GB2545014A

GB2545014A - Automatic motorcycle kickstand

Info

Publication number: GB2545014A
Application number: GB1521409.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jhong Ming-Yong
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-12-04
Filing date: 2015-12-04
Publication date: 2017-06-07
Also published as: GB201521409D0

Abstract

An automatic, driven kickstand 10 mountable on the frame of a motorcycle comprises a mounting seat 20 and a leg 30 pivotally attached thereto; the mounting seat 20 provided on one side with first 23 and second 24 sensor elements with which the leg 30 makes contact when rotating on the mounting seat 20. A third sensor 320 is also taught as being provided on a ground abutting portion 32 of the leg 30. The first sensor 23 provided for detecting a flip-up position of the leg 30, the second 24 provided to detect a flip-down position of the leg 30, and the third 320 provided for detecting whether the abutting portion 32 of the leg 30 contacts the ground. A drive mechanism 40 comprising a power source, preferably a motor 41, and a transmission device, preferably a pair of meshing gears 420, 421, for driving the leg 30 is also taught as being provided on the other side of the mounting seat 20 to the sensor elements 23, 24. It is also taught that the leg may 30 comprise an assistant block 34 provided with a groove 340 for receiving an edge of the mounting seat 20.

Description

AUTOMATIC MOTORCYCLE KICKSTAND

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a kickstand, and more particularly to an automatic motorcycle kickstand.

Related Prior Art

Along with the economic development, in addition to buying vehicles as transportation means, people also begin to see riding safety as an important performance of a motorcycle, especially for a large volume motorcycle. The motorcycle is usually provided with a kickstand which is fixed to the bottom of the frame of the motorcycle to allow the motorcycle to be kept upright with the rear wheel touching or off the ground. Please refer to Fig. 1, on a frame 1 of a motorcycle are provided a conventional kickstand 2 and two wheels 3. The kickstand 2 is pivotally connected to the frame 1. The kickstand 2 can be kept upright when the kickstand 2 flips down and makes contact with the ground.

SUMMARY

The present invention is aimed at providing an automatic motorcycle kickstand equipped with a plurality of sensors, which allow the rider to know the state of the leg of the kickstand, so as to improve riding safety.

To achieve the above objective, an automatic motorcycle kickstand in accordance with the present invention comprises: a mounting seat being provided on one side thereof with a first sensor and a second sensor, and provided on another side thereof with a support rack, a drive mechanism being mounted on the support rack and comprising: a power source and a transmission device; a leg having a pivot formed at one end thereof and inserted in the mounting seat, wherein the pivot enables the leg to be pivotally connected to the mounting seat, an abutting portion being formed at another end of the leg and provided with a third sensor, the pivot being drivingly connected to the transmission device; wherein the leg will make contact with the first and second sensors, respectively, when rotating on the mounting seat, and the third sensor of the abutting portion will make contact with the ground when the leg is in a flip-down position.

Preferably, a guide rail and a positioning unit are provided on the one side of the mounting seat, and the leg has a guiding portion movably disposed in the guide rail.

Preferably, a transmission shaft is disposed between the power source and the transmission device, the transmission device includes a first gear and a second gear which are meshed with each other, the first gear is drivingly connected to the transmission shaft, and the second gear is drivingly connected to the pivot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the conventional motorcycle kickstand;

Fig. 2 shows that an automatic motorcycle kickstand in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a motorcycle;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the automatic motorcycle kickstand in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is an illustrative view showing that the automatic motorcycle kickstand in accordance with the present invention is the flip-up position; and

Fig. 5 is an illustrative view showing that the automatic motorcycle kickstand in accordance with the present invention is the flip-down position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will be clearer from the following description when viewed together with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to Figs. 2-5, an automatic motorcycle kickstand 10 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention is fixed to a frame T of the motorcycle, and comprises a mounting seat 20, a leg 30, a drive mechanism 40, and a control unit 50.

The mounting seat 20 is provided on one side with a guide rail 21, a positioning unit 22, a first sensor 23 and a second sensor 24, and on the other side of the mounting seat 20 is provided a support rack 25.

