JP2024002002A - stroke sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a stroke sensor which can detect a stroke amount of a front fork without damaging a design freedom degree and assembling property of the front fork.SOLUTION: A stroke sensor detects a stroke amount of a front fork F and comprises: an outer tube 1; an inner tube 2 inserted into the outer tube 1 and being movable along an axial direction of the outer tube 1; and a tube member 10 which is interposed between a vehicle body B and a wheel W on a vehicle V. The stroke sensor comprises: a detected body 3 provided on an outer periphery of the outer tube 1; and a sensor main body 4 which is provided outside of the tube member 10, is movable in the axial direction with respect to the outer tube 1 with the inner tube 2 and detects the detected body 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a stroke sensor.

Patent Document 1 discloses a tube member that has an outer tube and an inner tube that is slidably inserted into the outer tube and that expands and contracts, and objects that are housed in the tube member such as a damper cartridge and a suspension spring. A stroke sensor is disclosed that detects the stroke amount of a front fork that is interposed between a vehicle body and a front wheel of a straddle-type vehicle.

In the invention of Patent Document 1, vibrations of the vehicle body and vehicle height are determined based on information on the stroke amount of the front fork detected by the stroke sensor.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-185735

However, in the invention of Patent Document 1, since the stroke sensor is provided inside the tube member of the front fork, a part of the internal space of the tube member is occupied by the stroke sensor. Therefore, the stroke sensor compresses the internal space of the tube member, reducing the degree of freedom in designing the contents to be accommodated inside the tube member.

Further, wiring is required to supply power to the stroke sensor and to transmit the stroke amount of the front fork detected by the stroke sensor as a signal to an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) mounted on the vehicle body, but Patent Document 1 In the invention, the stroke sensor had to be wired within the narrow tube member in which the object was housed, making the assembly work of the front fork very time-consuming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a stroke sensor that can detect the stroke amount of a front fork without impairing the design freedom and ease of assembly of the front fork.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a front fork stroke having an inner tube movably inserted into an outer tube and a tube member interposed between a vehicle body and a wheel of a vehicle. A stroke sensor that detects the amount of movement, and includes a detected object that is a part of the outer circumference of the outer tube or a part provided on the outer circumference of the outer tube, and a stroke sensor that is provided outside the tube member and is connected to the outer tube together with the inner tube. The sensor body is movable in the axial direction relative to the sensor body and detects the detected object. According to this configuration, since the stroke sensor is disposed outside the tube member, the stroke sensor does not press the internal space of the tube member.

Moreover, in the stroke sensor of the present invention, the sensor main body may be arranged between the tube member and a cover body that is connected to the inner tube and covers the front side of the inner tube. According to this configuration, the sensor main body can be protected from flying stones and the like by the cover body, so even if the sensor main body is disposed outside the tube member, damage to the sensor main body can be prevented.

Further, in the stroke sensor of the present invention, the sensor main body may have a fixing part that is provided at the end of the inner tube on the side opposite to the outer tube and can be detachably fixed to an axle bracket that holds the wheel. good. With this configuration, the sensor body can be detachably fixed to the axle bracket, so if the object to be detected is attached to the outer circumference of the outer tube and the sensor body is fixed to the axle bracket, the stroke sensor can be shipped together with the front fork. can.

Further, in the stroke sensor of the present invention, the detected object may be a large diameter portion formed by enlarging a part of the outer diameter of the outer tube. According to this configuration, since the object to be detected is integrally formed with the outer tube, there is no need for processing to attach the object to be detected on the outer periphery of the outer tube, and costs can be reduced. In addition, since the object to be detected is integrally formed with the outer tube, there is no fear that the object to be detected will fall from the outer tube.

Further, in the stroke sensor of the present invention, the detected object may be annular or C-shaped and may be attached along the circumferential direction of the outer tube. According to this configuration, positioning of the detected object with respect to the sensor body becomes unnecessary or easy.

