CN114852196B

CN114852196B - Can overturn side kuppe fixing device and side kuppe

Info

Publication number: CN114852196B
Application number: CN202210526711.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘庆全; 李骏; 李庆广; 蓝芬芳; 杨海林
Original assignee: Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co Ltd
Current assignee: Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-05-13
Filing date: 2022-05-13
Publication date: 2023-07-07
Anticipated expiration: 2042-05-13
Also published as: CN114852196A

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of automobile flow guiding devices and discloses a reversible side flow guiding cover fixing device and a side flow guiding cover, wherein the side flow guiding cover fixing device comprises a plurality of turnover connecting pieces which are arranged at the joint of a side flow guiding cover body and a vehicle body at intervals up and down, and the turnover connecting pieces can be turned over and unfolded or folded; the two ends of the air supporting rod are respectively and rotatably connected to the side air guide sleeve body and the vehicle body; the limiting stay bar assembly comprises a first connecting rod and a second connecting rod, the first connecting rod is rotationally connected with the second connecting rod, a handle is rotationally arranged on one side of the first connecting rod, and an elastic piece is connected between the first connecting rod and the handle; pressing one end of the handle, separating the other end of the handle from the second connecting rod, and overturning the connecting piece and the limiting support rod assembly to enable the side guide cover body to be attached to the vehicle body; the overturning connecting piece and the limiting support rod assembly are opened, and the other end of the handle is buckled on the second connecting rod. The invention can increase the avoiding space between the rear wall of the cab and the traction seat.

Description

Can overturn side kuppe fixing device and side kuppe

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of automobile air guide devices, in particular to a reversible side air guide sleeve fixing device and a side air guide sleeve.

Background

The side guide cover is an air guide device arranged at the rear side of a cab of a truck or a tractor, and mainly aims to guide the air flow direction between the truck body and a container, so that the air resistance of the truck during high-speed running can be effectively reduced, and the fuel consumption is reduced.

Most of the existing side fairings are directly fixed on the rear periphery of the cab by using brackets. At present, as shown in fig. 1, the side air guide sleeve can be fixed by adopting the fixed bracket 30, after the assembly is completed, the side air guide sleeve body 10 cannot be turned over, and the side air guide sleeve body 10 occupies the space between the rear wall body 20 of the cab and the traction seat, so that convenience of a user on and off the chassis workbench is affected. As shown in fig. 2, the side air guide sleeve can be further fixed by adopting a four-bar mechanism 40, and the four-bar mechanism 40 can realize the translational avoidance of the side air guide sleeve body 10 in the front-rear direction (X direction) of the whole vehicle, so that the problem that the side air guide sleeve body 10 cannot be overturned due to the fixation of the side air guide sleeve by the fixed bracket 30 is solved. When the vehicle gets on or off, the side guide cover body 10 is turned over firstly, so that the side guide cover body 10 translates to the side surface of the cab in the turning process, but the structure has the problem that the X-direction avoiding space is small after the turning.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above problems, the invention aims to provide a reversible side guide cover fixing device and a side guide cover, so as to solve the problem that in the prior art, the side guide cover is fixed by adopting a four-bar mechanism, and the X-direction avoiding space which can be realized after the side guide cover is turned over is small.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical scheme:

one aspect of the present invention provides a reversible side pod securing device comprising:

the overturning connecting assembly comprises a plurality of overturning connecting pieces, the overturning connecting pieces are arranged at the joint of the side air guide sleeve body and the vehicle body at intervals up and down, and the overturning connecting pieces can be overturned and unfolded or folded;

the two ends of the air stay bar are respectively and rotatably connected to the side air guide sleeve body and the vehicle body;

the limiting stay bar assembly comprises a first connecting rod and a second connecting rod, the first connecting rod is rotationally connected to the side guide cover body, the second connecting rod is rotationally connected to the vehicle body, the first connecting rod is rotationally connected with the second connecting rod, a handle is rotationally arranged on one side of the first connecting rod, and an elastic piece is connected between the first connecting rod and the handle;

pressing one end of the handle, separating the other end of the handle from the second connecting rod, and enabling the overturning connecting piece and the limiting support rod assembly to be overturned and folded so as to enable the side air guide sleeve body to be attached to the vehicle body; and the overturning connecting piece and the limiting stay bar assembly are opened, and the other end of the handle is buckled on the second connecting rod, so that the side guide cover body is opened relative to the vehicle body.

