JP2008179311A - Cowling mounting device and motorcycle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cowling mounting device having sufficient strength and lightweight and compact structure, for mounting a cowling on the front portion of a vehicle body. <P>SOLUTION: This cowling mounting device includes: a cowling stay 26 extending in the lateral direction of the vehicle body; a center bracket 27 for connecting the lateral center portion of the cowling stay 26 with the vehicle body; and a base member 24 for supporting a windscreen. The base member 24 and the cowling stay 26 are formed in the shape of a container of which one side is open, thereby overlapping one another to be bonded. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cowling mounting device and a motorcycle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cowling attachment device for attaching a cowling to the front portion of a vehicle body for the purpose of reducing air resistance during traveling of the vehicle, and a motorcycle equipped with the cowling attachment device.

  Conventionally, some motorcycles have a cowling attached to the front thereof. This is intended to reduce air resistance during travel and to protect the rider from wind pressure. There is also known a motorcycle in which a transparent wind screen (windshield) for protecting the rider from wind pressure is installed above the cowling. Some windscreens can be moved up and down, and others can be fixed.

  In order to attach the cowling to the vehicle body, a so-called cowling stay is generally used. For example, in a motorcycle disclosed in Patent Document 1, a cowling stay (called a cowling brace) formed from a plurality of pipes is used. The base end portion of the cowling stay is fixed to the head pipe of the vehicle body, and the headlight assembly and the cowling are attached to the distal end portion. The lower end of the windscreen is fixed to the upper end of the cowling. Therefore, the cowling stay supports the wind pressure applied to both the wind screen and the cowling during traveling. This cowling stay needs to be formed by connecting a plurality of pipes by welding.

  In the motorcycle disclosed in Patent Document 2, a cowling stay (support stay) for attaching a cowling has a center stay and a meter plate formed from a plate material, and an upper pipe formed from a pipe. The base end portion of the center stay is fixed to the head pipe of the vehicle body, and the distal end portion is connected to the central portion of the upper pipe in the left-right direction (vehicle body width direction). The upper pipe is a long member extending in the left-right direction, and a cowling and a rearview mirror are attached to both ends thereof. The wind screen is connected to the cowling stay via a plurality of swing links (front and rear support members). Therefore, the upper pipe supports the wind pressure applied to both the wind screen and the cowling during traveling. The center stay, the meter plate and the upper pipe need to be connected to each other by welding.

The cowling stay having the structure as described above needs to support the weight of the headlight, cowling and the like and have strength to withstand the wind pressure during traveling. Each of the cowling stays shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is made up of a combination of many parts mainly composed of pipes, so each part needs to have sufficient strength. Moreover, the connection between these parts will be forced to be performed by welding. As a result, the structure of the cowling stay becomes complicated, and an increase in weight and size cannot be avoided. Furthermore, since the number of manufacturing steps increases, this becomes a factor of cost increase.
JP-A-6-16166 JP 2002-87353 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and has a sufficient strength to support high wind pressure during high-speed traveling, is lightweight and compact, and is easy to manufacture. And a motorcycle provided with the cowling mounting device.

The cowling mounting device according to the present invention is
A cowling attachment device for attaching a cowling to a front portion of a vehicle body,
A cowling stay extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle body;
A mounting bracket for connecting the cowling stay to the vehicle body;
A base member for supporting the windscreen,
Both the base member and the cowling stay are formed in a container shape with one side open, and are connected to overlap each other.

  According to such a configuration, the cowling stay and the base member are connected in an overlapping manner, so that the cowling stay and the base member integrally support the wind pressure received via the wind screen or the cowling. Furthermore, since both the cowling stay and the base member are in a container shape, the cowling stay and the base member have sufficient strength against the load of moment caused by the wind pressure. As a result, these members can be formed to be lightweight and compact.

  The cowling stay and the base member can be connected such that the open surfaces of the cowling stay face each other. By doing so, the section modulus of the integral object is further increased, and the strength against the moment and the like is further improved, which is preferable.

  The cowling stay and the base member can be connected by a fastening member at least at four vertices of a rhombus centered on the central portion, with the left and right central portions corresponding to each other. This connection is preferable because the cowling and the like can be supported in a balanced manner against an external force such as wind pressure.

  Of the cowling stay and the base member, at least the cowling stay can be formed by die casting. By doing so, the welding process can be almost eliminated, and even a complicated shape can be easily manufactured, which is preferable.

  Reinforcing ribs can be integrally formed inside the container-like structure of the cowling stay formed by the die casting method in a direction crossing the longitudinal direction.

