JP7344946B2 - Chain slider retention mechanism - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a chain slider holding mechanism.

In order to prevent the chain from coming into direct contact with the swing arm, a motorcycle is known in which a pair of upper and lower chain sliders are disposed opposite the chain near the swing support section at the front end of the swing arm. There is. For example, in the chain slider described in Patent Document 1, a protrusion is formed on the wall of the chain slider facing the chain, and a groove is provided on the side wall. As a result, when the chain collides with the protrusion of the chain slider, the groove is deformed to absorb the impact force and prevent deformation of the swing arm and generation of noise.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 03-227787

However, since chain sliders are generally made of resin or rubber, they have the problem of being easily damaged depending on the usage conditions of the vehicle. Although Patent Document 1 describes that a chain slider is disposed at a portion of the swing arm that faces the chain, there is no description regarding prevention of damage to the attachment portion of the chain slider to the swing arm.

The present invention provides a chain slider holding mechanism that can suppress damage to the chain slider.

The present invention
A holding mechanism for a chain slider that covers a front end of a swing arm having a cylindrical swing support part provided at the front end ,
The chain slider is
an upper slider and a lower slider whose front ends are formed by dividing;
a slider connecting portion connecting the rear end of the upper slider and the rear end of the lower slider,
The swing arm includes a first engagement part that engages with the front end of the lower slider, and a second engagement part that engages the front end of the upper slider,
The lower slider is
a lower overlapping portion that covers the front end of the swing arm;
a first engaged part provided in the lower overlapping part and fixed to the first engaging part;
The upper slider is
an upper overlapping portion that overlaps the lower overlapping portion in the radial direction of the swing support portion ;
a second engaged part provided in the upper overlapping part and fixed to the second engaging part,
At least two of the second engaging portion and the second engaged portion are provided.

According to the present invention, by fixing the upper slider to the swing arm at two locations, it is possible to prevent the upper slider from rolling up, and also to distribute the load acting on the chain slider to prevent damage to the chain slider.

FIG. 1 is a rear side view of a motorcycle equipped with a chain slider holding mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of a swing arm and a chain slider attached to the swing arm. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the main parts of the chain slider attached to the swing arm. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the assembly of the chain slider to the swing arm.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the chain slider holding mechanism of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. Note that the terms "up", "down", "left", "right", "front", and "rear" in the description refer to directions based on the driver riding the motorcycle. In the figure, the front is indicated as Fr, the rear as Rr, the left as L, the right as R, the top as U, and the bottom as D.

As shown in FIG. 1, a power unit P consisting of an engine E and a transmission M is mounted on a body frame 11 of a motorcycle. A swing arm 14 is supported by a pivot plate 12 provided on the vehicle body frame 11 behind the power unit P via a pivot shaft 13 so as to be swingable up and down. A rear wheel WR is pivotally supported at the rear end of the swing arm 14, and a rear cushion 15 is provided between a bracket 40 provided at the rear of the vehicle body frame 11 and an intermediate portion of the swing arm 14.

The output of the power unit P is transmitted to the rear wheel WR via an endless chain 16. The output shaft 17 of the transmission M in the power unit P is arranged ahead of the pivot shaft 13, and the chain 16 is connected to a drive sprocket 18 fixed to the output shaft 17 and a driven sprocket 19 fixed to the rear wheel WR. It's wrapped around.

Referring also to FIG. 2, the swing arm 14 includes first and second rectangular cylindrical arms 20, 21 extending in parallel in the front-rear direction on both sides of the rear wheel WR, and front ends of the first and second arms 20, 21. The swing support section 22 has a cylindrical shape, and a cross member 23 connects the intermediate portions of the first and second arms 20 and 21. The first arm 20 is provided on the left side around which the chain 16 is wound. The cross member 23 is made of a rectangular tube with a quadrangular cross-sectional shape.

The first arm 20 has an engagement hole (not shown) in the upper surface of the first arm 20 that is engaged with a fitting protrusion 33 at a position corresponding to a fitting protrusion 33 provided on a chain slider 30 to be described later. A total of four locations are provided, two locations each on the 20a and the lower surface 20b.