According to the stroke sensor of the present invention, the stroke amount of the front fork can be detected without impairing the design freedom and ease of assembly of the front fork.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of a vehicle equipped with a front fork according to the present embodiment. It is a side view of the front fork of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the front wheels of the vehicle according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. 1; 5 is a sectional view taken along the line YY in FIG. 4. FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of a sensor main body according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view of the front fork with the sensor body held by the axle bracket.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals throughout the several drawings indicate the same parts. Further, the front fork F of this embodiment is interposed between the vehicle body B and the wheels W of the saddle type vehicle V. In the following explanation, unless there is a special explanation, the top and bottom with the front fork F attached to the vehicle V will simply be referred to as "upper" and "lower", and the vehicle with the front fork F attached to the vehicle V will be referred to as "upper" and "lower". The front and rear of the V in its traveling direction are simply referred to as "front" and "rear."

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the stroke sensor of this embodiment includes an outer tube 1 and an inner tube 2 that is inserted into the outer tube 1 and is movable along the axial direction of the outer tube 1. It also detects the stroke amount of a front fork F having a tube member 10 interposed between a vehicle body B and a wheel W in a vehicle V. The sensor body 4 includes a detection body 3 and a sensor body 4 that is provided outside the tube member 10, is movable in the axial direction with respect to the outer tube 1 together with the inner tube 2, and detects the body 3 to be detected.

Hereinafter, each part of the front fork F of this embodiment will be explained in detail. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper end of the outer tube 1 is closed by a cap (not shown), and the lower end of the other inner tube 2 is closed by an axle bracket 5. The outer tube 1 and the inner tube 2 are combined by inserting the inner tube 2 into the outer tube 1 from the open end side, and form a telescopic tube member 10 that expands and contracts by moving relative to each other in the axial direction. It consists of

Further, at the lower end of the outer tube 1, which is the end on the inner tube 2 side, a large diameter portion 1a having a larger outer diameter than other portions is provided. A sealing member S, which is annular and comes into sliding contact with the outer periphery of the inner tube 2, is attached. The seal member S seals between the outer tube 1 and the inner tube 2, thereby forming a sealed space within the tube member 10.

Although not shown, a damper cartridge that expands and contracts as the tube member 10 expands and contracts to exert a damping force, and a suspension spring that biases the tube member 10 in the expansion direction are accommodated in the tube member 10. ing. Furthermore, the damper cartridge of this embodiment includes a solenoid valve that can adjust the damping force, and by controlling the solenoid valve, the damping force can be adjusted. In this embodiment, the solenoid valve is controlled by determining a damping force suitable for suppressing vibrations of the vehicle body B determined from the stroke amount of the front fork F detected by a stroke sensor described later. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the front fork F elastically supports the body B of the straddle-type vehicle V with the suspension spring, and exerts an optimal damping force to suppress vibrations of the body B. Suppress the vibration of B. Although the front fork F of this embodiment accommodates a damper cartridge inside, it may also accommodate only a suspension spring, and the suspension spring may be an air spring in addition to a metal spring. Good too.

In addition, since the front fork F holds the axle Wa protruding from the left and right sides of the wheel W as a pair, a damper cartridge that exerts a damping force only when it is extended is housed in one of the left and right front forks F, and when it is retracted, It is also possible to adopt a mode in which a damper cartridge that only exerts damping force is accommodated in the other left and right front fork F.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper end of the outer tube 1 is held by an upper bracket 11 and an under bracket 12 that hold a steering shaft (not shown) that is rotatably inserted into a head pipe P provided in the vehicle body B. and is connected to vehicle body B. Further, an axle bracket 5 for holding an axle shaft Wa of the wheel W is provided at the lower end of the inner tube 2, and the lower end of the inner tube 2 is connected to the wheel W via the axle bracket 5.

As described above, in the front fork F of this embodiment, the outer tube 1 is connected to the vehicle body B, the inner tube 2 is connected to the wheel W via the axle bracket 5, and there is a gap between the vehicle body B and the wheel W. It is inserted in a so-called inverted position. However, the front fork F may be interposed between the vehicle body B and the wheels W in a so-called erect posture by connecting the inner tube 2 to the vehicle body B and connecting the outer tube 1 to the wheels W.

