Internal combustion engine

• US 7,640,819 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2007
• Issued: 01/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Yokotani, Hitoshi, Keyaki, Shinichiro, Inui, Hiroatsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Lewis; Tisha D
• Application Number:
  US11/699,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20070180948A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,071 Days
• Field of Search: 743/35, 744/21.A, 180/230, 180/374
• US Class Current: 74/335
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2057/0203 the gearbox is associated or combined with a crank case of an engine
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2057/02065 for motorcycles or squads
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 57/02 Gearboxes; Mounting gearing therein
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/32 Electric motors actuators or related electrical control means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 63/18 the final actuating mechanism comprising cams
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/19 Gearing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/19251 Control mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/19684 Motor and gearing

Abstract

An internal combustion engine including a transmission for transmitting power from a crankshaft to an output shaft through speed change, with the speed change in the transmission being performed by the driving of a speed change electric motor through a speed change drive mechanism, wherein power transmission control means for controlling the transmission of power from the crankshaft to the transmission is provided at one end of the crankshaft, and at least a part of the speed change electric motor and the speed change drive mechanism is disposed on the outside of the power transmission control means. This configuration of the internal combustion engine is reduced in size because of the layout of the speed change drive mechanism and the speed change electric motor.

Claims

1. An internal combustion engine comprising:

a transmission for transmitting power from a crankshaft to an output shaft through speed change, with the speed change in said transmission being performed by the driving of a speed change electric motor through a speed change drive mechanism,

wherein power transmission control means for controlling the transmission of power from said crankshaft to said transmission is provided at one end of said crankshaft, and

at least a part of said speed change electric motor and said speed change drive mechanism is disposed on an outside of said power transmission control means,

wherein said speed change drive mechanism includes an idle gear shaft integrally and coaxially provided with a large diameter gear and a small diameter gear which are operative to transmit rotational power of a motor drive shaft of said speed change drive mechanism to a shift spindle through speed reduction;

said transmission includes a main shaft to which power is inputted by said power transmission control means, and a counter shaft for transmitting the rotational power of said main shaft to said output shaft; and

an arrangement of said motor drive shaft, said idle gear shaft and said shift spindle and an arrangement of said main shaft and said counter shaft are so set as to avoid an area between said crankshaft and said output shaft.

2. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein such a positional relationship is adopted that said idle gear shaft is substantially contained in a plane containing said motor drive shaft and said shift spindle, and the plane containing said motor drive shaft and said shift spindle is located substantially in parallel to and on a lower side of a plane containing said crankshaft and said output shaft;

and

a plane containing said main shaft and said counter shaft is located substantially in parallel to and on an upper side of the plane containing said crankshaft and said output shaft.

3. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said idle gear shaft of said speed change drive mechanism has said large diameter gear located on an outer side and said small diameter gear located on an inner side;

and

said large diameter gear on the outer side is meshed with a drive gear provided on said motor drive shaft projecting to an inside of said speed change electric motor, and said small diameter gear on the inner side is meshed with a sector gear fitted to an end portion of said shift spindle.

4. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein when the internal combustion engine is viewed in an axial direction of the crankshaft, the speed change electric motor is seen to overlap the power transmission control means.

5. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the speed change drive mechanism is disposed lower than the crankshaft and the transmission.

6. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the speed change drive mechanism is provided on a lower side of the crankshaft and the main shaft.

7. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein a forward end of the shift spindle is disposed rearwardly of the speed change electric motor.

8. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the large diameter gear on the idle gear shaft is disposed forwardly with respect to the power transmission control means.

9. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 3, wherein the large diameter gear on the idle gear shaft is disposed forwardly with respect to the outer side of the power transmission control means.

10. An internal combustion engine comprising:

a speed change drive mechanism including a speed change electric motor; and

a transmission for transmitting power from a crankshaft to an output shaft through speed change, with the speed change in said transmission being performed by the driving of the speed change electric motor through the speed change drive mechanism; and

power transmission control means for controlling the transmission of power from said crankshaft to said transmission, the power transmission control means being provided at one end of said crankshaft,

wherein at least a part of said speed change electric motor and said speed change drive mechanism is disposed forwardly with respect to said power transmission control means,

wherein said speed change drive mechanism includes an idle gear shaft integrally and coaxially provided with a large diameter gear and a small diameter gear which are operative to transmit rotational power of a motor drive shaft of said speed change drive mechanism to a shift spindle through speed reduction;

said transmission includes a main shaft to which power is inputted by said power transmission control means, and a counter shaft for transmitting the rotational power of said main shaft to said output shaft; and

an arrangement of said motor drive shaft, said idle gear shaft and said shift spindle and an arrangement of said main shaft and said counter shaft are so set as to avoid an area between said crankshaft and said output shaft.

11. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 10, wherein such a positional relationship is adopted that said idle gear shaft is substantially contained in a plane containing said motor drive shaft and said shift spindle, and the plane containing said motor drive shaft and said shift spindle is located substantially in parallel to and on a lower side of a plane containing said crankshaft and said output shaft;

and

a plane containing said main shaft and said counter shaft is located substantially in parallel to and on an upper side of the plane containing said crankshaft and said output shaft.

12. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 10, wherein said idle gear shaft of said speed change drive mechanism has said large diameter gear located on an outer side and said small diameter gear located on an inner side;

and

said large diameter gear on the outer side is meshed with a drive gear provided on said motor drive shaft projecting to the inside of said speed change electric motor, and said small diameter gear on the inner side is meshed with a sector gear fitted to an end portion of said shift spindle.

13. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 10, wherein when the internal combustion engine is viewed in an axial direction of the crankshaft, the speed change electric motor is seen to overlap the power transmission control means.

14. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 10, wherein the speed change drive mechanism is disposed lower than the crankshaft and the transmission.

15. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 10, wherein the speed change drive mechanism is provided on a lower side of the crankshaft and the main shaft.

16. An internal combustion engine comprising:

a speed change drive mechanism;

a speed change electric motor; and

a transmission for transmitting power from a crankshaft to an output shaft through speed change, with the speed change in said transmission being performed by the driving of the speed change electric motor through the speed change drive mechanism; and

a clutch provided at one end of said crankshaft for controlling the transmission of power from said crankshaft to said transmission,

wherein at least a part of said speed change electric motor and said speed change drive mechanism is disposed forwardly with respect to said clutch,

wherein said speed change drive mechanism includes an idle gear shaft integrally and coaxially provided with a large diameter gear and a small diameter gear which are operative to transmit rotational power of a motor drive shaft of said speed change drive mechanism to a shift spindle through speed reduction;

said transmission includes a main shaft to which power is inputted by said clutch, and a counter shaft for transmitting the rotational power of said main shaft to said output shaft; and

an arrangement of said motor drive shaft, said idle gear shaft and said shift spindle and an arrangement of said main shaft and said counter shaft are so set as to avoid an area between said crankshaft and said output shaft.

17. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 16 wherein the clutch on the one end of the crankshaft is a centrifugal clutch.

18. The internal combustion engine as set forth in claim 16, wherein

such a positional relationship is adopted that said idle gear shaft is substantially contained in a plane containing said motor drive shaft and said shift spindle, and the plane containing said motor drive shaft and said shift spindle is located substantially in parallel to and on a lower side of a plane containing said crankshaft and said output shaft;

and

a plane containing said main shaft and said counter shaft is located substantially in parallel to and on an upper side of the plane containing said crankshaft and said output shaft.