AUXILIARY ATTACHMENT FOR A SIDE STAND FOR A TWO WHEELER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND USE OF INVENTION
[0001] Invention relates generally to a side stand of a two wheeler and more specifically to an auxiliary attachment useful for automatically retracting the side stand of a two wheeler  when the two wheeler is moved on application of gear.
PRIOR ART AND PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED
[0002] A side stand also referred to sometimes as a ‘Kick Stand’  is an essential feature usually mounted under the footboard on the left hand side of any two wheeler such as a motorcycle. Conventionally  the driver of the two wheeler manually operates the side stand with their foot whenever the motorcycle is required to be parked for a short duration. It is often found that the drivers forget to retract the side stand before moving the motorcycle from the parked position. The danger to the driver normally is the greatest when the motorcycle is leaned by the driver to negotiate a turn and the side stand is thereby brought into contact with the ground. The contact between the ground and side stand while the motorcycle is moving often causes the motorcycle to jerk or spin  and in such a situation  the driver can easily lose control of the motorcycle.
[0003] US patent 4016538 describes an automatic retraction of side stand for a motorcycle using a swingable member is fitted on the lower part of the a telescopic side-stand on an axis  which extends in the longitudinal direction of the motorcycle body  and  when the body is set upright  another swingable member is stood resiliently by a spring on another axis so that the tip end of the swingable member may face the ground surface. The frictional contact between the bottom tip end of this swingable member and the ground surface causes the side stand to be retracted automatically. This invention is useful according to the patent document  when the bottom surfaces of the above mentioned telescopic stand and the swingable member are provided with rubber and other elastic material to increase friction between the side-stand and the ground surface. During the parking of the motorcycle  the bottom end of the rubber block is bent outwardly by the weight of the body of the motorcycle  whereby the contact surface of the side-stand touches the ground surface to support the motorcycle.
[0004] US Patent 3918743 describes an embodiment of safety device for a motorcycle that included a position switch that could sense the position of the side stand and an alarm or a buzzer  which could be used as an alerting device that could indicate the same. The safety device such as a buzzer or a horn was provided in the motorcycle for alerting the driver if the side stand had not been moved to its retracted position. The device included a position switch mechanically connected to a stand through a spring link and electrically connected with the ignition switch  a signal or alerting device such as the motorcycle’s horn  so that an alert could be given whenever the ignition was on and the stand was deployed. The limitation of this invention was that it is designed to work in situations only when there is a shock or a jerk experienced. If the shock-receiving member is not resilient  then it may involve the risk of accident. Further limitation was that the the safety device mentioned above acting as an alerting device only gave the indication of the position of the side stand i.e.  whether it is in retracted position or is in service. The motorcycle rider has to respond to the signal or warning from the alerting device. Any power failure may not solve the problem of retracting the side stand.
[0005] US Patent 4084656 describes a device for preventing the starting of a two-wheeler without its stand being brought to retracted position by cutting-off the ignition through ignition-cut off circuits  starting motor circuit  engine starting circuit  stand switches and other electrical circuitry  so that an accident could be avoided. This invention may have reliability issues due to the complex electric circuitry and any fault in one component may lead to failure of the device. Further this invention also does not provide automatic retraction of the side stand.
[0006] US Patent 4095823 describes a side stand that can be retracted by the mechanical action before setting the two-wheeler in motion i.e.; moving the side stand to a retracted position by utilizing the rotary motion of a sprocket or a hub of a wheel. The limitation here is that the invention necessarily requires the two-wheelers to have sprocket wheels projected out in the transmission system  which is not always the case and hence it cannot be implemented in several two-wheelers available today.
[0007] US Patent 7140631 describes the use of pneumatic/hydraulic actuators and electrical relays to retract the side stand and included a manually operated activation switch  a neutral indicator and a system lock. The solution appears to be complicated and also does not seem to be economical for implementation.
[0008] Thus there is a problem that relates to retracting of the side stand of the two wheeler and the current approaches either do not address this aspect and thus increase the risk for the driver and the two wheeler  or the available solutions are too complicated and cost ineffective and therefore  do not practically allow for their wide-spread implementation.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Hence there is a need to develop a relatively simpler cost-effective solution  which is easy to implement that ensures that the side stand can be automatically retracted without causing even the least concern of the driver  and ensuring the safety of the driver and the two wheeler.
