DESC:FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a covering structure for a rear wheel and more particularly to a semi hugger for a two wheeled vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0002] In a typical vehicle, a wheel hugger envelopes the rear wheel from top side and is mounted on down tube frame member. The wheel hugger structure which envelopes the top portion of a wheel and extends up to the frame down tube member lacks sufficient rigidity due to larger cantilever hang due to longer length, thus leading to increased molding costs, increased noise & vibrations resulting in possible breakage. Further, such a large overhang requires additional mountings on the frame structure. These additional mountings will cause inconsistencies in assembly due to inherent welding distortions causing additional stress on the hugger mounting locations. These can cause possible cracks on the hugger over a period.
[0003] Further for an internal combustion engine of higher engine volume, wherein the air filter body is made larger and is spread on both the sides of the central longitudinal axis of the vehicle, the difficulty in mounting wheel hugger is further increased as the wheel hugger has to cross the intermediate air filter body to get mounted to the down tube frame member. Hence, it is desired to mount a wheel hugger in such a vehicle at such a point and in such a way, which simultaneously provides better rigidity to the wheel hugger mounting, lesser cantilever hanging length and minimum noise and vibrations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] To obviate the problem associated in mounting of wheel hugger for such a vehicle wherein the air filter body spreads on both the sides of the central longitudinal axis, the current invention discloses a wheel hugger mounted on the air filter body itself. Furthermore, since the air filter body is spread on both the sides of the central longitudinal axis, a portion of the air filter body also acts as a member for obstructing the mud and water splash on to the engine side. An added advantage of mounting the wheel hugger on the air filter outer body is that the requirement of a longer wheel hugger, which extends from the top of rear wheel till the down tube frame member, is avoided and at the same time, air filter outer body can be made to serve an additional purpose of extended wheel hugger.
[0005] The front end of the wheel hugger includes a mounting portion that interacts with the vehicle’s air filter body and is also mounted on the air filter body. This improved wheel hugger structure and mounting provides sufficient rigidity to the wheel hugger due to lesser cantilever hang while achieving a simplified wheel hugger shape, reducing molding costs, and improved external appearance. The improved wheel hugger structure also permits easy assembly of the rear fender to the vehicle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0006] Figure 1 shows typical two-wheeled vehicle.
[0007] Figure 2 Illustrates perspective view of rear portion of the said two wheeler.
[0008] Figure 3 illustrates the mounting mechanism of the swing arm.
[0009] Figure 4 Illustrates top view of vehicle rear along with the swing arm mounting mechanism, air filter and wheel hugger mounting.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[00010] The present invention solves the problem of wheel hugger mounting due to the obstruction by air filter body in between the rear wheel top portion and down tube frame member of vehicles wherein the air filter body is partially disposed on both sides of the vehicle central longitudinal axis. Furthermore, due to wheel hugger mounting on the air filter, a longer wheel hugger extending till the down tube frame member is avoided, which would have added to an extra cost of manufacturing. According to the current invention, the wheel hugger 22 is mounted on an air filter body 23. The air filter body 23 has a first portion on the left side of the vehicle and a second portion on substantially right side of the central longitudinal axis AA’. The arrows “L” & “R” in Figure 4 show respectively the left side and the right side of the vehicle along the central longitudinal axis AA’.
[00011] Figure 1 shows a typical two-wheeled vehicle. Figure 1 shows vehicle 1, rear wheel 2, engine 3, air filter body 4, front wheel 5, floor board 6, utility box 7, head light 8, side panel 9, rear suspension 10, grab rail 11, tail lamp 12, rider seat 13 and a visor 14. A portion of the air filter body 4 is visible in side view of the vehicle 1 in Figure 1. The air filter body 4 has a second portion 23 visible on the right side view of the vehicle and illustrated more clearly in Figure 2. “F” shoes the forward direction of the vehicle and “R” shoes the rear direction of the vehicle.
[00012] Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of rear portion of the said two wheeler. Figure 2 Illustrates fender rear 21, wheel hugger 22, air filter body 23, tail cover bottom 24, swing arm 25, radiator cover 26 and crankcase 27. The swing arm 25 is three point mounted swing arm with two mountings on crankcase 27. The radiator cover 26 is beneath a side trim 34 in such a way that the portion of radiator cover 26 inducing the fresh atmospheric air is exposed to the atmosphere.
