CA2253659A1 - An apparatus for hydraulically dampening the movement of the front and/or rear wheel of a two-wheel vehicle - Google Patents
An apparatus for hydraulically dampening the movement of the front and/or rear wheel of a two-wheel vehicle Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2253659A1 CA2253659A1 CA 2253659 CA2253659A CA2253659A1 CA 2253659 A1 CA2253659 A1 CA 2253659A1 CA 2253659 CA2253659 CA 2253659 CA 2253659 A CA2253659 A CA 2253659A CA 2253659 A1 CA2253659 A1 CA 2253659A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- tube member
- fork assembly
- control valve
- central tube
- dampening
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62K—CYCLES; CYCLE FRAMES; CYCLE STEERING DEVICES; RIDER-OPERATED TERMINAL CONTROLS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR CYCLES; CYCLE AXLE SUSPENSIONS; CYCLE SIDE-CARS, FORECARS, OR THE LIKE
- B62K25/00—Axle suspensions
- B62K25/04—Axle suspensions for mounting axles resiliently on cycle frame or fork
- B62K25/06—Axle suspensions for mounting axles resiliently on cycle frame or fork with telescopic fork, e.g. including auxiliary rocking arms
- B62K25/10—Axle suspensions for mounting axles resiliently on cycle frame or fork with telescopic fork, e.g. including auxiliary rocking arms for rear wheel
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62K—CYCLES; CYCLE FRAMES; CYCLE STEERING DEVICES; RIDER-OPERATED TERMINAL CONTROLS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR CYCLES; CYCLE AXLE SUSPENSIONS; CYCLE SIDE-CARS, FORECARS, OR THE LIKE
- B62K25/00—Axle suspensions
- B62K25/04—Axle suspensions for mounting axles resiliently on cycle frame or fork
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62K—CYCLES; CYCLE FRAMES; CYCLE STEERING DEVICES; RIDER-OPERATED TERMINAL CONTROLS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR CYCLES; CYCLE AXLE SUSPENSIONS; CYCLE SIDE-CARS, FORECARS, OR THE LIKE
- B62K25/00—Axle suspensions
- B62K25/04—Axle suspensions for mounting axles resiliently on cycle frame or fork
- B62K25/06—Axle suspensions for mounting axles resiliently on cycle frame or fork with telescopic fork, e.g. including auxiliary rocking arms
- B62K25/08—Axle suspensions for mounting axles resiliently on cycle frame or fork with telescopic fork, e.g. including auxiliary rocking arms for front wheel
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16F—SPRINGS; SHOCK-ABSORBERS; MEANS FOR DAMPING VIBRATION
- F16F13/00—Units comprising springs of the non-fluid type as well as vibration-dampers, shock-absorbers, or fluid springs
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16F—SPRINGS; SHOCK-ABSORBERS; MEANS FOR DAMPING VIBRATION
- F16F9/00—Springs, vibration-dampers, shock-absorbers, or similarly-constructed movement-dampers using a fluid or the equivalent as damping medium
- F16F9/10—Springs, vibration-dampers, shock-absorbers, or similarly-constructed movement-dampers using a fluid or the equivalent as damping medium using liquid only; using a fluid of which the nature is immaterial
- F16F9/14—Devices with one or more members, e.g. pistons, vanes, moving to and fro in chambers and using throttling effect
- F16F9/16—Devices with one or more members, e.g. pistons, vanes, moving to and fro in chambers and using throttling effect involving only straight-line movement of the effective parts
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16F—SPRINGS; SHOCK-ABSORBERS; MEANS FOR DAMPING VIBRATION
- F16F9/00—Springs, vibration-dampers, shock-absorbers, or similarly-constructed movement-dampers using a fluid or the equivalent as damping medium
- F16F9/32—Details
- F16F9/44—Means on or in the damper for manual or non-automatic adjustment; such means combined with temperature correction
- F16F9/46—Means on or in the damper for manual or non-automatic adjustment; such means combined with temperature correction allowing control from a distance, i.e. location of means for control input being remote from site of valves, e.g. on damper external wall
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
- B60G2300/00—Indexing codes relating to the type of vehicle
- B60G2300/12—Cycles; Motorcycles
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60G—VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
- B60G2500/00—Indexing codes relating to the regulated action or device
- B60G2500/10—Damping action or damper
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62K—CYCLES; CYCLE FRAMES; CYCLE STEERING DEVICES; RIDER-OPERATED TERMINAL CONTROLS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR CYCLES; CYCLE AXLE SUSPENSIONS; CYCLE SIDE-CARS, FORECARS, OR THE LIKE
- B62K25/00—Axle suspensions
- B62K25/04—Axle suspensions for mounting axles resiliently on cycle frame or fork
- B62K2025/048—Axle suspensions for mounting axles resiliently on cycle frame or fork with suspension manual adjustment details
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Fluid-Damping Devices (AREA)
- Axle Suspensions And Sidecars For Cycles (AREA)
Abstract
An apparatus for hydraulically dampening the movement of the front and/or rear wheel of a two-wheel vehicle comprises means for adjusting the dampening rate while the vehicle is driven, said means for adjusting the dampening rate including at least one hydraulic control valve adjustable by the driver by means of which the amount of oil displaceable per unit of time and, thereby, authoritative for the damping rate can be varied. The hydraulic control valve comprises a hollow cylindrical sleeve member that is provided with at least one radially extending flow passage. A
valve spool member is displaceably received in the sleeve member and displaceable by a rope member running to the handlebars such that the cross sectional flow area of the flow passage can be adjusted. In order to adjust the damping rate upon releasing the fork assembly, a set screw is provided by means of which the cross sectional flow area of a bore in the central tube member can be adjusted. By closing the control valve, the fork assembly can be blocked.
valve spool member is displaceably received in the sleeve member and displaceable by a rope member running to the handlebars such that the cross sectional flow area of the flow passage can be adjusted. In order to adjust the damping rate upon releasing the fork assembly, a set screw is provided by means of which the cross sectional flow area of a bore in the central tube member can be adjusted. By closing the control valve, the fork assembly can be blocked.
