BOTTOM COVER MOUNTING IN A VEHICLE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a bottom cover for a saddle type vehicle and to a vehicle incorporating the same. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to the mounting of a bottom cover in a saddle type vehicle with swinging power unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] A two wheeled saddle type vehicle is provided with an internal combustion engine (or power unit) to power the vehicle. Conventionally, in a scooter type vehicle, the engine is forwardly inclined and swinging supported at one end on a hub of a rear wheel and at the other end on the vehicle frame. The vehicle is provided with several covers which conceal various components of the vehicle, including the members of a frame of the vehicle and a portion of the engine, from being visible to an onlooker. These covers include a left side cover, a right side cover, an underseat cover, a floorboard, a bottom cover and a side trim member. A front portion of the engine comprising a cylinder head and a cylinder block is located in an enclosed space formed by said covers. Similarly, a lower portion of the vehicle frame is concealed from the bottom and sides by the bottom cover which is separately mounted to the vehicle frame independently of a lower member of the front panel.

[0003] A separate frame mounting bracket is extended from the frame exclusively for the mounting the lower member of the front panel. Consequently, the vehicle frame becomes heavier and the mounting becomes more complicated. Separate mounting also involves more fasteners which increases the manufacturing cost of the vehicle. Further, since the mounting takes place at the lower portion of the vehicle, the ergonomics of the person assembling it is very strenuous and hence increases assembly time.

[0004] Further, the mounting of bottom cover to the vehicle is very crucial to the vehicle. As the bottom cover is mounted at a lowermost portion and is proximal to the engine, it is prone to be affected by the engine vibrations. Further, the vehicle operation also takes toll on the bottom cover particularly when the vehicle encounters bumps. These conditions cause durability issues in mounting of the bottom cover to the vehicle. The condition is aggravated when the vehicle is operated on unmetalled urban or rural roads. If the bottom cover fails in any of these conditions, it may be hazardous for the vehicle rider.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve and efficiently mount the bottom cover on the vehicle so as to reduce the weight of the vehicle frame and the cost while reducing the assembly time. Another object of the present invention is to provide a strong connection of the bottom cover with the vehicle so that the mounting of bottom cover does not fail in its entirety and hence the bottom cover does not pose a safety hazard to the vehicle rider.

[0006] To this end, the present subject matter discloses a saddle type vehicle with a swinging engine and a bottom cover, where the bottom cover is supported on the vehicle through a three point mounting. The bottom cover has a front portion, a rear portion and a rearmost portion. The front portion of the bottom cover is supported on the vehicle frame through a primary bracket which is sandwich mounted between a holding bracket of the front panel and a support bracket of a lateral pipe of the vehicle frame. The rear portion of the bottom cover rests on and hangs from a rear pipe of the vehicle frame. The rearmost portion of the bottom cover is secured to a side trim member. Thus, the bottom cover is supported to a lower portion of the vehicle frame comprising of a lateral pipe and a rear pipe at least at two points. It is also secured to a side trim member of the vehicle at least at one point. The common mounting of the front portion of the bottom cover and the front panel on the lateral pipe reduces weight and cost of the frame.

[0007] According to an aspect of the present invention, the front and rearmost portion of the bottom cover is secured respectively to the front panel and side trim member. The rear portion, disposed between the front and rearmost portion, rests and hangs from the rear pipe. Even if the fasteners used to secure front and rearmost portion of the bottom cover fail, the bottom cover would still be hanging on the vehicle frame without falling off the vehicle completely.

[0008] The foregoing objectives and summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form, and is not limiting. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present subject matter as well as the subject matter
itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the ensuing detailed description of the subject matter and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0009] The above and other features, aspects and advantages of the subject matter will be better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings where:

[00010] FIG. 1 shows a side elevation view of a saddle type vehicle exemplified in the form of a two wheeled scooter type motorcycle.

[00011] FIG. 2 shows a side view of a frame structure of the vehicle.

[00012] FIG. 3 shows a top perspective view of a bottom cover of the vehicle according to the present invention.

[00013] FIG. 4 shows a side view of the vehicle showing the mounting of the bottom cover and a front panel to the vehicle frame.

[00014] FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of the mounting of FIG. 4.