Preferably, one end of each turnover connecting piece is respectively fixed with a side air guide cover connecting bracket used for being installed on the side air guide cover body, and the other end of each turnover connecting piece is respectively fixed with a vehicle body connecting bracket used for being installed on the vehicle body.

Preferably, a first transition bracket is arranged at the end part of the first connecting rod, the first transition bracket is fixedly connected with the side guide cover connecting bracket, and the first transition bracket and the side guide cover body are arranged at intervals so as to form an avoidance space for accommodating the handle between the first transition bracket and the side guide cover body; the end part of the second connecting rod is provided with a second transition support, the second transition support is attached to the vehicle body, and the second transition support is fixedly connected with the vehicle body connecting support.

Preferably, the second transition support is provided with a second U-shaped channel, the bottom of the second U-shaped channel is attached to the vehicle body, and the end part of the second connecting rod is arranged in the second U-shaped channel when the limit stay rod assembly is in a turnover folding state.

Preferably, the automobile body linking bridge is provided with first U-shaped channel, the tank bottom and the automobile body laminating of first U-shaped channel, under the upset folded condition of upset connecting piece, the side kuppe linking bridge is arranged in the first U-shaped channel.

Preferably, the overturning connecting assembly further comprises reinforcing connecting rods, each side guide cover connecting bracket is fixed on each reinforcing connecting rod, and connecting frames used for being fixed on the side guide cover body are arranged on the reinforcing connecting rods.

Preferably, two ends of the air stay rod are respectively and rotatably connected to the vehicle body connecting support and the side air guide sleeve connecting support of one of the overturning connecting pieces.

Preferably, the gas stay bars are provided with at least two, and one of the at least two gas stay bars is arranged on the upper side of the uppermost overturning connecting piece; the other one of the at least two gas struts is mounted on the upper side of the lowermost flip connector.

Preferably, the limit strut assembly is mounted on the underside of the lowermost flip connector.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a side air guide sleeve, comprising a side air guide sleeve body and a reversible side air guide sleeve fixing device as described above, wherein one side of the side air guide sleeve body is mounted on a vehicle body through the reversible side air guide sleeve fixing device, so that the side air guide sleeve body can be opened or attached on the vehicle body relative to the vehicle body.

Compared with the prior art, the turnover side guide cover fixing device and the side guide cover have the beneficial effects that:

according to the turnover side guide cover fixing device and the side guide cover, the turnover connecting piece is arranged at the joint of the side guide cover body and the vehicle body, when the turnover connecting piece is folded, the side guide cover body can be completely attached to the vehicle body, after the side guide cover is turned over, the avoidance space in the front-rear direction of the whole vehicle is increased, and the occupied space of the side guide cover is reduced. And the air stay bar and the limit stay bar assembly are also arranged between the side air guide sleeve body and the vehicle body, and the overturning connecting piece and the limit stay bar assembly are in a foldable state by pressing the handle in the limit stay bar assembly, so that the side air guide sleeve body can be attached to the vehicle body by applying force to the side air guide sleeve body, and overturning and closing of the side air guide sleeve are realized; the reverse application of force to side kuppe body for upset connecting piece, spacing vaulting pole subassembly are opened, and the handle resets under the elastic component effect, can fix spacing vaulting pole subassembly, makes the side kuppe body be in open condition under the effect of gas vaulting pole and spacing vaulting pole subassembly, easy operation has improved the convenience of upper and lower chassis workstation. In addition, the air supporting rod can play a role in assisting overturning, and the operation process is light and labor-saving.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a prior art connection structure of a side pod to a vehicle body;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a connection structure between a side pod and a vehicle body in the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a reversible side pod securing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of a portion A of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a flip connection assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a stop strut assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of the stop strut assembly illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a reversible side pod securing device according to an embodiment of the present invention in a collapsed state;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the structure of the removed side pod body of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a limit strut assembly in a folded front-to-back condition in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

in the figure, 10, a side guide cover body; 20. a vehicle body; 30. a fixed bracket; 40. a four bar linkage;

