JPH03176218A - Expanding and contracting amount detector of attenuator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve detection accuracy of the expanding and contracting amount detector of an attenuator by installing an angle sensor on one side of an oscillating arm or a vehicle body frame at a position apart from the pivot part of the oscillating arm, and placing a link for relative traveling amount transmission in a space to the other side. CONSTITUTION:Vertical movement of a rear wheel 16 oscillates a rear arm 12 and at the same time expands and contracts a cushion unit 30. The oscillation of the rear arm 12 is transmitted to a potentiometer 38 through links 42, 44, and detected as the rotation angle of a rotary input shaft 40 of the potentiometer 38. The detection angle of the potentiometer 38 can be changed with rough relation of 1 : 1 to the expanding and contracting amount of the cushion unit 30 by setting the lengths of the links 42, 44 properly, and the potentiometer output and the expanding and contracting amount of the cushion unit can be detected without non-linear conversion. It is thus possible to improve detection accuracy with simple constitution.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an expansion/contraction amount detection device used in a vehicle damping device that detects the expansion/contraction amount and expansion/contraction speed of an attenuator to control damping force. It is something.

(Background of the Invention) In vehicles such as automobiles and motorcycles, it is desirable to be able to change damping force depending on driving conditions. Therefore, the applicant has proposed a system that detects the amount or speed of expansion and contraction of a cushion unit that integrates a damper and a coil spring, and changes the diameter of an orifice provided in the piston of the damper using a linear solenoid (for example, (See Ganpei No. 1-1233). The damper used here consists of a piston that defines two main oil chambers in the cylinder, a switching valve that is provided inside the piston and defines first and second auxiliary oil chambers in the piston, and a switching valve that defines two main oil chambers in the piston. 1. An orifice interposed between the second auxiliary oil chamber, and while guiding the hydraulic pressure of the high pressure side main oil chamber to the first auxiliary oil chamber, the pressure in the second auxiliary oil chamber exceeds the pressure set by the linear solenoid. The switching valve is moved to control the opening damping force of the oil passage between the two oil chambers. According to this attenuator, the damping characteristics during expansion or contraction of the attenuator can be freely set by changing the excitation current of the linear solenoid.

When using this attenuator, it is necessary to detect the amount or speed of expansion and contraction of the attenuator, but if this sensor is built into the cushion unit, the structure is complicated and adjustment is difficult. . Also, this sensor
It is necessary to be able to accurately detect the movement of the attenuator or the vertical movement of the wheels.

(Objective of the Invention) The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and is a vehicle-use device that has a simple structure, is easy to adjust, and can accurately detect the amount of expansion and contraction of the attenuator or the amount of vertical movement of the wheel. An object of the present invention is to provide a device for detecting the amount of expansion and contraction of a damping device.

(Structure of the Invention) According to the present invention, the object is to detect the vertical movement of a wheel held by a swing arm, and to control the damping force of a damper that expands and contracts in accordance with this vertical movement. In the damping device, an angle sensor is fixed to one of the swing arm and the vehicle body frame at a position spaced apart from the pivot portion of the swing arm, and the relative movement amount of the other is input to the rotation of the angle sensor. This is achieved by an expansion/contraction amount detection device for a vehicle damping device characterized by comprising a link that transmits information to the shaft.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a side view showing a rear wheel suspension system for a motorcycle which is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■.

In these figures, reference numeral 10 denotes a pair of left and right vehicle body frames, which extend obliquely downward and rearward from a steering shaft tube (steering head pipe), not shown, and whose rear portions are bent downward into a hook shape. Reference numeral 12 designates a rear arm as a swinging arm, the extreme end of which is pivotally supported by a pivot shaft 14 at the rear lower part of the vehicle body frame 10, and a rear wheel 16 is attached to the rear end. 18 is an engine, and this engine 1
The rotation of the output block 20 of No. 8 is transmitted to the rear wheel 16 by the chain 22.