[00015] FIG. 6 shows an top elevation view of the bottom cover mounted to the vehicle frame wherein the floorboard of the vehicle is not seen.

[00016] FIG. 7 shows a rear view of a side trim member located toward the right side of the vehicle.

[00017] FIG. 8 shows a detailed view of a rear and a rearmost portion of the bottom cover.

[00018] FIG. 9 shows a bottom perspective view of the bottom cover mounted to the vehicle frame.

[00019] FIG. 10 shows a detailed view of the mounting of the rearmost portion of the bottom cover to the side trim member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[00020] The present invention proposes the mounting of bottom cover on the vehicle and the method thereof. Various other features and embodiments of the present subject matter here will be discernible from the following further description thereof, set out hereunder. The detailed explanation of the constitution of parts other than the subject matter which constitutes an essential part has been omitted at suitable places. It is to be noted that in the ensuing description, the saddle type vehicle is exemplified with a two wheeled scooter type vehicle for better illustration. However, the concepts introduced herein are also applicable on any saddle type vehicle having a swinging internal combustion engine. Further "front" and "rear", and "left" and "right" referred to in the ensuing description refer to front and rear, and left and right directions as seen in a state of being seated on a seat of the scooter type vehicle. Furthermore, a longitudinal axis, except otherwise mentioned, refers to a front to rear axis relative to the said vehicle, while a lateral axis, except otherwise mentioned, refers generally to a side to side, or left to right axis relative to said vehicle.

[00021] FIG. 1 shows a side elevation view of the scooter type vehicle. The vehicle 1 includes a vehicle frame assembly made up of several tubes welded together supporting the body of said vehicle. The vehicle 1 has a steerable front wheel 2 and a driven rear wheel 25 driven by driving force generated by an internal combustion engine (or power unit) 24. The front wheel 2 of a vehicle 1 is axially supported at a lower end of a front fork 3, and the front fork 3 is pivoted in a steerable manner in a head pipe 31 of the vehicle frame. The frame assembly of the vehicle 1 is covered by a plurality of vehicle body covers including a front panel 17, a leg shield 16, an underseat cover 21, a left side cover 41, a right side cover and a bottom cover 60. The right side cover is substantially symmetrical to the left side cover and hence not shown.

[00022] A handle bar 7 is attached to an upper end of the head pipe 31. A headlight unit 10 is arranged forwardly of the handle bar 7 and is surrounded by a visor 9. The handle bar 7 and a seat 22 are supported at opposing ends of the frame assembly and a generally open area is defined there between known as floorboard 12 which functions as a step through space. The seat 22 for a driver and a pillion is placed forward to a fuel tank and rearwardly of the floorboard 12. An article storage device (not shown) is provided below the seat 22 for storing useful articles. A side trim member 14 laterally beneath the floorboard 12 is provided to cover the lower frame members from being visible. The side trim member 14 is laterally present on both sides of the vehicle; however, only one is visible in the side view. A side stand fixed to the left side of the frame supports the vehicle such that vehicle can incline to the left side without falling. A rear fender 27 is accommodated above the engine 24 to partially cover the rear wheel 25. Likewise, the front wheel 2 is covered by a lower member 18 of the front panel 17. The lower member 18 has a rear portion 19 inclined rearwardly and curvedly toward the side trim member 14. The rear portion 19 of the lower member 18 has a holding bracket 20 with a through hole at its rearmost end.

[00023] FIG. 2 shows a side view of a frame in said vehicle. The frame assembly of the motorcycle 1 is an elongated structure, which typically extends from a forward end to a rearward end of the vehicle. It is generally convex in shape, as viewed from a side elevational view. The vehicle frame is comprised of a downpipe 32 extending downwards from the head pipe 31, a lower pipe 33 supporting the low-slung floorboard 12 extending rearwards from a lower end of the downpipe 32, and a rear pipe 37 formed by curving a rear end section of the lower pipe 33 diagonally upwards. The vehicle has two parallel and similar rear pipes laterally spaced apart from each other and hence only one is used to explain the present invention. Each rear pipe 37 is made of an inclined section extending diagonally upwards from a rear end of the lower pipe 33, and a horizontal section extending rearwards substantially horizontally from the inclined section and is covered by the side cover 23.

