DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present subject matter relates generally to a two-wheeled vehicle. More particularly but not exclusively the present subject matter relates to a panel assembly design in the two-wheeled vehicle for aerodynamic drag reduction.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Now-a-days, with the advancement in the technology, a vehicle is constantly added with a lot of new features. In order to run those features, a device, one or more vehicular components, or other loads, need power. The power to the device or one or more vehicular components is provided by a power source present in the vehicle. The power source can be a traction energy or can be a dedicated power source for providing energy to the device or one or more vehicular components. Apart from these loads, many other forces act on the vehicle which puts pressure on the power source and exhausts the energy stored in the power source. A vehicle drag is one of such type of force which acts on the vehicle while the vehicle is in running condition. The drag becomes very crucial parameter for the vehicle running at high speed, which should be under specific limits so as to navigate the vehicle without any additional efforts on the roads.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] The details are described with reference to an embodiment of a two-wheeled vehicle along with the accompanying diagrams. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference similar features and components.
[0004] Figure 1 exemplarily illustrates a exemplary illustrates a side view of a conventional design of the vehicle in which, the air coming from front is made to pass through the internal combustion engine cabin by providing one or more openings on one or more front style parts.
[0005] Figure 2 exemplarily illustrates a side front view of a two-wheeled vehicle.
[0006] Figure 3 exemplarily illustrates a side view of the front portion of the two-wheeled vehicle partially and a magnified view of a portion of the front fork assembly and the one or more panel assembly.
[0007] Figure 4 exemplarily illustrates a section A-A showing front fork assembly passing through the panel assembly.
[0008] Figure 5 exemplarily illustrates a side view of a two-wheeled vehicle as per yet another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0001] An aerodynamic drag is a force acting on a vehicle from a front portion of the vehicle, due to the air pressure, while the vehicle is in running condition. This force tends to drag the vehicle in backward direction while the vehicle is moving in the forward direction. However, some amount of drag is important to keep the vehicle in contact with the road, but increased amount of drag is not desirable, especially for high-speed running vehicles. The aerodynamic of a two-wheeled is a very important aspect, as the two-wheeled vehicle is an open type of vehicle, and thus the body of the rider sitting on the vehicle also contributes to the aerodynamics of the vehicle. So good aerodynamics and low air resistance are even more important for the electric vehicles.
[0002] In conventional vehicles, the air flowing from the vehicle front portion is diverted through a power source cabin, creating a drag, and hence resulting in power loss of the power source. In electric vehicles, the overall energy available for the running of the vehicle is less as compared to the vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine. The electric vehicles are run by stored energy, which if gets used in excess, can result in loss of power and exhaust all power required for the vehicle traction. Also, there are many other losses in the vehicle which contributes in draining the traction power stored in the vehicle. As per the known art, many vehicle manufactures have tried to reduce the drag up to 3-4%, which is considered to be a significant reduction in the drag, but it is still not effective for high-speed vehicles. So, there is a need to optimize efficiency of the vehicle by reducing the losses, wherever possible.
[0003] As high aerodynamic drag of the vehicle limits a driving range and a top speed of the vehicle, thus reducing the air resistance in constant driving conditions at constant speed is very critical to achieve high efficiency of the vehicle. To address the problem stated above, in the conventional internal combustion engine two wheeled vehicles, a front portion of the vehicle is optimized for less drag by making a sleek design of the vehicle. Fig.1 exemplary illustrates a side view of a conventional design of the vehicle 100 in which, the air coming from front is made to pass through the internal combustion engine 134 cabin by providing one or more openings on one or more front style parts. The air passes all the way back to the engine, passing a rear shock absorber 116, and thus makes its exit from a space formed between a rear wheel 104 and a pillion rider seat assembly 114(b). The impact of the one or more openings on aerodynamic drag is very high as the air entering the vehicle 100 collide with many parts of the vehicle, creating more drag. So far, in the internal combustion engine vehicles, the aerodynamic drag reduction is relatively less important than in electric vehicles. This is due to the reason that the internal combustion (IC) engine 134 has more generated power for traction and less percentage of loss is added in the overall loss of the vehicle by drag.