Description
DienerUS.doc An apparatus for hydraulically dampening the movement of the front and/or rear wheel of a two-wheel vehicle Background of the Invention The present invention refers to an apparatus for hydrauli-cally dampening the movement of the front and/or rear wheel of a two-wheel vehicle.
Prior Art An apparatus for hydraulically dampening the movement of the front and/or rear wheel of a two-wheel vehicle, particularly for dampening the movement of a fork assembly of a mountain bike, is known in the prior art which can be adjusted in steps. That appa-ratus has the great disadvantage the riding of the bike has to be interrupted to adjust the dampening rate. After the driver has left the vehicle, it can adjust the desired dampening rate at the right and the left side of the front wheel at each half of the wheel fork assembly; only thereafter, he can continue to ride.
Particularly in sport, such an apparatus is not very well suited.
Prior Art An apparatus for hydraulically dampening the movement of the front and/or rear wheel of a two-wheel vehicle, particularly for dampening the movement of a fork assembly of a mountain bike, is known in the prior art which can be adjusted in steps. That appa-ratus has the great disadvantage the riding of the bike has to be interrupted to adjust the dampening rate. After the driver has left the vehicle, it can adjust the desired dampening rate at the right and the left side of the front wheel at each half of the wheel fork assembly; only thereafter, he can continue to ride.
Particularly in sport, such an apparatus is not very well suited.
ObZects of the Invention DienerUS.doc Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide an ap-paratus for hydraulically dampening the movement of the front and/or rear wheel of a two-wheel vehicle that avoids the disadvan-tages mentioned above and that can be adjusted easily.
Summary of the Invention To meet this and other objects, the present invention pro-vides an apparatus for hydraulically dampening the movement of the front and/or rear wheel of a two-wheel vehicle, comprising means for adjusting the dampening rate while the vehicle is driven. That means for adjusting the dampening rate includes at least one hy-draulic control valve member adjustable by the driver by means of which the amount of oil displaceable per unit of time and, thereby, authoritative for the damping rate can be varied.
Due to the fact that the apparatus comprises at least one ad-justable control valve member, by means of which the amount of oil displaceable per unit of time and, thereby, authoritative for the damping rate can be varied, the prerequisite is created that the dampening rate can be adjusted during the ride.
In a preferred embodiment, for operating the control valve, a rope member can be provided that is adjustable at the handlebars.
The control valve can be designed either such that it can be ad-justed in steps, or that it can be steplessly adjusted.
Summary of the Invention To meet this and other objects, the present invention pro-vides an apparatus for hydraulically dampening the movement of the front and/or rear wheel of a two-wheel vehicle, comprising means for adjusting the dampening rate while the vehicle is driven. That means for adjusting the dampening rate includes at least one hy-draulic control valve member adjustable by the driver by means of which the amount of oil displaceable per unit of time and, thereby, authoritative for the damping rate can be varied.
Due to the fact that the apparatus comprises at least one ad-justable control valve member, by means of which the amount of oil displaceable per unit of time and, thereby, authoritative for the damping rate can be varied, the prerequisite is created that the dampening rate can be adjusted during the ride.
In a preferred embodiment, for operating the control valve, a rope member can be provided that is adjustable at the handlebars.
The control valve can be designed either such that it can be ad-justed in steps, or that it can be steplessly adjusted.
DienerUS.doc In another preferred embodiment, the control valve is hydrau-lically connected to both halves of the wheel fork assembly. Such a fork assembly can be designed symmetrically and provides advan-tages as far as the driving comfort and dynamic are concerned, in contrast to a fork assembly in which only the dampening of one half of the fork assembly can be adjusted.
Due to the fact that the control valve is particularly suit-able to adjust the dampening rate during the period when the fork assembly is placed under load, it is suggested in a further pre-ferred embodiment that the interior of the central tube member be hydraulically connected to the space between the central tube mem-ber and the outer tube member of the fork assembly by means of a flow passage. Thereby, an adjustable throttle member can be pro-vided to adjust the cross section flow area of that flow passage.
As the fork assembly is designed such that compulsorily oil has to flow through that flow passage upon releasing the load on the fork assembly, the dampening rate during the release of the load can be adjusted and varied, respectively, by means of this throttle mem-ber.
Brief Description of the Drawincts In the following, an embodiment of the hydraulic shock ab-sorber assembly according to the invention will be further de-scribed, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Due to the fact that the control valve is particularly suit-able to adjust the dampening rate during the period when the fork assembly is placed under load, it is suggested in a further pre-ferred embodiment that the interior of the central tube member be hydraulically connected to the space between the central tube mem-ber and the outer tube member of the fork assembly by means of a flow passage. Thereby, an adjustable throttle member can be pro-vided to adjust the cross section flow area of that flow passage.
As the fork assembly is designed such that compulsorily oil has to flow through that flow passage upon releasing the load on the fork assembly, the dampening rate during the release of the load can be adjusted and varied, respectively, by means of this throttle mem-ber.
