JP2914505B2 - Motorcycle height adjustment device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a vehicle height adjusting device for a motorcycle that adjusts the vehicle height by changing the length of a front suspension and a rear cushion unit.

(Prior Art) A vehicle height adjusting device that enables a rider to adjust the vehicle height of a motorcycle using a front suspension and a rear cushion unit is described in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-3854. , But are generally not publicly available.

The vehicle height adjustment device described in the specification of Japanese Utility Model Application No. 1-3854 discloses a vehicle height adjustment device in which the front suspension and the vehicle height adjustment unit and the vehicle height adjustment unit and the rear cushion unit are respectively connected by hydraulic hoses. By supplying or discharging pressure oil from the unit to the hydraulic jacks of the front suspension and the rear cushion unit through these hydraulic hoses, the length of the front suspension and the rear cushion unit is changed to adjust the vehicle height.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) In a motorcycle to which such a vehicle height adjustment device is applied, when the vehicle height is set to a low state and the side stand is erected, the vehicle can be stably stopped. . However, the rider sometimes does not switch the vehicle height from the high state to the low state when the vehicle is stopped, and stands up the side stand in the high state. In such a case, since the vehicle body inclination angle becomes large and the stopping posture becomes unstable, the vehicle may fall down.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a motorcycle height adjustment device capable of improving vehicle stability when stopped.

[Configuration of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-described problems, a vehicle height adjusting device for a motorcycle according to the present invention includes: a rear cushion unit including a hydraulic jack capable of adjusting the vehicle height; And a vehicle height adjustment unit having a vehicle height switching valve capable of transmitting the hydraulic pressure of the pressure oil in the rear cushion unit to both hydraulic jacks via a hydraulic hose. In the vehicle height adjustment device for a motorcycle having:
A blow valve is provided which opens when the pressure oil in both the hydraulic jack and the hydraulic hose rises, and discharges the pressure oil in both the hydraulic jack and the hydraulic hose into a reserve tank. The vehicle height switching valve is configured to be opened also by a standing operation, and is provided so as to be operable independently of the blow valve, so that the vehicle height is forcibly reduced at the time of the standing operation of the side stand.

(Action) Therefore, according to the motorcycle height adjusting apparatus of the present invention, when the vehicle is stopped by erecting the side stand, the blow valve is opened and the pressure oil in the hydraulic hose and the hydraulic jack is released. When the vehicle is stopped using the side stand, the initial load of the front suspension and the rear cushion unit is reduced, so that the vehicle height can always be set to the low state. As a result, the vehicle body inclination angle when the vehicle stops is reduced, and the stability of the vehicle can be improved.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 is a partial side view of FIG. 2, and FIG. 2 is an overall side view showing a motorcycle to which a vehicle height adjusting device according to the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 2, a front fork 2 supporting a front wheel 1 is disposed in front of a vehicle body frame 3, and a rear wheel 5 supported by a rear suspension 4 is disposed behind the vehicle body frame 3. . A seat 6 is arranged above the vehicle body frame 3, and a rider straddles the seat 6 and operates by operating a steering wheel 7.

The front fork 2 is an inverted type front fork, and includes two left and right front suspensions 8 and 9. These front suspensions 8 and 9 consist of an upper bracket 10 and an under bracket
11 supports the vehicle body frame 3 via a steering shaft and a head pipe (not shown). These front suspensions 8, 9 absorb the impact from the front wheels 1 and attenuate the vibration.

The rear suspension 4 has a swing arm 13 pivotally supporting the rear wheel 5 and supported by the body frame 3 by a pivot 12, an upper end supported by the body frame 3, and a lower end via a link mechanism (not shown). And a rear cushion unit 14 supported by the swing arm 13. The rear cushion unit 14 absorbs the vertical swing of the swing arm 13 about the pivot 12 and attenuates the vibration, so that the impact on the rear wheel 5 is reduced.

