JP2001221113A - Air cleaner and its air intake structure - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an air cleaner and an air intake structure for the air cleaner, which can reduce adhesion of water, mud, and the like in inhaled air to an element. SOLUTION: A body box 22 having an intake hole 23 provided on a side surface and connection holes 28a and 28b connected to a carburetor.
An intake duct 29 connected to the entrance of the intake hole 23, a guide passage 26 provided at the exit of the intake hole 23 to direct the flow of air flowing from the intake hole 23 upward, and a main body box.
22 is disposed so as to partition a downstream portion of the guide passage 26 into a dirty area 105 continuous with the guide passage 26 and a clean area 106 in which the connection holes 28a and 28b are opened.
27 that filters air flowing from the air to the connection holes 28a and 28b
And with.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air cleaner and its air intake structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air cleaner attached to an engine is:
It is connected to the engine via a carburetor,
Generally, the air flowing through the air inlet is filtered and cleaned by a built-in element (filter), and the cleaned air is supplied from the connection port to the engine side.

[0003]

However, since the above-mentioned conventional air cleaner is configured so that the air sucked from the air intake hole is filtered by the element as it is, the sucked air contains water, mud and the like. In such a case, the structure is such that the water or muddy water easily adheres to the element. As a countermeasure, a device in which air is sucked from below the seat and an air passage is formed in a maze shape has been proposed as in the device described in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 5-12384. There is room for improvement.

[0004] On the other hand, in the case of an air cleaner mounted on an all-terrain vehicle, the vehicle travels on rough terrain, and is likely to be exposed to water, mud and the like on the traveling vehicle. It is particularly important to take measures to prevent adhesion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and it is possible to reduce the adhesion of water, mud, and the like in the inhaled air to an element, and to provide an air cleaner having excellent maintainability and compactness. And its air intake structure.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an air cleaner according to the present invention is an air cleaner connected to a carburetor attached to an engine, the air cleaner being provided with an intake hole provided on a side surface and the carburetor. A main body box having a connection hole to be connected, an intake duct connected to an entrance of the intake hole, and a guide passage provided at an exit of the intake hole so as to direct a flow of air flowing from the intake hole upward. Is disposed so as to partition a portion downstream of the guide passage inside the main body box into a dirty area continuous with the guide passage and a clean area in which the connection hole is opened, and flows from the guide passage to the connection hole. And a filter for filtering air. With this configuration, the air flowing from the intake hole collides with a portion of the guide passage wall surface located in front of the intake hole outlet, and water, mud, and the like contained in the air adhere to the wall surface of the guide passage, Fall down.

In this case, the intake hole is provided at a lower end portion of the side surface of the main body box, and the intake duct extends obliquely downward from the tip to reach an inlet of the intake hole, and is connected to the guide passage from the guide passage. The filter is disposed in a substantially horizontal direction so that air flowing to the hole passes from above to below, thereby forming a dirty area above the filter and separating the guide passage and the wall below the filter. Thus, the clean area may be formed, and the connection hole may be provided on the bottom surface of the clean area of the main body box. With this configuration, the height of the air cleaner configured to temporarily raise the intake air can be made as low as possible. In addition, the effective area of the filter can be increased without increasing the height of the air cleaner.

In these cases, the intake duct may be formed so as to gradually become thicker from the distal end toward the proximal end. With this configuration, since the flow velocity of the air sucked from the tip of the suction duct gradually decreases, water, mud, and the like can be effectively removed when the air collides with the wall surface of the guide passage. .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air cleaner having a bar-shaped handle disposed in front of a riding type seat. An opening of the cover that covers an upper portion of the off-road vehicle that includes the turning shaft of the steering wheel has an opening through which the turning shaft is allowed to pass so that the air cleaner sucks air. According to such a configuration, since the opening of the air cleaner for sucking outside air is provided at the center of the vehicle body at a high position of the vehicle body, it is difficult for water, mud and the like to enter the opening. In addition, the structure of the opening can be configured very easily, and since the opening is formed around the rotation axis of the handle and is in front of the rider, it can be easily found even if it is blocked by foreign matter, Further, the foreign matter can be removed.

[0010] In this case, a junction room may be formed inside the cover so as to be partitioned so as to have the opening, and the air suction port of the air cleaner may be connected to the junction room.