A pair of left and right seat rails 24 extending above the rear wheels 16 are fixed to the rear portion of the vehicle body frame 1o, and the seat rails 24 are reinforced by a backstay 26. A cross member 28.2 is attached to the pair of left and right seat rails 24.
8 is passed.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a cushion unit, which is an integrated combination of a cylindrical damper and a coil spring, and the damper has a structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-1233. The upper end of this cushion unit 3o is pivotally supported by a pin 32 to a bracket 29 fixed to the cross member 28, and the lower end is pivotally supported to a cross member 34 of the rear arm 12 by a pin 36.

38 is a potentiometer as an angle sensor. This potentiometer 38 is fixed to the inner surface of the right half 10a (FIG. 2) of the vehicle body frame 10, and is located diagonally above and behind the pivot shaft 14. A first link 42 extending rearward substantially parallel to the rear arm 12 is fixed to a rotation input shaft 40 of the potentiometer 38 . The pivoting end of this link 42 is connected to the cross member 34 of the rear arm 12 by a second link 44. Here, the link 44 is substantially parallel to the cushion unit 30, and its length can be adjusted by a turnbuckle mechanism. Further, both ends of this link 44 are connected to the link 42 and the cross member 34 by ball joints. The potentiometer 38 is set at a predetermined output level (initial setting level) when the cushion unit 30 is fully extended.
The length of the link 44 is adjusted so that.

In Figure 1.2, 46 stands for five pairs of left and right legs, and 48
5o is a brake pedal located on the right side of the vehicle body, and 5o is a master cylinder that generates hydraulic pressure for the hydraulic brake in conjunction with this pedal 48. Also, in Figure 1, 52 is the driver's seat.
54 is a fuel tank.

Reference numeral 56 denotes an exhaust chamber, which is disposed below the pivot shaft 14 at the front end of the rear arm 12. The left and right sides of this chamber 56 are fixed to stays 58 and 58 that hang down from the lower end of the vehicle body frame 10. The exhaust pipe 6o is led from the front surface of the cylinder of the engine 18 to the lower part of the crankcase, and is connected to the front surface of the chamber 56. The muffler 62 is disposed on the right side of the vehicle body, and exhaust gas is guided to the muffler 62 by a connecting pipe 64 extending obliquely upward and rearward from the right side of the chamber 56. As is clear from FIG. 2, the rear arm 12 is located above the chamber 56. It is difficult to increase the capacity of the chamber 56 because it is necessary to ensure load clearance, and increasing the capacity will prevent interference between the rear arm 12 and the chamber 56 or the connecting pipe 64 when the rear arm 12 swings downward. It becomes a problem. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the rear arm 12 is bent so that the middle portion is convex upward, thereby increasing the capacity of the chamber 56 and preventing this interference. Furthermore, rear arm 12
is an extruded material made of iron or aluminum alloy material that is bent in the vertical direction.

According to this embodiment, the rear arm 12 swings as the rear wheel 16 moves up and down, and the cushion unit 30 simultaneously expands and contracts. Also, the swing of the rear arm 12 is controlled by the link 44.4.
2 to the potentiometer 38, and this swing amount is detected as the rotation angle of the rotation input shaft 40 of the potentiometer 38. Since the links 42 and 44 are used here, by appropriately setting the length of the links 42 and 44, the detection angle of the potentiometer 38 can be changed in a nearly 1:1 relationship with the amount of expansion and contraction of the cushion unit 30. I can do it. This eliminates the need for nonlinear conversion between the output of the potentiometer 38 and the amount of expansion/contraction of the cushion unit 30, allowing accurate detection with a simple structure.

This cushion unit 3o can control the damping force almost instantaneously using the excitation current of the linear solenoid. The output of the potentiometer 38 is input to a control device (not shown). The control device uses the output of the potentiometer 38 to detect the amount and speed of expansion and contraction of the cushion unit 3o, calculates the optimal damping force during running using a pre-stored map (or calculation formula), and calculates the optimal damping force during running. Find the excitation current of the glide solenoid to generate the optimal damping force. A drive circuit (not shown) supplies the excitation current to the linear solenoid based on a signal indicating the excitation current output from the control device, thereby generating a predetermined damping force. Note that the control device may determine the optimum damping force using not only the output of the potentiometer 30 but also data such as the traveling speed of the vehicle and the oil temperature of the damper.

