FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[001] The present invention relates to a stand device and, more particularly, to a side stand locking mechanism.
BACKGROUND

[002] Generally, a two wheeled vehicle such as a motorcycle, a scooter, etc., are provided with a side stand that supports the two-wheeled vehicle in a standing state when the two-wheeled vehicle is parked. Generally, the side stand is pivotally mounted, with the help of a mounting bolt, onto a bracket secured to a lower portion of vehicle frame body of the two-wheeled vehicle. The side stand is adapted to swing to or from a backward horizontal position (as retreat or stored position where the side stand is in in-operative position) or to a forwardly inclined position (as service or operative position where the vehicle can be parked or rest when not in use).
[003] If the two-wheeled vehicle is driven with the side stand remaining in the forwardly inclined position, the side stand tends to impinge on the road surface or the ground. Such a possibility becomes further acute when the two-wheeled vehicle is leaned towards a side of the side stand while negotiating a turn, and such leaning poses a serious threat to the safety of a driver. In such scenarios, the driver may lose control on his two-wheeled vehicle and may meet with a fatal accident.
[004] Hence, to obviate the above mentioned problem, it is preferred to sense the position of the side stand. To allow or prevent the starting of a starting system or an ignition system or a fuel supply system and thereby of the two-wheeled vehicle. Conventional systems are known for providing the position detecting device that can sense position of the side stand. Such position detecting device is disclosed in an Indian Patent Application No.1311/MUM/2010, here, a sensor is intended to give warning to the rider.
[005] However, such systems involve more number of components and further, these solutions are costly.
SUMMARY
[006] In an embodiment, a stand device of a two-wheeled vehicle is disclosed. The stand device includes a side stand and a gear stopper plate. The side stand is pivotally attached to a main frame body of the two-wheeled vehicle. The side stand is configured to assume a forwardly inclined position and a backward horizontal position. The side stand includes a first engagement member. The gear stopper plate includes a first end portion and a second end portion. The first end portion is mounted to a gear lever shaft of the two-wheeled vehicle for rotating the gear stopper plate with rotation of the gear lever shaft. The gear stopper plate includes a second engagement member at the second end portion. In the forwardly inclined position, the first engagement member and the second engagement member are engaged, thereby restricting rotation of the gear stopper plate and the gear lever shaft. Further, upon moving the side stand from the forwardly inclined position to the backward horizontal position, the first engagement member and the second engagement member are disengaged, thereby unrestricting the rotation of the gear stopper plate caused by rotation of the gear lever shaft.
[007] In an embodiment, the first engagement member includes a hook, and the second engagement member is a pin protruding from the second end portion of the gear stopper plate, where the hook is engaged to the pin in the forwardly inclined position. In an embodiment, the hook is a U-shaped hook or a C-shaped hook.
[008] In an embodiment, a bracket member is fixedly secured to a lower portion of the main frame body. The bracket member includes a first engagement provision and the side stand includes a second engagement provision, adapted to be pivotally coupled to the first engagement provision. The first engagement provision includes a mounting pin and the second engagement provision includes a slot for securing the mounting pin.
[009] In an embodiment, a two-wheeled vehicle is disclosed. The two-wheeled vehicle includes a main frame body, a gear lever shaft, a gear pedal and a side stand device. The gear pedal is coupled to the gear lever shaft. The gear pedal is actuated by a rider by rotating the gear pedal, thereby rotating the gear lever shaft. The stand device includes a side stand and a gear stopper plate. The side stand is pivotally attached to the main frame body of the two-wheeled vehicle. The side stand is configured to assume a forwardly inclined position and a backward horizontal position. The side stand includes a first engagement member. The gear stopper plate includes a first end portion and a second end portion. The first end portion is mounted to the gear lever shaft of the two-wheeled vehicle for rotating the gear stopper plate with rotation of the gear lever shaft. The gear stopper plate includes a second engagement member at the second end portion. In the forwardly inclined position, the first engagement member and the second engagement member are engaged, thereby restricting rotation of the gear stopper plate and the gear lever shaft. Further, upon moving the side stand from the forwardly inclined position to the backward horizontal position, the first engagement member and the second engagement member are disengaged, thereby unrestricting the rotation of the gear stopper plate caused by rotation of the gear lever shaft.
[0010] In an embodiment, the first engagement member includes a hook, and the second engagement member is a pin protruding from the second end portion. The hook is configured to engage to the pin in the forwardly inclined position. In an embodiment, the hook is a U-shaped hook or a C-shaped hook.
[0011] In an embodiment, two-wheeled vehicle further includes a bracket member fixedly secured to a lower portion of the main frame body. The bracket member includes a first engagement provision and the side stand includes a second engagement provision adapted to be pivotally coupled to the first engagement provision. In an embodiment, the first engagement provision includes at least one mounting pin, and the second engagement provision includes at least one slot for securing the at least one mounting pin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0012] The invention itself, together with further features and attended advantages, will become apparent from the consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. One or more embodiments of the present invention are now described, with the help of example/s only. With reference to the accompanied drawings wherein the same reference numerals are used to identify the same elements and in which:
[0013] Figure 1 illustrates a side view of a two-wheeled vehicle in accordance with the present invention;
[0014] Figure 2 illustrates an enlarged view of a side stand gear lock mechanism (a stand device in the two-wheeled vehicle) wherein a side stand is in a backward horizontal position, according to one embodiment of the present invention; and
[0015] Figure 3 illustrates an enlarged view of the side stand gear lock mechanism wherein the side stand is in forwardly inclined position, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] The drawings referred to in this description are not to be understood as being drawn to scale except if specifically noted, and such drawings are only exemplary in nature

