Engine operated working machine

Abstract: An engine operated working machine (1) having an engine (20) and a working machine (25) to be driven by the engine (20) surrounded by a soundproof case (2). An exhaust compartment housing a muffler (22) is formed in the soundproof case (2). An exhaust pipe (29) connected with the muffler (22) is bent in a direction away from an exhaust air opening (11a) of the exhaust compartment and has an opening positioned apart from the exhaust air opening (11a). Cooling air forced into the exhaust compartment flows around the muffler (22) and the exhaust pipe (29) to cool them. Exhaust gas discharged from the exhaust pipe (29) into the exhaust compartment is mixed with the cooling air to change its direction of discharge and is discharged outside of the soundproof case (2) through the exhaust air opening (11a).

Description: The present invention relates to an engine operated working machine covered entirely by a soundproof case, particularly to reduce the exhaust sound level and the flow velocity of exhaust discharged to the outside of the soundproof case. Engine operated working machines having an engine connected to a generator, an air compressor or a water lifting pump are in general use on a construction site. Many of the engine operated working machines are covered entirely by soundproof cases in order to reduce operation noise to the lowest possible level, in view of the working environment or taking into account the influence on the local community. This is important when working in an urban area, particularly at night. This kind of engine operated working machine is constructed so that the number of openings such as the inlet opening and the exhaust opening are as few as possible and the sizes of the openings are small in order to reduce noise. Therefore, some additional measures become necessary to achieve adequate cooling within the soundproof case caused by the small size of the openings. In view of this problem, an engine operated working machine as shown in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 64-3777 has been proposed. In this machine, an engine and a muffler are covered by a duct to be isolated from other components within the soundproof case and cooling air is forced into the duct to be discharged from the muffler side toward the outside of the soundproof case, so that re-circulation of hot exhaust cooling air into the soundproof case can be prevented and the components can be arranged to utilize the space within the soundproof case efficiently. In the above proposed machine, an exhaust port for discharging the exhaust cooling air in the soundproof case is disposed on an extended exhaust pipe as shown in Fig. 4 of the Japanese Publication, therefore, the exhaust cooling air is discharged forcibly by an exhaust gas from the muffler, but the direct passage of the exhaust gas and the exhaust air to the exhaust port can sometimes result in a large exhaust noise level. The present invention relates to an improvement of the engine operated working machine in which the above-mentioned difficulties are overcome, and provides an engine operated working machine having a soundproof case surrounding an engine and working machine to be driven by the engine, comprising: an exhaust compartment formed within the soundproof case, having an exhaust air opening; a muffler put in the exhaust compartment; and an exhaust pipe connected to the muffler, bent in a direction so as to keep away from the exhaust air opening of the exhaust compartment, having an opening positioned apart from the exhaust air opening; thereby, cooling air forced into the exhaust compartment flows around the muffler and the exhaust pipe to cool the muffler and the exhaust pipe, and exhaust gas discharged from the exhaust pipe into the exhaust compartment is mixed with the cooling air to change the discharging direction and is discharged outside of the soundproof case through the exhaust air opening. According to the invention, the muffler and the exhaust pipe are effectively cooled by the cooling air which is forced into the exhaust compartment and flows around the muffler and the exhaust pipe connected to the muffler. The exhaust gas discharged from the exhaust pipe is sufficiently mixed with the exhaust cooling air which has cooled the muffler and the exhaust pipe, so that the temperature of the exhaust gas discharging from the exhaust opening can be lowered and also the velocity of the exhaust gas can be lowered. The discharging direction of the exhaust gas from the exhaust pipe connected to the muffler may be parallel with a plane of the exhaust air opening. The exhaust gas discharged into the exhaust compartment from the exhaust pipe intersects the cooling air flowing toward the exhaust air opening passing around the muffler and the exhaust pipe to be mixed with the cooling air, so that an even temperature distribution of the exhaust at the exhaust opening can be obtained. Since the discharging direction of the exhaust pipe is parallel with a plane of the