Title of Invention

MOTORCYCLE OPENER TAMPER PREVENTING APPARATUS

Abstract

MOTORCYCLE OPENER TAMPER PREVENTING APPARATUS A motorcycle opener tamper preventing apparatus in a motorcycle having a handlebar (6) for steering a front wheel (5) and an opening/closing member (15, 20, 25) locked in a closed state by a remote-operated lock mechanism, an opener (31, 32) to remote-operate said lock mechanism is provided near said handlebar, characterized in that when said handlebar is steered upon parking, a protector (33) that integrally rotates with said handlebar disables an operation of said opener.

Full Text

FORM 2 THE PATENTS ACT 1970 [39 OF 1970] COMPLETE SPECIFICATION [See Section 10] "MOTORCYCLE OPENER TAMPER PREVENTING APRARATUS" HONDA GIKEN KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, a corporation of Japan, 1-1, Minamiaoyama 2-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan The following specification particularly describes the nature of the invention and the manner in which it is-to be performed :- GARNTED 2/2/2007 The present invention relates to a motorcycle opener tamper preventing apparatus. [Technical Field of the Invent ion] This invention relates to a tamper preventing apparatus for various openers such as a seat opener provided in a motorcycle. [Prior Art] The seat opener in motorcycle is well known. In the seat opener, a seat lock for an openable/closable seat is fastened to a lever-shaped opener in a position away from the seat lock With a cable or the like, and the opener is remote operated to release the seat lock so as to open the seat. This arrangement enables a keyless lock which unnecessitates a key for release of seat lock and increases convenience. As an example of cylinder key of this keyless lock device, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 11-44132 is known. [Problems to Be Solved by the Invention] Note that the above - described opener requires a tamper preventing apparatus for prevention of inadvertent opening. For this purpose, the simplest solution is to provide a key lock which is released by a key in the opener itself such that the lock is released by an ignition key. However, in this arrangement, as an ignition switch must be turned off every time the key lock of the opener itself is released, the operation is complicated. Further, if a specialized key for the opener is provided aside from the ignition key, it is further troublesome, to always hold plural keys. In addition, the key lock, when it is seen, may induce a mischievous action. Accordingly, the present invention has an object to provide a tamper preventing apparatus which unnecessitates a key lock in the opener. , [Means to Solve the Problems] To solve the above problems, the motorcycle opener tamper preventing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that in a motorcycle having a handlebar for steering a front wheel and an opening/closing member locked in a closed state by an remote operated lock mechanism, an opener to remote-operate said lock mechanism is provided near said handlebar, and when said handlebar is steered upon parking, a protector that integrally rotates with said handlebar disables an operation of said opener. At this time, it may be arranged such that said protector is integrally provided with a handlebar cover over said handlebar, and the protector covers said opener and disables the operation of said opener. Further, it may be arranged such that said opener is exposed from a cover over a steering shaft, and movement of a portion of the opener inside the cover over the steering shaft is limited by said protector to integrally rotate with said steering shaft by steering upon parking, thereby operation is disabled. [Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, as the opener is provided near the handlebar, when the handlebar is steered upon parking, the protector that integrally rotates with the handlebar disables an Operation of the opener. Accordingly, as tamper prevention for the opener is realized only by steering the handlebar upon parking, a key lock for the opener itself is unnecessitated. This removes inconvenience of sharing of ignition key or holding plural keys, further, prevents induction of mischievous action by the presence of key lock. Further, if the Protector is provided in the handlebar cover such that the protector covers the opener by rotation of the handlebar cover accompanying steering upon parking, as the opener is hidden by the protector and the presence of the opener can be prevented, it can be highly prevented from mischievous operation. in addition, the protector can be easily formed with high degree of freedom. Further, in the Cover over the steering shaft, if the movement of the part connected to the opener is limited by the protector integral with the steering shaft by steering the handlebar to a parking position, and thereby the operation of the opener is disabled, the openable/closable member is not inadvertently opened even though the opener is exposed from the cover over the steering shaft. Further, as the protector is provided inside the cover over the steering shaft, an