SINGLE-INLET AIR INTAKE CONTROL STRUCTURE

Abstract

A single-inlet air intake control structure is connected to an engine of a power system and regulates the intake air quantity of the engine. The single-inlet air intake control structure comprises an air cleaner, a control valve, a throttle valve, a first pipe and a second pipe. The first pipe connects the air cleaner and the control valve. The second pipe connects the control valve and the throttle valve. The air cleaner, the first pipe, the control valve, the second pipe and the throttle valve are connected to form an air intake passage. By structural simplifying, the single-inlet air intake control structure controls the air intake passage within an appropriate length range and thus can lower the cost. Furthermore, the single-inlet air intake control structure can directly regulate the intake air quantity of the engine when the engine operates at either a high or a low speed.

Claims

1. A single-inlet air intake control structure comprising: an air cleaner having a cleaner shell; an air filter disposed at an interior of the cleaner shell, and the cleaner shell having an air inlet at one side of the air filter; an air outlet at another side of the air filter; a control valve disposed at one side of the air cleaner and having a valve shell; and a control valve gate disposed in the valve shell, and being rotatable to be open or closed; a throttle valve disposed at one side, which is opposite to the air cleaner, of the control valve and having a throttle body; and a throttle valve gate disposed in the throttle body, and being rotatable to be open or closed; a first pipe connecting the air outlet of the air cleaner and the control valve; and a second pipe connecting the control valve and the throttle valve, and thus the throttle valve, the second pipe, the control valve, the first pipe and the air cleaner connected to form an air intake passage.

2. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air filter divides the interior of the cleaner shell into a first zone; the air inlet connected to the first zone; and a second zone; the air outlet connected to the second zone, and at least one through hole formed through an outer wall of the cleaner shell and connected to the second zone.

3. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein one end of the second pipe is defined as a first end, and the first end is connected to the control valve; another end of the second pipe is defined as a second end, and the second end is connected to the throttle valve; and a sectional area of the second pipe gradually decreases from the first end to the second end.

4. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein one end of the second pipe is defined as a first end, and the first end is connected to the control valve; another end of the second pipe is defined as a second end, and the second end is connected to the throttle valve; and a sectional area of the second pipe gradually decreases from the first end to the second end.

5. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein one end of the first pipe is defined as a first pipe end, and the first pipe end is disposed at the air outlet of the cleaner shell; another end of the first pipe is defined as a second pipe end, and the second pipe end is connected to the control valve; and a sectional area of the first pipe gradually decreases from the first pipe end to the second pipe end.

6. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein one end of the first pipe is defined as a first pipe end, and the first pipe end is disposed at the air outlet of the cleaner shell; another end of the first pipe is defined as a second pipe end, and the second pipe end is connected to the control valve; and a sectional area of the first pipe gradually decreases from the first pipe end to the second pipe end.

7. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein one end of the first pipe is defined as a first pipe end, and the first pipe end is disposed at the air outlet of the cleaner shell; another end of the first pipe is defined as a second pipe end, and the second pipe end is connected to the control valve; and a sectional area of the first pipe gradually decreases from the first pipe end to the second pipe end.

8. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein one end of the first pipe is defined as a first pipe end, and the first pipe end is disposed at the air outlet of the cleaner shell; another end of the first pipe is defined as a second pipe end, and the second pipe end is connected to the control valve; and a sectional area of the first pipe gradually decreases from the first pipe end to the second pipe end.

9. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein an air scoop is mounted on an outer wall of the cleaner shell, and has an extended air inlet passage disposed in an interior of the air scoop and connected to the air inlet.

10. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein an air scoop is mounted on the outer wall of the cleaner shell, and has an extended air inlet passage disposed in an interior of the air scoop and connected to the air inlet.

11. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein an air scoop is mounted on an outer wall of the cleaner shell, and has an extended air inlet passage disposed in an interior of the air scoop and connected to the air inlet.

12. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein an air scoop is mounted on the outer wall of the cleaner shell, and has an extended air inlet passage disposed in an interior of the air scoop and connected to the air inlet.

13. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 5, wherein an air scoop is mounted on an outer wall of the cleaner shell, and has an extended air inlet passage disposed in an interior of the air scoop and connected to the air inlet.

14. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 6, wherein an air scoop is mounted on the outer wall of the cleaner shell, and has an extended air inlet passage disposed in an interior of the air scoop and connected to the air inlet.

15. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein an air scoop is mounted on an outer wall of the cleaner shell, and has an extended air inlet passage disposed in an interior of the air scoop and connected to the air inlet.

16. The single-inlet air intake control structure as claimed in claim 8, wherein an air scoop is mounted on the outer wall of the cleaner shell, and has an extended air inlet passage disposed in an interior of the air scoop and connected to the air inlet.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a single-inlet air intake control structure in accordance with the present invention;

[0014] FIG. 2 is an another perspective view of the single-inlet air intake control structure in FIG. 1;

[0015] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the single-inlet air intake control structure in FIG. 1;

[0016] FIG. 4 is a top view of the single-inlet air intake control structure in FIG. 1;

[0017] FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view along line A-A in FIG. 4;

[0018] FIG. 6 is a front view of the single-inlet air intake control structure in FIG. 1; and

[0019] FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view along line B-B in FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] FIGS. 1 to 3 are various connecting configurations of a single-inlet air intake control structure in accordance with the present invention. The single-inlet air intake control structure comprises an air cleaner 10, a control valve 20, a throttle valve 30, a first pipe 40 and a second pipe 50.

[0021] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, 5 and 7, the air cleaner 10 comprises a cleaner shell 11 and an air filter 12. The cleaner shell 11 has an interior space and is a detachable structure. An air inlet 111 and an air outlet 112 are respectively formed at different positions of the cleaner shell 11. The air filter 12 is an element that has the functions such as filtering out the dust in the air, etc., and the air filter 12 is a conventional product. The air filter 12 is disposed in the interior space of the cleaner shell 11 and divides the interior space of the cleaner shell 11 into a first zone 113 and a second zone 114. The air inlet 111 is connected to the first zone 113, and the air outlet 112 is connected to the second zone 114. External air can flow into the first zone 113 from the air inlet 111 of the cleaner shell 11, through the air filter 12 to have the dust filtered away, and afterwards the purified air enters the second zone 114 and is discharged through the air outlet 112. In a preferred embodiment, an air scoop is mounted on an outer wall of the cleaner shell 11, and an interior of the air scoop has an extended air inlet passage 117 connected to the air inlet 111.

[0022] Besides, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, 5 and 7, at least one through hole is formed through the outer wall of the cleaner shell 11 and connected to the second zone 114. In a preferred embodiment, the at least one through hole includes a drainage hole 115 and an engine breather intake hole 116 at different positions of the outer wall of the cleaner shell 11, and both the drainage hole 115 and the engine breather intake hole 116 are connected to the cleaner shell 11 to the second zone 114. In a preferred embodiment, the drainage hole 115 and the engine breather intake hole 116 are at different side walls of the cleaner shell 11. The above-mentioned drainage hole 115 and the engine breather intake hole 116 are the structures that most conventional air cleaners have, and thus descriptions of the functions of the drainage hole 115 and the engine breather intake hole 116 are omitted.

[0023] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, 5 and 7, the control valve 20 is disposed at one side of the air cleaner 10 and has a valve shell 21 and a control valve gate 22. A control valve passage 210 is formed within the valve shell 21. The control valve gate 22 is disposed in the valve shell 21, and the control valve gate 22 can be rotated to open or to close the control valve passage 210. A control unit 23 is disposed on the valve shell 21. An angle of the control valve gate 22 can be changed by the control unit 23. The control unit 23 can be chosen from conventional products, and thus description of the structure of the control unit 23 is omitted.