1. turning over the connecting component; 11. turning over the connecting piece; 12. the side air guide sleeve is connected with the bracket; 13. a vehicle body connecting bracket; 131. a first U-shaped channel; 14. reinforcing the connecting rod; 141. a connecting frame;

2. a gas strut;

3. a limit stay bar assembly; 31. a first link; 32. a second link; 33. a handle; 34. an elastic member; 35. a first transition support; 36. a second transition support; 361. a second U-shaped channel; 37. and a pin shaft.

Detailed Description

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the directions or positional relationships indicated by the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", etc. are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, are merely for convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a specific orientation, be configured and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless explicitly specified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, and may be either fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected, for example; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and can be communication between two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention will be understood in specific cases by those of ordinary skill in the art.

The following describes in further detail the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings and examples. The following examples are illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

As shown in fig. 3 to 9, the reversible side air guide sleeve fixing device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a reversible connection assembly 1, an air stay 2 and a limit stay assembly 3, wherein the reversible connection assembly 1 includes a plurality of reversible connection members 11, the reversible connection members 11 are mounted at the junction of the side air guide sleeve body 10 and the vehicle body 20 at intervals from top to bottom, the reversible connection members 11 can be turned open or folded, the side air guide sleeve body 10 is opened by turning open the reversible connection members 11, and the air guide sleeve body can be attached to the vehicle body 20 by folding the reversible connection members 11; because the overturning connecting piece 11 is arranged at the junction of the side air guide sleeve body 10 and the vehicle body 20, when the overturning connecting piece 11 is folded, the side air guide sleeve body 10 is overturned and folded around the junction line of the side air guide sleeve body 10 and the vehicle body 20, so that no space exists between the side air guide sleeve body 10 and the vehicle body 20, and the side air guide sleeve body 10 can be attached to the vehicle body 20; the two ends of the air supporting rod 2 are respectively and rotatably connected to the side air guide sleeve body 10 and the vehicle body 20, so that when the side air guide sleeve body 10 is turned over and opened, the air supporting rod 2 provides turning-over thrust for the side air guide sleeve body 10, assists the side air guide sleeve to be turned over and opened, and can be supported between the side air guide sleeve body 10 and the vehicle body 20 to play a limiting role; when the side air guide sleeve body 10 is folded, the air stay bar 2 can assist in folding, and folding assistance is provided for the side air guide sleeve body 10; the limit stay bar assembly 3 comprises a first connecting rod 31 and a second connecting rod 32, the first connecting rod 31 is rotationally connected to the side guide cover body 10, the second connecting rod 32 is rotationally connected to the vehicle body 20, the first connecting rod 31 is rotationally connected with the second connecting rod 32, a handle 33 is rotationally arranged on one side of the first connecting rod 31, an elastic piece 34 is connected between the first connecting rod 31 and the handle 33, and the elastic piece 34 can be a spring.

Pressing one end of the handle 33, the handle 33 rotates relative to the first link 31, the other end of the handle 33 is separated from the second link 32, and the turnover connecting piece 11 and the limit stay assembly 3 are both in a turnover and folding state, and apply force to the side air guide sleeve body 10, so that the side air guide sleeve body 10 is attached to the vehicle body 20; the overturning connecting piece 11 is opened, the limit stay bar assembly 3 is arranged, the other end of the handle 33 can be automatically buckled on the second connecting rod 32 under the elastic action of the elastic piece 34, so that the side guide cover body 10 is opened relative to the vehicle body 20, and the handle 33 is buckled on the second connecting rod 32 to lock the rotation between the first connecting rod 31 and the second connecting rod 32, so that the first connecting rod 31 and the second connecting rod 32 are relatively fixed, the limit stay bar assembly 3 is supported between the side guide cover body 10 and the vehicle body 20, and the limit support function is achieved.

