AIR CLEANER FOR A TWO-WHEELED AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an air cleaner for a vehicle and more particularly to the structure of an air cleaner housing for a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0002] The power unit of a conventional two-wheeled automotive vehicle comprises an internal combustion engine, in which a mixture of fuel and air, which is formed in a carburetor, is combusted to generate power that in turn drives the wheels of the vehicle. The air that forms the mixture with the fuel is drawn from the surroundings. Such drawn air might contain foreign particles and impurities such as dust, which may affect the combustion efficiency of the engine, or even cause damages to it. Therefore, an air cleaner is always provided in the air intake structure of the engine to clean out the impurities in the air before being guided into the engine.

[0003] A conventional air cleaner comprises an air cleaner housing which has an air cleaner element fixed to it. The air cleaner element filters the air entering the air cleaner. Pleated paper is the air cleaner element generally used. Since the air cleaner element is continuously exposed to foreign particles such as dust and smoke, its service life is relatively very short. This is further aggravated due to proximity of the air cleaner inlet to the rear wheel of the vehicle. When the rear wheel is rotated, dust and other particles lying on the ground is lifted upwards and may entrain the air flowing into the air cleaner. The air cleaner element therefore has to be serviced regularly since dust and other foreign particles may gradually block the air cleaner element, which in turn reduces the amount of air passing there through, eventually affecting the performance of the engine. In the worst case, dust and other foreign particles may pass through the air cleaner element causing undesired wearing of moving parts of engine.

[0004] Therefore in view of the shortcomings in the prior art, it is the primary objective of the present invention to provide an improved air cleaner which restricts the entry of dust and other foreign particles onto the air cleaner element, consequently overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks of poor engine performance, reduced service life of the air cleaner and potential damage to engine cylinder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The current invention discloses a method for protecting an air filter of an air intake box from getting dirty by direct hitting of dirty atmospheric air from the air inlet passage on to the air filter inside the air intake box. The invention, uses a baffle placement inbetween the air intake passage and the air filter of the air intake box in such a way that the dirty atmospheric air coming inside the air intake box from the air intake passage doesn't hit the air filter directly instead it hits the baffle first, so that the dirt and soil contained in the intake air doesn't hit the air filter directly. This method thus prevents the air filter from getting dirty frequently and hence frequent changing of the filter can be easily avoided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0006] Figure 1 Shows a typical scooter type two-wheeler.

[0007] Figure 2 Illustrates an air cleaner of present invention.

[0008] Figure 3 Illustrates the side view of the air cleaner housing.

[0009] Figure 4 Illustrates the perspective view of the air cleaner housing

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[00010] The present invention is herein after described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be noted that like reference numerals designate corresponding or identical elements throughout the various drawings. The terms front and rear, and left and right as used to indicate the front and rear and the left and right directions when viewed by a rider seated on the vehicle seat.

[00011] A conventional two-wheeled automotive vehicle as illustrated in Fig. 1 has a body frame 11 comprising a head pipe 12 positioned at the front of the body frame 11, and a down tube 67 extending downwardly rearward from the rear lower portion of the head pipe 12, in a substantially horizontal direction. A pair of side tubes 15 arranged side by side, extends obliquely upward from the down tube in the rearward direction. A handle bar 13 is attached to the head pipe 12. The lower end of handle bar 13 is attached to a front fork 23, which movably supports a front wheel 91 at its lower end. Furthermore, a handle bar cover 61 is attached for covering the handle bar 13, and a head lamp 30 is attached to the handle bar cover 61. A front fender 33 is arranged in such a manner that it covers the upper portion of the front yheel 91. A rear wheel 10 is attached to the rear end of the body frame 11 via an engine unit 14 and a rear fender 36 covers the upper portion of the rear wheel 10.

A storage box 50 for storing articles is disposed above the side tubes 15. Further, a driver seat 27, which also serves as a lid for the storage box 50, is placed above the storage box 50 in a manner to be freely opened and closed, and a fuel tank 28 is arranged towards the rear of the storage box 50. The engine unit 14 is arranged in substantially central lower portion of the side tubes 15. An air cleaner 40 is mounted to the upper portion of the engine unit 14. The air cleaner 40 is connected to the engine unit 14 through a carburetor (not shown in the figure). By arranging a cushion 25 between the engine unit 14 and the rear part of the body frame 11, rear suspension is provided for the vehicle. A pillion handle 90 is attached to the rear end of side frames 15 and a tail lamp 35 is arranged below the pillion handle 90. There is a low step floor 16 provided between the seat 27 and the head pipe 12. The rider places his/her foot on the low step floor 16 at the time of travel. The step floor 16 also covers the horizontal portion of the down tube 67 from the above and is fixed to the down tube 67.

[00012] Fig. 2 illustrates the air cleaner 40 as per the present invention. The air cleaner 40 comprises an air cleaner housing 101, which has an air cleaning filter element secured to it 103. Outside air enters the air cleaner 40 through an intake hole 102. The air cleaner housing 101 is characterized by a baffle plate 100 formed on it. The baffle plate 100 is positioned in the vertical plane between the intake hole 102 and the air cleaning filter element 103 and is arranged adjacent to the air cleaning filter element 103.

[00013] Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 respectively illustrate the side view and the perspective view of the air cleaner housing 101. As shown the baffle plate 100 is formed perpendicular to the air cleaning filter element 103. The air cleaning filter element 103 is arranged vertically in the transverse direction. The air cleaner housing 101 partitions the air cleaner 40 into a clean room and a dirty room. The clean room is connected to the carburetor (not shown in the figures) by way of a connecting tube (not shown in the figures)

[00014] The arrangement and structure of the baffle plate 100 enables it to act as a barrier to dust, water and other foreign particles entering the air cleaner 40. The baffle plate 100 blocks dust, water and other foreign particles and prevents it from invading the air cleaning filter element. Consequently, dust, water and other foreign particles are not attached to the air cleaning filter element 103 which in turn enhances the durability and service life of the air cleaner filter element 103 and optimizes engine performance.

[00015] The foregoing description is a specific embodiment of the present invention and has been described for the purpose of illustration only. Persons skilled in the art may practice numerous alterations and modifications of the present invention without departing from its spirit and scope.

We Claim:

1. An air cleaner for a vehicle comprising an air cleaner housing, an air inlet passage in the said air cleaner housing wherein one end of the air inlet passage is open to the atmosphere and the other end resides inside the air cleaner housing; the said air cleaner housing further comprising an air cleaning filter element secured to it, said air cleaner housing characterized by a baffle plate formed on it in such a way that the said baffle plate is placed in the vertical plane between the said air inlet passage and the said air cleaning filter element and is arranged substantially perpendicular and adjacent to the said air cleaning filter element to obstruct the inlet air from directly hitting the air cleaning filter element.

2. The air cleaner for a vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said air cleaning filter element is arranged vertically in a transverse direction.

3. A two wheeled automotive vehicle comprising: a body frame; an internal combustion engine mounted to the said body frame; a front fork and a handlebar mounted for rotation on said body frame; a front wheel mounted to said front fork; a rear wheel mounted to said body frame; an air cleaner mounted to said internal combustion engine, the said air cleaner comprising an air cleaner housing and an air inlet passage leading to the atmosphere, the said air cleaner housing further comprising an air cleaning filter element secured to it, the said air cleaner housing characterized by a baffle plate integral to it, the said baffle plate provided in the vertical plane between the said air inlet passage and the said air cleaning filter element and arranged substantially perpendicular and adjacent to the said air cleaning filter element.

4. The two wheeled automotive vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the said air cleaning filter element is arranged vertically in a transverse direction.

5. The two wheeled automotive vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the the said air cleaner housing partitions the inside of the said air cleaner into a clean room and a dirty room.