Abstract:
To provide a wheel fender flap that is less susceptible to swinging during the use thereof and capable of retaining an appealing feature, the wheel fender flap arranged to confront a vehicle wheel, includes a generally elongated flap body supported by a vehicle body structure and a reinforcement member separate from the flap body, but used to increase the rigidity of the flap body.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a wheel fender flap that is used over each wheel of a motor vehicle.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     As is well known to those skilled in the art, motorcycles, three-wheeled motor vehicles and four-wheeled off-road vehicles are equipped with flaps over wheels of those motor vehicles so as to block the splashing of water and/or mud. An exemplary motorcycle wheel fender flap is disclosed in, for example, the Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-224176, published Aug. 12, 2004. Those flaps are generally made of a synthetic resin.  
         [0005]     The wheel fender flaps of the kind referred to above are apt to swing or shake when the motor vehicles drive on a rough road. To suppress the swinging, it may be contemplated to form reinforcement ribs integrally with the wheel fender flaps during the molding of the latter. However, the molding of the reinforcement ribs integrally with the wheel fender flaps may often leave pull-ins caused by thermal shrinkage in surfaces of the eventually molded wheel fender flaps, which lead to deterioration in appearance of the wheel fender flaps.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     In view of the foregoing, the present invention has been devised to provide an improved wheel fender flap that is less susceptible to swinging during driving and, yet, capable of retaining an appealing feature.  
         [0007]     In order to accomplish the above described object of the present invention, there is, in accordance with the present invention, provided a wheel fender flap that is positioned confronting a vehicle wheel, which flap includes a generally elongated flap body supported by a member forming a vehicle body structure and a reinforcement member separate from the elongated flap body, but used to reinforce the elongated flap body.  
         [0008]     According to the present invention, the wheel fender flap is so designed that the flap body is reinforced by the reinforcement member to increase the rigidity of the wheel fender flap as a whole. Accordingly, the wheel fender flap of the present invention is advantageously prevented from swinging particularly in a direction up and down with respect to the road surface during the drive of the motor vehicle. Also, since the reinforcement member is a member formed separate from the flap body, the possibility of formation of pull-ins by shrinkage, which is often observed when the wheel fender flap is formed integrally with the reinforcement ribs as discussed hereinbefore, can advantageously be eliminated, allowing the wheel fender flap of the present invention to provide an appealing appearance. Considering that the flap body is reinforced by the reinforcement member, a flap body having a relatively low rigidity can be utilized in the practice of the present invention, with the flexibility of design increased consequently.  
         [0009]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the reinforcement member may have a connecting area at an upper end thereof, which area is connected to the elongated flap body by means of a first connecting member which concurrently secures the elongated flap body to the member forming the vehicle body structure. According to this preferred feature, the same connecting member can be concurrently utilized to connect the reinforcement member with the elongated flap body together and also to connect the reinforcement member and the elongated flap body together with the vehicle body structure and, accordingly, not only can the number of component parts used be reduced, but also the structure can be simplified.  
         [0010]     It is to be noted that the vehicle body structure referred to hereinbefore and hereinafter is intended to encompass a motor vehicle structure excluding a vehicle engine, a power transmission device, and vehicle electric appliances, but including a motor vehicle frame structure and a mechanical vehicle skeleton supported thereby such as, in the case of a motorcycle, a front fork assembly, a fairing, a side cover, a tail cover and a rear fender.  
         [0011]     In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the reinforcement member may have at least one connecting area, which is connected to the elongated flap body together with a separate component part by means of a second connecting member. According to this preferred feature, reduction of the number of component parts used and simplification of the structure can be achieved by the concurrent utilization of the same connecting member for the reinforcement member and one or more other component parts. An example of such separate component part is a license plate. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     In any event, the present invention will become more clearly understood from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments and the drawings are given only for the purpose of illustration and explanation, and are not to be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention in any way whatsoever, which scope is to be determined by the appended claims. In the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals are used to denote like parts throughout the several views, and:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a left side view of a motorcycle equipped with a wheel fender flap according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a perspective exploded view of a motorcycle rear fender structure shown together with the wheel fender flap shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a left side view of a reinforcement member employed in the wheel fender flap shown in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a front elevational view of the reinforcement member;  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is a plan view of the reinforcement member shown in  FIG. 2 ; and  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a perspective exploded view of the wheel fender flap according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In particular,  FIG. 1  illustrates a motorcycle equipped with a wheel fender flap according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, shown in a left side view with respect to the direction of forward drive of the motorcycle. The motorcycle shown therein is an exemplary one of various motor vehicles, to which the present invention is applicable and includes a motorcycle frame structure FR made up of a main frame  1 , forming a front part of the frame structure FR.  
