Exhaust Sensor Cover Structure for Low-Drag Stone Protection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing straddle type vehicles face a challenge in protecting exhaust gas sensors from flying stones while minimizing air resistance caused by traveling winds.
Innovation Solution
A cover member with a front wall portion having a passing portion and higher rigidity, designed to allow wind passage and prevent stone impact, is integrated with a harness passing through a bent portion to reduce air resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a protection structure is provided in the exhaust gas sensor to protect from flying stones, then the exhaust gas sensor is protected from damage, but air resistance increases and traveling performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The front wall portion includes a through-hole that allows traveling wind to pass through, creating a porous structure that reduces air resistance while maintaining protection function. The hole enables wind flow through the cover member rather than against it, reducing the energy loss from air resistance while the surrounding structure still blocks flying stones.
Solution Approach 2:
The front wall portion is divided into multiple regions: a rigidity portion with higher rigidity for structural strength, and other portions with lower rigidity. This segmentation allows the structure to be optimized for different functions - protection and wind flow - in different areas, resolving the contradiction between strength and air resistance reduction.
2Strength
If the front wall portion has high rigidity for structural strength, then the cover member can withstand impact, but air resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The front wall portion has different rigidity in different regions: a rigidity portion with higher rigidity for structural strength and other portions with lower rigidity. This local quality differentiation allows the structure to have high strength where needed while reducing overall air resistance, as the lower rigidity portions allow more wind flow through them.
Solution Approach 2:
The front wall portion includes a through-hole that creates a porous structure, allowing traveling wind to pass through rather than against the entire surface. This reduces the effective area resisting wind, thereby reducing air resistance while the rigidity portion maintains necessary structural strength.
3Reliability
If the harness passes through the rigidity portion, then the harness is protected from damage, but the structural integrity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The front wall portion has differentiated rigidity with a specific rigidity portion that maintains high structural strength. The harness passing through this localized high-strength area minimizes impact on overall structural integrity while still providing protection to the harness in the protected zone.
Data Source
AI summary
A straddle type vehicle includes an exhaust passage through which exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine flows, an exhaust gas sensor detecting a component of the exhaust gas flowing through the exhaust passage, and a cover member covering the exhaust gas sensor. The cover member has a front wall portion that is disposed on a front side of the exhaust gas sensor in a front-and-rear direction of the straddle type vehicle. A passing portion through which a traveling wind passes is formed in the front wall portion. The front wall portion has a rigidity portion having higher rigidity than other portions. A harness connected to the exhaust gas sensor passes through a side of the rigidity portion of the front wall portion.