JP2003300493A - Oil storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an oil storage device for effectively reducing a cost by effectively arranging and constituting the periphery of an oil tank. <P>SOLUTION: A front wheel 12 and a rear wheel 13 are arranged in a front part and a rear part of a car body frame 11, and a steering device 14 is equipped between the mutual front wheels 12. An engine unit 15 is mounted on the car body frame 11 between the front wheel 12 and the rear wheel 13. A radiator device 100 is arranged between the steering device 14 and the engine unit 15, and the oil tank 200 is arranged under a part between the steering device 14 and the radiator device 100. A radiator cover 102 is installed on a pair of left and right frame materials 21 extended in the almost vertical direction in the vicinity of the steering device 14, and the oil tank 200 is housed in a position sandwiched by the frame materials 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a saddle-ride type all-terrain vehicle (ATV; All Terrain) called a buggy vehicle or the like.
In particular, it relates to an oil storage device (oil tank) in a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art This type of vehicle has excellent running performance and exhibits high maneuverability not only on road, but also under severe running conditions especially on off road or on the waterfront. Its basic structure is, for example, 4 in front and behind the body frame.
It has two wheels, a steering device is installed between the front wheels, an engine is mounted on the body frame, and a fuel tank and a seat are mounted on top of it.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a conventional vehicle. In the drawing, a pair of left and right front wheels 2 and rear wheels 3 are arranged in front of and behind a body frame 1, and are located between the front and rear wheels 2, 3. As described above, the engine unit 4 is mounted on the body frame 1. Further, it has a steering device (steering shaft or the like) 5 for steering the front wheels 2. Especially when the engine lubrication is a dry sump type, an oil tank 6 separate from the engine unit 4 is provided.

Further, in a water-cooled engine, a radiator device for cooling the engine unit 4 is arranged, for example, in the vicinity of the front end portion of the vehicle body frame 1. Alternatively, it is arranged by using an appropriate space in the body frame 1. In that case, the oil tank 6 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
In the illustrated example, it is arranged on the front side of the steering shaft.

[0005]

However, in the conventional oil storage device, the oil tank 6 is arranged far away from the engine unit 4. Therefore, the weight balance of the vehicle as a whole is biased forward, which greatly affects the setting of the center of gravity of the vehicle. In addition, a long oil hose 7 has to be routed between the engine unit 4 and the oil storage device, which is troublesome to handle and is disadvantageous in terms of weight and cost.

Further, when the oil tank 6 is arranged in front of the radiator device, for example, the front part of the oil tank is blocked, so that the cooling performance of the radiator device is deteriorated as it is. In that case, in order to protect the oil tank 6 from flying stones and the like, it was necessary to arrange a guard or protector near the front surface.

Further, when the oil tank 6 is divided in the front-rear direction, particularly in the dry sump type, in order to secure a sufficient oil supply amount, it is large in the left-right direction at a position where it does not interfere with the body frame 1. You need space. However, there are large restrictions on the layout of each member or device, and it is practically difficult to construct a slim vehicle body.

In view of the above situation, it is an object of the present invention to provide an oil storage device that effectively disposes around an oil tank and effectively reduces the cost and the like.

[0009]

In an oil storage device of the present invention, front wheels and rear wheels are arranged at a front portion and a rear portion of a vehicle body frame, a steering device is provided between the front wheels, and the front wheels and the rear wheels are provided. In a vehicle in which an engine unit is mounted on the vehicle body frame between rear wheels, an oil storage device for storing oil for lubricating the engine unit, wherein a radiator device is arranged between the steering device and the engine unit. And an oil tank is arranged below the steering device and the radiator device.

In the oil storage device of the present invention,
A pair of left and right frame members extending in a substantially vertical direction is provided near the steering device, and the oil tank is housed in a position sandwiched by the frame members.

In the oil storage device of the present invention,
The lower portion of the oil tank is formed to be longer in the front-rear direction so that the horizontal cross-sectional area thereof is larger than that of the upper portion of the oil tank.

Further, in the oil storage device of the present invention,
The left and right width of the lower portion of the oil tank is narrowed, and a step portion having an appropriate spread in a substantially horizontal direction is formed at a substantially middle portion between the upper portion and the lower portion on the back surface side.

In the oil storage device of the present invention,
The oil tank is divided into left and right parts, a front portion of the oil tank is disposed in the vicinity of the steering device, and a division mating surface of the oil tank is set so as to be deviated from an axial center of the steering device. To do.

In the oil storage device of the present invention,
An oil inlet and a lid member for the oil inlet are provided at the upper end of the front portion of the oil tank on the side opposite to the biasing direction of the split mating surface.

