JP2023131204A - Vehicle height adjustment structure - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique that can downsize a vehicle height adjustment structure.SOLUTION: A vehicle height adjustment structure 40 comprises: a supporting member 50 comprising a cylindrical first cylinder part 53 supporting a lower end part 42 of a piston rod 41; an attachment member 60 comprising a cylindrical second cylinder part 61 comprising an inner peripheral surface 62 capable of being fitted to an outer peripheral surface 55 of the first cylinder part 53, in which the position of the second cylinder part 61 can be adjusted with respect to the first cylinder part 53 in the axial direction of the piston rod 41, and to which an axle can be attached; and a fixing mechanism 49 capable of fixing the attachment member 60 to the supporting member 50. The lower end part 42 of the piston rod 41 is located inside the second cylinder part 61 of the attachment member 60.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle height adjustment structure provided at the end of a piston rod.

Saddle-type vehicles, such as motorcycles and tricycles, are equipped with hydraulic shock absorbers that absorb shocks applied to the wheels from the road surface. A prior art related to such a hydraulic shock absorber is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

The hydraulic shock absorber disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a rear suspension installed in a motorcycle. The main components of this rear suspension are a cylindrical cylinder, a piston that divides the inside of the cylinder into oil chambers on the vehicle body side and an axle side, and can slide against the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder, and an end on the vehicle body side. A piston rod has a piston fixed thereto and extends from the inside of the cylinder to the outside of the vehicle body, and a suspension spring surrounds the outer periphery of the cylinder and piston rod.

Furthermore, this rear suspension includes a vehicle height adjustment structure that allows adjustment of the overall length of the rear suspension (dimension in the axial direction of the piston rod). The vehicle height adjustment structure includes a support member that supports the end of the piston rod on the axle side, and a mounting member that is fixed to the support member and to which the axle can be attached.

The support member has a cylindrical first cylindrical portion centered on the axis of the piston rod. The attachment member has a second cylindrical portion having a larger diameter than the first cylindrical portion. The inner circumferential surface of the second cylindrical portion is slidably fitted to the outer circumferential surface of the first cylindrical portion. Thereby, the position of the mounting member relative to the support member can be adjusted. The mounting member whose position has been further adjusted is fixed to the support member by a fixing mechanism using screws. With the above configuration, the total length of the rear suspension can be adjusted.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-180732

However, the overall length of the rear suspension becomes longer due to the provision of the vehicle height adjustment structure. Rear suspensions with a long overall length may be installed on a limited number of vehicles. It is desirable to be able to suppress the overall length of the rear suspension from increasing while providing a vehicle height adjustment structure.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technology that can reduce the size of a vehicle height adjustment structure.

As a result of extensive studies, the present inventor has developed a support member having a cylindrical first cylindrical portion that supports an end of a piston rod, and an inner circumferential surface that can be fitted onto the outer circumferential surface of the first cylindrical portion. The second cylinder part has a cylindrical shape, and the position of the second cylinder part with respect to the first cylinder part is adjustable in the axial direction of the piston rod, and a mounting member to which an axle can be attached, and supporting the mounting member. A fixing mechanism that can be fixed to the member, the end of the piston rod can be located inside the second cylindrical part of the mounting member, and it is possible to provide a vehicle height adjustment structure that can be miniaturized. I found out. The present invention was completed based on these findings.

According to the present disclosure, there is provided a support member having a cylindrical first cylindrical portion supporting an end portion of a piston rod, and a cylindrical tube having an inner circumferential surface that can be fitted to an outer circumferential surface of the first cylindrical portion. a second cylindrical portion having a shape, the position of the second cylindrical portion relative to the first cylindrical portion in the axial direction of the piston rod is adjustable, and a mounting member to which an axle can be attached; A vehicle height adjustment structure is provided, including a fixing mechanism that can be fixed to the support member, and in which the end of the piston rod can be located inside the second cylindrical part of the attachment member.

Further, the fixing mechanism includes a first fixing member fixed to the support member, which has a male thread that the second cylindrical portion of the mounting member has, and a female thread that can be fastened to the male thread of the second cylindrical portion. and a second fixing member having a female thread that can be fastened to the male thread of the attachment member.

Further, a hydraulic shock absorber having the vehicle height adjustment structure described above may be used.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a technique that can reduce the size of a vehicle height adjustment structure.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a motorcycle equipped with a hydraulic shock absorber having a vehicle height adjustment structure according to an embodiment. 2 is a diagram illustrating the hydraulic shock absorber shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the vehicle height adjustment structure shown in FIG. 3. FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the accompanying drawings. With reference to a two-wheeled vehicle to be described later, the vehicle body side is defined as the upper side, the axle side is defined as the lower side, the traveling direction of the two-wheeled vehicle is referred to as the front, and the direction opposite to the traveling direction is referred to as the rear. In the figure, Fr indicates the front, Rr indicates the rear, L indicates the left, R indicates the right, Up indicates the top, and Dn indicates the bottom.

