JP2009234515A - Steering damper - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering damper equipped with an improved feeling in steering while it enables maintaining of the neutral condition not requiring turning the steering wheel of a motorcycle. <P>SOLUTION: The steering damper is equipped with a damper body with one end coupled with the steering wheel B of the motorcycle and the other end coupled with the body frame P and a reserver 10 installed in continuity to the damper body in consolidation, wherein an energizing means 13 to advance the bulkhead 12 by energizing it from behind is installed in an accommodating chamber A partitioned from a fluid chamber R by the bulkhead 12 where the reserver 10 is accommodated slidably, and the damper body is arranged in a rod side chamber R1 partitioned in a cylinder 1 by a piston 3, while another energizing means 5 is installed to energize and advance the piston 3 toward another rod side chamber R2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering damper, and more particularly, to an improvement in a steering damper that improves feeling when a front wheel of a two-wheeled vehicle is steered.

  There have been various proposals for a steering damper that improves the feeling when the front wheels of a two-wheeled vehicle are steered. Among them, for example, in Patent Document 1, for example, when the front wheels are largely steered The proposal which does not make a handle heavy is disclosed.

  That is, according to the proposal of this document disclosure, the damper main body formed in a cylindrical shape in which the rod body protrudes and retracts with respect to the cylinder body is in the most contracted state on the front wheel side of the two-wheeled vehicle, and one end is used as the head pipe on the body frame side. While pivotally attached, the other end is pivotally attached to the handle side fork bracket.

  At this time, the damper main body is disposed so that the axial direction in which the rod body protrudes and retracts relative to the cylinder body is the axial direction of the head pipe, and the piston body slidably accommodated in the cylinder body is a rod It has a damping valve on the expansion side while connected to the body.

  Therefore, in the proposal of this document disclosure, in the vicinity where the steering angle of the steering wheel becomes 0 degree, the sliding stroke of the rod body with respect to the cylinder body is short, and as the steering angle of the steering wheel moves away from 0 degree, the cylinder body The sliding stroke of the rod body with respect to increases.

As a result, the damping force generated by the expansion side damping valve of the piston body basically increases as the sliding stroke of the piston body increases.
JP-A-2005-271667 (see abstract, paragraphs 0010, 0019, FIGS. 2 and 3 in the specification)

  However, in the proposal of the above-mentioned document disclosure, there is basically no problem in terms of improving the feeling at the time of turning, but there is a slight problem in actual use. May be pointed out.

  In other words, an external-type reservoir is connected to the above-described damper body, and this reservoir has a fluid chamber communicating with a piston-side chamber defined by a piston body in the damper body. The chamber has a gas chamber defined through a free piston as a partition wall, and the gas chamber has a spring for pressing the free piston.

  Therefore, in the above-described damper main body, when the damper body is in the most contracted state, hydraulic oil corresponding to the immersion volume of the rod body flows into the fluid chamber of the reservoir and compresses the gas chamber. The pressure rises, this pressure acts on the rod body, and urges the damper body in the extending direction.

  As a result, in the steering damper disclosed in the above-described literature, there is a problem that the steering wheel is easily steered to the left and right when the steering is not neutral.

  The present invention was devised in view of the above-described circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to improve the feeling at the time of turning while allowing the neutral state to be maintained without requiring the turning of the steering wheel. Therefore, it is to provide a steering damper that is optimal for expecting improvement in versatility.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the structure of the steering damper according to the present invention basically includes a damper body having one end connected to the handle side of a two-wheeled vehicle and the other end connected to the body frame side of the two-wheeled vehicle. A rod body connected to the cylinder body so as to be able to protrude and retract; a piston body which is connected to the rod body and is slidably received in the cylinder body and has damping means; and the piston body defines the cylinder body. And a reservoir connected to the damper body has a fluid chamber communicating with the piston side chamber, and is disposed in a chamber defined by a partition wall in the fluid chamber. And has a biasing means for biasing the partition wall toward the fluid chamber, and the damper body is the best when the steering angle of the steering wheel in a two-wheeled vehicle is 0 degree. In the steering damper in which the extension stroke is increased as the steering angle is deviated from 0 degree while the state is maintained, the damper main body is disposed in the rod side chamber in the cylinder body, and the piston body faces the piston side chamber. Assume that it has an energizing means to energize.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the damper main body is arranged in the rod side chamber in the cylinder body and has the urging means for urging the piston body toward the piston side chamber, so that the damper main body is coupled to the damper main body. Even if the reservoir has a biasing means disposed in a chamber defined by a partition wall in a fluid chamber communicating with the piston side chamber and biasing the partition toward the fluid chamber, The force that urges the steering wheel in the extending direction is suppressed, so that a situation in which the steering wheel is easily steered to the left and right is not caused when the steering wheel is neutral.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on the illustrated embodiment. A steering damper according to the present invention improves feeling when a front wheel in a traveling motorcycle is steered.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the steering damper has a cylindrically formed damper body arranged on the front wheel side of the two-wheeled vehicle in a so-called vertical state, and one end is pivotally attached to, for example, a head pipe P on the vehicle body frame side. The end is pivotally attached to the fork bracket B on the handle side.