exhaust air opening, exhaust noise discharged from the exhaust pipe into the soundproof case does not directly reach the exhaust air opening of the soundproof case, but is reflected and absorbed by the inner surface of the soundproof case, so that the noise level of the exhaust noise discharged from the exhaust air opening of the soundproof case is sharply lowered compared with noise level of the exhaust noise discharged from the exhaust pipe. The exhaust opening of the exhaust pipe is not seen from the outside through the exhaust air opening of the soundproof case, so that the appearance of the engine operated working machine is good. A tip end of the exhaust pipe connected to the muffler may be closed, and the opening of the exhaust pipe may be positioned halfway between the muffler and the tip end. In this case, exhaust noise propagated into the exhaust pipe from an exhaust port of the engine is reflected at the closed tip end of the exhaust pipe to interfere with a subsequent exhaust noise, so that the level of exhaust noise emitted from the opening positioned halfway is greatly reduced. According to an aspect of the invention, the above-mentioned engine operated working machine comprises a duct covering the engine and the muffler for thermally isolating them from other components within the soundproof case; a side of the duct opening inside of the soundproof case; another side of the duct wherein the muffler is positioned opening outside of the soundproof case; and a fan driven by the engine to draw in air within the soundproof case into the duct through the side of the duct opening inside the soundproof case, whereby the air flows around the engine and the muffler is in order to cool them and discharges outside of the soundproof case through another side of the duct. The above-mentioned other components isolated by the duct are not so greatly effected by heat emitted from heat emitting components such as the engine and the muffler. The heat emitting components are cooled efficiently by the cooling air forced into the duct by the fan. Noise sources such as the engine and the muffler are covered both by the duct and the soundproof case so that very good soundproofing can be obtained. In this engine operated working machine, a cylinder of the engine may be inclined laterally along a vertical plane perpendicular to a rotary axis of the engine, and the muffler may be disposed in a space above the cylinder directed perpendicularly to the rotary axis. A relatively large space for arranging the muffler can be formed above the engine so that the vertical size of the soundproof case can be shortened and remarkable miniaturization of the engine operated working machine can be achieved. Because the muffler, which can reach a high temperature, is disposed above the cylinder, the engine can avoid heat emitted from the muffler and the load on the cooling system of the engine is reduced. The cooling air forced into the duct and exchanging heat with the engine is smoothly led to the exterior through the exhaust air opening of the soundproof case by the high temperature exhaust gas discharged from the exhaust pipe at a position halfway between the muffler and the tip of the exhaust pipe and together with the muffler cooling air heated by the muffler and thereby caused to rise, is discharged through the exhaust air opening in the soundproof case. Therefore, a very high cooling performance can be obtained. For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a perspective outside view of an engine operated generator which is one particular embodiment of the engine operated working machine according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a side view of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a front view of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a rear view of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is an enlarged partial longitudinal sectional side view of Fig. 4; and Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of a part of Fig. 4 viewed in the direction of arrow VIII. Hereinafter, an engine operated generator 1 shown in Figs. 1 to 8 which is a preferred embodiment of an engine operated working machine according to the present invention will be described. As shown in Fig. 1, a soundproof case 2 of the engine operated generator 1 comprises a flat dish-like under frame 3, a rectangular -box-like front cover 6 covering a front frame 4 mounted to a front portion of the under frame 3, a rectangular-box-like rear cover 7 covering a rear frame 5 mounted to a rear portion of the under frame 3, a centre cover 8 attached to the front frame 4 and the rear frame 5 between the front cover 6 and the rear cover 7, and a lid member 9 attached to the front frame 4 and the rear frame 5 for opening and closing at a right bottom side of the soundproof case 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the under frame 3 has a front wall 3a and a right side wall 3b formed with respective suction ports 3d, 3e communicating with the exterior. A rear side