[00024] As shown in FIG. 6, the lower pipe 33 passes through the longitudinal axis of the motorcycle and supports at least one lateral pipe 34 on either side of the longitudinal axis. The lateral pipe 34 is disposed laterally from the lower pipe 33 and supported on it. The long axis of the lateral pipe is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the lower pipe 33. Each lateral pipe 34 has a support bracket 35 to support the bottom cover 60 and the lower member 18 of the front panel 17. The support bracket 35 is mechanically connected to the lateral pipe 34. In an embodiment, the support bracket 35 is welded to the lateral pipe 34.

[00025] In the said vehicle as shown in FIG. 1, the engine 24 is configured to drive, and is swingably supported between the lower pipe 33 and the rear wheel 25. The engine 24 is integrally formed with a transmission system, and the rear wheel 25 is connected to a drive shaft at the rear of a casing of the engine 24. In an embodiment of the present invention, the engine is a four stroke single cylinder internal combustion engine. When disposed on the vehicle frame, the engine 24 is located within an enclosed space formed by the left side cover 41, a right side cover, the underseat cover 21, the left side trim member 14, the right side trim member and the article storage device. More particularly, the front portion of the engine 24 comprises of a cylinder head and a cylinder block. The cylinder head and cylinder block are forwardly inclined in a manner that when seen from a side view, the cylinder head faces an inner surface of the underseat cover 21.

[00026] The bottom cover 60 covers a lower portion of the vehicle frame including the lower pipe 33 and lateral pipe 34, other lower frame members and electrical components from the bottom. It prevents the see through condition of the lower pipe 33 and lower frame members and also protects them from mud and water splash during the operation of the vehicle. The bottom cover 60 is symmetrical along its longitudinal axis and hence the mounting of bottom cover 60 to the vehicle is explained only for left side. The bottom cover is mounted to the vehicle on the right side of the vehicle in a similar fashion.

[00027] FIG. 3 shows a top perspective view of the bottom cover 60. The bottom cover 60 is approximately a wide rectangular structure with curved edges and spread across the width of the vehicle from side to side. It spans between the rear portion 19 of the lower member 18 of the front panel 17 and the engine 24. The bottom cover 60 comprises of a front portion 61, a rear portion 63, and a rearmost portion 69 spanning from a front to rear direction of the vehicle. The front portion 61 is at a higher elevation than the rear portion 63 and rearmost portion 69 as shown in the side view. The bottom cover 60 comprises of an edge portion 64 running continuously from the front portion 61 to the rear portion 69. The edge portion 64 defines an edge of the bottom cover in the front to rear direction. In an embodiment, the edge portion 64 is a full length flange which is located on the side trim member 14 as shown in FIG. 7.

[00028] The bottom cover 60 is configured to be mounted on the vehicle at its front portion 61 and rearmost portion 69. It comprises of at least one primary bracket 65 in the front portion 61, a hook member 66 in the rear portion and a supporting recess 67 in the rearmost portion 69. In an embodiment, the primary bracket 65, the hook member 66 and the supporting recess 67 are formed integral with the edge portion 64 of the bottom cover 60. In another embodiment, the hook member 66 is present inwardly to the primary bracket 65 and is not located on the edge portion 64. The primary bracket 65 projects upwardly from the edge portion of the front portion 61 and has a recess for securing itself as described later. The hook member 66 has an inverted L-shape which hangs the bottom cover to the vehicle frame. The securing recess 67 is an opening congifured to receive at least one fastener.

[00029] The bottom cover is supported on the vehicle by a three point nounting out of which the front portion 61 and rear portion 63 of the bottom over 60 is supported on the vehicle frame and the rearmost portion 69 is upported on the side trim member 14. More particularly, the front portion 61 of ae bottom cover is sandwich mounted to the lateral pipe 34 of the frame, the rear ortion 63 rests on and hangs from the rear pipe 37 of the frame, and the rearmost ortion 69 is secured to the side trim member 14. The mounting is now explained.