Brief Description of the Drawincts In the following, an embodiment of the hydraulic shock ab-sorber assembly according to the invention will be further de-scribed, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
DienerUS.doc Fig. 1 shows the front fork assembly of a mountain bike in-corporating the shock absorber assembly according to the inven-tion, whereby one half of the front fork assembly is illustrated in a sectioned view and the other half thereof is illustrated in a plain view;
Fig. 2 shows the upper portion of the front fork assembly ac-cording to Fig. 1 in an enlarged view;
Fig. 3 shows the central portion of the front fork assembly according to Fig. 1 in a still further enlarged view;
Figs. 4 shows a cross sectional view of the central tube of the front fork assembly in a still further enlarged scale; and Fig. 5 shows a cross sectional view of the control valve.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment In the following, the general design of a front fork assembly 1 of a mountain bike will be further explained with the help of Fig. 1. Since the principal mode of operation of hydraulically dampened front fork assemblies is well known to any person skilled in the art, only the parts and elements relevant to the present invention will be described in detail in the following. The front fork assembly 1 is shown in Fig. 1 in a condition without load. It comprises a left half portion 2 of the front fork assembly 1 and a right half portion 3 of the front fork assembly 1. Between the left half portion 2 of the front fork assembly 1 and the right DienerUS.doc half portion 3 of the front fork assembly 1, there is provided a central tube member 5. The central tube member 5 is mechanically fixed to the left half portion 2 of the front fork assembly 1 and the right half portion 3 of the front fork assembly 1 by means of an upper fork yoke 7 and a lower fork yoke 8. Usually, the upper end of the central tube member 5 is provided with handlebars (not shown in Fig. 1).
Since both the left half portion 2 of the front fork assembly 1 and the right half portion 3 of the front fork assembly 1 are of identical design, reference is made only to the left half portion 2 of the front fork assembly 1, shown in a longitudinal sectional view, in the following detailed description of the front fork as-sembly 1. In particular, the left half portion 2 of the front fork assembly 1 comprises an outer tube member 10 that is fixed in the two fork yokes 7 and 8. The outer tube member 10 receives an inner tube member 11. At the lower end thereof, a wheel hub flange mem-ber 12 for supporting the front wheel (not shown) is located.
Fig. 2 shows the upper portion of the front fork assembly 1 according to Fig. 1 in an enlarged view. Thereby, the front fork assembly 1 is shown in a condition where it is under light load.
The outer tube member 10 is closed at it upper end by means of a cover member 14. In this cover member 14, a supporting tube member 16 is fixed that is received at is lower end by means of a support 17. Moreover, in that support 17, a central tube member 18 is re-DienerUS.doc ceived. At the lower end of the central tube member 18, a piston 20 is located that is provided with a protrusion 19 comprising an outer thread. This protrusion is screwed into an inner thread pro-vided in the central tube member 18. The protrusion 19 of the pis-ton 20 is provided with a continuous bore 21 that is designed in a T-shaped manner. By that continuous bore 21, the interior 23 of the central tube member 18 is connected to the chamber 24a between central tube member 18 and outer tube member 10. A compression spring 22 rests against the piston 20 that supports to release the load from the fork assembly 1 by pressing the inner tube member 11 downwards. The inner tube member 11 is provided with a cap member 33 located at the upper end thereof. The cap member 33 is provided with four vertically extending flow passages 35. It is understood that only two of them are visible in the drawings. The space be-tween central tube member 18 and outer tube member 10 is desig-nated, at the upper side of the cap member 33, with the reference numeral 24 and at the lower side of the cap member 33, with the reference numeral 24a. In order to enable the flow passages 35 to be closed, there is provided a check valve, constituted by an an-nular disc member 26 and biased by a spring member 27. That check valve opens when the fork assembly 1 is subjected to load and opens when the fork assembly 1 is released from load. The central tube member is provided with a radially extending bore 28 located in the region of the upper end thereof. The cross sectional area - 7 _ DienerUS.doc of the bore 28 can be adjusted by means of a set screw 29. The set screw 28 is connected to an adjustment tube member 30 that runs through the cover member 14 and that is provided with an adjust-ment member 31 located at the end thereof.
Received in the central tube 5, there is provided a hydraulic control valve 40 that is hydraulically connected to the chamber 24 located between the central tube member 18 and the outer tube mem-ber 10 via a channel 39 provided in the lower fork yoke 8. It is understood that the hydraulic control valve 40 is also connected to the right half 3 of the fork assembly 1. The hydraulic control valve 40 can be operated by means of a rope member 37 running to the handlebars (not shown). A compression spring 38 is provided for resetting the rope member 37 in its initial position.
Fig. 3 shows a further enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the central portion of the fork assembly 1. In that figure, it can be clearly seen that the passage 21 that is provided in the protrusion 19 of the piston 20 opens into the space or chamber 24a, and that the check valve 26 is located in the flow passages 35 of the cap member 33.
Upon subjecting the fork assembly to a load, e.g. by driving the bike over a bump in the road, the inner tube member 11 is dis-placed into the outer tube member 10. Thereby, an overpressure is created in the interior of the outer tube member 10. Thereby, the check valve 26 in the cap member 33 opens and releases the flow - g DienerUS.doc passages 35. The result is that oil can flow from the upper por-tion 24 of the space between the central tube member 18 and the outer tube member 10 to the lower chamber 24a through the cap mem-ber 33. Upon subjecting the fork assembly to a load, the cap mem-ber 33 acts as a throttle member that authoritatively influences the damping characteristics. Due to the fact that the inner tube member 11 is displaced into the outer tube member 10, at the one hand, an overpressure is created in the chamber 24. At the other hand, the entire space 24, 24a is decreased in size, depending on the amount of displacement and the wall thickness of the inner tube member 11. The result is that the oil received in the chamber 24 escapes via the channel 39 into the central tube member 5.
There, it flow through the hydraulic control valve 40; this will be further explained herein below with reference to Fig. 5.
Fig. 4 shows the central tube 5 in a general longitudinal sectional view. The hydraulic control valve 40 located in the cen-tral tube 5 comprises a sleeve member 41 having a hollow cylindri-cal shape that is provided with two radially extending flow pas-sages 42. The sleeve member 41 is designed in a T-shape. In the sleeve member 41, a displaceable valve spool member 44 is received that can be operated by means of the rope member 37. The valve spool member 44 is provided with a control surface 45 running, with reference to the longitudinal central axis of the valve spool member 44, in a conical direction. By means of that control sur-g DienerUS.doc face 45, the flow cross sectional area of the flow passages 42 can be very finely adjusted. The central tube member 5 is closed at its lower end by means of an insert 47. The insert 47 is provided with two radially extending bores 49. The radially extending bores 49 connect in each case the channel 39 provided in the lower fork yoke 8 with an annular channel 50 running close to the outside of the sleeve member 41. Moreover, the sleeve member 41 is provided with four axially extending bores 48 that connect the annular chamber 50 to a storage chamber 54. In Fig. 4, only two of the four axially extending bores 48 are visible. In order that the axially extending bores 48 can be closed upon exerting a load to the fork assembly 1, there is provided a check valve 52 having a L-shaped cross sectional design that is biased by a compression spring. For the sake of clarity, the compression spring is not shown in the drawings. Finally, the sleeve member 41 is provided with a central bore 51 that connects the flow passages to the storage chamber 54.
