Specification
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present subject matter generally relates to a vehicle. More
particularly but not exclusively the present subject matter relates to a spare wheel mounting bracket for said vehicle.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Three wheeled vehicle and four wheeled vehicle are generally used
to carry load or the passengers or both for a long distance and in order to carry such a heavy load it is important that the wheels should remain in good shape. But after certain period of time the tyre experiences wear out and it needs to be changed. Unlike personal transport vehicles like cars, vehicles used for public transport like cabs, taxis & autos need to be on the run throughout the clock. Often such vehicles are hired & operated in different shifts to be able to generate maximum revenue and minimise the idle time of the vehicle. Typically, vehicles undergo periodic maintenance to check & ensure aU'wear arid" fear pafts"like"brakes~tyres etcTare dressed up or replaced as essential. However, vehicles used for commercial purposes often desire minimum down time for maintenance which thereby necessitates high maintainability. Even vehicles hired on rent need to have good upkeep at minimum cost to be cost effective and economically viable. Such vehicles are additionally vulnerable to high range of variations in payload, duty cycle as well ■ as bad road conditions based on usage by different users at each time If such vehicles have a breakdown owing to wear and tear, the downtime of the vehicle can adversely affect the livelihood of the rider / owner as well as lead to stranded condition of the occupants. Damage to irreparable parts like wheel or tyre often do not permit limp home mode which can be precarious for the users. If the vehicle is within vicinity of service, users can try to avail help from local technicians for repair & resurrection to proceed with the journey. But if the vehicle gets stuck in a place where no service centre is available nearby to change the worn out wheel, the wheel is changed without the help of a technician and often the rider / occupant himself needs to attend to the repair & replacement. Under such scenarios, It is always important to carry an additional or spare tyre or a wheel which can be used for
replacing the worn out wheel. Additionally since the user is put under undue stress of changing the part & any difficulty in dismantling the spare wheel from the vehicle will only further irritate the user putting them to high discomfort.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0003] Figure 1 illustrates a side view of the exemplary three-wheeled vehicle, in
accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0004] Figure 2 illustrates a top rear perspective view of the present subject matter
disposed on the rear portion of the vehicle with a spare wheel.
[0005] Figure 3 illustrates another top rear perspective view of the present subject
matter disposed on the rear portion of the vehicle without the spare wheel.
[0006] Figure 4(a) illustrates side sectional view of the vehicle with the present
subject matter.
[0007] Figure 4(b) illustrates another side sectional view of the vehicle without
the spare wheel.
[0008] Figure 5 illustrates the perspective view of the present subject matter.
[0009] Figure 6 illustrates the exploded view of the present subject matter.
[00010] Figure 7 illustrates first embodiment of the mounting bracket.
[00011] Figure 8 illustrates the second embodiment of the mounting bracket.
[00012] Figure 9 illustrates the third embodiment of the mounting bracket.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[00013] Spare wheels are mounted in various location on a vehicle, such as
the below the seat of the driver, next to the engine in an engine compartment. When spare wheel is located in the passenger luggage compartment its mounting scheme becomes difficult and complex. This often leads to undesirable trade-off of space for passengers with good spacious ergonomics vs. utilising the space to accommodate the spare wheel or tyre. In case, spare wheel is placed in the engine compartment and due to the heat emitted from the engine, the material of the tyre gets affected and life of the tyre gets reduced. In case of e-vehicle, battery will be placed at the rear compartment which also acts a source of heat. Spare wheel is
often mounted onto a mounting provision or bracket provided on the vehicle like
tailgate to hold the wheel firmly. The bracket ends up consuming additional space
from the vehicle which is further undesirable. The three wheeled vehicle are often
provided with a vacant space immediately behind the passenger's seat(often called
as luggage compartment) which is also used for disposing the spare wheel.