wall 3c of the under frame 3 is detachable. Within the under frame 3 are laid a pair of front and rear long support members 3p, 3q in parallel with each other. An upper peripheral edge of the front frame 4 is bent rearward to form a flange 4a. A rectangular plate of a main part of the front frame 4 has a rectangular opening hole 4b formed at an upper portion and a partially bulged circular communication opening hole 4c formed under the opening hole 4b. The rear frame 5 is divided into upper and lower pieces. When the upper and lower pieces are assembled, a large rectangular through hole 5a is formed at the centre. The through hole 5a is integrally formed with a cylindrical duct 10 projected forward. An upper peripheral edge of the rear frame 5 is bent forward to form a flange 5b. At a centre of a front wall of the front cover 6 is formed a rectangular recess 6a, and a rectangular opening 6b is formed at the bottom of the recess 6a. In an upper wall of the rear cover 7 is formed a rectangular opening 7a corresponding to an exhaust air opening 11a of an exhaust air duct 11. The air duct 11 disposed to the rear of the rear frame 5 is made of glass wool and formed in a rectangular box shape. The duct 11 bulges rearward and communicates with a duct 10. The duct 11 opens forward and down and has an upper wall in which is formed the exhaust air opening 11a. Between the front and rear frames 4, 5 mounted on respective front and rear parts of the under frame 3 are disposed a pari of right and left reinforcement rails 12 directed in the front-rear direction. As shown in Fig. 3, both front and rear ends 12a of the reinforcement rails 12 penetrate upper corners of the front and rear frames 4, 5 to project forward and rearward, respectively. As shown in Fig. 2, the centre cover 8 is substantially channel shaped having a left side wall 8a, an upper wall 8b and a right upper side wall 8c. The upper wall 8b has a circular hole 8d in which a filing tube mouth 43c of a fuel tank 43 (Fig. 4) can be fitted loosely. As shown in Fig. 4, the space on the under frame 3 in the soundproof case 2 is divided into a front compartment 13 partitioned with the front frame 4 and the front cover 6, a centre compartment 14 partitioned with the front frame 4 and the rear frame 5 and surrounded by the centre cover 8 and the lid member 9, and a rear compartment 15 partitioned with the rear frame 5 and the rear cover 7. The inner surface of the rear cover 7 is lined with the exhaust air duct 11. As shown in Fig. 2, at a rectangular tube shaped portion of the duct 10, projecting into the centre compartment 14 from the rear frame 5, is provided a continuous fan cover 16 which also forms a part of the duct. The fan cover 16 is nearly cylindrical, covers a generator 25 and a centrifugal fan 30, and has a circular suction air opening 16a at a front end. On an annular end surface of the suction air opening 16a project a plurality of projections 16b each having a predetermined length. A flange 16c is formed on an opening face at rear end of the fan cover 16 extending circumferentially and a rectangular frame member 17 is attached to the flange 16c integrally from the rear. A seal member 18 is provided along a rectangular outer peripheral edge of the frame member 17 to connect the suction air opening 16a of the fan cover 16 with the through hole 5a of the rear frame 5 in an airtight manner for preventing the cooling air flowing therein from leaking. In the soundproof case 2, a duct space comprising the fan cover 16, the duct 10 and the exhaust air duct 11 is formed within a part of the centre compartment 14 and the rear compartment 15. The suction air opening 16a on an upstream side of the duct space opens toward the centre compartment 14, and exhaust air opening 11a on the downstream side opens toward the outside of the soundproof case 2 through the upper rectangular opening 7a of the rear cover 7. The engine 20 and the generator 25 are disposed in the duct space formed by the fan cover 16, the duct 10 and the exhaust air duct 1. As shown in Fig. 4, the engine 20 is housed in the duct 10 and the exhaust air duct 11 positioned at rear part of the soundproof case 2 and a rear part of the engine 20 is supported by the support member 3q of the under frame 3 through a vibration-proof mount member 21. As shown in Fig. 6, the engine 20 has a crankcase 20a positioned somewhat to the left, a cylinder 20b inclined somewhat to the right and upward, and a crankshaft 20c projecting forward in a substantially horizontal direction. Above the cylinder 20b, a large cylindrical muffler 22 is arranged directed right and left. The cylinder 20b is connected with the muffler 22 through an exhaust pipe 29 extending from the cylinder upward. The muffler 22 is supported by the engine through a bracket 23. As shown in Figs. 4 and 6, an exhaust pipe 24 having a base end 24a connected to a right end wall 22a of the muffler 22 is extended from the base end upward, then bent rearward and downward. A tip end of the exhaust pipe is closed by a lid 24b. At