Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Yusuke Muto

Wataru Yada

Yasuka Mori

Motoharu Yokoi

Makoto Mitsukawa

Masahiro Shimizu

Yoshinobu Shiomi

Yoshinari Takemura

Shiro Kokubu

Yasuo Shinde

Yasufumi Yokura

Yuhi Nakagawa

Mitsukawa Makoto

To suppress the height of a vehicle body frame of an inverted pendulum type vehicle in consideration of mounting and dismounting the vehicle. Left and right drive units are disposed so as to be juxtaposed in the left-right direction at same-height positions higher than a main wheel. The left and right drive units and a battery pack are disposed so as to be juxtaposed in front and behind a vehicle body frame.

Inverted pendulum type vehicle

An inverted pendulum type vehicle includes a vehicle body frame; a main wheel including a plurality of rotatable driven rollers arranged to form a ring, and a pair of left and right driving disks supported for rotation on the vehicle body frame. Each of the driving disks includes a plurality of rotatable driving rollers, disposed for contact in a twisted relationship with the driven rollers. The vehicle also includes a pair of left and right driven pulleys provided on outer sides of the driving disks, and a pair of left and right driving units, attached to the vehicle body frame above the main wheel, and including motors having output power shafts to which driving pulleys are attached. Endless transmission members interconnect the driving pulleys and the driven pulleys. The left and right driving units are disposed in an vertically offset relationship from each other.

An inverted pendulum type vehicle includes a vehicle body frame having a footstep on which for positioning a rider's feet, a main wheel subjected to an inverted pendulum control, and stand arms pivotally mounted between a standing position and a housing position for supporting the vehicle body frame in a standing state when the inverted pendulum control is not being carried out and the stand arms is positioned at the standing position. The inverted pendulum type vehicle has housing levers that are provided on the vehicle body frame for pivoting the stand arms from the standing position to the housing position. The housing levers protrude upward from a footrest surface of the footstep when the stand arms is positioned at the standing position, and pivot the stand arms to the housing position by being pushed down to the side of the footrest surface.

An inverted pendulum type vehicle is configured to permit a user to easily get on to the vehicle in a forward-facing posture from the rear of a vehicle body. The vehicle includes a seat for supporting a user thereon, as well as a main wheel driven by an inverted pendulum control, a vehicle body frame which rotatably supports the main wheel, and a tail wheel attached to a tail wheel arm, supported for pivotal motion on the vehicle body frame. The seat is attached to the vehicle body frame at an uppermost portion thereof. The vehicle body frame pivots rearwardly around an axle of the driving wheel together with the seat upon cancellation of the inverted pendulum control and the range of pivotal motion thereof is limited by contact thereof with the arm.

An inverted pendulum type vehicle includes electrical components configured and arranged efficiently to provide a compact structure. The inverted pendulum type vehicle includes a traveling unit, including a main wheel driven under inverted pendulum control. The vehicle also includes a vehicle body frame supported on, and extending upwardly from the traveling unit, as well as a driving unit, including a pair of driving motors supported on the vehicle body frame and disposed above the main wheel for driving the main wheel. An electrical control unit is supported on the vehicle body frame in front of the driving motors for controlling the driving unit. The driving unit is disposed behind a front edge of the main wheel, and the electrical control unit is disposed between a front edge of the main wheel and the front edge of the driving unit.

An inverted pendulum type vehicle includes a traveling unit with a main wheel, a vehicle body frame having the main wheel supported thereon, and a pair of left and right driving units supported on the vehicle body frame for driving the main wheel. The vehicle also includes a battery unit for supplying electric power to the driving units, a seat for supporting an occupant thereon, and a telescopic strut for supporting the seat for selected upward and downward movement. The telescopic strut is disposed between the driving unit and the battery unit in a front-to-rear direction of the vehicle body.

A vehicular fuel tank fuel filler orifice device that is provided with a fuel filler orifice in an upper wall of a vehicular fuel tank that stores ethanol fuel for an engine and a fuel filler guide tube extending from the fuel filler orifice to the interior of the fuel tank. A flame arrestor made of a metal mesh with a larger diameter than that of the fuel filler guide tube is mounted on the fuel filler guide tube. The flame arrestor covers a lower opening of the fuel filler guide tube for allowing a flow of the fuel but preventing the entrance of a flame. Using a flame arrestor, not only prevents a flame from entering a fuel tank from a fuel filler orifice but also smoothly carries out an exchange of fuel and air in the flame arrestor when filling with fuel, thus speeding the filling with fuel.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Yusuke Muto