As shown in FIG. 2, the axle bracket 5 includes a fitting cylinder part 50 that fits into the lower end of the inner tube 2 and closes the lower end opening of the inner tube 2, and a fitting cylinder part 50 provided below the fitting cylinder part 50. An annular grip part 51 that grips the axle Wa of the wheel W, a brake holding part 52 that protrudes from the rear part on the left side in FIG. 2 of the fitting cylinder part 50 and the grip part 51 and holds a brake (not shown), and a fitting cylinder. The fender holding part 53 protrudes from the front part on the right side in FIG. 2 of the part 50 and holds a fender 6, which will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 2, the fender holding part 53 has an L-shaped base part 53a that projects forward from the front part of the fitting cylinder part 50, and a holding piece 53b that extends upward from the tip of the base part 53a. It is structured like this. Attachment holes 53c and 53c are provided at the upper and lower ends of the holding piece 53b, respectively. In addition, the shape of the axle bracket 5 mentioned above is an example, Comprising: It is not limited to the said shape.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the fender 6 includes a fender body 60 that covers the upper part of the wheel W, and a fender body 60 that is provided on the left and right sides of the fender body 60 in FIG. A pair of attachment pieces 63 are provided that are connected to the holding pieces 53b of the axle bracket 5 attached.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the fender main body 60 includes a main body portion 61 that curves along the shape of the wheel W and covers the upper part of the wheel W, and a main body portion 61 that expands from the left and right sides in FIG. 3 of the main body portion 61. It is provided with a bulging part 62 having a concave part 62c in which the front fork F is housed. By covering the upper part of the wheel W with the fender main body 60 in this manner, the fender 6 can protect the vehicle body B and the occupants from mud, pebbles, rainwater, etc. that are kicked up by the wheels W while the vehicle V is running.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the bulging portion 62 has a front protrusion 62a located in front of the front fork F and a rear protrusion 62b located in the rear of the front fork F. 62c is formed between the front protrusion 62a and the rear protrusion 62b.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the mounting piece 63 has a rear part 63a extending downward from the rear (front fork F side) edge of the front protrusion 62a and curving along the side of the front fork F, and a rear part 63a on the front side. A mounting portion 63b extends downward from the side edge of the protruding portion 62a (on the side opposite to the fender main body) and whose rear end is integrally connected to the rear portion 63a; It is integrally formed with a front part 63c that extends and is integrally connected to the front end of the mounting part 63b.

The mounting portion 63b is provided with two holes (not shown) arranged at the same interval as the mounting holes 53c, 53c provided in the holding piece 53b of the axle bracket 5. Then, with the two holes of each mounting portion 63b facing the mounting holes 53c, 53c of each holding piece 53b, the bolt 20 is inserted and a nut (not shown) is screwed onto the bolt 20, The fender 6 is connected to the holding piece 53b of the axle bracket 5 attached to each front fork F by sandwiching the mounting portion 63b and the holding piece 53b with the bolt 20 and nut.

Although not shown in detail, at this time, the holding piece 53b is placed inside the mounting part 63b (wheel W side), and the nut is screwed into the threaded part of the bolt 20 inserted from the outside of the mounting part 63b. By doing so, the fender 6 is held. Therefore, the periphery of the holding piece 53b is covered by the rear part 63a, the attachment part 63b, and the front part 63c of the attachment piece 63. Therefore, even if a flying stone or the like comes flying while the vehicle V is running, the holding piece 53b and the nut screwed onto the bolt 20 are protected by the mounting piece 63, so damage to the holding piece 53b and loosening of the nut can be prevented. .

Further, the rear portion 63a of the mounting piece 63 functions as a cover body that covers the lower end of the outer tube 1 and the front of the inner tube 2 when the front fork F is fully extended, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Therefore, the front part of the inner tube 2 is protected by the rear part 63a of the mounting piece 63 from flying stones etc. from the road surface while the vehicle V is running, so the outer periphery of the inner tube 2 is prevented from being damaged and the inner tube 2 and Gas can be prevented from leaking from the gap between the outer tubes 1. Note that although FIG. 5 shows a sectional view taken along the YY line in FIG. 4, only a portion of the front fork F is shown in the sectional view to avoid complicating the drawing.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the front fork F interposed between the vehicle body B and the wheel W is accommodated in the recess 62c formed in the bulge 62, the mounting portion 63b of the fender 6 The hole provided in the axle bracket 5 and the attachment hole 53c of the holding piece 53b of the axle bracket 5 are roughly aligned. Therefore, when connecting the fender 6 to the axle bracket 5, alignment of the hole in the attachment portion 63b of the fender 6 and the attachment hole 53c of the holding piece 53b of the axle bracket 5 is facilitated.