According to the invention, the overturning connecting piece 11 is arranged at the junction of the side air guide sleeve body 10 and the vehicle body 20, when the overturning connecting piece 11 is folded, the side air guide sleeve body 10 can be completely attached to the vehicle body 20, after the side air guide sleeve is overturned, the avoidance space in the front-rear direction of the whole vehicle is increased, and the occupied space of the side air guide sleeve is reduced. The air stay bar 2 and the limit stay bar assembly 3 are also arranged between the side air guide sleeve body 10 and the vehicle body 20, and the overturning connecting piece 11 and the limit stay bar assembly 3 are in a foldable state by pressing the handle 33 in the limit stay bar assembly 3, so that the side air guide sleeve body 10 can be attached to the vehicle body 20 by applying force to the side air guide sleeve body 10, and overturning and closing of the side air guide sleeve are realized; the reverse force application to the side air guide sleeve body 10 is carried out, so that the overturning connecting piece 11 and the limit stay bar assembly 3 are opened, the handle 33 is reset under the action of the elastic piece 34, and the limit stay bar assembly 3 can be fixed, so that the side air guide sleeve body 10 is in an opened state under the action of the air stay bar 2 and the limit stay bar assembly 3, the operation is simple, and the convenience of the upper chassis workbench and the lower chassis workbench is improved. In addition, the air supporting rod 2 can play a role in assisting overturning, and the operation process is light and labor-saving.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, one end of each of the flip connectors 11 is fixed with a side pod connecting bracket 12 for being mounted on the side pod body 10, and the other end of each of the flip connectors 11 is fixed with a vehicle body connecting bracket 13 for being mounted on the vehicle body 20. The side air guide sleeve connecting support 12, the overturning connecting piece 11 and the vehicle body connecting support 13 are connected between the side air guide sleeve body 10 and the vehicle body 20, and the side air guide sleeve connecting support 12 and the vehicle body connecting support 13 serve as main bearing parts of the side air guide sleeve body 10, can bear the gravity of the side air guide sleeve body 10, and avoid cracking of a rear coaming of a cab of the vehicle body 20.

Further, as shown in fig. 5, the length of the vehicle body connecting bracket 13 located at the lowermost side is longer than the lengths of the other vehicle body connecting brackets 13. By increasing the length of the lower vehicle body connecting bracket 13, the contact area of the roll-over connecting assembly 1 with the vehicle body 20 can be increased, reducing stress concentration.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, the vehicle body connecting bracket 13 is provided with a first U-shaped channel 131, the opening of the first U-shaped channel 131 is arranged in a direction away from the vehicle body 20, the bottom of the first U-shaped channel 131 is attached to the vehicle body 20, the side air guide cover connecting bracket 12 is disposed in the first U-shaped channel 131 in a turned and folded state of the turning connecting piece 11, so that when the turning connecting piece 11 is turned, the side air guide cover connecting bracket 12 can be embedded in the first U-shaped channel 131, the occupied space after the folding of the side air guide cover connecting bracket 12 and the vehicle body connecting bracket 13 is reduced, and therefore the interval between the side air guide cover body 10 and the vehicle body 20 is reduced, and the side air guide cover body 10 can be attached to the vehicle body 20.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, the flip connection assembly 1 further includes a reinforcing connection rod 14, each of the side pod connection brackets 12 is fixed on the reinforcing connection rod 14, and a connection frame 141 for being fixed on the side pod body 10 is disposed on the reinforcing connection rod 14. The reinforcing connecting rods 14 are vertically arranged on the side guide cover body 10, and the side guide cover connecting brackets 12 are connected in series, so that the overall strength of the turnover connecting assembly 1 is enhanced, and the bearing capacity of the turnover connecting assembly 1 is improved. The connecting frame 141 is disposed at the bottom of the reinforcing connecting rod 14, and the connecting frame 141 and the side pod body 10 may be connected by bolts.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 6 and 7, the end portion of the first link 31 is provided with a first transition support 35, the first transition support 35 is fixedly connected with the side pod connection support 12 and may be fixed on the lower side of the side pod connection support 12, and the first transition support 35 and the side pod body 10 are arranged at intervals, so that an avoidance space for accommodating the handle 33 is formed between the first transition support 35 and the side pod body 10, so that after the first link 31 is rotationally folded relative to the second link 32, the handle 33 is folded relative to the first link 31, and the end portion of the handle 33 is disposed in the avoidance space; the end of the second connecting rod 32 is provided with a second transition bracket 36, the second transition bracket 36 is attached to the vehicle body 20, and the second transition bracket 36 is fixedly connected with the vehicle body connecting bracket 13. The first transition support 35 and the second transition support 36 are arranged to facilitate the installation of the first connecting rod 31 and the second connecting rod 32, the first transition support 35 is connected to the side guide cover connecting support 12, the second transition support 36 is connected to the vehicle body connecting support 13, and the integral connection strength of the turnover connecting piece 11 and the limit stay rod assembly 3 can be increased.

