Motorcycle Cowl Air Guide Grooves for Battery Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional motor-driven vehicles inefficiently guide airflow into battery covers, often requiring electric fans that increase weight, cost, and complexity.
Innovation Solution
The vehicle incorporates air guide grooves in the cowl side walls to straighten and direct airflow into battery cover ports, with additional intake and exhaust ports to enhance airflow distribution and prevent stagnation, eliminating the need for electric fans.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If an electric fan is arranged inside the battery cover to draw in airflow, then the battery cooling efficiency is improved, but the load on the battery increases and the battery cover becomes enlarged with more components, increasing weight and cost
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the airflow guidance function from the battery cover structure and relocates it to the cowl structure. The cowl is equipped with air guide grooves and airflow guiding structures that direct ambient air toward the battery cover's airflow guiding-in ports, eliminating the need for an electric fan inside the battery cover to generate airflow.
Solution Approach 2:
The vehicle's forward motion automatically generates airflow that is then guided by the cowl's airflow guiding structures to cool the battery. The system uses the vehicle's own movement to create the cooling airflow, eliminating the need for an additional power-consuming fan component.
2Temperature
If airflow guiding-in ports are provided at side surfaces of the battery cover, then the battery can be cooled by airflow, but the efficiency of guiding-in the airflow is low without additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces the cowl as an intermediary structure between the ambient air and the battery cover. The cowl contains air guide grooves and airflow guiding structures that act as a mediator to efficiently direct airflow toward the battery cover's guiding-in ports, significantly improving airflow guidance efficiency compared to direct side-surface ports.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds a spatial dimension to airflow guidance by using the cowl's three-dimensional structure with grooves and guiding surfaces that shape and direct airflow in multiple directions, rather than relying on simple two-dimensional port openings on the battery cover itself.
3Temperature
If the battery cover is enlarged to accommodate an electric fan, then the battery can be cooled actively, but the weight and cost of the vehicle increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the fan component entirely from the battery cover assembly and replaces it with passive airflow guidance structures integrated into the cowl. This removal of the electric fan directly reduces the weight of the battery cover assembly and overall vehicle weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The cowl structure is given multiple functions: it serves as a body panel for aerodynamic purposes and simultaneously functions as an airflow guidance system with integrated grooves and structures to direct cooling air to the battery. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate cooling components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution effectively cools the battery and electric motor using natural airflow, reducing component count, weight, and cost while maintaining efficient cooling.
Implementation Method 1
the airflow coming from the front side is guided to the airflow guiding-in ports in the battery cover side walls while being straightened, by the air guide grooves provided in the side walls of the cowl
Implementation Method 2
an airflow induced by traveling of the vehicle is guided in and supplied to the peripheries of the battery... effectively cools the battery and electric motor using natural airflow
Data Source
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AI summary
An electric motorcycle comprising a battery cover (20) the lateral side walls of which are provided with airflow guiding-in ports (22) through which an airflow induced by traveling of the vehicle is guided to peripheries of a battery, a cowl (30) for covering a steering handle (1) and a body frame (F), a windscreen (34) inclined rearwardly upward which is mounted to an upper portion of the cowl (30) covering the upper side of the steering handle (1), wherein lateral side surfaces of the cowl (30) are provided with air guide grooves (32) by which the airflow is directed toward the respective airflow guiding-in port (22) while being straightened and right and left slits (35) through which the airflow is directed to upper portions of the airflow guiding-in ports (22) are each provided between lateral edges of the windscreen (34) and the cowl (30).