According to the present invention, the radiator device is arranged between the steering device and the engine unit, and the oil tank is arranged below the steering device and the radiator device. By disposing the oil tank in this way, the oil hose can be shortened and the center of gravity of the vehicle can be easily and properly set. In that case, the lower part of the oil tank is formed longer in the front-rear direction so that its horizontal cross-sectional area is larger than the upper part of the oil tank, so that the oil tank can be installed in a limited space while securing the required oil supply amount. It can be installed properly.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of an oil storage device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The oil storage device according to the present invention is a saddle-type four-wheel vehicle or an automatic two-wheel vehicle.
It can be effectively applied to various gasoline engines mounted on a wheeled vehicle and the like, and in this embodiment, for example, a saddle type four-wheeled vehicle 10 is shown as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, a saddle riding type 4 according to the present embodiment.
The overall configuration of the wheeled vehicle 10 will be described. In the figure, arrow F indicates the front and arrow R indicates the rear. The saddle type four-wheeled vehicle 10 is provided with a steel pipe body frame 11 that constitutes a basic skeleton. In the basic configuration, a front wheel 12 and a rear wheel 13 are arranged in front and rear portions of the body frame 11, and between the front wheels 12 are arranged. The front wheel 1 is equipped with the steering device 14.
The engine unit 15 is mounted on the vehicle body frame 11 between the two and the rear wheels 13.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the body frame 11 includes a main frame 16, a front upper frame 17, a front lower frame 18, and a lower frame 19.
And a down tube 20, inside of which an intermediate down frame 21, an intermediate frame 22 and a support frame 23 are arranged. A pair of such frame structures are provided on both left and right sides of the vehicle, and they are connected to each other by a cross member 24 or the like to form a basic skeleton of the vehicle.

The engine unit 15 mounted on the vehicle body frame 11 so as to be located between the front and rear wheels 12 and 13 is
For example, it includes a 4-cycle single-cylinder engine, the output of which goes through a transmission to drive sprocket 25.
Be transmitted to. The engine unit 15 in the present embodiment is designed to perform engine lubrication in a dry sump system, and is equipped with an oil tank described later separately from the engine unit 15. Drive sprocket 2
5 is connected to the driven sprocket 27 of the rear wheel 13 via the chain 26, and thereby the rear wheel 13 is rotationally driven.

A carburetor 28 is connected to the intake port of the engine of the engine unit 15, and the air-fuel mixture is supplied by the carburetor 28. The carburetor 28 has
The air cleaner device 29 is connected. The engine height is kept low by tilting the cylinder forward,
It has an intake port on its rear surface. Since the intake port has a straight shape as much as possible for the purpose of enhancing intake efficiency, the carburetor 28 is disposed at a position relatively higher than the intake port.

A saddle-type seat 31 is installed on a seat pipe 30 of the vehicle body frame 11, a fuel tank 32 is installed in front of the seat 31, and a steering handle 33 for steering the front wheels 12 is located in front of the seat. And a steering shaft 34 supporting the same. The lower end of the steering shaft 34 is rotatably supported by a bearing 35 located near the axle of the front wheel 12 in the center of the vehicle, and is inclined rearward and upward as shown in FIG. 1 or 2.

A front fender 36 is provided at the front of the vehicle body to cover the front wheels 12 and the front upper portion of the vehicle body frame 11, and a rear fender 37 is provided to cover the rear wheels 13 and the rear upper portion of the vehicle body frame 11. The front fender 36 and the rear fender 37 are synthetic resin molded products.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the radiator device 10 is located at a position close to the front of the engine unit 15.
0 is placed. An oil tank (reservoir tank) 200 is arranged substantially below the radiator device 100.

In the radiator device 100, the steering device 1
4 (steering shaft 34) and engine unit 1
5, the radiator main body 101 is disposed between them, and the radiator cover 102 is attached to the frame member (intermediate down frame 21) extended in the substantially vertical direction in the vicinity of the steering device 14 as described later.
Attach. The radiator cover 102 covers the front of the radiator main body 101.

As shown in FIG. 2, the radiator main body 101 has its upper and lower portions coupled to the bracket 103 and the bracket 104 fixed to the main frame 16 and the intermediate down frame 21, respectively, so that the radiator main body 101 is appropriately tilted forward as shown. And be supported. Inflow side cooling water pipe 105 is provided at the upper and lower portions of radiator body 101 and outflow side cooling water pipe 1
06 is connected, and these cooling water pipes 105, 106 are connected near the upper part and the lower part of the cylinder part of the engine unit 15, respectively. Also, the radiator main body 101
A reservoir tank 107 is attached to the back portion (rear portion) of the radiator 1, so that the amount of cooling water or the water level of the radiator body 101 is adjusted according to the operating state of the radiator device 100.