In this embodiment, the first link 31 is connected to the second link 32 through a pin 37, the first link 31 is connected to the first transition support 35 through a pin 37, the second link 32 is connected to the second transition support 36 through a pin 37, and the handle 33 is connected to the first link 31 through a pin 37.

In this embodiment, the second transition support 36 is provided with a second U-shaped channel 361, the notch of the second U-shaped channel 361 is arranged towards the direction away from the vehicle body 20, the bottom of the second U-shaped channel 361 is attached to the vehicle body 20, and in the state that the limit stay assembly 3 is turned over and folded, the end of the second connecting rod 32 is disposed in the second U-shaped channel 361, so that the occupied space of the second connecting rod 32 and the second transition support 36 is reduced. In this embodiment, the groove wall of the second U-shaped groove 361 and the groove wall of the first U-shaped groove 131 may be fixed by bolting.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, two ends of the air brace 2 are respectively rotatably connected to the vehicle body connection bracket 13 and the side pod connection bracket 12 of one of the flip connection members 11 in the plurality of flip connection members 11, so as to assist in supporting the flip connection member 11 for folding or unfolding. Further, the end part of the air stay bar 2 is hinged with the vehicle body connecting bracket 13 and the side air guide sleeve connecting bracket 12 by ball heads respectively.

Optionally, the gas stay bars 2 are provided with at least two, and one of the at least two gas stay bars 2 is mounted on the upper side of the uppermost turnover connecting piece 11; the other gas stay 2 of the at least two gas stays 2 is installed at the upper side of the lowermost turn-over connector 11. The two air supporting rods 2 are arranged at intervals up and down, so that the acting force provided by the two air supporting rods 2 to the side air guide sleeve body 10 is balanced. Further, the limit stay bar assembly 3 is installed at the lower side of the lowermost turnover connector 11, so that the connection strength and the supporting bearing capacity of the lowermost turnover connector 11 are enhanced. In this embodiment, three flip connectors 11 are provided, two gas struts 2 are provided, one gas strut 2 of the two gas struts 2 is mounted on the upper side of the uppermost flip connector 11, and the other gas strut 2 is mounted on the upper side of the lowermost flip connector 11. In other embodiments, an air stay 2 may be mounted on the upper side of the flip connection 11 at the middle.

The working process of the invention is as follows:

during the overturning operation, the handle 33 on the limit stay assembly 3 is pressed (under the overlooking angle in fig. 3, the handle 33 rotates clockwise around the first connecting rod 31), the handle 33 and the second connecting rod 32 are separated, so that the limit stay assembly 3 is in a foldable state, one end of the side air guide cover body 10 far away from the vehicle body 20 is broken off, and the side air guide cover body 10 rotates anticlockwise around the rotation central axis O (overlooking angle) until the side air guide cover body 10 is attached to the vehicle body 20, as shown in fig. 8 and 9. During resetting, the end, far away from the vehicle body 20, of the side guide cover body 10 is reversely broken, so that the side guide cover body 10 rotates clockwise around the rotation center O to an initial position, and the handle 33 can automatically reset and clamp the second connecting rod 32 in the limit stay rod assembly 3 under the elastic action of the spring, as shown in fig. 10, so that the side guide cover body 10 is prevented from shaking or folding in the driving process.

