Description:TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present subject matter relates generally to a powertrain assembly. More particularly but not exclusively, the present subject matter relates to a powertrain assembly with a recess.

BACKGROUND
[0002] Generally for vehicles comprising a power unit such as an engine or an electric motor for propelling the vehicle, the size of the power unit governs configuration, arrangement and layout for wheel base and location of all other components, etc. With the advent of increased size in power units, having increased diameter, accommodating such power units without conflicting with surrounding components has become a challenge. In the known design, the power unit may be placed behind the battery and ahead of at least a rear wheel. It is also known to have such power units mounted between the battery and at least one front wheel. But due to the increase in size, accommodating higher capacity power unit was becoming difficult because of interference between powertrain, for example power unit casing/ covering and the surrounding components like the rear wheel and/or frame assembly. The power unit can therefore interfere, for example, with the clearance of rear wheel in the rear portion of the power unit, as well as with the frame in front portion of the power unit in shock absorber full bump condition. This interference can also damage the power unit and its casing along with the interfering parts.

[0003] To overcome this problem, one solution was to increase the wheel base and change the transmission system positioning and length. However, increasing the wheel base of the vehicle is not recommended as it increases the length of the vehicle and that would substantially alter the arrangement of parts, increase the number or size of parts, for example, wiring. This also results in an increase in vehicle weight and cost due to the addition of more material and parts to the transmission casing to cover the increased length of the transmission system. This would also adversely alter the performance of the engine due to modified weight and other dynamics.

[0004] Further, with increased wheel base, vehicle handling is also affected because of lengthy vehicle’s wheel base during city driving as it would make it difficult to steer the vehicle in traffic and city road conditions. Apart from this, if the wheel base is increased, the other components will shift closer to the ground, reducing ground clearance of the vehicle.

[0005] Another solution is that the power unit’s position can be changed either towards front (or rear in case of interference with front wheel) and then in an upward direction. However, this would consume the critical utility space, which is not recommended. Compact packaging is also a challenge within an existing layout.

[0006] Therefore, it becomes a challenge to place or install the powertrain assembly to avoid interface issues between its components and vehicle’s other components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The details are described with reference to an embodiment of a storage assembly along with the accompanying figures. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference similar features and components.

[0008] Figure 1 illustrates a side perspective view of a saddle type vehicle with the outer cover for the power unit installed on the frame of the vehicle.

[0009] Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of outer cover with depression to accommodate rear wheel.

[00010] Figure 3 illustrates a sectional side view of the depression in outer cover and the power unit mounted on the frame to accommodate the rear wheel.

[00011] Figure 4 illustrates an isometric view of the power unit with a depression to accommodate the rear wheel.

[00012] Figure 5 and 6 illustrate the top and top perspective view, respectively, of the power unit with a depression to accommodate the rear wheel.

[00013] Figure 7 illustrates the depression in the outer cover to accommodate rear wheel in a side view of the vehicle.

[00014] Figure 8 illustrates the depression in the power unit to accommodate the rear wheel.

[00015] Figure 9 illustrates a perspective view of the mounting arrangement of outer cover of power unit with shock-absorber-full-bump condition.

[00016] Figure 10 illustrates an exploded view of the outer cover of the power unit with depression to accommodate rear wheel.

[00017] Figure 11 illustrates the recess in outer cover to avoid interference with the frame assembly.

[00018] Figure 12 illustrates a top sectional view of the outer cover of the power unit with the depression and recess.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[00019] The present subject matter relates generally to a powertrain assembly for a vehicle. The powertrain assembly comprises a power unit and an outer cover for accommodating the power unit. The outer cover of the power unit is configured on its sides such that a depression for a clearing space is achieved between the powertrain assembly and one of a plurality of wheels of the vehicle. The said outer configuration will further cater to avoidance of interference of the powertrain assembly with a frame assembly of the vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[00020] To overcome the mentioned problem in background, a depression is provided at a rear portion of the outer cover/casing of the power unit to avoid interface issues between the outer cover and the rear wheel. In another aspect of the invention, a recess/opening is provided in a front portion of the outer cover of the power unit to avoid interface issue between the outer cover and a rear portion of the frame of the vehicle. The depression is also provided in the power unit by way of projections so that the power unit can be accommodated in the outer cover/ casing.

[00021] The depression will help to accommodate rear tyre without increasing the wheel base. This also avoids shifting of the power unit. The created depression/ relief enables in reducing the vehicle cost and weight and further improve its performance while accommodating a larger power unit. The larger power unit can be packaged now without impacting on utility volume of the utility box.