In this embodiment, the link 44 is located at the lower end of the cushion unit 30 on the side in the direction in which the bin 36 is removed, and it is necessary to remove the link 44 prior to attaching or removing the bin 36.

For this reason, there is no problem that the rear arm 12 would fall significantly downward and damage the potentiometer 38 if the bottle 36 is removed first.

Also, the rear arm 12 is bent upwardly into a convex shape, and a ring 42 is placed above the cross member 34 which becomes higher due to this bending.
44 and the potentiometer 38, they can be effectively protected from flying stones, mud, etc.

FIG. 3 is a side view of another embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view thereof along the line .

This embodiment connects link 42A to potentiometer 38A.
This link 42A is fixed to the rotating input shaft 40A of
The guide pin 102 of the rear arm 12A is inserted into the elongated hole 100. That is, a pair of left and right side plates 104 that are triangular in side view are provided upright on the rear arm 12A, and a guide bin 102 is implanted on the outer surface of the left side plate 104. Here, the potentiometer 38A is fixed to a mounting hole made of a long hole provided in the bracket 106 on the side of the vehicle body frame IOA, and by adjusting the position of the potentiometer 38A, the output level (initial setting level) is set when the cushion unit 30 is fully extended. Make adjustments.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the guide bin 102 slides in the elongated hole 100 of the link 42A as the rear arm 12A moves up and down, causing the link 42A to rotate. Therefore, the output of potentiometer 38A changes.

In this embodiment, the elongated hole 100 of the lever 42A is made into a straight line, but by making it into a predetermined curved shape, the relationship between the amount of expansion and contraction of the cushion unit 30 and the output of the potentiometer 38A is set to approximately 1:1. can do.

The engine 18A of this embodiment is a two-stroke engine with four cylinders, and includes a front cylinder 18a that slopes forward and downward, and an upper cylinder 18b that slopes forward and upward. front cylinder 1
The exhaust expansion pipe 110 of 8a is led rearward from below the crankcase through the outside of the rear arm 12A. The exhaust expansion pipes 112, 112 of the upper cylinder 18b are guided from the rear surface of the upper cylinder 18b to above the rear wheel 16, passing below the seat rail 24A.

In Fig. 3.4, the same parts as in Fig. 1.2 are given the same reference numerals, so the explanation thereof will not be repeated.

In each of the above embodiments, the potentiometer 38.38A is provided on the IOA side of the vehicle body frame 10, but it may be provided on the rear arm 12.12A side.

In the embodiment, it is explained that the correspondence between the amount of expansion and contraction of the cushion unit and the output of the potentiometer is corrected 1:1 by a link, but it is possible :1 correction may be performed.

In addition, the present invention is applicable not only to motorcycles but also to double wishbone type, strut type, and
It is also applicable to automobiles with various suspension systems such as semi-trailing type and swing arm type.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention provides an angle sensor at either one of the swinging arm or the vehicle body frame and at a position spaced apart from the pivot portion of the swinging arm, and the movement of the other is controlled by the angle sensor. Since the information is transmitted to a sensor, the degree of freedom in the layout of the device is increased, and the device can be placed in a relatively open space. Therefore, initial setting such as changing the length of the link or changing the mounting position of the angle sensor or maintenance after 4 degrees can be easily performed, and the structure is simple. Also, because they are linked together, the relationship between the amount of expansion and contraction of the cushion unit and the change in sensor output is approximately 1.
:1, etc., as desired, making it possible to accurately detect the amount of expansion and contraction of the attenuator or the amount of vertical movement of the wheel.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■, and FIG. 3 is a side view of another embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line rv-rv. 10. IOA...Vehicle frame, 12.12A...Rear arm as a swinging arm, 1
6... Rear wheel, 30... Cushion unit, 38.38A... Potentiometer as an angle sensor, 42.42A, 44... Link.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A damping device for a vehicle that detects the vertical movement of a wheel held by a swinging arm and controls the damping force of a damper that expands and contracts in accordance with the vertical movement, comprising: the swinging arm; and a vehicle body frame, and a link that transmits the amount of relative movement of the other to the rotation input shaft of the angle sensor. An expansion/contraction amount detection device for a vehicle damping device, characterized by: