Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The present invention relates to a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to frame assembly of the vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] Conventionally, a frame assembly of a vehicle is composed of an integrated front frame portion and a rear frame portion, which increases difficulty in manufacturing. Also, such an integrated frame assembly is prone to bending and breakage at points of joints due to overloading as well as non-uniform distribution of load. Furthermore, breakage in either a front frame portion or a rear frame portion requires replacement of the entire frame assembly of the vehicle which thereby increases difficulty in serviceability and replaceability of the frame assembly. Also, the frame assembly having integrated front frame portion and rear frame portion will result in difficulty in transport and storage of the frame assembly.
[003] In view of the foregoing, there is a need to overcome at least the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[004] In one aspect of the invention, a vehicle is disclosed. The vehicle comprises a head pipe, a main frame and a rear frame. The main frame comprises one or more main tubes extending rearwardly from the head pipe of the vehicle. Each of the main tubes have a front end portion and a rear end portion. The front end portion of each main tube is adapted to be connected to the head pipe and the rear end portion of at least one of the one or more main tubes is integrally formed with a bracket. The rear frame comprises one or more rear tubes. The one or more rear tubes are adapted to receive the one or more brackets. The one or more brackets are fastened to at least one of the one or more rear tubes with one or more fasteners.
[005] In an embodiment, the main tube comprises upper main tubes and lower main tubes.
[006] In an embodiment, the rear tubes comprises at least one left rear tube and one right rear tube extending in front-rear direction of the vehicle and one or more cross members extending transversely between the at least one left rear tube and the at least one right rear tube. The one or more cross members are adapted to receive one or more brackets. The one or more brackets are fastened to the one or more cross members with one or more fasteners.
[007] In an embodiment, the main tube is oriented at a pre-defined angle with respect to the bracket. The pre-defined angle is in range of 0-45 degrees.
[008] In an embodiment, the bracket is a C-shaped bracket having a first section, a second section and a third section. The third section extends between the first section and the second section in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the C-shaped bracket. The first section and the second section extend in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the c-shaped bracket. The first section comprises a first set of mounting holes and the second section comprises a second set of mounting holes. Each of the cross member comprises a top surface and a bottom surface. The top surface comprises one or more third set of mounting holes and the bottom surface comprises one or more fourth set of mounting holes. The first set of mounting holes are adapted to align with the third set of mounting holes and the second set of mounting holes are adapted to be aligned with the fourth set of mounting holes and fastened with one or more fasteners.
[009] In an embodiment, a length of the first section of the bracket is at least one third of a width of the top surface of the cross member and a length of the second section of the bracket is at least one third of a width of the bottom surface of the cross member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[010] Reference will be made to embodiments of the invention, examples of which may be illustrated in accompanying figures. These figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the invention is generally described in context of these embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these particular embodiments.
Figure 1 illustrates a front-left perspective view of a frame assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 illustrates a rear-left perspective view of the frame assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 illustrates a top view of the frame assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 illustrates a sectional view of the frame assembly cut along line A-A of the frame assembly shown in Figure 3, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 illustrates a left side perspective view of the frame assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 6 illustrates a top view of the frame assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 7 illustrates a sectional view of the frame assembly cut along line B-B of the frame assembly shown in Figure 6, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 8 illustrates a side view of cross member being received by the bracket, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[011] Various features and embodiments of the present invention here will be discernible from the following further description thereof, set out hereunder.
[012] The term “vehicle” in the context of the present invention relates to a vehicle having a frame assembly such as, not being limited to scooters, motorcycles, tricycles, trikes, rickshaws, lorries, cars, trucks and the likes.
[013] In the context of the present invention, longitudinal axis (L-L) (as shown in Figure 3) refers to a front to rear axis relative to the vehicle, defining a vehicle longitudinal direction; while a lateral axis refers to a side to side, or left to right axis relative to said vehicle, defining a vehicle lateral direction. Arrows provided in the top right corner of figures depicts direction with respect to the vehicle, wherein an arrow F denotes front direction, an arrow R indicates rearward direction, an arrow Lt denotes leftward direction, an arrow Rt denoted leftward direction, as and where applicable.
[014] Figure 1 illustrates a front-left perspective view of a frame assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 illustrates a rear-left perspective view of the frame assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[015] As shown, the vehicle comprises a head pipe 10, a main frame 11 and a rear frame 18. The main frame 11 comprises one or more main tubes 12. Each of the one or more main tubes 12 extends rearwardly from the head pipe 10 in front-rear direction of the vehicle. Each of the main tube 12 has a front end portion 12a and a rear end portion 12b. The front end portion 12a of each main tube 12 is adapted to be connected to the head pipe 10. In a non-limiting example, the front end portion 12a of the one or more main tubes 12 is integrally formed with the head pipe 10. In a non-limiting example, the front end portion 12a of the one or more main tubes 12 is detachably connected to the head pipe 10. Also, the rear end portion 12b of the one or more main tubes 12 is integrally formed with a bracket 16. The rear frame 18 comprises one or more rear tubes 20. The one or more rear tubes 20 are adapted to receive the one or more brackets 16 of the main tubes 12. The one or more brackets 16 are fastened to the one or more rear tubes 20 with one or more fasteners F (shown in Figure 4). In other words, the main frame 11 is detachably connected to the rear frame 18 by means of one or more fasteners F.