The radiator cover 102 is made of synthetic resin and is formed in a generally "U" shape in a plan view or a top view. The radiator body 10 is formed by the two sides of the U-shape.
It is arranged so as to cover the side portion of 1. Further, a plurality of louver-shaped fins are provided on the front portion of the radiator cover 102, and these fins prevent muddy water splashed from the front and rear wheels 12 and the like from scattering to the radiator main body 101. It has become.

The radiator cover 102 has an opening formed substantially in the center thereof for inserting the steering shaft 34 of the steering device 14, and has a notch formed so as to accommodate the oil tank 200. By providing these openings or notches, the steering shaft 3
4 or the radiator tank 101 can be attached so as to cover the front of the radiator main body 101 without interfering with other members such as the oil tank 200.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the steering device 14 and the engine unit 1 are connected as described above.
5, the radiator device 100 is disposed between the steering device 14 and the radiator device 100, and the oil tank 200 is provided below the radiator device 100.
To place. In this case, the oil tank 200 is housed in a position sandwiched by the intermediate down frame 21 or the intermediate frame 22, as shown in FIG. 2 or 3. The oil tank 200 is provided with an oil hose 2 for collecting oil collected in an oil pan of the engine unit 15.
11 and the engine unit 15 through an oil hose 212 for supplying oil to the oil pumps of the engine unit 15.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the structure of the oil tank 200. The oil tank 200 is formed by deep-drawing a thin plate material made of iron or aluminum (or aluminum alloy), and has a vertically long and thin shape. In particular, the lower portion 200B of the oil tank 200 is formed longer in the front-rear direction so that the horizontal cross-sectional area thereof is larger than that of the upper portion 200A of the oil tank 200.

The lower portion 200B of the oil tank 200
The width of the left and right sides is narrowed (FIG. 5C), and a stepped portion 201 having a proper spread in a substantially horizontal direction is formed at a substantially intermediate portion between the upper portion 200A and the lower portion 200B on the back side.
In addition, at the top and bottom of the oil tank 200, the connecting portions 202 and 20 of the oil hoses 211 and 212 are provided.
3 is provided. An oil inlet 204 is provided at the upper end of the front of the oil tank 200.
The lid member 205 is attached to the (FIG. 2). The connection portion 206 of the oil overflow hose is connected to the oil tank 20.
It is provided at the top of 0.

Further, the oil tank 200 is divided into left and right parts along a flange-shaped dividing mating surface 207. Mounting holes 208 and 209 are provided in the split mating surface 207, and bolts or the like are inserted into the mounting holes 208 and 209 to fasten and fix the oil tank 200 to the vehicle body frame 11. . The left and right divided portions of the oil tank 200 are deep-drawn and formed into a divided mating surface 2
It is joined by welding or brazing at 07.

The oil tank 20 as shown in FIG.
No. 0 has its front portion arranged in the vicinity of the steering device 14, and as shown in FIG.
Axis center C. It is set deviated from L. In that case, an oil injection port 204 and its lid member 205 are provided on the upper end of the front part of the oil tank 200 on the side opposite to the offset direction of the split mating surface 207.

In the above structure, the radiator device 100 is arranged between the steering device 14 and the engine unit 15, and the oil tank 200 is arranged below the steering device 14 and the radiator device 100. Thus, the oil tank 20
By arranging 0, the water hoses 211 and 21
2 is shortened to reduce the weight and facilitate their routing. Further, since the oil tank 200 is arranged near the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle, the center of gravity can be set easily and appropriately, and as a result, traveling stability can be improved.

Further, by disposing the oil tank 200 below the radiator device 100, the air guide to the radiator device 100 is improved, the cooling property thereof is improved, and a guard or protector in front of the oil tank 200 is unnecessary. can do.

Further, the lower portion 200 of the oil tank 200
B is formed to be long in the front-rear direction so that the horizontal sectional area is larger than that of the upper portion 200A. With this configuration, it is possible to properly install the oil tank 200 in a limited space while securing a necessary oil supply amount,
The center of gravity can be lowered. In that case, the amount of movement of the center of gravity is reduced with respect to the inclination of the vehicle body in the left-right direction.

The upper portion 200A of the oil tank 200
Further, a step portion 201 having an appropriate spread in a substantially horizontal direction is formed in a substantially middle portion of the lower portion 200B, and the horizontal plane portion of the step portion 201 can crush the rolling back of the oil surface in the oil tank 200. Thereby, it is possible to prevent bubbles and the like from being generated in the oil in the oil tank 200, and to ensure a good lubricating action.