Further, in this case, a protruding portion is formed around the rotation shaft of the cover so as to bulge from the periphery from the side to the front and to have the opening near the top, and the protruding portion is formed. The relay room may be formed by partitioning the lower part and the rear part of the internal space of the section so that the above-mentioned rotating shaft passes therethrough. With this configuration, it is possible to easily realize a structure in which external air is taken into the air cleaner from the opening of the cover.

Further, the air cleaner may be the air cleaner according to the second aspect of the present invention, and an end of an intake duct of the air cleaner may be opened to the relay chamber. With this configuration, an air cleaner suitable for an off-road vehicle and an air intake device having an air intake structure thereof can be easily obtained with a simple configuration.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a left side view of a four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle that shows the arrangement of an air cleaner according to the present embodiment and its air intake structure.

As shown in FIG. 1, a four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle 1 is a bar-type handle 4 attached to a body frame 2 (only a part of which is shown in the figure). It has left and right front wheels 8 and left and right rear wheels 9. Further, the riding type four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle 1 is provided with a riding type seat 6 at a certain distance behind the steering wheel 4, and a foot board 10 is provided diagonally forward and downward on both left and right sides of the seat 6.
The front wheels 8 and the rear wheels 9 are disposed at a height substantially equal to the height of the axle. A V-type engine 11 is disposed between the left and right footboards 10 behind the steering wheel 4 at the lower front of the seat 6 such that the lower end is located at a height substantially equal to the height of the footboard 10. I have. The V-type engine 11 is installed such that the inclination directions of the two cylinders coincide with the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, and a carburetor 32 for supplying a mixture of air and fuel to each cylinder between the cylinders inclined forward and rearward. Are arranged. The air cleaner 21 is provided so as to be adjacent to the upper end of the carburetor 32, that is, between the handle 4 and the seat 6, and connected to the carburetor 32.

On the other hand, the top cover 35, the side cover 34, and the air cleaner cover 5 (hereinafter, referred to as 3) cover the upper portion of the portion from the front portion of the vehicle body to the front end of the seat 6.
Cover 101). In the case of the present embodiment, the top cover 35 is formed integrally with the front fender 13 that covers the front wheel 8. A portion (hereinafter, referred to as a raised portion) 101a of the cover 101 around the rotation shaft 14 of the handle 4 rises from the periphery from the left and right sides to the front and penetrates the rotation shaft 14 near the top. An opening 102 is formed. A required gap is formed between the opening 102 and the rotating shaft 14. The upper part of the opening 102 is covered with the handle cover 16.

A plate-like partition member 33 is provided so as to partition the lower part and the rear part of the internal space of the raised part 101a.
As a result, a relay room 31, which is a closed space, is formed inside the protruding portion 101a. An insertion hole (not shown) through which the rotating shaft 14 is inserted is formed in a portion of the partition member 33 that forms the bottom wall of the relay chamber 31. It is desirable to make the gap between the insertion hole and the rotating shaft 14 as small as possible to prevent the inflow of air. The partition member 33 is made of, for example, a rubber plate.

A suction duct 29 of the air cleaner 21 is provided so as to penetrate the partition member 33 and open its tip into the space of the relay room 31.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the structure of the air cleaner of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. FIG. 2 shows the air cleaner with the lid removed.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
Has a main body box 22. The main body box 22 includes a container-like element housing portion 22b having an open upper end, and a lid portion 22a fitted to the upper end of the element housing portion 22b. That is, the lid 22a is formed in a curved shape such that the peripheral edge protrudes downward, and the peripheral edge is provided with the groove 104 that fits into the upper end of the element accommodating portion 22b. Then, the groove 104 is fitted to the upper end of the element accommodating portion 22b, and the lid 22a is attached to the element accommodating portion 22b via the sealing member 17, whereby the box-shaped main box 22 is formed. ing. Lid 22a
Is detachably fixed to the element accommodating portion 22b by a fixing member (not shown).

An intake hole 23 is formed at the lower end of the side surface of the element accommodating portion 22b, and an intake duct 29 is connected to the entrance side of the intake hole 23 by a connection member 30. The intake duct 29 is connected to extend obliquely downward from the distal end to reach the inlet of the intake hole 23, and is formed so as to gradually increase in thickness from the distal end to the proximal end. A drain 41 is provided at the base end of the intake duct 29. As described above, the tip of the intake duct 29 is connected to the rotating shaft 14 of the handle 4.
(See FIG. 1).