[0030] FIGs. 4-8 show the connection of the front and rear portion of the bottom cover to the vehicle frame. The front portion 61 is mounted to the frame irough the primary bracket 65 sandwiched between the lateral pipe 34 and the 3wer member 18 of the front panel 17. More particularly, the primary bracket 65 ; disposed between the holding bracket 20 of the lower member 18 and the upport bracket 35 of the lateral pipe 34. In doing this, the front portion 61 is irstly disposed on the support bracket 35 through the primary bracket 65. A pip aving an opening provided in the support bracket 35 goes into the recess of the rimary bracket 65 and holds it on the support bracket 35. Secondly, the holding racket 20 is secured to the primary bracket 65 and the support bracket 35 through fastener 21 passing through an opening in the holding bracket, the recess of the rimary bracket 65 and the pip of the support bracket 35. Thus, the primary racket 65 acts as a frame mounting bracket for the bottom cover which supports le bottom cover on the lateral pipe 34 of the vehicle frame as shown in FIG. 4 and 5. The primary bracket 65 thus lies between the holding bracket 20 and the support bracket 35 and is hence sandwich mounted. All the three brackets have the same mounting as shown in FIG. 6 and thus only one support bracket is sufficient to support the lower portion of the front panel and the front portion of the bottom cover on the vehicle frame.

[00031] Once the front portion 61 of the bottom cover 60 is sandwich mounted to the vehicle frame, the rear portion 63 of the bottom cover is further supported on the vehicle frame with the help of the hook member 66 provided therein. As shown in FIG. 8, the rear pipe 37 is provided with a gusset 38 with a flat portion 39. The gusset 38 is provdied at a lower portion of the rear pipe 37. The flat portion 39 is parallel to the ground and protruded laterally outwardly along the lateral axis of the vehicle. The rear portion 63 of the bottom cover 60 is located and supported on the vehicle frame by engaging the hook member 66 on flat portion 39 of the gusset 38. The hook member 66 is configured for being engaged onto the vehicle frame and has an inverted L-shaped cross section. It is flexible in structure and therefore capable to locate itself on the flat portion 39. The rear portion 63 of the bottom cover 60 is pressed from the bottom direction in vertically upward direction of the vehicle and the flexible hook member 66 locates and supports itself of the flat portion 39 of the gusset 38 of the rear pipe 37. The rear portion of the bottom cover is thus supported from, and hangs from, the rear pipe 37. The hook member 66 is thus a load taking structure through which the bottom cover is supported on the vehicle frame.

[00032] In an embodiment, the hook member 66 is capable of being engaged onto the additional frame sections so that the bottom cover is supported by the frame, and the bottom cover is locked to the vehicle by hooking the hook member onto the additional frame sections and resting the bottom cover over the frame.

[00033] FIGs. 9 and 10 shows the mounting of the rearmost portion 69 of the bottom cover 60. After the securing of front portion 61 and resting of rear portion 63, the rearmost portion 69 is secured to the side trim member 14. The bottom cover is located. As aforementioned, the bottom cover 60 is located on the side trim member through its edge portion 64. The rearmost portion 69 is provided with the supporting recess 67. A rearmost portion of the side trim member 14 is also provided with a mounting hole. A fastener 68 passes through the side trim member 14 and the supporting recess 67 of the bottom cover 60. More particularly, the fastener 68 secures the supporting recess 67 with the mounting hole of the side trim member 14. The rearmost portion of the bottom cover is disposed upwardly of the side trim member and is hence supported on it. In an embodiment, the fastener 68 is a clip type plastic fastener.

[00034] It is to be noted that atleast one primary bracket 65, at least one hook member 66 and at least one supporting recess 67 are provided on each side of a longitudinal axis of the bottom cover 60 and the bottom cover 60 is supported to the vehicle in both the halves in similar fashion.

[00035] From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that the present invention offers many advantages including those described above. The
present invention enables the bottom cover to be connected and supported to the vehicle with a simple structure, without detrimentally affecting the external appearance of the vehicle. The common mounting of lower member of the front panel and front portion of the bottom cover onto the vehicle frame only uses one support bracket welded to the frame thus eliminating further support brackets leading to reduced cost and weight of the frame. The common mounting also reduces the number of fasteners leading to reduction in manufacturing cost. The bottom cover mounting also decreases assembly time as only one fastener in the front portion and only one fastener in the rearmost portion is fastened by an operator during the assembly of the bottom cover. The rear portion is simply pressed in the vertically upward direction and the flexible hook member is located on the gusset automatically. The rear portion of the bottom cover thus hangs on the frame by means of the hook member which is made of plastic resin and hence inexpensive and lighter than metal brackets. The hook member clings on to the flat portion of the gusset on application of vertical force and eliminates the need of a fastener for attachment. In an embodiment, the bottom cover including the primary bracket and hook member is made of a group consisting of plastic resin like polypropelene or an alloy.