[00022] The outer cover for the power unit is provided with the depression to accommodate the rear wheel without any interface issues that arise between the outer cover and the rear wheel. Also, the reduced length projections (in the instant case it is reduced length of fins of a motor) are provided by the alongside depression provided in the power unit. This accommodates the outer cover over the power unit. A recess/opening is also provided at the front side of the power train assembly to accommodate the frame of the vehicle without any interference issues between the outer cover and the frame as the powertrain assembly tends to swing when the rear shock absorbers or mono-shock absorbers of the vehicle are compressed by the vehicle load at various conditions. This opening also helps in cooling of the power unit.

[00023] The projections provided on the power unit are reduced in length to maintain clearance/clear space between the power unit and the rear wheel. This caters to ease in manufacturability. In addition to varying length of the projections, the outer cover forming the base of the projections is also configured in a concave profile to achieve the depression so that the reduction in length of projection from the top end is compensated by the depression in the cover surface. Thus, even if the upper end of the projections in one portion is reduced in height, the depression in the base of the projection ensures there is no significant change in cooling efficiency of the power unit.

[00024] In addition to achieving the above-mentioned objectives and other related objectives, the present invention provides the advantage of maintaining the wheel base at the standard level without increasing its size, which helps in vehicle handling, reduces the weight and cost of the vehicle and thereby its performance. Further, compact packaging is achieved while accommodating a greater size of the power unit. The utility space and the transmission layout remain the same and unaffected while maintaining the ground clearance. Furthermore, the vehicle aesthetics is maintained as its parts are proportionally the same.

[00025] In one embodiment of the present invention, a saddle type vehicle comprising a frame assembly for skeletal support, at least a pair of wheels, a powertrain assembly that comprises a power unit for providing power to propel the saddle type vehicle. The powertrain assembly is configured to provide a depression for a clearing space between the powertrain assembly and the wheels of the saddle type vehicle. The powertrain assembly is also configured to provide a recess that avoids interference of the powertrain assembly with frame assembly of the saddle type vehicle.

[00026] In another embodiment of the present invention, in the saddle type vehicle, the power unit is substantially enclosed by an outer cover. The outer cover comprises a plurality of sides that comprises a recess to avoid the interference of the powertrain assembly with the frame assembly in the vehicle.

[00027] In another embodiment of the present invention, the saddle type vehicle has the frame assembly. The frame assembly is responsible for providing skeletal support to the saddle type vehicle. The frame assembly includes one or more head frame in a front portion of the saddle type vehicle, one or more main frame that extends from the front portion of the saddle type vehicle to a central portion of the saddle type vehicle, one or more down frame extending from the front portion of the saddle type vehicle in a downward direction below the main frame, and one or more rear frame extending from the central portion of the saddle type vehicle towards a rear portion of the saddle type vehicle. The saddle type vehicle also has at least a pair of wheels including a rear wheel which is substantially placed below the rear frame, and the front wheel of the saddle type vehicle is substantially placed below the head frame. Further, the power unit of the powertrain assembly is mounted on the rear end of the main frame extending into said central portion of the saddle type vehicle.

[00028] In another embodiment of the present invention, the one of the pair of wheels is the rear wheel.

[00029] In another embodiment of the present invention, the power unit is an internal combustion engine in the saddle type vehicle.

[00030] In another embodiment of the present invention, the power unit is an electric motor in the saddle type vehicle.

[00031] In another embodiment of the present invention, in the saddle type vehicle, the power unit comprises projections on its outer surface for heat dissipation and the depression on the power unit is provided by reduced length of a portion of the projections on said outer surface.

[00032] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a powertrain assembly for a vehicle is claimed. The power train assembly is comprising a power unit, an outer cover for accommodating the power unit. The outer cover of the powertrain assembly comprises a plurality of sides. A first side out of the plurality of sides of the outer cover is configured to provide a depression for a clearing space between the powertrain assembly and an at least one wheel of the vehicle. A second side out of the plurality of sides of the outer cover is configured to provide a recess in order to avoid interference of the powertrain assembly with the frame assembly of the vehicle.

[00033] In another embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle having the powertrain assembly is a saddle type vehicle and the power unit is mounted on a frame assembly of the vehicle.