In the interior of the element accommodating portion 22b, a partition wall 25 is erected on the bottom surface of the element accommodating portion 22b so as to surround the outlet of the intake hole 23 in plan view, whereby a guide passage 26 is formed. I have.

The upper end of the partition 25 is formed slightly lower than the upper end of the element accommodating portion 22b.
A step 103 is formed inside the upper end of 22b and on the side opposite to the guide passage at the upper end of the partition wall 25. This element housing 2
A flat element 27 is fitted into an annular step 103 formed on the inner side of the upper end of 2b and on the side opposite to the guide path of the upper end of the partition wall 25. ing. Thus, the portion downstream of the guide passage 26 inside the main body box 22 is located below the dirty area 105 located above the element 27 and below the element 27 by the element 27 arranged in the horizontal direction. It is partitioned into a clean area 106. Clean area 1
06 is formed so as to be located on the side of the guide passage 26 and the partition wall 25. The element 27 is formed such that a plate-like filter member 27a is sandwiched between a pair of lattice-like reinforcing members 27b. In the present embodiment, the element 27 is of a wet type. Of course, a dry type may be adopted.

A pair of connection holes 28a and 28b are formed on the bottom of the clean area 106. The connection holes 28a and 28b are connected to the carburetor 32 (see FIG. 1) as described above. As shown in FIG. 2, the drain 42 is located in front of the bottom of the clean area 106 (left side in the drawing).
Is provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air cleaner 21 is attached to the vehicle body with the side where the intake duct 29 is disposed slightly inclined.

Next, the operation of the air cleaner constructed and arranged as described above will be described. In FIG. 1 to FIG.
When the type engine 11 operates, the outside air is
The air flows into the relay chamber 31 through a gap between the opening 102 and the rotating shaft 14 of the handle 4, and is sucked into the suction duct 29 of the air cleaner 21 there. The sucked air flows into the main body box 22 through the suction hole 23, and at this time, collides with the wall surface 26a of the guide passage 26 in front of the outlet of the suction hole 23. As a result, water, mud 43 and the like contained in the air adhere to the wall 26a or fall. The water adhering to the wall surface 26a is removed from the wall surface 26a, the bottom surface of the guide passage 26, and
Flows through the bottom surface of the container and accumulates in the drain 41. Thereby, water, mud 43 and the like 43 are removed from the air sucked into the air cleaner 21. Next, the air from which the water or mud 43 has been removed rises along the guide passage 26 and flows into the dirty area 105 from the upper end thereof. The air that has flowed into the dirty area 105 flows in the horizontal direction and then turns downward and passes through the element 27. At this time, dust in the air is removed by the element 27. Thereby, the air sucked into the air cleaner 21 is purified. Next, the purified air is supplied to the carburetor 32 from the connection holes 28a and 28b through the clean area 106. Note that oil or gasoline may flow backward from the carburetor 32.
It flows on the bottom of 6 and accumulates in the drain 42.

Next, for maintenance of the air cleaner 21, first, the air cleaner cover 5 of the vehicle body is opened, and then the fixing member of the main body box 22 of the air cleaner 21 is removed, and the lid 22a is removed. After that, the air cleaner 21 is checked, cleaned and replaced. Also, if necessary, guide passage
Hands, tools, and the like are inserted from the upper end of 26, and mud 33 attached to the wall surface 26a is removed. Further, the water, oil, gasoline, and the like accumulated by removing the plugs of the drains 41 and 42 are discharged.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the main body box 22, the air flowing from the intake hole 23 collides with the portion 26a of the wall of the guide passage 26, which is located in front of the outlet of the intake hole 23. Since the water, mud, and the like 33 contained in the air adhere and are removed, the adhesion to the element 27 can be reduced.

Further, since an opening 102 for sucking air outside the air cleaner 21 is provided at a central portion of the vehicle body at a high position of the vehicle body where the outside air is relatively clean, water, mud, etc., enter the opening 102. Difficult to invade. As a result, element 2
Their adhesion to 7 can be further reduced. Moreover, since the opening 102 is formed around the rotation shaft 14 of the handle 4 and is located immediately before the rider,
As soon as 102 is blocked by a foreign object, it can be found and removed. Further, since the upper portion of the opening 102 is covered with the handle cover 16, it is possible to prevent water and mud from entering from above with a simple configuration,
In addition, the configuration is excellent in appearance.