As shown in FIG. 5, the four fitting protrusions 33 include a shaft portion 33a having a slightly smaller diameter than the engaging hole of the first arm 20, and a large diameter portion having a diameter larger than the shaft portion 33a from the tip to the tip. The locking portion 33b is provided with a taper that gradually becomes smaller in diameter. A slit 33c passing through the center in the radial direction is provided in the shaft portion 33a and the locking portion 33b, so that the diameter of the shaft portion 33a and the locking portion 33b can be reduced.

A total of four fitting protrusions 33 are provided, two each on the upper surface of the lower slider 31 and the lower surface of the upper slider 32, which will be described later. Note that in FIG. 5, only one fitting protrusion 33 provided on the lower surface of the upper slider 32 is shown.

Further, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, a fixing portion 24 for engaging with the chain slider 30 is provided on the front end portion 22a of the swing support portion 22 on an extension line of the first arm 20. . The fixing part 24 includes a first engaging part 24a having a rectangular plate shape, and a pair of second engaging parts 24b formed by bending both ends of the first engaging part 24a by approximately 90 degrees. That is, the fixing part 24 is formed into a substantially U-shape in which the second engaging part 24b projects forward from both ends of the first engaging part 24a. The fixing part 24 can be easily fixed by welding the first engaging part 24a to the front end part 22a of the swing support part 22.

Each second engaging portion 24b includes an engaging base portion 24b1 extending toward the front when viewed from the side, and a substantially circular engaging convex portion 24b2 provided at the tip of the engaging base portion 24b1. . The engagement protrusion 24b2 is wider in the vertical direction than the engagement base 24b1, and a constriction 24b3 is provided between the engagement base 24b1 and the engagement protrusion 24b2.

A chain slider 30 for preventing damage to the swing arm 14 due to interference with the chain 16 is attached to the first arm 20 so as to cover the lower surface 20b and upper surface 20a of the first arm 20. The chain slider 30 includes a lower slider 31 disposed on the lower surface 20b of the first arm 20 and an upper slider 32 disposed on the upper surface 20a of the first arm 20, and the rear end of the lower slider 31 and the upper slider 32 The rear end of the slider is connected to the rear end of the slider by a plate-shaped slider connecting portion 34. The chain slider 30 is made of plastic made of resin, rubber, etc., and due to the elasticity (flexure) of the material, the front ends of the lower slider 31 and the upper slider 32 can approach and separate from each other, that is, they can be opened and closed. ing.

The front end of the lower slider 31 includes a lower overlapping portion 35 that is curved to cover the front end portion 22a of the swing support portion 22 from below. The lower overlapping portion 35 has a first engaged portion 36 that is a rectangular hole that engages with the first engaging portion 24a.

The front end of the upper slider 32 includes an upper overlapping portion 37 that is curved to cover the front end portion 22a of the swing support portion 22 from above. The upper overlapping portion 37 has a pair of second engaged portions 38 that are elongated holes that engage with the pair of second engaging portions 24b. A rib-shaped reinforcing portion 39 is provided between the pair of second engaged portions 38 along the longitudinal direction of the upper slider 32 (the longitudinal direction of the vehicle). The upper overlapping portion 37 and the lower overlapping portion 35 overlap in the radial direction and cover the front end portion 22a of the swing support portion 22.

Next, a procedure for assembling the chain slider 30 to the swing arm 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

First, the front end of the lower slider 31 and the front end of the upper slider 32 are opened around the slider connecting portion 34 (see FIG. 5), the lower slider 31 is placed on the lower surface 20b side of the first arm 20, and the upper slider 32 is opened. It is arranged on the upper surface 20a side of the first arm 20. At this time, the chain slider 30 is placed in a temporary position where the back surface of the lower overlapping part 35 is in front of the second engaging part 24b. That is, the four fitting protrusions 33 of the chain slider 30 are located forward of the not-shown engagement hole of the first arm 20.

