US 12,275,306 B2
Series hybrid type straddled vehicle
Naoki Kitamura, Shizuoka (JP); and Yasushi Takemoto, Shizuoka (JP)
Assigned to YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Iwata (JP)
Filed by YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Iwata (JP)
Filed on Oct. 19, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/504,837.
Application 17/504,837 is a continuation in part of application No. PCT/JP2020/016386, filed on Apr. 14, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-080271 (JP), filed on Apr. 19, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0032765 A1, Feb. 3, 2022
Int. Cl. B60K 6/46 (2007.10); B60K 6/54 (2007.10); B62K 11/04 (2006.01); B62M 7/02 (2006.01); F16H 57/02 (2012.01)
CPC B60K 6/46 (2013.01) [B62K 11/04 (2013.01); B62M 7/02 (2013.01); B60K 6/54 (2013.01); B60Y 2200/126 (2013.01); B60Y 2200/92 (2013.01); F16H 2057/02034 (2013.01); F16H 2057/02065 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A straddled vehicle that is a series hybrid vehicle, comprising:
a frame structure including a frame body;
a rear arm that is swingably supported by the frame structure;
a driving wheel that is rotatably supported by the rear arm;
a drive motor that is supported by the frame structure or the rear arm, the drive motor being configured to drive the driving wheel; and
an electric power generation unit including an electric power generation engine and an electric power generator, wherein
the electric power generation engine has either a single cylinder or two cylinders, to thereby define a center plane thereof that is either
a vertical plane in which a center line of the single cylinder lies when the straddled vehicle is in an upright state,
or
a vertical plane in which any point is of an equal distance to two center lines of the two cylinders;
the center plane of the electric power generation engine is arranged with an offset toward a first direction from a center plane of the straddled vehicle with respect to a left-right direction of the straddled vehicle, and is positioned not to overlap the drive motor when viewed in the left-right direction;
the electric power generator is positioned further in a second direction than the electric power generation engine, and is arranged to overlap the electric power generation engine, but not to overlap the drive motor, when viewed in the left-right direction, the second direction being in the left-right direction of the straddled vehicle and being opposite to the first direction; and
the electric power generator is driven by the electric power generation engine to generate electric power for driving the drive motor, the electric power generation unit being supported by the frame body, and not being supported by the rear arm, such that the electric power generation unit constitutes the frame structure or does not constitute the frame structure.