         [0020]     The main frame  1  has a head tube  2  rigidly secured to a front portion thereof, and a steering shaft  3  is rotatably inserted in and is supported by the head tube  2 . Upper and lower brackets  4  and  5  are supported by the head tube  2  through the steering shaft  3 , and front fork members  8  are supported by the upper and lower brackets  4  and  5 . A front wheel  9  is rotatably carried by and between respective lower ends of the front fork members  8 , and a handlebar  10  is rigidly mounted on the upper bracket  4  for movement together therewith.  
         [0021]     A swingarm bracket  11  is provided at a rear lower portion of the main frame  1 , and a swingarm  12  is connected with the swingarm bracket  11  through a pivot pin  13  for swing movement. A rear drive wheel  14  is rotatably supported by a rear end of the swingarm  12 . A multi-cylinder engine E is supported by the main frame  1  at a position below an intermediate portion of the main frame  1 . A cylinder head  17  of the engine E has a plurality of exhaust pipes  18  fluidly connected therewith, which are in turn fluidly connected with mufflers  20  disposed on respective sides of a rear portion of the motorcycle frame structure FR.  
         [0022]     A rear frame  21  is connected to a rear portion of the main frame  1  and forms a rear portion of the frame structure FR. A rider&#39;s seat  22  and a fellow passenger&#39;s seat  23  are mounted on the rear frame  21 . This rear frame  21  also supports a rear fender assembly  27  positioned above the rear drive wheel  14 , the details of which will be described subsequently. A fuel tank  28  is mounted on the motorcycle frame structure FR at a location above the main frame  1  and between the handlebar  10  and the rider&#39;s seat  22 . A front portion of the motorcycle frame structure FR is provided with a fairing  29 , shown by the phantom line, which is so shaped and so positioned as to cover a front to side region of the motorcycle frame structure FR, including a front area forwardly of the handlebar  10  and side areas generally laterally of the motorcycle engine E.  
         [0023]     Except for the areas of the rear frame  21 , where the rider&#39;s seat  22  and the fellow passenger&#39;s seat  23  are disposed, opposite lateral areas of the rear frame  21  is covered by a front cover  24 A and a rear cover  24 B, which form respective parts of a tail covering  24 . A wheel fender flap  30  is connected with a rear lower portion of the rear fender assembly  27  so as to extend rearwardly downwardly therefrom to confront the rear wheel  14  thereby covering above and rearwardly of the rear wheel  14 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective exploded view showing a portion of the rear frame  21 , where the rear fender assembly  27  and the wheel fender flap  30  are secured to the rear frame  21 . The rear frame  21  is made of a metallic material such as an aluminum alloy and is formed in a generally rectangular frame-like shape, when viewed from top. This rear frame  21  is formed at its front end with a plurality of, for example, four (although only three of them are shown) connecting pieces  31  through which the rear frame  21  is rigidly connected with the main frame  1  ( FIG. 1 ) by means of corresponding screw members (not shown) so as to extend rearwardly from the main frame  1 . This rear frame  21  is also formed with a front hook  32 , with which an engagement pawl provided in the rider&#39;s seat  22  is engaged, and a rear hook  34 , with which the fellow passenger&#39;s seat  23  is engaged, to thereby support the seats  22  and  23  on the rear frame  21 .  
         [0025]     The rear fender assembly  27  is of a double layered structure including an upper fender  39  and a lower fender  40  connected to a lower region of the upper fender  39  and both made of a synthetic resin. The upper fender  39  is fixedly secured to the rear frame  21  by means of a plurality of, for example, four, set screws  42  which are inserted through corresponding mounting holes  41 , defined in a rear portion of the rear frame  21 , and are then threaded firmly into associated clip-on nuts  57  then mounted on the upper fender  39 . Also, this upper fender  39  has front left and right side walls fixedly secured to the rear frame  21  by means of fitting screws  47  inserted through corresponding mounting holes  43 , defined in the upper fender  39 , and then firmly threaded into screw holes  44  defined in the rear frame  21 .  
         [0026]     The fender flap  30  referred to previously includes an elongated flap body  60  and a reinforcement member  70  for reinforcing the elongated flap body  60 . The reinforcement member  70  is formed independent of and separate from the elongated flap body  60  and fitted to the elongated flap body  60  to enhance the rigidity thereof. The elongated flap body  60  is made of, for example, a synthetic resin. On the other hand, the reinforcement member  70  is made of, for example, a metallic material and is secured to the inside (a front side) of the elongated flap body  60 .  
         [0027]     As best shown in  FIG. 2 , the elongated flap body  60  is made up of an upper wall  61  and a major wall  62  integral with the upper wall  61  and extending from a rear portion of the upper wall  61  in a direction downwardly therefrom. Left and right sides of the upper wall  61  has pairs of mounting holes  63  defined one pair for each side thereof, in total number of four. A rear intermediate portion of the major wall  62  is formed with a license plate mount  64  defined therein so as to protrude rearwardly with respect to the direction of forward drive of the motorcycle. As a matter of design, a license plate  66  is fitted to this license plate mount  64  by means of a license plate mounting bracket  65 . A portion of the major wall  62  above the license plate mount  64  is formed with an illuminator mount  81  for accommodating a license plate illuminator.  
