Vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9969454-B2
Application number	US-201615359657-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 23, 2016
Priority date	Nov 24, 2015
Publication date	May 15, 2018
Grant date	May 15, 2018

Abstract

A load transmission includes a left foot placement surface on which a left foot of a driver riding the vehicle is to be placed and a right foot placement surface on which a right foot of the driver is to be placed. The load transmission transmits a load to a left portion of a linkage by way of the left foot placement surface, and transmits a load to a right portion of the linkage by way of the right foot placement surface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle comprising:
a body frame;
a left front wheel and a right front wheel that are side by side in a left-right direction of the body frame;
a linkage disposed above the left front wheel and the right front wheel in an up-down direction of the body frame, and including an upper cross member, a lower cross member, a left side member, and a right side member that are connected with each other such that the upper cross member and the lower cross member maintain their postures parallel to each other while the left side member and the right side member maintain their postures parallel to each other, and change positions of the left front wheel and the right front wheel relative to the body frame to cause the body frame to lean to left or right of the vehicle;
a left front wheel support connected to the linkage and supporting the left front wheel;
a right front wheel support connected to the linkage and supporting the right front wheel; and
a load transmission including a left foot placement surface on which a left foot of a driver riding the vehicle is to be placed and a right foot placement surface on which a right foot of the driver is to be placed, that transmits a load to a left portion of the linkage by way of one of the left foot placement surface and the right foot placement surface, and that transmits a load to a right portion of the linkage by way of the other one of the left foot placement surface and the right foot placement surface.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a steering member that is turnable about a turning axis relative to the body frame; and
a steering force transmission connecting the left front wheel support and the right front wheel support, and that causes the left front wheel and the right front wheel to turn in a direction that the steering member is turned; wherein
the load transmission includes:
a left foot placement portion including the left foot placement surface and located in a portion of the left portion of the linkage that is able to be displaced relative to the body frame in accordance with leaning of the body frame but is not able to be displaced relative to the body frame in accordance with a steering motion of the steering force transmission; and
a right foot placement portion including the right foot placement surface and located in a portion of the right portion of the linkage that is able to be displaced relative to the body frame in accordance with leaning of the body frame but is not able to be displaced relative to the body frame in accordance with the steering motion of the steering force transmission.

3. The vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein the upper cross member is connected to the body frame so as to be turnable about an upper intermediate connecting axis;
the lower cross member is connected to the body frame so as to be turnable about a lower intermediate connecting axis;
a left portion of the upper cross member is connected to an upper portion of the left side member so as to be turnable about an upper left connecting axis;
a right portion of the upper cross member is connected to an upper portion of the right side member so as to be turnable about an upper right connecting axis;
a left portion of the lower cross member is connected to a lower portion of the left side member so as to be turnable about a lower left connecting axis;
a right portion of the lower cross member is connected to a lower portion of the right side member so as to be turnable about a lower right connecting axis;
a portion of the lower cross member that is positioned directly above the lower intermediate connecting axis overlaps the upper cross member, as viewed from a front of the vehicle in a direction along the lower intermediate connecting axis;
the left front wheel support is connected to the left side member so as to be turnable in accordance with the steering motion of the steering force transmission;
the right front wheel support is connected to the right side member so as to be turnable in accordance with the steering motion of the steering force transmission;
the left foot placement portion is located on the left side member; and
the right foot placement portion is located on the right side member.

4. The vehicle according to claim 3 , wherein the left foot placement portion is integral with the left side member, and the right foot placement portion is integral with the right side member.

5. The vehicle according to claim 3 , wherein a distance between the lower intermediate connecting axis and a lower end of the left foot placement surface is longer than a distance between the lower intermediate connecting axis and the lower left connecting axis, when the body frame is in an upright state and the vehicle is viewed from the front in the direction along the lower intermediate connecting axis; and
a distance between the lower intermediate connecting axis and a lower end of the right foot placement surface is longer than a distance between the lower intermediate connecting axis and the lower right connecting axis, when the body frame is in the upright state and the vehicle is viewed from the front in the direction along the lower intermediate connecting axis.

6. The vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein the upper cross member is connected to the body frame so as to be turnable about the upper intermediate connecting axis;
the lower cross member is connected to the body frame so as to be turnable about the lower intermediate connecting axis;
the left foot placement portion includes:
an upper left connector connected to the left portion of the upper cross member so as to be turnable about an upper left turning axis extending in a direction parallel to the upper intermediate connecting axis; and
a lower left connector connected to the left portion of the lower cross member so as to be turnable about a lower left turning axis extending in a direction parallel to the lower intermediate connecting axis;

the right foot placement portion includes:
an upper right connector connected to the right portion of the upper cross member so as to be turnable about an upper right turning axis extending in the direction parallel to the upper intermediate connecting axis; and
a lower right connector connected to the right portion of the lower cross member so as to be turnable about a lower right turning axis extending in the direction parallel to the lower intermediate connecting axis.

7. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the left foot placement surface is disposed below the left side member in the up-down direction of the body frame, and the right foot placement surface is disposed below the right side member in the up-down direction of the body frame.

8. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the left foot placement surface is disposed behind a rear end of the left front wheel in a front-rear direction of the body frame, and the right foot placement surface is disposed behind a rear end of the right front wheel in the front-rear direction of the body frame.

9. The vehicle according to claim 8 , further comprising:
a rear wheel; wherein
a front end of the left foot placement surface is located in either one of a left front section and a left rear section, when the body frame is in an upright state and the vehicle is viewed from a left in a left-right direction of the body frame;
the left front section is defined by:
a left central line extending in the up-down direction of the body frame and including a left central point located at a center between an axle of the left front wheel and an axle of the rear wheel in the front-rear direction of the body frame; and
a left front central line extending in the up-down direction

Assignees

• Yamaha Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Terada Keisuke
• Sano Takayuki

Classifications

• B62J25/00

  Foot-rests; Knee grips; Passenger hand-grips · CPC title

• B62K5/10 Primary

  with means for inwardly inclining the vehicle body on bends · CPC title

• B62K2005/001

  Suspension details for cycles with three or more main road wheels · CPC title

• B62K5/05

  characterised by a single rear wheel · CPC title

• B62K5/08

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