  Mirror mounting portions for mounting the rearview mirrors can be integrally formed at the left and right end portions of the cowling stay formed by the die casting method. It is also easy to attach the cowling together to this mirror mounting portion.

  The motorcycle according to the present invention includes a vehicle body, a cowling, a wind screen, and any one of the above-described cowling mounting devices.

  The cowling mounting device according to the present invention has sufficient strength because the cowling stay is overlapped with and connected to the base member for supporting the windscreen, and thus is lightweight and compact.

  The foregoing or further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, which proceeds with reference to the drawings.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a cowling mounting device and a motorcycle according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a left side view of a motorcycle 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The directions “front and rear”, “left and right”, and “up and down” described below are based on the rider's line of sight toward the traveling direction of the motorcycle 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the motorcycle 1 includes a front wheel 2 and a rear wheel 3. The front wheel 2 is rotatably supported by a lower end portion of a front fork 4 extending substantially in the vertical direction. The front fork 4 is supported by a steering shaft (not shown) via an upper bracket (not shown) provided at the upper end portion thereof and an under bracket (not shown) provided below the upper bracket. ing. The steering shaft is rotatably supported by the head pipe 5. A bar-type steering handle 6 extending to the left and right is attached to the upper bracket. Therefore, the driver can turn the front wheel 2 in a desired direction with the steering shaft as a turning shaft by turning the steering handle 6. A fuel tank 7 is provided behind the steering handle 6, and a seat 8 for riding a driver is provided behind the fuel tank 7.

  A main frame 9 extends backward from the head pipe 5 while being slightly inclined downward. A pivot frame 10 is connected to the rear portion of the main frame 9. An engine E is mounted between the front wheel 2 and the rear wheel 3 while being supported by the main frame 9 and the pivot frame 10. The engine E is integrally provided with a transmission 11. A front end portion of a drive shaft 13 is connected to the output shaft 12 of the transmission 11 via a bevel gear (not shown). A rear end portion of the drive shaft 13 is connected to a rear gear case 15 connected to the axle 14 of the rear wheel 3. A swing arm 16 and a torque rod 17 are suspended between the pivot frame 10 and the rear gear case 15 in parallel in the vertical direction.

  A meter device 18 is provided in front of the steering handle 6 for displaying the traveling speed, engine speed, and the like. A front cowling 19a and a side cowling 19b are provided so as to cover the engine E and the like from the front portion of the vehicle body 22 to both sides of the vehicle body 22. A headlight assembly 20 is provided at the front of the vehicle body so as to be continuous with the front cowling 19a. A wind screen 21 made of a transparent resin plate for protecting the rider from the traveling wind pressure is disposed on the headlight assembly 20. The wind screen 21 is configured to be movable up and down in an oblique direction of front-down and rear-up by electric drive. However, the type is not limited, and a fixed wind screen may be used.

  2 to 4 show a cowling attachment device 23 for attaching the front cowling 19a to the front portion of the vehicle body 22, respectively. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cowling mounting device 23 as viewed obliquely from the upper front, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cowling mounting device 23 as viewed from the lower rear, and FIG. 4 is a cowling mounting device 23 with the front cowling 19a and the wind screen 21 attached thereto. FIG. The cowling mounting device 23 includes a base member 24 for guiding the movement of the wind screen 21 in an obliquely vertical direction, a movable body 25 that can move on the base member 24 while holding the wind screen 21, and a front cowling 19a. And a cowling stay 26 to which the base member 24 is connected, and a mounting bracket (hereinafter referred to as a center bracket 27) for mounting the cowling stay 26 to the head pipe 5.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the base end portion of the center bracket 27 is detachably attached to the attachment piece 5a of the head pipe 5 by a fastening member such as a bolt, and extends toward the front. A central portion of the cowling stay 26 is detachably attached to an upper portion of the tip of the center bracket 27. The cowling stay 26 is disposed so as to extend in the width direction of the vehicle body. A base member 24 is detachably connected to the upper surface of the cowling stay 26 in a forwardly lowered state. A movable body 25 is movably attached to the upper surface of the base member 24 via rails 28 and 29 described later. The above is the overall configuration of the cowling mounting device 23.

  Next, the center bracket 27 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cowling stay 26 that is connected to and integrated with the center bracket 27 as viewed obliquely from above and front. The center bracket 27 is formed using a die casting method such as an aluminum alloy. The overall structure of the center bracket 27 includes a main body portion 30 having a substantially J-shaped outer shape and an extending portion 31 extending downward from the center in the left-right direction of the distal end portion of the main body portion 30.