Note that the shape of the fender 6 in this embodiment is an example, and the shape of the fender 6 is not limited to the above-described shape, and for example, the recess 62c and the front portion 63c may be omitted.

Next, the stroke sensor of this embodiment will be described in detail. The stroke sensor is movable in the axial direction with respect to the outer tube 1 together with the detected object 3 provided in the outer tube 1 and the detected object 3 provided outside the tube member 10 and the inner tube 2. The sensor body 4 detects the stroke amount of the front fork F.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the detected object 3 of this embodiment has an annular shape, and is formed on the outer periphery of the large diameter portion 1a provided at the lower end of the outer tube 1. It is fitted and attached to the groove 1b. Furthermore, the object 3 to be detected may be directly attached to the outer periphery of the large diameter portion 1a without providing the annular groove 1b on the outer periphery of the outer tube 1. However, when the object 3 to be detected is fitted into the annular groove 1b, It is possible to prevent the body 3 from falling off or shifting in the axial direction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the sensor main body 4 of this embodiment includes a rod-shaped sensor section 4a, an upper fixing section 4b provided at the upper end of the sensor section 4a and having a hole, and a sensor section 4a. It has a lower fixing part 4c provided at the lower end thereof and having a hole.

The sensor section 4a of this embodiment is configured by arranging a plurality of proximity sensors in the vertical direction to detect the object to be detected 3 facing each other. Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the sensor main body 4 is fitted into a vertical groove 63d formed along the vertical direction on the front fork F side surface (rear side surface) of the rear part 63a of the fender 6, and The sensor main body 4 can be attached to the rear part 63a by fixing the fixing part 4b and the lower fixing part 4c to the rear part 63a with bolts 40 and nuts 41, respectively. Note that the means for fixing the sensor body 4 may be other than the bolts 40 and nuts 41, and is not particularly limited.

Further, the sensor main body 4 may be directly attached to the rear surface of the rear portion 63a without providing the vertical groove 63d on the rear surface of the rear portion 63a of the mounting piece 63, but when the sensor main body 4 is fitted into the vertical groove 63d, the sensor It is possible to prevent the main body 4 from falling off or shifting in the radial direction.

Furthermore, the hole in the lower fixing part 4c of the sensor main body 4 in this embodiment is set to have the same diameter as the mounting hole 53c in the fender holding part 53 of the axle bracket 5. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the lower fixing part 4c of the sensor main body 4 can be detachably fixed to the fender holding part 53 with the bolt 40 and nut 41. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, by attaching the detected object 3 to the outer periphery of the outer tube 1 and fixing the sensor main body 4 to the axle bracket 5, the stroke sensor can be shipped together with the front fork F.

Moreover, since the sensor body 4 is detachably fixed to the fender holding part 53 of the axle bracket 5, when applying the front fork F to the vehicle V, the sensor body 4 is separated from the axle bracket 5, and the sensor body 4 is separated from the axle bracket 5. The sensor main body 4 may be attached to the rear part 63a. However, the means for removably fixing the sensor body 4 to the fender holding portion 53 of the axle bracket 5 may be other than the bolt 40 and nut 41. 5 and 6, the sensor main body 4 is formed into a flat rod shape, but the shape of the sensor main body 4 is not particularly limited.

Next, the operation of the stroke sensor will be explained. As described above, the fender 6 to which the sensor body 4 is attached is held by the fender holding portion 53 of the axle bracket 5. That is, since the sensor body 4 is connected to the inner tube 2 via the fender 6 and the axle bracket 5, the sensor body 4 moves axially with respect to the outer tube 1 together with the inner tube 2 when the front fork F expands and contracts. Moving.

The sensor portion 4a of the sensor main body 4 of this embodiment has an axial length that is at least longer than the maximum stroke of the front fork F, as shown in FIG. Further, the upper end of the range of the sensor body 4 in which the detected object 3 can be detected is fixed at a position slightly above the position where the front fork F faces the detected object 3 when the front fork F is fully extended in the rear part 63a. The lower end of the range in which the detected object 3 can be detected is fixed at a position slightly lower than the position of the rear part 63a facing the detected object 3 when the front fork F is most retracted. Thereby, the detection range of the sensor main body 4 always faces the detected object 3 even when the front fork F is fully extended or fully contracted.