The central tube member 5 is closed by a cover member 58 at its upper side. The rope member 37 runs through that cover member 58. Between the cover member 58 and a pressure storage piston 59, a pressure storage piston tube member 60 is mounted. The pressure storage piston 59 is provided with two annular channels 62 and 63 for receiving O-ring sealing members. These O-ring sealing members are not shown in the drawing for the sake of clarity.
DienerUS.doc Once the central tube 5 is filled with oil, the pressure storage piston 59 together with the pressure storage piston tube member 60 is inserted into the central tube 5 and closed by means of the cover member 58. By inserting the pressure storage piston 59 together with the pressure storage piston tube member 60 into the central tube 5, the air above the oil level 55 is compressed.
Thereby, a pressure reservoir is formed in the storage chamber 54 that has a pressure of 1 to 2 bar, depending on the length of the pressure storage piston tube member 60 and the height of the oil level 55.
With the help of Fig. 5 that shows the hydraulic control valve 40 in an enlarged view, the mode of operation of the control valve 40 shall be explained in more detail. The left side of the illustration in Fig. 5 shows the control valve 40 in a mode of op-eration when the fork assembly 1 is subjected to a load, and the right side of the illustration in Fig. 5 shows the control valve 40 in a mode of operation when the fork assembly 1 is released from a load. As already mentioned, oil flows through the channel 39 into the central tube member 5 upon placing the fork assembly 1 under load. The flow direction of the oil is illustrated by an ar-row 65. That oil flows via the radially extending bore 49 into the annular chamber 50. From that annular chamber 50, the oil flows via the flow passage 42 and the central bore 51 provided in the sleeve member 41 into the storage chamber 54. Since the check DienerUS.doc valve 52 is closed upon placing a load to the fork assembly 1, the control valve 40 acts as a throttle device. The mode of operation of that throttle device can be varied by shifting the valve spool member 44. A shifting of the valve spool member 44 causes a varia-tion of the cross sectional flow area of the flow passages 42.
Thereby, also the amount of oil that can be displaced per unit of time, which is authoritative for the degree of damping, is varied.
The cross sectional flow area of the flow passages 42 can be very finely adjusted thanks to the conically running control surface 45. If the flow passages 42 are fully closed, moreover, any move-ment of the fork assembly can be blocked.
Upon releasing the load from the fork assembly 1, particu-larly caused by the compression spring 22 (cf. Fig. 2), the volume of the intermediate chamber 42 is increased again. The result is that the oil can flow back into the particular half of the fork assembly 1 (intermediate chamber 24 shown in Fig. 4) from the storage chamber 54 via the now opened check valve 52, passing by the control valve 40, and via the channel provided in the fork yoke. This is indicated by the arrow 66. The flowing back of the oil is supported, besides the sucking effect that is induced, par-ticularly also by the overpressure present in the storage chamber 54.
However, if the fork assembly is released from the load, re-suiting in a downwards movement of the inner tube member 11, the DienerUS.doc check valve 26 (cf. Fig. 3) in the cap member 33 is closed. Thus, the oil that is located in the chamber 24a below the cap member 33 has to flow back through the bore 21 in the protrusion 19 of the piston 20 and through the interior 23 of the central tube member 18 into the upper portion of the intermediate chamber 24. At the upper end of the central tube member 18, the oil escapes from the bore 28. The cross sectional flow area of that bore 28 can be ad-justed by means of the set screw 29 (cf. Fig. 4). An adjustment of the set screw, thereby, causes a change of the damping character-istic upon releasing the load from the fork assembly 1.
The advantages of the present invention, as described herein before, can be summarized as follows:
The dampening characteristic upon placing a load on the fork assembly can be adjusted during driving the bike, whereby the ad-justment can be made stepless or in steps;
The adjustment of the damping characteristic upon placing a load on the fork assembly is performed simultaneously for both halves of the fork assembly;
The movement of the fork assembly can be blocked (closing of the control valve);
The dampening characteristic upon releasing the load on the fork assembly can be adjusted separately and in a very simple way;
The entire assembly is of a compact, simple and reliable de-sign;
DienerUS.doc The fork assembly comprises a linear force increase charac-teristic; thereby, a very balanced response is achieved;
There is no danger of overheating, even under continuous stress;
The assembly is self-venting;
Upon placing the fork assembly under load, an overpressure is created in the storage chamber that contains the oil. This over-pressure favors the backflow of the oil upon releasing the load;
and The storage chamber simultaneously serves as a oil reservoir.
The fork assembly as herein before described can also be used for the adjustment of the damping characteristic in a hydrauli-cally suspended rear wheel. Thereby, it is insignificant whether the rear wheel is suspended on the vehicle frame by means of a pivotally mounted lever mechanism and provided with a centrally located, hydraulic wishbone, or the rear wheel is suspended on two wheel forks, analogously to the front wheel described herein be-fore.
As far as the control valve is concerned, it is possible to use a common control valve for the front and the rear wheel, but it is also possible to use separate control valves. A common con-trol valve has the advantage of a simple operability, inasmuch as the front wheel damping characteristic and the rear wheel damping characteristic can be adjusted for instance by a lever mounted to DienerUS.doc the handlebars. In the case of separate control valves for the front wheel and the rear wheel, the dampening characteristics thereof can be separately adjusted.