[00014] Generally, boarding or deboarding into passenger cabin of the three-
wheeled vehicle is provided on the left side, when viewed from the rear side of the three wheeled vehicle, and the luggage compartment area on the boarding side of the passenger cabin is economically easy to access for the purpose of mounting or unmounting the spare wheel by the driver without disturbing the passenger, when the passenger is seated in the passenger cabin. Non-boarding side of the vehicle or the right side of the luggage area can be utilized by the passengers to keep their luggage and hence the provision for spare wheel mounting is typically provided in the left side of the vehicle when viewed from the rear portion. In any case, the tyre should be resting at the rear base of the luggage compartment and should not over hang. If the wheel is not properly mounted, the spare wheel may hit the passenger. Thus there is a need for an wheel mounting structure which can overcome all of the above and other problems.
[00015] Hence, the present subject matter provides a spare wheel mounting
structure for a vehicle which is disposed on the rear portion of the vehicle,
immediately behind the. passenger seat. The present subject matter allows the
utilization of the luggage compartment created by the rear base for mounting a spare
wheel without compromising the comfort of the passenger.
[00016] In yet another embodiment the spare wheel mounting structure
further includes a bracket for mounting the spare wheel and is fixedly attached to the rear part of the vehicle space provided between the passenger seat and the canopy.
[00017] In another embodiment of the present subject matter the bracket
provided on the spare wheel supporting structure is further provided with a pair of
I locking mechanism which locks the spare wheel in a fixed position and fixed
,ocation so that the wheel does no, create any kind of inconvenience to the passenger seating in the passenger seat.
[00018] Another embodiment of the present subject matter is provided with
a pair of bottom support structure which firmly holds the spare wheel mounting
structure in a fixed place and takes the weight of the spare wheel.
[00019] Another embodiment of the present subject matter provides a
mounting structure such mat the spare wheel utilizes less space to install in the vehicle without causing any obstruction.
[00020] . Fig. 1. illustrates a side perspective view of an exemplary three-wheeled vehicle (10), in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The vehicle (10) has the frame, which includes a head tube (not shown m the fig.), a main tube assembly (not shown in the fig.) extending rearward from the head tube The vehicle (10) has a front cowl (13) positioned in the anterior portion of the head tube. A wind shield (12) is mounted to the front cowl (13). A^floorboard (18) is extending from the bottom portion of the front cowl (13) to the rearward direction of the vehicle (10), supported by the main frame assembly (not shown). A handle bar assembly (14) is rotatably supported by the head tube, positioned behind the front cowl (13). A front fender (15) is above the front wheel (16), covering at least a portion of the front wheel (16). A bottom portion of a body panel (205) .s , connected to the posterior portion of the floorboard (18). A pair of rear wheels (20) is connected to a swing arm through one or more suspension©, the swing arm is m rum connected to the frame. The rear suspension includes a shock absorber and a suspension spring unit (39) mounted to the frame (Fr) of the vehicle (10). A canopy or soft top (403) connects a top portion of the front cowl (13) and a top portoon of 5 the body panel (205). The vehicle (10) is longitudinally divided into two portions along-the line X-X'; a front portion (F) has a driver's seat (17) while a rear portion (R) has at least one passenger seat (204) with a seating capacity of one or more passengers. The driver seat (17) is positioned in a posterior portion to the handle bar assembly (14). A partition wall is positioned along the line X-X' extending m !0 the lateral direction of the vehicle (10). The driver's seat (17) comprises a seat base
(17a) and a fixed backrest (17b). The driver operates the vehicle (10) in a sitting
position by sitting on the seat base (17a). The present subject matter has application
for both three-wheeled vehicles as well as four -wheeled vehicles. Therefore, the
vehicle (10) is a three-wheeled vehicle or a four-wheeled vehicle.
[00021] Fig. 2 illustrates perspective rear top isometric view of the vehicle
(10). a passenger compartment having atleast one passenger seat (204) in a rear portion of the vehicle (10). The illustration also depicts an'additional storage space on said rear portion of the vehicle (10). The additional storage space is covered with a tail gate (202) to protect the interior of the storage space from outside environmental factors like dust, mud]Splashes or water. Hence, an additional space is formed on an upper portion of said storage compartment of the vehicle which is utilized as an additional storage.
[00022] The additional storage can also be called as seat base rear (203) as
it is the space created between the passenger seat and the canopy (403) (See figure.