Further, as described above, the sensor section 4a is configured by arranging a plurality of proximity sensors in the vertical direction to detect the object to be detected 3 facing each other. Therefore, the sensor main body 4 can detect the position of the detected object 3 when the front fork F is extended or retracted based on the position of the proximity sensor that has detected the detected object 3. Therefore, the stroke sensor of this embodiment can detect the stroke amount of the front fork F.

Note that examples of the proximity sensor constituting the sensor section 4a of the sensor body 4 include an inductive proximity sensor that detects changes in magnetic field and a capacitive proximity sensor that detects changes in capacitance. An inductive proximity sensor or a capacitive proximity sensor can detect the presence of the detected object 3 when the detected object 3 is nearby. The distance (detection distance) at which the detected object 3 can be detected in an inductive proximity sensor or a capacitive proximity sensor differs depending on the material of the detected object 3. Therefore, if the detected object 3 is made of a material having a longer detection distance than the material of the outer tube 1, the proximity sensor can detect only the detected object 3.

Further, the detection principle of the stroke sensor is not limited to the above as long as the sensor main body 4 can detect the position of the detected object 3 when the front fork F expands and contracts; for example, the detected object 3 is a magnet, The sensor body 4 may be a probe having magnetostrictive wires inside, and the stroke sensor may be a magnetostrictive sensor that measures the propagation time of distortion of the magnetostrictive wires that occurs when a magnet approaches and detects the position of the detected object 3. .

Moreover, since the sensor body 4 is fixed to the rear part 63a of the mounting piece 63 at two places, an upper fixing part 4b provided at the upper end and a lower fixing part 4c provided at the lower end, It does not wobble even when subjected to vibrations. Therefore, the sensor main body 4 can always detect the accurate position of the detected object 3.

In this embodiment, the detected object 3 is provided in the large diameter portion 1a on the outer periphery of the lower end of the outer tube 1, but the position where the detected object 3 is provided with respect to the outer tube 1 is at the front fork. It is not particularly limited as long as it can face the sensor portion 4a of the sensor body 4 when F is at its maximum extension and maximum contraction.

Further, information on the stroke amount of the front fork F detected by the stroke sensor is transmitted as a signal to the ECU (not shown) mounted on the vehicle body B via wiring (not shown), and the ECU receives the information from the stroke amount of the front fork F. The solenoid valve of the damper cartridge housed in the tube member 10 is controlled to obtain a damping force suitable for suppressing vibrations of the vehicle body B.

However, the information on the stroke amount of the front fork F detected by the stroke sensor may be used for purposes other than controlling the solenoid valve of the damper cartridge.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the detected object 3 and the sensor main body 4 constituting the stroke sensor are arranged outside the tube member 10, the stroke sensor presses the inner space of the tube member 10. do not.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the sensor main body 4 is attached to the rear side surface of the rear part 63a of the mounting piece 63 that covers the front of the inner tube 2. As shown, it is arranged between the rear part 63a of the attachment piece 63 and the tube member 10. Therefore, the sensor main body 4 can be protected from flying stones etc. by the rear part 63a of the mounting piece 63, so even if the sensor main body 4 is disposed outside the tube member 10, the sensor main body 4 can be prevented from being damaged by flying stones etc. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the rear part 63a of the attachment piece 63 also covers the front of the large diameter part 1a at the lower end of the outer tube 1, so that it can be attached to the outer periphery of the large diameter part 1a. The object 3 to be detected 3 is also protected from flying stones etc. by the rear part 63a of the mounting piece 63.

Note that the attachment location of the sensor body 4 is not limited to the rear side surface of the rear part 63a of the attachment piece 63; for example, the sensor body 4 may be attached to the recess 62c of the bulge 62 of the fender 6. Even in this case, since the sensor main body 4 is disposed behind the rear part 63a of the mounting piece 63, the sensor main body 4 can be protected from flying stones and the like flying from the front.