mischievous operation to the protector itself can be prevented. Accordingly, the present invention relates to a motorcycle opener tamper preventing apparatus in a motorcycle having a handlebar (6) for steering a front wheel (5) and an opening/closing member (15, 20, 25) locked in a closed state by a remote-operated lock mechanism, an opener (31, 32) to remote-operate said lock mechanism is provided near said handlebar, characterized in that when said handlebar is steered upon parking, a protector (33) that integrally rotates with said handlebar disables an operation of said opener. [Brief Explanation of the Drawings] [Fig. 1] An entire side view of the motorcycle to which the embodiment is applied [Fig. 2] A schematic diagram showing the part around the handle lock according to the first working example [Fig. 3] A diagram corresponding to Fig. 2 according to the second working example [Fig. 4] A diagram corresponding to Fig. 2 according to the third working example [Fig. 5] A cross - sectional view showing the part around the top bridge according to the fourth working example is provided inside the cover over the steering Shaft, an mischievous operation to the protector itself can be prevented. [Working Examples] Hereinbelow, a working example will be described in accordance with the drawings. Fig. 1 is an entire side view of a scooter type motorcycle to which the tamper preventing apparatus according to the present working example is applied, and Fig. 2, a schematic diagram showing a part around a handlebar viewed from an arrow A in Fig. 1 extended upward from a steering shaft. First, in Fig. 1, a steering shaft 3 is rotatably supported on a head pipe 2 provided at an end of a vehicle body frame 1 as a pair of left and right frames extending in frontward and rearward directions. The steering shaft 3 is connected to a front fork 4 on a lower end, thereby a front wheel 5 supported at a lower end of the front fork 4 can be steered by a bar handlebar 6 provided at an upper end of the steering shaft 3. The handlebar 6 is fixed at an intermediate portion in leftward and rightward directions by a top bridge 7 integral with the upper end of the steering shaft 3, and the top bridge 7 is provided with an ignition switch 8 and a handle lock 9 integral with the ignition switch. The ignition switch 8 is turned ON/OFF by an ignition key (See Fig. 5) (not shown) . The handle lock is locked to the head pipe 2 by turning the ignition switch 8 OFF and steering the handlebar 6 upon parking, and thereafter, released by turning the ignition switch 8 ON by the ignition key. The handlebar 6 is covered with a handlebar cover 10 of resin or the like. Further, the head pipe 2 , the steering shaft 3, an upper part of the front fork 4 and the top bridge 7, forming space around them, are covered with a front cover 11 from a front position and a leg shield 12 from a rear position. The front cover 11 and the leg shield 12 are respectively of resin and correspond to the cover over the steering shaft in the present invention. The vehicle body frame 1 has an approximately V-shaped cross section where an intermediate portion is the bottom, and its peripheral portion is covered with a side cover 13 and a lower cover 14 respectively of resin. A seat 15 for two persons is supported on the rear side from the bottom of the vehicle body frame 1. The seat 15 is openable/closable, and when it is closed, it is locked by a seat lock 16. The seat lock 16 which is well known is supported on the vehicle body frame 1, and coupled to a seat opener to be described later via a cable 17 for release of the seat lock 16 by remote operation. The seat lock is released by pulling the cable 17 by the seat opener in an arrow B direction. Further, a fuel tank 18 is provided in a position in front of the seat 15 and below the vehicle body frame 1, and a tank lid 20 covering its cap 19 is openably/closably provided in an upper part of the side cover 13. When the tank lid 20 is closed, it is locked by a lid lock 21. The lid lock 21 is coupled to a lid opener to be described later via a cable 22 for release of the lid lock 21 by remote operation. The lid lock is released by pulling the cable 22 by the lid opener in an arrow C direction. Reference numeral 23 denotes an auxiliary frame extending toward a position below the vehicle body frame 1 to support the fuel tank 18 and the like. Further, a trunk 24 is provided in the rear of the seat 15, and a trunk lid 25 is openably/closably provided. When the trunk lid 25 is closed, it is locked by a trunk lid lock 26. The trunk lid lock 26 can be releasable by remote operation in accordance with necessity. In the case of remote operation, the trunk lid lock is coupled to a trunk opener provided as in the case of the seat opener, via a cable 27, as in the case of the seat lock, and the lock is released by pulling the cable 12 by the trunk opener in an arrow D direction. Numeral 28 in the figure denotes a well-known swing power unit. It is provided below the seat 15 and rotatably supported on the vehicle body frame 1, and it drives a rear wheel 29 integrally supported with a rear end portion. Next, a