Now, the front suspensions 8 and 9 and the rear cushion unit 14 have hydraulic jacks 50, 4 described later.
9 are formed, and a vehicle height adjustment unit 15 is arranged near the rear cushion unit 14. The hydraulic jacks 50 of the front suspensions 8 and 9 and the vehicle height adjusting unit 15 are connected by a vehicle front side hydraulic hose 16, and the hydraulic jack 49 of the rear cushion unit 14 and the vehicle height adjusting unit 15 are connected to the vehicle rear side hydraulic hose 17. To form a vehicle height adjusting device 18. And the vehicle front side hydraulic hose 16
A hose connecting device 19 is provided in the middle of the process.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 denotes a front fender, and reference numeral 21 denotes a front fender.
Is a headlamp housing, 22 is a seat rail of the body frame 3, 23 is a side stand, and 24
Denotes an engine, and reference numeral 25 denotes an exhaust pipe connected to the engine 24.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rear cushion unit 14
A coil spring 27 is arranged on the outer periphery of a rear oil damper 26. The rear oil damper 26 is provided with a coil spring 27 due to the resistance when the pressure oil filled in the cylinder 28 passes through the small hole of the piston 29 and the valve 29A.
Vibration is rapidly attenuated. This cylinder 28
The inside is connected to the oil chamber of the reserve tank 31 shown in FIGS. 5 and 1 through the connecting hose 30 and the oil passage of the vehicle height adjusting unit 15.
Communicating with 32, the amount of pressure oil in the cylinder 28 is adjusted. The inside of the reserve tank 31 is partitioned by the piston 33 into the oil chamber 32 and the air chamber.

The front suspensions 8, 9 shown in FIG.
An inner tube 35 supported on the wheel side of the front wheel 1,
The outer tube 36 includes a front oil damper. The front oil damper rapidly attenuates the vibration of the spring 37 disposed in the inner tube 35.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 7, the hose connecting device 19 disposed on the vehicle front hydraulic hose 16 includes a front fork side joint portion 38A and a vehicle height adjusting portion side joint portion 38B. It is composed of

These joints 38A and 38B are respectively connected to the cylinder 3
Pistons 40A, 40B are arranged in 9A, 39B, and cylinders 39A, 3
The hose connecting portions 41A and 41B are fixed to the ends of 9B, respectively. Two vehicle front side hydraulic hoses 16 are connected to a hose connecting portion 41A of a front fork side joint portion 38A and connected to front suspensions 8, 9, respectively. Also, one vehicle front side hydraulic hose 16 is connected to the hose connecting portion 41B of the vehicle height adjusting portion side joint portion 38B, and is connected to the vehicle height adjusting portion 15. Further, a push rod 42 is fixed to the piston 40A.

Further, outer cylinders 43A and 43B are loosely fitted around the outer circumferences of the cylinders 39A and 39B. By screwing female threads 44A, 44B cut into these outer cylinders 43A, 43B, respectively, a front fork side joint section 38A and a vehicle height adjustment section side joint section 38B are engaged.
Are combined. At the time of this coupling, the outer cylinders 43A and 43B
The push rod 42 abuts the piston 40B while being locked by the rings 45A and 45B, respectively. Therefore, the pistons 40A and 40B are integrally linked via the push rod 42 due to the fluctuation of the oil pressure of the pressure oil in the cylinders 39A and 39B.

Now, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the vehicle height adjusting unit 15 of the vehicle height adjusting device 18 has a spool valve 47 as a vehicle height switching valve rotatably disposed at the center position of the adjusting unit main body 46. The spool valve 47 is provided with an adjusting operation unit shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 48 denotes a unitary structure. By rotating the adjustment operation section 48, the spool valve 47 is switched to the High side for increasing the vehicle height or to the Low side for decreasing the vehicle height.

That is, the spool valve 47 is operated by operating the adjustment operation section 48.
When switched to the high side, the swing of the swing arm 13 causes the piston 29 in the rear oil damper 26 shown in FIG. 3 to move up and down, and the pressure oil in the cylinder 28 is displaced by arrows A and B,
Further, it flows as shown by arrows C and D shown in FIG. 5 and arrow E shown in FIG. 3, and flows into the hydraulic jack 49 of the rear cushion unit 14 via the vehicle body rear side hydraulic hose 17 as shown by arrow F. . Further, the pressure oil flowing in the vehicle height adjusting unit 15 as shown by the arrow E flows through the vehicle front side hydraulic hose 16 to the vehicle height adjusting unit side joint 38B of the hose connecting device 19 as shown by the arrow G. The hydraulic pressure of the pressure oil is transmitted to the hydraulic jacks 50 of the front suspensions 8 and 9 via the front fork side joint 38A shown in FIG.

