Abstract:
A saddlebag includes a body and a lid pivotally attached to the body by a hinge assembly. The lid moves in a substantially translational manner to disengage and engage the body, and moves in a pivotal manner when not engaging the body. The saddlebag also includes a locking assembly selectively securing the lid in a closed position and being operable via a push-button located on an outer surface of the saddlebag body. A gas spring is interconnected between the body and the lid of the saddlebag, biasing the lid toward the open position such that depressing the push button releases the lid, allowing the gas spring to expand and fully open the saddlebag with no further intervention by the operator.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The invention relates to motorcycle saddlebags. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention provides a motorcycle saddlebag. The saddlebag includes a body, a lid, and a hinge assembly interconnecting the body and the lid. The body has an inner surface defining a cavity. The lid has an inner surface and is movable between an open position and a closed position. When in the open position, the lid does not fully cover the cavity, but when in the closed position, the inner surface of the lid defines an upper boundary of the cavity, and the lid fully covers the cavity. The hinge assembly includes a first mounting member mounted to the inner surface of the body, a second mounting member mounted to the inner surface of the lid, and a coupling assembly pivotally coupling the first and second mounting members to each other. The hinge assembly is completely enclosed within the cavity when the lid is in the closed position. 
     The hinge assembly may further include first and second coupling members pivotally coupled between the first and second mounting members by way of pins. The first and second coupling members are preferably substantially identical to each other. Preferably there are four pins establishing a four bar linkage within the hinge assembly. Due to the four bar linkage configuration, the lid moves in a substantially vertical translational fashion at least until the lid substantially entirely disengages the body, and then moves in a substantially pivotal fashion with respect to the body. 
     At least one of the lid and body may have a chrome plating adhered to its external surface and at least one of the lid and body is preferably constructed of an ABS/polycarbonate blend. 
     Preferably, a body lip is integrally injection-molded with the body and defines a mouth of the cavity. A gasket may be positioned on the body lip and a lid lip may be mounted to the lid. The gasket is sandwiched between the lid lip and the body lip when the lid is closed. The lid lip is preferably manufactured separately from the rest of the lid and is preferably glued to the lid. The lid lip preferably includes an undercut that rests on the edge of the lid, and the lid preferably has internal gussets to give additional support to the lid lip. 
     A gas spring may be employed to bias the lid toward the open position. A locking mechanism may also be used to lock the lid in the closed position. 
     Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description, claims, and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of a motorcycle with a saddlebag embodying the current invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a section view of the saddlebag illustrated in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the rear portion of the motorcycle illustrated in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a section view taken along line  4 — 4  in FIG. 3 showing the saddlebag in a slightly opened position. 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the hinge assembly of the saddlebag. 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged section view of the saddlebag hinge in the fully closed position. 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged section view of the saddlebag hinge in a partially opened position. 
     FIG. 8 is an enlarged section view of the saddlebag hinge in a fully opened position. 
     FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the saddlebag latching mechanism in a closed position. 
     FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the saddlebag latching mechanism in an opened position. 
    
    
     Before one embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. The use of “consisting of” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass only the items listed thereafter. The use of letters to identify elements of a method or process is simply for identification and is not meant to indicate that the elements should be performed in a particular order. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a motorcycle  10  including a frame  14 , a front wheel  18 , a rear wheel  22  and a seat  24 . A rear fender  30  extends rearwardly of the seat  24  and is disposed substantially over the rear wheel  22 . A saddlebag  34  is removably mounted aside the rear fender  30 . The saddlebag  34  includes a body  38 , and a lid  42  pivotally coupled to the body  38 . The body  38  and/or the lid  42  are preferably injection-molded from an ABS/polycarbonate blend and one or both of the lid  42  and body  38  is preferably chrome plated; however, any suitable materials, fabrication methods, and finishes may be used in constructing the saddlebag  34 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the body  38  includes an inner surface  43  defining an upward-opening cavity  44 . The lid  42  includes an inner surface  45  and is movable between a closed position (shown in solid lines in FIG.  3 ), and an open position (shown in phantom in FIG.  3 ). When the lid  42  is in the closed position, the inner surface  45  fully closes the cavity  44  and defines an upper boundary thereof. When the lid  42  is moved to the open position, the inner surface  45  separates from the inner surface  43 , opening the cavity  44  and allowing items to be easily inserted into or withdrawn from the saddlebag  34 . The saddlebag  34  also includes a hinge assembly  46 , a gas spring  50  interconnected between the lid  42  and the body  38 , and a locking mechanism  54  selectively interconnecting the lid  42  to the body  38  as will be discussed in more detail below. 
     Referring now to FIG. 4, the body  38  includes an integrally formed body lip  58 . The body lip  58  defines a mouth  62  of the cavity  44  and supports a gasket  66 . The lid  42  includes a lid lip  70  having an undercut  74 . The undercut  74  is positioned on an edge  78  of the lid  42 . The lid  42  also includes gussets  82  further supporting the lid lip  70  to reduce shear stresses on the lid lip  70 . The lid lip  70  is preferably glued to the inner surface  45  of the lid  42 . When closed (FIGS.  3  and  6 ), the lid lip  70  engages the gasket  66  along a joining perimeter around the entire mouth  62  of the cavity  44 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 5, the hinge assembly  46  includes a first mounting member  90  mounted to the body  38 , a second mounting member  94  mounted to the lid  42 , a first coupling member  98 , and a second coupling member  102 . The first coupling member  98  and the second coupling member  102  are substantially identical to each other and are both pivotally coupled to both mounting members  90 ,  94 . In this regard, the coupling members  98 ,  102  form a coupling assembly  106 . 