Next, the front end of the lower slider 31 and the front end of the upper slider 32 are closed in this order, and the lower overlapping part 35 and the upper overlapping part 37 are overlapped. As a result, the first engaged portion 36 and the pair of second engaged portions 38 overlap in the radial direction. Then, the chain slider 30 with the front ends of the lower slider 31 and the upper slider 32 closed is moved rearward to insert the first engaging portion 24a into the first engaged portion 36, and the pair of second engaging portions 24a are inserted into the first engaged portion 36. The fitting portions 24b are inserted into the pair of second engaged portions 38, and the four fitting protrusions 33 of the chain slider 30 are aligned with the four fitting holes (not shown) of the first arm 20, respectively. position.

Then, the four fitting protrusions 33 are pressed from above and below, respectively. The diameter of the four fitting protrusions 33 is reduced by the action of the slits 33c, and the shaft portion 33a of the fitting protrusion 33 engages with an engagement hole (not shown) of the first arm 20, so that the chain slider 30 is It is positioned and fixed to the swing arm 14.

As a result, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first engaging portion 24a is surrounded by the first engaged portion 36 on the entire circumference and is accommodated in the first engaged portion 36, and the front surface of the first engaging portion 24a is is closed by the upper overlapping portion 37, making it difficult for muddy water and sand to enter, thereby suppressing wear on the chain slider 30.

Further, since there are a plurality of second engaging portions 24b and second engaged portions 38 (two in this embodiment), it is possible to prevent the upper slider 32 from turning up. Further, it is possible to prevent the generation of a gap between the overlapping portions of the upper slider 32 and the lower slider 31 due to the upper slider 32 turning up, and to suppress the breakage of the first engaged portion 36 due to the lower slider 31 turning up.

Furthermore, each second engaging portion 24b has an engaging convex portion 24b2 at its tip portion, which is wider in the vertical direction than the engaging base portion 24b1, so that when the upper slider 32 is turned up, the second engaged portion 24b The engagement portion 38 is caught in the constriction portion 24b3 between the engagement base portion 24b1 and the engagement convex portion 24b2, thereby suppressing the upper slider 32 from being turned up.

Furthermore, since the plurality of second engaging portions 24b are attached to the upper slider 32 with intervals left and right, the load acting on the chain slider 30 is dispersed, and the first engaged portion 36 and the second engaged portion 38 can be suppressed from breaking. Furthermore, since the first engaging portion 24a and the second engaging portion 24b are integral, they can be welded to the swing arm 14 at one location, reducing the number of work steps and manufacturing costs.

Moreover, since the upper slider 32 has the reinforcing part 39 between the adjacent second engaged parts 38, twisting of the upper slider 32 is suppressed, and breakage of the second engaged parts 38 can be prevented.

Although various embodiments have been described above with reference to the drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that those skilled in the art can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, and these naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood. Further, each of the constituent elements in the above embodiments may be arbitrarily combined without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Furthermore, this specification describes at least the following matters. Note that, although components corresponding to those in the above-described embodiment are shown in parentheses, the present invention is not limited thereto.

(1) A holding mechanism for a chain slider (chain slider 30) that covers the front end (front end 22a) of the swing arm (swing arm 14),
The chain slider is
An upper slider (upper slider 32) and a lower slider (lower slider 31) whose front ends are formed by dividing,
a slider connecting portion (slider connecting portion 34) connecting the rear end of the upper slider and the rear end of the lower slider;
The swing arm includes a first engaging part (first engaging part 24a) and a second engaging part (second engaging part 24b) that fix the front end of the upper slider and the front end of the lower slider,
The lower slider is
a lower overlapping portion (lower overlapping portion 35) that covers the front end of the swing arm;
a first engaged part (first engaged part 36) provided in the lower overlapping part and fixed to the first engaging part;
The upper slider is
an upper overlapping portion (upper overlapping portion 37) overlapping the lower overlapping portion;
a second engaged part (second engaged part 38) provided in the upper overlapping part and fixed to the second engaging part;
The chain slider holding mechanism includes at least two second engaging parts and second engaged parts.

