Single-track, motorized two-wheeler

Abstract

A single-track, motorized two-wheeler with a self-supporting, dome-shaped passenger cell (16) having two spaced-apart beams (20) which, starting from the front, slope upwards to form front pillars (24) and roof beams (26), to which a rear roof support structure (29) adjoins further to the rear, wherein a side guardrail (44) extending forwards is integrally formed with the roof support structure (29) on each side of the two-wheeler, lateral to a seat backrest (41), which at least partially shields the occupant (50) on the upper body side, wherein each side guardrail (44) carries an inflatable side airbag (70), characterized in that each side airbag (70) is housed in its associated, hollow side guardrail (44) and can escape from it in the event of a crash.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a single-track, motor-driven two-wheeler with a self-supporting, dome-shaped passenger cell, which has two spaced-apart beams that, starting from the front, slope upwards to form front pillars and then transition into roof beams, to which a rear roof support structure adjoins further to the rear.

[0002] One such single-track two-wheeler is the well-known BMW C1. To enable helmet-free riding on motorized two-wheelers, particularly motorcycles, it is known to equip these vehicles with a dome-shaped passenger compartment that simultaneously forms the roof of the two-wheeler. This makes it possible to operate the two-wheeler in public road traffic without having to wear additional protective clothing or a helmet. DE 102 10 242 A1 relates to a motorcycle with a passenger seat in the center of the vehicle body frame, including side elements that protect the left and right sides of a passenger seated on the seat, with airbags arranged in these side elements inflating when necessary.

[0003] US patent 4,227,717 A concerns a vehicle with an inflatable element that can envelop the driver if necessary.

[0004] Despite the already well-known protective effect provided by the passenger compartment in prior art, there is a desire to further improve the safety of such a two-wheeler. This is also the objective of the present invention.

[0005] This task is solved in a two-wheeler of the type mentioned above by having a side guard extending forwards, integrally molded to the roof support structure on each side of the two-wheeler, to the side of a seat backrest, which at least partially shields the occupant's upper body, with each side guard carrying an inflatable side airbag.

[0006] The invention provides the occupant with additional protection in the event of an oblique impact, a side impact, or a rollover, on the one hand by the side guardrail, which has a closed, plate-like structure, and on the other hand a side airbag can be triggered, which further protects the occupant either forwards, downwards and upwards beyond the area of ​​the side guardrail and / or runs between the side guardrail and the occupant, thus keeping the occupant better in position.

[0007] To increase the stabilization of the passenger compartment, the roof beams are preferably connected to each other via the roof, and the roof merges seamlessly into the roof beams.

[0008] Additionally or alternatively, the roof beams can also be seamlessly integrated into the roof support structure, preferably into rear columns that form the roof support structure. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the roof support structure comprises a separate, prefabricated component or components connected to each other by at least one node element.

[0009] The one-piece connection of roof beams and roof, or of the beams with the roof support structure, can be achieved through so-called hot bonding or cold bonding.

[0010] In hot bonding, resin-impregnated fabrics with a high fiber volume fraction (prepregs) are cured in an autoclave, or dry and / or braided semi-finished products are cured in one piece by subsequent resin infusion in a resin injection process (also called resin transfer molding) at high temperature and high pressure. In cold bonding, finished materials, such as carbon fiber-reinforced plastics, are bonded together. With both processes, components that are simply joined together cannot be separated from each other without damage.

[0011] The same applies to the attachment of the side guardrails to the roof support structure.

[0012] Each side airbag can be housed within its assigned, hollow side guardrail and deploy from it in the event of a crash. To increase the stability of the side guardrails and provide protection for the driver outside the guardrails, they preferably feature an inner wall and a spaced-apart outer wall, connected by a side panel. This provides space inside each side guardrail for the installation of a side airbag.

[0013] The side impact protection bag can also be part of an impact protection bag module, i.e., a prefabricated, closed unit with a cover. This cover seals an installation opening in the side impact protection board that leads into the interior of the hollow board. The cover can be part of the prefabricated side impact protection bag module. Specifically, the installation opening is located on the inside, that is, in the inner wall of the double-walled side impact protection board. Alternatively, it can also be located on the side wall.

[0014] The inactive side airbag is positioned primarily in the upper third of the corresponding side guardrail to inflate more quickly towards the head than towards the legs. Furthermore, an airbag always has the highest stability at its point of attachment to the vehicle; therefore, this attachment point is also crucial for its restraint effect.

[0015] The inflated side gas bags should extend to the top of the shoulder of a 95% dummy.

[0016] The side guardrails extend at least 100 mm below the shoulder of a 95% dummy. The side gasbags therefore provide additional lateral shielding of the occupant.