[0010] Thus one of the object of the invention is to provide a feasible auxiliary attachment positioned in vicinity of the side stand of a two wheeler that enables an automatic retraction of the side stand as the two wheeler starts to move.
[0011] Another object of the invention is to eliminate the dangers of driving the two wheeler with side stand in deployed position and ensure safety for the driver or other riders and the two wheeler.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] According to one aspect of the invention  an auxiliary attachment is provided for moving a side stand of a two wheeler vehicle from a deployed position to a retracted position. The auxiliary attachment includes a spring actuated ratchet; and a pawl lever mechanism coupled to the spring actuated ratchet for locking and unlocking the side stand. The auxiliary attachment is mounted at a spaced apart distance from the side stand in the exemplary embodiment.
[0013] According to another aspect  a method of operating a side stand of a two wheeler vehicle is provided using the auxiliary attachment that includes a spring actuated ratchet  and a pawl lever mechanism coupled to the spring actuated ratchet for locking and unlocking the spring actuated ratchet. The method includes mounting the auxiliary attachment at a spaced apart distance from the side stand  locking the side stand in a deployed position by engaging the spring actuated ratchet by the pawl lever mechanism  and unlocking the side stand by releasing the spring actuated ratchet by the pawl lever mechanism for moving the side stand to a retracted position.
DRAWINGS
[0014] These and other features  aspects  and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent corresponding parts throughout the drawings  wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the auxiliary attachment positioned in proximity of the side stand of a two wheeler;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a more detailed diagrammatic representation of the auxiliary attachment and its components including the spring actuated ratchet and the pawl lever mechanism;
[0017] FIG. 3 is another view of the auxiliary attachment in relation to the gear of the two wheeler;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of two views of the ratchet and some mechanical components used in the auxiliary attachment; and
[0019] FIG. 5 is a flowchart representation of exemplary steps of a method of operating the side stand using the auxiliary attachment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] As used herein and in the claims  the singular forms "a " "an " and "the" include the plural reference unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
[0021] As used herein “ratchet” refers to a mechanical device that allows continuous linear or rotary motion in only one direction while preventing motion in the opposite direction. The “spring actuated ratchet” as used herein refers to the ratchet whose motion is controlled by a spring action.
[0022] As used herein “pawl”  “pawl lever” and “pawl lever mechanism” are used interchangeably and refer to a hinged or pivoted device adapted to fit into a notch of a ratchet wheel to impart forward motion or prevent backward motion.
[0023] The invention described herein relates to an auxiliary attachment to automatically retract a side stand of a two wheeler such as a motorcycle  when the two wheeler is started on application of gears. As described in more detail in relation to the drawings  the auxiliary attachment includes a spring actuated ratchet for urging the side stand to a retracted position. The auxiliary device also includes a pivotally supported pawl lever mechanism for retaining the side stand in a deployed position. The auxiliary device is mounted as an auxiliary member on the two wheeler in an exemplary implementation.
[0024] Now turning to FIG. 1  the invention provides an auxiliary attachment 10 for moving a side stand 12 of a two wheeler vehicle from a deployed position 14 to a retracted position 16 on application of gear 18. The auxiliary attachment 10 is positioned at a spaced apart distance from the side stand in the exemplary implementation. In one embodiment as shown in FIG. 1 the auxiliary attachment is positioned proximal to the footrest 20.
[0025] The auxiliary attachment 10 includes a spring actuated ratchet 22  and a pawl lever mechanism 24 coupled to the spring actuated ratchet 22 for locking and unlocking the side stand 12. A torsion spring 26 is used in the exemplary embodiment to move the spring actuated ratchet 22. In the exemplary embodiment the auxiliary attachment 10 also includes a support bracket 28 for mounting the spring actuated ratchet  torsion spring and the pawl lever mechanism. The auxiliary attachment is positioned at a spaced apart distance from the side stand 12 in the exemplary implementation.
[0026] The side stand is locked in deployed position by engaging the spring actuated ratchet by the pawl lever mechanism. The locking position is achieved when the spring actuated ratchet is moved against torsion spring and is therefore forced to rotate about a pivot point on the support bracket in the plane of operation of the side stand when the side stand is set for deployed position.
