JPH11182609A - Suspension spring force adjusting device for oil damper - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a suspension spring force adjusting device for an oil damper which is inexpensive in cost and is easily assembled. SOLUTION: A housing 17 having a ram cylinder 15 and a pump cylinder 16 which inter-communicate in series the through an oil passage 14 with an inner sleeve 11 and an outer sleeve 13 is formed, this housing 17 is fixed and provided on the outer periphery of a body part 2 in an oil damper 1, one end of a suspension spring 5 is supported by a ram 20 fitted into the ram cylinder 15, and a basic end operating part 28 of a piston 24 fitted into the pump cylinder 16 is sent to the outer periphery of the body part 2 in the oil damper 1 and is threadedly provided through a screw 10. While oil in moved between the ram cylinder 15 and the pump cylinder 16 by moving a piton due to rotating operation of the basic end operating part 28, spring force of the suspension spring 5 is adjusted by moving the ram 20 advancedly and retreatedly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an oil damper with a suspension spring for elastically supporting a vehicle body of a motorcycle such as a motorcycle with respect to a rear wheel, and more particularly, to a suspension spring according to the load of the vehicle body at each time. The present invention relates to a suspension spring force adjusting device for an oil damper capable of adjusting the spring force of the oil damper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, when suspending a rear wheel of a motorcycle or the like, only one oil damper with a suspension spring is disposed between the center of the vehicle body and a swing arm supporting the rear wheel, and the rear wheel is suspended by the suspension spring. On the other hand, an oil damper that elastically supports a vehicle body and absorbs vibration generated between a rear wheel and the vehicle body has been widely used.

[0003] By the way, as a matter of course, compared with an earlier one in which the rear part of the vehicle body and the swing arm are connected by an oil damper with two suspension springs, one suspension is used for these two suspensions. A repulsive suspension spring with characteristics must be used.

As a result, in order to adjust the spring force of the suspension spring having a strong repulsion according to the change in the vehicle body load, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 58-112699, A ram cylinder is fixedly provided on the outer periphery of the main body portion of the above, and one end of the suspension spring is supported by a ram fitted into the ram cylinder.

[0005] Then, the ram cylinder is connected to the pump cylinder by a hose, and the piston inserted into the pump cylinder is moved forward and backward by a threaded rod with a handle, so that oil is exchanged between the pump cylinder and the ram cylinder. The ram is moved forward and backward by a jack operation to adjust the spring force of the suspension spring.

[0006] Thus, not only can the spring force of the ram suspension spring be adjusted to be large or small with a small operation force of the pump cylinder, but also the remote operation can be performed by connecting the pump cylinder on the operation side and the ram cylinder on the oil damper side with a hose. Therefore, there is an advantage that the pump cylinder, which is the operation unit, can be arranged at any position on the side of the vehicle body where the operation is easy.

[0007]

However, even so, the fact that disconnecting the pump cylinder and connecting it with a hose in order to enable remote operation increases the number of parts and increases the pump cylinder to the vehicle body. It takes time and effort to mount the device, which increases the cost.

Therefore, when there is a large space in which a hand can be inserted into a portion of the vehicle body in the vicinity of the mounting of the oil damper, in spite of that, it is meaningless to perform the remote control as described above. It is.

From this viewpoint, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 59-1
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 67084, a pump cylinder is directly connected to a ram cylinder without using a hose.

However, in this case, since the pump cylinder inevitably protrudes from the oil damper toward the vehicle body side, the direction in which the pump cylinder protrudes must be determined and the oil damper must be mounted on the vehicle body. This is inferior in assembly workability.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a suspension spring force adjusting device for an oil damper of this type which is inexpensive and easy to assemble.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a housing provided with a ram cylinder and a pump cylinder which are connected in series and fixed to the outer periphery of a main body portion of an oil damper, and inserted into the ram cylinder. In addition to supporting one end of the suspension spring with the ram, the base end operation part of the piston inserted into the pump cylinder is screwed around the outer periphery of the oil damper via a feed screw, and the rotation operation of the base end operation part is performed. This is achieved by exchanging oil between the pump cylinder and the ram cylinder while moving the piston forward and backward, and adjusting the spring force of the suspension spring by moving the ram forward and backward.