  The damper main body has an up-and-down direction along the axial direction of the head pipe P so that the damper body is contracted to the maximum when the steering angle of the handle in the motorcycle becomes 0 degrees.

  The fork bracket B is a pair of upper and lower upper brackets B1 and B2, and is connected in a state of gripping the upper end portions of the front fork F that is a pair of hydraulic shock absorbers on the left and right.

  Although not shown, a steering shaft is coaxially inserted in the shaft core portion in the head pipe P, and upper and lower ends of the steering shaft are integrally connected to the upper bracket B1 and the under bracket B2. A bearing member is arranged between the head pipe P and the head pipe P to freely rotate with respect to the fork bracket B.

  In addition, one end of the damper body is illustrated as an eye 1a connected to the bottom end of the cylinder body 1, and the other end of the damper body is the base of the rod body 2 connected to the cylinder body 1 so as to be able to project and retract. The eye 2a is connected to the end, and each eye 1a, 2a is pivotally attached to the head pipe P or the fork bracket B, respectively.

  When the damper main body is disposed so as to be bridged between the head pipe P and the fork bracket B, a spherical joint may be interposed between the inner peripheral portions of the eyes 1a and 2a.

  Although the damper main body is arranged upside down in the drawing, this is for dust countermeasures, and when priority is not given to dust countermeasures, the cylinder body 1 may be arranged on the under bracket B2 side.

  The front fork F includes a vehicle body side tube T1 and a wheel side tube that suspends the front wheel. For example, when the vehicle body side tube T1 is a large-diameter outer tube, the front fork F is set upside down and has a small inner diameter. When it is a tube, it is set upright.

  Although the steering damper is arranged in the head pipe P and the under bracket B2 in the drawing, it may be arranged in the head pipe P and the upper bracket B1, although not shown.

  Therefore, in the two-wheeled vehicle provided with the steering damper described above, when the steering wheel is steered, the front fork F rotates left and right around the head pipe P and the front wheel suspended on the front fork F. Rotate left and right in synchronization.

  In the damper body in the steering damper, when the rod body 2 protrudes with respect to the cylinder body 1 and extends, and the handle is returned so that the steering angle is 0 degree, the cylinder body 1 The rod body 2 is immersed inside and contracted.

  On the other hand, the steering damper according to the present invention integrally includes the reservoir 10 and the damping force adjusting unit 20 in the above-described damper body, and the reservoir 10 ensures the expansion and contraction operation of the damper body, and the damping force adjusting unit 20 Increases or decreases the damping force generated in the damper body.

  The reservoir 10 includes a housing 11 formed integrally with the cylinder body 1 in the damper body, a free piston 12 as a partition body slidably housed in the housing 11, and the free piston 12 in the housing 1. An oil chamber R that is a fluid chamber that is defined and communicates with the cylinder body 11 in the damper body, and a chamber A that is opposed to the oil chamber R with the free piston 12 interposed therebetween. And a coil spring 13 which is an urging means for urging the coil.

  In the reservoir 10, the open end of the housing 11 is closed by a cap member 14, and the cap member 14 carries the base end of the coil spring 13.

  Therefore, in the reservoir 10, the oil chamber R is pressed through the free piston 12 by the biasing force of the coil spring 13 in the housing 11, and as a result, in the damper body, the oil chamber R The pressure acts on the rod body 2, and the rod body 2 receives a thrust in the extending direction that comes out of the cylinder body 1.

  As described above, the damper body has the rod body 2 inserted in the cylinder body 1 so that the rod body 2 can protrude and retract. The piston body 3 is fixedly held at the tip of the rod body 2 in the cylinder body 1. .

  The piston body 3 defines a rod side chamber R1 and a piston side chamber R2 in the cylinder body 1, and both the chambers R1 and R2 are provided on the piston body 3 with an extension side damping valve 4a and a pressure side suction. When the hydraulic oil in the rod side chamber R1 flows out to the piston side chamber R2 through the expansion side damping valve 4a, a damping force having a predetermined magnitude is generated.

  In this damper body, the rod side chamber R1 in the cylinder body 1 has a tip that is in contact with the valve body 4 side, that is, the valve stopper 4c (see FIG. 3) behind the suction valve 4b. A coil spring 5 is disposed.