The hydraulic jack 49 of the rear cushion unit 14
As shown in the drawing, a jack piston 52 is arranged in a jack cylinder chamber 51, and the movement amount of this jack piston 52 is transmitted to a spring guide 54 via a spacer 53,
The initial load of the spring 27 is changed.
Therefore, when pressure oil flows from the vehicle height adjustment unit 15 into the jack cylinder chamber 51 of the hydraulic jack 49, the jack piston 52 moves and pushes down the spring guide 54, so that the rear cushion unit 14 is extended to increase the vehicle height. .

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the hydraulic jacks 50 of the front suspensions 8 and 9
A jack piston 56 is disposed in a jack cylinder chamber 55 installed therein, and the amount of movement of the jack piston 56 is transmitted to a spring guide 60 via a plunger 57, a ring 58, and a spacer 59. The two vehicle front-side hydraulic hoses 16 are connected to fork caps 61 of the left and right front suspensions, respectively, to supply the pressure oil in the vehicle front-side hydraulic hoses 16 to the jack cylinder chamber 55.
Lead inside. Therefore, when the oil pressure of the pressure oil is transmitted to the hydraulic jack 50 via the hose connecting device 19, the jack piston 56 moves downward, and the spring guide 60 pushes down the spring 37 to increase the initial load of the spring 37, The front suspensions 8 and 9 extend to increase the vehicle height.

When the vehicle height is to be lowered, the spool valve 47 is switched to the Low side by rotating the adjustment operation section 48. Then, due to the weight of the vehicle, the pressure oil in the hydraulic jack 49 of the rear cushion unit 14 (see FIG. 3) passes through the vehicle rear side hydraulic hose 17 and the oil passage of the vehicle height adjusting unit 15 to the oil in the reserve tank 31. Return to room 32. Further, the pressure oil in the hydraulic jacks 50 (see FIG. 4) of the front suspensions 8 and 9 returns to the front fork side joint portion 38A of the hose connecting device 19 due to the weight of the vehicle, and thereby the vehicle height adjustment portion side joint The pressure oil in the part 38B is
And returns to the oil chamber 32 of the reserve tank 31. Thus,
The initial loads of the coil spring 27 of the rear cushion unit 14 and the springs 37 of the front suspensions 8 and 9 are reduced to contract the rear cushion unit 14 and the front suspensions 8 and 9 to lower the vehicle height.

In addition, a first blow valve 62 and a second blow valve 63 are arranged in the adjusting section main body 46 as shown in FIG.
The first blow valve 62 is configured such that a piston 64 is urged by a spring 65. This first blow valve 62
When the pressure oil flowing from the rear oil damper 26 through the connecting hose 30 (see FIG. 3) exceeds a predetermined pressure when the spool valve 47 is switched to the high side, the piston 64 As a result, a part of the pressure oil is discharged into the oil chamber 32 of the reserve tank 31 as shown by an arrow H.

The second blow valve 63 has a configuration in which a ball 66 is loosely fitted to a push piece 67, and a spring 69 is provided between the push piece 67 and a spring guide 68. Further, behind the spring guide 68, a vehicle height correction shaft 71 on which a cam 70 is formed is rotatably disposed. A roller 72 is loosely fitted on the back surface of the spring guide 68, and engages with the outer peripheral surface of the vehicle height correction shaft 71 and the cam 70. Reference numeral 73 denotes a cap.

When the second blow valve 63 jumps during traveling at a vehicle height with the spool valve 39 switched to the high side, when the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic jack 49 of the rear cushion unit 14 and the hydraulic jack 50 of the front suspensions 8, 9 increases,
The ball 66 moves against the urging force of the spring 69, and returns the pressure oil in the vehicle front hydraulic hose 16 and the vehicle rear hydraulic hose 17 into the oil chamber 32 of the reserve tank 41 as shown by the arrow I. This has a first function of preventing the hydraulic hoses 16 and 17 from being damaged.