That is, with this configuration, the pump cylinder on the operation side and the ram cylinder on the load side when adjusting the spring force of the suspension spring are fixedly provided on the outer periphery of the main body of the oil damper. The housing is configured to be coaxially arranged and integrated.

As a result, the ram cylinder and the pump cylinder can be integrally formed without separately forming and connecting the ram cylinder and the pump cylinder. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. In addition, since the mounting direction of the oil damper does not have any adverse effect on the operability of the piston in the pump cylinder, the operation of mounting the oil damper is also facilitated.

In addition, since the piston on the operating side is screwed through the feed screw to the outer periphery of the oil damper through the base operating portion, the diameter of the feed screw is increased so that the operating force is reduced when adjusting the spring force of the suspension spring. Reduction can be achieved.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a suspension spring force adjusting device according to the present invention is applied to an oil damper having a suspension spring for elastically supporting a vehicle body of a motorcycle such as a motorcycle with respect to a rear wheel. Will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, an oil damper 1 includes a main body 2 composed of a closed cylinder, a piston rod 4 extending to the outside through a closed portion 3 which is one end of the main body 2,
And a suspension spring 5 interposed between the main body 2 and the piston rod 4.

The suspension spring 5 is provided with a spring support 7 locked by a mounting bracket 6 provided at the protruding end of the piston rod 4.
And a suspension spring force adjusting device 8 provided on the outer periphery of the main body 2, and by applying an extension force to the oil damper 1 through the spring receiver 7 and the suspension spring force adjusting device 8. The spring force of the suspension spring 5 is given.

At the end of the main body 2 opposite to the sealing portion 3, another mounting bracket 9 is provided opposite to the mounting bracket 6 provided at the protruding end of the piston rod 4. , 9 and the oil damper 1 is interposed between the vehicle body and the rear wheel, and the suspension spring 5
The spring force is used to elastically support the vehicle body with respect to the rear wheels.

As can be seen from the partially enlarged view of FIG. 2, the suspension spring force adjusting device 8 includes an inner sleeve 11 fixed using a feed screw 10 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 2, and an inner sleeve 11 An outer sleeve 13 is coaxially fitted around and fitted to the shaft 11 while restricting movement in the axial direction via a snap ring 12.

The inner sleeve 11 and the outer sleeve 13 are
A housing 17 having an annular ram cylinder 15 and a pump cylinder 16 communicating in series through an oil passage 14 therebetween is formed while cooperating with each other.

A ram 20 having seals 18 and 19 on its inner and outer peripheral surfaces is slidably inserted into the ram cylinder 15, and a dust seal 21 is interposed between the ram cylinder 15 and the main body 2 by the ram 20. One end of the suspension spring 5 is supported while also serving as a spring guide with the holder portion 22 interposed therebetween.

On the other hand, an annular piston 24 having a seal 23 on the inner peripheral surface is slidably inserted into the inside of the pump cylinder 16 via a seal 25 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the pump cylinder 16. .

The piston 24 has a large-diameter portion 26 protruding from the outer end to the inner and outer peripheral surfaces, and the inner peripheral surface has an oil damper 1.
Are screwed into the feed screw 10 of the main body part 2 and inserted into the pump cylinder 16 so as to be able to advance and retreat.

The outer peripheral surface side is formed with a base end operation section 28 by forming an insertion hole 27 for inserting an operation rod, and
An extendable boot 29 is provided over the entire length of the housing 17 from the base operating section 28 to protect them from dust and the like.

Next, the operation of the suspension spring force adjusting device 8 of the oil damper 1 configured as described above will be described together with the basic suspension operation.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the ram 20 of the ram cylinder 15 in the suspension spring force adjusting device 8 is in the most compressed state. In this state, the mounting bracket is set by the spring force (restoring force) of the suspension spring 5. The vehicle body is maintained at a predetermined height with respect to the rear wheels through 6,9.

During traveling, the vibration of the vehicle body is buffered by the spring force of the suspension spring 5, and a predetermined damping force is generated by the expansion and contraction operation of the oil damper 1 to cause the vehicle body and the rear wheel to move. Vibration between them is attenuated quickly.

On the other hand, if the suspension spring 5 contracts due to an increase in occupants and loads, and the rear portion of the vehicle body sinks while compressing the oil damper 1, the load on the front wheels decreases and the running stability decreases, or The irradiation angle of the headlamp becomes upward, which causes annoyance to oncoming vehicles.