4(a)) which coTers the entire vlhicle from the top proviairTgTroWuoTTfrom-wind- -
gushes. The passengers can accommodate their luggage in said additional storage
created just above the storage space. As per one embodiment, the tail gate (202) is
hingedly attached to a body panel (205) of the vehicle (10) in the vehicle rear
portion. In one embodiment, said tail gate (202) can be manually opened and closed
to access said at least one storage space in the rear compartment of the vehicle (10).
[00023] Further, in another embodiment of the present subject matter, a spare
wheel mounting structure (200) is provided on the rear base seat (203) of the rear portion of the vehicle (10). A spare wheel (201) is mounted on the spare wheel mounting structure (200) such that the spare wheel (201) is always inclined in a i certain angle which prevents the spare wheel (201) hitting the body of the passenger sitting on said passenger seat (204).
[00024] Fig.3 illustrates the spare wheel mounting structure (200) securely
disposed on the seat base rear (203) behind the passenger seat (204). The spare
wheel mounting structure (200) can be mounted on the left side, right side or centre
0 of the vehicle (10) on the seat base rear (203). The optimum location of mounting
the spare wheel mounting structure (200) is on the left side of the vehicle (when viewed from the rear) so that the accessibility of the spare wheel (201) and serviceability is easy. Also the left side mounting location is next to the entry gate from where the passenger boards in the vehicle (10). This configuration also makes it convenient for the passenger to load any luggage on the free space available on the seat base rear (203) hence acting as an additional storage.
[00025] Fig.4 (a) illustrates side rear view of the vehicle (10) with the present
subject matter. The figure also depicts the spare wheel (201) mounted on the spare wheel mounting structure (200). The seat base rear (203) accommodates the spare wheel (201) along with the spare wheel mounting structure (200) behind the passenger seat (204). The thickness of the tyre of the spare wheel (201) is represented by T\ The illustration also depicts a tail door (202) hingedly attached to the body panel (205) by means of plurality of hinges (401,402).
[00026] Fig. 4(b) illustrates angular position of the mounting bracket with
respect to the ground or plane A. In order to avoid the spare wheel (201) coming into direct contact with the passenger seat (204), a passenger seated on the passenger seat (204) or the canopy, often called as a soft top, the angle has been optimized which allows easy installation of the spare wheel (201). The angle made by the mounting bracket (500) on spare wheel mounting structure (200) with the plane A is the angle made by intersection of plane A and plane B. The mounting bracket angle (O) is optimized in the range of 15°±30°. This optimized mounting bracket angle () is optimized in the range of 15°±30°.
12. The vehicle (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a gap 'E' is created between imaginary plane (C and imaginary plane 'D' in the range ['F-10' < E < 'F+30'] where F is a thickness of a tyre of said spare wheel (201).
13. The vehicle (10) as claimed in claiml, wherein said vehicle (10) is three wheeled vehicle or a four wheeled vehicle.
14. A spare wheel mounting structure (200) comprising:
a mounting bracket (500) assembled with said spare wheel mounting structure (200); a support tube (510) fixedly attached to a main tube (511); and said mounting bracket (500) fixedly attached on a top portion of said main tube (511).
ERegister / Renewals
Under Extension Period
3rd: 16 Apr 2024
CBR 25805
Renewal 16/04/2024
Renewal Amount ₹4,000
Certificate #77663
From 19/11/2020 - To 19/11/2021
4th: 16 Apr 2024
CBR 25805
Renewal 16/04/2024
Renewal Amount ₹4,000
Certificate #77664
From 19/11/2021 - To 19/11/2022
5th: 16 Apr 2024
CBR 25805
Renewal 16/04/2024
Renewal Amount ₹4,000
Certificate #77665
From 19/11/2022 - To 19/11/2023
6th: 16 Apr 2024
CBR 25805
Renewal 16/04/2024
Renewal Amount ₹4,000
Certificate #77666
From 19/11/2023 - To 19/11/2024
7th: 16 Apr 2024
CBR 25805
Renewal 16/04/2024
Renewal Amount ₹12,000
Certificate #77667
From 19/11/2024 - To 19/11/2025