It is understood that the principle of the assembly according to the invention can also be used, instead with a front fork as shown in Fig, l, with a conventional front fork in which the inner tube member is supported by the two fork yokes and the outer tube member is provided with a wheel hub flange member for mounting the wheel. This is evident to every person skilled in the art and, therefore, not shown in the drawings nor further described.
In order to save weight, or in order to change the character-istic upon placing the fork assembly under load, it would be pos-sible to create an overpressure in the inner tube member, either instead of providing the compression spring, or additionally. In order to change the characteristic upon placing the fork assembly under load, for instance, also the cap member 33 of the inner tube member could be exchanged. As an example, a cap member 33 could be used that has bigger or smaller flow passages 35. Moreover, a dif-ferent central tube member could be used, having a bigger or smaller radially extending bore 28 or a radially extending bore 28 located in another place. By replacing the central tube member 18, additionally, the spring travel can be varied.
A further modification consists in the fact that, instead of a mechanically operated valve spool member 44, for example an DienerUS.doc electro-mechanically operated valve spool member or a membrane able to be deflected can be used.
In a similar way, the hydraulic control valve 40 could be lo-Gated in the upper portion of the one half of the fork assembly instead in the central tube 5.
Even if the fork assembly according to the invention has been described in connection with a mountain bike, it can be used in connection with each two-wheel or even three-wheel vehicle in which a single wheel is suspended in a wheel fork. Moreover, other embodiments of the fork assembly could be realized as long as they are within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Fig. 2 shows the upper portion of the front fork assembly ac-cording to Fig. 1 in an enlarged view;
Fig. 3 shows the central portion of the front fork assembly according to Fig. 1 in a still further enlarged view;
Figs. 4 shows a cross sectional view of the central tube of the front fork assembly in a still further enlarged scale; and Fig. 5 shows a cross sectional view of the control valve.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment In the following, the general design of a front fork assembly 1 of a mountain bike will be further explained with the help of Fig. 1. Since the principal mode of operation of hydraulically dampened front fork assemblies is well known to any person skilled in the art, only the parts and elements relevant to the present invention will be described in detail in the following. The front fork assembly 1 is shown in Fig. 1 in a condition without load. It comprises a left half portion 2 of the front fork assembly 1 and a right half portion 3 of the front fork assembly 1. Between the left half portion 2 of the front fork assembly 1 and the right DienerUS.doc half portion 3 of the front fork assembly 1, there is provided a central tube member 5. The central tube member 5 is mechanically fixed to the left half portion 2 of the front fork assembly 1 and the right half portion 3 of the front fork assembly 1 by means of an upper fork yoke 7 and a lower fork yoke 8. Usually, the upper end of the central tube member 5 is provided with handlebars (not shown in Fig. 1).
Since both the left half portion 2 of the front fork assembly 1 and the right half portion 3 of the front fork assembly 1 are of identical design, reference is made only to the left half portion 2 of the front fork assembly 1, shown in a longitudinal sectional view, in the following detailed description of the front fork as-sembly 1. In particular, the left half portion 2 of the front fork assembly 1 comprises an outer tube member 10 that is fixed in the two fork yokes 7 and 8. The outer tube member 10 receives an inner tube member 11. At the lower end thereof, a wheel hub flange mem-ber 12 for supporting the front wheel (not shown) is located.
Fig. 2 shows the upper portion of the front fork assembly 1 according to Fig. 1 in an enlarged view. Thereby, the front fork assembly 1 is shown in a condition where it is under light load.
The outer tube member 10 is closed at it upper end by means of a cover member 14. In this cover member 14, a supporting tube member 16 is fixed that is received at is lower end by means of a support 17. Moreover, in that support 17, a central tube member 18 is re-DienerUS.doc ceived. At the lower end of the central tube member 18, a piston 20 is located that is provided with a protrusion 19 comprising an outer thread. This protrusion is screwed into an inner thread pro-vided in the central tube member 18. The protrusion 19 of the pis-ton 20 is provided with a continuous bore 21 that is designed in a T-shaped manner. By that continuous bore 21, the interior 23 of the central tube member 18 is connected to the chamber 24a between central tube member 18 and outer tube member 10. A compression spring 22 rests against the piston 20 that supports to release the load from the fork assembly 1 by pressing the inner tube member 11 downwards. The inner tube member 11 is provided with a cap member 33 located at the upper end thereof. The cap member 33 is provided with four vertically extending flow passages 35. It is understood that only two of them are visible in the drawings. The space be-tween central tube member 18 and outer tube member 10 is desig-nated, at the upper side of the cap member 33, with the reference numeral 24 and at the lower side of the cap member 33, with the reference numeral 24a. In order to enable the flow passages 35 to be closed, there is provided a check valve, constituted by an an-nular disc member 26 and biased by a spring member 27. That check valve opens when the fork assembly 1 is subjected to load and opens when the fork assembly 1 is released from load. The central tube member is provided with a radially extending bore 28 located in the region of the upper end thereof. The cross sectional area - 7 _ DienerUS.doc of the bore 28 can be adjusted by means of a set screw 29. The set screw 28 is connected to an adjustment tube member 30 that runs through the cover member 14 and that is provided with an adjust-ment member 31 located at the end thereof.
Received in the central tube 5, there is provided a hydraulic control valve 40 that is hydraulically connected to the chamber 24 located between the central tube member 18 and the outer tube mem-ber 10 via a channel 39 provided in the lower fork yoke 8. It is understood that the hydraulic control valve 40 is also connected to the right half 3 of the fork assembly 1. The hydraulic control valve 40 can be operated by means of a rope member 37 running to the handlebars (not shown). A compression spring 38 is provided for resetting the rope member 37 in its initial position.
Fig. 3 shows a further enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the central portion of the fork assembly 1. In that figure, it can be clearly seen that the passage 21 that is provided in the protrusion 19 of the piston 20 opens into the space or chamber 24a, and that the check valve 26 is located in the flow passages 35 of the cap member 33.