[00034] In another embodiment of the present subject matter, vehicle having the powertrain assembly has at least one wheel being one or more rear wheels of the vehicle and the power train assembly is configured to transmit power to the one or more rear wheels.

[00035] The embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to an embodiment in a saddle type vehicle along with the accompanying drawings. However, the disclosed invention is not limited to the present embodiments.

[00036] Figure 1 illustrates a side perspective view of a saddle type vehicle 100 with a powertrain assembly 103 disposed substantially below a rear frame 101R of a frame assembly 101 of the saddle type vehicle 100. The saddle type vehicle 100 has a front portion F, a center portion C and a rear portion R. The frame assembly 101 includes a head frame 101H, a main frame 101M, a down frame 101D and said rear frame 101R. The saddle type vehicle 100 has a pair of wheels 102 including a front wheel 102R and a rear wheel 102F. There is no limitation regarding the location of the powertrain assembly as the same can be deployed on any other part of the vehicle with respect to the position of the wheels 102, the frame assembly 103 and including passenger’s seat.

[00037] Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of outer cover 108 with depression 105 to accommodate rear wheel 102R. The figure indicatively shows the position of the rear wheel 102R with respect to a power unit 104 which is enclosed in the outer cover 108 having a depression 105. The depression 105 ensures there is no interference between the wheel 102R and the power unit 104.

[00038] Figure 3 illustrates a sectional side view of the depression 105 in outer cover 108 and the power unit 104 mounted on the frame assembly 101 to accommodate the rear wheel. The figure depicts the depression 105 on the outer cover 108 of the power unit 104 that accommodates the power unit 104. The power unit is substantially disposed below the rear frame 101R of the frame assembly 101 of the vehicle 100. This depression 105 on the surface of the outer cover 108 is responsible for creating a clearing space 106 (shown in Figure 6) between the powertrain assembly (shown in Figure 1) and the rear wheel 102R.

[00039] Figure 4 illustrates a side view of the power unit 104 with a depression 105 to accommodate the rear wheel 102R. Figure 5 illustrates the top view of the power unit 104 to accommodate rear wheel 102R. Figure 6 illustrates a perspective view of the power unit 104 with the projections 110 to accommodate the depression 105 (shown in Figure 7) of the outer cover 108 (shown in Figure 3). Fig.4, Fig.5, and Fig.6 shall be described together. A plurality of projections 110 of the power unit 104 is shown. The projections 110 are reduced in length in order to accommodate the depression 105 (shown in Figure 3) of the outer cover 108 (shown in Figure 3). Further, the clearance space 106 is created between the powertrain assembly (shown in Figure 1) 103 and the rear wheel 102R due to the depression 105.

[00040] Similarly, Figure 7 and 8 depict the depression 105 in the outer cover 108 to accommodate rear wheel 102R to define the clearance space 106 between the powertrain assembly 103 and the rear wheel 102R in a side view of the vehicle and both figures will be described together. They show the outer cover 108 having the depression 105 and the recess 107. The depression 105 helps in providing the clearance space 106. Further, the recess 107 helps in avoiding the interference of the powertrain assembly 103 with the rear frame 101R of the frame assembly 101 (shown in Figure 1).

[00041] Figure 9a and 9b illustrate a perspective view of the mounting arrangement of outer cover 108 of power unit 104 with main frame 101M with shock-absorber-full-bump condition. In this full bump condition, it is assumed that the vehicle being in operating condition has just confronted a significant bump on the road leading to compression of a rear shock absorber (not shown). Due to the placement of the rear wheel in swing arm configuration, there is relative movement due to the bump between the rear wheel 102R and the rear frame 101R (shown in Fig 8). This leads to a situation whereby the frame assembly 101, particularly, main frame 101M tilt backwards towards the rear wheel 102R. In conventional vehicles, since there would be no clearance between the power unit 104 and the main frame 101M, they would collide or rub against each other in case of such a bump. Thus, the recess 107 ensures that even in full bump condition where the rear shock absorber is fully compressed and the main frame 101M is tilted backwards to its full capacity, the same will not lead to any friction or interference with the power unit 104.

[00042] Figure 10 illustrates an exploded view of the outer cover 108 of the power unit 104 with depression 105 to accommodate rear wheel 102R. In this embodiment, the power unit 104 is an electric motor and the vehicle is an electric motorbike. The said motor has out cover 108 on which the depression 105 and the recess 107 is provided.