  A pair of left and right mounting holes 32 are formed at the lower end of the extending portion 31 at symmetrical positions. A grommet member 32 a made of a material having elasticity such as rubber is mounted in the mounting hole 32. A protrusion 33 is provided directly above the mounting hole 32 so as to protrude forward. The protrusion 33 is attached to a cover member 33a made of a material having elasticity such as rubber. A boss portion 34 having a bolt hole 34a is formed on the side surface (left side surface in the drawing) of the extending portion 31. The protrusion 33, the mounting hole 32, and the bolt hole 34a are for connection with the headlight assembly 20 (FIGS. 1 and 7). Further, a boss portion 35 having a bolt hole 35 a for connecting to the base member 24 is formed on the other side surface (right side surface) of the extending portion 31. As shown in the figure, the center bracket 27 includes a plate-like portion 27a, a peripheral wall portion 27b that is formed along the periphery of the plate-like portion 27a, and is formed perpendicular to the plate-like portion 27a, and a reinforcing rib 27c. Have. Therefore, if the cross section perpendicular | vertical to the surface of the plate-shaped part 27a is seen, it will exhibit substantially e-shape.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the state in which the movable body 25 is movably attached on the base member 24 as viewed from the lower rear side of the base member 24. The base member 24 is formed using a die casting method such as an aluminum alloy. The overall shape is a container shape (box shape) with one side opened. Specifically, it includes a bottom surface portion 24a and a side wall portion 24b that is continuous along the periphery of the bottom surface portion 24a and projects in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface portion 24a. Reinforcing ribs 24c are integrally formed on the lower surface side (inside the container shape) of the base member 24, and a driving device 36 including a motor and a pull cable for moving the movable body 25 is accommodated. A hanging portion 24d extends downward from the front end portion in the center in the left-right direction on the lower surface of the base member 24.

  2 and 6, side rails 28 are formed on the left and right ends of the base member 24, respectively, and a center rail is provided on the upper surface of the base member 24 between the side rails 28. 29 is formed. On the lower surface of the movable body 25 arranged on the base member 24, there are a side slide portion 37 that is guided by engaging with the side rail 28, and a center slide portion 38 that is engaged with and guided by the center rail 29. Is formed. The movable body 25 can stably move in the up-down direction by the three guide rails 28, 29 spaced apart from each other on the left and right. A pair of left and right mounting arms 39 for holding the wind screen 21 project upward from the left and right ends of the movable body 25. The left and right ends near the lower end of the wind screen 21 are fixed to the upper end surfaces 39 a of the pair of mounting arms 39.

  Of course, the moving mechanism of the wind screen 21 is not limited to the rail. For example, a plurality of link members that can swing in the vertical direction as disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2 (in Patent Document 2) (Denoted by reference numerals 16 and 17). When this link member is employed, the base end portion of each link member is swingably attached to the base member 24.

  A lower end surface 40 of the side wall 24b, which is the periphery of the opening of the base member 24, is a portion that faces the cowling stay 26 as will be described later. As shown in the figure, bolt holes 48a and 49a (FIG. 5) of a cowling stay 26, which will be described later, and the bolt holes 35a of the center bracket 27 (see FIG. 5) are provided on the bottom surface of the base member 24. The bolt connection part 42 for joining is formed. Specifically, the bolt connection portion 42 is formed in the vicinity of the rear end portion of the center portion in the left-right direction, the tip end portion of the hanging portion 24 d described above, and the left and right end portions on the lower surface of the base member 24. In other words, the two opposite vertices of the rhombus are located on the substantially longitudinal central axis of the lower surface of the base member 24, and the other two opposite vertices are located in a straight line in the left-right direction. These bolt connecting portions 42 have a boss shape, and are formed integrally with the main body of the base member 24 by the die casting method. Only the bolt connection part 42 at the tip of the hanging part 24 d is connected to the bolt hole 35 a of the center bracket 27.

  The cowling stay 26 shown in FIG. 5 is formed using a die casting method such as an aluminum alloy. As shown in the figure, the overall structure is a substantially symmetric long portion 43, a support portion 44 extending substantially vertically upward from the longitudinal center of the long portion 43, and both ends of the long portion 43. The disposed substantially flat mirror mounting portion 45 is integrally formed. The left and right sides of the front cowling 19a (FIG. 1) are also fixed to the mirror mounting portion 45.

