Internal-combustion engines – Lubricators – Crankcase – pressure control
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-03
2002-08-20
Hirsch, Paul J. (Department: 3747)
Internal-combustion engines
Lubricators
Crankcase, pressure control
Reexamination Certificate
active
06435155
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oil filter mounting arrangement for a four-cycle, inline multi-cylinder motorcycle engine.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 an
Darby & Darby
Hirsch Paul J.
Suzuki Motor Corporation
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