Convertible passenger and cargo area for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11396338-B2
Application number	US-201916542702-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 16, 2019
Priority date	Aug 16, 2019
Publication date	Jul 26, 2022
Grant date	Jul 26, 2022

Abstract

A vehicle including a drive wheel and a set of pedals coupled to the drive wheel. The vehicle includes a steering shaft connected to two front wheels. The vehicle includes a front load unit that may be engaged to be supported on a subframe between the two front wheels, the load unit being convertible between passenger seat and cargo storage configurations. In an aspect, the front load unit includes a horizontal load area and a substantially vertical shell forming a back wall and side walls. The front load unit may include a foot support hingedly mounted to the horizontal load area and pivotable between a lower position when the front load unit is configured as a passenger seat and a raised position parallel to the horizontal load area when the front load unit is configured as a cargo storage area.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle, comprising:
a frame having a front subframe;
two front wheels mounted to the front subframe;
at least one rear wheel mounted to the frame;
a set of pedals operably engaged with one of the at least one rear wheel or the two front wheels;
a steering shaft operably engaged with the two front wheels; and
a front load unit supportably engageable with the front subframe, the front load unit being convertible between a passenger seat configuration and a cargo storage configuration, wherein the front load unit comprises:
a horizontal load area;
a substantially vertical shell forming a back wall and side walls; and
a foot support hingedly mounted to the horizontal seat and pivotable between a lower position when the front load unit is configured as a passenger seat and a raised position parallel to the horizontal load area when the front load unit is configured as a cargo storage area.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the foot support includes:
a leg back portion that forms a portion of a cargo bed in the raised position; and
a foot portion that forms an end wall portion in the raised position.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the foot support includes a first releasable hinge connecting the end wall portion to the cargo bed and a second releasable hinge connecting the end wall portion to one of the side walls.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the foot support includes a support coupled to the frame that supports the foot support in the raised position when the front load unit is configured as a cargo storage area.

5. The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the support is an actuator that lifts the foot support to the raised position as the actuator is extended.

6. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a rod located within the substantially vertical shell and slidable into a channel of the foot support in the raised position to support the foot support in the raised position.

7. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein a section of the substantially vertical shell is removable to allow the pivoting of the foot support from the lower position to the raised position.

8. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a retractable canopy that extends out from the vertical shell.

9. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the retractable canopy comprises:
a pair of rails, each rail stowable within a respective side wall; and
a flexible sheet stowed in the rear wall and slidably mounted between the two rails.

10. The vehicle of claim 8 , further comprising a side screen that extends from one of the side walls to the respective rail.

11. The vehicle of claim 8 , further comprising a side screen that extends from the side wall to the retractable canopy.

12. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the horizontal load area includes a horizontal seat hingedly coupled to a seat back that pivots between a vertical position and a horizontal position, the seat back having a surface that forms a portion of a cargo bed in the horizontal position.

13. A convertible front load unit for engagement with a vehicle, comprising:
a horizontal load area;
a substantially vertical shell forming a back wall and side walls extending upward from the horizontal load area; and
a foot support hingedly mounted to the horizontal load area and pivotable between a lower position when the front load unit is configured as a passenger seat and a raised position when the front load unit is configured as a cargo storage area, wherein the foot support includes:
a leg back portion that forms a portion of a cargo bed in the raised position; and
a foot portion that forms an end wall portion in the raised position.

14. The convertible front load unit of claim 13 , wherein the foot support includes a first releasable hinge connecting the end wall portion to the cargo bed and a second releasable hinge connecting the end wall portion to at least one of the side walls.

15. The convertible front load unit of claim 13 , wherein the foot support includes a support coupled to a frame that supports the foot support in the raised position when the front load unit is configured as a cargo storage area.

16. The convertible front load unit of claim 15 , wherein the support is an actuator that lifts the foot support to the raised position as the actuator is extended.

17. The convertible front load unit of claim 13 , further comprising a rod located within the substantially vertical shell and slidable into a channel of the foot support in the raised position to support the foot support in the raised position.

18. The convertible front load unit of claim 13 , further comprising a retractable canopy that extends out from the vertical shell, wherein the retractable canopy comprises:
a pair of rails, each rail stowable within a respective side wall; and
a flexible sheet stowed in the back wall and slidably mounted between the two rails.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Le Tuyen
• Curiel Robert
• Porchay Jackie

Classifications

• B62J17/083

  Frame mounted hoods specially adapted for rider propelled cycles · CPC title

• B62K5/08

  with steering devices acting on two or more wheels · CPC title

• B62K5/05

  characterised by a single rear wheel · CPC title

• B62J1/12 Primary

  Box-shaped seats; Bench-type seats, e.g. dual or twin seats · CPC title

• B62K7/02 Primary

  Frames · CPC title