The second function of the second blow valve 63 is to correct the vehicle height by forcibly reducing the vehicle height when the vehicle is stopped.
That is, a correction lever 74 is integrally fixed to the vehicle height correction shaft 71 as shown in FIG.
74 and the side stand 23 are connected by an interlocking cable 75. The correction lever 74 is urged to an up state by a return spring 74A. The upper end of the outer cable 76 of the interlocking cable 75 is fixed to the vehicle height adjusting section main body 46 by a cable bracket 77, and the lower end is fixed to a side stand bracket 79 by a cable bracket 78. The side stand bracket 79 is for attaching the side stand 23 to the vehicle body frame 3, and the point O is
Is the center of rotation.

The upper end of the inner cable 80 of the interlocking cable 75 is rotatably fixed to the correction lever 74, and the other end is fixed to the upper end of the side stand 23. This inner cable 80
The attachment position of the lower end to the side stand 23 is determined by taking the bank angle into consideration, in the storage operation state of the side stand 23 (indicated by a dashed line in FIGS.
In this state, it is set at a position above the rotation center O.

Therefore, when the side stand 23 is in the upright state (indicated by solid lines in FIGS. 1 and 2), the correction lever 74 is in the DOWN state via the inner cable 80 of the transmission cable 75, and at this time, as shown in FIG. , Vehicle height correction shaft 71
Rotates to engage the cam 70 with the roller 72. As a result, the spring guide 68, the spring 69, the push piece 67, and the ball 66 move toward the vehicle height correction shaft 71,
The pressure oil in the hydraulic hoses 16 and 17 is discharged into the oil chamber 32 of the reserve tank 31 as shown by the arrow I. For this reason, the hydraulic pressure of the pressure oil in the hydraulic jacks 50 and 49 of the front suspensions 8 and 9 and the rear cushion unit 14 decreases, and the initial load of the front suspensions 8 and 9 and the rear cushion unit 14 decreases.
The vehicle height decreases to the same height as the low-side switching of the spool valve 47.

According to the above embodiment, when traveling on uneven terrain,
By turning the adjusting operation unit 48 of the vehicle height adjusting unit 15 to switch the spool valve 47 to the high side, the hydraulic jack 49 of the rear cushion unit 14 and the hydraulic jack 50 of the front suspension units 8 and 9 are moved to the rear cushion. The pressure oil in the unit 14 is pumped through the vehicle height adjusting unit 15 to extend the lengths of the rear cushion unit 14 and the front suspension units 8 and 9 to increase the vehicle height and increase the road clearance. When traveling in an urban area or the like, the spool valve 47 of the vehicle height adjustment unit 15 is switched to the low side to eliminate the pressure oil in the hydraulic jacks 49 and 50, and the length of the rear cushion unit 14 and the length of the front suspension units 8 and 9 are reduced. The height can be shortened, the vehicle height can be reduced, and the legging performance can be improved.

The spool valve 47 as a vehicle height switching valve is operated by switching the adjustment operation section 48 to the high side or the low side, and the spool valve 47 can be operated independently of the first blow valve 62 and the second blow valve 63. Be composed.
The spool valve 47 and the first and second blow valves 6
2 and 63 are integrated into the unit of the vehicle height adjustment unit 15.

The second blow valve 63 is provided with a vehicle height correction shaft 71,
The valve is opened in conjunction with the upright operation of the side stand 23 via the correction lever 74 and the interlocking cable 75, and the pressure oil in the hydraulic hoses 16 and 17 is discharged into the oil chamber 32 of the reserve tank 31. Therefore, when the vehicle is stopped in a state where the spool valve 47 is switched to the high side by the adjusting operation unit 48 and the side stand 23 is operated to stand up, the hydraulic jack 49 of the rear cushion unit 14 and the hydraulic jack 50 of the front suspensions 8 and 9 As the oil pressure decreases, the rear suspension unit 14 and the front suspensions 8 and 9 contract, and the vehicle height can be reduced.
As a result, the vehicle body inclination angle when the vehicle is stopped by the side stand 23 is reduced, and vehicle stability when the vehicle is stopped can be improved.

