Straddle-Type Vehicle Sensor Mounting on Air Cleaner Box

Solution Overview

Problem

Straddle-type vehicles face challenges in accurately detecting vehicle body behavior near the center of gravity due to the placement of vehicle body behavior sensors, which often results in temperature issues and vibration interference from the engine, leading to inaccurate signal output.

Innovation Solution

A vehicle body behavior sensor is positioned on the periphery of the air cleaner box, above its bottom wall surface, with a reinforcement structure to suppress vibrations and heat from the engine, ensuring accurate detection of vehicle body behavior close to the center of gravity while maintaining thermal protection.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the vehicle body behavior sensor is disposed close to the engine to improve measurement precision, then the sensor can detect vehicle body behavior closer to the center of gravity, but the sensor is exposed to heated air from the engine causing temperature increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevehicle body behavior detection accuracyVSAvoidsensor temperature

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSTemperature

Solution Approach 1:

The air cleaner box is divided into an upper portion and a lower portion, with the sensor disposed in the upper portion. This segmentation creates a thermal barrier that separates the sensor from the heated air in the lower portion near the engine, while still allowing the sensor to detect vehicle body behavior accurately.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The air cleaner box acts as an intermediary structure between the engine and the sensor. It provides thermal protection by blocking heated air from reaching the sensor, while the sensor remains positioned close enough to the vehicle's center of gravity to maintain high measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Temperature

If the vehicle body behavior sensor is disposed distant from the engine to avoid heat exposure, then the sensor is thermally protected, but the difference between vehicle body behavior at the center of gravity and detected behavior increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesensor temperatureVSAvoidvehicle body behavior detection accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The air cleaner box is divided into an upper portion and a lower portion, with the sensor disposed in the upper portion. This segmentation creates a thermal barrier that separates the sensor from the heated air in the lower portion near the engine, while still allowing the sensor to detect vehicle body behavior accurately.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The air cleaner box acts as an intermediary structure between the engine and the sensor. It provides thermal protection by blocking heated air from reaching the sensor, while the sensor remains positioned close enough to the vehicle's center of gravity to maintain high measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Device complexity

If the sensor is mounted on the air cleaner box without reinforcement structure, then the assembly is simpler, but vibration from the engine causes inaccurate sensor output

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveassembly complexityVSAvoidsensor signal accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The reinforcement structure is locally applied to the air cleaner box at the sensor mounting location. This localized reinforcement suppresses vibration at the critical mounting point without requiring reinforcement of the entire air cleaner box, maintaining simplicity while improving measurement precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP3147188B1Straddle-type vehicle

Publication Date: 2021.04.14 KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KK

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AI summary

A straddle-type vehicle comprises a front wheel (2) and a rear wheel (3), an engine (E) disposed between the front wheel (2) and the rear wheel (3), an air cleaner box (20) disposed above the engine, and a vehicle body behavior sensor (10) provided on a periphery of the air cleaner box (20) and located above a bottom wall surface (S2) of the air cleaner box (20).