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Vehicle

  • US 9,517,807 B2
  • Filed: 09/24/2013
  • Issued: 12/13/2016
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2012
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A vehicle comprising:

  • a vehicle body frame;

    a right front wheel and a left front wheel disposed in a line in a left-and-right direction of the vehicle body frame;

    a right shock absorbing device supporting the right front wheel at a lower portion thereof and configured to attenuate displacement of the right front wheel with respect to an upper portion thereof in an up-and-down direction of the vehicle body frame;

    a left shock absorbing device supporting the left front wheel at a lower portion thereof and configured to attenuate displacement of the left front wheel with respect to an upper portion in the up-and-down direction of the vehicle body frame;

    a link mechanism including;

    a right side rod including a lower portion positioned in front of an upper portion thereof in a front-rear direction of the vehicle body frame, and supporting the upper portion of the right shock absorbing device to be turnable around a right axis extending in the up-and-down direction of the vehicle body frame;

    a left side rod including a lower portion positioned in front of an upper portion thereof in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body frame, and supporting the upper portion of the left shock absorbing device to be turnable around a left axis parallel or substantially parallel with the right axis;

    an upper cross member including a right end portion turnably supporting the upper portion of the right side rod, a left end portion turnably supporting the upper portion of the left side rod, and an intermediate portion supported by the vehicle body frame to be turnable around an upper axis extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body frame; and

    a lower cross member including a right end portion turnably supporting the lower portion of the right side rod, a left end portion turnably supporting the lower portion of the left side rod, and an intermediate portion supported by the vehicle body frame to be turnable around a lower axis parallel or substantially parallel with the upper axis; and

    a steering shaft supported by the vehicle body frame between the right side rod and the left side rod in the left-and-right direction of the vehicle body frame, turnable around an intermediate axis extending in the up-and-down direction of the vehicle body frame, including an upper end portion provided above the lower axis which is a turning axis of the lower cross member in the up-and-down direction of the vehicle body frame, and including a lower end portion provided in front of the upper end portion thereof in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body frame;

    whereinthe right shock absorbing device includes a right telescopic element positioned directly in front of the vehicle body frame in the front-rear direction and configured to expand or contract in an expansion and contraction direction extending in the up-and-down direction of the vehicle body frame, and to cause the right front wheel to be displaced in the expansion and contraction direction of the right telescopic element;

    the left shock absorbing device includes a left telescopic element positioned directly in front of the vehicle body frame in the front-rear direction and configured to expand or contract in the expansion and contraction direction extending in the up-and-down direction of the vehicle body frame, and to cause the left front wheel to be displaced in the expansion and contraction direction of the left telescopic element;

    in an upright state of the vehicle body frame, an acute angle θ

    L defined by a virtual plane perpendicularly or substantially perpendicularly intersecting with the upper axis and the lower axis and the up-and-down direction of the vehicle body frame is smaller than an acute angle θ

    TR defined by the expansion and contraction direction of the right telescopic element and the up-and-down direction of the vehicle body frame, an acute angle θ

    TL defined by the expansion and contraction direction of the left telescopic element and the up-and-down direction of the vehicle body frame, an acute angle θ

    SR defined by the right axis of the right side rod and the up-and-down direction of the vehicle body frame, and an acute angle θ

    SL defined by the left axis of the left side rod and the up-and-down direction of the vehicle body frame; and

    in the upright state of the vehicle body frame, the acute angle θ

    TR and the acute angle θ

    TL are greater than the acute angle θ

    L, and are equivalent to or smaller than the acute angle θ

    SR and the acute angle θ

    SL.

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