[016] In an embodiment, the main tube 12 comprises one or more upper main tubes 14a and one or more lower main tubes 14b. As can be seen in Figure 1 and Figure 2, the main frame 11 comprises one upper main tube 14a and two lower main tubes 14b. The rear end portion of upper main tube 14a comprises a bracket 16 adapted to be connected to the rear tube 20 of the rear frame 18 as can be seen in Figure 4 and Figure 5. The rear tubes 20 comprises at least one left rear tube 22, at least one right rear tube 24 and at least one cross member 26 disposed between the at least one left rear tube 22 and the at least one right rear tube 24. The at least one left rear tube 22 and the at least one right rear tube 24 extends in longitudinal direction L1-L1 of the vehicle. The at least one cross member 26 extends in the lateral direction of the vehicle and is adapted to receive the one or more brackets 16 of the main tubes 12 of the main frame 11. However, this should not be construed as limiting and the at least one left rear tube 22 and the at least one right rear tube 24 of the rear frame 18 can also be adapted to receive the one or more brackets 16 of the one or more main tubes 12. In Figure 1 and Figure 2, the one upper main tube 14a is detachably connected to one cross member 26 of the rear frame 18 and the two lower main tubes 12 are connected to another cross member 26 of the rear frame 18. However, this should not be construed as limiting and the one or more brackets 16 can also be connected to the at least one left rear tube 22 and at least one right rear tube 24.
[017] Figure 3 illustrates a top view of the frame assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 illustrates a sectional view of the frame assembly cut along line A-A of the frame assembly shown in Figure 3, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 illustrates a left side perspective view of the frame assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[018] The construction of the frame assembly shown in Figure 3, Figure 4 and Figure 5 is same as the construction of the frame assembly shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 and the features of the frame assembly discussed in Figure 1 and Figure 2 are not repeated herein for the sake of brevity.
[019] In Figure 4, a portion of the frame assembly has been enlarged to clearly illustrate the connection of the upper main tube 14a with the cross member 26 of the rear frame 18. The rear end portion of the upper main tube 14a is integrally provided with the bracket 16. The cross member 26 of the rear frame 18 is adapted to receive the bracket 16. The bracket 16 and the cross member 26 are connected by means of one or more fasteners F. The main tube 12 is oriented at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the bracket 16. In Figure 5, a portion of the frame assembly has been enlarged to clearly illustrate the connection of the upper main tube 14a with the cross member 26 of the rear frame 18. The rear end portion 12b of the upper main tube 14a is integrally provided with the bracket 16. The cross member 26 of the rear frame 18 is adapted to receive the bracket 16. The bracket 16 and the cross member 26 are connected by means of one or more fasteners F. The main tube 12 is oriented at an angle of 0 degrees with respect to the bracket 16. However, this should not be construed as limiting and the main tube can be oriented at a pre-defined angle (?) with respect to the bracket 16. The pre-defined angle (?) can be in a range of 0-45 degrees. However, the orientation of the main tube 12 with respect to the bracket 16 should not be construed as limiting and the main tube 12 can be oriented at the pre-defined angle (?) with respect to the bracket. The pre-defined angle (?) can be in a range of 0-45 degrees. The orientation of the main tube 12 with respect to the bracket 16 facilitates uniformly dissipation the load across the frame assembly.
[020] Figure 6 illustrates a top view of the frame assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 illustrates a sectional view of the frame assembly cut along line B-B of the frame assembly shown in Figure 6, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[021] The construction of the frame assembly shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7 is same as the construction of the frame assembly shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 and the features of the frame assembly discussed in Figure 1 and Figure 2 are not repeated herein for the sake of brevity.
[022] In Figure 7, a portion of the frame assembly has been enlarged to clearly illustrate the connection of the lower main tube 14b with the cross member 26 of the rear frame 18. The rear end portion 12b of the left lower main tube 14b is integrally provided with the bracket 16. The cross member 26 of the rear frame is adapted to receive the bracket 16. The bracket 16 and the cross member 26 are connected by means of one or more fasteners F. The main tube 12 is oriented at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the bracket 16. However, the orientation of the main tube 12 with respect to the bracket 16 should not be construed as limiting and the main tube 12 can be oriented at the pre-defined angle (?) with respect to the bracket 16. The pre-defined angle (?) can be in a range of 0-45 degrees. The orientation of the main tube 11 with respect to the bracket 16 uniformly dissipates the load across the frame structure.
[023] Figure 8 illustrates a side view of bracket 16 and cross member 26, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the bracket 16 is a C-shaped bracket. The C -shaped bracket has a first section 16a, a second section 16b and a third section 16c. The third section 16c extends between the first section 16a and the second section 16b in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis (L1-L1) of the C-shaped bracket 16 The first section 16a and the second section 16b extends in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (L1-L1) of the C-shaped bracket 16. the first section 16a comprises a first set of mounting holes and the second section 16b comprises a second set of mounting holes.
[024] Each of the cross member 26 comprises a top surface 28 and a bottom surface 30. The top surface 28 comprises one or more third set of mounting holes and the bottom surface 30 comprises one or more fourth set of mounting holes.
[025] During assembly, the first set of mounting holes are aligned with the third set of mounting holes and the second set of mounting holes are aligned with the fourth set of mounting holes and fastened with the one or more fasteners F. A portion of the cross member is sandwich mounted between the first section and the second section of the
[026] In a non-limiting example, a length L1 of the first section 16a of the bracket 16 being at least one-third of a width W1 of the top surface 28 of the cross member 26 and a length L2 of the second section 16b of the bracket 16 being at least one third of a width W2 of the bottom surface 30 of the cross member 26.
[027] The claimed features/method steps of the present invention as discussed above are not routine, conventional, or well understood in the art, as the claimed features/steps enable the following solutions to the existing problems in conventional technologies. Specifically, the technical problems associated with manufacturing, servicing, replacing and transporting a frame assembly having integrally formed main frame and rear frame is solved by present invention.
[028] In the present invention, the main frame and the rear frame of the frame assembly are detachably fastened with each other which increases the ease in manufacturing, servicing, replacing and transporting a frame assembly.
[029] In the present invention, the load is uniformly distributed which results in reduction in bending and breakage of frame joints.
[030] Conventional brackets have a three part construction including a bottom surface, a top surface and an intermediate part connecting the bottom and the top surface and all the parts are assembled using one or more fasteners to form a mounting bracket. Thereafter, additional fasteners are required to assemble the main frame and the rear frame portions with each other. In the present invention, reduced number of fasteners are used to detachably attach main frame to the rear frame. Hence, total number of fasteners used are less the overall part count of the vehicle reduces.
[031] While the present invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modification may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