[0004] For example, the electric vehicle has 10 units of energy to propel the vehicle, then 50-60% of that 10 units of energy goes in propelling the vehicle against the aerodynamic drag, especially at a high speed. This loss is also there in the internal combustion engine vehicles, but in IC engine vehicles there are other types of losses (for example: exhaust loss, heat transfer loss, friction loss within the engine, and the like) which constitutes to 60-70% of overall losses of the vehicle and the loss due to drag becomes less as compared to the electric vehicle. So, the loss in the electric vehicle is more due to the aerodynamic drag, which is not desirable and thus there is a need to reduce the drag significantly. Since high aerodynamic drag results in high power consumption for vehicle traction, especially in electric vehicles, thus reduces the maximum speed for the electric vehicle even with relatively higher current discharge rate. The vehicle with poor aerodynamics draws higher current from the power source for same top speed, which directly affect the life of the power source and thus reduces the rated life of the power source. Thus, there is a need to overcome the above-mentioned problems and other problems of known art.
[0005] An objective of the present subject matter is to provide a vehicle design which reduces overall drag of the vehicle significantly, improving overall driving range, top speed, power source performance and life of the power source. The present subject matter further aims to increase the efficiency, reduce losses, and reduce the cost incurred in power source. The present subject matter is described using an exemplary two-wheeled vehicle, whereas the claimed subject matter can be used in any other vehicle, with required changes and without deviating from the scope of invention.
[0006] As per an aspect of the present subject matter, a two-wheeled vehicle includes a frame assembly, a front fork assembly, a headlamp assembly, a front wheel, and one or more panel assembly. The front fork assembly is supported by the frame assembly at an upper end of the front fork assembly. The headlamp assembly is positioned ahead of the front fork assembly. The front wheel is connected to a lower end of the front fork assembly. The one or more panel assembly is configured to cover an entire front area of the vehicle, when viewed from front of the vehicle. The one or more panel assembly covers the front area of the vehicle from the headlamp assembly to an upper region and the back region of the front wheel of the two-wheeled vehicle. A thin material is provided with one or more slot to allow a front fork assembly to pass through the thin material for steering of the two-wheeled vehicle.
[0007] As per an aspect of the present subject matter, the one or more panel assembly is a single panel.
[0008] As per an aspect of the present subject matter, the thin material with the one or more slot being a flexible material.
[0009] As per an aspect of the present subject matter, the thin material is attached to the one or more panel assembly by means of adhesives, at one side.
[00010] As per another aspect of the present subject matter, the thin material is attached to the one or more panel assembly by means of one of the welding, fastening, and bolting, at one side.
[00011] As per an aspect of the present subject matter, the front fork assembly is snug fitted against the thin material to provide flexibility of relative movement.
[00012] As per an aspect of the present subject matter, the thin material includes one or more circular hole in the slot to allow the passage of one or more front fork (one fork shown) of the front fork assembly.
[00013] As per an aspect of the present subject matter, an air duct is provided in the one or more panel assembly for passage of air for cooling of one or more electrical parts.
[00014] As per an aspect of the present subject matter, the air duct is disposed below a headlamp assembly and the opening is less than 10% of the total opening in the panel assembly. The embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to a two-wheeled electric vehicle along with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the present embodiments. The present subject matter is further described with reference to accompanying figures. It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate principles of the present subject matter. Various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, encompass the principles of the present subject matter. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and examples of the present subject matter, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.
[00015] Fig.2 exemplarily illustrates a side front view of a two-wheeled vehicle 100. The two-wheeled vehicle 100 includes a front portion F and a rear portion R. The front portion F of the vehicle 100 includes a frame assembly (not shown), a front wheel 102, a front fender 108, a front fork assembly 106, a headlamp assembly 110, and an instrument cluster 112. The rear portion R includes a seat assembly 114, a pair of rear shock absorber (one shock absorber shown) 116, and a rear wheel 104. In the present embodiment, the two-wheeled vehicle 100 is an electric vehicle. The electric vehicle 100 includes one or more power source 118 which provides power for riding the vehicle 100. The front fork assembly 106 is supported by a steering column 120 at one side and is connected to the front wheel 102 at the other side to connect the vehicle 100 with the frame assembly to facilitate the operation of the vehicle 100. The front fender 108 covers a portion of the front wheel 102 from top of the front wheel 102. The headlamp assembly 110 is mounted in front of the front fork assembly 106 and is positioned above the front wheel 102. The instrument cluster 112 is positioned above the headlamp assembly 110, facing a display of the instrument cluster 112 towards a rider of the vehicle 100. The display shows the vehicle parameters and displays various other indications and information to keep the rider of the vehicle informed. The one or more power source 118 of the vehicle 100 is placed behind the rear wheel 104. A panel assembly 122 is covering the one or more power source 118 from a front and bottom side, such that the panel assembly 122 is disposed between the front wheel 102 and the one or more power source 118.