[00036] Further, due to three point mounting, even if the fasteners of the front portion and the rearmost portion of the bottom cover fail, the bottom cover would still be hanging from the vehicle frame through the hook member in the rear portion. Thus, in case of sudden failure of fasteners, the bottom cover as proposed in the present invention does not fall of the moving vehicle and hence reduces the safety hazard to the vehicle rider.

[00037] The present subject matter is thus described. The description is not intended to be exhaustive nor is it intended to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed embodiments may be modified in light of the above description. The embodiments described are chosen to provide an illustration of principles of the invention and its practical application to enable thereby one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Therefore the forgoing description is to be considered exemplary, rather than limiting, and the true scope of the invention is that described in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A saddle type vehicle (1) comprising a swinging type power unit (24) and a bottom cover (60) covering a lower portion of a frame of the vehicle from the bottom, characterised in that,
the bottom cover (60) having a front portion (61), a rear portion (63) and a rearmost portion (69) and further comprises of: a primary bracket (65) in the front portion (61), a hook member (66) in the rear portion (63), and a supporting recess (67) in the rearmost portion (69) rearwardly of the hook member (66); wherein bottom cover (60) is supported on the vehicle by a three point mounting,and wherein further the front portion (61) of the bottom cover is sandwich mounted to a lateral pipe (34) of the frame, the rear portion (63) rests on and hangs from a rear pipe (37) of the frame, and the rearmost portion (69) is secured to a side trim member (14).

2. The saddle type vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front portion (61) of the bottom cover (60) is mounted to the frame through the primary bracket (65) disposed between a holding bracket (20) of a lower member (18) of a front panel (17) and a support bracket (35) of the lateral pipe (34), the hook member (66) is located and supported on a gusset (38) of the rear pipe (37), and the supporting recess (67) is secured to the side trim member (14) by at least one fastener (68).

3. The saddle type vehicle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the hook member (66) is pressed from the bottom direction in vertically upward direction to locate on gusset (38) of the rear pipe (37).

4. The saddle type vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the lateral pipe (34) is supported on a lower pipe (33).

5. The saddle type vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the primary bracket (65), the hook member (66) and the supporting recess (67) are formed integral with an edge portion (64) of the bottom cover (60) running continuously from the front portion (61) to the rearmost portion (69) of the bottom cover (60).

6. The saddle type vehicle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the bottom cover (60) is supported on the side trim member (14) through the edge portion (64).

7. The saddle type vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein atleast one primary bracket (65), at least one hook member (66) and at least one supporting recess (67) are provided on each side of a longitudinal axis of the bottom cover (60).

8. A three point mounting method for mounting a bottom cover (60) in a saddle type vehicle (1) with a swinging power unit (24), the bottom cover (60) having a front portion (61), a rear portion (63) and a rearmost portion (69) and further comprising a primary bracket (65) in the front portion (61), a hook member (66) in the rear portion (63), and a supporting recess (67) in the rearmost portion (69) rearwardly of the hook member (66) in each side of a longitudinal axis of the bottom cover, the method comprising:
disposing the front portion (61) of the bottom cover (60) through the primary bracket (65) on a support bracket (35) of a lateral pipe (34) of a frame of the vehicle, securing a holding bracket (20) of a lower portion (18) of a front panel (17) to the primary bracket (65) and the support bracket (35) with a fastener, locating the hook member (66) on a gusset (38) of a rear pipe (37) of the frame, securing the supporting recess (67) in the rearmost portion (69) to a side trim member (14) by at least one fastener (68).

9. The three point mounting method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the primary bracket (65), the hook member (66) and the supporting recess (67) are formed integral with an edge portion (64) of the bottom cover (60) running continuously from a front to a rear direction of the bottom cover (60).