Title of Invention

VEHICLE BODY FRAME STRUCTURE OF MOTORCYCLE

Abstract

In a vehicle bidy frasme structure of a motorcycle an overhang portion of a seat rail extending rearwards in the front rear direction from a main fram is effectiveily strengthened by a lightweight strengthening member so that the overhang portion can sufficiently resist the load from a seat for seating the rider thereon and a carrier for mounting a luggage thereon A strengthening member St is disposed on an upper surface of the overhang portion 1h of the seat rail 11 along the front rear direction therfore, the strengthening member St is fixed to the overhang portion 11h from the upper side through a plurality of support portions 25,26,27 provided at intervals in the front rear direction of the strengthening menber St, thereby supporting the seat S for mounting the thereon, and the carrier Ca for mounting a luggage is fitted to a rearportion of the strengthening member St.

Full Text

FORM 2 THE PATENTS ACT 1970 [39 OF 1970] COMPLETE SPECIFICATION [See Section 10] "VEHICLE BODY FRAME STRUCTURE OF MOTORCYCLE" HONDA GIKEN KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA, a corporation of Japan, 1- 1, Minamiaoyama 2-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan GRANTED The following specification particularly describes the nature of the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed :- [0003] [Problems to Be Solved by the Invention] Meanwhile, the overhang portion of the seat rail is in a cantilever form, and, therefore, it is disadvantageous on a strength basis as compared with other portions of the vehicle body frame; moreover, the disadvantageous tendency is augmented when the load from accessories such as the seat and the carrier acts thereon. [0004] In the conventional structures, the overhang portion of the seat rail is strengthened with cross members or the like. This approach leads to an increase in the weight of the overhang portion, and is therefore insufficient as a strengthening measure for increasing the strength of the overhang portion. [0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a novel vehicle body frame structure of motorcycle by which the overhang portion of the seat rail can be strengthened by a strengthening member being light in weight and having a desired strength, and, in addition, the appearance of the overhang portion is enhanced. [0006] [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to attain the above object, the invention as set forth in claim 1 provides a vehicle body frame structure of motorcycle comprising at least a main frame and a seat rail extended rearwards in the front-rear direction therefrom, the seat rail having an overhang portion extended to the rear side of a hanging portion for a rear wheel, and an accessory such as a carrier being supported on the overhang portion, characterized in that a strengthening member is disposed on an upper surface of the overhang portion of the seat rail along the front-rear direction of the overhang portion, the strengthening member is provided integrally with a plurality of support portions at intervals in the front-rear direction thereof, the support portions are fixed to left and right rail frames of the seat rail in the manner of straddling them from the upper side, a seat for seating the rider is supported by the support portions, and the accessory is fitted to the support portion at the rearmost portion. According to the characteristic features, the overhang of the seat rail can be strengthened over the roughly entire length thereof by a lightweight strengthening member. Particularly, the strengthening member can receive the load from the accessories such as the seat and the carrier as a tensile force, and, therefore, need not to have strength for resisting a buckling load, so that more reduction in the weight thereof is possible. As a result, an increase in the strength of the overhang portion of the seat rail can be achieved while minimizing the increase in weight. Furthermore, the appearance of the overhang can be enhanced by the strengthening member. [0007] In addition, in order to attain the above object, the invention as set forth in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the structure as set forth in claim 1, a lower pipe for strengthening a base end portion of the overhang portion of the seat rail is connected to the base end portion, and a front end portion of the strengthening member extends to the upper side of the connection portion. According to the characteristic feature, the same effects as those of the invention as set forth in claim 1 are displayed, and, in addition, the strength of the connection portion between the seat rail and the lower pipe is utilized, and by synergistic effects of this and the strength of the strengthening member, the overhang of the seat rail can be strengthened more rigidly. [0008] [Mode for Carrying Out the Invention] Now, a mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below based on an embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings. [Brief Description of the Drawings] [Fig. 1] Fig. 1 is an overall side view of a saddle ride type motorcycle comprising a vehicle body frame structure according to the present invention. [Fig. 2] Fig. 2 is a partially broken enlarged plan view taken along arrow 2 of Fig. 1. [Fig. 3] Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2. [Fig. 4] Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3. [Fig. 5] Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 3. [Fig. 6] Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 3. [Fig. 7] Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 