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. Specific embodiments thereof have been shown with the help of examples in the drawings and are described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative fallings within the spirit and the scope of the invention.
[0018] The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or apparatus.
[0019] For the better understanding of this invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in greater depth in the accompanying figures and description given below. In the following figures, the same reference numerals are used to identify the same components in various views.
[0020] The terms “front / forward”, “rear / rearward / back / backward”, “up / upper / upward”, “down / downward / lower / lower ward” that may be used therein represent the directions as seen from a vehicle driver sitting astride and these directions are referred by arrows Fr, Rr, U, Lr in the drawing. Further, “left / leftward”, “right / rightward” that may be used herein represent the directions as seen from a vehicle driver sitting astride.
[0021] Terms such as 'forwardly inclined position' 'service position' are used interchangeably and refer to a position when a two-wheeled vehicle is parked using side stand disclosed in one or more embodiments of the present invention. Similarly, terms such as 'backward horizontal position' and 'retracted position' are used interchangeably and refer to a position when the side stand is moved to a backward position such that it does not obstruct with the movement of the two-wheeled vehicle.
[0022] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic side view of a two-wheeled vehicle (100) of conventional construction employing the present invention. In the two-wheeled vehicle (100) (hereinafter referred to as vehicle (100)), a side stand (11) is mounted onto a lower portion of the vehicle (100). The side stand (11) supports the vehicle (100) in a standing state and when the vehicle (100) is not in use. As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle (100) includes one or more parts, such as a main frame body (1), a front fork (2), a handle (3), a front wheel (4), a seat (6), a swing arm (7), a rear suspension (8), a rear wheel (9), an engine (10), a gear pedal (19) and the side stand (11). It may be noted that the vehicle (100) is shown to have included the above stated parts, however, those ordinarily skilled in the art would appreciate that the vehicle (100) includes many other parts which may not be relevant for explaining embodiments of the present invention and hence are not shown and described.
[0023] Figure 2 illustrates an enlarged view of a stand device (200) in the vehicle (100). The stand device (200) includes the side stand (11) and a gear stopper plate (101). The side stand (11) is in a backward horizontal position (i.e. a retracted position). As shown in the Figure 2, the side stand (11) is pivotally attached to the main frame body (1) of the vehicle (100). In one embodiment, the side stand (11) is attached to the main frame body (1) of the vehicle (100) via a bracket member (13) (or simply referred to as bracket (13)), which is fixedly secured to a lower portion of the main frame body (1) of the vehicle (100). In an embodiment, the bracket member (13) includes a first engagement provision (14a) and the side stand (11) includes a second engagement provision (14b) adapted to be pivotally coupled to the first engagement provision (14a). For instance, the first engagement provision (14a) includes at least one mounting pin, and the second engagement provision (14b) includes at least one slot for securing the at least one mounting pin therein, or vice versa.
[0024] The side stand (11) includes a first engagement member (102) configured to move along with the side stand (11). In an embodiment, the first engagement member (102) has a shape of a hook attached to an end portion (e.g., see 11a) of the side stand (11) that is away from an end portion (see, 11b) that makes contact with ground in the service position. Hereinafter, the first engagement member (102) is also interchangeably referred to as 'side stand hook (102)'.
[0025] The gear pedal (19) is fixedly mounted to a gear lever shaft (20) of the engine (10) of the vehicle (100). The gear pedal (19) is configured to rotate along an axis of the gear lever shaft (20). The gear pedal (19) can be actuated to change the gear position. In this example representation, the gear pedal (19) is rotated in a clockwise direction along with the gear pedal stopper (101), when seen from the left side, to move to a next higher gear. However, the direction of the higher gears and rotation of the gear pedal (19) can be configured in other ways than that is shown in the illustrated embodiment.
