Patent ID: 8844493
Filing Date: 2014-09-30
Classification: F01M

Abstract:
1. A lubricating oil feeding structure of a V-type engine of a utility vehicle, the V-type engine having a front cylinder tilting forward, a rear cylinder tilting rearward, and a crankcase housing a gear transmission in a rear portion thereof, the V-type engine being located under a passenger seat, and a v-belt continuous variable transmission (CVT) is provided on the V-type engine so as to transmit a power of a crank shaft to an input shaft of the gear transmission, wherein the crankshaft longitudinal axis extends along and defines a crankshaft direction; the lubricating oil feeding structure comprising: an oil reservoir formed in a lower end of the crankcase supporting both ends of the crankshaft; an oil pump provided in the crankcase, the oil pump pressurizing oil in the oil reservoir and feeding; an oil filter provided on a front surface of the crankcase so as to project forwardly from the front surface, the oil filter purifying the oil fed from the oil pump, the oil filter having a cylindrical shape; an oil cooler provided on a side surface of a generator cover covering a generator at an end of the crankcase in the crankshaft direction, the oil cooler being operable to cool the oil sent from the oil filter, the oil cooler having a cylindrical shape; a water pump provided on the side surface of the generator cover, the water pump feeding cooling water to the oil cooler; an oil passage leading from the oil pump through the oil filter and the oil cooler to a main gallery of the crankcase; and a cooling water passage from the water pump to the oil cooler, wherein: the v-belt continuous variable transmission (CVT) is located on an opposite side of the generator cover in the vehicle width direction in relation to the oil cooler; the oil filter is arranged in front of a rotor of the generator when seen in the crankshaft direction; the oil cooler is arranged in the vicinity of a bottom portion of a cylinder body of the front cylinder so as to overlap with a starter motor when seen in the crankshaft direction; the oil cooler is positioned in approximately the same location of the oil filter in the fore-aft direction, and is positioned above the oil filter in a vertical direction; the oil passage is constituted of only an oil passage portion formed in the crankcase and an oil passage portion formed in the generator cover without using any external pipes, and the oil passage falls inside a range of a width and a longitudinal length of the engine so as not to project outside of the engine; and the cooling water passage is arranged radially outside of the rotor of the generator so as to enclose the generator when seen in the crank shaft direction.