3. [Fig. 8] Fig. 8 is a plan view of a vehicle body frame. [Fig. 9] Fig. 9 is a side view of the vehicle body frame. [Fig. 10] Fig. 10 is a plan view of a carrier. (Fig. 11] Fig. 11 is a side view of the carrier. [Fig. 12] Fig. 12 is a plan view of a rear grip. [Fig. 13] Fig. 13 is a side view of the rear grip. [0009] In the following description, the terms "upper, lower", "left, right", and "front, rear" are used on the basis of the running direction of a motorcycle. [0010] Fig. 1 is an overall side view of a saddle ride type motorcycle comprising a vehicle body frame structure according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a partially broken enlarged plan view taken along arrow 2 of Fig. 1 ; Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 3; Fig.. 8 is a plan view of the vehicle body frame; Fig. 9 is a side view of the vehicle body frame; Fig. 10 is a plan view of a carrier; Fig. 11 is a side view of the carrier; Fig. 12 is a plan view of a rear grip; and Fig. 13 is a side view of the rear grip. [0011] In Fig. 1, a front fork 2 is steerably supported on a head pipe 1 at the front end of a vehicle body frame F constituting a skeleton of a motorcycle, a front wheel WF is shaft-supported at the lower end of the front fork 2, and a steering handle 3 is provided at the upper end of the front fork 2. In addition, a rear wheel WR is hung in a hanging portion 15 from a rear portion of the vehicle body frame F through a rear cushion 4. [0012] A driving unit UD comprising an internal combustion engine E is mounted on an intermediate portion in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body frame F, and an output shaft 5 of the driving unit UD is conjunctively connected to the rear wheel WR through a chain transmission mechanism 6. A fuel tank T is mounted on the vehicle body frame F on the upper side of the driving unit UD, and, further, a seat S for seating the rider is mounted on the vehicle body frame F on the upper side of the rear wheel WR. [0013] Next, referring mainly to Figs. 8 and 9, the structure of the vehicle body frame F will be described in detail. The vehicle body frame F comprises a main frame 10 arch-shaped in side view which has its front end connected to the head pipe 1, extends roughly horizontally rearwards and extended curvedly downwards from an intermediate portion thereof, a down tube 12 having its front end connected to the head pipe 1 in the same manner and extended rearwardly downwards, a seat rail 11 having its front end connected to the curved intermediate portion of the main frame 10 and extended roughly horizontally rearwards, and a lower pipe 13 connecting between an intermediate portion of the seat rail 11 and a lower portion of the main frame 10. A gusset 14 is welded to the connection portion of the seat rail 11 and the lower pipe 13 in the manner of straddling them to strengthen the connection portion, and the upper end of the rear cushion 4 is hung in the hanging portion 15 from the gusset 14. The seat rail 11 has a cantilever overhang portion llh extended to the rear side of the hanging portion 15. [0014] A base end portion (front end portion) of a strengthening member st which will be described later extends to the upper side of the connection portion of the seat rail 11 and the lower pipe 13, and the connection portion adds to the strengthening of the overhang portion llh of the seat rail 11 by the strengthening member St. The seat rail 11 has the cantilever overhang portion llh extended to the rear side of the hanging portion 15 of the rear wheel WR, and the strengthening member St described later according to the present invention is connected by welding to roughly the entire length of the overhang portion llh. [0015] The seat rail n comprises two left and right rail frames 16, 16 extending in parallel to each other over most portions thereof other than front end portions thereof, and first and second cross members 17, 18 for integrally connecting front half portions of the left and right rail frames 16, 16. A rear half portion, namely, the overhang portion llh of the seat rail 11 is strengthened by the above-mentioned strengthening member St, and a carrier Ca (See Figs. 10 and 11) or a rear grip (See Figs. 12 and 13) described later is detachably fitted to a rear end portion of the strengthening member St. In addition, side grips Gs U-shaped in plan view are respectively integrally connected to the left and right rail frames 16, 16 of the seat rail 11. [0016] Next, the structure of the strengthening member St will be described. [0017] As clearly shown in Fig. 2 and Figs. 8 and 9, the strengthening member St comprises a pair of left and right longitudinal frames 20, 20 formed of a plate material such as metallic plate and extending in parallel to each other, and intermediate and rear cross members 21, 22 bridgingly connecting intermediate portions and rear portions of the left and right longitudinal frames 20, 20, totally in a ladder form in plan view. The left and right longitudinal frames 20, 2 0 are formed in the same shape, their cross sectional shape is a bottom-open fork shape as shown in Figs. 4 to 7, rear end portions 20r, 20r thereof are narrower than the most of the remaining portions, and lower half portions of the inside surfaces thereof are wide open toward the outside (See Figs. 6 and 7) . The left and right longitudinal frames 20, 20 are integrally connected by welding to the left and right rail frames 16, 16 of the seat rail 11 in the manner of straddling them from the upper side. In addition, as shown in Figs. 3 and 9, side surfaces of front portions and rear portions in the front-rear direction of the