[0027] The side stand is unlocked and moves to the retracted position by release of the spring actuated ratchet by the pawl lever mechanism. The retracted position in the exemplary embodiment is initiated on application of a gear 18 of the two wheeler vehicle.
[0028] The support bracket  the pawl lever mechanism and the spring actuated ratchet as mentioned herein are assembled to form the auxiliary attachment in one implementation and the auxiliary attachment is welded to a chassis member of the two wheeler under the vicinity of the gear lever and side stand of the two wheeler as shown in FIG 1. In one specific embodiment the auxiliary attachment is mounted proximal to the footrest member 20 of the two wheeler in the vicinity of the side stand.
[0029] Referring to FIG. 2  the support bracket 28 in one specific non-limiting embodiment is positioned just below the gear 18 on which the side stand rotates pivotally. The support bracket 28 has a stopper pin 30  which acts as a stopper to the torsion spring 26. A fulcrum pin 32 on which the pawl lever mechanism 24 is pivotally mounted through a bush (not shown) and acts against a compression spring 34 held against a pawl bolt 36 guided in a guide plate 38 and welded on the pawl lever mechanism 24 and upper side of the support bracket 28 respectively.
[0030] The spring actuated ratchet 22  in one implementation has a threaded mandrel (not shown n FIG. 2) on which the torsion spring 26 is mounted and locked in position by a ratchet nut 40 and held under tension by spring stopper pins 42 and 30. On the other side of the ratchet 22 is a threaded pin (not shown in FIG. 2)  which is free to rotate in the bush (not shown in FIG. 2) on the support bracket 28. The ratchet 22 fitted on the support bracket 28 can rotate in the same plane in which the side stand 12 can rotate. It would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the ratchet 22 is always under the tension of torsion spring 26 and tends to push the side stand 12 to the retracted position. For smooth and friction less transfer of spring force through the ratchet 22 to the side stand 12  a push pin (not shown in FIG. 2) is fixed at the bottom of ratchet 22 that is always in contact with the side stand 12.
[0031] FIG. 3 provides another view of the auxiliary attachment 10 and it’s components  the spring actuated ratchet 22  the pawl lever mechanism 24  the torsion spring 26  and support bracket 28 in relation to gear 18.
[0032] The ratchet 22 provided in one exemplary implementation as shown in diagrammatic views 44 and 46 in FIG.4  includes a notch 48 (in diagrammatic view 46) where the pawl lever mechanism as shown in FIGS. 1-3 locks it in position against the spring tension. FIG. 4 also shows the other mechanical components that support the ratchet 22  that include a spring stopper pin 50  a push pin 52  a threaded mandrel 54  and a threaded pin 56.
[0033] In operation  referring to FIG. 1-4  when the two wheeler needs to be parked  the driver deploys the side stand 12. Since the side stand 12 and the spring actuated ratchet 22 operate in the same plane  the spring actuated ratchet is forced to rotate against the force of torsion spring 26. During the course of operation the cam profile of the ratchet 22 in contact with the pawl lever mechanism 26 smoothly engages in the notch 48 of the spring actuated ratchet 22  thus locking the side stand 12 in deployed position.
[0034] Now  when the rider starts the two-wheeler by initiating a first action of applying the gear  the gear 18 (referred sometimes as gear lever)  is pushed in front forward direction. This actuates the pawl lever mechanism 24 and releases the notch 48 in the spring actuated ratchet 22. Simultaneously  the torsion spring 26 forces the ratchet 22 to push the side stand 12 with an impact to the retracted position.
[0035] Thus  the side stand 12 is automatically deflected towards the retracted position as the motorcycle is put into gear  without any special action to retract the stand by the driver of the two wheeler.
[0036] The invention also therefore  provides for a method of operating a side stand of a two wheeler vehicle  where the two wheeler vehicle includes the auxiliary attachment including the spring actuated ratchet and the pawl lever mechanism  as described herein above. The method is described in the flowchart 60 comprises a step 62 for mounting the auxiliary attachment at a spaced apart distance from the side stand. In the exemplary embodiment a support bracket is used for mounting the spring actuated ratchet and the pawl lever mechanism. The method comprises a step 64 for locking the side stand in a deployed position by engaging the spring actuated ratchet by the pawl lever mechanism. The method includes a step 66 for unlocking the side stand by releasing the spring actuated ratchet by the pawl lever mechanism for moving the side stand to a retracted position. It would be appreciated by those skilled in the art  that the releasing is initiated by application of a gear of the two wheeler vehicle  and thus ensures an automatic retraction of the side stand and ensures safety for the driver and the two wheeler.