Upon subjecting the fork assembly to a load, e.g. by driving the bike over a bump in the road, the inner tube member 11 is dis-placed into the outer tube member 10. Thereby, an overpressure is created in the interior of the outer tube member 10. Thereby, the check valve 26 in the cap member 33 opens and releases the flow - g DienerUS.doc passages 35. The result is that oil can flow from the upper por-tion 24 of the space between the central tube member 18 and the outer tube member 10 to the lower chamber 24a through the cap mem-ber 33. Upon subjecting the fork assembly to a load, the cap mem-ber 33 acts as a throttle member that authoritatively influences the damping characteristics. Due to the fact that the inner tube member 11 is displaced into the outer tube member 10, at the one hand, an overpressure is created in the chamber 24. At the other hand, the entire space 24, 24a is decreased in size, depending on the amount of displacement and the wall thickness of the inner tube member 11. The result is that the oil received in the chamber 24 escapes via the channel 39 into the central tube member 5.
There, it flow through the hydraulic control valve 40; this will be further explained herein below with reference to Fig. 5.
Fig. 4 shows the central tube 5 in a general longitudinal sectional view. The hydraulic control valve 40 located in the cen-tral tube 5 comprises a sleeve member 41 having a hollow cylindri-cal shape that is provided with two radially extending flow pas-sages 42. The sleeve member 41 is designed in a T-shape. In the sleeve member 41, a displaceable valve spool member 44 is received that can be operated by means of the rope member 37. The valve spool member 44 is provided with a control surface 45 running, with reference to the longitudinal central axis of the valve spool member 44, in a conical direction. By means of that control sur-g DienerUS.doc face 45, the flow cross sectional area of the flow passages 42 can be very finely adjusted. The central tube member 5 is closed at its lower end by means of an insert 47. The insert 47 is provided with two radially extending bores 49. The radially extending bores 49 connect in each case the channel 39 provided in the lower fork yoke 8 with an annular channel 50 running close to the outside of the sleeve member 41. Moreover, the sleeve member 41 is provided with four axially extending bores 48 that connect the annular chamber 50 to a storage chamber 54. In Fig. 4, only two of the four axially extending bores 48 are visible. In order that the axially extending bores 48 can be closed upon exerting a load to the fork assembly 1, there is provided a check valve 52 having a L-shaped cross sectional design that is biased by a compression spring. For the sake of clarity, the compression spring is not shown in the drawings. Finally, the sleeve member 41 is provided with a central bore 51 that connects the flow passages to the storage chamber 54.
The central tube member 5 is closed by a cover member 58 at its upper side. The rope member 37 runs through that cover member 58. Between the cover member 58 and a pressure storage piston 59, a pressure storage piston tube member 60 is mounted. The pressure storage piston 59 is provided with two annular channels 62 and 63 for receiving O-ring sealing members. These O-ring sealing members are not shown in the drawing for the sake of clarity.
DienerUS.doc Once the central tube 5 is filled with oil, the pressure storage piston 59 together with the pressure storage piston tube member 60 is inserted into the central tube 5 and closed by means of the cover member 58. By inserting the pressure storage piston 59 together with the pressure storage piston tube member 60 into the central tube 5, the air above the oil level 55 is compressed.
Thereby, a pressure reservoir is formed in the storage chamber 54 that has a pressure of 1 to 2 bar, depending on the length of the pressure storage piston tube member 60 and the height of the oil level 55.
With the help of Fig. 5 that shows the hydraulic control valve 40 in an enlarged view, the mode of operation of the control valve 40 shall be explained in more detail. The left side of the illustration in Fig. 5 shows the control valve 40 in a mode of op-eration when the fork assembly 1 is subjected to a load, and the right side of the illustration in Fig. 5 shows the control valve 40 in a mode of operation when the fork assembly 1 is released from a load. As already mentioned, oil flows through the channel 39 into the central tube member 5 upon placing the fork assembly 1 under load. The flow direction of the oil is illustrated by an ar-row 65. That oil flows via the radially extending bore 49 into the annular chamber 50. From that annular chamber 50, the oil flows via the flow passage 42 and the central bore 51 provided in the sleeve member 41 into the storage chamber 54. Since the check DienerUS.doc valve 52 is closed upon placing a load to the fork assembly 1, the control valve 40 acts as a throttle device. The mode of operation of that throttle device can be varied by shifting the valve spool member 44. A shifting of the valve spool member 44 causes a varia-tion of the cross sectional flow area of the flow passages 42.
Thereby, also the amount of oil that can be displaced per unit of time, which is authoritative for the degree of damping, is varied.
The cross sectional flow area of the flow passages 42 can be very finely adjusted thanks to the conically running control surface 45. If the flow passages 42 are fully closed, moreover, any move-ment of the fork assembly can be blocked.
Upon releasing the load from the fork assembly 1, particu-larly caused by the compression spring 22 (cf. Fig. 2), the volume of the intermediate chamber 42 is increased again. The result is that the oil can flow back into the particular half of the fork assembly 1 (intermediate chamber 24 shown in Fig. 4) from the storage chamber 54 via the now opened check valve 52, passing by the control valve 40, and via the channel provided in the fork yoke. This is indicated by the arrow 66. The flowing back of the oil is supported, besides the sucking effect that is induced, par-ticularly also by the overpressure present in the storage chamber 54.
However, if the fork assembly is released from the load, re-suiting in a downwards movement of the inner tube member 11, the DienerUS.doc check valve 26 (cf. Fig. 3) in the cap member 33 is closed. Thus, the oil that is located in the chamber 24a below the cap member 33 has to flow back through the bore 21 in the protrusion 19 of the piston 20 and through the interior 23 of the central tube member 18 into the upper portion of the intermediate chamber 24. At the upper end of the central tube member 18, the oil escapes from the bore 28. The cross sectional flow area of that bore 28 can be ad-justed by means of the set screw 29 (cf. Fig. 4). An adjustment of the set screw, thereby, causes a change of the damping character-istic upon releasing the load from the fork assembly 1.
