Assembly comprising a saddle and an undersaddle compartment for a motorcycle, provided with an object blocking system for blocking an object in the undersaddle compartment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020115134-A1
Application number	US-201816482192-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jan 26, 2018
Priority date	Jan 31, 2017
Publication date	Apr 16, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

An assembly includes a saddle and an undersaddle compartment for a motorcycle. The undersaddle compartment includes a container body having an access opening and a bottom joined to a side wall. The saddle has a first face shaped for the seat of a driver and an opposite second face. The saddle connects to the undersaddle compartment and allows access to the undersaddle compartment and to the container body in an open configuration. An inflatable member fastened to the second face has a resting configuration, in which the inflatable member is deflated and allows an object to be inserted into the container body; and an expanded configuration to block the object in the container body against the side wall, bottom and/or the second face. An inflation device connects to and expands the inflatable member. A release device connects to the inflatable member to deflate the inflatable member.

First claim

1 . An assembly comprising a saddle and an undersaddle compartment for a motorcycle, the undersaddle compartment comprises a container body, wherein the container body comprises an access opening, a bottom wall and a side wall joined perimetrally to the bottom wall, wherein the saddle comprises a first face shaped for a seat of a driver of the motorcycle and an opposite second face facing towards said undersaddle compartment, the saddle being operatively connected to the undersaddle compartment to take on an open configuration allowing access to the undersaddle compartment and to the container body by said access opening, and a closed configuration closing the undersaddle compartment, thus preventing access to the undersaddle compartment and to the container body,
said assembly comprising an object blocking system adapted to block an object accommodated in the container body of the undersaddle compartment, the object blocking system comprising: an inflatable member fastened to the second face of the saddle, the inflatable member having: a resting configuration, wherein said inflatable member is deflated and allows said object to be inserted into the container body by said access opening; and an expanded configuration, wherein said inflatable member is expanded with respect to the resting configuration to block said object accommodated in the container body against at least one between said bottom wall, said side wall and said second face of the saddle when the saddle is in said closed configuration; an inflation device operatively connected to the inflatable member for expanding the inflatable member from the resting configuration to the expanded configuration; a release device operatively connected to the inflatable member for deflating said inflatable member to bring said inflatable member from the expanded configuration to the resting configuration; wherein the release device remains in a release status in which the inflatable member cannot be inflated when the saddle is in the open configuration.

2 . An assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the inflatable member is fastened to the second face of the saddle for blocking said object against said bottom wall in said expanded configuration.

3 . An assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said inflation device comprises an air pump, the air pump comprising an air chamber, said air chamber communicating with the undersaddle compartment or with an outside of the undersaddle compartment to suck air inside said air chamber, said air chamber communicating with the inflatable member to allow inflation of the inflatable member, the air pump being operable by repeatedly pressing to compress said air chamber.

4 . An assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said air chamber is accommodated in said saddle so that said air chamber for inflating the inflatable member is compressed by repeatedly pressing on the first face of said saddle.

5 . An assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said inflatable member comprises an elastically deformable membrane fastened to the second face of the saddle to ensure gas tightness between said membrane and said second face of the saddle.

6 . An assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said inflatable member comprises a bellows member fastened to the second face of the saddle and wherein said object blocking system comprises an elastic return element connected to the saddle and to the bellows member to switch the bellows member from the expanded configuration to the resting configuration.

7 . An assembly according to claim 1 , comprising a lock allowing opening the saddle from the closed configuration, and wherein said object blocking system comprises a control system operatively connected to the lock and to the release device to control the release device to allow the deflation of the inflatable member by operating said lock.

8 . An assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said inflatable member comprises an annular member.

9 . An assembly according to claim 8 , wherein said inflatable member comprises a middle opening inside of which said object is received and retained in said expanded configuration.

10 . A motorcycle comprising an assembly according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Piaggio & C Spa

Inventors

• Santucci Mario Donato

Classifications

• B62K19/46 Primary

  Luggage carriers forming part of frame (luggage carriers per se B62J7/00) · CPC title

• B65D81/1075 Primary

  deformable to accommodate contents · CPC title

• B62J1/12

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

• B62K2202/00

  Motorised scooters · CPC title