In the present embodiment, the V-type engine 11 is mounted on the vehicle 1 and the carburetor 32 is disposed within the angle between the front cylinder and the rear cylinder.
21 can be arranged between the rotation shaft 14 of the handle 4 and the seat 6. It also allows the cover 10
A structure for taking in external air from the first opening 102 to the air cleaner 21 can be easily realized.

[0031]

The present invention is embodied in the form described above, and has the following effects. (1) Adhesion of mud, water, etc. to the filter can be reduced. (2) An intake hole is provided at the lower end of the side surface of the main body box, and the intake duct extends diagonally downward and is connected to reach the intake hole,
If the filter is arranged in a substantially horizontal direction so that air flowing from the guide passage to the connection hole passes from above to below, and the connection hole is provided on the bottom of the main box, the height of the air cleaner should be as low as possible. The effective area of the filter can be increased without increasing the height of the air cleaner. (3) If the intake duct is formed so as to gradually increase in thickness from the distal end to the proximal end, water, mud, and the like can be effectively removed. (4) If the opening of the cover that covers the upper part of the vehicle body including the handle rotation shaft is an opening through which the rotation shaft can pass through is an opening for sucking air from the air cleaner, water, mud, etc. may be applied to the filter of the air cleaner. Can be reduced, and since the opening is in front of the rider, even if it is blocked by a foreign object, it can be easily found and removed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a left side view of a riding type four-wheel uneven terrain vehicle showing an air cleaner arrangement and an air intake structure according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the structure of the air cleaner of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 riding-type four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle 2 body frame 4 handle 5 air cleaner cover 6 seat 8 front wheel 9 rear wheel 10 footboard 11 V-type engine 13 front fender 14 rotation shaft 16 handle cover 17 seal member 21 air cleaner 22 body box 22a Lid 22b Element housing 23 Suction hole 25 Partition wall 26 Guide passage 26a Wall surface 27 Element 27a Filter member 27b Reinforcement member 28a, 28b Connection hole 29 Suction duct 30 Connection member 31 Relay room 32 Carburetor 33 Partition member 34 Side cover 35 Top cover 41 , 42 Drain 43 Water and mud 101 Cover 101a Ridge 102 Opening 103 Step 104 Groove 105 Dirty area 106 Clean area

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An air cleaner connected to a carburetor attached to an engine, comprising: a main body box having an intake hole provided on a side surface and a connection hole connected to the carburetor; and an air cleaner connected to an inlet of the intake hole. An air intake duct, a guide passage provided at an outlet of the air intake hole so as to direct a flow of air flowing from the air intake hole upward, and a portion downstream of the guide passage inside the main body box,
An air cleaner, which is provided so as to partition into a dirty area continuous with the guide passage and a clean area in which the connection hole opens, and has a filter for filtering air flowing from the guide passage to the connection hole. 2. The air intake hole is provided at a lower end portion of a side surface of the main body box. The air intake duct extends obliquely downward from a front end and is connected to reach an inlet of the air intake hole. The filter is disposed in a substantially horizontal direction so that air flowing therethrough passes from above to below, thereby forming a dirty area above the filter and separating the guide passage and the wall below the filter. 2. The air cleaner according to claim 1, wherein a clean area is formed in the main body box, and the connection hole is provided on a bottom surface of the clean area of the main body box. 3. The air cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the intake duct is formed so as to gradually increase in thickness from a distal end to a proximal end. 4. An air intake structure for an air cleaner of an uneven terrain vehicle, wherein a bar-type handle is disposed in front of a riding type seat, and includes an axis of rotation of the handle of the irregular terrain vehicle. An opening in the cover that covers the upper part of the
The air intake structure of the air cleaner with an opening for the air cleaner to take in air. 5. The air of the air cleaner according to claim 4, wherein a relay chamber is formed inside the cover and is partitioned so as to have the opening, and the air suction port of the air cleaner is connected to the relay chamber. Inlet structure. 6. A cover around the rotation shaft of the cover,
A raised portion is formed so as to swell from the periphery from the side portion to the front portion and to have the opening near the top portion thereof, and the rotating shaft is penetrated below and behind the internal space of the raised portion. 6. The air intake structure for an air cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the relay chamber is formed by partitioning. 7. The air intake structure for an air cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the air cleaner is the air cleaner according to claim 2, and a distal end of an intake duct of the air cleaner is open to the relay chamber.