The advantages of the present invention, as described herein before, can be summarized as follows:
The dampening characteristic upon placing a load on the fork assembly can be adjusted during driving the bike, whereby the ad-justment can be made stepless or in steps;
The adjustment of the damping characteristic upon placing a load on the fork assembly is performed simultaneously for both halves of the fork assembly;
The movement of the fork assembly can be blocked (closing of the control valve);
The dampening characteristic upon releasing the load on the fork assembly can be adjusted separately and in a very simple way;
The entire assembly is of a compact, simple and reliable de-sign;
DienerUS.doc The fork assembly comprises a linear force increase charac-teristic; thereby, a very balanced response is achieved;
There is no danger of overheating, even under continuous stress;
The assembly is self-venting;
Upon placing the fork assembly under load, an overpressure is created in the storage chamber that contains the oil. This over-pressure favors the backflow of the oil upon releasing the load;
and The storage chamber simultaneously serves as a oil reservoir.
The fork assembly as herein before described can also be used for the adjustment of the damping characteristic in a hydrauli-cally suspended rear wheel. Thereby, it is insignificant whether the rear wheel is suspended on the vehicle frame by means of a pivotally mounted lever mechanism and provided with a centrally located, hydraulic wishbone, or the rear wheel is suspended on two wheel forks, analogously to the front wheel described herein be-fore.
As far as the control valve is concerned, it is possible to use a common control valve for the front and the rear wheel, but it is also possible to use separate control valves. A common con-trol valve has the advantage of a simple operability, inasmuch as the front wheel damping characteristic and the rear wheel damping characteristic can be adjusted for instance by a lever mounted to DienerUS.doc the handlebars. In the case of separate control valves for the front wheel and the rear wheel, the dampening characteristics thereof can be separately adjusted.
It is understood that the principle of the assembly according to the invention can also be used, instead with a front fork as shown in Fig, l, with a conventional front fork in which the inner tube member is supported by the two fork yokes and the outer tube member is provided with a wheel hub flange member for mounting the wheel. This is evident to every person skilled in the art and, therefore, not shown in the drawings nor further described.
In order to save weight, or in order to change the character-istic upon placing the fork assembly under load, it would be pos-sible to create an overpressure in the inner tube member, either instead of providing the compression spring, or additionally. In order to change the characteristic upon placing the fork assembly under load, for instance, also the cap member 33 of the inner tube member could be exchanged. As an example, a cap member 33 could be used that has bigger or smaller flow passages 35. Moreover, a dif-ferent central tube member could be used, having a bigger or smaller radially extending bore 28 or a radially extending bore 28 located in another place. By replacing the central tube member 18, additionally, the spring travel can be varied.
A further modification consists in the fact that, instead of a mechanically operated valve spool member 44, for example an DienerUS.doc electro-mechanically operated valve spool member or a membrane able to be deflected can be used.
In a similar way, the hydraulic control valve 40 could be lo-Gated in the upper portion of the one half of the fork assembly instead in the central tube 5.
Even if the fork assembly according to the invention has been described in connection with a mountain bike, it can be used in connection with each two-wheel or even three-wheel vehicle in which a single wheel is suspended in a wheel fork. Moreover, other embodiments of the fork assembly could be realized as long as they are within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Claims (19)
1. An apparatus for hydraulically dampening the movement of the front and/or rear wheel of a two-wheel vehicle, comprising:
means for adjusting the dampening rate while the vehicle is driven;
said means for adjusting the dampening rate including at least one hydraulic control valve means adjustable by the driver by means of which the amount of oil displaceable per unit of time and, thereby, authoritative for the damping rate can be varied.
means for adjusting the dampening rate while the vehicle is driven;
said means for adjusting the dampening rate including at least one hydraulic control valve means adjustable by the driver by means of which the amount of oil displaceable per unit of time and, thereby, authoritative for the damping rate can be varied.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which said hydraulic control valve means comprises at least one flow passage for the damping oil, said apparatus further comprising means for adjusting the cross sectional flow area of said flow passage in a stepless manner or in steps.
3. An apparatus according to claim 2 in which the wheel to be dampened is supported at the vehicle frame by means of a fork assembly whereby both halves of the fork assembly, in each case, comprise an inner tube member and a central tube member, whereby a relatively displaceable outer tube member can be moved in the space between said inner tube member and said central tube member, and whereby said control valve means is hydraulically connected to at least one half of said fork assembly, such that dampening oil is pressed through said control valve means in response to a relative movement of said outer tube member.
4. An apparatus for hydraulically dampening the movement of the rear wheel of a two-wheel vehicle, said rear wheel being connected to the vehicle frame by means of a pivotally mounted lever means and provided with a centrally located hydraulic wishbone member, comprising:
means for adjusting the dampening rate while the vehicle is driven;
said means for adjusting the dampening rate including at least one hydraulic control valve means adjustable by the driver by means of which the amount of oil displaceable per unit of time and, thereby, authoritative for the damping rate can be varied, and;
means for hydraulically connecting said wishbone member with said control valve means.
means for adjusting the dampening rate while the vehicle is driven;
said means for adjusting the dampening rate including at least one hydraulic control valve means adjustable by the driver by means of which the amount of oil displaceable per unit of time and, thereby, authoritative for the damping rate can be varied, and;
means for hydraulically connecting said wishbone member with said control valve means.
5. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which said control valve comprises a sleeve member in the shape of a hollow cylinder in which is inserted at least one radially extending flow passage, and further comprising a valve spool member that is displaceably received in said sleeve member, said valve spool member including a control surface running conically with regard to its central longitudinal axis by means of which the cross sectional flow area of said flow passage is adjustable.
6. An apparatus according to claim 2 in which said control valve means is hydraulically connected with the two halves of a wheel fork assembly.