[0026] The gear stopper plate (101) of the stand device (200) is fixedly mounted to the gear lever shaft (20) of the engine (10) of the vehicle (100) so as to rotate along an axis of the gear lever shaft (20). The gear stopper plate (101) has a first end portion (103a) and a second end portion (103b). The first end portion (103a) is mounted to the gear lever shaft (20) such that the gear stopper plate (101) also rotates with the gear lever shaft (20). For example, the first end portion (103a) is fixedly attached to the gear stopper plate (101) to ensure rotation of the first end portion (103a) along with the rotation of the gear lever shaft (20). The second end portion (103b) of the gear stopper plate (101) includes a second engagement member (101a). In an embodiment, the second engagement member (101a) is in form of a protruding pin. Hereinafter, the second engagement member (101a) is also interchangeably referred to as 'protruding pin (101a)'.
[0027] With the reference of Figure 2 and Figure 3, in an embodiment, the side stand hook (102) has one end in a hook shape (102a) (e.g., a “U” shape or a “C” shape) and the other end is attached to the end portion (11a) of the side stand (11). In an embodiment, the hook shape (102a) is configured such that it can be engaged or disengaged with the protruding pin (101a) of the gear stopper plate (101). In an embodiment, the hook shape (102a) is advantageously designed in such a shape that it restricts the clock wise or anti-clock wise rotation of the gear stopper plate (101), the gear lever shaft (20) and the gear pedal (19) in the forwardly inclined position (i.e. service position) of the side stand (11). Furthermore the hook shape (102a) is designed in such a way that it will not affect the movement of the side stand (11), while moving from the service position to the retracted position or when moving from the retracted position to the service position.
[0028] As shown in the Figure 3 the side stand (11) is in the forwardly inclined position (i.e. service position). In this position, the hook shape (102a) of the side stand hook (102) engages with the protruding pin (101a) of the gear stopper plate (101) and restricts the rotation of the gear stopper plate (101) and thereby rotation of the gear lever shaft (20).
[0029] Thus, the gear stopper plate (101) restricts the rotation of the gear pedal (19) and the gear lever shaft (20). Due to non-rotation of the gear pedal (19) and the gear lever shaft (20), a rider is unable to operate the gear pedal (19). This non-rotation restricts the rider from starting the vehicle (100) without moving the side stand (11) from the forwardly inclined position (i.e. Service position) to the backward horizontal position (i.e. retracted position). It should be appreciated that once the rider moves the side stand (11) from the forwardly inclined position to the backward horizontal position, the first engagement member (102) and the second engagement member (101a) are disengaged, thereby unrestricting the rotation of the gear stopper plate (101) caused by rotation of the gear lever shaft (20). For instance, as the engagement members (102) and (101a) are not engaged (the gear stopper plate (101) is free to rotate), the rider is able to actuate the gear pedal (19).
[0030] Various embodiments of the present invention advantageously provide stand device that offers protection to the rider by not allowing the rider to actuate gear when the side stand is left in the service position. The present invention is the economical solution, as the stand device (200) comprises at least two parts such as the pedal stopper plate (101) and the side stand hook (102) apart from the side stand (11). Furthermore, its advantageously designed side stand hook (102) restricts the clockwise or anticlockwise rotation of the gear pedal stopper (101), the gear shaft (20) and the gear pedal (19). Hence the present invention is applicable for all types of gear pedal enabled gear shifting mechanism.
[0031] While considerable emphasis has been placed on the particular features of this invention, it should be appreciated that various modifications can be made, and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without deviating from the principles of the invention. These and other modifications in the nature of the invention or in the preferred embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art of invention herein, it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as an illustration of the invention and not as a limitation.

