JPH0587433B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an operating lever device mounted on the handlebars of a type of vehicle such as a motorcycle, three-wheeled or four-wheeled motorcycle that is driven by gripping the handlebars. .

[Prior art]

Motorcycles, three-wheeled or four-wheeled motorbikes are
Generally, the driver rides by sitting on a seat attached to the top of the vehicle and grasping a handlebar connected to the front wheels (steering wheels), which is equipped with a brake (primarily the front brake) or clutch that operates the handlebar. A manual operating lever device is provided for this purpose.

This operating lever device usually includes a holder fastened to a handlebar and a lever pivotally attached to the holder so as to rotate in a plane substantially parallel to the handlebar. A cable take-out passage is formed, and the outer part of the operating cable is supported at the end of the cable take-out passage, and the inner part of the operating cable is connected and assembled to the lever, and the inner part is moved by rotating the lever. Through this, operated devices such as brakes and clutches are actuated. The handlebar is located at a high position on the vehicle, and therefore devices such as brakes and clutches are located at a considerably lower position than the handlebar.

By the way, in the conventional vehicle operation lever device of this type, the direction of the cable take-out passage is formed straight so that it almost matches the rotational direction of the lever (therefore, the direction substantially parallel to the handlebar). was.

However, in such conventional operating lever devices, the operating cable extends from the operating lever device almost horizontally or slightly upwardly across the center of the handlebar, and then changes direction and heads downward toward the operated device. This may require a sharp bend in the cable.
In addition, the operation cable runs in a strange way right in front of your eyes, which does not look good.

In addition, since the operating cable starts extending horizontally or upward and then changes its direction downward, the operating cable tends to become longer and more curved, which tends to cause variations in the inner operating stroke. It was hot.

In addition, as a conventional technique, a method has been proposed in which the outer end of the operating cable is configured with an elbow. Although this method can prevent the above-mentioned decrease in visibility to some extent, it tends to make the operating cable longer. could not be prevented, and there was room for improvement in terms of appearance.

Furthermore, as a prior art, a lever device is disclosed in JP-A-59-109481, which has a structure in which the support shaft of the lever is tilted and the lever is rotated in a plane inclined to the handlebar. Depending on the amount, the height between the grip part and the handlebar will change.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned prior art, and an object of the present invention is to control the grip part of the handle and the grip part (operating part) of the lever depending on the amount of operation of the lever.
It has an excellent appearance without changing the height of the cable, and without increasing the length of the operating cable.
An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle operation lever device that can improve the visibility of meters and make the operation system more compact.

[Means to achieve the purpose]

In the present invention, a lever is pivotally supported on a holder fixed to a handlebar, a cable take-out passage is formed inside the holder, an inner part of the cable is connected to the lever, and a tip of the cable take-out passage of the holder is connected to the inner part of the cable. In the vehicle operating lever device in which the outer part of the cable is fixed, the lever is pivotally supported to rotate in a plane substantially parallel to the handlebar, and the holder has a shape that follows the cable take-out passage. , the cable takeout passage is formed into a bent shape consisting of a lever shaft support side portion that is substantially parallel to the handlebar and a downwardly bent portion that is inclined downward, and the cable takeout passage is communicated with the surface of the holder over its entire length, and the cable takeout passage is connected to the surface of the holder over its entire length. The above object is achieved by having a structure in which a cap for closing the passage is removably fixed.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a plan view and a front view of essential parts of a motorcycle equipped with an operating lever device according to the present invention.

5 and 6, an upper bracket 2 and a lower bracket 3 are pivotally supported by a steering head 1 provided at the front of the vehicle body, and a pair of left and right front forks 4 are fixed to both of these brackets 2 and 3. A front wheel (steering wheel) 5 is attached to the lower part of the front fork 4.

A handlebar 6 is fixed to the upper bracket 2, and grips 7, 8 and operating lever devices 9, 10 are attached to both ends of the handlebar 6.

