Straddle vehicle and radiator air-guide device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10247083-B2
Application number	US-201815993337-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 30, 2018
Priority date	Aug 22, 2017
Publication date	Apr 2, 2019
Grant date	Apr 2, 2019

Abstract

A straddle vehicle is capable of discharging high-temperature outdoor air having passed through a radiator with high efficiency. A motorcycle 1 includes a radiator, a fan, and a fan shroud. The radiator lowers the temperature of a coolant by heat exchange between outdoor air and the coolant. The fan suctions outdoor air, to make the outdoor air hit the radiator arranged upstream in an outdoor air flow direction. The fan shroud covers at least part of the fan, and discharges high-temperature outdoor air, which is outdoor air suctioned by the fan and having passed through the radiator, to outside. The fan shroud has a discharge opening and an air guide. The discharge opening allows the high-temperature outdoor air to be discharged outside. The air guide guides the high-temperature outdoor air such that it is discharged through the discharge opening in a direction including a laterally outward component.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A straddle vehicle, comprising:
a radiator lowering a temperature of a coolant by heat exchange between outdoor air and the coolant;
a fan suctioning the outdoor air to make the outdoor air hit the radiator arranged upstream in an outdoor air flow direction; and
a fan shroud covering at least part of the fan, the fan shroud discharging high-temperature outdoor air to outside, the high-temperature outdoor air being the outdoor air suctioned by the fan and having passed through the radiator,
wherein the fan shroud includes a discharge opening discharging the high-temperature outdoor air to outside, and an air guide guiding the high-temperature outdoor air such that the high-temperature outdoor air is discharged through the discharge opening in a direction including a laterally outward component,
wherein the fan suctions outdoor air by rotating a blade, and wherein the air guide includes tangential air guides each extending from a predetermined point on a circle centered at a rotation center of the fan, in a tangential direction and in a rotation direction of the fan when viewed in a rotation axis direction of the fan,
wherein the fan shroud has a left discharge opening and a right discharge opening, the left discharge opening allowing the high-temperature outdoor air to be discharged therethrough in a direction including a left outward component, the right discharge opening allowing the high-temperature outdoor air to be discharged therethrough in a direction including a right outward component,
wherein the tangential air guides include a tangential air guide that guides the high-temperature outdoor air toward the left discharge opening and a tangential air guide that guides the high-temperature outdoor air toward the right discharge opening, and
wherein each of the tangential air guides is asymmetric about an imaginary line passing through the lateral center thereof when viewed in the rotation axis direction of the fan.

2. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the air guide guides the high-temperature outdoor air such that the high-temperature outdoor air is discharged in an obliquely downward direction that includes downward and laterally outward directions.

3. The straddle vehicle according to claim 2 , further comprising:
an exhaust pipe through which an exhaust gas generated in an engine passes,
wherein the air guide guides the high-temperature outdoor air such that the high-temperature outdoor air is discharged in a direction that is more downward than a horizontal direction and that avoids a direction toward the exhaust pipe in a front view.

4. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the fan shroud has a lower wall portion that covers a lower side of the fan.

5. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an outdoor air introduction guide covering at least part of a region below the radiator, the outdoor air introduction guide including a guide surface that is inclined or curved with its rear portion being more upward.

6. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the fan is an axial-flow fan, wherein the fan shroud has a rear wall portion that covers a rear side of the fan, and wherein the air guide guides high-temperature outdoor air having hit the rear wall portion such that the high-temperature outdoor air is discharged through the discharge opening.

7. The straddle vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a cowl arranged at least laterally outward of the fan shroud,
wherein the cowl has a cowl opening through which the high-temperature outdoor air discharged from the discharge opening of the fan shroud is discharged outside.

8. The straddle vehicle according to claim 7 , wherein at least part of an imaginary space obtained by extending the discharge opening in a guide direction passes through the cowl opening.

9. A radiator air-guide device that introduces outdoor air to a radiator provided in a straddle vehicle and discharges the outdoor air, comprising:
a fan suctioning outdoor air to make the outdoor air hit the radiator arranged upstream in an outdoor air flow direction; and
a fan shroud covering at least part of the fan, the fan shroud discharging high-temperature outdoor air to outside, the high-temperature outdoor air being outdoor air suctioned by the fan and having passed through the radiator,
wherein the fan shroud includes a discharge opening discharging the high-temperature outdoor air to outside, and an air guide guiding the high-temperature outdoor air such that the high-temperature outdoor air is discharged through the discharge opening in a direction including a component that is directed laterally outward of the straddle vehicle,
wherein the fan suctions outdoor air by rotating a blade, and wherein the air guide includes tangential air guides each extending from a predetermined point on a circle centered at a rotation center of the fan, in a tangential direction and in a rotation direction of the fan when viewed in a rotation axis direction of the fan,
wherein the fan shroud has a left discharge opening and a right discharge opening, the left discharge opening allowing the high-temperature outdoor air to be discharged therethrough in a direction including a left outward component, the right discharge opening allowing the high-temperature outdoor air to be discharged therethrough in a direction including a right outward component,
wherein the tangential air guides include a tangential air guide that guides the high-temperature outdoor air toward the left discharge opening and a tangential air guide that guides the high-temperature outdoor air toward the right discharge opening, and
wherein each of the tangential air guides is asymmetric about an imaginary line passing through the lateral center thereof when viewed in the rotation axis direction of the fan.

10. A straddle vehicle, comprising:
a radiator lowering a temperature of a coolant by heat exchange between outdoor air and the coolant;
a fan suctioning the outdoor air to make the outdoor air hit the radiator arranged upstream in an outdoor air flow direction; and
a fan shroud covering at least part of the fan, the fan shroud discharging high-temperature outdoor air to outside, the high-temperature outdoor air being the outdoor air suctioned by the fan and having passed through the radiator,
wherein the fan shroud includes a discharge opening discharging the high-temperature outdoor air to outside, and an air guide guiding the high-temperature outdoor air such that the high-temperature outdoor air is discharged through the discharge opening in a direction including a laterally outward component,
wherein the fan shroud has a left discharge opening and a right discharge opening, the left discharge opening allowing the high-temperature outdoor air to be discharged therethrough in a direction including a left outward component, the right discharge opening allowing the high-temperature outdoor air to be discharged therethrough in a direction including a right outward component, and
wherein the left discharge opening and the right discharge opening are asymmetric about an imaginary line passing through the lateral center thereof when viewed in a rotation axis direction of the fan.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Morotomi Satoshi
• Kawai Hideaki
• Yamamoto Tetsuji

Classifications

• F01P11/10 Primary

  Guiding or ducting cooling-air, to, or from, liquid-to-air heat exchangers · CPC title

• B62K11/00

  Motorcycles, engine-assisted cycles or motor scooters with one or two wheels (fairings or streamlining parts not forming part of the frame B62J; transmission of drive from engines to wheels B62M) · CPC title

• F01P2050/16

  Motor-cycles · CPC title

• B60K13/04

  concerning exhaust · CPC title

• F01P5/06 Primary

  Guiding or ducting air to, or from, ducted fans · CPC title