The second blow valve 63 also rotates when the side stand 23 is raised when the spool valve 47 is switched to the low side by the adjustment operation unit 48. At this time, the hydraulic jack 49 of the rear cushion unit 14 and the front suspension 8 Since the hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic jacks 50 and 9 is low, the pressure oil in the hydraulic hoses 16 and 17 does not flow into the oil chamber 32 of the reserve tank 31, and the low-profile vehicle set by the low-side switching of the spool valve 47 is set. Keep high. Also in this case, since the vehicle body inclination angle is small, the vehicle stability at the time of stopping can be improved.

Further, since the second blow valve 63 rotates in conjunction with the standing operation of the side stand 23, the spool valve 47 is
Drive with the gh side switched, and when stopped, the side stand
If 23 is used, the vehicle height can be increased simply by placing the side stand 23 in the storage operation state when the vehicle starts. in this way,
Operate the side stand 23 to lower the vehicle height from Low to Hig.
Automatically convert from h state or high state to low state.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the motorcycle height adjusting apparatus of the present invention, the vehicle height adjusting unit including the vehicle height switching valve is further provided with the blow valve, and the blow valve is provided for the front suspension and the rear cushion unit. Both hydraulic jacks and valves are opened by the rise of the pressure oil in the hydraulic hoses, and both hydraulic jacks and the pressure oil in the hydraulic hoses are discharged into the reserve tank, and are also opened by the standing operation of the side stand, The vehicle height switching valve is provided so as to be operable independently of the blow valve, and since the vehicle height is forcibly reduced when the side stand is raised, the vehicle height switching valve is automatically operated by switching the vehicle height switching valve independent of the blow valve. While the height of the motorcycle can be freely and independently selected when traveling, the vehicle height switching valve can be used. A blow valve is provided in the vehicle height adjustment unit, the vehicle height adjustment unit is compactly integrated, and the blow valve discharges the pressure oil in both hydraulic jacks and hydraulic hoses into the reserve tank, and both hydraulic jacks and hydraulic hoses With a hydraulic adjustment valve function that keeps the oil pressure in the inside below a predetermined pressure, breakage and damage of the hydraulic hose can be effectively prevented, and the side stand is used by a blow valve that opens by raising the side stand. When the vehicle is stopped, the vehicle height can be forcibly reduced, and as a result, the inclination angle of the vehicle body when the vehicle is stopped becomes small, and the stability of the vehicle can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a partial side view of FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is an overall side view showing a motorcycle to which a motorcycle height adjusting device according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 3 is a rear cushion unit of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the front suspension of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is operated by a side stand. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the operating state of the second blow valve, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the hose connecting device of FIG. 2… Front fork, 8,9… Front suspension, 14… Rear cushion unit, 15… Vehicle height adjustment part, 16… Vehicle front side hydraulic hose, 17 …… Vehicle rear side hydraulic hose, 18 …… Height adjustment device, 23 Side stand, 47 Spool valve, 48 Adjustment operation unit, 49, 50
... hydraulic jack, 63 ... second blow valve, 71 ... vehicle height compensation shaft, 74 ... compensation lever, 75 ... interlocking cable.

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B62K 25/00-25/32 B60G 17/00-17/08 F16F 9/46 B62H 1/02

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A rear cushion unit having a hydraulic jack capable of adjusting the vehicle height, a front suspension having a hydraulic jack capable of adjusting the vehicle height, and a hydraulic pressure of the pressure oil in the rear cushion unit being hydraulically controlled. A vehicle height adjustment unit having a vehicle height switching valve capable of transmitting to both hydraulic jacks via a hose, and a vehicle height adjustment device for a motorcycle, wherein the vehicle height adjustment unit includes the two hydraulic jacks and A valve is opened when the pressure oil in the hydraulic hose rises, and a blow valve that discharges the pressure oil in both the hydraulic jack and the hydraulic hose into the reserve tank is provided.The blow valve is also opened by the standing operation of the side stand. The vehicle height switching valve is provided to be operable independently of the blow valve, and is provided with a side stand. Standing operating level control system for a motorcycle is characterized in that forcibly lowers the vehicle height during.