7. An apparatus according to claim 2 and 5 in which said control valve includes a check valve means biased by a compression spring means through which the dampening oil can bypass said valve spool member upon the load being released from the fork assembly.
8. An apparatus according to claim 2 and 5 in which said valve spool member is biased by means of a compression spring and is mechanically adjustable by means of a rope member means.
9. An apparatus according to claim 2 and 5 in which said valve spool member is adjustable by electro-mechanically operated means.
10. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which said control valve is received in a chamber that is located in an upper portion of a half of the fork assembly or in a central tube member.
11. An apparatus according to claim 3 or 5 in which the interior of said central tube member is hydraulically connected to the space between said outer tube member and said central tube member via a bore.
12. An apparatus according to claim 11 further comprising an adjustable throttle means adapted to adjust the cross section flow area of said bore.
13. An apparatus according to claim 3 or 5 in which said central tube member is closed by a piston means including at least one flow passage through which the interior of said central tube member is connected to the space between said outer tube member and said central tube member.
14. An apparatus according to claim 3 or 5 in which said central tube member is closed by means of a cap member at the side that is opposite to said flow passage, said cap member comprising at least one axially extending flow passage through which the oil can flow from one portion of said intermediate space into the other portion of said intermediate space.
15. An apparatus according to claim 14 in which said cap member is provided with a check valve means that opens said flow passages upon placing a load on the fork assembly and closes said flow passages upon releasing the load on the fork assembly.
16. An apparatus according to claim 3 in which said two halves of the fork assembly are mechanically interconnected by means of a fork yoke means, whereby the control valve is hydraulically connected to the space between the central tube member and the inner tube member by means of a channel provided in said fork yoke member.
17. An apparatus according to claims 11 and 16 in which said bore is provided in the central tube member at a location that is remote from said channel.
18. An apparatus according to claim 11 in which said chamber is partially filled with oil, whereby the chamber is closed at its upper side by means of a pressure storage piston limiting the pressure chamber and a pressure storage piston tube member.
19. An apparatus according to claim 3 or 5 in which there is provided a pressure spring member and/or a compressed air reservoir is provided for moving back the fork assembly from a loaded condition into a released condition.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| EP98811032A EP0994014A1 (en) | 1998-10-16 | 1998-10-16 | Hydraulic damping arrangement for the front and/or rear wheel of a two wheeled vehicle |
| EP98811032.6 | 1998-10-16 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2253659A1 true CA2253659A1 (en) | 2000-04-16 |
Family
ID=8236387
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2253659 Abandoned CA2253659A1 (en) | 1998-10-16 | 1998-11-04 | An apparatus for hydraulically dampening the movement of the front and/or rear wheel of a two-wheel vehicle |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0994014A1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JP2000118470A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2253659A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (11)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE10224093A1 (en) * | 2002-05-31 | 2003-12-11 | Bayerische Motoren Werke Ag | crown |
| PL362951A1 (en) | 2003-10-20 | 2005-05-02 | Delphi Technologies, Inc. | Front drive with steered front wheel |
| EP1544093B1 (en) * | 2003-12-16 | 2008-09-10 | Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. | Front suspension for a motorcycle |
| US8317171B2 (en) * | 2008-04-11 | 2012-11-27 | Shimano Inc. | Bicycle suspension having stroke and damper adjustment |
| IT1398039B1 (en) * | 2009-02-12 | 2013-02-07 | Zannini | ADJUSTABLE SUSPENSION DEVICE FOR VEHICLES. |
| JP6349116B2 (en) * | 2014-03-17 | 2018-06-27 | Ｋｙｂ株式会社 | Front fork |
| CN104632993A (en) * | 2014-12-04 | 2015-05-20 | 安徽乐库智能停车设备有限公司 | Mechanical buffering device preventing shaking |
| KR101942233B1 (en) * | 2018-01-28 | 2019-01-24 | 김원봉 | Front suspension fork for bicycle |
| CN109649562B (en) * | 2019-01-05 | 2020-03-10 | 河北兴江机械有限公司 | Front shock absorber assembly of tricycle |
| FR3098266B1 (en) * | 2019-07-04 | 2021-06-11 | Jsa | Multi-setting telescopic hydraulic shock absorber |
| KR102367011B1 (en) * | 2021-09-24 | 2022-02-24 | 김성환 | Smart Suspension System for two-wheeled vehicle including electric bike, with variable damping force based on Magneto-Rheological Fluid, and Two-wheeled vehicle having the same |
Family Cites Families (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPS57107449A (en) * | 1980-12-23 | 1982-07-03 | Showa Mfg Co Ltd | Adjuster for damping force of damper |
| DE3143126C2 (en) * | 1981-10-30 | 1986-07-24 | Robert Bosch Gmbh, 7000 Stuttgart | Device for changing the effective air suspension volume in vehicle support devices |
| US4561669A (en) * | 1982-12-30 | 1985-12-31 | Simons Stephen W | Motorcycle fork |
| FR2653072A1 (en) * | 1989-10-18 | 1991-04-19 | Guyenard Jean Marc | PRESSURE ADJUSTING DEVICE FOR MOTORCYCLE FORK. |
| DE4123643A1 (en) * | 1990-11-30 | 1992-06-04 | Peter Kleinbreuer | Bicycle with sprung wheels - has each damper connected to its pressure accumulator via manually-operated valve |
| DE4223165A1 (en) * | 1992-05-13 | 1993-11-18 | Peter Wolschke | Two or three wheelers |
-
1998
- 1998-10-16 EP EP98811032A patent/EP0994014A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1998-11-04 CA CA 2253659 patent/CA2253659A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1998-11-16 JP JP10325552A patent/JP2000118470A/en not_active Withdrawn
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| JP2000118470A (en) | 2000-04-25 |
| EP0994014A1 (en) | 2000-04-19 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
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| EEER | Examination request | ||
| FZDE | Dead |