Saddle-ride Vehicle Leg Shield Bumper Structure

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional leg shield structures in saddle-ride-type vehicles face challenges in protecting coated surfaces when the vehicle falls sideways, as the colored bumper portion is not effectively engaged to absorb impact, and the windshield performance is not adequately enhanced.

Innovation Solution

The leg shield structure comprises an outer leg shield with a coated surface and an inner leg shield with a colored surface, where the inner leg shield is positioned behind the outer leg shield, with a bumper portion that extends outward and upward, allowing the colored surface to contact the ground first and enhancing wind deflection, thus protecting the coated surface and improving windshield performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If the leg shield is designed with a single cover structure, then the manufacturing is simple, but the coated surface cannot be effectively protected when the vehicle falls sideways

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemanufacturing simplicityVSAvoidcoated surface protection
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The leg shield is divided into an outer leg shield (11) and an inner leg shield (12B, 13C) that are separate components. The inner leg shield is positioned behind the outer leg shield with its rear portion extending more outward to form a bumper portion (21). This segmentation allows the bumper portion to contact the ground first during a fall, protecting the coated surface of the outer leg shield, while maintaining relatively simple manufacturing for each individual component.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If the bumper portion extends outward in the vehicle widthwise direction, then the coated surface protection is improved, but the windshield performance is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecoated surface protectionVSAvoidwindshield performance
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The inner leg shield is designed with different spatial configurations for different portions: the front portion (12C, 13D) is arranged more inside in the vehicle widthwise direction to maintain good windshield performance by allowing wind to flow smoothly over the rider's legs, while the rear portion (12D, 13E) extends more outward to form the bumper portion (21) that provides coated surface protection by contacting the ground first during falls. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between protection and aerodynamic performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Volume of moving object

If the inner leg shield is positioned closely behind the outer leg shield, then the overall structure is compact, but the bumper portion cannot effectively contact the ground during falls

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructural compactnessVSAvoidground contact capability
Core Design Contradiction:
Volume of moving objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The inner leg shield is positioned behind the outer leg shield in the longitudinal direction while its rear portion (12D, 13E) extends outward in the vehicle widthwise direction beyond the outer leg shield's width. This creates a three-dimensional configuration where the bumper portion protrudes outward to form a ground-contacting edge, ensuring effective ground contact during falls while maintaining a compact overall structure that does not excessively increase the vehicle's width.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentEP2428437B1Leg shield structure of saddle-ride-type vehicle
Publication Date: 2015.07.15 HONDA MOTOR CO LTD
  • EP2428437B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2428437B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2428437B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

To protect, in a saddle-ride-type vehicle provided with a leg shield (11.12B,13C) having a coated surface and a colored surface, a portion to which the coated surface is applied by bringing the colored surface into contact with a ground even when the vehicle falls sideways such that the leg shield is brought into contact with the ground to an extent that a portion of the leg shield in the vicinity of an upper portion of the vehicle is also brought into contact with the ground. A leg shield is constituted of an outer leg shield (11) which includes a coated surface portion (17), and an upper inner leg shield portion (12B) and a lower inner leg shield portion (13C) which include the colored surface portions (18,19), are arranged behind the outer leg shield (11) and have front portions thereof arranged more inside in the vehicle widthwise direction than the outer leg shield (11), and rear portions of the upper inner leg shield portion (12B) and the lower inner leg shield portion (13C) are arranged more outside in the vehicle widthwise direction than the outer leg shield (11) thus forming a bumper portion (21).