[00016] In the present embodiment, in order to reduce the aerodynamics drag of the vehicle 100, an entire front side of the front portion F of the two-wheeled electric vehicle 100 is covered by one or more panel assembly 122. The one or more panel assembly 122 starts from the headlamp assembly 110 and runs all the way in downward direction, covering all the front side fully, above and behind the front wheel 102 of the vehicle 100. The panel assembly 122 further runs backward from a rear portion of the front wheel 102 in a vehicle longitudinal direction, till the rear wheel 104. This panel assembly 122 layout design prohibits the air to pass through the one or more vehicular parts of the vehicle 122 from the front portion F of the vehicle 100, thus reducing the drag. Further, the air coming towards the vehicle front portion F while the vehicle 100 is running on the road, is diverted sideways without allowing it to enter through the vehicle 100. Thus, the one or more panel assembly 122 is aerodynamically optimized to achieve least drag. This is achieved by covering the entire front portion F of the vehicle 100 with one or more panel assembly 122 and providing a path for the air to flow without being hit by the vehicular parts, as shown in fig.2. In the present embodiment, a single panel assembly 122 is used to cover the entire front portion F of the vehicle 100. However, the panel assembly 122 can be formed of multiple panels.
[00017] Fig.3 exemplarily illustrates a side view of the front portion F of the two-wheeled vehicle 100 partially and a magnified view of a portion of the front fork assembly 106 and the one or more panel assembly 122. Fig.4 exemplarily illustrates a section A-A showing front fork assembly 106 passing through the panel assembly 122. Fig.3 and fig.4 shall be discussed together. The panel assembly 122 is required to allow the front fork assembly 106 so as to be connected to the front wheel 102 of the two-wheeled vehicle 100. To achieve this, the panel assembly 122 needs one or more openings to allow the front fork assembly 106 to pass through it so that the front fork assembly 106 gets connected to the front wheel 102 for steering the front wheel 102 and hence operating the two-wheeled vehicle 100. The one or more openings may allow air to enter towards the power source 118 cabin, which is not desirable. So, in order to avoid the one or more openings, and allow the front fork assembly 106 to pass through the panel assembly 122, a thin material 124 is provided between the panel assembly 122 and the front fork assembly 106 covering the opening/a gap entirely as well as allowing the front fork assembly 106 to be steered while the vehicle 100 is in operation. In the present embodiments, the thin material 124 can be a flexible material made up of rubber. However, the thin material 124 can be made up of any flexible material. The flexible part is a flex member which moves to allow the movement of the front fork assembly 106. The thin material 124 is disposed between the panel assembly 122 and the front fork assembly 106. One end of the thin material 124 is attached to the panel assembly 122 and the other end of the thin material 124 is attached to the front fork assembly 106, covering the gap/ opening between the front fork assembly 106 and the panel assembly 100.
[00018] The thin material 124 restricts air flow entry and still offers operational flexibility for relative movement of the two parts that is the panel assembly 122 and the front fork assembly 106. In the present embodiment, the thin material 124 is attached to the panel assembly 122 side by means of adhesives. However, the thin material 124 can be attached by other means like bolting, fastening, welding and the like. The thin material 124 is snug fitted against the front fork assembly 106 side, to allow the relative movement of the front fork assembly 106 to operate the front wheel 102 of the vehicle 100, and thus to ride the vehicle 100. As shown in figure 4, the thin material 124 is disposed with respect to the panel assembly 122 and is attached to the panel assembly 122. A slot 126 is formed in the thin material 124 and one or more circular hole 128 is formed in the slot 126 to allow the one or more front fork (only one being shown) of the front fork assembly 106 to pass through the one or more circular hole 128. The front fork assembly 106 is snug fitted with the thin material 124, thus no opening or gap is formed between the front fork assembly 106 and the panel assembly 122. In another embodiment as per the present invention, the one or more openings provided in the panel assembly 122 can be up to 10% of the total opening in the front portion F of the panel assembly 122 through which the air can enter the two-wheeled vehicle 100. The opening up to 10% is capable to provide the desired reduction in drag and hence improving the aerodynamics of the vehicle significantly. Thus, restricting the opening upto 10% results in drag reduction by 15-18%, which is a very high percentage reduction.