left and right longitudinal frames 20, 20 are provided with arch-shaped front and rear cutout portions 23, 24, and due to the presence of the cutout portions 23, 24, a reduction in the weight of the strengthening member St can be contrived without spoiling the stiffness thereof. Besides, the intermediate and rear cross members 21, 22 are formed in a plate shape, and both ends thereof are connected by welding respectively to the left and right longitudinal frames 20, 20. [0018] As shown in Figs. 2 to 9, the left and right longitudinal frames 20, 20 of the strengthening member St are engaged to the left and right frames 16, 16 in the manner of straddling them from the upper side of the seat rail 11. Front portions, intermediate portions and rear portions of the left and right longitudinal frames 20, 20 excluding the front and rear cutout portions 23, 24 are connected by welding to the left and right rail frames 16, 16 to constitute first, second and third support portions 25, 26, 27, and the load from the seat S is transmitted to the seat rail 11, namely, to the vehicle body frame F through the support portions 25, 26, 27; in this case, the load acts on the strengthening member St as a tensile force. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the lower ends of the first and second support portions 25, 26 are connected by welding to the upper ends of the gussets 14, and the load acting on them is transmitted to the vehicle body frame F through the gussets 14. [0019] The seat S mounted on the seat rail 11 is a known one having a slide type rubber mount structure, and comprises a skin 30 bound to the upper surface and side surfaces of a seat main body 29 formed of a cushion material, and a bottom plate 31 laminated on the bottom surface thereof. As shown in Figs. 3 and 5, inverted triangular fitting pieces 32, 32 are respectively fixed to the left and right of an intermediate portion in the front-rear direction of the bottom plate 31, a slot 33 elongate in vertical direction is provided in a lower portion of each fitting piece 32, and a support bolt 36 fixed to the seat rail 11 through a bracket 35 is loosely fitted in the slot 33, so that the seat S can be vertically moved on the seat rail 11 within the range of the clearance between the slot 33 and the support bolt 36. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, an insertion tongue piece 37 is fixed to the front end of the bottom plate 31 of the seat S. The insertion tongue piece 37 is insertably and removably engaged to a lower surface of the first cross member 17 of the seat rail 11, whereby a front portion of the seat S is fastened to the seat rail 11. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a plurality of rubbers 40 to 44 are provided on the bottom plate 31 of the seat S at intervals in the front-rear direction and in the left-right direction. Of the rubbers 40 to 44, the left, right and intermediate rubbers 40, 40, 41 at a front portion of the seat S are seated and supported directly on the seat rail 11 on the front side of the strengthening member St, and the remaining rubbers 42, 42, 43, 43, 44, 44 at the intermediate and rear left-right portions are seated and supported respectively on the first, second and third support portions 25, 26, 27 of the strengthening member St. [0020] As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a carrier Ca (See Figs. 10 and 11) for mounting luggage thereon is detachably fitted to both sides of a rear portion of the strengthening member St, namely, the third support portion 27 in the state of overhang to the rear side. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, upper half portions of rear portions 20r, 20r of the left and right longitudinal frames 20, 2 0 of the strengthening member St are narrower than the other portions, and flat fitting surfaces 47 are provided at outside surfaces of the upper half portions. A rear cowl 48 and the carrier Ca are co-fasteningly fixed to the fitting surfaces 47 by screw-fastening bolts 49 penetrating them to weld nuts 5 fixed in the longitudinal frames 20, 20. [0021] As shown in Figs. 10 and 11, the carrier Ca has a construction in which a front portion of a luggage-receiving frame 61 overhanging to the rear side is connected by welding to a rear portion of a support pipe 60, and two left and right reinforcing bars 62, 62 are welded between lower surfaces of left and right portions of the carrier Ca and the luggage-receiving frame. The support pipe 60 is front-open U-shaped in plan view, and a rear half portion thereof is inclined rearwardly upwards. A fitting member 66 comprising two collars 63, 64 connected by a connecting plate 65 is welded to left and right portions of the front end of the support pipe 60. The bolts 49 penetrate through the two collars 63, 64 and the carrier Ca is fixed to the strengthening member St as described above (See Figs. 6 and 7). The luggage-receiving frame 61 is formed in a ladder shape, and is provided thereon with a luggage-receiving surface for mounting a load such as a luggage thereon. In this fitting condition of the carrier Ca onto the strengthening member St, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the luggage-receiving frame 61 overhangs to the rear side of the strengthening member St, but a rear portion of the vehicle body frame F is strengthened by the strengthening member St to have sufficient stiffness, so that it can sufficiently resist the load acting on the carrier Ca, and deformation thereof can be prevented. [0022] The rear grip Gr in place of the carrier Ca can be fitted to the rear portion of the strengthening member St. As shown in Figs. 12 and 13, the