JP2012097840A - Front fork - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a cap member from being deformed by a burr of an outer tube when set in an inverted shape, in an improvement in a front fork for applying plating to the outer tube.SOLUTION: This front fork includes the outer tube 1 interposed between a vehicle body and a wheel shaft and connected to the vehicle body side, and the cap member 2 installed in a vehicle body side opening part of the outer tube 1, and is provided by applying the plating to both end surfaces and an outer peripheral surface of the outer tube 1 by closely plugging both end openings of the outer tube 1 by masking members 6. The cap member 2 includes a cover body 20 arranged outside the outer tube 1 in an installation state, and a cap body 21 arranged inside the outer tube 1. The cover body 20 has a cover part 23 having an outer peripheral part butting against a vehicle body side end surface 10 of the outer tube 1, and the cover part 23 is formed with a circumferential groove 23a opposed to an inner peripheral part of the vehicle body side end surface 10.

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement of an inverted front fork.

  Various proposals have been made for the front fork so far. The front fork suspends the front wheel of a saddle-riding vehicle such as a bicycle or a motorcycle, and absorbs road vibrations input to the front wheel.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration of a conventional front fork, and the front fork is slidably inserted into the outer tube connected to the axle side and an outer tube connected to the vehicle body side. It is set upright with an inner tube.

  The outer tube is made of an aluminum material and anodized to form an anodized film on the outer peripheral surface thereof. This makes it possible to obtain rust prevention performance while reducing the weight of the front fork.

  However, when an anodic oxide film is formed, the outer peripheral surface of the outer tube has a matte appearance and a metallic glossy appearance cannot be obtained. In view of this, the applicant has proposed that the outer tube outer peripheral surface is subjected to decorative chrome plating in the previous application.

  When plating the outer tube, the outer tube is immersed in a plating solution with both end openings sealed with a masking member to prevent the plating solution from entering inside, and only the both end surfaces and outer peripheral surface of the outer tube. Is brought into contact with the plating solution. Thereby, it becomes possible to plate the both end surfaces and the outer peripheral surface of the outer tube.

  When the proposed front fork is set upside down, as shown in FIG. 4, the front fork is attached to the outer tube 1 that is plated and connected to the vehicle body side, and the vehicle body side opening of the outer tube 1. And a cap member 2A to be mounted.

  The cap member 2A includes a lid body 20 disposed outside the outer tube 1 in a mounted state and a cap body 21 disposed inside the outer tube 1, and the lid body 20 has an outer peripheral portion that is the outer body portion. It has a lid portion 230 that abuts the end surface 10 of the tube 1 on the vehicle body side.

JP-A-61-186500

  In the conventional front fork, when plating is performed on the outer peripheral surface and both end surfaces of the outer tube by the above method, it is useful in that it is possible to obtain rust prevention performance and to make the outer tube have a metallic luster appearance. is there.

  However, there is no problem when the conventional front fork is set upright, but as described above, when the conventional front fork is set upside down, the following problems may be pointed out.

  That is, in the conventional front fork, when the outer tube 1 is plated, the side surface of the masking member 6 comes into contact with the inner peripheral portion of the end surface 10 of the outer tube 1 as shown in FIG. In some cases, bubbles may adhere to the contact portion and burrs may be generated on the end surface 10.

  In this case, when the cap member 2A is mounted and the lid 230 is brought into contact with the end surface 10, the surface pressure is increased only in the burr portion that is convex on the end surface 10, and the cap member 2A is deformed. Since the required axial force cannot be obtained and the cap member 2A may be loosened, it is necessary to deburr the end surface 10 to make it horizontal.

  Therefore, the present invention is to provide a front fork that can prevent deformation of a cap member without performing a deburring operation even when an outer tube of an inverted front fork is plated.