Therefore, in such a case, the operating rod is inserted into the insertion hole 27 in the base operating section 28 of the piston 24 and turned, and the piston 24 is pushed into the pump cylinder 16 by the feed screw 10. do.

As a result, the oil in the pump cylinder 16 moves from the oil passage 14 to the ram cylinder 15 to push out the ram 20, extend the oil damper 1 while pushing up the suspension spring 5, and move the rear part of the vehicle body to a predetermined position. Push up to height.

When the suspension spring 5 is extended due to a decrease in rear wheel load and the rear portion of the vehicle body is lifted, the piston 2
4 is now turned in the opposite direction and pulled out of the pump cylinder 16 by the feed screw 10.

As a result, the oil in the ram cylinder 15 returns from the oil passage 14 into the pump cylinder 16 and the ram 20 retracts, compresses the oil damper 1 while lowering the support position of the suspension spring 5, and compresses the oil damper 1. The rear will be lowered to a predetermined height.

1 and 2 described so far.
In the embodiment shown in (1), the base end operation portion 28 is formed at one end of the piston 24 and is screwed to the main body portion of the oil damper 1 via the feed screw 10. Instead, as in the other embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the suspension spring force adjusting device 8a may be configured with the base end operation unit as an independent member.

That is, in the suspension spring force adjusting device 8a shown in FIG. 3, the inner sleeve 11 is fixed to the main body 2 of the oil damper 1 with the mounting screw 10a, and the inner sleeve 11 is connected to the inner sleeve 11. An outer sleeve 13 is provided with a snap ring 12 and a detent ball 30 interposed therebetween.

In addition, in addition, the base end operation part is connected to the piston 2
4 to form an independent operation dial 28a having a rising portion 31 around the periphery.
To support the piston 24 and the operation dial 2
8a formed on the outer peripheral surface of the outer sleeve 13
0b.

As a result, the diameter of the feed screw 10b is made larger to reduce the operating force when adjusting the spring force of the suspension spring 5, and the piston 24 can be rotated simply by gripping the operation dial 28a with a hand, for example. The operation dial 28a moves up and down through the feed screw 10b while the oil is exchanged between the ram cylinder 15 and the pump cylinder 16, and the ram 20 is moved in and out similarly to the embodiment of FIGS. Thus, the rear portion of the vehicle body is adjusted to a predetermined height while the oil damper 1 is extended and retracted.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in that the pump cylinders 16 in the suspension spring force adjusting device 8b are formed as a plurality of cylinder groups arranged on a concentric circle. The difference is that the ram-shaped pistons 24 are formed in the outer sleeve 13 and the ram-shaped pistons 24 are inserted into the respective pump cylinders 16, and the protruding ends of the pistons 24 are supported by the operation panel 28 b threaded on the feed screw 10. I have.

Further, in the embodiment of FIG. 5, similarly to the embodiment of FIG. 3, the pump cylinders 16 in the suspension spring force adjusting device 8c are formed as a plurality of cylinder groups arranged on a concentric circle. The only difference is that it is formed on the outer sleeve 13 and that a ram-shaped piston 24 is inserted into each pump cylinder 16.

Therefore, it is possible to adjust the height of the rear portion of the vehicle body in the same manner in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 by using the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 described above. It will be easy to understand based on the description.

As described above, in any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5, when adjusting the spring force of the suspension spring 5, the pump cylinder 1 on the operation side is used.
6 and the load side ram cylinder 15 are fixedly provided on the outer periphery of the main body 2 of the oil damper 1.
, So that they are coaxially arranged and integrated.

Accordingly, the ram cylinder 15 and the pump cylinder 16 can be integrally formed without separately forming and connecting the ram cylinder 15 and the pump cylinder 16, so that it is possible to reduce the number of parts and cost. In addition, since the mounting direction of the oil damper 1 does not have any adverse effect on the operability of the piston 24 in the pump cylinder 16, the operation of mounting the oil damper 1 on the vehicle body becomes easy.

Further, the piston 24 on the operation side is screwed through the base end operation part 28, the operation dial 28a or the operation panel 28b to the main body 2 of the oil damper 1 or the outer periphery of the outer sleeve 13 through the feed screws 10, 10b. So that these feed screws 10, 10b
As a result, the operating force can be reduced when adjusting the spring force of the suspension spring 5.