Since the chain slider is divided at the front end, the upper slider tends to flip upward depending on the usage situation, and the second engaged portion is likely to break. Moreover, since a gap is created in the overlapping portion of the upper slider and the lower slider when the upper slider is turned up, the lower slider is also likely to be turned downward, and the first engaged portion is also likely to be broken. According to (1), since there are a plurality of second engaging portions and a plurality of second engaged portions fixed to the second engaging portions, it is possible to prevent the upper slider from turning up. Furthermore, by fixing at two locations, the load is distributed and breakage of the second engaged portion can be suppressed.

(2) The chain slider holding mechanism according to (1),
The at least two second engaging portions are integrally formed via the first engaging portion,
The first engaging portion and the swing arm are a chain slider holding mechanism, in which the first engaging portion and the swing arm are fixed by welding.

According to (2), since the plurality of second engagement parts are integrally formed via the first engagement part, the plurality of second engagement parts are attached to the upper slider at intervals. Therefore, the load on the chain slider is distributed, and breakage of the first engaged portion and the second engaged portion can be suppressed. Further, since the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion are integrally formed, only one welding point with the swing arm is required. Therefore, work man-hours and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

(3) The chain slider holding mechanism according to (2),
The first engaging portion is a chain slider holding mechanism housed inside the first engaged portion.

According to (3), since the first engaging part and the second engaging part are integrally formed, accommodation in the first engaged part becomes easy. Further, since the first engaging portion is entirely housed inside the first engaged portion, muddy water and sand are less likely to enter, and wear of the chain slider is suppressed. Furthermore, since the first engaging part only needs to be provided with a through hole for accommodating the first engaged part therein, there is no need for processing such as reducing the thickness of the first engaged part. , the rigidity of the first engaged portion can be ensured.

(4) The chain slider holding mechanism according to any one of (1) to (3),
The upper slider is a chain slider holding mechanism, in which the upper slider has a reinforcing part (reinforcing part 39) between the adjacent second engaged parts.

According to (4), since the upper slider has a reinforcing portion between adjacent second engaged parts, twisting of the upper slider is suppressed and breakage due to the second engaged parts being turned up can be prevented. .

14 Swing arm 22a Front end 24a First engaging part 24b Second engaging part 30 Chain slider 31 Lower slider 32 Upper slider 34 Slider connecting part 35 Lower overlapping part 36 First engaged part 37 Upper overlapping part 38 Second cover Engagement part 39 Reinforcement part

Claims (4)

A holding mechanism for a chain slider (30 ) that covers a front end (22a) of a swing arm (14) having a swing support part (22) formed in a cylindrical shape at the front end ,
The chain slider is
an upper slider (32) and a lower slider (31) whose front ends are formed by dividing;
a slider connecting part (34) connecting the rear end of the upper slider and the rear end of the lower slider,
The swing arm includes a first engaging part (24a) with which the front end of the lower slider engages, and a second engaging part (24b) with which the front end of the upper slider engages,
The lower slider is
a lower overlapping portion (35) that covers the front end of the swing arm;
a first engaged part (36) provided in the lower overlapping part and fixed to the first engaging part;
The upper slider is
an upper overlapping part (37) overlapping with the lower overlapping part in the radial direction of the swing support part ;
a second engaged part (38) provided in the upper overlapping part and fixed to the second engaging part;
The chain slider holding mechanism includes at least two second engaging parts and second engaged parts. The chain slider holding mechanism according to claim 1,
The at least two second engaging portions are integrally formed via the first engaging portion,
The first engaging portion and the swing arm are a chain slider holding mechanism, in which the first engaging portion and the swing arm are fixed by welding. The chain slider holding mechanism according to claim 2,
The first engaging portion is a chain slider holding mechanism housed inside the first engaged portion. The chain slider holding mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The upper slider is a chain slider holding mechanism, in which the upper slider has a reinforcing portion (39) between the adjacent second engaged portions.

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