The purpose of the present invention is to provide a cushioning material structure, for a vehicle seat, that makes it possible to reduce the weight of the vehicle seat while maintaining stable riding performance. A cushioning material supported by the top surface of a bottom plate provided on a vehicle body is provided with voids. This allows weight reduction without reducing the thickness of the cushioning material as in conventional cushioning-material structures, thereby making it possible to reduce the weight of the vehicle seat while maintaining stable riding performance.

One embodiment provides a rear portion structure of a saddle-ride type vehicle. The structure includes: seat frames extending rearward and upward from a main frame; a riding seat supported on the seat frames; and a rear cowl covering the seat frames. The rear cowl is formed such that an upper cowl and a lower cowl are vertically assembled to each other by a vertical connecting portion. An upper connecting portion is formed on the upper cowl to extend over a lateral width of the upper cowl, a lower connecting portion is formed on the lower cowl to extend over a lateral width of the lower cowl, and each of them has a flat surface portion. An angle made by the flat surface portions is set to an acute angle.

One embodiment provides a rear portion structure of a saddle-ride type vehicle. The structure includes: seat frames extending rearward and upward from a main frame; a riding seat supported on the seat frames; and a rear cowl covering the seat frames. The rear cowl is formed such that an upper cowl and a lower cowl are vertically assembled to each other by a vertical connecting portion. An upper connecting portion is formed on the upper cowl to extend over a lateral width of the upper cowl, a lower connecting portion is formed on the lower cowl to extend over a lateral width of the lower cowl, and each of them has a flat surface portion. An angle made by the flat surface portions is set to an acute angle.

A seat attachment structure of a saddle riding vehicle in which, in a state a first end side of a seat, on which an occupant sits, in a forward/rearward direction of a vehicle body is locked to the vehicle body, a second end side of the seat in the forward/rearward direction of the vehicle body is coupled to the vehicle body, the seat attachment structure of the saddle riding vehicle includes a seat attachment member configured to couple a second end side of a seat to a vehicle body, and the seat attachment member includes vehicle body-side connecting sections swingably attached to the vehicle body while having an axis extending along a vehicle width direction as a swing axis, and seat fixing sections to which the second end side of the seat is attached.

An assembly composed of a saddle (10) and of a saddle compartment (12) for a motorcycle is described. The saddle (10) comprises an upper padded portion which constitutes the seat for the rider and/or passenger of the motorcycle, and a substantially rigid bottom portion (14) operatively connected to the relative saddle compartment (12) by hinge means (16). The saddle compartment (12) is made integral with a fixed portion of the motorcycle. The hinge means (16) enable the saddle (10) to pass from a closed position, in which said saddle (10) is positioned substantially horizontally above the saddle compartment (12) and permits the rider and any passenger of the motorcycle to sit on it, and an open position, in which said saddle (10) is positioned in a substantially vertical position and permits access to the saddle compartment (12). The assembly comprises at least one gas spring (18) attached to a fixed portion of the motorcycle and operatively connected, at its upper end, to the saddle (10). Between the upper end of the gas spring and the saddle (10) articulated connection means (20, 22) are interposed which permit said saddle (10) to maintain a stable open position.

An assembly composed of a saddle (10) and of a saddle compartment (12) for a motorcycle is described. The saddle (10) comprises an upper padded portion which constitutes the seat for the rider and/or passenger of the motorcycle, and a substantially rigid bottom portion (14) operatively connected to the relative saddle compartment (12) by hinge means (16). The saddle compartment (12) is made integral with a fixed portion of the motorcycle. The hinge means (16) enable the saddle (10) to pass from a closed position, in which said saddle (10) is positioned substantially horizontally above the saddle compartment (12) and permits the rider and any passenger of the motorcycle to sit on it, and an open position, in which said saddle (10) is positioned in a substantially vertical position and permits access to the saddle compartment (12). The assembly comprises at least one gas spring (18) attached to a fixed portion of the motorcycle and operatively connected, at its upper end, to the saddle (10). Between the upper end of the gas spring and the saddle (10) articulated connection means (20, 22) are interposed which permit said saddle (10) to maintain a stable open position.

An electric vehicle rechargeable via electric power transferred from a power outlet separate from the vehicle includes a seat movable between a first position for supporting a person and a second position. A caddy is positioned below the seat to define a cable storage volume. The cable storage volume is accessible when the seat is in the second position. A charging port is positioned outside of the caddy and accessible with the seat in the first position. A charging cable is positioned within the caddy, the charging cable having a first end engageable with the charging port of the vehicle and a second end engageable with the power outlet. The first and second ends of the charging cable are removable from the caddy when the seat is in the second position to enable charging the electric vehicle via the charging cable and the charging port.

An electric vehicle rechargeable via electric power transferred from a power outlet separate from the vehicle includes a seat movable between a first position for supporting a person and a second position. A caddy is positioned below the seat to define a cable storage volume. The cable storage volume is accessible when the seat is in the second position. A charging port is positioned outside of the caddy and accessible with the seat in the first position. A charging cable is positioned within the caddy, the charging cable having a first end engageable with the charging port of the vehicle and a second end engageable with the power outlet. The first and second ends of the charging cable are removable from the caddy when the seat is in the second position to enable charging the electric vehicle via the charging cable and the charging port.

A battery attaching/detaching structure for a saddle-type vehicle including: a plurality of substantially rectangular parallelepiped batteries for supplying electric power to a power source of the saddle-type vehicle; a battery case in which the batteries are stored; battery-side terminals provided on lower surfaces of the batteries; and case-side terminals engaged with the battery-side terminals, comprises terminal holders that support the case-side terminals such that the case-side terminals are movable between a connected position where the case-side terminals are connected to the battery-side terminals and a retracted position where the case-side terminals are separated from the battery-side terminals. Between the case-side terminals and the terminal holders, springs for urging the case-side terminals in a direction of pressing the battery-side terminals are disposed. Such battery attaching/detaching structure is capable of limiting the movement of a stored battery and maintaining good electrical connection between a battery-side terminal and a case-side terminal.

A seat cushion includes an edge portion and a three-dimensional fiber structure including core-sheath fusible fibers and skeletal fibers thermally fused at intersections thereof. The sheaths of the core-sheath fusible fibers are made of a thermoplastic elastomer to fuse the intersections and form a bulging portion at each of the fused intersections. The skeletal fibers and the cores of the core-sheath fusible fibers are made of a non-elastomer resin. The skeletal fibers are crimp-processed bulky fibers, and a fineness of the skeletal fibers and a fineness of the core-sheath fusible fibers are in a range of 1 to 200 dtex. The seat cushion has a layered structure including a plurality of layers fused together, each of the layers has the three-dimensional fiber structure, and the seat cushion has a density distribution based on regional variations of the layered structure and a stiffness distribution that depends on the density distribution.