[00013] The portion of the air filter body 23 visible in Figure 2 is fastened to the wheel hugger 22. This fastening of the wheel hugger 22 and air filter body (4, 23) provides support to both the wheel hugger 22 and air filter body 4, 23. The rear fender 21 partially covers the rear wheel 2 thus thereby reflecting the mud splash towards the ground and thus thereby reducing the possibility of rider and pillion rider getting dirty from the rear side during rainy season while travelling.
[00014] Figure 3 illustrates the mounting mechanism of the swing arm. Figure 3 shows fender rear 21, wheel hugger 22, air filter body 23, tail cover bottom24, swing arm 25, radiator cover 26, crankcase 27, swing arm axle mounting 31, swing arm crankcase first mounting 32 and swing arm crankcase second mounting 33. The muffler 28 (Shown in Figure 2) is further mounted on the swing arm 25. The mountings of the swing arm 25 on the crankcase 27 are shaped so as to accommodate the radiator cover 26. The rear fender 21 is a wide-open rear fender substantially located above and enveloping the rear wheel 2.
[00015] Figure 4 illustrates top view of vehicle rear along with the swing arm mounting mechanism, air filter body and wheel hugger. Figure 4 shows rear wheel 2, wheel hugger 22, air filter body 23, swing arm 25, muffler 41, cover variator 42, side tube chassis 43, monoshock first mounting 44, monoshock second mounting 45 and wheel hugger air filter body mounting 46. Figure 4 further illustrates the mounting of the swing arm 25 on the chassis-using pivot 47. Any vibrational noise produced by the single ended mounting at mounting location 46 of the wheel hugger 22 on the air filter body 23 is attenuated by providing ribs and stiffeners on the wheel hugger. The front-end portion of the wheel hugger 22 in the vehicle forward direction “F” is mounted to the air filter body 23.
[00016] The rear suspension of the current invention comprises of the swing arm 25 and monoshock 48. The monoshock 48 has a first end mounted on chassis at monoshock first mounting 44 and has second end mounted on crankcase 27 at monoshock second mounting 45. The wheel hugger 22 is fastened to the air filter body (4, 23) using fasteners at the wheel hugger air filter body mounting 46.
[00017] As further shown in Figure 4, the intake pipe 51 lies on the central longitudinal axis AA’ thereby reducing the length of intake pipe. Also, the intake pipe connection to the intake port of the engine along the central longitudinal axis AA’ further reduces the vibrations and noise. As illustrated in Figure 4, the rear suspension system of the vehicle 1 comprises of swing arm assembly on the right side and monoshock assembly on the left side of the vehicle 1.
[00018] The wheel hugger 22 mounted at the wheel hugger-air filter body mounting 46 provides more rigidity to the wheel hugger 22. The wheel hugger 22 is mounted at the wheel hugger-air filter body mounting 46 preferably at two mounting locations to give further mounting rigidity and avoid dislocation of wheel hugger 22 at higher vehicle speeds, at which noise and vibrations are on the higher side. ,CLAIMS:We claim:
1. A two wheeled vehicle (1) comprising:
a vehicular frame structure with atleast one down tube, said down tube supporting atleast an engine (3) and a radiator (26);
an exhaust muffler (41) supported by said vehicular frame structure and by said engine (3) on atleast one location;
an air filter (4,23) substantially disposed on each side of a rear wheel (2), the sides being divided by a central longitudinal axis (AA’);
a wheel hugger (22) which substantially envelopes the rear wheel (2) and obstructs the mud and water to hit rider’s body;
characterized in that:
said wheel hugger (22) has atleast two mounting points (46) disposed substantially above said rear wheel (2) wherein each mounting point (46) is used to detachably attach said wheel hugger (22) on portions of said air filter (4,23) disposed on each side of said central longitudinal axis (AA’) passing through said rear wheel (2).
2. The two wheeled vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wheel hugger (22) is fastened to the air filter body (4, 23) using fasteners.
3. The two-wheeled vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wheel hugger (22) comprises atleast one mounting location (46) detachably attached to said exhaust muffler (28).
4. The two-wheeled vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wheel hugger (22) is fully enveloped by a wide-open rear fender (21) from a predetermined distance above said wheel hugger (22).
5. The two-wheeled vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wheel hugger (22) includes atleast one mounting location (46) detachably attached to said radiator cover (26).