     The first mounting member  90  includes a first pair of mounting bosses  110  supporting a first pin  114 , and a second pair of mounting bosses  118  supporting a second pin  122 . The first and second pins  114 ,  122  are substantially parallel to each other and are spaced apart a first distance L 1 . The second mounting member  94  includes a third pair of mounting bosses  126  supporting a third pin  130  and a fourth pair of mounting bosses  134  supporting a fourth pin  138 . The third and fourth pins  130 ,  138  are substantially parallel to each other as well as to the first and second pins  114 ,  122 . The third and fourth pins  130 ,  138  are spaced apart a second distance L 2  different from the first distance L 1 . The second distance L 2  is preferably larger then the first distance L 1 . The first coupling member  98  is pivotally coupled to both the first and third pins  114 ,  130 , and the second coupling member  102  is pivotally coupled to both the second and fourth pins  122 ,  138 . The hinge assembly  46  is therefore a four-bar linkage between the body  38  and the lid  42 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 6-8, the hinge assembly  46  is characterized by an instantaneous pivot axis  142  about which the lid  42  pivots. The pivot axis  142  is located by defining a first plane  146  extending through the longitudinal axes of the first and third pins  114 ,  130 , and a second plane  150  extending through the longitudinal axes of the second and fourth pins  122 ,  138 . The intersection of the first and second planes  146 ,  150  defines the pivot axis  142  of the saddlebag lid  42 . The planes  146 ,  150  diverge from each other an angle θ. The angle θ represents the effective angle between the first coupling member  98  and the second coupling member  102 . 
     When the lid  42  fully is closed (FIG.  6 ), the pivot axis  142  is a maximum distance from the hinge assembly  46  and the angle θ has a minimum value. As the lid  42  begins to open (e.g. position  154  in FIG.  3  and that illustrated in FIG.  7 ), the angle θ increases and the pivot axis  142  moves closer to the hinge assembly  46 . Because of the large distance between the pivot axis  142  and the hinge assembly  46  when the lid  42  first begins to open, the lid  42  disengages the body  38  in a substantially vertical translational motion (see arrow in FIG.  7 ). As the lid  42  continues to open, the angle θ continues to increase and the distance between the pivot axis  142  and the hinge assembly  46  continues to decrease resulting in a transition from substantially translational motion to substantially rotational motion (see arrow in FIG. 8) of the lid  42  with respect to the body  38 . When the lid  42  is in the fully open position (e.g. position  158  in FIG.  3  and that shown in FIG.  8 ), the angle θ has a maximum value and the distance between the pivot axis  142  and the hinge assembly  46  has a minimum value. Closing the lid  42  results in a similar transition from substantially rotational motion to substantially translational motion such that when the lid  42  once again engages the body  38 , it does so in a substantially vertical translational motion. 
     Due to the configuration of the hinge assembly  46 , as the lid  42  is closed and opened, substantially the entire lid lip  70  respectively engages and disengages substantially the entire gasket  66  instantaneously along the joining perimeter of the saddlebag  34 . As a result, there is substantially no localized pinching of the gasket  66  by the lid lip  70  and wear on the lid lip  70  and gasket  66  is significantly reduced. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10, the locking assembly  54  of the saddlebag  34  selectively secures the lid  42  in the closed position, and is operated by a lockable push button  162 . The push button  162  is slidably coupled to, and has a portion located outside of, the body  38 . The locking assembly  54  also includes a latch  164  mounted to the lid  42 . A hook  166  is pivotally coupled to the push button  162  by a pin  170 , and a cam mechanism  174  is pivotally coupled to the saddlebag body  38 . When the lid  42  is closed the locking assembly  54  is in a first position (FIG. 9) wherein the cam mechanism  174  engages the latch  164 . Depressing the push button  162  causes the hook  166  to pivot about the pin  170  and engage the cam mechanism  174 , moving the cam mechanism  174  to a second position (FIG. 10) and releasing the latch  164  such that the lid  42  may be moved toward the open position. The cam mechanism  174  then remains in the second position to receive the latch  164  when the lid  42  is closed. When the lid  42  is moved to the fully closed position the latch  164  engages the cam mechanism  174 , returning it to the first position and securing the saddlebag lid  42  in the closed position. The push button  162  may be locked against actuation with a key (not shown) to lock the lid  42  in the closed position. 
     Returning to FIG. 2, the gas spring  50  biases the lid  42  toward the open position (see  158  in FIG.  3 ). When the lid  42  is closed, the hinge assembly  46 , the gas spring  50 , and the locking assembly  54  (except for the push button  162 ) are contained within the cavity  44  and are completely hidden from view. The saddlebag  34  may be opened by unlocking the push button  162  with the key (if necessary) and simply depressing the push button  162  to release the latch  164 . The lid  42  is then moved toward the fully open position under the influence of the gas spring  50  alone.