JPH0764289B2 - Tank top plate support structure for saddle type vehicles - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a saddle-ride type vehicle such as a motorcycle, and more particularly to a support structure for supporting a tank upper plate covering an upper surface of an air cleaner on the fuel tank side. .

(Prior Art) In a motorcycle, which is an example of a straddle-type vehicle, a carburetor and an air cleaner are normally provided in series behind an engine, and a fuel tank is arranged above each of these devices. However, with this configuration, the traveling wind warmed by the engine is drawn into the air cleaner, which may reduce the charging efficiency of the engine.

Therefore, an air cleaner is installed above the engine so that the intake air to the air cleaner is not heated by the engine, and this fuel tank is placed behind the air cleaner so that the fuel tank does not interfere with this air cleaner. There is. Further, in this case, there is one in which a tank upper plate that entirely covers the upper surfaces of the air cleaner and the fuel tank is provided from the viewpoint of the protection of the air cleaner and the appearance (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59- 206225).

(Problems to be solved by the invention) By the way, in the above configuration, since the tank upper plate covers the fuel tank as well, the tank upper plate is large, and the attachment / detachment during maintenance and inspection of the air cleaner etc. The operation is complicated. Further, although the tank upper plate is supported on the vehicle body side, there is room for improvement in this supporting means in terms of facilitating the attachment / detachment operation of the tank upper plate.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to make it possible to easily attach and detach the tank upper plate to and from the fuel tank side with a simple structure.

(Structure of the Invention) The feature of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is that the rear end of the tank upper plate that covers the upper surface of the air cleaner is located on the front side of the fuel tank upper part, and A locking claw that can be retracted from between the support ring that pivotally supports the inlet cap is provided, and the locking claw that protrudes by this locking and lock locks the rear end of the tank upper plate to the upper part of the fuel tank. The sinking claw is the point to release the above-mentioned locking.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a motorcycle, which is an example of a straddle-type vehicle. A front fork 3 is supported on a front portion of a body frame 2 of the motorcycle 1, and the front fork 3
A front wheel 4 is supported on the lower end of the front fork, and a handle 5 is attached to the upper end of the front fork 3. on the other hand,
A rear wheel 8 is supported on the rear part of the vehicle body frame 2 via a rear arm 7. An engine 9 is supported in the frame of the vehicle body frame 2, and the rear wheel 8 is mounted on the engine 9
Driven by.

The engine 9 has a cylinder 11 that projects obliquely forward from the upper surface of the crankcase 10. And
A carburetor 13 and an air cleaner 14 are connected to the rear surface of the cylinder 11, and the carburetor 13 and the air cleaner 14 are connected to the engine 9
It is located above. The air cleaner 14 is supported by the vehicle body frame 2.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a fuel tank, which is located behind the air cleaner 14 and is supported by the vehicle body frame 2 as above. 17 is a sheet.

A tank upper plate 18 is provided above the air cleaner 14. The tank upper plate is formed so as to cover the upper surface and both side surfaces of the air cleaner 14 so that the rear end is located on the front side of the upper portion of the fuel tank 16 and has an inverted U-shaped cross section. The front end of the tank upper plate 18 is attached to the vehicle body frame 2 by the front supporting means 20.
The rear end of the tank upper plate 18 is detachably supported on the upper portion of the fuel tank 16 by the rear supporting means 21.

The front support means 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

A bracket plate 22 is welded to the inner surface of the front end of the tank upper plate 18. Mounting holes 23 are formed in the bracket plate 22,
A rubber ring 24 as a cushioning member is fitted in the mounting hole 23. On the other hand, a support shaft 26 is projectingly provided on the body frame 2, and the rubber ring 24 is externally fitted to the support shaft 26. The rubber ring 24 is sandwiched between the base side of the support shaft 26 and a washer 28 screwed to the protruding end of the support shaft 26 with a bolt 27. As a result, the front end of the tank upper plate 18 is supported on the vehicle body frame 2 side. In this case, by loosening the bolt 27, the front end of the tank upper plate 18 can be removed together with the rubber ring 24 from the vehicle body frame 2 side.