rear grip Gr has a construction in which left and right fitting brackets 71, 71 are fixed by welding to the left and right front ends of a grip main body 70 front-open U-shaped in plan view. The fitting brackets 71, 71 are provided with two bolt holes 72, 73 for inserting the bolts 49 therethrough. In the same manner as in the case of fitting the carrier Ca, the rear grip Gr can be co-fasteningly fixed to the strengthening member St together with the rear cowl 48 by the bolts 49. [0023] As has been described above, the strengthening member St comprises the left and right longitudinal frames 20, 2 0 and the first and second cross members 17, 18 formed of a plate material such as a metallic plate and formed in a ladder shape. The left and right longitudinal frames 20, 20-are formed in a channel shape in section and has the first, second and third support portions 25, 26, 27 connected to the seat rail 11 at the front and rear cutout portions 23, 24 in the front-rear direction. The strengthening member St is light in total weight. In addition, the load from the seat S and the carrier Ca or the rear grip Gr acts as a tensile force, and compressive forces do not act on the strengthening member St, so that the strengthening member St need not be strengthened to the level of having a buckling strength, thereby largely contributing to a reduction in the weigh of the strengthening member St. Besides, the load from the strengthening member St is exerted dispersedly in the front-rear direction on the overhang portion llh of the seat rail 11 through the first to third support portions 25, 26, 27. Therefore, the overhang portion llh as a whole is strengthened by the strengthening member St, whereby effective strengthening can be achieved while minimizing an increase in weight. Further, the strengthening member St can be utilized as a member for enhancing the appearance of a rear portion of the vehicle body frame F. [0024] In addition, the strengthening member St extends over the roughly entire length of the overhang portion llh of the seat rail 11, and a rear portion thereof extends to the connection portion of the seat rail 11 and the lower pipe 13, whereby the connection portion can be utilized for strengthening of the overhang portion llh, and the overhang portion llh can be strengthened more rigidly by the cooperation of the connection portion and the strengthening member St. [0025] While an embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the invention is not limited to or by the embodiment, and various embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention. [0026] [Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the invention as set forth in claim 1, in a vehicle body frame structure of a motorcycle, the overhang of the seat rail can be strengthened over the roughly entire length thereof by the lightweight strengthening member. Particularly, the strengthening member can receive the load from the accessories such as the seat and the carrier as a tensile force, so that the strengthening member need not have _strength_for_resisting a buckling load, whereby more reduction in weight is enabled. As a result, the overhang portion of the seat rail can be enhanced in strength while minimizing the increase in weight, and further, the appearance of the overhang can be enhanced by the strengthening member. [0027] In addition, according to the invention as set forth in claim 2, the same effects as those of the invention as set forth in claim 1 are displayed, the strength of the connection portion of the seat rail and the lower pipe can be utilized, and by the synergistic effect of this and the strength of the strengthening member, the overhang of the seat rail can be strengthened more rigidly. [Description of Reference Symbols] 10: main frame 11: seat rail llh: overhang portion 13: lower pipe 15: hanging portion 16: rail frame of seat rail 25: support portion (first support portion) 26: support portion (second support portion) 27: support portion (third support portion) S: seat St: strengthening member WR: rear wheel We claim: 1. A vehicle body frame structure of motorcycle comprising at least a main frame (10) and a seat rail (11) extended rearwards in the front-rear direction therefrom, said seat rail (11) having an overhang portion (llh) extended to the rear side of a hanging portion (15) for a rear wheel (WR), and an accessory such as a carrier (Ca) being supported at said overhang portion (llh), characterized in that a strengthening member (St) is disposed on an upper surface of said overhang portion (llh) of said seat rail (11) along the front-rear direction of said overhang portion (llh), the strengthening member (St) is provided integrally with a plurality of support portions (25, 26, 27) at intervals in the front-rear direction thereof, said support portions (25, 26, 27) are fixed to left and right rail frames (16) of said seat rail (11) in the manner of straddling them from the upper side, a seat (S) for seating the rider is supported by said support portions (25, 26, 27), and said accessory is fitted to said support portion (27) at the rearmost portion. 2. A vehicle body frame structure of motorcycle as set forth in claim 1, wherein a lower pipe (13) for strengthening a base end portion of said overhang portion (llh) of said seat rail (11) is connected to said base end portion, and a front end portion of said strengthening member (St) extends to the upper side of the connection portion. 3. A vehicle body frame structure of motorcycle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 08th day of March, 2002 [JAYANTA PAL] OF REMFRY 8B SAGAR ATTORNEY FOR THE APPLICANTS