List of Reference Numerals
10-head pipe
11- main frame
12- main tubes
12a- front end portion
12b-rear end portion
14a- upper main tube
14b- lower main tube
16-bracket
16a- first section
16b- second section
16c- third section
18-rear frame
20-rear tubes
22-left rear tube
24-right rear tube
26-cross member
28- top surface of cross member
30-bottom surface of cross member
F- Fasteners
L-L- longitudinal axis of vehicle
L1-L1- longitudinal axis of bracket
, Claims:1. A vehicle comprising:
- a head pipe (10);
- a main frame (11), the main frame (11) comprising one or more main tubes (12) extending rearwardly from the head pipe (10) of the vehicle, each of the main tubes (12) having a front end portion (12a) and a rear end portion (12b), the front end portion (12a) of each main tube (12) adapted to be connected to the head pipe (10) and the rear end portion (12b) of at least one of the one or more main tubes (12) being integrally formed with a bracket (16);
- a rear frame (18), the rear frame (18) comprising one or more rear tubes (20), the one or more rear tubes (20) adapted to receive the one or more brackets (16), the one or more brackets (16) fastened to at least one of the one or more rear tubes (20) with one or more fasteners (F).

2. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main tubes (12) comprise upper main tubes (14a) and lower main tubes (14b).

3. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rear tubes (20) comprise at least one left rear tube (22) and one right rear tube (24) extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle and one or more cross members (26) extending transversely between the at least one left rear tube (22) and the at least one right rear tube (24), the one or more cross members (26) adapted to receive the one or more brackets (16), the one or more brackets (16) fastened to the one or more cross members (26) with one or more fasteners (F).

4. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main tube (12) being oriented at pre-defined angle (?) with respect to the bracket (16).

5. The vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the pre-defined angle (?) being in a range of 30-45 degrees.

6. The vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bracket (16) being a C-shaped bracket having a first section (16a), a second section (16b) and a third section (16c), the third section (16c) extending between the first section (16a) and the second section (16b) in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis (L1-L1) of the C-shaped bracket (16) and the first section (16a) and the second section (16b) extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (L1-L1) of the C-shaped bracket (16).

7. The vehicle as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first section (16a) comprises a first set of mounting holes and the second section (16b) comprises a second set of mounting holes.

8. The vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of the cross member (26) comprises a top surface (28) and a bottom surface (30), the top surface (28) comprises one or more third set of mounting holes and the bottom surface (30) comprises one or more fourth set of mounting holes.

9. The vehicle as claimed in claim 7 and claim 8, wherein the first set of mounting holes being adapted to be aligned with the third set of mounting holes and the second set of mounting holes being adapted to be aligned with the fourth set of mounting holes and fastened with the one or more fasteners (F).

10. The vehicle as claimed in claim 6 and claim 8, wherein a length (L1) of the first section (16a) of the bracket (16) being at least one-third of a width (W1) of the top surface (28) of the cross member (26) and a length (L2) of the second section (16b) of the bracket (16) being at least one third of a width (W2) of the bottom surface (30) of the cross member (26).