[0017] The side guardrails can extend downwards at least as far as the top of the seat of the two-wheeler. In particular, each side guardrail has an S-shape when viewed from the side of the two-wheeler, with an upper bulge in the chest area and a recess below it.

[0018] The inflated side gasbags should extend to the front of the side guardrail and project beyond it to shield additional space in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

[0019] The inflated side gas bags can also extend laterally to the lower legs of the occupant to cover them and / or laterally to the head of a 95% dummy to cover the head laterally.

[0020] The inflated side airbags are supported in particular by the inner side guardrail to provide more stability and to prevent lateral movement of the occupants in the passenger compartment as much as possible.

[0021] The side airbags can also extend to a footrest when inflated, thus shielding the occupant's feet from the sides.

[0022] The inflated side airbags, for example, each have an outer wall facing outwards, away from the motorcycle. This outer wall is reinforced compared to an opposing inner wall, for example, by being coated, multi-layered, or having an abrasion-resistant outer surface, so that the side airbag remains functional for a certain period of time even when sliding along the asphalt. However, the primary function of a side airbag is to reduce the impact forces on the occupant immediately upon impact, not over several seconds.

[0023] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and from the following drawings, to which reference is made.

[0024] The drawings show: - Fig. 1 a side view of a two-wheeler according to the invention, - Fig. 2 the two-wheeler to Fig. 1 with occupants and inflated side gasbag, - Fig. 3 A perspective view of the passenger compartment with the seat removed and a view of the built-in gasbag module.

[0025] Fig. Figure 1 schematically shows a single-track, motor-driven two-wheeler 10 according to the invention. The two-wheeler 10 is, for example, electrically driven and includes a battery pack 12, which is part of the frame 14.

[0026] The two-wheeler 10 has, for example, a one-piece, self-supporting passenger cell 16 with a roof 22, wherein the passenger cell 16 is firmly attached to a vehicle structure, in particular to the frame 14. The frame 14 is mainly formed by a housing 18 of the battery pack 12.

[0027] The passenger cell 16 is preferably a carbon fiber reinforced plastic part, which was manufactured at least partially by means of hot bonding or cold bonding.

[0028] The passenger compartment 16 has two lateral, spaced-apart beams 20 extending upwards from the front towards the roof 22, forming front columns 24. The front columns 24 transition into roof beams 26. The roof beams 26 can either merge seamlessly into a rear roof support structure 29 or be connected to each other via symbolically represented node components 31, in particular ductile gusset plates.

[0029] The one-piece version of the passenger cell provides that the roof rails 26 merge seamlessly into the rear pillars 32.

[0030] The connection of the two beams 20 is made via the roof 22, which has a plate-shaped structure and is connected to the roof beams 26 by hot bonding or cold bonding.

[0031] The rear columns can also be connected to each other by a back wall 34, which is also plate-shaped, in that the back wall 34 merges seamlessly into the rear columns 32.

[0032] The pillars 20 thus extend from the front lower end to the rear lower end of the passenger compartment 16. Extensions 36 of the rear pillars 32 are in Fig. 1 can be seen. As mentioned, they are attached to the vehicle frame 14. Corresponding front extensions of the pillars 24 lie behind a panel 38 and are also attached to the vehicle frame 14.

[0033] The spars 20 have a hollow chamber structure and are designed throughout as hollow bodies to ensure sufficient strength while still allowing the necessary deformation.

[0034] For example, to save material and weight, the beams 20 can be prefabricated hollow bodies that are open in sections in the area of ​​the roof 22 and the back wall 34 and are closed by the roof 22 or the back wall 34, in hot bonding or cold bonding.

[0035] Additionally, the front pillars 24 can also be connected to each other below a windshield 39 by a cross member 40, which can also be integrated in one piece into the frame members 20 and thus into the front pillars 24.

[0036] The rear columns 32 have a side guard molded onto them in one piece in the form of so-called closed side guards 44, which are also hollow in this area and have an outer wall 46 and an opposing inner wall 48. The inner wall 48 then defines the inside of the respective side guard 44.

[0037] The side guardrails 44 are, as mentioned, an integral part of the roof support structure 29 and thus of the rear columns 32, and extend, as can be seen in Fig. 2 looks, to the side of a seat backrest 51 and thus to the side of the upper body of the occupant 50 towards the front.

[0038] The side guardrails extend to the top of the shoulder 52 of a 50% dummy, optionally a 95% dummy, i.e. a fictitious, standardized occupant.