  Further, the cowling stay 26 has a container shape (box shape) opened on one side. Specifically, it includes a bottom surface portion 26a and a side wall portion 26b that continuously protrudes along the periphery of the bottom surface portion 26a. The upper end surface 46 of the side wall 26b, which is the periphery of the opening of the cowling stay 26, is a portion that faces the base member 24 as described above. Further, a reinforcing rib 26c is integrally formed inside the container-shaped cowling stay 26 so as to mainly intersect with the longitudinal direction.

  In FIG. 5, the cowling stay 26 is connected to the center bracket 27 by bolts 47 at four locations in the center. Further, the base member 24 and the cowling stay 26 are bolted together at four locations corresponding to the four vertices of a substantially rhombus with the opening sides facing each other. Specifically, a boss portion 48 having a pair of bolt holes 48a is provided at positions spaced apart from each other by approximately the same distance in the longitudinal direction (the width direction of the vehicle body 22 after being attached to the vehicle body 22) from the center of the cowling stay 26. A bolt hole 49a is formed at the tip of the support portion 44 that is formed and located above the center portion. The boss portion 48 is integrally formed with the cowling stay 26 by the die casting method. Further, the boss portion 35 having the bolt hole 35a described above is also formed at a portion of the center bracket 27 located on the opposite side (downward) from the tip of the support portion 44 with the center portion of the cowling stay 26 interposed therebetween. . The bolt connecting portion 42 (see FIG. 6) of the base member 24 is connected to the bolt holes 35a, 48a, 49a. The base member 24 and the cowling stay 26 are bolt-connected after the end surfaces of the bolt connecting portions 42 of the base member 24 are in contact with the end surfaces of the boss portions 35 and 48 of the cowling stay 26.

  However, the base member 24 and the cowling stay 26 are not in contact with each other only at the end surfaces of the boss portions 35, 48, and in addition to this, the lower end surface 40 of the side wall 24 b of the base member 24 and the side wall 26 b of the cowling stay 26. The upper end surface 46 may be in contact with the upper end surface 46. In that case, these surfaces 40, 46 are flattened.

  With the above connection form, the same strong connection is maintained between the two regardless of the moment in which direction is applied to the base member 24 or the cowling stay 26. Refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 for the connected state. As described above, the cowling stay 26 to which the base member 24 is firmly and integrally connected substantially increases the section modulus of the cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and the strength against bending increases.

  Of course, the connection part by a bolt is not limited to four vertices of a substantially rhombus. However, the base member 24 and the cowling stay 26 are connected at the left and right center distribution positions, and are connected at the upper and lower positions for front cowling against external forces such as a vertical moment and a horizontal moment. Etc. are preferable from the viewpoint of supporting them in a balanced manner.

  A method of attaching the headlight assembly 20 to the cowling stay 26 and the center bracket 27 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of attachment holes 50 for attaching the headlight assembly 20 are formed integrally with the long portion 43 on both the left and right sides of the center portion of the cowling stay 26. On the other hand, FIG. 7 shows the back surface of the headlight assembly 20 as viewed obliquely from below and below. A recess 51 into which the lower projection 33 (FIG. 5) at the front end of the center bracket 27 (FIG. 5) is fitted is formed substantially at the center of the back surface of the headlight assembly 20. A pair of protrusions 52 that fit into the mounting holes 32 (FIG. 5) of the center bracket 27 are formed immediately below the recesses 51. The cowling stays 26 (FIG. 5) are respectively provided above the pair of light mounting holes 20a. 5) is formed with a protrusion 53 that fits into the mounting hole 50 (FIG. 5). Further, a bolt mounting portion 54 is provided in the vicinity of the recess 51. Then, by fitting these projections 33 (FIG. 5), 52, 53 with the recess 51 and the mounting holes 32, 50 (FIG. 5), the headlight assembly 20 is attached to the cowling stay 26 (FIG. 5) and the center bracket 27. The bolt mounting portion 54 of the headlight assembly 20 and the bolt hole 34a (FIG. 5) of the center bracket 27 (FIG. 5) are connected by the bolt 55 (FIG. 7). Prior to the mounting of the headlight assembly 20, as described above with reference to FIG. 5, the cover member 33 a is mounted on the protrusion 33 and the grommet member 32 a is mounted on the mounting hole 32. The grommet member 50a made of a material having elasticity is also attached to the 50 (see FIG. 5).