The right-hand control lever device 9 is used to actuate, for example, the brakes of the front wheels 5 via a cable 11, and the left-hand control lever device 10 is used to actuate, for example, a clutch (not shown) of the engine power transmission via a cable 12. used to operate.

A headlamp 13 and a speedometer 14 are attached to the upper bracket 2 to illuminate the front of the vehicle.

Therefore, in the illustrated configuration, a steering system consisting of a front fork 4, a front wheel 5, and a handlebar 6, as well as a headlamp 13
A speedometer 14 is also rotatably attached to the vehicle body.

A fuel tank 15 is attached to the front part of the upper part of the vehicle body, and a saddle-shaped seat 16 is attached to the rear side.

The left and right operating lever devices 9 and 10 have substantially symmetrical structures, and the left operating lever device 10 will be described in detail below.

1 shows a plan view of the operating lever device 10, FIG. 2 shows a partial front view taken from the line - in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show the line - and line in FIG. 2, respectively. A cross section along - is shown.

1 and 2, the operating lever device 10 consists of a holder 21 and a lever 22. The holder 21 is fixed by tightening its base to the handlebar 6 with a bolt 23, and the lever 22 is attached to the holder 21. It is pivotally supported on a substantially perpendicular pivot shaft 24 and is rotatably mounted in the direction indicated by arrow A in FIG.

As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, a switch box 25 and the grip 8 are attached to the tip of the handlebar 6 from the holder 21 (on the left side in terms of the vehicle body).

1 to 4, a cable outlet passage 26 is formed in the holder 21, and the cable 12 has its inner 27 connected to the lever 22 and its outer 28 attached to the outer end of the cable outlet passage 26. and then assembled.

In the illustrated example, an adjustment screw 29 having an inner through hole is screwed to the outer end of the cable extraction passage 26 to form an extension for adjusting the length of the cable extraction passage 26, and the adjustment screw The outer 28 end of the cable 12 is supported by the U 29 . In addition, the adjustment screw 29 is attached to the inner 27 by the lock nut 30.
is fixed at the assembly adjustment position.

The inner 27 connecting portion 31 of the lever 22 has a predetermined rotation radius r from the pivot shaft 24 and is provided at a position substantially on an extension of the cable take-out passage 26 .

According to the present invention, the cable outlet passage 26 is formed through a downwardly bent portion 32 integrally formed with the holder 21, and the outer 28 of the cable 12 is bent at a desired angle θ as shown in FIG.
It is configured to be installed tilted downward.

The angle θ can be appropriately selected, and in the case of a motorcycle, it can be set within a range of 30 degrees to 70 degrees, for example.

Note that the cable outlet passage 2 inside the holder 21
6 is required to have a radius of curvature greater than a certain value in order to smooth the movement of the inner 27. Therefore, when the angle θ is large, the length of the downwardly bent portion 32 of the holder 21 generally tends to be large. .

The cable take-out passage 26 is the cable 12
In order to make it possible to assemble and remove the inner 27, it communicates with the outside of the holder 21 over its entire length, and a cap 33 is attached to this open surface as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. .

This cap 33 has the function of closing the cable outlet passage 26, limiting the passage of the inner 27, and guiding the inner 27, and as shown in FIGS. It is fixed with screws 35 and 36 with the protrusion 34 inserted therein.

Note that the cap 33 is used for the holder 21 and the lever 2.
Similar to 2, it can also be made from metals such as aluminum, as well as plastic molded products.

Further, the adjuster screw 29 also has a slit for normally inserting the inner 27 therethrough.

Furthermore, a plastic tube with low frictional resistance, such as polyethylene or nylon, is fitted onto the inner 27 in the cable outlet passage 26 to reduce the sliding resistance of the inner 27 and prevent wear of the holder (usually made of aluminum) 21. It is preferable to aim for it.

The above is the left operating lever device 10 of a motorcycle.
Although the present invention has been described by taking the example of a clutch lever (normally a clutch lever), the present invention can be similarly applied to a right-hand operating lever device 9 (normally a brake lever) having a substantially symmetrical structure. can.