[0024] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, 5 and 7, the throttle valve 30 is disposed at one side, which is opposite to the air cleaner 10, of the control valve 20. The throttle valve 30 has a throttle body 31 and a throttle valve gate 32. A throttle valve passage 310 is formed within the throttle body 31. The throttle valve gate 32 is disposed in the throttle body 31, and the throttle valve gate 32 can be rotated to open or to close the throttle valve passage 310. A throttle control unit 33 is disposed on the throttle body 31. An angle of the throttle valve gate 32 can be changed by the throttle control unit 33. The throttle control unit 33 can be chosen from conventional products, and thus description of the structure of the throttle control unit 33 is omitted.

[0025] With reference to FIGS. 4 to 7, the first pipe 40 connects the air cleaner 10 and the control valve 20. One end of the first pipe 40 is defined as a first pipe end 41, and the other end of the first pipe 40 is defined as a second pipe end 42. The first pipe 40 is connected to the second zone 114 of the cleaner shell 11 through installing the first pipe end 41 to the air outlet 112 of the cleaner shell 11. The first pipe 40 is then connected to one end of the control valve passage 210 of the control valve 20 through the second pipe end 42.

[0026] With reference to FIGS. 4 to 7, the second pipe 50 connects the control valve 20 and the throttle valve 30. One end of the second pipe 50 is defined as a first end 51, and the other end of the second pipe 50 is defined as a second end 52. The second pipe 50 is connected to one end of the control valve passage 210 of the control valve 20 through the first end 51. The second pipe 50 is then connected to one end of the throttle valve passage 310 of the throttle valve 30 through the second end 52. Thus the throttle valve 30, the second pipe 50, the control valve 20, the first pipe 40 and the air cleaner 10 are connected in sequence to form an air intake passage.

[0027] With reference to FIGS. 5 to 7, in a preferred embodiment, a sectional area of the first pipe 40 gradually decreases from the first pipe end 41 to the second pipe end 42. Thus, when air flows from the first pipe end 41 to the second pipe end 42, the air speed increases. A sectional area of the second pipe 50 gradually decreases from the first end 51 to the second end 52. A sectional area of the first end 51 of the second pipe 50 is equal or approximate to a sectional area of the second pipe end 42 of the first pipe 40. A sectional area of one end, which is adjacent to the second end 52 of the second pipe 50, of the throttle valve passage 310 of the throttle valve 30 is larger than a sectional area of the other end of the throttle valve passage 310. Thus, in the throttle valve passage 310 of the throttle valve 30, when air flows from the end adjacent to the second end 52 of the second pipe 50 to the other end, the air speed increases.

[0028] The single-inlet air intake control structure in accordance with the present invention can be applied to power systems such as a motorcycle with an engine, etc. With reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 5 and 7, the single-inlet air intake control structure is connected to the engine by the throttle valve 30. When the engine is operating, the required intake air quantity is brought by the negative pressure effect caused by the air intake passage within the single-inlet air intake control structure. The intake air then is mixed with the fuel such as gas and then is injected into the engine. The single-inlet air intake control structure in accordance with the present invention directly controls the intake air quantity of the engine mainly through the throttle valve 30 and the control valve 20 respectively at the appropriate positions of the air intake passage.

[0029] When the engine speed is high, a higher intake air quantity is required. At this time, the throttle valve 30 is switched to a full-open or a wide-open state, and thus the intake air can be applied to the engine directly through the air cleaner 10, the first pipe 40, the control valve 20, the second pipe 50 and the throttle valve 30. Besides, the control valve 20 is switched to be nearly closed, and thus the engine speed can be decreased, thereby limiting the engine speed.

[0030] When the engine speed is low, a lower intake air quantity is required. At this time, the throttle valve 30 is switched to a nearly-closed state, that is, the throttle valve 30 is switched to a narrow-open state. Therefore, switching the control valve 20 to open can provide the engine the intake air quantity that the engine requires.

[0031] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.