a middle of a downward hanging portion 24c of the exhaust pipe 24 is formed an opening 24d directed to the left. The generator 25 is an outer-rotor type multipolar generator having an outer-rotor 26 fixed to the crankshaft 20c (Fig. 7). The outer-rotor 26 is formed in a cylindrical cup shape and rotates together with the crankshaft 20c to act as a flywheel of the engine 20. A plurality of magnets 26a are fixed on an inner peripheral surface of the outer-rotor 26 arranged circumferentially. The outer-rotor 26 has a bottom wall 26b positioned forward and opens rearward. In the outer-rotor 26 is provided an inner-rotor 27 which has a plurality of yokes 27b projecting from a stator core 27a radially. Generating coils 27c are wound round the yokes 27b. The stator core 27a is fixed to the crankcase 20a by means of bolts 28. The bottom wall 26b of the outer-rotor 26 is formed with a plurality of ventilating holes 26c and a centrifugal fan 30 is fixedly attached to the bottom wall 26b from the front. The centrifugal fan 30 is a double-faced fan which has blades 31, 32 on both front and rear sides of a disk-like base plate 30a. The fan cover 16 covers the generator 25 and the centrifugal fan 30, and the suction air opening 16a at the front end of the fan cover 16 opens opposite to the centrifugal fan 30. A rear end of the fan cover 16 is fixed to the crankcase 20a of the engine 20 together with the rectangular frame member 17. A recoil starter 35 is disposed opposite to the suction air opening 16a. Between the open end surface 16d of the fan cover 16 and a rear end surface 35a of the recoil starter 35 is formed a gap by means of the projections 16b projecting forward from the end surface 16d of the suction air opening 16a (Fig. 2). A boss portion 36b of a stator case 36 is fixed to the fan cover 16. The recoil starter 35 has a ratchet wheel 37 provided on a rotary shaft coaxial with the crankshaft 20c so as to jump out rearward. Opposite to the ratchet wheel 37, a ratchet 38 is provided at a central part of the centrifugal fan 30. The ratchet wheel 37 is driven by a starter lever (not shown) through a gear train 37a or by a starter motor 39 provided at a left end of the starter case 36. The nearly conical starter case 36 of the recoil starter 35 has a plurality of longitudinal long holes 36a arranged circumferentially. The outside of the starter case 36 communicates with the suction air opening 16a of the fan cover 16 through the gap facing the end surface of the fan cover 16a and the long holes 36a. The recoil starter 35 is positioned in the centre compartment 14 supported on the supporting member 3p through a pair of right and left vibration-proof mount member 46. On the left side within the rear compartment 15 and the centre compartment 14 is disposed the crankcase 20a of the engine 20, and in front of the crankcase 20a are disposed the generator 25 and the recoil starter 35. Within the centre compartment 14, a carburetor 41 and an air cleaner 42 are disposed on the right side of the fan cover 16 and the recoil starter 35 with the air cleaner 42 disposed in front of the air cleaner 42. The muffler 22 is disposed above the engine 20, and a fuel tank 43 is disposed in the centre compartment 14 above the fan cover 16, the recoil starter 25, the carburetor 41 and the air cleaner 42. The fuel tank 43 has a flange 43a placed on the right and left reinforcement rails 12 laid between the front and rear frames 4, 5. The fuel tank 43 is fixed to the reinforcement rails 12 by bolts 45. As shown in Fig. 4, a front part 43a of the fuel tank 43 partially projects into the front compartment 13 passing through the upper opening hole 4b of the front frame 4 (Fig. 2). The oil supply mouth 43c of the fuel tank 43 projects upward passing through the circular hole 8d and a fuel cap 46 is screwed onto an upper end of the oil supply mouth 43c detachably. Within a flat parallelepiped space of the front compartment 13 in front of the front frame 4 covered by the front cover 6, an inverter 50 and a battery 51 are disposed on the under frame 3 at the right and left sides, respectively, and a control panel 52 facing the rectangular opening 6b of the front cover 6 is disposed above the inverter 50 and the battery 51. Thus, electric instruments such as the inverter 50, the battery 51 and the control panel 52 are concentrated in the front compartment 13. The inverter 50 transforms output of the multipolar generator 25 into an alternating current of a predetermined frequency. As shown in Figs. 4 and 6, over a rear end surface and a lower surface of the crankcase 20a of the engine 20 is disposed a cooling air guide plate 47 leaving a predetermined space with respect to the surfaces. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 8, when the engine 20 is started and the centrifugal fan 30 comes into operation, a quantity of air is drawn into the front compartment 13 within the soundproof case 2 through the suction ports 3d, 3e of the under frame 3, and further air is drawn into the centre compartment 14 within the soundproof case 2 through the suction port 3e of the under frame 3. The cooling air drawn into the front compartment 13 cools the inverter 50, the battery 51 and the control panel 52 in the front compartment 13, firstly. The cooling air drawn into the front compartment 13 then flows into the centre compartment 14 through the communication hole 4c, joins with the cooling air drawn into the centre compartment 14 through the suction port 3e, and enters the fan cover 16 through the gap between the fan cover 16 and the starter case 36, the long holes 35a of the starter case 36 and the suction air opening of the fan cover 16, as shown in Figs. 4 and 7 by the dotted arrows. As shown in Fig. 7, the cooling air drawn in the fan cover 16 by the front side blade 31 of the centrifugal fan 30 through the suction air opening 16a flows on the outside of the outer-rotor 26 of the generator along the inner peripheral surface of the fan cover 16 toward the engine 20 to cool it. Air within the generator 25 is drawn onto the inner peripheral surface of the outer-rotor 26 by the rear side blade 32 of the centrifugal fan 30 passing through the inside of the outer-rotor 26 and the ventilating hole 26c in the bottom wall 26b of the outer-rotor 26. Namely a part of the air flowing from the outer-rotor 26 toward the engine 20 is drawn into the generator 25 to produce a circulating flow by which the generating coil 27c of the inner stator 27 is cooled. Thus, air including the air which has cooled the generator 25 reaches the engine 20 to cool it, then flows toward a rear upper portion of the fan cover 16 guided by the duct 10 and the exhaust air duct 11 to cool the muffler 22. After that, the air is discharged outside through the exhaust air opening 11a of the soundproof case 2 and the rectangular opening 7a of the rear cover 7. The air entering the front compartment 13 through the suction ports 3d, 3e passes through gaps formed around the inverter 50 to be drawn into the centre compartment 14 through the communication hole 4c of the front frame 4. Thus, the front compartment 13 acts as a labyrinth introducing duct for drawing in the air so that leak of suction noise which is generated in the centre compartment 14 is restrained. The generator 25, the engine 20 and the muffler 22 which are heat sources are covered by the fan cover 16, the duct 10 and the exhaust air duct 11 to be isolated from other components, and the air drawn into the fan cover 16 by the centrifugal fan 30 through the suction air opening 16a cools the generator 25, the engine 20 and the muffler 22 in order of temperature, from lower to higher, before being discharged outside through the exhaust air opening 11a. Therefore, the generator 25, the engine 20 and the muffler 22 are cooled efficiently. Cooling air flowing along bottoms of the generator 25 and the crankcase 20a is guided to the rear end surface of the crankcase 20a by the cooling air guide plate 47, goes up along radiation fins of the crankcase 20a, joins with cooling air rising after being heated by the cylinder 20a, flows around the muffler 22 and then discharges outside through the exhaust air opening 11a, so that the muffler 22 is sufficiently cooled. Exhaust gas of the engine 20 discharged into the rear compartment 15 directed left from the opening 24d at the middle of the downward hanging portion 24c of the exhaust pipe 24 crosses cooling air rising from the bottom of the engine 20 and mixes with the cooling air sufficiently, so that the temperature of the exhaust gas is lowered sharply and the temperature of the exhaust air discharged through the exhaust air opening 11a is not so high. Noise of the exhaust gas discharged from the muffler 22 into the exhaust pipe 24 is reflected by the lid 24b at the lower end of the exhaust pipe to interfere with subsequent exhaust noise, so that the level of noise emitted from the opening 24d of the exhaust pipe 24 is greatly reduced. Since the opening 24d of the exhaust pipe 24 is directed to the left so as not to face directly towards the exhaust air opening 11a, the opening 24d is not seen from the outside through the exhaust air opening 11a so that the appearance of the engine operated generator 1 is good. Since the exhaust pipe 24 is bent into a reversed-U-shape in side view, the exhaust pipe 24 can be lengthened even if the upper space of the rear compartment 15 is not so large, therefore the exhaust gas in the exhaust pipe 24 can be sufficiently silenced and cooled within the extent of the exhaust pipe. Since the centrifugal fan 30 is attached to the outer-rotor 26 of the generator 25, the air volume of the centrifugal fan 30 is large and a large fan supporting strength can be obtained. By covering the generator 25, engine 20 and the muffler 22 in this order by the fan cover 16, the duct 10 and the exhaust air duct 11, a simple ventilation structure is constituted. In this ventilation structure, the engine 20 is disposed in the rear of the generator 25, the muffler 22 is disposed above the engine 20 and the ventilation path