JP7056352B2 - Front cowl structure and motorcycle - Google Patents

Description

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a front cowl structure such as a motorcycle and a motorcycle having the front cowl structure.

Conventionally, there are motorcycles having a front cowl on which a straightening vane is formed.
For example, in Cited Document 1, a plurality of straightening vanes (louvers) that cross the opening on the left and right of the front cowl are provided so as to be arranged vertically. Each straightening vane is provided substantially parallel to the vehicle front-rear direction. When the connecting portion is molded with a die without front and rear, it can be integrally molded with this connecting portion, so that an increase in the number of parts can be suppressed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-51411

By the way, in the space partially covered by the front cowl, radiants such as an engine, an exhaust pipe, a battery, a motor, an engine control unit (ECU) or a rectifier are arranged. In order to efficiently cool these radiated materials, it is desirable to use air cooling using running wind.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, the air guiding efficiency to these radiating materials is not taken into consideration, and there is a problem that high cooling efficiency for air cooling cannot be obtained.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a front cowl structure and a motorcycle having improved cooling efficiency of heat-generating substances.

The front cowl structure according to the present embodiment is a front cowl structure having an opening at the back of the front wheel of a motorcycle and covering the front of the vehicle, and the front cowl structure extending in the vehicle width direction and provided at the opening is lateral to a plurality of front cowls. A fin, a front cowl vertical fin extending in the vehicle height direction so as to connect the front cowl horizontal fin, and a flow velocity improving portion having at least one side of each of the front cowl horizontal fin and the front cowl vertical fin. The surface shapes of the front cowl horizontal fins and the front cowl vertical fins are formed into an expanded shape that becomes wider toward the rear of the vehicle, so that the opening shape of the flow velocity improving portion is narrowed toward the rear of the vehicle. It is something that can be done.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, a front cowl structure and a motorcycle having improved cooling efficiency of heat generating substances are provided.

Schematic left side view of a motorcycle to which the front cowl structure according to the embodiment is applicable. Schematic front view of the front cowl in the embodiment. The cross-sectional side view when the front cowl in an embodiment is cut at the vehicle center line C of FIG. 2 and viewed from the right side of the vehicle. The perspective view when the front cowl in an embodiment is cut at the vehicle center line C of FIG. An enlarged view of the vicinity of the flow velocity improving portion of the front cowl in the embodiment. A schematic plan sectional view illustrating a mode of guiding air to a radiating material arranged in an internal space.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the following embodiments, the front cowl structure according to the present invention will be described with the example of a full cowl, but the cowl type is not limited thereto. For example, even a half cowl or a bikini cowl can be applied as long as it has a cowl on the back of the front wheel. Further, the term of a motorcycle shall include an electric motorcycle and a motorcycle having two front or rear wheels.

In the following embodiments, the expressions of up / down, left / right, and front / back are based on the driver (rider) when the vehicle is on board. Further, in each figure, the front of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow FR, the rear of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow RE, the leftward direction of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow L, the rightward direction of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow R, and the upward direction of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow U. In each figure, for the sake of simplicity, some configurations may be omitted as appropriate.

First, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the front cowl 11 having the front cowl structure according to the embodiment and its peripheral structure will be outlined.
FIG. 1 is a schematic left side view of a motorcycle 10 to which the front cowl structure according to the embodiment can be applied.

The front cowl 11 is, for example, a pair of left and right front side cowls 12, a front head cowl 13 fixed to the upper ends of the left and right front side cowls 12 above the front of the vehicle, and a front arranged below the front side cowls 12. It is composed of a side cowl 14, a front cowl horizontal fin 33 and a front cowl vertical fin 34 (FIG. 2) arranged below the front head cowl 13 and behind the front wheels 17.

The front cowl 11 is attached so as to cover the front portion of the vehicle body frame 19 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, schematic lines of a part of the body frame 19, front wheels 17, rear wheels 21, front forks 20, swing arms 22 and other cowl parts 23 (body side cowl, seat rear cowl, etc.) are shown by two-dot broken lines. ing.

The vehicle body frame 19 is assembled by, for example, three-dimensionally connecting a head pipe 24, a main frame 26, a down frame 27, and a lower frame (not shown), and an engine 41 (FIG. 6) is mounted therein. It forms a space 28 (Fig. 3, etc.).

One or a pair of left and right main frames 26 extend diagonally downward and rearward from the head pipe 24 at the upper end of the vehicle body frame 19. The pair of left and right down frames 27 extend downward from the head pipe 24 and are connected to the rear end portion of the main frame 26 via the lower frame constituting the bottom portion of the vehicle body frame 19.
The front side cowl 12 is attached to, for example, the left and right down frames 27 and the main frame 26, and covers the side portion of the internal space 28 formed by these vehicle body frames 19.