The mounting seat 20 is further provided with a hole 200. The positioning unit 22 includes an elastic member 220 (which can be a spring) connected to a positioning member 221. The elastic member 220 is disposed in the hole 200, and the positioning member 221 partially protrudes out of the hole 200.

The leg 30 has a pivot 31 formed at one end and inserted in the mounting seat 20, and at another end of the leg 30 is formed an abutting portion 32 which is provided with a third sensor 320. The leg 30 has a guiding portion 33 movably disposed in the guide rail 21 and has the pivot 31 pivotally connected to the mounting seat 20, so that the leg 30 is able to rotate with respect to the mounting seat 20. The leg 30 has an assistant block 34 which is provided with a groove 340 for receiving a lateral edge of the mounting seat 20, so as to provide an auxiliary positioning function when the leg 30 rotates, enabling the leg 30 to rotate stably around the lateral edge of the mounting seat 20.

The drive mechanism 40 is disposed on the support rack 25, and comprises a power source 41 (can be a motor) and a transmission device 42. The power source 41 includes a transmission shaft 410. The transmission device 42 includes a first gear 420 and a second gear 421 which are meshed with each other. The first gear 420 is drivingly connected to the transmission shaft 410, and the second gear 421 is drivingly connected to the pivot 31.

The control unit 50 is disposed on a control panel (not shown) of the motorcycle and electrically connected to the first, second and third sensors 23, 24, 320 and the power source 41 by a plurality of wires 51. The control unit 50 includes a flip-up button 52, a flip-down button 53, a first warning lamp 54 and a second warning lamp 55. The flip-up button 52 and the flip-down button 53 control the power source 41 of the drive mechanism 40 to flip the leg 30 up and down, respectively. The first warning lamp 54 is electrically connected to the first sensor 23, and the second warning lamp 55 is electrically connected to the second and third sensors 24, 320.

The operation of the automatic motorcycle kickstand in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention is described as follows:

The user can flip the leg 30 up and down by pressing the flip-up button 52 and the flip-down button 53 (which are used to start the power source 41 of the drive mechanism 40). Please refer to Fig. 4, when the flip-up button 52 is pressed, the power source 41 will drive the transmission shaft 410 to rotate, then the first gear 420 rotates the second gear 421. Since the second gear 421 is drivingly connected to the pivot 31 of the leg 30, the leg 30 will be rotated when the second gear 421 rotates. When rotating, the leg 30 will make first contact with the positioning unit 22, and push the positioning member 221, consequently, the positioning member will push the elastic member 220 and sink into the hole 200, which allows the leg 30 to continue rotating until it makes contact with the first sensor 23. At this moment, the first warning lamp 54 electrically connected to the first sensor 23 will produce warning signals to inform the user that the leg 30 has flipped up. Besides, the positioning member 221 will be partially pushed out of the hole 200 by the elastic member 220 again and abutted against the lower edge of the leg 30, so as to help in positioning the leg 30.

Referring then to Fig. 5, when the flip-down button 53 is pressed, the transmission shaft 410 will drive the leg 30 to flip down. Namely, the first gear 420 drives the second gear 421 to rotate reversely to make the leg 30 flip down and come into contact with the second sensor 24, meanwhile, the abutting portion 32 of the leg 30 will make contact with the ground Tl, and the second warning lamp 55 which is electrically connected to the second sensor 24 and the third sensor 320 will produce warning signals to let the rider know that the leg 30 is in a flip-down position.

The main characteristic of this preferred embodiment is that the mounting seat 20 and the leg 30 are provided with the first, second, and third sensors 23, 24, 320, and will come into contact with the first and second sensors 23, 24, respectively, when rotating. When the leg 30 flips down, the third sensor 320 of the abutting portion 32 will make contact with the ground Tl, meanwhile, signals detected by the first, second, and third sensors 23, 24, 320 will be transmitted to the control unit 50 via the wires 51, then the first and second warning lamps 54, 55 will let the rider or user know the state of the leg 30.