[00043] Figure 11 illustrates the recess 107 in outer cover 108 to avoid interference with the frame assembly 101. While the depression 105 is not visible, the recess 107 is clearly visible which will accommodate the tilting portion of the main frame 101M in case of full bump condition of the vehicle.

[00044] Figure 12 illustrates a top cut section of the outer cover 108 of the power unit 104 with the depression and recess. The depression 105 is visible on the left hand side (rear direction of the vehicle) towards the wheel 102R. Any relative movement between the rear wheel 102R and the power unit 104 due to uneven roads or shocks will not lead to interference between the rear wheel 102R and the power unit 104 because of the depression 105. The recess 107 is clearly visible on the right hand side (front direction of the vehicle) which will accommodate the tilting portion of the main frame 101M in case of full bump condition of the vehicle.
 

List of Reference numerals:
100: Vehicle
101 Frame assembly
101H, 101M, 101D, 101R Head frame, Main Frame, Down Frame, Rear Frame
102 A pair of wheels
102R, 102F Rear Wheel, Front Wheel
103 Powertrain assembly
104 Power unit
105 Depression
106 Clearing space
107 Recess
108 Outer Cover
109 Plurality of sides
109F, 109S First side, Second side
F Front portion
C Central portion
R Rear portion
110 Projections
, Claims:I/ We claim:
1. A saddle type vehicle (100) comprising:
a frame assembly (101) for skeletal support to said saddle type vehicle;
at least a pair of wheels (102);
a powertrain assembly (103), said powertrain assembly comprising a power unit (104) for providing power to propel said saddle type vehicle (100); wherein
said powertrain assembly (103) is configured to provide a depression (105) for a clearing space (106) between the powertrain assembly (103) and one of said pair of wheels (102); and
said powertrain assembly (103) is configured to provide a recess (107) to avoid interference of the powertrain assembly (103) with said frame assembly (101).
2. The saddle type vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said power unit (104) is substantially enclosed by an outer cover (108) and
said outer cover (108) comprises a plurality of sides (109), one of the said plurality of sides (109) comprising a recess (107) to avoid interference of the powertrain assembly (103) with said frame assembly (101).
3. The saddle type vehicle (101) as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the frame assembly (101) includes one or more head frame (101H) in a front portion (F) of said saddle type vehicle (101), one or more main frame (101M), said main frame (101M) extending from the front portion (F) of said saddle type vehicle (101) to a central portion (C) of said saddle type vehicle (101), one or more down frame (101D) extending from the front portion (F) of the said saddle type vehicle (101) in a downward direction below the main frame (101M), and one or more rear frame (101R) extending from said central portion (C) of the saddle type vehicle (100) towards a rear portion (R) of the saddle type vehicle (100);
said at least pair of wheels (102) includes a rear wheel (102R), said rear wheel (102R) being substantially placed below said rear frame (101R) and a front wheel (102F), said front wheel (102F) being substantially placed below said head frame (101H); and
said power unit (104) of said powertrain assembly (103) is mounted on a rear end of the main frame (101D) extending into said central portion (C) of the saddle type vehicle (100).
4. The saddle type vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said one of said pair of wheels (102) is the rear wheel (102R).
5. The saddle type vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the power unit (104) is an internal combustion engine.
6. The saddle type vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the power unit (104) is an electric motor.
7. The saddle type vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 2 wherein the power unit (104) comprises projections (110) on its outer surface for heat dissipation and said depression (105) on the power unit (104) is provided by reduced length of a portion of said projections (110) on said outer surface.
8. A powertrain assembly (103) for a vehicle (100), said power train assembly (103) comprising:
a power unit (104);
an outer cover (108) for accommodating said power unit (104), said outer cover (108) comprising a plurality of sides (109); wherein
a first side (109F) out of said plurality of sides (109) of said outer cover (108) is configured to provide a depression (105) for a clearing space (106) between the powertrain assembly (103) and at least one wheel of said vehicle (100); and
a second side (109S) out of said plurality of sides (109) of said outer cover (108) is configured to provide a recess (107) to avoid interference of the powertrain assembly (103) with said frame assembly (101).

9. The powertrain assembly (103) for the vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 9, wherein said vehicle (100) is a saddle type vehicle and said power unit (104) is mounted on a frame assembly (101) of said vehicle (100).
10. The powertrain assembly (103) of the vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 9, wherein said at least one wheel of said vehicle (100) is one or more rear wheels (102R) of said vehicle (100) and said power train assembly (103) is configured to transmit power to said one or more rear wheels (102R).