CLAIMS:
We claim:
1. A stand device (200) of a two-wheeled vehicle (100), the stand device (200) comprising:
a side stand (11) pivotally attached to a main frame body (1) of the two wheeled vehicle (100), the side stand (11) configured to assume a forwardly inclined position and a backward horizontal position, the side stand (11) comprising a first engagement member (102); and
a gear stopper plate (101) comprising a first end portion (103a) and a second end portion (103b), the first end portion (103a) mounted to a gear lever shaft (20) of the two-wheeled vehicle (100) for rotating the gear stopper plate (101) with rotation of the gear lever shaft (20), the gear stopper plate (101) further comprising a second engagement member (101a) at the second end portion (103b),
wherein in the forwardly inclined position, the first engagement member (102) and the second engagement member (101a) are engaged, thereby restricting rotation of the gear stopper plate (101) and the gear lever shaft (20), and
wherein upon moving the side stand (11) from the forwardly inclined position to the backward horizontal position, the first engagement member (102) and the second engagement member (101a) are disengaged, thereby unrestricting the rotation of the gear stopper plate (101) caused by rotation of the gear lever shaft (20).

2. The stand device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first engagement member (102) comprises a hook (102a), and the second engagement member (101a) is a pin protruding from the second end portion (103b), wherein the hook (102a) is engaged to the pin in the forwardly inclined position.

3. The stand device (200) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the hook (102a) is a U-shaped hook or a C-shaped hook.

4. The stand device (200) as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
a bracket member (13) fixedly secured to a lower portion of the main frame body (1), the bracket member (13) comprising a first engagement provision (14a), and wherein the side stand (11) comprises a second engagement provision (14b) adapted to be pivotally coupled to the first engagement provision (14a).

5. The stand device (200) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first engagement provision (14a) comprises at least one mounting pin, and the second engagement provision (14b) comprises at least one slot for securing the at least one mounting pin.

6. A two-wheeled vehicle (100), comprising:
a main frame body (1);
a gear lever shaft (20);
a gear pedal (19) coupled to the gear lever shaft (20), the gear pedal (19) is configured to be actuated by a rider by rotating the gear pedal (19) and thereby rotating the gear lever shaft (20); and
a stand device (200) comprising:
a side stand (11) pivotally attached to the main frame body (1) of the two wheeled vehicle (100), the side stand (11) configured to assume a forwardly inclined position and a backward horizontal position, the side stand (11) comprising a first engagement member (102); and
a gear stopper plate (101) comprising a first end portion (103a) and a second end portion (103b), the first end portion (103a) mounted to the gear lever shaft (20) for rotating the gear stopper plate (101) with rotation of the gear lever shaft (20), the gear stopper plate (101) comprising a second engagement member (101a) at the second end portion (103b),
wherein in the forwardly inclined position, the first engagement member (102) and the second engagement member (101a) are engaged, thereby restricting rotation of the gear stopper plate (101),the gear lever shaft (20) and the gear pedal (19), and
wherein upon moving the side stand (11) from the forwardly inclined position to the backward horizontal position, the first engagement member (102) and the second engagement member (101a) are disengaged, thereby unrestricting the rotation of the gear stopper plate (101) caused by rotation of the gear lever shaft (20).

7. The two-wheeled vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first engagement member (102) comprises a hook (102a), and the second engagement member (101a) is a pin protruding from the second end portion (103b), wherein the hook (102a) is engaged to the pin in the forwardly inclined position.

8. The two-wheeled vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the hook (102a) is a U-shaped hook or a C-shaped hook.

9. The two-wheeled vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:
a bracket member (13) fixedly secured to a lower portion of the main frame body (1), the bracket member (13) comprising a first engagement provision (14a), and wherein the side stand (11) comprises a second engagement provision (14b) adapted to be pivotally coupled to the first engagement provision (14a).

10. The two-wheeled vehicle (100) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first engagement provision (14a) comprises at least one mounting pin, and the second engagement provision (14b) comprises at least one slot for securing the at least one mounting pin.