tamper preventing structure will be described. Fig. 2 shows a status where the handlebar 6 is set in a straight ahead position, in an upper figure E, and a status of parking position where the handlebar 6 is steered to a rotational limit for parking and handle lock operation, in a lower figure F. As it is apparent from these figures, a rear expanding portion 30 is provided in an upper part of the leg shield 12 and near the handlebar cover 10, a small gap is formed between the rear expanding portion and the handlebar cover 10, and mutually-opposed seat opener 31 and lid opener 32 are provided in the gap. The seat opener 31 is coupled to the seat lock 16 via the cable 17, and the lid opener 32 is coupled to the lid lock 21 for the tank lid 20 via the cable 22. The openers, respectively having a lever shape, are arrayed in a position offset to one side in a vehicle widthwise direction (left side of the vehicle body in the present working example) in the rear expanding portion 30. The openers respectively release the corresponding locks when pulled upward by rotational operation . Note that in a case where a trunk opener for the trunk lid 25 is provided, the opener may be additionally provided in a position adjacent to these openers. Further, a protector 33 projecting toward one side in the vehicle widthwise direction (the left side of the vehicle body in the present working example) is integrally formed with the rear side of a lower part of the handlebar cover 10. The protector 33 integrally rotates with the handlebar cover 10, and even in the straight ahead position or a rightward steered position where steering is made to the right side of the vehicle body or a leftward steered position where steering is made to the left side of the vehicle body, the protector releases the seat opener 31 and the lid opener 32 in a position within a rotational limit (hereinbelow, these positions will be generally referred to as a running position) . On the other hand, in a parking position where leftward steering is made to the rotational limit, the protector overlaps and covers these seat opener 31 and the lid opener 32, to disable an operation to pull them up for release of the locks. Next, the operation of the present working example will be described. As shown in E in Fig. 2, when the handlebar 6 is set to the running position such as the straight ahead position, the protector 33 releases the seat opener 31 and the lid opener 32. Accordingly, they can be freely operated, and if they are rotated to be pulled upward in accordance with necessity, the corresponding locks can be released. Further, as shown in F, when the handlebar 6 is set to the parking position, these openers are operation-disabled, thus inadvertent lock release can be prevented. Accordingly, mischievous operations of the seat opener 31 and the lid opener 32 can be prevented merely by steering the handlebar 6 leftward to the rotational limit upon parking. Further, as a key lock for the opener itself can be unnecessitated, the inconvenience of sharing of ignition key or holding plural keys can be removed, and further, induction of mischievous action by the presence of key lock can be prevented. Further, as the protector 33 is integrally provided with the handlebar cover 10 such that the protector 33 covers and hide the seat opener 31 and the lid opener 32 by the rotation of the handlebar cover 10 accompanying the steering upon parking, the presence of the openers can be prevented, thereby mischievous operations can be highly prevented. In addition, the protector 33 can be easily formed with high degree of freedom. Especially, as in the case of the present working example, if the protector 33 is projected toward the direction of the handle-lock steering and the seat opener 31 and the lid opener 32 are provided in an offset position, the protector 33 can be provided such that it is comparatively small and inconspicuous, thus the arrangement is excellent in design processing. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a second working example in correspondence with Fig. 2. Note that in Figs. 3 and 4 below, the positions of the protector and the openers are changed, however, the structures and functions thereof are not different, accordingly, corresponding elements have the same reference numerals. In this example, as it is apparent in E, the protector 33 projects rearward from the center of the handlebar cover 10 along the center of vehicle body in the straight ahead position. On the other hand, the seat opener 31 and the lid opener 32 are arrayed in a position offset to the right side in the vehicle widthwise direction in the rear expanding portion 30, and as shown in F, they are covered with the protector 33 when a handlebar 7 is steered leftward to the parking position. In this arrangement, the protector 33 can be symmetrically formed, and a well proportioned design can be attained. In a third working example shown in Fig. 4 , the seat opener 31 and the lid opener 32 are separately provided in left and right ends in the vehicle widthwise direction in the rear expanding portion 30, and in correspondence with this