Power unit for vehicle including a clutch actuator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10562591-B2
Application number	US-201815879719-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 25, 2018
Priority date	Feb 28, 2017
Publication date	Feb 18, 2020
Grant date	Feb 18, 2020

Abstract

A power unit for a vehicle includes an engine that is a power source, a gear shift apparatus, a twin clutch type transmission that intermittently switches power transmission between the engine and the gear shift apparatus, and a clutch actuator that controls intermittent switching of the twin clutch type transmission, the engine includes a crankcase and a pair of cylinders installed on the crankcase so that a V-bank is formed therebetween, and the clutch actuator is installed on the cylinders so that the clutch actuator overlaps a region of the V-bank.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A power unit for a vehicle comprising:
an internal combustion engine that is a power source,
a transmission device,
a clutch apparatus that intermittently switches power transmission between the internal combustion engine and the transmission device, and
a clutch actuator that controls intermittent switching of the clutch apparatus,
wherein the internal combustion engine comprises a crankcase, and a plurality of cylinders installed on the crankcase so that a V-bank is formed therebetween,
at least a portion of the clutch actuator is installed on the crankcase or the cylinder so that the portion of the clutch actuator overlaps with a region of the V-bank when seen in a plan view,
an actuator installation section is provided at an upper section of the crankcase in between the V-bank, and
the clutch actuator is inserted and fixed into an insertion hole which is formed in the actuator installation section in a state in which the clutch actuator protrudes from a surface of the crankcase into the region of the V-bank.

2. The power unit for a vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein entire of the clutch actuator is accommodated within a width of a pair of cylinders that constitute the V-bank.

3. The power unit for a vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein a plurality of clutch actuators are disposed such that at least a portion of each of the clutch actuators overlap with each other when seen in a plan view.

4. The power unit for a vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein a plurality of clutch actuators are disposed parallel and adjacent to each other when seen in a plan view.

5. The power unit for a vehicle according to claim 3 ,
wherein the clutch actuator comprises an electromagnetic coil section, and a valve body section having a diameter smaller than the electromagnetic coil section, and
the plurality of clutch actuators are disposed in a state the valve body sections are close to each other.

6. The power unit for a vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the clutch actuator is disposed to stand up on the crankcase positioned on a bottom section of the region of the V-bank.

7. The power unit for a vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein a plurality of clutch actuators are disposed parallel to any one of the pair of cylinders that constitute the V-bank.

8. The power unit for a vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the internal combustion engine is a water-cooling engine, and
the pair of cylinders that constitute the V-bank are water-cooled.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Sugano Takeshi
• Endo Yohei
• Mizuno Kinya

Classifications

• F16H63/18

  the final actuating mechanism comprising cams · CPC title

• B62M11/06

  with spur gear wheels (B62M11/14 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B62M7/02

  with engine between front and rear wheels · CPC title

• F02B61/02

  for driving cycles · CPC title

• F02B77/11

  Thermal or acoustic insulation · CPC title