] FIG. 7 is a view for illustrating the state upon replacement
of an oil filter with the kickstand down.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0033] The embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0034] FIGS. 2 through 7 show an embodiment of the present
invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of a motorcycle, FIG. 3 is a front
view of the same, FIG. 4 is a front view showing the detail of the
engine unit, FIG. 5 is a left side view showing the engine unit,
FIG. 6 is a right side view showing essential parts of the engine
unit and FIG. 7 is a view for illustrating the state upon
replacement of the oil filter with the kickstand down.
[0035] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the motorcycle of this embodiment
has an inline multi-cylinder engine 10 with its crankshaft arranged
widthwise of the motorcycle body and mounted in the front lower
part of the bodywork between front and rear wheels, designated at
12 and 14, respectively, Engine 10 is suspended by a frame 16.
Arranged at the front end of frame 16 is a head pipe 16a for
rotatably supporting steering forks 18 (for bearing front wheel 12)
while a main tube 16b having a pivot shaft 22 (for axially
supporting a rear swing arm 20 for supporting the rear wheel)
formed therewith is arranged at the rear end. Frame 16 is
configured of a twin tube type and a pair of tank tubes 24 of
aluminum rectangular pipe having a rectangular section are extended
from steering head pipe 16a in the lower and rear direction. A fuel
tank 24a is mounted on and fixed to these tank tubes 24. Seat rails
26 are extended from the upper rear side of main tube 16b in the
upper and rear direction and a seat 28 is placed thereon.
[0036] A fairing 30 covering the motorcycle covers the bodywork
from the front steering above front wheel 12 up to the rear at main
tube 16b, enclosing engine 10 which is suspended by frame 16,
having an overall bullet configuration so as to reduce air
resistance while travelling. In order to shape fairing 30 as close
to the bodywork as possible, a through-opening 30a to expose the
magneto cover of an engine case 10a is formed. Further, vent
windows 30b are formed on the front and side faces in order to
provide ventilation. A kickstand (prop stand) 54 is pivotally
attached at the left-side lower end of main tube 16b and supported
with a spring so that the stand can be kept at the supporting and
retracted positions.
[0037] As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, engine 10 has four cylinders (#1
to #4) each having an exhaust port 34 on the front top thereof,
which is coupled to an exhaust pipe 32. Each exhaust pipe 32
extends downwards from the front part of engine 10 towards the
rear, being overall L-shaped along the engine's front lower part.
Exhaust pipes 32 are gathered below the engine at the gathering
36a, which is coupled to a muffler 36b disposed in the rear
body.
[0038] As a cooling system of engine 10, a radiator 38 is disposed
in front of engine 10 while a water pump 40 is arranged at a rear
lower site of engine 10. The intake port, designated at 40a, of
water pump 40 is connected to an outlet 38a of radiator 38, by an
intake water hose 42a laid out on the lower left side of the
engine. One of the inlet ports to radiator 38, designated at 38b,
is coupled to an aftermentioned water-cooled type oil cooler 44 by
way of a water hose 42b. A water hose 42c is disposed to provide
communication from this oil cooler 44 to the outlet port 40b of
water pump 40. The other inlet port 38c to radiator 38 is coupled
to the cylinder head 10b of engine 10 by way of a water hose 42d. A
water hose 42e is disposed to provide communication from the
cylinder block 10c to an ejection port 40c of water pump 40. A
reservoir tank 46 for storing cooling water is arranged above water
pump 40.
[0039] Provided for engine case 10a at the bottom of engine 10 is
an oil pan 48 projected downwards with its side faces (48a, 48a)
inclined forming a downward ridge from the front view. Four exhaust
pipes 32-32 from cylinders #1 to #4 are split, two at each side and
extended along the respective inclined side faces 48a, 48a to the
rear so as to create a spacing 50 between the two centered exhaust
pipes 32 and 32 for cylinders #2 and #3.
[0040] An oil filter 52 and oil cooler 44, both being substantially
cylindrical are arranged widthwise of the vehicle, on the left and
right, being projected forwards, in the lower front of engine case
10a of engine 10. Oil filter 52 is a container having a filter
element in an external case with an oil passage (not shown)
connected to the engine case 10a side. In this configuration, oil
filter 52 is arranged offset as shown in FIG. 4, to the side (the
right side) opposite to kickstand 54 with respect to the vehicle's
center line C and the spacing 50 between exhaust pipes 32 and 32
for #2 and #3 cylinders is adapted to be located vertically below
(shown with a line V in FIG. 7) oil filter 52 when the motorcycle
stands with kickstand 54 set grounded.
