Rear body panel for a motorcycle

Field of the invention:

The present invention relates to "Rear body panel for a motorcycle" and more particularly relates to the construction of a rear body panel for a scooter type motor cycle having a step thru' space.

Background of the invention:

Currently in a scooter type motor vehicle, the portion below the seat is covered with rear body panels (side panels) on either side of the vehicle to cover the power unit, transmission and frame structure. A discrete seat, comprising of a seat base, a cushioning, member and a seat cover, is separately mounted atop the side panels and fastened mainly using hinge mechanism. This hinged seat may be opened and closed to assist in accessing the utility box placed under the seat.

During the vehicle assembly, the sequence involves mounting of the rear body panels on either side followed by mounting of the seat to the frame using hinged means. This construction increases the number of assembly sequences thereby leading to additional takt (cycle) time, higher inventory and low productivity. Thus the assembly line procedure becomes tedious and cumbersome, inasmuch as the aforementioned parts will have to be individually mounted on the assembly line, consuming time that can otherwise be profitably utilized.

Summary of the invention:

The present invention has been accomplished in view of such circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a rear body panel configuration for a scooter type motor vehicle that is capable of solving the aforesaid problem. Such a rear body panel encompasses a seat base on both sides of the vehicle conjoined on all sides and extended towards the top thus developing into a seat base. Hence an object of the present invention is to integrate side panels with the seat base.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rear body panel configuration, which can be assembled onto the vehicle frame as a single unit thereby removing the requirement of separate fixation of seat using hinges.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a cushioning member for the seat, which acts as a lumbar rest for the pillion rider.

Brief Description of the Drawings:

Figure 1: showing the side view of a typical scooter vehicle with the rear body panel configuration with seat assembled according to the present invention.

Figure 2: shows the perspective view of the rear body panel configuration as per present invention.

Figure 3: is the perspective view of the unassembled rear body without seat.

Figure 4: is the perspective view of the complete rear body panel configuration with seat in position.

Detailed description of the invention:

Figure 1 describes the general structure of a scooter type motor vehicle along with its various parts. In a scooter type motor vehicle having a swinging power unit (not shown), a front wheel (501) and a rear wheel (502) are supported by a frame assembly through front and rear suspensions. A handle bar assembly (503) is supported by the frame assembly in a position generally forwardly of a rider of the scooter. In the said scooter, a step thru' space exists between the handle bar assembly and a seat (505) which is fixed to rear body panel (506) present on either side of the vehicle. The said scooter is provided with a front fender, floorboard (504) and a rear covering. A front panel (507) is mounted on the front of the vehicle. The said rear body panel (side panel) is fixed along with the seat, covering the parts as viewed from the sides and portion below the rider seat. A tail light is fixed on the rear most part of the frame of the vehicle just below the seat.

Figure 2 describes the front perspective view of the left and right rear body panels (side panels) located on either side of the vehicle. The left side panel (201) is generally flat or curved at the bottom and tapering inwards towards the upper portion. The right side panel is analogous in construction. The main function of the side panels is to cover the engine, transmission and frame structure below the seat and at the sides. A pillion handle (110) is also present beneath the seat base (102) to help mounting the vehicle on the centre stand and for helping with the movement of the vehicle in engine-off situation.

Figure 3 describes the unassembled rear body panel in detail. The side panels on either side have a front portion, a side portion and a rear portion, which are connected using known joining mechanism (109). The side panels are extended towards the top making a planar platform or plate like structure developing into a seat base (102). This plate structure has a plurality of cavities or pits (108) provided at intermediate spacing to act as a stiffening member. The seat base encompasses analogous protrusions to fit into the elongated rear side panels having plural cavities. Thus the seat base is integrated with the side panels on either side reducing the assembly cycle time.

The conjoined side panels are raised at the far rear end to form a structure including, but not limited to, an inverted V shape structure (107) which later forms a lumbar rest (hip rest or back rest) (104). Thus, the side panels appear raised when viewed from the vehicle back and into an inverted V shape when viewed along the vehicle width. The assembly of left (202) and right side panels (201) forms a monocoque structure i.e. a closed plate structure on the top and opening at the bottom with covering on the sides.

.A cushioning member (106) generally made of foam is fixed to the seat base and a seat cover (105) encloses them thereby maturing the structure into a complete seat. The said seat cushioning member also extends over the inverted V shape section to form the lumbar rest for the pillion rider. The said seat is held in position by adhesive means on the top of plate structure. The entire assembly is above rear body panel along with the seat is fastened by known means onto the frame structure of the vehicle. This removes the need for mounting a separate hinged seat thereby reducing the part count during the vehicle assembly. Finally figure 4 describes the unassembled rear body panel as a single unit.

The terms and expressions in this specification are of description and not of limitation and do not exclude any equivalents of the features illustrated and described, but it is understood that various other embodiments are also possible without departing from the scope and ambit of this Invention which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

We claim:

1. A rear body panel configuration for a riding type vehicle comprising:

side panels, flat at the bottom and tapered towards the top, on either side of the vehicle which conjoin on all sides using known joining mechanism and extended towards the top making a planar platform developing into a seat base;

said side panels developing into the said seat base raised, when viewed from the back, at the far rear end to form a structure including, but not limited to, an inverted V shape structure along the vehicle width;

a cushioning member positioned on the seat base with a suitable covering to mature into a seat.

said seat integrated with said rear body panel to form a single unit;

2. The rear body panel configuration as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said side panels are connected at the top forming a monocoque structure and comprising of plurality of cavities at intermediate spacings.

3. The rear body panel configuration as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said seat base generally made of polymer resin encompasses analogous protrusions to fit into the elongated rear side panels having cavities.

4. The rear body panel configuration as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said riding type vehicle is a scooter type motor vehicle having a step thru' space.

5. A scooter type motor vehicle comprising of a rear body panel on the left and right sides of the vehicle wherein the panels are joined using known mechanisms giving rise to a top plate structure having plurality of cavities, and raised at the rear end forming an inverted V shape structure along the vehicle width, into which a structure with corresponding protrusions fit into, thereby developing into a seat base onto which a cushioning member of complementary shape may be placed with a covering on top to mature into a seat.

6. A rear body panel assembly for a scooter type motor vehicle substantially as herein described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.