Further, the front side lower cowl 14 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “lower cowl 14”) is attached to the down frame 27 and the lower frame below the front side cowl 12. The lower ends of the left and right lower cowls 14 are connected to each other and integrated.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the front cowl 11 in the embodiment.
The front cowl 11 has an opening 29 at the back of the front wheel 17, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the opening 29 of the front cowl 11 is open on the entire surface from the lower end of the front head cowl 13 to the joint portion of the left and right lower cowls 14.

A part of the front cowl 11 has a double cowl structure of a front cowl outer 31 and a front cowl inner 32.
The front cowl inner 32 covers the inside of the front cowl outer 31 over both the front side cowl 12 and the lower cowl 14. The side inner region of the front cowl 11 includes the front cowl inner 32, the front cowl horizontal fin 33 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “horizontal fin 33”), and the front cowl vertical fin 34 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “vertical fin 34”). Consists of.

A plurality of lateral fins 33 are attached to the front cowl inner 32 so as to extend in the vehicle width direction when viewed from the front of the vehicle. That is, the lateral fins 33 are provided in the opening 29 so as to bridge the left and right front cowl inners 32 when the front cowl inners 32 are attached to the vehicle. A plurality of lateral fins 33 are provided, for example, from the middle abdomen of the front side cowl 12 to the lower end of the lower cowl 14 to reinforce the opening 29.

Further, the vertical fins 34 extend in the vehicle height direction to connect the horizontal fins 33 to each other, or the horizontal fins 33 and the front cowl inner 32. A plurality of vertical fins 34, for example, three or four, may be provided between the two adjacent horizontal fins 33. By connecting the vertical fins 34 to the horizontal fins 33, a flow velocity improving port 36 having the horizontal fins 33 and the vertical fins 34 on the sides is formed in the opening 29.

Next, the flow velocity improving unit 37 provided with the flow velocity improving port 36 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the front cowl 11 in the embodiment when the front cowl 11 is cut along the vehicle center line C of FIG. 2 and viewed from the right side of the vehicle. FIG. 3 corresponds to a view of the front cowl 11 showing the outer surface in FIG. 1 as viewed from the opposite inside.

Further, FIG. 4 is a perspective view when the front cowl 11 in the embodiment is cut along the vehicle center line C in FIG.
Further, FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the flow velocity improving portion 37 of the front cowl 11 in the embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, in the front cowl 11 in the embodiment, the lateral fins 33 are formed in an expanded shape that becomes wider toward the rear of the vehicle. That is, the lateral fin 33 has a <shape that expands toward the rear of the vehicle, that is, a wedge-shaped surface shape.

Similarly, the vertical fins 34 are also formed in an expanded shape that becomes wider toward the rear of the vehicle. When the flow velocity improving portion 37 has the horizontal fins 33 and the vertical fins 34 having such a shape in the frame, the flow velocity improving port 36 has an opening shape that is narrowed toward the rear of the vehicle. That is, the area of the inlet 38 of the traveling wind 43 at the flow velocity improving port 36 is larger than the area of the outlet 39 of the traveling wind 43. Therefore, the traveling wind 43 that is about to pass through the flow velocity improving port 36 is accelerated by increasing its flux density at the flow velocity improving port 36.

The traveling wind 43 having an increased flow velocity flows vigorously into the cowl to remove the high-temperature air layer covering the radiator 40 such as the engine 41 and the exhaust pipe 42, and further cools the radiator 40 with the subsequent cooling air. Can be made to. That is, by increasing the speed of the traveling wind 43 passing through the flow velocity improving port 36, the efficiency of guiding the air into the internal space 28 is improved, so that the cooling efficiency of the internal space 28 is improved.

The heat radiating material 40 includes a heat radiating material 40, such as an exhaust pipe 42, which does not generate heat by itself but needs to be heated and cooled by an adjacent heat generating material such as an engine 41. The radiator 40 also includes a battery, a motor, an ECU (Engine Control Unit) or a rectifier (not shown).

By the way, FIG. 6 is a schematic plan sectional view illustrating a mode of guiding air to the heat radiating material 40 arranged in the internal space 28.
Most of the heat radiating materials 40 such as the engine 41 are installed near the vehicle center line C as shown in FIG.

However, the traveling wind 43 is separated into left and right by the front wheels 17, and the ratio of traveling straight from both sides of the front wheels 17 to the internal space 28 is high. That is, conventionally, the traveling wind 43 has a large proportion of passing through the internal space 28 without contributing to the cooling of the heat radiating material 40. Therefore, in the area of the internal space 28, particularly in the area near the vehicle center line C on the back surface of the front wheel 17, the traveling wind 43 is difficult to enter and the generated heat is likely to stay.