[00019] Fig.5 exemplarily illustrates a side view of a two-wheeled vehicle 100 as per yet another embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, an air duct 130 is provided in the front portion F of the panel assembly 122 and is located in the vicinity of the headlamp assembly 110. The air duct 130 allows a small amount of air to enter the vehicle 100 for cooling the one or more part of the vehicle 100. In the present embodiment, air flow is required to dissipate heat generated by one or more electrical subsystems like power source 118, motor, radiator 132, and the like. The air duct 130 is located just below the headlamp assembly 110 and is optimized for required air flow rate and to have a minimal drag. The opening of the air duct 130 should be upto 10% of the total opening in the front portion F of the panel assembly 122, given there is no other openings in the panel assembly 122 to achieve the desired reduction in the drag of the vehicle 100.
[00020] The present invention provides a front panel assembly 122 that is designed to aerodynamically divert all the air coming from front without letting it enter into the power source 118 cabin or any other vehicular part of the vehicle 100, while the vehicle is running. The design of the panel assembly 122 at the front that covers the entire front portion F of the vehicle 100 restricts the air flow inside the vehicle 100, and guides the air aerodynamically from the sides, thus reducing the drag due to the air striking the vehicular parts. This reduction in drag improves the efficiency and thus the range of the two-wheeled vehicle 100 as the vehicle needs to spend lesser energy to overcome aerodynamic resistance, which is very crucial for an electric two-wheeled vehicle 100. Further, the present invention helps in achieving higher top speed, and also puts less load on the electric system of the vehicle 100, which further improves the battery performance, preserves the battery life, and increases the durability of the battery, used in the electric vehicle for traction purposes. Less power consumption due to reduced load on the battery also reduced the cost of the vehicle 100 with respect to the power consumption. The present invention also facilitates in the cooling of the vehicular parts. Many other improvements and modifications may be incorporated herein without deviating from the scope of the invention.

List of Reference numerals
F: Front portion
R: Rear portion
100: Two wheeled vehicle
102: Front wheel
104: Rear wheel
106: Front fork assembly
108: Front fender
110: Headlamp assembly
112: Instrument cluster
114: Seat assembly
114(a): Rider seat assembly
114(b): Pillion rider seat assembly
116: Rear shock absorber
118: One or more power source
120: Steering column
122: Panel assembly
124: Thin material
126: Slot
128: One or more circular hole
130: Air duct
132: Radiator
134: Engine
,CLAIMS:We claim:
1. A two-wheeled vehicle (100) comprising:
a frame assembly (not shown);
a front fork assembly (106), the front fork assembly (106) being supported by the frame assembly at an upper end of the front fork assembly (106);
a headlamp assembly (110), the headlamp assembly (110) being positioned ahead of the front fork assembly (106);
a front wheel (102); the front wheel (102) being connected to a lower end of the front fork assembly (106); and
one or more panel assembly (122), the one or more panel assembly (122) being configured to cover a portion of front area of the vehicle (100), when viewed from front of the vehicle (100);
wherein,
the one or more panel assembly (122) covers the front area of the vehicle (100) from the headlamp assembly (110) to an upper region and the back region of the front wheel (102) of the two-wheeled vehicle (100); and
a thin material (124) being provided with one or more slot (126) to allow the front fork assembly (106) to pass through the thin material (124) for steering of the two-wheeled vehicle (100).

2. The two-wheeled vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more panel assembly (122) being a single panel.
3. The two-wheeled vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thin material (124) with the one or more slot (126) being a flexible material.
4. The two-wheeled vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thin material (124) being attached to the one or more panel assembly (122) by means of adhesives, at one side.
5. The two-wheeled vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thin material (124) being attached to the one or more panel assembly (122) by means of one of the welding, fastening, and bolting, at one side.
6. The two-wheeled vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front fork assembly (106) being snug fitted against the thin material (124) to provide flexibility of relative movement.
7. The two-wheeled vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thin material (124) includes one or more circular hole (128) in the slot (126) to allow the passage of one or more front fork (one fork shown) of the front fork assembly (106).
8. The two-wheeled vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein an air duct (130) being provided in the one or more panel assembly (122) for passage of air for cooling of one or more electrical parts.
9. The two-wheeled vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the air duct (130) being disposed below a headlamp assembly (110) and the opening is less than 10% of the total opening in the panel assembly (122).