The invention also provides a side air guide sleeve, which comprises a side air guide sleeve body 10 and the reversible side air guide sleeve fixing device, wherein one side of the side air guide sleeve body 10 is arranged on the vehicle body 20 through the reversible side air guide sleeve fixing device, so that the side air guide sleeve body 10 can be opened relative to the vehicle body 20 or attached to the vehicle body 20. Because the junction of side kuppe body 10 and automobile body 20 passes through upset connecting piece 11 to be connected, when the upset of side kuppe body 10 laminating on automobile body 20, the junction of side kuppe and automobile body 20 can not separate for after the side kuppe upset, increase the avoidance space of whole car front and back direction, reduce the occupation space of side kuppe, and easy operation has improved the convenience of upper and lower chassis workstation. In addition, the air supporting rod 2 can play a role in assisting overturning, and the operation process is light and labor-saving.

It should be noted that, other embodiments of the side pod of the present invention are substantially the same as the embodiments of the reversible side pod fixing device described above, and will not be described in detail.

The foregoing is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should be noted that modifications and substitutions can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the technical principles of the present invention, and these modifications and substitutions should also be considered as being within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A reversible side pod securement device, comprising:

the overturning connecting assembly comprises a plurality of overturning connecting pieces, the overturning connecting pieces are arranged at the joint of the side air guide sleeve body and the vehicle body at intervals up and down, and the overturning connecting pieces can be overturned and unfolded or folded; one end of each turnover connecting piece is respectively fixed with a side air guide cover connecting bracket used for being installed on the side air guide cover body, the other end of each turnover connecting piece is respectively fixed with a vehicle body connecting bracket used for being installed on the vehicle body, and the rotation center shafts of the side air guide cover connecting brackets and the vehicle body connecting brackets are arranged at the butt joint positions of the side air guide cover body side lines and the vehicle body side lines;

the limiting stay bar assembly comprises a first connecting rod and a second connecting rod, the first connecting rod is rotationally connected to the side guide cover body, the second connecting rod is rotationally connected to the vehicle body, the first connecting rod is rotationally connected with the second connecting rod, a handle is rotationally arranged on one side of the first connecting rod, and an elastic piece is connected between the first connecting rod and the handle; the end part of the first connecting rod is provided with a first transition support, the first transition support is fixedly connected with the side guide cover connecting support, and the first transition support and the side guide cover body are arranged at intervals so as to form an avoidance space for accommodating the handle between the first transition support and the side guide cover body; the end part of the second connecting rod is provided with a second transition bracket, the second transition bracket is attached to the vehicle body, and the second transition bracket is fixedly connected with the vehicle body connecting bracket;

2. The reversible side pod securing device of claim 1, wherein the second transition bracket is provided with a second U-shaped channel, a bottom of the second U-shaped channel is attached to the vehicle body, and the end of the second link is disposed in the second U-shaped channel in a folded state of the stop strut assembly.

3. The reversible side pod securing device of claim 1, wherein the body connecting bracket is provided with a first U-shaped channel, a bottom of the first U-shaped channel is attached to the body, and the side pod connecting bracket is disposed in the first U-shaped channel in a folded state of the reversible connector.

4. The reversible side pod securing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reversible connection assembly further comprises a reinforcing connection bar, each of the side pod connection brackets being secured to the reinforcing connection bar, the reinforcing connection bar being provided with a connection bracket for securing to the side pod body.

5. The reversible side pod fastening apparatus according to claim 1, wherein both ends of the gas stay are rotatably connected to the body connecting bracket and the side pod connecting bracket of one of the plurality of the reversible connectors, respectively.

6. The reversible-side pod fastening apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least two of the gas struts are provided, one of the at least two gas struts being mounted on an upper side of the uppermost flip connector; the other one of the at least two gas struts is mounted on the upper side of the lowermost flip connector.

7. The reversible side pod securement device of claim 6, wherein the stop strut assembly is mounted on an underside of the lowermost flip connector.

8. A side pod comprising a side pod body and a reversible side pod securing device according to any of claims 1-7, wherein one side of the side pod body is mounted to a vehicle body by the reversible side pod securing device such that the side pod body can be opened or fitted to the vehicle body relative to the vehicle body.