  Each of the base member 24 and the cowling stay 26 in FIG. 7 is not particularly limited to the shape as described above. In short, as will be described later, any shape may be used as long as both 24 and 26 are connected and the strength can be evaluated as an integrated object. In this case, it is preferable in terms of strength that the shapes of both 24 and 26 are made into a container shape having reinforcing ribs by die casting. In the present embodiment, the cowling stay 26 is formed to have a length longer than that of the base member 24, but is not limited to this shape. The base member 24 may be longer.

  The base member 24, the cowling stay 26, and the center bracket 27 are manufactured by a die casting method such as aluminum alloy, but are not particularly limited thereto. Other manufacturing methods may be used.

  As described above, the front cowling 19a, the headlight assembly 20, and the wind screen 21 are attached to the cowling mounting device 23, and wind pressure is applied through these parts 19a, 20, and 21 when the motorcycle is traveling. . Most of the wind pressure is finally received by the head pipe 5 of the vehicle body or a vehicle body portion (not shown). The wind pressure received by the wind screen 21 is transmitted to the movable body 25 via the mounting arms 39 on both the left and right sides, then transmitted to the base member 24 via the three rails 28 and 29, and then bolted from the base member 24. The cowling stay 26 is distributed to the cowling stay 26 through the portion, and is supported by the center bracket 27 at the center in the left-right direction of the cowling stay 26. If the wind screen is fixed, there is no movable body, and the wind screen is directly attached to the base member. Further, the wind pressure received by the front cowling 19 a is received by the mirror mounting portions 45 at the left and right ends of the cowling stay 26. The wind pressure received by the headlight assembly 20 is applied to the mounting holes 50 on both the left and right sides of the cowling stay 26 with the center portion therebetween.

  As described above, the force caused by the wind pressure is applied to the cowling stay 26 that is long in the left-right direction from the left and right ends to the center. The cowling stay 26 is supported by a center bracket 27 at the center thereof. Therefore, considering the distribution of the moment applied to the cowling stay 26, it increases as it approaches the center. However, since the base member 24 is integrally connected to the cowling stay 26 so as to overlap a wide range of the central portion thereof, the section modulus is substantially increased in this range and the strength against bending is high as described above. It is.

  As described above, the strength of the cowling stay 26 that can resist the wind pressure can be evaluated not as the cowling stay 26 alone but as an integrated body connected to the base member 24. In addition, the shape of the container having the reinforcing ribs 26c can be obtained by die casting. Accordingly, the cowling stay 26 can be formed to be lightweight and compact. The same applies to the base member 24.

  According to the present invention, a lightweight and compact cowling mounting device having sufficient strength is realized, which is suitable for a vehicle equipped with a cowling and a wind screen.

1 is a side view showing a motorcycle in which a cowling mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cowling mounting device in the motorcycle of FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cowling mounting device in the motorcycle of FIG. 1 as viewed obliquely from below and below. FIG. 3 is a side perspective view showing the cowling mounting device of FIG. 2 with a front cowling and a windscreen attached thereto. It is the perspective view which looked at the connection body of the cowling stay and center bracket in the cowling mounting apparatus of FIG. 2 from the diagonally front upper side. It is the perspective view which looked at the connection body of the movable body and base member in the cowling mounting apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a back surface of a headlight assembly that can be attached to the cowling attachment device of FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols

1 Motorcycle
5 Head pipe 19a Front cowling 21 Wind screen 22 Car body 23 Cowling mounting device 24 Base member 26 Cowling stay 27 Center bracket 42 Bolt connection part

Claims (7)

A cowling attachment device for attaching a cowling to a front portion of a vehicle body,
A cowling stay extending in the left-right direction of the vehicle body;
A mounting bracket for connecting the cowling stay to the vehicle body;
A base member for supporting the windscreen,
A cowling mounting device in which the base member and the cowling stay are both formed in a container shape with one side open, and are connected to each other so as to overlap each other.   The cowling attachment device according to claim 1, wherein the cowling stay and the base member are connected so that their open surfaces face each other.   2. The cowling stay and the base member are connected to each other by fastening members at least at four vertices of a rhombus centered on the center portion after the center portions in the left-right direction are made to correspond to each other. The cowling mounting device as described.   The cowling attachment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least the cowling stay of the cowling stay and the base member is formed by a die casting method.   The cowling attachment device according to claim 4, wherein a reinforcing rib is integrally formed inside the container-like structure of the cowling stay.   The cowling mounting device according to claim 4, wherein mirror mounting portions for mounting a rearview mirror are integrally formed at both left and right ends of the cowling stay.   A motorcycle having a vehicle body, a cowling, a wind screen, and the cowling mounting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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