         [0028]     A portion of the license plate mount  64  intermediate of the widthwise direction of the motorcycle is formed with a plurality of, for example, two, mounting holes  64   a  defined therein so as to be juxtaposed in the widthwise direction of the motorcycle and, similarly, a portion of the license plate mounting bracket  65  intermediate of the widthwise direction of the motorcycle is formed with an equal number of mounting holes  65   a  defined therein in alignment with the mounting holes  64   a  in the license plate mount  64 . Those mounting holes  64   a  and  65   a  are utilized to receive therein respective mounting screws  67  used to secure the license plate mounting bracket  65  to the license plate mount  64 . Also, each of the license plate mounting bracket  65  and the license plate  66  has left and right end portions formed with respective mounting holes  65   b  or  66   b  for receiving corresponding mounting screws  68  used to secure the license plate  66  to the license plate mounting bracket  65 . Thus, it will readily be seen that the license plate  66  is secured to the license plate mount  64  through the intervention of the license plate mounting bracket  65 .  
         [0029]     The elongated flap body  60  referred to above is supported by, or secured to the rear fender  27 , which forms a member of a vehicle body structure, by means of mounting screws  48  passed from below through the respective mounting holes  63  defined in the top wall  61  in a manner, which will now be described.  
         [0030]     FIGS.  3  to  5  illustrate the reinforcement member  70  as viewed from side, front and top, respectively. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the reinforcement member  70  is made up of a substantially elongated body  71 , a first or top mounting tab or piece  72  formed by bending an upper end portion of the elongated body  71 , and a second or bottom mounting tab or piece  73  formed by bending a lower end portion of the elongated body  71 .  
         [0031]     The first mounting tab  72  has a set of, for example, two mounting screws  48  and  48  passed from below through such first mounting tab  72  so as to protrude upwardly and then fixed by welding to the first mounting tab  72 . Those mounting screws  48  and  48  are spacedly positioned on a right side of the vehicle body structure and in a direction conforming to the longitudinal sense of the motorcycle. On the other hand, as best shown in  FIG. 4 , the second mounting tab  73  is formed with a plurality of, for example, two, mounting holes  74  defined therein and positioned spacedly in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal sense of the motorcycle. To increase the rigidity of the elongated body  71  of the reinforcement member  70 , a front edge of the elongated body  71  is bent to define a rib  75 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the first mounting tab  72  lies generally horizontally and the second mounting tab  73  lies generally vertically and extends in a direction widthwards of the motorcycle frame structure FR.  
         [0032]     Another set of mounting screws  48  and  48  spacedly positioned on a left side of the vehicle body structure and in a direction confirming to the longitudinal sense of the motorcycle are, after having passed from below through a backing plate  49  so as to protrude upwardly, fixed by welding to the backing plate  49 .  
         [0033]     The mounting screws  48  fixed to the backing plate  49  and the first mounting tab  72  of the reinforcement member  70  are passed through the mounting holes  63 , defined in the top wall  61  of the elongated flap body  60 , and then through corresponding insertion holes  50 , defined in the lower fender  40 , and finally through fixing holes  51  defined in the upper fender  39 , followed by firm fastening of associated nuts  53  onto those mounting screws  48  with washers  52  intervening between the nuts and the upper fender  39 . By so doing, the first mounting tab  72  of the reinforcement member  70  is rigidly connected to the elongated flap body  60  and, at the same time, the elongated flap body  60  is fixed to the rear fender  27 , which is the member of the vehicle body structure, particularly the rear frame  21 . In other words, the elongated flap body  60  and the first mounting tab  72  of the reinforcement  70  are concurrently fastened to the rear fender  27  by means of a first connecting member, on the right side of the vehicle body structure, comprised of the set of the mounting screws  48  and the corresponding nuts  53 .  
         [0034]     Also, the mounting holes  74  defined in the second mounting tab  73  of the reinforcement member  70  are positioned forwardly of, and aligned with the mounting holes  64   a  and  65   a , defined respectively in the license plate mount  64  and the license plate mounting bracket  65 , and the mounting screws  67  are subsequently passed from rear of the license plate mounting bracket  65  through the mounting holes  65   a  in the license plate mounting bracket  65 , then through the mounting holes  64   a  in the license plate mount  64  and finally through the mounting holes  74  in the reinforcement member  70 , followed by fastening corresponding nuts  69   a  from inside (a front side) of the second mounting tab  73  onto those mounting screws  67 . By so doing, a lower end portion of the reinforcement member  70  and the license plate mounting bracket  65  are concurrently fastened to the license plate mount  64  as best shown in  FIG. 3 . As hereinabove described, the license plate  66  can be secured to the license plate mounting bracket  65  when the mounting screws  68  are passed successively through the mounting holes  66   b  and  65   a  and are then fastened with corresponding nuts  69   b . In this way, the second mounting tab  73  at the lower end portion of the reinforcement member  70  can be secured to the elongated flap body  60  through a second connecting member comprised of the plural mounting screws  67  and the corresponding nuts  69   a  together with the license plate mounting bracket  65  used to support the license plate  66  that is a member independent of and separate from the fender flap  30 .  
