Straddle-type vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10107173-B2
Application number	US-201715621611-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 13, 2017
Priority date	Jul 28, 2016
Publication date	Oct 23, 2018
Grant date	Oct 23, 2018

Abstract

A straddle-type vehicle includes a radiator; an engine; and a passage which is provided inside the cylinder block and the cylinder head, flows a coolant from the cylinder head toward the cylinder block, and is provided with an inlet located on a rear side of the cylinder head; a pipe which flows the coolant from the radiator toward the passage, and flows the coolant from an outlet toward the radiator; and a thermostat which limits a flow of the coolant inside the pipe in a case where a temperature of the coolant is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature, and permits the flow of the coolant in a case where the temperature is higher than the predetermined temperature, wherein the outlet is provided on a front side of the cylinder block and the thermostat is attached on a front portion of the engine.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A straddle-type vehicle comprising:
a radiator through which a coolant flows;
an engine which generates driving power for allowing the straddle-type vehicle to travel, the engine including:
a cylinder block;
a cylinder head disposed above the cylinder block; and
a passage which is provided inside the cylinder block and the cylinder head and flows the coolant from the cylinder head toward the cylinder block, the passage being provided with an inlet located on a rear side of the cylinder head;

a pipe which flows the coolant from the radiator toward the inlet of the passage, and flows the coolant from an outlet of the passage toward the radiator; and
a thermostat which limits a flow of the coolant inside the pipe in a case where a temperature of the coolant is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature, and permits the flow of the coolant inside the pipe in a case where the temperature of the coolant is higher than the predetermined temperature,
wherein the outlet of the passage is provided on a front side of the cylinder block and the thermostat is attached on a front portion of the engine.

2. The straddle-type vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an exhaust pipe which is connected to the front portion of the engine and extends downward to a location that is below the engine, from a front surface of the cylinder block, when viewed from a front,
wherein the thermostat includes a valving element, and a case which accommodates the valving element therein,
wherein the thermostat is disposed between the cylinder block and the exhaust pipe, and
wherein a first end of the case of the thermostat is connected to the pipe, and a second end of the case of the thermostat is connected to the outlet of the passage.

3. The straddle-type vehicle according to claim 2 ,
wherein the case of the thermostat extends in a direction crossing a forward and rearward direction of a vehicle body of the straddle-type vehicle, from the front side of the cylinder block.

4. The straddle-type vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the engine is a multi-cylinder engine including a plurality of cylinders aligned in a specified direction,
wherein the inlet of the passage and the outlet of the passage are disposed at a center of the engine in the specified direction, and
wherein inside the engine, the passage extends from the inlet to a first side in the specified direction and to a second side in the specified direction, and extends from the outlet to the first side and to the second side.

5. The straddle-type vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a temperature sensor which detects a temperature of the coolant flowing through the passage provided inside the cylinder block,
wherein the temperature sensor is attached on a rear portion of the cylinder block.

6. The straddle-type vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the inlet of the passage is disposed at a center of the cylinder head in the vehicle width direction, and
wherein the temperature sensor is disposed at a location that is outward in the vehicle width direction, relative to a center of the cylinder block in the vehicle width direction.

7. The straddle-type vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the pipe is disposed below an upper end portion of the engine.

8. The straddle-type vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the engine is a multi-cylinder engine including a plurality of cylinders aligned in a vehicle width direction, and
wherein the pipe extends along the engine in the vehicle width direction, in a region which is in the vicinity of the inlet of the passage and a region which is in the vicinity of the outlet of the passage, and extends to a first side in the vehicle width direction from the outlet of the passage and to a second side in the vehicle width direction from the inlet of the passage.

9. The straddle-type vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a pump which flows the coolant into the inlet of the passage,
wherein the pipe includes a first pipe and a second pipe,
wherein the first pipe includes a front pipe and a rear pipe which are disposed on a same side of a vehicle body in a vehicle width direction,
wherein a first end of the front pipe is connected to the radiator and a second end of the front pipe is connected to the pump,
wherein a first end of the rear pipe is connected to the pump and a second end of the rear pipe is connected to the inlet of the passage, in a region which is rearward of the front pipe, and
wherein a first end of the second pipe is connected to the outlet of the passage, and a second end of the second pipe is connected to a first end the radiator in the vehicle width direction.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Jyouzaki Takahiro
• Soeda Akira

Classifications

• F01P2050/16

  Motor-cycles · CPC title

• F01P3/02 Primary

  Arrangements for cooling cylinders or cylinder heads · CPC title

• F01P2003/028

  Cooling cylinders and cylinder heads in series · CPC title

• F01P7/16

  by thermostatic control · CPC title

• F01P11/04

  Arrangements of liquid pipes or hoses · CPC title