<Example>
Please refer to FIG. The two-wheeled vehicle 10 (saddle-type vehicle 10) includes a vehicle body 11, an engine 12 as a power source supported at the lower center of the vehicle body 11, and an engine 12 provided at the front left and right sides of the vehicle body 11 to absorb shocks received from unevenness of the road surface. The left and right front forks 13 (only the right front fork 13 is shown in the figure), the front wheel 14 sandwiched between these front forks 13 and rotatably supported, and the front fork 13 A handle pipe 15 arranged at the top and used to steer the front wheels 14, a seat 16 provided above the engine 12 on which a passenger is seated, and a swing arm extending rearward from the rear of the vehicle body 11 and provided so as to be swingable in the vertical direction. 17, a rear wheel 18 rotatably supported by this swing arm 17, and left and right rear cushions 20 spanning from the rear of the vehicle body 11 to the swing arm 17 (only the right rear cushion 20 is shown in FIG. 1). ) and has.

The left and right rear cushions 20 have the same configuration. Hereinafter, the right rear cushion 20 will be explained, and the explanation about the left rear cushion will be omitted. Note that the left and right rear cushions 20 may have different configurations depending on the purpose.

[Hydraulic shock absorber]
See FIG. 2. The rear cushion 20 (hydraulic shock absorber) includes a shock absorber body 30 that is filled with oil and generates a damping force, and is connected to this shock absorber body 20 so that when a force in a compression direction is applied to the shock absorber body 20, It is provided with a sub-tank 21 into which oil can flow, and a damping force generating device 22 capable of generating damping force together with the shock absorber main body 20.

The shock absorber main body 30 includes a vehicle body side fixing part 31 that can be fixed to the rear part of the vehicle body 11, a cylindrical inner cylinder 32 whose upper end is fixed to the upper fixing part 31, and a cylindrical inner cylinder 32 that surrounds the inner cylinder 32 and has an upper end. and a cylindrical outer cylinder 33 fixed to the upper fixing part 31.

The shock absorber main body 30 further includes a lid portion 34 that closes the lower ends of the inner cylinder 32 and the outer cylinder 33, a piston 35 that is slidable on the inner circumferential surface of the inner cylinder 32, and a piston 35 at the upper end. The piston rod 41 is fixed and extends from the inside of the inner cylinder 32 to the outside, and a suspension spring 37 in the form of a compression coil spring surrounds the outer periphery of the outer cylinder 33 and the piston rod 41.

[Vehicle height adjustment structure]
See FIG. 3. The rear suspension 10 includes a vehicle height adjustment structure 40 at its lower part, which is capable of adjusting the overall length of the rear suspension 10 (the dimension of the piston rod 41 in the axial direction (vertical direction)).

The vehicle height adjustment structure 40 includes a support member 50 that supports the lower end 42 (the end on the axle side) of the piston rod 41, and a support member 50 that supports the lower end 42 (the end on the axle side) of the piston rod 41, and a lower side of the support member 50 (the side opposite to the side that supports the piston rod 41). ) and a mounting member 60 to which the axle of the rear wheel 18 can be attached.

[Support member and first cylinder part]
The support member 50 has a substantially disk-shaped base 51 whose thickness direction is the direction in which the axis L of the piston rod 41 extends (hereinafter referred to as the axial direction). A spring receiver 38 that supports the lower end of the suspension spring 37 is fitted into the outer peripheral surface 52 of the base 51 .

A cylindrical first cylindrical portion 53 extends from the lower surface of the base portion 51 of the support member 50 toward the mounting member 60 side. The center line of the first cylindrical portion 53 coincides with the axis L of the piston rod 41. The lower end side (the end on the attachment member 60 side) of the first cylindrical portion 53 is closed by a bottom portion 59 . The first cylindrical portion 53 has a female thread 54 that is fastened to the male thread 43 of the lower end portion 42 of the piston rod 41 . Note that the support of the lower end portion 42 of the piston rod 41 by the support member 50 is not limited to screw fastening, and may be a tight fit.

[Mounting member and second cylinder part]
The mounting member 60 includes a cylindrical second cylindrical portion 61 and a support portion 69 provided below the second cylindrical portion 61 and having a support hole 68 capable of supporting an axle. The inner circumferential surface 62 of the second cylindrical portion 61 can fit into the outer circumferential surface 55 of the first cylindrical portion 53 (clearance fit).

That is, the second cylindrical portion 61 of the mounting member 60 can adjust the position of the piston rod 41 in the axial direction (vertical direction) by sliding with respect to the first cylindrical portion 53 of the support member 50. The lower end portion 42 of the piston rod 41 is located inside the second cylindrical portion 61 of the mounting member 60. A male thread 63 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the second cylindrical portion 61 .

[Fixing mechanism]
The mounting member 60 whose position with respect to the support member 50 has been adjusted is fixed by a fixing mechanism 49. The fixing mechanism 49 includes a first annular fixing member 70 fixed to the base 51 and a second annular fixing member 80 (so-called lock nut) disposed below the first fixing member 70. We are prepared.