Furthermore, if the sensor body 4 can detect the position of the detected object 3 even if there is a rear part 63a of the mounting piece 63 between the sensor body 4 and the detected object 3, the sensor main body 4 It may be attached to the surface (front surface) on the side opposite to the front fork or the inner surface of the mounting portion 63b that is on the wheel W side. Even in this case, the sensor main body 4 is protected from flying stones and the like because the periphery of the sensor body 4 is covered by the mounting piece 63.

Further, the sensor main body 4 may be attached to a part other than the fender 6. For example, the lower fixing part 4c of the sensor main body 4 is attached to the holding piece 53b of the axle bracket 5 together with the mounting piece 63 of the fender 6, and the bolt 20 and the nut. The sensor body 4 may be attached to the axle bracket 5 by fixing the sensor body 4 to the axle bracket 5.

Returning to the stroke sensor of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, since the detected object 3 is annular, there is no need to position the detected object 3 with respect to the sensor main body 4 in the circumferential direction. Further, the shape of the detected object 3 may be C-shaped, and even in that case, the detected object 3 faces the sensor main body 4 in most cases, so positioning of the detected object 3 is facilitated. . However, the shape of the detected object 3 may be other than annular or C-shaped. Note that the method of attaching the detected object 3 to the outer periphery of the outer tube 1 is not particularly limited as long as it does not fall off when the front fork F expands or contracts.

As described above, the stroke sensor of the present embodiment includes an outer tube 1 and an inner tube 2 that is inserted into the outer tube 1 and is movable along the axial direction of the outer tube 1. A detected object 3 is a component provided on the outer periphery of the outer tube 1, which detects the stroke amount of a front fork F having a tube member 10 interposed between the outer tube 1 and the outer tube 1; A sensor main body 4 is provided outside the tube member 10, is movable in the axial direction with respect to the outer tube 1 together with the inner tube 2, and detects the detected object 3.

According to this configuration, the detected object 3 and the sensor main body 4 constituting the stroke sensor are arranged outside the tube member 10, so the stroke sensor does not press the internal space of the tube member 10. Therefore, other objects can be accommodated in the tube member 10 instead of the stroke sensor, so the stroke sensor of the present invention can be accommodated in the tube member 10 of the front fork F without impairing the degree of freedom in designing the objects to be accommodated in the tube member 10. The stroke amount of the front fork F can be detected.

In addition, when a stroke sensor is provided on the front fork F, wiring is required to supply power to the stroke sensor and to send the stroke amount of the front fork F detected by the stroke sensor as a signal to the ECU mounted on the vehicle body B. However, in the past, the stroke sensor was installed inside the tube member of the front fork, so the wiring for the stroke sensor had to be done inside the narrow tube member where the stored items were housed, which made it difficult to assemble the front fork. was very time consuming. In contrast, in this embodiment, the stroke sensor is arranged outside the tube member 10, and there is no need to wire the stroke sensor within the tube member 10. Therefore, the stroke sensor of the present invention can detect the stroke amount of the front fork F without impairing the assemblability of the front fork F.

Further, in this embodiment, the detected object 3 is annular and is attached along the circumferential direction of the outer tube 1. According to this configuration, it is not necessary to position the detected object 3 with respect to the sensor main body 4 in the circumferential direction. Further, the detected object 3 may be C-shaped, and even in that case, the detected object 3 faces the sensor main body 4 in most cases, so positioning of the detected object 3 is easy. Become. However, the shape of the detected object 3 may be other than annular or C-shaped.

Further, in this embodiment, the detected object 3 is a separate component from the outer tube 1, but a part of the outer circumference of the outer tube 1 may be used as the detected object 3. Specifically, a large diameter portion 1a formed by enlarging the outer diameter of a part of the outer tube 1 may be used as the detected object 3. The large diameter portion 1a of the outer tube 1 is closer to the sensor main body 4 than the portion other than the large diameter portion 1a. Therefore, if the sensor body 4 is configured by arranging a plurality of proximity sensors in the vertical direction whose maximum detection distance is the distance to the large diameter portion 1a, the sensor body 4 will detect only the large diameter portion 1a. As a result, other parts of the front fork F are not detected.