According to the embodiment described above, the cable outlet passage 26 is formed in the downwardly bent portion 32 provided integrally with the holder 21, and the outer 28 of the cable 12 is assembled in a downwardly inclined state. , 12 can be smoothly stretched downward as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and the conventional Compared to cable installation, it does not cross in front of the driver's eyes, improves the appearance, and improves the appearance of meters (speedometer 14).
In addition, it is possible to improve the visibility of the tachometer (not shown) and indicators (not shown, such as the water temperature gauge, fuel gauge, or battery voltmeter installed in the meter or headlamp 13).

Further, since the lever 22 is pivoted 24 so as to rotate in a plane substantially parallel to the handlebar 6, the handle grip portion 8
It is possible to eliminate the phenomenon in which the height of the grip portion (operating portion) of the lever 22 changes relative to the lever 22.

Moreover, the cables 11 and 12 do not need to be provided with elbows (bending guide portions) or the like and can be used straight, so that the above effects can be achieved with a compact structure.

In addition, a cable 11 for operating equipment mounted below the handlebar 6, such as a brake or a clutch,
Since the cables 12 are inclined downward from the beginning, it is possible to reduce the degree of direction change in the middle of the cables 11 and 12, and there is also the effect that the degree of curvature of the cables 11 and 12 can be made gentler and the length can be reduced. can get.

In the illustrated embodiment, the outer 28 is supported via the adjusting screw 29, but if length adjustment means are provided in other parts of the cables 11 and 12, this adjusting screw may be used. 29 can be omitted and the outer 28 can be directly supported by the holder 21.

Further, the vehicle operating lever device according to the present invention includes:
The present invention can be similarly applied to other vehicles as long as it is a lever device for operating a cable attached to a handlebar such as a three-wheeled or four-wheeled motorcycle or a bicycle.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, a lever is pivotally supported in a holder fixed to a handlebar, a cable take-out passage is formed inside the holder, and an inner cable is connected to the lever, In the vehicle operation lever device, the outer part of the cable is fixed to the tip of the cable take-out passage of the holder, the lever is pivotally supported so as to rotate in a plane substantially parallel to the handlebar, and the holder The shape along the cable take-out passage is made into a bent shape consisting of a lever shaft support side portion that is approximately parallel to the handlebar and a downwardly bent portion that is inclined downward, and the cable take-out passage is formed along the entire length of the lever shaft support side portion of the holder. Since the cap for closing the cable take-out passage is removably fixed to the holder, the height of the grip part of the handle and the grip part (operation part) of the lever can be adjusted depending on the amount of operation of the lever. Provided is a vehicle operating lever device which is excellent in appearance, improves the visibility of meters, and makes the operating system more compact, without changing the operating cable and without increasing the length of the operating cable.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle operating lever device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a line shown in FIG.
FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views taken along the lines ``-'' and ``-'' in FIG. 2, respectively, and FIG. Partial plan view of motorcycle, No. 6
The figure is a front view of FIG. 5. 6... Handlebar, 9, 10... Operating lever device, 11, 12... Cable, 21... Holder, 22... Lever, 26... Cable extraction passage, 27... Inner, 28... Outer, 32
...Downward bend.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A lever 22 is pivotally supported on a holder 21 fixed to the handlebar 6, and a cable takeout passage 26 is formed inside the holder 21. An inner 27 of the cable 12 is connected to the lever 22, and the cable of the holder 21 is connected to the lever 22. Take-out passage 2
In the vehicle operation lever device 10 in which the outer 28 of the cable 12 is fixed to the tip of the handlebar 6, the lever 22 is pivotally supported so as to rotate in a plane substantially parallel to the handlebar 6, and the holder The shape along the cable take-out passage 26 of 21 is made into a bent shape consisting of a lever shaft support side portion that is substantially parallel to the handlebar 6 and a downwardly bent portion that is inclined downward, so that the cable take-out passage 26 is formed along its entire length. An operation lever device for a vehicle, characterized in that a cap 33 for closing the cable take-out passage 26 is removably fixed to the holder 21, the cap 33 communicating with the surface of a holder 21.