  Means for solving the above problems include an outer tube interposed between the vehicle body and the axle, connected to the vehicle body side and having a vehicle body side opening and an axle side opening at both ends, and sliding into the outer tube. A fork main body comprising an inner tube that is movably inserted, and a cap member that is mounted on the vehicle body side opening of the outer tube, and the outer tube is sealed with a masking member at both ends of the outer tube. In the front fork in which both end surfaces and outer peripheral surfaces of the tube are plated, the cap member includes a lid body that is disposed outside the outer tube in a mounted state, and a cap body that is disposed inside the outer tube. The lid body has a lid portion whose outer peripheral portion abuts against an end surface of the outer tube on the vehicle body side, and the vehicle body The inner peripheral portion of the end surface of is that the formation of the circumferential groove facing the.

  According to the present invention, by forming a circumferential groove in the lid portion of the cap member, it is possible to abut the end surface and the lid portion while avoiding burrs generated on the inner circumferential portion of the end surface on the vehicle body side of the outer tube. Thus, the surface pressure is evenly applied to the portion where the lid portion and the end surface meet.

  Therefore, the cap member can be prevented from being deformed without performing the deburring operation, and the cap member can be prevented from being loosened.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a side view which shows partially the front fork which shows one embodiment of this invention, and the one part is notched and shown. It is a half sectional view which shows partially the outer tube in the front fork which shows one embodiment of the present invention. (A) It is a half sectional view which shows the state which sealed the vehicle body side opening of the outer tube shown in FIG. 2 with the masking member. (B) It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which expands and shows the inlet_port | entrance part of the outer tube shown to (a). It is a side view which shows the conventional front fork partially, The part is notched and shown.

  Hereinafter, a front fork showing an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals given throughout the several drawings indicate the same or corresponding parts.

  The front fork according to the present embodiment is interposed between a vehicle body and an axle, and as shown in FIG. 1, is connected to the vehicle body side and has an outer tube 1 having a vehicle body side opening and an axle side opening at both ends. And a fork main body comprising an inner tube (not shown) slidably inserted into the outer tube 1 and a cap member 2 mounted on the vehicle body side opening of the outer tube 1, The opening of both ends of the outer tube 1 is sealed with a masking member 6 and the both end surfaces and outer peripheral surface of the outer tube 1 are plated.

  The cap member 2 includes a lid body 20 disposed outside the outer tube 1 in a mounted state, and a cap body 21 disposed inside the outer tube 1. The lid body 20 has a lid portion 23 whose outer peripheral portion abuts against the end surface 10 on the vehicle body side of the outer tube 1, and the lid portion 23 has a circle facing the inner peripheral portion of the end surface 10. A circumferential groove 23a is formed.

  The front fork according to the present embodiment will be described below in detail. The front fork is a suspension device for suspending a front wheel of a motorcycle. The outer fork 1 is connected to the vehicle body side, and the outer tube is connected to the axle side. 1 is provided with a fork main body comprising an inner tube (not shown) slidably inserted into 1 and is set upside down.

  The fork main body contains working fluid and gas therein, and these working fluid and gas contain a cap member 2 for closing the vehicle body side opening of the outer tube 1 and a bottom member (not shown) for closing the axle side opening of the inner tube. ) And an annular seal member (not shown) that is provided on the inner periphery of the outer opening of the outer tube 1 and that is in sliding contact with the outer periphery of the inner tube, prevents leakage to the outside of the fork main body.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle body side opening of the outer tube 1 to which the cap member 2 is mounted is formed in a cylindrical shape and its end surface 10 is formed horizontally, and the cap member 2 is mounted. In the state, a seal portion 11 having a seal surface 11a on the inner periphery to which the annular seal 3 engaged with the cap member 2 is in close contact, and the cap member 2 are threadedly connected to the lower side of the seal portion 11 in the figure. And a threaded portion 13.

  Further, the vehicle body side opening of the outer tube 1 includes an inlet portion 12 formed between the seal portion 11 and the end face 10, and the inlet portion 12 is for sealing whose inner periphery is gradually reduced in diameter. An inclined surface 5 is formed.

  By providing the above configuration, when the cap member 2 is screwed into the screwing portion 13 in a state where the seal 3 is engaged, the seal 3 is guided into the seal portion 11 via the sealing inclined surface 5. The outer periphery of the seal 3 is in close contact with the seal surface 11a. Thereby, the gap between the cap member 2 and the outer tube 1 can be sealed with the seal 3.

  Further, the outer tube 1 is made of an aluminum material, and, as shown in FIG. 3, decorative chromium plating is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the outer tube 1 and the end surface 10 while the openings at both ends are sealed with a masking member 6.

  The masking member 6 is made of an annular elastic body and is mounted on the outer periphery of a support column 7 fixed to a plating jig. When the masking member 6 is inserted into the opening at both ends of the outer tube 1, the masking member 6 is in close contact with the inner peripheral surfaces of both ends of the outer tube 1 while being compressed and deformed. As a result, the masking member 6 can prevent the plating solution from entering the outer tube 1, and can perform plating only on the portion in contact with the plating solution.

  At this time, in the vehicle body side opening of the outer tube 1, the masking member 6 is compressed and deformed in the seal portion 11, and its outer periphery is brought into close contact with the seal surface 11 a to seal the vehicle body side opening of the outer tube 1. The masking member 6 is gradually expanded in diameter along the sealing inclined surface 5, and the side surface thereof contacts the inner peripheral portion of the end surface 10.

  A masking boundary is formed at the boundary between the portion where the masking member 6 contacts and the portion where the masking member 6 does not contact. That is, since a masking boundary is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the end face 10, a burr 10a is generated on the inner peripheral portion of the end face 10, as shown in FIG.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 1, the cap member 2 attached to the vehicle body side opening of the outer tube 1 has a lid 20 disposed outside the outer tube 1 in the attached state, and an inside of the outer tube 1. And a cap body 21 to be arranged.

  The cap body 21 includes a seal groove 24 formed along the outer periphery and engaged with the seal 3, and a bolt portion 25 that is screwed into the screw portion 13 of the outer tube 1.

  The lid body 20 includes a head portion 22 that can be engaged with a tightening tool, and a lid portion 23 whose outer peripheral portion abuts against the vehicle body side end surface 10 of the outer tube 1. A circumferential groove 23 a is formed at a position facing the inner peripheral portion of the end face 10.

  Since the cap member 2 includes the circumferential groove, the end surface 10 and the lid portion 23 can be brought into contact with each other while avoiding the burr 10a generated at the inner circumferential portion of the vehicle body side end surface 10 in the outer tube 1. A surface pressure is evenly applied to a portion where the portion 23 and the end surface 10 abut each other.

  Therefore, it is possible to prevent the cap member 2 from being loosened by preventing the cap member 2 from being deformed without performing a deburring operation.

  Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, it should be understood that modifications, variations and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the claims.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the outer tube 1 is made of an aluminum material and is subjected to decorative chrome plating. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the material of the outer tube 1 and the type of plating can be changed as appropriate. Is possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outer tube 2, 2A Cap member 3 Seal 5 Sealing inclined surface 6 Masking member 10 End surface 11 Seal member 11a Seal surface 12 Entrance part 13 Screwing part 20 Lid 21 Cap main body 22 Head 23 Lid 23a Circumferential groove 24 Seal groove 25 Bolt part

Claims (2)

An outer tube interposed between the vehicle body and the axle, connected to the vehicle body and having a vehicle body side opening and an axle side opening at both ends, and an inner tube slidably inserted into the outer tube Comprising a fork main body and a cap member mounted on the vehicle body side opening of the outer tube,
In the front fork in which both end openings of the outer tube are tightly plugged with a masking member and plated on both end surfaces and the outer peripheral surface of the outer tube,
The cap member includes a lid disposed outside the outer tube in a mounted state, and a cap body disposed inside the outer tube,
The lid body has a lid portion whose outer peripheral portion abuts against an end surface of the outer tube on the vehicle body side, and a circumferential groove facing the inner peripheral portion of the end surface on the vehicle body side is formed in the lid portion. A featured front fork.   The front fork according to claim 1, wherein the outer tube is made of an aluminum material, and the plating is decorative chromium plating.

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