JP2024151987A - Multi-purpose vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a multipurpose vehicle which enables a winch to be provided in a vehicle body front part so as to make damage and breakage less likely to occur in the winch and enables easy maintenance work of the winch.SOLUTION: A multipurpose vehicle includes: a winch holding part 30 which extends from a vehicle body frame 20 to the front of a vehicle body and detachably holds a winch 31; and a front guard 15A having a guard part 32 configured to cover the winch 31 held by the winch holding part 30 from the front of the vehicle body. The front guard 15A forms a winch holding space S between the guard part 32 and the vehicle body frame 20 and enables the winch 31 to be inserted into or removed from the winch holding space S from the lateral side of the vehicle body.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a multi-purpose vehicle.

Conventionally, there are multipurpose vehicles as shown in Patent Document 1. Also, there are vehicles equipped with a winch at the front of the body as shown in Patent Document 2.

JP 2021-95084 A Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-175449

There is a demand for multi-purpose vehicles to be able to be used for winching operations. If a winch is installed at the front of the vehicle based on conventional technology, there is a risk that the winch may collide with trees, structures, etc. in front of the vehicle and be damaged or broken.

The present invention provides a multi-purpose vehicle that can be equipped with a winch at the front of the vehicle body to prevent it from being damaged or broken and to facilitate repair and other maintenance work.

The multi-purpose vehicle according to the present invention comprises:
A front guard is provided which extends from the body frame towards the front of the vehicle body and has a winch holding portion which holds a winch in a detachable manner, and a guard portion which covers the winch held in the winch holding portion from the front of the vehicle body, and the front guard forms a winch holding space between the guard portion and the body frame, and is configured so that the winch can be inserted and removed from the winch holding space from the lateral side of the vehicle body.

According to this configuration, by holding the winch in the winch holding section, the winch is held on the vehicle body frame via the front guard, and the winch held in the winch holding section is guarded from the front by the guard section, so the winch can be mounted on the front of the vehicle body while being less susceptible to damage or breakage. The winch can be removed from the winch holding space to the side of the vehicle body, and can be inserted into the winch holding space from the side of the vehicle body, so the winch can be removed even if the front guard is still held on the vehicle body frame, making it easy to perform maintenance work such as repairing the winch.

In the present invention,
It is preferable that the front guard is detachable from the body frame.

With this configuration, the front guard can be removed from the vehicle frame, and the winch can be attached and detached from the winch holding portion of the front guard in this state.

In the present invention,
It is preferable that the guard portion is raised from the winch holding portion and a connecting portion is provided at an upper portion of the guard portion for connecting the guard portion to the vehicle body frame.

With this configuration, the guard section is held at the bottom by the winch holding section and at the top by the vehicle frame, so the winch can be guarded by the guard section that is securely held by the winch holding section and the vehicle frame.

In the present invention,
It is preferable that the guard portion has an air hole formed therein.

With this configuration, the air resistance on the guard section can be reduced by venting through the air vents, allowing the vehicle to travel forward.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the utility vehicle from the left side. FIG. 1 is a front view of a utility vehicle. FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of the front guard as seen from the left side. FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following description, with respect to the running body of a utility vehicle, the direction of arrow F shown in Figures 1, 4, etc. is referred to as the "front side of the vehicle body," the direction of arrow B is referred to as the "rear side of the vehicle body," the direction of arrow U shown in Figures 1, 2, 4, etc. is referred to as the "upper side of the vehicle body," the direction of arrow D is referred to as the "lower side of the vehicle body," the direction of arrow L shown in Figures 2, 3, etc. is referred to as the "left side of the vehicle body," and the direction of arrow R is referred to as the "right side of the vehicle body."

[Overall configuration of multi-purpose vehicle]
The multipurpose vehicle shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is used for various purposes such as transporting luggage and recreation. The multipurpose vehicle has a traveling body 3 equipped with a pair of left and right front wheels 1 that can be steered and driven, and a pair of left and right rear wheels 2 that can be driven. A front bumper 4, a front cover 5, and a front guard 15 are provided at the front of the traveling body 3. A front rack 7 is provided above the front cover 5. Left and right headlights 6 are attached to the front bumper 4. A boarding section 8 is formed at the middle part in the front-rear direction of the traveling body 3. The boarding section 8 is provided with a driver's seat 9, a steering wheel 10 that steers the front wheels 1, a front boarding section 8A having a passenger seat, a rear boarding section 8B having a rear seat 11, and a rope 12 that surrounds the boarding space of the front boarding section 8A and the boarding space of the rear boarding section 8B. A loading platform 13 is provided behind the boarding section 8. A motive power section 14 is formed below the loading platform 13. The driving unit 14 includes an engine, a power transmission device that changes the speed of the engine output and transmits it to the front wheels 1 and the rear wheels 2, and the like.