formed by the duct 10 and the exhaust duct 11 is bent in a U-shape, therefore, size in the front-rear direction of the soundproof case 2 can be reduced and the whole of the engine operated generator 1 can be made compact. Since the generator 25 is an outer-rotor type generator in which the outer-rotor 26 is also used as a flywheel of the engine 20, no special flywheel is necessary and the size in the direction of the rotary axis (front-rear direction) of the engine operated generator 1 can be reduced to improve the overall miniaturization of the assembly. Since the cylinder 20b of the engine 20 is inclined laterally and the muffler 22 is disposed above the cylinder 20b, the vertical size of the engine operated generator can be reduced notwithstanding that a muffler 22 of large capacity is provided. The engine 20 which is a noise source is covered by a duct composed of the duct 10 and the exhaust air duct 11 made of glass wool and further by the soundproof case 2 from the outside, so that a good soundproof effect can be obtained. Since the inverter 50 transforms output of the multipolar generator 25 into an alternating current of a predetermined frequency, it is possible to keep the rotational speed of the generator low irrespective of fluctuations of load, in order to maintain the output frequency constant, so that a synchronous generator can be used in this kind of engine operated generator. Therefore, operation noise can be reduced greatly. The engine 20 and recoil starter 35 are integrally connected with each other by the fan cover 16, the engine 20 in the rear is supported by the vibration-proof mount member 21 and the recoil starter 35 in the front is supported by the vibration-proof mount member 40. That is, the vibrating body is effectively supported at regions near the front and rear ends. Within the centre compartment, the fuel tank 43 and intake components such as the carburetor 41 and the air cleaner 42 are disposed outside of the fan cover 16 and the duct 10. In such a manner, subsidiary parts of the engine 20 are arranged together efficiently in one place, so that the engine operated generator 1 can be made more compact. Though an engine operated generator has been described as an embodiment of the present invention, the invention can be applied to other working machines in which, for example, an air compressor or a water lifting pump is driven by an engine.

Claims: An engine operated working machine having a soundproof case surrounding an engine and a working machine to be driven by the engine, comprising: an exhaust compartment formed within said soundproof case, having an exhaust air opening; a muffler in said exhaust compartment; and an exhaust pipe connected to said muffler, bent in a direction away from said exhaust air opening of said exhaust compartment, having an opening positioned apart from said exhaust air opening; thereby, cooling air forced into said exhaust compartment flows around said muffler and said exhaust pipe to cool said muffler and said exhaust pipe, and exhaust gas discharged from said exhaust pipe into said exhaust compartment is mixed with said cooling air to change its direction of discharge and is discharged outside of said soundproof case through said exhaust air opening. An engine operated working machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the direction of discharge of said exhaust gas from said exhaust pipe connected to said muffler is parallel with a plane of said exhaust air opening. An engine operated working machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein a tip end of said exhaust pipe connected to said muffler is closed, and said opening of said exhaust pipe is positioned halfway between said muffler and said tip end. An engine operated working machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising a duct covering said engine and said muffler for thermally isolating them from other components within said soundproof case; a side of said duct opening inside of said soundproof case; another side of said duct, wherein said muffler is positioned, opening outside of said soundproof case; and a fan driven by said engine to drawn in air within said soundproof case into said duct through said side of said duct opening inside of said soundproof case, whereby said air flows around said engine and said muffler in order to cool them, and discharges outside of said soundproof case through said another side of said duct. An engine operated working machine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a cylinder of said engine is inclined laterally along a vertical plane perpendicular to a rotary axis of said engine, and said muffler is disposed in a space above said cylinder directed in a direction perpendicular to said rotary axis.

Inventors: HIRANO TOMOHIRO, MOROHOSHI SHINICHI, TSURU RYUJI, HIRANO, TOMOHIRO, MOROHOSHI, SHINICHI, TSURU, RYUJI
Applicants: HONDA MOTOR CO LTD, HONDA GIKEN KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1999
Main classification: F02B63
IPC codes: F01P5, F02B63, F02B77