Front cover for a Scooter type motorcycle

Field of invention:

The present invention relates to "Front cover for a Scooter type motorcycle" and in particular, front cover structure for covering the front of the body of a scooter type motorcycle.

Background of the invention:

In any two wheeled vehicles mostly in motorcycles, scooters or the like, a front cover for covering the front portion of the vehicle body is provided forward of the head pipe to ensure protection to the rider as well as to the components housed in the front part of the vehicle. Often times, when such vehicle has a front cover to protect the rider, a portion of such cover may get damaged or changes of such front cover may be desirable to accommodate various modifications. As, most of such covers are of integral construction, the replacement of the damaged portion in the said front cover is very complex and expensive. Additionally, such covers have severe limitations in their ability to accommodate desired manufacturing changes in shape and construction. Thus, in a conventional scooter type motorcycle, each part of a front cover top and bottom portion is fastened by screws and other fastening means. A disadvantage of this arrangement is that, the fastening means can be easily undone with a general tool. Also, vibrations of the metallic parts may arise due to continuous use and this may result in the screws and other connecting means to get detached from the vehicle body. As a result, the front cover itself may be damaged or the front cover may get detached and any part located inside may be tampered.

To solve the above problem, Indian application No. 89/MUM/2002 (Patent No: 221710) titled "Motor scooter type vehicle body cover structure" discloses a metallic front cover which is divided into three parts, namely left side section, center section, right section; a coupling which connects left side section and right side section and also functions as a housing for a battery; a tampering preventing structure in the center section, which comprises a tapping screw on the left side of the body which is overlapped by the lower part of the handlebar cover when the handle bar is locked by the steering lock. Further in the above disclosure, the said coupling which connects left side section and right side section and also functions as housing for a battery has the following drawbacks:

(i) During washing/ servicing or rains, the water can seep through the slits of the centre section of the front cover or through the gap in the joint between the handle bar cover and the front cover, into the housing in the coupling where battery is housed. This can lead to short circuiting or malfunctioning of the battery.

(ii) The housing of battery in the coupling, necessitates clustering of multiple wiring connections from the coupling, housing the battery, to different parts of the vehicle, which may cause short circuiting. Further in the above disclosure, a bracket is fixed to the head pipe. On the said bracket, the coupling member is fixed by nut and bolt means. The coupling member is then fixed to the left and right sections by nut and bolt means, which is a complex arrangement. It can be referred to, that in several other prior arts embodying a front cover structure, such a front cover is relatively large sized and solid. A large scale metallic mould having complex structure is required to mould the front cover as a single part which increases the tool cost and reduces the productivity. Therefore, the structure of a front cover in which the cost of a metallic mould can be inhibited and technical constraint is reduced and which can be formed in desired shapes is required. In addition, in case the front cover is moulded as a single unit, any damage to any part will necessitate the whole cover to be replaced. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a front cover, which overcomes the drawbacks of the known prior arts.

Summary of the invention:

Accordingly, a need exists for a scooter type motorcycle front cover that has a desired level of strength and is lower in weight than previous scooter type motorcycle front cover. In addition, a need exists for the front cover assembly that permits simpler and more efficient assembly of components. Thus, the present invention provides a front cover structure mounted directly on to the frame for a motor-scooter type vehicle.

The present invention provides a front cover structure consisting of two pieces which are metallic sections, namely the upper cover or the front cover top portion and the lower cover or the front cover bottom portion. The upper cover serves as the main body whereas the lower cover serves as a protective under guard. In this arrangement, the upper and the lower covers are provided, wherein the lower component of the front cover is detachably coupled to the upper front cover portion. Such an arrangement permits the components to be assembled at ease to each other. Accordingly, efficient assembly is facilitated because of the ease in which the components may be assembled.

Thus an object of the present invention is to provide a front cover structure, which will prevent rain, dust and like from entering into the area behind the front cover structure.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a front cover for scooter type motorcycle wherein it is possible to replace a damaged component of the front cover.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the front cover
structure thereby reducing the cost of the overall assembly.

However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Brief Description of the Drawings:

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present structure are described in greater detail with reference to drawings of preferred embodiments, which are intended merely to illustrate and not to limit the present invention. The drawings comprise eight figures.

FIG. 1 is a left side view of a two wheeled motor vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 showing the front cover in assembled condition.

FIG. 3 is front view of the front cover top portion. FIG. 4 is rear view of the front cover top portion. FIG. 5 is left side view of front cover top portion. FIG. 6 is front view of front cover bottom portion. FIG. 7 is rear view of front cover bottom portion. FIG. 8 is left side view of front cover bottom portion.

Description of the invention:

Embodiments of the present invention now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, "front", "rear", "upper", "lower", "right", "left" and "bottom" represent directions viewed from the perspective of the vehicle rider.