Further, the oil tank 200 is divided laterally along the flange-shaped dividing mating surface 207. The oil tank 200 is formed by deep drawing. By making the deep drawing directions correspond to the left and right directions, the deep drawing possible range a can be achieved even when the oil tank 200 is arranged between the left and right body frames 11 as shown in FIG. 6A. It is possible to secure a necessary and sufficient oil capacity inside.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), if the oil tank 200 'is divided in the front-rear direction along the dividing mating surface 207', the length of the oil tank 200 'in the front-rear direction is limited by the deep drawing possible range a, and is left unchanged. It becomes difficult to secure the tank capacity. As described above, according to the present invention, as compared with the case of FIG. 6B, the tank capacity can be significantly increased as shown by the shaded area of FIG. 6A. Therefore, particularly in the case of dry sump type engine lubrication, it is advantageous to secure a sufficient oil supply amount.

Further, the oil tank 200 is divided into left and right parts so that it can be attached to the vehicle body from the left and right directions. This facilitates the assembly work in the factory.
Further, in that case, the split mating surface 207 has a shaft center C.I. Since it is set so as to be deviated from L, it is possible to secure a space for providing the oil injection port 204 on the side opposite to the deviating direction. By disposing the oil injection port 204 in this manner, the oil injection work is facilitated.

Although the present invention has been described above with the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and modifications and the like can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example of a four-wheel buggy vehicle has been described, but a vehicle equipped with this type of engine (for example, a motorcycle).
The present invention can be effectively applied to, and the same operational effect as the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, in this type of oil storage device, the radiator device is disposed especially between the steering device and the engine unit, and the oil tank is provided below the steering device and the radiator device. To place. By arranging the oil tank in this way, the water hose can be shortened and the vehicle center of gravity can be easily and properly set. In that case, the lower part of the oil tank
Since the horizontal cross-sectional area is formed longer in the front-rear direction so that it is larger than the upper part of the oil tank, it is possible to properly install the oil tank in a limited space while securing the necessary oil supply amount. Have advantages.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a vehicle equipped with an oil storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view around the oil storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view around the oil storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an overall configuration example of a vehicle equipped with an oil storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view, a front view, and a rear view showing a configuration example of an oil tank according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the directivity of deep drawing of an oil tank in an embodiment of the present invention in relation to a comparative example.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a vehicle showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 saddle type four-wheeled vehicle 11 body frame 12 front wheels 13 rear wheels 14 Steering device 15 engine unit 16 mainframe 17 Front upper frame 18 Front lower frame 19 Lower frame 20 Down Tube 21 Middle down frame 22 Middle frame 23 Support frame 28 carburetor 29 Air cleaner device 31 sheets 32 Fuel tank 33 Steering handle 34 Steering shaft 100 radiator device 101 Radiator body 102 radiator cover 105 Inlet side cooling water piping 106 Outflow side cooling water piping 107 reservoir tank 200 oil tank 201 step 204 oil inlet 207 Split mating surface

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A front wheel and a rear wheel are arranged at a front portion and a rear portion of a body frame, a steering device is provided between the front wheels, and an engine unit is provided on the body frame between the front wheel and the rear wheel. In an installed vehicle, an oil storage device that stores oil for lubricating the engine unit, wherein a radiator device is disposed between the steering device and the engine unit, and a radiator device is provided between the steering device and the radiator device. An oil storage device comprising an oil tank arranged below. 2. A pair of left and right frame members extending substantially vertically are provided near the steering device, and the oil tank is housed in a position sandwiched by the frame members. Item 1. The oil storage device according to item 1. 3. The oil storage according to claim 1, wherein the lower portion of the oil tank is formed to be long in the front-rear direction so that the horizontal cross-sectional area thereof is larger than that of the upper portion of the oil tank. apparatus. 4. A left and right width of a lower portion of the oil tank is narrowed to form a hem, and a step portion having an appropriate spread in a substantially horizontal direction is formed at a substantially intermediate portion between the upper portion and the lower portion on the back side. The oil storage device according to claim 1. 5. The oil tank is divided into left and right parts, a front portion of which is arranged in the vicinity of the steering device, and a division mating surface of the oil tank is set so as to be offset from the axial center of the steering device. The oil storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: 6. The oil storage device according to claim 5, wherein an oil injection port and a lid member for the oil injection port are provided at a front upper end of the oil tank on the side opposite to the offset direction of the split mating surface.