In this way, when a part of the outer circumference of the outer tube 1 is used as the detected object 3, the detected object 3 is formed integrally with the outer tube 1, so when the front fork F is assembled, the detected object 3 is covered with the outer circumference of the outer tube 1. Processing for attaching the detection body 3 is not required, and costs can be reduced. Furthermore, since the detected object 3 is integrally formed with the outer tube 1, there is no fear that the detected object 3 will fall from the outer tube 1.

In addition, when the large diameter portion 1a is used as the detected object 3, since the large diameter portion 1a is formed over the entire circumference of the outer tube 1, the circumferential direction of the detected object 3 and the sensor main body 4 is There is no need for positioning. Furthermore, as described above, the large diameter portion 1a of this embodiment is provided as a seal case in which the seal member S is mounted inside, so if the large diameter portion 1a is used as the detected object 3, , there is no need to take the trouble to process the outer tube 1.

Note that when a part of the outer circumference of the outer tube 1 is used as the object to be detected 3, the shape of the object to be detected 3 may be other than annular. Then, this protrusion may be used as the detected object 3.

Further, the sensor main body 4 of this embodiment is arranged between the tube member 10 and the rear part 63a of the attachment piece 63, which serves as a cover body that is connected to the inner tube 2 and covers the front side of the inner tube 2. According to this configuration, the sensor body 4 can be protected from flying stones etc. by the rear part (cover body) 63a of the mounting piece 63, so even if the sensor body 4 is placed outside the tube member 10, damage to the sensor body 4 can be prevented. can. In this embodiment, the sensor main body 4 is attached to the rear part 63a of the attachment piece 63, but it may be attached to a part of the fender 6 other than the rear part 63a of the attachment piece 63, or it may be attached to a part other than the fender 6. may be attached to.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the fender main body 60 that covers the upper part of the wheel W and the rear part 63a of the mounting piece 63 as a cover body that covers the front of the inner tube 2 are integrally provided, but when the vehicle V is off-road If the vehicle V is a motorcycle or the like, and the front fork F should be further protected, the cover body is not integrated with the fender, and the cover body covers and protects the front fork F independently of the fender. There may be cases where When the stroke sensor of the present invention is applied to the vehicle V in such a case, by arranging the sensor body 4 between the cover body and the tube member 10, the sensor body 4 can be protected from flying stones and the like.

Further, the sensor main body 4 of this embodiment has a fixing part (lower fixing part 4c )have. According to this configuration, the sensor body 4 can be detachably fixed to the axle bracket 5, so if the detected object 3 is attached to the outer circumference of the outer tube 1 and the sensor body 4 is fixed to the axle bracket 5, the stroke sensor can be fixed. Can be shipped together with front fork F.

Further, the stroke sensor of this embodiment may be provided only on one of the pair of front forks F, F mounted on the vehicle V, but may be provided on both.

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

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Outer tube, 1a... Large diameter part, 2... Inner tube, 3... Sensing object, 4... Sensor main body, 4c... Lower fixing part (fixing part), 5... Axle bracket, 6... Fender, 10... Tube member, 63a... Rear (cover body), B... Vehicle body, F... Front fork, V... Vehicle, W ···Wheel

Claims (5)

A front fork comprising an outer tube, an inner tube inserted into the outer tube and movable along the axial direction of the outer tube, and a tube member interposed between a vehicle body and a wheel of a vehicle. A stroke sensor that detects a stroke amount,
a detected object that is a part of the outer periphery of the outer tube or a part provided on the outer periphery of the outer tube;
A stroke sensor comprising: a sensor body that is provided outside the tube member, is movable together with the inner tube in the axial direction with respect to the outer tube, and detects the object to be detected. The stroke sensor according to claim 1, wherein the sensor main body is disposed between the tube member and a cover body that is connected to the inner tube and covers the front side of the inner tube. The stroke according to claim 1, wherein the sensor main body has a fixing part that is provided at an end of the inner tube on a side opposite to the outer tube and can be detachably fixed to an axle bracket that holds the wheel. sensor. The stroke sensor according to claim 1, wherein the detected object is a large diameter portion formed by enlarging the outer diameter of a part of the outer tube. The stroke sensor according to claim 1, wherein the object to be detected has an annular or C-shape and is attached along the circumferential direction of the outer tube.

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