[0041] According to the motorcycle of this embodiment, since oil
filter 52 and oil cooler 44 are arranged side by side and projected
forwards in the front lower part of engine 10, the capacities of
oil filters 52 and oil cooler 44 can be enlarged in the front to
rear direction without the necessity of having to take care of
obstacles.
[0042] In this case, taking into account the work performance of
replacing oil filter 52, it is normal to dispose the oil filter at
the side of oil cooler 44 in front of engine case 10a as stated
above, placing it at other positions makes the replacement
difficult and unfeasible. Further, water cooled type oil cooler 44
is also preferred to be as large in capacity as possible in order
to improve its cooling performance. Taking this fact into account,
the above positioning of the attachment is desirable in view of
attachment space. That is, oil filter 52 and oil cooler 44 should
be arranged side by side. Therefore, oil filter 52 cannot be
mounted at the center of engine 10 as in the prior art (the
above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Hei 10 No.
238327). In contrast, in this embodiment, the spacing between the
exhaust pipes is not positioned below the oil filter. That is, oil
filter 52 is arranged offset to the side opposite to kickstand 54
with respect to vehicle's center line C as shown in FIG. 4. Spacing
50 between exhaust pipes 32 and 32 for cylinders #2 and #3 is
positioned vertically below oil filter as shown in FIG. 7 when
kickstand 54 is set grounded. Therefore, with this motorcycle set
in the parking position in which the oil element of oil filter 52
is replaced, oil dripping from the attached portion of oil filter
52 flows down through the spacing, so that it is possible to
prevent the oil from staining exhaust pipes 32 and 32.
[0043] With kickstand 54 retracted or unused as shown in FIG. 4,
one of the exhaust pipes 32 is disposed vertically below oil filter
52. By this arrangement, spacing 50 between exhaust pipes 32 and 32
can be positioned vertically below oil filter 52. Since spacing 50
between exhaust pipes 32 and 32 is not located vertically below oil
filter 52 when the motorcycle is set upright at which oil filter 52
is not usually replaced, exhaust pipes 32, 32 can be gathered at
around the engine bottom, and it is possible to inhibit the spread
of exhaust pipes 32, 32 to the left and right sides as low as
possible. As a result, it is possible for the motorcycle to assume
a large bank angle and hence prevent hindering of riding
performance.
[0044] Exhaust pipes 32-32 are gathered under engine 10 while oil
filter 52 is arranged in front of gathering 36a of the exhaust
pipes. Since there is a difference in exhaust pipe temperature
across gathering 36a and the temperature of the exhaust pipes after
gathering 36a is higher than that before gathering 36a, placement
of oil cooler 44 at a site open to the atmosphere located before
gathering 36a where exhaust pipes 32-32 are lower in temperature,
makes it possible to improve the performance of cooling the oil.
Further, as to oil filter 52, this configuration similarly makes
the oil unlikely to be affected by heat from the exhaust pipes,
producing a preferable result. Since oil cooler 44 is of a water
cooled type, attached to the lower front part of the engine and
located behind exhaust pipes 32, 32, water hose 42c coupled to oil
cooler 44 may be heated. To avoid this, oil cooler 44 is arranged
on the mounted side of water pump 40 on the engine (on the left
side with respect to the front to rear direction of the vehicle in
this embodiment: on the opposite side of the oil filter) as shown
in FIGS. 4 to 6, thus minimizing the length of water hose 42c,
which leads the cooling water injected from water pump 40 to oil
cooler 44, whereby the temperature of the cooling water to oil
cooler 44 can be kept low. Further, as seen in FIG. 4, at least two
fixing bolts of the oil cooler are disposed at positions where they
are not hidden by the exhaust pipes.
[0045] The bodywork of the motorcycle including the engine 10 sides
is covered by fairing 30. Since the left and right sides of the
engine are enclosed by the fairing, oil filter 52 and oil cooler 44
need to be arranged at the front of engine 10. Therefore, this
configuration of the invention is particularly effective.
[0046] It should be noted that oil filter mounting arrangement for
a four-cycle engine of the present invention is not limited to the
above embodiment.
[0047] As has been described, the oil filter mounting arrangement
for a four-cycle engine of the present invention enables the
motorcycle to be tilted at a large bank angle whilst not allowing
dripping oil to stain the exhaust pipes upon replacement of the oil
filter, as well as contributing to enlargement of the capacity of
the oil cooler.
* * * * *