[0037] The auxiliary attachment and the method for operating the side stand using the auxiliary attachment as described herein advantageously allow the side stand to be deployed manually without altering the existing features of the side stand  and even more advantageously the side stand is retracted simply by a torsion spring force acting through spring actuated ratchet in contact with side stand  pushing the side stand to the retracted position.
[0038] It would also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the side stand is held in deployed position with two wheeler leaning on the side stand  and does not retract without operating the gear lever when the two wheeler is leaning with its load on the side stand ensuring greater safety and stability for the two wheeler. It must be noted that if the driver would like to operate the side stand manually  they would still be able to do so. However  it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the automatic retraction that is made possible using the auxiliary attachment eliminates the need for using the legs or feet of the driver for retraction of the side stand.
[0039] Further the side stand retraction using the auxiliary attachment of the invention is possible in both the front forward first gear and rear forward first gear two wheelers  ensuring ease of implementation.
[0040] A further advantage is that the side stand operation by use of the auxiliary attachment does not require any additional power  and thus does not affect the performance of the two wheeler. It would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention of automatic retraction mechanism works for any gear lever movement during gear change in forward direction.
[0041] While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein  many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is  therefore  to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.

AUXILIARY ATTACHMENT FOR A SIDE STAND FOR A TWO WHEELER
ABSTRACT
[0042] An auxiliary attachment is provided for moving a side stand of a two wheeler vehicle from a deployed position to a retracted position. The auxiliary attachment includes a spring actuated ratchet; and a pawl lever mechanism coupled to the spring actuated ratchet for locking and unlocking the side stand. The auxiliary attachment is mounted at a spaced apart distance from the side stand in the exemplary embodiment. A method of operating the side stand of the two wheeler vehicle is also provided using the auxiliary attachment that allows for automatic retraction of the side stand as the two wheeler is started ensuring safety for the driver and the two wheeler.

I/ We Claim:
1. An auxiliary attachment for moving a side stand of a two wheeler vehicle from a deployed position to a retracted position  the auxiliary attachment comprising:
a spring actuated ratchet; and
a pawl lever mechanism coupled to the spring actuated ratchet for locking and unlocking the side stand 
wherein  the auxiliary attachment is mounted at a spaced apart distance from the side stand.
2. The auxiliary attachment of claim 1 wherein the spring actuated ratchet rotates about a pivot point in a plane of operation of the side stand.
3. The auxiliary attachment of claim 1 further comprising a support bracket for mounting the spring actuated ratchet.
4. The auxiliary attachment of claim 1 wherein the side stand is locked in deployed position by engaging the spring actuated ratchet by the pawl lever mechanism.
5. The auxiliary attachment of claim 1 wherein the side stand is unlocked and moves to the retracted position by release of the spring actuated ratchet by the pawl lever mechanism.
6. The auxiliary attachment of claim 5 wherein the retracted position is initiated on application of a gear of the two wheeler vehicle.
7. A method of operating a side stand of a two wheeler vehicle  wherein the two wheeler vehicle comprises an auxiliary attachment  the method comprising:
mounting the auxiliary attachment at a spaced apart distance from the side stand  wherein the auxiliary attachment comprises a spring actuated ratchet  and a pawl lever mechanism coupled to the spring actuated ratchet for locking and unlocking the spring actuated ratchet;
locking the side stand in a deployed position by engaging the spring actuated ratchet by the pawl lever mechanism; and
unlocking the side stand by releasing the spring actuated ratchet by the pawl lever mechanism for moving the side stand to a retracted position.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein the releasing is initiated by application of a gear of the two wheeler vehicle.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein the mounting comprises using a support bracket for mounting the spring actuated ratchet.
10. The method of claim 7 wherein the spring actuated ratchet rotates about a pivot point in a plane of operation of the side stand.

Signature of Applicant
Rachna Singh Puri
Authorized Representative
Dated: March 28  2012