A cylindrical third cylinder portion 56 extends from the lower surface of the base portion 51 of the support member 50 toward the mounting member 60 side. The diameter of the third cylindrical portion 56 is larger than the diameter of the second cylindrical portion 61. The third cylindrical portion 56 surrounds the second cylindrical portion 61. The center line of the third cylindrical portion 56 coincides with the axis L of the piston rod 41. The third cylindrical portion 56 has a male thread 57 on its outer peripheral surface.

The first fixing member 70 is integrally formed with a small diameter portion 71 and a large diameter portion 74 having different diameters. The large diameter portion 74 has a female thread 75 that can be fastened to the male thread 57 of the third cylindrical portion 56 . The small diameter portion 71 has a female thread 72 that can be fastened to the male thread 63 of the second cylindrical portion 61 .

The second fixing member 80 has a female thread 81 that can be fastened to the male thread 63 of the second cylindrical portion 61 . The upper end surface 82 of the second fixing member 80 and the lower end surface 76 of the small diameter portion 71 of the first fixing member 70 are compressed with each other.

[Effects of Example]
[Miniaturization of vehicle height adjustment structure]
See FIG. 4. The support member 50 has a cylindrical first cylindrical portion 53 . The female thread 54 of the first cylindrical portion 53 is fastened to the male thread 43 of the lower end portion 42 of the piston rod 41. The mounting member 60 has a cylindrical second cylindrical portion 61. The inner circumferential surface 62 of the second cylindrical portion 61 is slidably fitted onto the outer circumferential surface 55 of the first cylindrical portion 53 . By adjusting the position of the mounting member 60 with respect to the support member 50, the overall length of the rear suspension 20 can be adjusted.

Further, in a state where the position of the attachment member 60 with respect to the support member 50 is adjusted, the lower end portion 42 of the piston rod 41 is located inside the second cylindrical portion 61 of the attachment member 60.

In other words, the lower end portion 42 of the piston rod 41 and the second cylindrical portion 61 of the mounting member 60 overlap at least partially in the axial direction of the piston rod 41 (see arrows A and B). ). Specifically, the dimensions from the lower end surface 41a of the piston rod 41 (the surface facing the mounting member 60 side) to the upper end surface 61a of the second cylindrical portion 61 (the surface facing the support member 50 side) overlap. (See arrow C). Therefore, the vehicle height adjustment structure 40 can be downsized by the dimension indicated by the arrow C, and the overall length of the rear suspension 20 can be prevented from increasing.

[Simple fixing mechanism]
The mounting member 60 whose position with respect to the support member 50 has been adjusted can be fixed by the fixing mechanism 49. The fixing mechanism 49 includes a male thread 63 of the second cylindrical portion 61 of the mounting member 60 and a female thread 75 that can be fastened to the male thread 63, and the first fixing member 70 is fixed (screwed) to the support member 50. We are prepared. Therefore, when the mounting member 60 is rotated about the axis L of the piston rod 41, the vertical position of the mounting member 60 relative to the first fixing member 70 can be adjusted.

Further, the fixing mechanism 49 includes a second fixing member 80 (so-called lock nut) in which a female thread 81 is formed. By tightening the second fixing member 80 to the first fixing member 70, the mounting member 60 can be fixed to the first fixing member 70. Therefore, the mounting member 60 can be fixed to the support member 50 with a simple configuration using screw fastening.

The vehicle height adjustment structure of the present invention is suitable for a hydraulic shock absorber for a motorcycle.

40...Vehicle height adjustment structure 41...Piston rod 42...Lower end of piston rod 49...Fixing mechanism 50...Supporting member 53...First cylindrical part 55...Outer peripheral surface of first cylindrical part 60...Mounting member 61...Second cylindrical part 62...Inner peripheral surface of the second cylindrical part 63...Male thread of the second cylindrical part 70...First fixing member 75...Female thread of the first fixing member 80...Second fixing member 81...Female thread of the second fixing member

Claims (3)

a support member having a cylindrical first cylindrical portion supporting an end of the piston rod;
a cylindrical second cylindrical portion having an inner circumferential surface that can be fitted to the outer circumferential surface of the first cylindrical portion; a mounting member whose position is adjustable and to which an axle can be attached;
a fixing mechanism capable of fixing the mounting member to the support member,
In the vehicle height adjustment structure, the end portion of the piston rod may be located inside the second cylindrical portion of the mounting member. The fixing mechanism is
a male thread that the second cylindrical portion of the mounting member has;
a first fixing member having a female thread that can be fastened to the male thread of the second cylindrical part and fixed to the support member;
a second fixing member having a female thread that can be fastened to the male thread of the mounting member;
The vehicle height adjustment structure according to claim 1, comprising: A hydraulic shock absorber comprising the vehicle height adjustment structure according to claim 1 or 2.

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