Next, the rear support means 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7. First, since the rear support means 21 utilizes the components of the fuel injection portion of the fuel tank 16, The components will be described.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, an injection pipe 31 having an inner hole serving as a fuel injection port 30 is provided at an upper portion of the fuel tank 16 so as to project upward. In addition, a cap 32 for opening and closing the fuel inlet 30
Is provided. As will be described later, the cap 32 is pivotally supported on the fuel tank 16 side so as to be vertically rotatable, and the fuel injection port 30 is opened and closed by this rotation. Further, the cap 32 has a latch 33 that can be retracted and retracted, and when the cap 32 closes the fuel inlet 30, the latch 33 engages with the inner flange 31a at the upper end of the injection pipe 31, whereby the cap 32 is closed. The fuel inlet 30 is kept closed. Although not shown, the cap 32 is provided with a locking means, and the inner flange
The engagement of the latch 33 with respect to 31a can be released only by key operation.

Explaining the configuration in which the cap 32 is pivotally supported on the upper portion of the fuel tank 16, a dish-shaped support plate 35 is welded to the protruding end side of the injection pipe 31. Then, a support ring 36 for pivotally supporting the cap 32 is attached to the support plate 35.

The support ring 36 is composed of a ring main body 37 that is provided so as to surround the fuel injection port 30 in a plan view, and seven bosses 38 that integrally project from the lower surface of the ring main body 37.

Of the bosses 38, one front boss 38a located on the front side is screwed to the support plate 35 by the halt 39, and a pair of left and right rear bosses 38b, 38b located on the rear side are supported by the other bolts 40 on the support plate 35 and the fuel. The support ring 36 is fixed to the fuel tank 16 side by being screwed to the upper surface plate of the tank 16. Decorative bolts 41 are screwed onto the intermediate bosses 38c of the bosses 38 located at the front and rear intermediate parts.

The cap 32 is pivotally supported on the ring body 37 via a pivot shaft 42. When the cap 32 is rotated upward (arrow A in FIG. 4), the fuel injection port 30 and the inner hole of the ring body 37 are opened, and fuel can be injected through them. When the cap 32 is rotated downward, the cap 32 closes both the fuel inlet 30 and the inner hole of the ring body 37.

43 is a rubber receiving member, and the receiving member 43 is fitted onto the injection pipe 31 and supported on the upper surface of the fuel tank 16. The receiving member 43 is formed so as to wrap the support plate 35 and the support ring 36 from below.

The rear support means according to FIGS. 3 and 5 to 7
21 will be described.

A fitting hole 44 that fits into the support ring 36 is formed at the rear end of the tank upper plate 18. A pair of left and right locking pieces 46, 46 are welded to the opening edge of the fitting hole 44, and a locking hole 47 is formed in each locking piece 46.

On the other hand, the tank upper plate 18 is removably engaged with the locking hole 47.
A locking means 48 for supporting the fuel tank 16 on the fuel tank 16 side is provided.
The locking means 48 has a casing 49 screwed to the decorative bolts 41, 41, and the casing 49 is provided between the support plate 35 and the support ring 36. This casing 49
A locking claw 51 is slidably fitted inside, and the locking claw 51 is slidable so that it can be retracted from the casing 49. Then, the locking claws 51 protruding from the casing 49 due to this appearance
Is removably fitted into the locking hole 47, and the locking claw 51 locks the rear end of the tank upper plate 18 to the upper portion of the fuel tank 16. On the other hand, the locking claw 51 submerged in the casing 49 is detached from the locking hole 47, and the locking claw 51 releases the locking. Further, a spring 52 for urging the locking claw 51 to fit into the locking hole 47 is provided.

The operation lever 53 is pivotally supported on the support ring 36 by one of the decorative bolts 41. One end-side turning end of the operating lever 53 serves as a main operating part 53a, and the other end-side turning end serves as an engaging part 53b. The engaging portion 53b is fitted into the engaging groove 54 formed in the locking claw 51, and the locking claw 51 is interlocked with the turning operation of the operating lever 53 to fit into the locking hole 47. Is released.

The locking claw 51 fits into the locking hole 47, and accordingly, the tank upper plate
To remove the tank upper plate 18 from the state where the rear end of 18 is locked to the fuel tank 16 side (shown by the solid line in each figure),
First, the operation portion 53a is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 5 against the elastic force of the spring 52. Then, the engagement portion 53b pushes the inner surface of the engagement groove 54, the locking claw 51 moves in the direction of being retracted into the casing 49, and the engagement of the locking claw 51 with the locking hole 47 is released. (Indicated by a chain double-dashed line in each figure). Then, if the rear portion of the tank upper plate 18 is moved upward (arrow C in FIG. 6), the rear portion of the tank upper plate 18 will move to the fuel tank 16
Removed from the side.