arrangement, two protectors 33a and 33b are projected in a rightward inversed V shape toward the rear of the lower part of the handlebar cover 10, such that the respective protectors do not overlap with any of the openers in the straight ahead position in E, however, when leftward steering is made to the parking position in F, the respective protectors 33a and 33b individually overlap with the corresponding seat opener 31 or the lead opener 32. In this arrangement, although the operations of the openers are limited to approximately the straight ahead position, the size of the respective protectors 33a and 33b can be minimized. Note that in this case, the number of the protectors can be arbitrary in correspondence with the number of openers. Fig. 5 relates to a fourth working example, where a leg 41 integral with an opener 40 exposed on the front cover 11 enters from an opening 11a of the front cover 11, and is coupled to an arm 42. One end of the arm 42 is rotatably supported by a spindle 43 on a stay 44 fixed in space surrounded by the front cover 11 and the leg shield 12, and the other end is attached to a cable 45. When the opener 40 is pulled upward in the figure, the arm 42 rotates in a clockwise direction around the spindle 43 to pull the cable 45 upward in the figure, thereby a lock coupled to another end of the cable 45 is released. Note that the lock coupled to the cable 45 is any of the seat lock 16, the lid lock 21 or the trunk lid Jock 26 or other lock for a opening/closing member. It may be arbitrarily arranged such that plural openers 40 and the protectors 45 are provided. On the other hand, a protector 46 is integrally formed with a part of the top bridge 7 positioned inside the front cover 11. When the handlebar is rotated to the rotational limit upon parking, the protector 45 moves in a position above and near a rotational side end of the arm 42 and limits upward rotation of the arm by integral rotation of the top bridge 7 with the rotation of the handlebar. In the figure, numeral 47 denotes an ignition key. In this arrangement, in the parking position as shown in the figure, the upward pulling of the opener 40 is disabled by preventing the rotation of the arm 42 inside the front cover 11, thereby lock release is prevented. Accordingly, even if the opener 40 is exposed from the front cover 11 and the leg shield 12 covering the steering shaft, the opening/closing member is not inadvertently opened. Further, as the protector 45 is provided inside the front cover 11, a mischievous operation of the protector' 45 itself can be prevented. Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described working examples but various changes and applications can be made. For example, various opener types other than those in the working examples can be employed. Further, as the motorcycle, vehicles of various types other than the scooter type can be employed. We claim: 1. A motorcycle opener tamper preventing apparatus in a motorcycle having a handlebar (6) for steering a front wheel (5) and an opening/closing member (15, 20, 25) locked in a closed state by a remote-operated lock mechanism, an opener (31, 32) to remote-operate said lock mechanism is provided near said handlebar, characterized in that when said handlebar is steered upon parking, a protector (33) that integrally rotates with said handlebar disables an operation of said opener. 2. The motorcycle opener tamper preventing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said protector is integrally provided with a handlebar cover over said handlebar, and wherein said protector covers said opener to disable the operation of said opener. 3. The motorcycle opener tamper preventing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said opener is exposed from a cover over a steering shaft, and wherein movement of a portion of the opener inside the cover over the steering shaft is limited by said protector to integrally rotate with said steering shaft by steering upon parking, thereby operation is disabled. 4. A motorcycle opener tamper preventing apparatus in a motorcycle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 20th the day of February, 2002. [RIWSHKA NEGI] OF REMFRY & SAGAR ATTORNEY FOR THE APPLICANTS

Documents:

164-mum-2002-abstract(2-2-2007).doc

164-mum-2002-abstract(2-2-2007).pdf

164-mum-2002-cancelled pages(2-2-2007).pdf

164-mum-2002-claims(granted)-(2-2-2007).doc

164-mum-2002-claims(granted)-(2-2-2007).pdf

164-mum-2002-correspondence(2-2-2007).pdf

164-mum-2002-correspondence(ipo)-(25-4-2007).pdf

164-mum-2002-drawing(20-2-2002).pdf

164-mum-2002-form 1(20-2-2002).pdf

164-mum-2002-form 18(24-1-2006).pdf

164-mum-2002-form 2(granted)-(2-2-2007).doc

164-mum-2002-form 2(granted)-(2-2-2007).pdf

164-mum-2002-form 3(1-4-2004).pdf

164-mum-2002-form 3(2-2-2007).pdf

164-mum-2002-form 3(20-2-2002).pdf

164-mum-2002-form 5(20-2-2002).pdf

164-mum-2002-petition under rule 137(2-2-2007).pdf

164-mum-2002-petition under rule 138(2-2-2007).pdf

164-mum-2002-power of authority(10-5-2002).pdf

164-mum-2002-power of authority(2-2-2007).pdf

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