FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
As amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005
&
The Patents Rules, 2003
As amended by the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2005
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
Storage compartment for a motor scooter
APPLICANTS
Name : Bajaj Auto Limited
Nationality : Indian Company
Address : Akurdi, Pune 411035, Maharashtra, India
PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
The following specification particularly describes the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:


This invention relates to motor scooters and, in particular, to the provision of a storage compartment for a motor scooter. The invention may also be applied to motorcycles.
Motor scooters may include storage compartments for storing items such as helmets. However, such storage compartments are dedicated to storage of helmets and may have minimal storage capacity for other items that a motor scooter rider may wish to carry on the vehicle. The storage compartment of Japanese Patent Application No. 07-304480 demonstrates this problem.
US Patent No. 6336579 describes the packaging difficulties that may arise in storage of two helmets in a below seat compartment. If helmets are stored in tandem, a storage compartment is too long with the result that the seat is also too long and reduced in mechanical strength and operability. A bulky construction of storage compartment may also result with the seat being located higher than desired. If the helmets are stored in parallel, the storage compartment is overly bulky in the lateral direction of the motorcycle. In addition, because the storage compartment must comply with the lateral width of the motorcycle, the opening to the compartment is narrowed making it difficult to store and remove helmets from the interior of the compartment.
It is the object of the present invention to address the problem of limited storage capacity of storage compartments in previous motor scooters in a manner that is convenient to implement and use.
With this object in view, the present invention provides a motor scooter comprising:
a frame for supporting components of the motor scooter, the frame having a front portion and a rear portion, the rear portion having side members extending toward a rear end of the motor scooter and connected by a cross member;
a seat located above the rear portion of the frame; and
a storage compartment mounted on the rear portion of the frame below the seat wherein plural components of the motor scooter are mounted on the front portion of the frame, distal from a volume extending below said seat and between said side

members and a cross member connected between said side members proximate rear
en s thereof above the engine allowing the storage compartment to occupy said
volume.
The location of scooter components such as the fuel tank and battery at the front portion of the frame frees up volume, which may be utilised to increase storage capacity of the storage compartment. Conveniently, the battery may be mounted in front of a head pipe of the frame. The fuel tank may be formed below the floorboard of the motor scooter. Connection of the cross member between the rear ends, preferably the extremities of, the side members frees up further storage space. To increase the storage volume still further, the cross member, rather than being formed as a straight tube, may have a portion, which extends in a rearward direction of the motor scooter. For example, the cross member may have a curved section, being convex or curving outward toward the rear of the motor scooter.
In this manner, the capacity of the storage compartment may be increased to well in excess of the volume required to store a motorcycle helmet. The construction of the storage compartment is not bulky and does not necessitate arrangement of the seat in an undesirably high position.
The storage compartment may also be provided with a lamp for lighting the interior of the compartment, the compartment being deep enough that the rider will benefit from provision of lighting. The lamp may be turned on by the motor scooter rider or it may turn on and off automatically as the seat, which forms a fid for the storage compartment, is opened and closed. The lamp may be fixed at one end, for example the rear end, of the motor scooter and away from means connecting the seat to the storage compartment.
The storage compartment may be available as a separate component which is mounted in the frame of the motor scooter during manufacture or repair.
The motor scooter of the invention may be more fully understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof made with reference to the figures in which:
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Figure 1 illustrates layout of frame of a motor scooter and mounting of different parts like fuel tank, battery, storage box etc according to prior art.
Figure 2 illustrates top view of lay out according to figure 1.
Figure 3 illustrates the layout of frame of a motor scooter and mounting of different parts like fuel tank, battery, storage box etc according to one embodiment of the invention.
Figure 4 illustrates top view of lay out according to Figure 3.
Figure 5 Illustrates views of the storage box according to the invention.
With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the front frame portion is marked 1 and the rear portion marked as 2. The side members, shown here as side pipes (3 and 4) at the rear frame portion are connected by a cross member (5). The fuel tank (6) is disposed at rear portion of said cross member mounted on brackets (7, 8). The battery (9) of the motor scooter is located in the area (11) at front portion of storage compartment (10).
With reference to Figures 3 and 4, showing the frame of a motor scooter in accordance with the invention, the side pipes (22 and 23) are connected by a cross member (24) having a curved section and curving outward toward the rear side of the frame. Cross member 24 is located proximate the ends 22a and 23a of the side pipes (22 and 23). The storage compartment or box (20), having a contoured appearance, is disposed between side pipes (22 and 23) and fixed on brackets (36 and 37). The fuel tank (25) of motor scooter is fixed to the floorboard by mounting brackets (26 and 27), which in turn are fixed on front lower portion side pipes (22 and 23). The battery (35) of the motor scooter is located to the head pipe (31) of the motor scooter through a mounting bracket (28) provided with a clamp (30). Fuel tank (25) and battery (35) are located distal from the storage box (20) and do not interfere with its capacity.
Further, storage box (20) volume is extended substantially to lower most level. An opening (32) with bump (33), as more clearly shown in Figure 5, is provided in the storage compartment to access and accommodate the carburetor (not shown).
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Storage box (20) may be equipped with a lamp to illuminate it. A rider of the motor scooter may operate a switch to operate the lamp or the lamp may switch on and off automatically as the seat, which forms a lid for box (20) is opened and closed.
Thus according to the invention, the storage box provides a large space, which may accommodate helmets and other items without affecting the strength and operability while having a compact structure with a seat located in a desirable position.
Modifications and variations of the motor scooter of the present invention may be apparent to skilled readers of this disclosure. Such modifications and variations are deemed within the scope of the present invention.

We claim :
1 . A frame assembly for supporting components of a motor scooter, the frame having a front portion and a rear portion; said rear portion comprising two side members;
a seat located above the two side members of the rear portion of the frame; and
a storage volume disposed between the two side members on the rear portion of the frame below the seat.
2. The frame assembly as in Claim 1 where the side members are connected by a cross member.
3. The frame assembly as in Claim 2 where the said cross member is connected at the extreme rear end of the frame.
4 The frame assembly as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the cross member is
curved outwardly towards the rear of the frame.
5. The frame assembly in any of the preceding Claims wherein plural
components of the motor scooter are mounted on the front portion of the frame, distal from the said storage volume.
6 The frame assembly as claimed in Claim 5, wherein said plural components
includes at least the fuel tank of the motor scooter and wherein said fuel tank is mounted a height which is below said storage volume.
7. The frame assembly in Claim 5 where the front portion of the frame encompasses a fuel tank and a battery.
8. A frame in Claim 5 where the fuel tank may be alternatively disposed on the underneath surface of the frame.

9. The frame assembly in Claim 5 where a storage compartment occupies the said storage volume.
10. The frame assembly as in Claim 9 where the storage compartment comprises a lamp for illumination.
11. The storage compartment as in Claim 9 where the said lamp illuminates automatically when the seat is opened.
12. A motor scooter comprising the frame as substantially described above.
Dated this 8th day of January 2007