Therefore, it is desirable to gradually incline or bend the surface of the front cowl inner 32 toward the rear of the vehicle toward the vehicle center line C side when viewed from above the vehicle. By forming the front cowl inner 32 in such a shape, the air passages of the flow velocity improving ports 36 formed on both sides of the front wheels 17 are directed toward the vehicle center line C, and the traveling wind 43 is guided toward the radiator 40. I can guide you.

Further, the inclined shape or the curved shape of the front cowl inner 32 also narrows the outflow port 39 of the flow velocity improving port 36 having the front cowl inner 32 as a part of the side. That is, such an inclined shape or a curved shape of the front cowl inner 32 further improves the air guiding efficiency to the radiating material 40 and enhances the cooling efficiency from the viewpoint of also increasing the speed of the traveling wind 43. Contribute.

Further, it is desirable that the lateral fins 33 be widened as they approach the front cowl inners 32 at both side edges of the opening 29 when viewed from the top of the vehicle.
By opening the shape of the flow velocity improving ports 36 on both sides of the front wheel 17 larger on the vehicle center line C side than on the front cowl inner 32 side in this way, the traveling wind 43 can be similarly guided to the radiator 40. can.

It is desirable that the horizontal fins 33 and the vertical fins 34 are formed in an integral structure having no joint. This is because by forming the horizontal fins 33 and the vertical fins 34 in an integral structure, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing man-hours and the assembling man-hours and improve the assembling accuracy. Further, for the same reason, it is desirable that the front cowl inner 32 is integrally formed in addition to the horizontal fins 33 and the vertical fins 34.

According to the front cowl structure of at least one embodiment described above, it is possible to improve the cooling efficiency of the heat-generating material of the motorcycle 10 by forming the flow velocity improving port 36.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, changes, and combinations can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. The embodiments and variations thereof are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof, as are included in the scope and gist of the invention.

For example, when the front side cowl, the lower cowl and the front head cowl are not provided, the front cowl can be configured only by the front cowl inner, the horizontal fins and the vertical fins, and this case is also included in the present invention.

10 ... Motorcycle, 11 ... Front cowl, 12 ... Front side cowl, 13 ... Front head cowl, 14 ... Front side lower cowl (Low cowl), 17 ... Front wheel, 19 ... Body frame, 20 ... Front fork, 21 ... Rear wheel, 22 ... Swing arm, 23 ... Other cowl parts, 24 ... Head pipe, 26 ... Main frame, 27 ... Down frame, 28 ... Internal space, 29 ... Opening, 31 ... Front cowl outer, 32 ... Front cowl inner, 33 ... front cowl horizontal fin (horizontal fin), 34 ... front cowl vertical fin (vertical fin), 36 ... flow rate improving port, 37 ... flow rate improving part, 38 ... inlet, 39 ... outlet, 40 ... radiator, 41 ( 40) ... engine, 42 (40) ... exhaust pipe, 43 ... running wind, C ... vehicle center line.

Claims (7)

In the front cowl that has an opening in the back of the front wheel of a motorcycle and covers the front of the vehicle.
A plurality of front cowl lateral fins extending in the vehicle width direction and provided in the opening,
The front cowl vertical fins extending in the vehicle height direction so as to connect the front cowl horizontal fins,
A flow velocity improving portion having at least one side of each of the front cowl horizontal fin and the front cowl vertical fin is provided.
The surface shapes of the front cowl horizontal fins and the front cowl vertical fins are formed into an expanded shape that becomes wider toward the rear of the vehicle, so that the opening shape of the flow velocity improving portion is narrowed toward the rear of the vehicle .
The front cowl lateral fin has a front cowl structure having an expanded shape that widens toward both side edges of the opening from the vehicle center line extending in the vehicle height direction when viewed from the front of the vehicle . The front cowl structure according to claim 1, wherein the flow velocity improving portion is formed on both sides of the front wheel when viewed from the front of the vehicle. The front cowl structure according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the front cowl lateral fin becomes wider as it approaches both side edges of the opening when viewed from above the vehicle. At least a part of the front cowl is composed of a double structure of a front cowl outer and a front cowl inner that covers the inside of the front cowl outer.
The front cowl inner is
The front cowl structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , which has a surface that is inclined or curved toward the inside and rear diagonally so as to gradually narrow the opening toward the rear of the vehicle when viewed from the top of the vehicle. .. The front cowl structure according to claim 4 , wherein the front cowl inner, the front cowl horizontal fin, and the front cowl vertical fin are formed by an integral structure having no joint. A motorcycle having a front cowl structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . The automatic according to claim 6 , wherein at least one radiator of the engine, the exhaust pipe, the battery, the motor, the engine control unit and the rectifier is arranged in a range that can be cooled by the traveling wind flowing from the flow velocity improving unit. Two-wheeled vehicle.

Images