[0039] The side guardrails 44 extend downwards to the seat surface 56 of the two-wheeler seat. Viewed from the side, the front edge 58 of each side guardrail 44 has an S-shape, with an upper bulge 60 that projects further forward, and a subsequent indentation 62, from which the edge 58 runs diagonally forward again to just below the seat surface 56.

[0040] The side guardrails 44 each carry an inflatable side gas bag 70, which is in Fig. 2 is shown in inflated state and exits from the inside of the side guardrails 44 starting from the respective inner wall 48.

[0041] In Fig. Figure 3 shows a mounting opening 66, which is closed by a cover 67. The cover 67 is part of a gasbag module 68, which is housed inside the respective side guardrail 44. The mounting opening 66 is exposed upon impact by the gasbag pushing through it.

[0042] A gas generator can either be provided as a central gas generator for both side gas bags 70 and be positioned, for example, in the area of ​​the rear wall 34 to be connected to the side gas bag 70 via channels or hoses, or each side gas bag module 68 can have its own gas generator.

[0043] When inflated, the side airbag 70 can still be supported by the upper, forward-projecting bulge 60 of the side guardrail 44. Otherwise, it protrudes, as shown in Fig. 2 can be seen, further forward than the front edge 58 of the respective side guardrail 44.

[0044] The side gasbag 70 shields the upper body of the occupant 50 even further and extends completely in front of the edge 58 of the associated side guardrail 44 and also above the side guardrail 44 up to the shoulders of a 95% dummy.

[0045] Optionally, and this is not to be understood as restrictive, the respective side airbag 70 can also extend forward laterally along the lower leg 72 of the occupant 50 and additionally have a downward extension 74 below the seat surface 56, which can run towards or up to a footrest 76 and thus shield at least parts of the lower leg 72 or even the foot of the occupant laterally.

[0046] In the illustrated embodiment, each side gas bag 70 has an outwardly facing outer wall 78 and an opposing inner wall. Compared to the inner wall, the outer wall 78 can be reinforced on its outside, for example, by being made in multiple layers, coated, or having another abrasion-resistant outer layer.

[0047] Depending on the type of stiffness of the outer wall 78, the mounting opening 66 must then be made more or less large.

[0048] Since the mounting opening 66 can optionally be very large, it may also be significantly larger than in the Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 shown.

[0049] The inactive side gasbag 70 or the gasbag module 68 are positioned in the upper third of the respective side guardrail 44, in relation to the length of the respective side guardrail 44 in the vertical direction.

Claims

[1] Single-track, motor-driven two-wheeler, with a self-supporting, dome-shaped passenger compartment (16) which has two spaced-apart beams (20) which, starting from the front, slope upwards to form front pillars (24) and roof beams (26), to which a rear roof support structure (29) adjoins further to the rear, wherein a side guardrail (44) extending forwards is integrally formed with the roof support structure (29) on each side of the two-wheeler, lateral to a seat backrest (41), which at least partially shields the occupant (50) from the upper body, wherein each side guardrail (44) carries an inflatable side airbag (70), characterized by , that each side gasbag (70) is housed in its assigned, hollow side guardrail (44) and can exit from it in the event of a crash. [2] Two-wheeler according to claim 1, characterized by, that the roof beams (26) are connected to each other via a roof (22) and the roof (22) merges seamlessly into the roof beams (26) and / or that the beams (20) merge seamlessly into the roof support structure (29) or are connected to the roof support structure (29) by means of at least one node component (31). [3] Two-wheeler according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by , that each side gasbag (70) is part of its own gasbag module (68) which has a cover that closes off a mounting opening (66) in the side guardrail (44) leading into the interior of the hollow side guardrail (44). [4] Two-wheeler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the inactivated side gasbags (70) are located in the upper third of the associated side guardrail (44). [5] Two-wheeler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the inflated side protection gas bags (70) extend vertically upwards at least to the top of the shoulder of a 50% dummy. [6] Two-wheeler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the side guardrails (44) extend downwards to the top of a seat surface (56). [7] Two-wheeler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the inflated side gasbags (70) extend to the front of the side guardrails (44) and project forward beyond them. [8] Two-wheeler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the inflated side gas bags (70) extend laterally to the lower legs (72) of the occupant (50) to cover them laterally and / or extend laterally to the head of a 95% dummy to cover the head laterally. [9] Two-wheeler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the inflated side gasbags (70) are supported section by section on the inside against the respective associated side guardrail (44). [10] Two-wheeler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the inflated side airbags (70) extend to below a seat surface (56) in the direction of the footrest and, preferably, can shield the occupant's feet laterally. [11] Two-wheeler according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the inflated side gasbags (70) have an outer wall (78) pointing outwards away from the two-wheeler, which is reinforced in comparison to an opposing inner wall of the side gasbags (70).

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