On the contrary, the rear end of the tank upper plate 18 is supported on the fuel tank 16 side as follows. That is, the tapered surface 51a is formed on the upper surface of the locking claw 51 protruding from the casing 49 by the urging force of the spring 52. Therefore, when the rear end of the tank upper plate 18 is supported, the tank upper plate 18 is moved downward (in the direction opposite to the arrow C in FIG. 6) and the locking piece 46 is moved.
The lower end of is pressed against the tapered surface 51a. Then, a horizontal component force acts on the locking claw 51 in the direction against the spring 52, and the locking claw 51 is moved in the direction to be sunk in the casing 49. Further, when the protruding end of the locking claw 51 is aligned with the locking hole 47 by the downward movement of the tank upper plate 18, the locking claw 51 is automatically fitted into the locking hole 47 by the urging force of the spring 52, Thus, the rear end of the tank upper plate 18 is automatically locked to the fuel tank 16 side.

When the rear end of the tank upper plate 18 is supported on the fuel tank 16 side as described above, the tank upper plate 18 is structured as follows so that rattling does not occur.

That is, each of the locking pieces 46 is formed by bending the convex portion 55 protruding outward in the vehicle width direction. On the other hand, a pair of right and left rubber elastic holding members 56 are fixedly mounted on the support plate 35. The elastic holder 56 is provided with the above-mentioned convex portion 55.
A concave portion 57 is formed so that the concave portion 57 can be fitted and removed freely against the elastic force of. Then, when the convex portion 55 is fitted into the concave portion 57, the convex portion 55 is elastically biased from the front, rear, left and right by the elastic holding body 56 to restrict the movement in the horizontal direction. The rattling in the horizontal direction is prevented.

Further, the locking piece 46 is biased upward by a part of the elastic holding body 56 interposed between the support plate 35 and the lower surface of the convex portion 55. The lower edge of the locking hole 47 is elastically joined to the lower surface of the projecting end of the locking claw 51 by this biasing, and this prevents rattling of the tank upper plate 18 in the vertical direction.

(Effect of the Invention) According to the present invention, since the rear end of the tank upper plate is located on the front side of the upper portion of the fuel tank, the tank upper plate has conventionally entirely covered the air cleaner and the upper surface of the fuel tank. The tank upper plate can be formed more compactly than in the above, which facilitates the handling of the tank upper plate. Moreover, in this configuration, since the rear end of the tank upper plate is releasably locked to the upper portion of the fuel tank by the locking claw, the tank upper plate can be easily attached to the fuel tank side by operating the locking claw. Can be attached and detached. Therefore, it is convenient for maintenance work such as air cleaner.

Moreover, since the locking claw is provided by utilizing the existing fuel tank and the support ring for supporting the cap, there is no means for locking the tank upper plate to the fuel tank side so as to be detachable. It has a simple structure.

Further, since the locking claws are provided between the fuel tank and the support ring, the locking claws are not easily visible. Therefore, even if the tank upper plate is supported as described above, the external appearance of the vehicle body The appearance is kept good.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a motorcycle, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line III-III of FIG. Notch view, FIG. 4 of FIG. 3
IV-IV line arrow sectional view, FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in the figure. 1 ... Motorcycle (vehicle), 9 ... Engine, 14 ... Air cleaner, 16 ... Fuel tank, 18 ... Tank top plate, 30
...... Fuel inlet, 32 ...... Cap, 36 ...... Support ring,
51 …… Locking claw.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An air cleaner is provided above an engine, a fuel tank is provided behind the air cleaner, a cap for opening and closing a fuel injection port is provided at an upper portion of the fuel tank, and the cap is pivotally supported to surround the injection port. Attaching a support ring provided in the above to the upper portion of the fuel tank, and
In a saddle-ride type vehicle provided with a tank upper plate that covers the upper surface of the air cleaner, the rear end of the tank upper plate is located on the front side of the upper part of the fuel tank, while it is freely retractable from between the upper part of the fuel tank and the support ring. The locking claw that is projected and pulled out of the tank locks the rear end of the tank upper plate to the upper part of the fuel tank, while the locking claw that sinks releases the locking. A tank upper plate support structure for a saddle type vehicle.