First with reference to FIGS 1 to 8, a description will now be given concerning
a under cowl according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

First the whole structure of the vehicle will be roughly described. A reference number 1 in Fig.1 denotes a front wheel, 2 denotes a front fork, 3 denotes a front fender, 4 denotes a front cover, 5 denotes a leg shield made of resin or metal, 6 denotes a handle bar cover, 7 denotes a headlight, 8 denotes a handle bar ,17 denotes a rear fender and 18 denotes tail lamp.

The center of the body forms a low floor board 9 for functioning as a part for putting feet and a under cowl 10 which is located below the rider's seat and covers at least a part of the engine, The under cowl is made up of metal or resin. The under cowl is hinged to the seat 11. A utility box 12 opens from the rear end to hinged portion. The utility box 12 is provided under the seat extending longitudinally of a vehicle body and the inside of the utility box has a large capacity so that a large article can be housed. A main frame 14 extended along the center of the body before and behind and made of a metallic pipe and is provided under the floor board 9. A swing type power unit 13 is coupled to the rear end of the main frame 14.

A rear wheel 15 is supported on one side of the rear end of the swing type power unit 13. The swing type power unit 13 is suspended in the rear of a body frame.

The side covers 16 both on left and right sides, covers the utility box 12 and other parts of the vehicle, thereby providing a good appearance to the vehicle. Next, the front cover 4 according to the present invention will be described. The front cover 4 is provided for covering the front portion of the vehicle body which is provided ahead of the head pipe to ensure protection. The front cover 4 of the present invention according to the embodiments relate to the front cover structure of a scooter type motorcycle where according to the invention, the front of the body frame of such a vehicle is covered by a front cover, and the front cover is divided into two parts namely the upper cover or the front cover top portion 201 and the lower cover or the front cover bottom portion 202 (shown in figure 2). In this case the upper cover and the lower cover can be made of metal as also the lower cover can be fabricated in resin. The metal front upper cover is provided with edge headings 401 such that it can be fitted on to the rear cover. The front cover top portion 201 is adapted to be split 203 above the top of the wheel. This facilitates the front cover 4 to be divided into equal portions thereby reducing the overall cost and size constraints.

The basal portion 301 of the front cover top portion is carved out into a contour shaped pattern to provide way for the fender or the mudguard to operate. The front cover top portion is adapted to provide a recess for housing the front fork.

Further, the upper portion of the front cover is provided with rhombus shaped recess 501 (clearly seen in figure 5) to house the indicator or the turn signal indicator lamp. Two openings 302 are provided on the front cover top portion ahead of the horn.

Two round shape relief slots 303 are also provided so as to enable the number plate to be mounted on to the front cover top portion of the said structure.

Additionally, the upper portion also imbibes edge beading all around its surface and extended projections for fitment on to the rear cover.

A double L-shaped bracket 402 is welded on the said portion to enable fitment
to the bottom portion.

On the other hand, the lower cover or the front cover bottom portion 202 can be made of metal or plastic and has beading 601 all around its edges to enable fitment on to the floor board. A flat plate 701 incorporating a threaded boss 702 is welded onto the bottom part of the said cover. The uppermost part of the front cover bottom portion 202 is adapted to provide a contour pattern 602 to make way for a recess in order to allow the fender to operate.

The entire assembly of the top and bottom portion of the front cover are compiled or put together ( shown in figure 2) wherein the coupling member is a fastening member such as a screw or any other means in order to provide better rigidity to the entire structure.

We claim:

1. A front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle comprising:

a metal front cover top portion provided with means of attachment and extended projections for fitment on to the rear cover; and a front cover bottom portion provided with headings such that the attachment orientation envelops the boundary of the entire surface providing a severable unified front c over structure.

2. The front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front cover top portion is adapted to be split above the top of the wheel.

3. The front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said front cover top portion is preferably made steel.

4. The front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said front cover bottom portion is preferably made of steel.

5. The front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said front cover bottom portion is preferably made of resin.

6. The front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle as claimed in claim l, wherein the said front cover top portion is adapted to provide a recess for housing the front fork.

7. The front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle as claimed in claim l, wherein two rhombus shaped recess are provided on the front cover top portion to house the side indicator or the turn signal indicator lamp.

8. The front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the front cover top portion is provided with two upright triangular shaped silts in front of the horn.

9. The front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the front cover top portion is provided with two round shape relief slots so as to enable the number plate to be mounted on to the front cover top portion of the said structure.

10. The front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the front cover top portion is adapted to imbibe a contour shaped pattern to provide way for the fender or the mudguard to operate.

11. The front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the front cover bottom portion is provided with a recess to allow the fender to operate.

12. A method of assembling the front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle comprising:

welding of a bracket to the metal front cover top portion to enable fitment to the front cover bottom portion;

welding of a flat plate to the front cover bottom portion incorporating a threaded boss; and connecting the front cover top portion to the front cover bottom portion
with a connecting member.

13. The method of assembling the front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle as claimed in claim 12, wherein the said welded bracket is double L shaped.

14. The method of assembling the front cover structure for a scooter type motorcycle as claimed in claim 12, wherein the said connecting member is a fastening member such as screw.