Documents:

231-mum-2002-abstract(14-12-2007).doc

231-mum-2002-abstract(14-12-2007).pdf

231-mum-2002-cancelled pages(14-12-2007).pdf

231-mum-2002-claims(granted)-(14-12-2007).doc

231-mum-2002-claims(granted)-(14-12-2007).pdf

231-mum-2002-correspondence(14-12-2007).pdf

231-mum-2002-correspondence(ipo)-(14-19-2007).pdf

231-mum-2002-drawing(14-12-2007).pdf

231-mum-2002-form 1(8-3-2002).pdf

231-mum-2002-form 18(10-2-2006).pdf

231-mum-2002-form 2(granted)-(14-12-2007).doc

231-mum-2002-form 2(granted)-(14-12-2007).pdf

231-mum-2002-form 3(13-4-2007).pdf

231-mum-2002-form 3(8-3-2002).pdf

231-mum-2002-form 5(13-4-2007).pdf

231-mum-2002-form 5(8-3-2002).pdf

231-mum-2002-form%202(granted)-(14-12-2007).pdf

231-mum-2002-petition under rule 138(11-4-2007).pdf

231-mum-2002-petition under rule 138(13-4-2007).pdf

231-mum-2002-power of authourity(11-5-2004).pdf

231-mum-2002-power of authourity(13-4-2007).pdf

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