         [0035]     According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention hereinabove fully described, since the elongated flap body  60  is reinforced by the reinforcement member  70  to have an increased rigidity, particularly that against the bending in a direction up and down, the fender flap  30  can be effectively prevented from swinging in a direction up and down. Also, since the reinforcement member  70  is formed independent of and separate from the elongated flap body  60 , the possibility of formation of pull-ins due to shrinkage, which is often observed when the wheel fender flap is formed integrally with the reinforcement ribs as discussed hereinbefore, can advantageously be eliminated, allowing the wheel fender flap  30  to provide an appealing appearance. Considering that the elongated flap body  60  is reinforced by the reinforcement member  70 , any elongated flap body having a relatively low rigidity can be utilized in the practice of the present invention, with the flexibility of design increased consequently.  
         [0036]     Yet, since the reinforcement member  70  is secured to the elongated flap body  60  together with the license plate mounting bracket  65 , on which the license plate  66  is mounted, by means of the mounting screw  67  and the corresponding nuts  69   a , which form the second connecting member, component parts can be commonly shared with the number of component parts reduced consequently and, also, the structure can be simplified. Also, since the upper end portion of the reinforcement member  70  is secured to the rear fender  27  by the utilization of the first connecting members, that is, the mounting screws  48  and the corresponding nuts  53 , used to secure the elongated flap body  60  to the rear fender  27 , which is a member of the vehicle body structure, reduction of the number of component parts and simplification of the structure can further be reduced.  
         [0037]      FIG. 6  illustrates an perspective exploded view of the reinforcement member employed in the practice of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this second embodiment, a reinforcement member  70 A, which is formed independent of and separate from the elongated flap body  60  is employed. This reinforcement member  70 A is so shaped and so positioned as to be nested inside the elongated flap body  60  in tight contact with a front surface thereof. The reinforcement member  70 A has two mounting holes  75  defined therein. When while the mounting holes  75  are aligned with the mounting holes  67  in the license plate mount  64 , corresponding mounting screws  76  are passed from rear through those holes  75  and  67  and associated nuts  78  are fastened from front onto the mounting screws  76 , the reinforcement member  70 A is secured to the elongated flap body  60  together with the license mounting bracket  65  to thereby reinforce the elongated flap body  60 . The reinforcement member  70 A has a width greater than that of the generally downwardly extending major wall  62  of the elongated flap body  60  such that in a condition secured to the elongated flap body  60 , opposite ear portions  79  and  79  of the reinforcement member  70 A may protrude laterally outwardly from the major wall  62 .  
         [0038]     According to the second embodiment described hereinabove, the fender flap  30  is reinforced enough to suppress the swinging occurring during the drive of the motorcycle in a manner similar to that afforded by the previously described embodiment. Also, the possibility of formation of pull-ins due to shrinkage in the elongated flap body  60  can advantageously be eliminated, allowing the wheel fender flap  30  to provide an appealing appearance and the flexibility of design can also increase consequently. Yet, since the reinforcement member  70 A is secured to the elongated flap body  60  together with the license plate mounting bracket  65 , which is an example of a separate member, by means of the mounting screw  76  and the corresponding nuts  78 , which form the same connecting member, component parts can be commonly shared with the number of component parts reduced consequently and, also, the structure can be simplified. Moreover, in the second embodiment, the reinforcement member  70 A has a width greater than that of the major wall  62  of the elongated flap body  60 , accompanied by enhancement of mud guard function.  
         [0039]     It is to be noted that although in describing the first embodiment of the present invention with particular reference to  FIG. 2 , one end portion of the reinforcement member  70  has been shown and described as fitted to the elongated flap body  60  together with the license plate mounting bracket  65 , which is a member independent of and separate from the fender flap  30 , the opposite end portion of the reinforcement member  70  may be fitted to the elongated flap body  60  together with, for example, the license plate illuminator that is mounted in the illuminator mount  81 .  
         [0040]     Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings which are used only for the purpose of illustration, those skilled in the art will readily conceive numerous changes and modifications within the framework of obviousness upon the reading of the specification herein presented of the present invention. Accordingly, such changes and modifications are, unless they depart from the scope of the present invention as delivered from the claims annexed hereto, to be construed as included therein.