BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a compact, lightweight cargo-carrying two-wheel motor scooter. Metropolitan areas around the world continue to increase in population and population density. This trend, of course, makes it more difficult to travel from one location in a metropolitan area to another over smog filled, traffic choked streets and reduces the safety of travel in the area. All of this makes it more costly and less safe for making deliveries of mail or product within a metropolitan area. This is the case where it involves intra-metropolitan courier service, parcel delivery service, postal delivery, and the like.

Because of this trend, a highly mobile, lightweight, economical, compact and low-emission vehicle capable of carrying cargo would be highly desirable. Such a vehicle would facilitate maneuverability in traffic to thereby increase the speed and safety of delivery, while reducing its costs.

OB.JECTS AND SUMM-λRY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a lightweight, economical, clean-emission cargo-carrying vehicle.

It is also an object of the invention to provide such a vehicle which is highly maneuverable in traffic.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a vehicle which is easy to operate and requires little space to store when not in use.

The above and other objects of the invention are realized in a specific illustrative embodiment of a cargo-carrying motorized two-wheel vehicle which includes a chassis having a front end and rear end, front and rear wheels rotatably mounted on the front and rear end respectively of the chassis, handlebars coupled to the front wheel to allow steering thereof, a motor mounted at the rear of the chassis for powering the rear wheel, a footboard formed in the chassis rearwardly of the handlebar, on which a rider may rest his or her feet, a seat disposed on the chassis rearwardly of the footboard, on which a rider may sit when resting his or her feet on the footboard, and a cargo receptacle disposed rearwardly of the seat and forwardly of the motor. The receptacle includes an opening through which cargo may be inserted into the receptacle for carrying by the vehicle.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a lid is hingedly attached to an edge of the opening of the receptacle for moving between an open position and a closed position. A seal is placed about the opening such that when the lid is in the closed position, the interior of the receptacle is sealed from the outside.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the receptacle is formed of a wire lattice or basket to allow viewing the contents of the receptacle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description presented in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a cargo- carrying motorized two-wheel vehicle made in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side, elevational, partially cut-away view of the vehicle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side, elevational view of another embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 4 is a top, plan view of a vehicle made in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The different figures showing the present invention shall be described with like numerals identifying like parts from one figure to another.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, there is shown one illustrative embodiment of a vehicle made in accordance with the present invention to include a chassis or frame 4 extending from a front end 4A to a rear end 4B (FIG. 2) . Mounted to swivel at the front end 4A of the frame 4 is a handlebar fork assembly 8, on the lower end of which is mounted a front wheel 12. The handlebar fork assembly 8 includes a pair of steering handlebars 16 for gripping by a rider to pivot or rotate the handlebar fork assembly and thus steer the vehicle. Brake levers 18 are mounted for gripping on the handlebars 16 and a throttle linkage is disposed in the right handlebar which may be twisted to cause the supply of more fuel to an engine (to be discussed) to increase the speed thereof. All

of the above is conventional structure for both motorcycles and motor scooters.

A covering or fairing 20 is formed to surround the handlebar fork assembly 8 and is mounted on the frame 4 in a conventional manner. The cover 20 as well as other parts described thus far could be made of metals, plastic or composite materials as desired. Mounted at the rear end 4B of the frame 4 is an engine 22 coupled to a rear wheel 24, rotatably mounted on the rear end 4B of the frame 4. Again, this is also conventional construction.

Disposed rearwardly of the handlebar fork assembly 8 is a seat 28 mounted on a pedestal 32 on which a rider may sit when riding the vehicle. Disposed on the frame 4 is a foot platform 36 on which the rider may rest his feet when riding.

Positioned immediately rearwardly of the seat 28 is a cargo-carrying container or receptacle 40 having side walls 40A and 40B, a front wall 40C and a rear wall 40D (FIG. 4) , and a floor or bottom wall 40E

(FIG. 3) . A lid 44 is mounted by a hinge 48 on the top of the front wall 40C, to pivot to an open position (shown by dotted line 52 in FIG. 3) in which access may be gained to the interior of the receptacle 40, or to a closed position in which the lid is resting on the tops of the side walls 40A and 40B, front wall 40C and rear wall 40D.

A resilient seal 56 is attached by an adhesive or other fastening method to the tops of the side walls 40A and 40B, front wall 40C and rear wall 40D to contact the edges of the lid 52 when the lid is in the closed position to thereby seal the interior of receptacle 40 from the exterior thereof, to enable maintaining the contents of the receptacle free from rain, moisture, dust and the like. Mateable elements of a latch 60 are mounted in the rear edge of the lid 44 and at the top of the rear wall 40D so that when

the lid is moved to the closed position, the mateable elements latch and prevent the lid from inadvertently opening. Any of a variety of conventional latch mechanisms could be utilized. A cover 46 is formed to cover the components located at the rear end of the vehicle, including the engine 22. The cover 46 is also formed with openings to allow placement therein of tail lights, turn signals and the like, all in a conventional fashion. The cover 46 could be made of metal, plastic or composite material, as could the side walls 40A and 40B, front wall 40C, rear wall 40E and bottom wall 40D of the receptacle 40, and the lid 44.

FIG. 3 is a side, elevational view of another embodiment of the motorized cargo-carrying two-wheel vehicle of the present invention. In this embodiment, a receptacle 70 is made of cross-linked wire rods 74 formed into a wire basket. The receptacle or basket 70 is positioned immediately rearwardly of the seat 28, as with the embodiment of FIG. 2, but does not include a lid to allow for quick and ready access to the interior of the receptacle. Of course, if desired, a lid could be employed to cover the wire basket 70. The depth of the basket 70 extends to the frame 4 to provide a fairly large cargo-carrying capability. Again, the wire basket could be made of metal, plastic or composite material.

In the manner described, a compact, lightweight, cargo-carrying vehicle is provided to give high and safe maneuverability in traffic congested environments. The cargo receptacle is positioned for easy access by the rider and is fairly deep to provide as much space as possible for receiving and holding packages, mail, and the like.