Transmission cover with improved airflow
AssigneeArctic Cat Inc.
InventorRyan Eberhardt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cover for a transmission having improved airflow path is disclosed. The interior of the cover has a progressively narrowing airflow path to reduce pressure drop through the cover, thereby improving the cooling efficiency of the airflow through the cover. The cover includes a diverter sheltering the air inlet to the cover to prevent air in the cover from exerting outward pressure on the incoming air.
Claims17
A transmission for a vehicle that includes an engine that generates power, comprising:
- a drive clutch that receives at least a portion of the generated power from the engine;
- a driven clutch that is offset from the drive clutch in a first direction of the vehicle;
- a belt that transmits at least a portion of the received portion of the power from the drive clutch to the driven clutch;
- a first cover portion that covers a first portion of the drive clutch and a first portion of the driven clutch, wherein the first cover portion includes at least an air inlet, an air outlet, a deep region that defines a first lateral dimension, a shallow region, and a ramp region that defines a second lateral dimension that is less than the first lateral dimension, the ramp region extending from the deep region to the shallow region, the ramp region having a longitudinal dimension, and the second lateral dimension continuously decreasing along an entirety of the longitudinal dimension;
- and
- a second cover portion that covers a second portion of the drive clutch that is offset from the first portion of the drive clutch in a second direction of the vehicle transverse to the first direction and a second portion of the driven clutch that is offset from the first portion of the driven clutch in the second direction.
A cover for a vehicle transmission, the vehicle including at least an engine, a driven shaft, and a drive shaft powered by the engine, the transmission including a drive clutch adapted to be operatively coupled to the drive shaft and a driven clutch adapted to be operatively coupled to the driven shaft, the driven clutch being operably coupled to the drive clutch, the cover comprising:
- a first hole adapted to receive the drive shaft of the vehicle;
- a second hole adapted to receive the driven shaft of the vehicle;
- an interior within which the drive clutch and driven clutch are positioned;
- at least one air inlet adapted to provide air from an exterior of the cover to the interior;
- and
- at least one air outlet adapted to provide air from the interior to the exterior;
- wherein the interior of the cover includes:
- a deep region adjacent the air inlet, wherein the deep region includes a first lateral dimension;
- a shallow region adjacent the first hole and the air outlet, wherein the shallow region includes a second lateral dimension that is less than the first lateral dimension, wherein the deep region and the shallow region form at least one portion of an airflow channel that guides air flowing from the at least one air inlet to the at least one air outlet;
- and
- a ramp region that extends from the deep region to the shallow region, the ramp region having a longitudinal dimension and a third lateral dimension that continuously decreases along an entirety of the longitudinal dimension.
A transmission for a vehicle that includes at least a drive shaft and a driven shaft that is offset in a longitudinal direction, wherein each of the drive and the driven shafts extend in a lateral direction that is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and a vertical direction is transverse to each of the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction, the transmission comprising:
- a drive clutch held by the drive shaft;
- a driven clutch held by the driven shaft;
- and
- a case including:
- a first lateral portion;
- a second lateral portion;
- an air inlet extending through at least one of the first lateral portion of the case or the second lateral portion of the case;
- an air outlet extending through at least one of the first lateral portion of the case or the second lateral portion of the case;
- and
- an airflow channel within the case that guides at least a portion of flowing air from the air inlet downstream to the air outlet, wherein the airflow channel has a deep region that is downstream from the air inlet and upstream from the air outlet, a ramp region that is downstream from the deep region and upstream from the air outlet, and a shallow region that is downstream from the ramp region and upstream from the air outlet, the ramp region extending from the deep region to the shallow region, and the ramp region having a longitudinal dimension and a lateral dimension that continuously decreases along an entirety of the longitudinal dimension.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.