[Front guard]
1 and 2, a front guard 15 is provided at the front of the traveling vehicle body 3. The front guard 15 includes a lower front guard 15A and an upper front guard 15B.

[Upper front guard]
As shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4, the upper front guard 15B is raised from the upper part of the lower front guard 15A forward of the front bumper 4 and is supported by the lower front guard 15A to guard the front of the front bumper 4.

More specifically, the upper front guard 15B is provided with left and right guard rod portions 16 and a central guard portion 17, as shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the left guard rod portion 16 extends from the upper left part of the lower front guard 15A forward of the front bumper 4 and outward to the upper left, reaching a lower front part of the left headlight 6 held by the front bumper 4. The right guard rod portion 16 extends from the upper right part of the lower front guard 15A forward of the front bumper 4 and outward to the upper right, reaching a lower front part of the right headlight 6 held by the front bumper 4. The center guard portion 17 is attached to and held by the left and right guard rod portions 16, and is located in front of the center of the front bumper 4 in the left-right direction.

The left and right guard rods 16 are made of round steel pipes, reducing the weight of the upper front guard 15B. The left and right guard rods 16 are not limited to round steel pipes, and can be made of square steel pipes, angle members, solid round bars, square steel, etc.

The central guard section 17 is made of a metal plate and is attached to and held by the left and right guard rod sections 16. As shown in FIG. 4, the central guard section 17 is connected to the left and right guard rod sections 16 by connecting the connecting section 17a provided on the central guard section 17 to the guard rod sections 16 with connecting bolts 18. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the central guard section 17 has ventilation holes 19 at multiple locations to reduce air resistance acting on the central guard section 17 when the traveling vehicle body 3 travels forward.

[Lower front guard]
As shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5, the lower front guard 15A comprises a winch holding portion 30 extending toward the front of the vehicle body from the lower part of the body frame 20, and a guard portion 32 that rises from the winch holding portion 30 and protects the winch 31 held by the winch holding portion 30 from the front.

More specifically, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the vehicle body frame 20 includes left and right longitudinal frames 21, vertical frames 22 extending upward from the front ends of the left and right longitudinal frames 21, and a plate-shaped connecting frame 23 connecting the front ends of the left and right longitudinal frames 21. As shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5, the vehicle body frame 20 includes mounting portions 24 located between the front ends of the left and right longitudinal frames 21 and the lower parts of the left and right vertical frames 22. The mounting portions 24 are made of metal plates and are connected and held by welding to the longitudinal frames 21 and the vertical frames 22.

As shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, the winch holding part 30 has a connecting part 33 extending downward from the rear, and is held on the vehicle frame 20 in a state where it extends forward from the vehicle body by being attached to and held by the mounting part 24. The connecting part 33 is connected to the mounting part 24 by a connecting bolt 34 (see Figures 3 and 5). The winch holding part 30 is held removably on the vehicle body frame 20.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, a plate-shaped first reinforcing member 35 is connected between the back surface of the winch holding portion 30 and the front surface of the connecting portion 33. A second reinforcing member 36 with a groove-shaped cross section is connected between a portion 35a of the first reinforcing member 35 that is aligned with the winch holding portion 30 and a portion 35b of the first reinforcing member 35 that is aligned with the connecting portion 33. The winch holding portion 30 is reinforced by the first reinforcing member 35 and the second reinforcing member 36. The connecting bolt 34 is inserted through the portion 35b of the first reinforcing member 35 that is aligned with the connecting portion 33.

The winch 31 is an electric winch. As shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, the winch 31 is held by the winch holding part 30 by placing the winch 31 on the winch holding part 30 in an installation position in which the longitudinal direction is along the left-right direction of the vehicle body, and engaging and tightening a connecting bolt 44 (see Figs. 3, 4, and 5) that passes through the winch holding part 30 from below upwards with the connecting part of the winch 31. As shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, a fairlead 40 is provided in front of the winch 31. As shown in Fig. 4, the fairlead 40 has a connecting member 45 that extends rearward from the rear of the fairlead 40, and is held by the winch holding part 30 by connecting the connecting member 45 to the winch holding part 30. The connecting member 45 is connected to the winch holding part 30 by tightening it together with the winch 31 with the connecting bolt 44.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the guard section 32 has connecting arm sections 37 provided at the left and right ends, and is raised from the connecting section 33 of the winch holding section 30 by the left and right connecting arm sections 37. The left and right connecting arm sections 37 are connected and held to the connecting section 33 by welding. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, connecting sections 38 are provided at the left and right ends of the upper part of the guard section 32, and the left and right connecting sections 38 are connected and held to the mounting sections 25 provided on the vertical frame 22 of the vehicle frame 20. The connecting sections 38 are connected to the mounting sections 25 by connecting bolts 39. The guard section 32 is held by the winch holding section 30 at the lower part and by the vehicle frame 20 at the upper part. The upper part of the guard section 32 is detachably connected to the vehicle frame 20.

As shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the guard portion 32 has a fairlead insertion hole 41 through which the fairlead 40 is inserted together with the connecting member 45 for attachment and detachment. Air vents 42 are opened in the guard portion 32 on both sides of the fairlead insertion hole 41 to suppress air resistance acting on the guard portion 32 when the traveling vehicle body 3 travels forward. In this embodiment, the air vents 42 are opened in multiple locations, but they may be provided in only one location. The shape of the air vents 42 may be any shape, such as a circle, an ellipse, or a rectangle.

The lower front guard 15A can be detached from the vehicle frame 20 by attaching and detaching the connecting portion 33 of the winch holding portion 30 to and from the mounting portion 24 of the vehicle frame 20, and by attaching and detaching the connecting portion 38 of the guard portion 32 to and from the mounting portion 25 of the vertical frame 22.

As shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5, when the lower front guard 15A is attached to the vehicle frame 20, a winch holding space S is formed between the guard portion 32 and the vertical frame 22 of the vehicle frame 20, and insertion/removal openings 43 that allow the winch 31 to be inserted and removed from the winch holding space S are formed at both lateral ends of the lower front guard 15A. The left and right insertion/removal openings 43 are formed by the connecting arm portion 37, the vertical frame 22, the mounting portion 25, and the winch holding portion 30, as shown in Figure 4.

In the lower front guard 15A, the connection part 33 of the winch holding part 30 is connected to the mounting part 24 by a connecting bolt 34, and the connection part 38 of the guard part 32 is connected to the mounting part 25 by a connecting bolt 39, so that the winch is held in a detachable state on the vehicle frame 20. By holding the winch 31 in the winch holding part 30, the winch 31 can be provided at the front of the traveling vehicle body 3 while being guarded from the front by the guard part 32.

By operating the connecting bolt 44 to the disconnected state, the winch 31 is disconnected from the winch holding part 30, and the fairlead 40 is also disconnected from the winch 31. By moving the winch 31 from the winch holding space S toward the outside of the side of the vehicle body with its longitudinal direction aligned with the left-right direction of the vehicle body, the winch 31 can be removed from the insertion/removal opening 43 to the outside of the side of the vehicle body of the lower front guard 15A.

By inserting the winch 31 into the insertion/removal opening 43 from the outer side of the vehicle body of the lower front guard 15A with its longitudinal direction aligned with the left-right direction of the vehicle body, the winch 31 can be placed in the winch holding space S, connected to the winch holding part 30, and held by the lower front guard 15A.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the upper front guard 15B was provided in addition to the lower front guard 15A. However, the upper front guard 15B may not be provided and only the lower front guard 15A may be provided.

(2) In the above embodiment, the lower front guard 15A is detachable from the body frame 20, but the lower front guard 15A may be fixed to the body frame 20 in an undetachable manner.

(3) In the above embodiment, the guard portion 32 rises from the winch holding portion 30 and is held by the winch holding portion 30, but the guard portion 32 may not be held by the winch holding portion 30, and may be connected to the vehicle frame 20 and held separately from the winch holding portion 30.

(4) In the above embodiment, the upper part of the guard part 32 is provided with a connecting part 38 that is connected to the vehicle frame 20, but this connecting part 38 may not be provided.

(5) In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the ventilation hole 42 was opened in the guard portion 32, but the ventilation hole 42 may not be provided.

The present invention can be applied to multi-purpose vehicles.

15A Lower front guard (front guard)
20 Body frame 30 Winch holding portion 31 Winch 32 Guard portion 38 Connection portion 42 Ventilation hole S Winch holding space

Claims (4)

a front guard extending from the vehicle frame toward the front of the vehicle body and having a winch holding portion for detachably holding a winch, and a guard portion for covering the winch held in the winch holding portion from the front of the vehicle body;
The front guard defines a winch holding space between the guard portion and the vehicle body frame, and the winch is configured to be insertable and removable from the winch holding space from a lateral side of the vehicle body. The multi-purpose vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the front guard is detachable from the body frame. The guard portion is raised from the winch holding portion,
2. The multi-purpose vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a connecting portion is provided at an upper portion of the guard portion for connecting the guard portion to the vehicle body frame. The multi-purpose vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the guard portion has an air vent.

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