When the rider wants to kick up the leg 30 before riding the bicycle, he/she can use the control unit 50 to make the leg 30 rotate to a position where the leg 30 makes contact with the first sensor 23, as shown in Fig. 3, then signals will be sent to the first warning lamp 54 of the control unit 50 to let the rider know that the leg 30 has been kicked up, and the bicycle is ready to go.

When the rider wants to park the bicycle, the leg 30 must be kicked down and the abutting portion 32 has to make contact with the ground Tl, he/she can use the control unit 50 to rotate the leg 30 to a position where the leg 30 comes into contact with the second sensor 24. When the abutting portion 32 makes contact with the ground Tl, and the leg 30 comes into contact with the second sensor 24, the second warning lamp 55 of the control unit 50 will receive signals indicating that the second and third sensors 24, 320 make contact with the leg 30 and the ground Tl, respectively, letting the rider know that he leg 30 has been kicked down to the ground Tl.

When the rider just wants to move the position of the bicycle without kicking up the leg 30, the leg 30 is still in the flip-down position, and only the abutting portion 32 of the leg 30 needs to be raised off the ground Tl. At this moment, the leg 30 still makes contact with the second sensor 24, while the third sensor 320 in the abutting portion 32 detects that the abutting portion 32 is out of contact with the ground Tl, and the second warning lamp 55 of the control unit 50 will receive the signals that indicate that the second sensor 24 makes contact with the leg 30, and the third sensor 320 is raised off the ground Tl, letting the rider know that the leg 30 is still in the flip-down position.

In other words, with the flip-up and flip-down buttons 52, 53 of the control unit 50, the leg 30 can be controlled to pivot with respect to the mounting seat 20 to make the leg 30 flip up and down in an automatic manner. Besides, the first and second warning lamp 54, 55 cooperate with the first, second and third sensors 23, 24, 320 to let the rider know the state of the leg 30, so that the safety issue that occurs when the user rides the bicycle without lifting the leg 30 off the ground Tl can be solved.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An automatic motorcycle kickstand fixed to a frame of a motorcycle and comprising: a mounting seat being provided on one side thereof with a first sensor and a second sensor, and provided on another side thereof with a support rack and a drive mechanism, wherein the drive mechanism is mounted on the support rack and includes a power source and a transmission device; and a leg having a pivot formed at one end thereof and inserted in the mounting seat to pivotally connect the leg to the mounting seat, and an abutting portion being formed at another end of the leg and provided with a third sensor, wherein the pivot is drivingly connected to the transmission device; wherein the leg makes contact with the first and second sensors, respectively, when rotating with respect to the mounting seat, and the third sensor of the abutting portion makes contact with a ground when the leg is in a flip-down position.

2. The automatic motorcycle kickstand as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a control unit which is electrically connected to the first, second and third sensors, and the power source by a plurality of wires, the control unit includes a flip-up button, a flip-down button, a first warning lamp, and a second warning lamp, the flip-up button and the flip-down button control the power source of the drive mechanism to flip the leg up and down, respectively, the first warning lamp is electrically connected to the first sensor, and the second warning lamp is electrically connected to the second and third sensors.

3. The automatic motorcycle kickstand as claimed in claim 1, wherein the leg has an assistant block which is provided with a groove for receiving a lateral edge of the mounting seat.

4. The automatic motorcycle kickstand as claimed in claim 1, wherein a guide rail and a positioning unit are provided on the one side of the mounting seat, and the leg has a guiding portion movably disposed in the guide rail.

5. The automatic motorcycle kickstand as claimed in claim 4, wherein the mounting seat is further provided with a hole, the positioning unit includes an elastic member connected to a positioning member, the elastic member is disposed in the hole, and the positioning member partially protrudes out of the hole.

6. The automatic motorcycle kickstand as claimed in claim 5, wherein the elastic member is a spring.

7. The automatic motorcycle kickstand as claimed in claim 1, wherein a transmission shaft is disposed between the power source and the transmission device, the transmission device includes a first gear and a second gear which are meshed with each other, the first gear is drivingly connected to the transmission shaft, and the second gear is drivingly connected to the pivot.

8. The automatic motorcycle kickstand as claimed in claim 1, wherein the power source is a motor.

9. An automatic motorcycle kickstand substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 2 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.