  The base end of the coil spring 5 is carried by a cap member 6 that seals the open end of the cylinder body 1 under the penetration of the rod body 2, and the biasing force of the coil spring 5 is applied to the reservoir 10. It is desirable to be superior to the urging force of the coil spring 13 as the urging means.

  Therefore, the damper main body is maintained in the most contracted state when the extension force, which is an external force in the axial direction, does not act, so that the damper main body is bridged between the body frame side and the handle side of the motorcycle. When deployed, the steering angle of the steering wheel can be maintained at 0 degrees, i.e., it can be maintained in a neutral state in which the steering wheel is not rotated to the left or right.

  The damping force adjusting unit 20 serving as a detuning unit includes a valve body 23 that is held by screwing a cap member 22 to a housing 21 that is formed integrally with the cylinder body 1 in the damper body.

  The valve body 23 has a needle portion 23a that advances and retreats by a rotation operation of the connecting adjuster 24 at the base end. The needle portion 23a connects the piston side chamber R2 and the rod side chamber R1 in the cylinder body 1 to the cylinder body. When advancing and retreating in the flow path L communicating outside 1, the flow rate of hydraulic oil passing through the flow path L is controlled.

  Therefore, in the damping force adjusting unit 20, the damping force generated by the extension-side damping valve 4a in the damper main body can be adjusted in level by rotating the adjuster 24 when desired.

  By the way, in the damper main body in the steering damper according to the present invention, the cylinder body 1 has a bypass path that bypasses the expansion-side damping valve 4 a disposed in the piston body 3, and the piston body 3 in the cylinder body 1. Do not increase the damping force unnecessarily when sliding with a large stroke.

  That is, in the damper main body, the cylinder body 1 that slides the piston body 3 has an extension side that the piston body 3 has after sliding in a certain region when the piston body 3 is extended from the most contracted state. The generation of the damping force by the damping valve 4a is cancelled.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the cylinder body 1 has a groove 1 a along the sliding direction of the piston body 3, which is not shown in detail, but is close to the opening end of the cylinder body 1. It is formed in a region W that starts from approximately the middle part of the cylinder body 1.

  Therefore, in the damper main body having this bypass path, from the time when the steering angle of the steering wheel is 0 degree to the time when the steering angle becomes several degrees, the extension side damping valve 4a provided in the piston body 3 is used. Although a damping force can be expected to be generated, when the steering angle of the steering wheel increases thereafter, the damping force generated by the extension-side damping valve 4a does not increase, and thus the steering wheel does not become heavy.

1 is a partial view showing a front surface of a two-wheeled vehicle equipped with a steering damper according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a part of the steering damper shown in FIG. 1 in a front view. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a piston body part in the steering damper of FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cylinder body 2 Rod body 3 Piston body 4a Damping valve 4b Suction valve 5,13 Coil spring as urging means 10 Reservoir 11 Housing 12 Free piston as partition body 20 Damping force adjustment part as demodulation means A Capacity chamber B Body frame side Fork bracket L Flow path P Head pipe as housing side R Oil chamber as fluid chamber R1 Rod side chamber R2 Piston side chamber

Claims (7)

A damper body, which has one end connected to the handle side of the motorcycle and the other end connected to the body frame side of the motorcycle, a cylinder body, a rod body connected to the cylinder body so as to be able to protrude and retract, and a cylinder while being connected to the rod body A piston body slidably housed in the body and having a damping means; a rod side chamber and a piston side chamber defined in the cylinder body by the piston body; A fluid chamber communicating with the side chamber, and a biasing means disposed in a chamber defined in the fluid chamber via the partition body and biasing the partition body toward the fluid chamber; While the steering angle of the steering wheel in a two-wheeled vehicle is maintained at the most contracted state when the steering angle is 0 degree, the extension stroke increases as the steering angle departs from 0 degree. A steering damper comprising Te, steering damper damper body is characterized by comprising a biasing means operable to urge the piston member is Zaisa distribution to the rod side chamber of the cylinder body to the piston side chamber. The steering damper according to claim 1, wherein the biasing means in the damper main body is a coil spring. The steering damper according to claim 1, wherein a damping means is disposed on the piston body to allow passage of fluid from the rod side chamber to the piston side chamber and generate a damping force. The steering damper according to claim 1, wherein an urging force of the urging means of the damper main body is made larger than an urging force of the urging means of the reservoir when the damper main body is contracted most. The steering damper according to claim 1, wherein the biasing means in the reservoir chamber is a coil spring. The steering damper according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder body has a bypass path that bypasses the piston body on an inner periphery in an axial direction of the cylinder body. The steering damper according to claim 1, wherein the rod-side chamber and the piston-side chamber in the cylinder body can communicate with each other via a reducing means disposed in a flow path formed outside the cylinder body.

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