In particular, in the above, the inner sleeve 11 is fixedly provided on the outer periphery of the main body portion 2 of the oil damper 1, and the inner sleeve 11 is coaxially formed around the inner sleeve 11 while restricting movement in the axial direction. Since the outer sleeve 13 is fitted and the inner sleeve 11 and the outer sleeve 13 form a ram cylinder 15 and a pump cylinder 16 which communicate in series, the ram cylinder 15 is formed with a very simple structure. The number of parts and the cost can be reduced while the pump cylinder 16 and the pump cylinder 16 are integrated.

Further, as in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the base operating portion for adjusting the spring force of the suspension spring 5 is separated from the piston 24 to form an operating dial 28a having a rising portion 31 around the periphery. Then, the piston 24 is supported by the operation dial 28a and screwed into the feed screw 10b provided on the outer periphery of the housing 17, so that the feed screw 10b
This facilitates the operation of adjusting the spring force of the suspension spring 5 while increasing the diameter of the suspension spring.

[0046]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the number of parts can be reduced since the ram cylinder and the pump cylinder can be integrally formed without being separately formed and connected. In addition to the cost reduction, the mounting direction of the oil damper does not have any adverse effect on the operability of the piston in the pump cylinder. The attachment work is also easy.

Further, since the piston on the operating side is screwed through the feed screw on the outer periphery of the main body portion of the oil damper through the base end operating portion, the diameter of the feed screw is increased to adjust the spring force of the suspension spring. This makes it possible to reduce the operating force.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above effects, an inner sleeve is fixedly provided on the outer periphery of the main body of the oil damper, and the inner sleeve is restricted from moving in the axial direction. The ram cylinder and the pump cylinder are formed coaxially around the outer sleeve, and the inner and outer sleeves form a ram cylinder and a pump cylinder that communicate in series. And cost can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the base end operation portion for adjusting the spring force of the suspension spring is separated from the piston to form an operation dial having a rising portion around the periphery, and the inner sleeve is connected to the outer sleeve. In addition to providing a detent between the sleeves and screwing the feed screw provided on the outer periphery of the housing while supporting the piston with the operation dial, in addition to the effects described above, the feed screw can be made larger in diameter. The operation of adjusting the spring force of the suspension spring can be further facilitated.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the same effects as those of the first and second aspects can be exhibited while the pump cylinder and the piston are divided into a plurality and arranged concentrically. .

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the pump dial and the piston are divided into a plurality of parts and arranged concentrically, and the operation dial is supported on the outer periphery of the housing while the piston is supported by the operation dial. By screwing onto the feed screw provided in the above, the operation of adjusting the spring force of the suspension spring can be further facilitated while increasing the diameter of the feed screw.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an oil damper showing only a portion of a suspension spring force adjusting device according to the present invention in a longitudinal section.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial front view showing the suspension spring force adjusting device in a longitudinal direction and showing the detail in detail;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial front view of another embodiment of the suspension spring force adjusting device, which is also longitudinally shown in detail.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial front view of another embodiment of the suspension spring force adjusting device, which is also longitudinally shown in detail.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial front view showing another embodiment of the suspension spring force adjusting device according to the present invention in a longitudinal section and in detail.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Oil damper 2 Main body part 5 Suspension spring 8, 8a, 8b, 8c Suspension spring force adjusting device 10, 10b Feed screw 11 Inner sleeve 12 Snap ring 13 Outer sleeve 14 Oil passage 15 Ram cylinder 16 Pump cylinder 17 Housing 20 Ram 24 Piston 28 Base end operation part 28a Operation dial 28b Operation panel 30 Ball for detent 31 Rise

Claims (5)

[Claims] A housing having a ram cylinder and a pump cylinder communicating in series is fixedly provided on the outer periphery of a body portion of an oil damper, and one end of a suspension spring is supported by a ram inserted into the ram cylinder, and a pump is provided. The base end operation part of the piston inserted into the cylinder is screwed around the outer periphery of the oil damper via a feed screw, and the piston is moved forward and backward with the rotation operation of the base end operation part between the pump cylinder and the ram cylinder. A suspension spring force adjusting device for an oil damper, which exchanges oil and moves a ram forward and backward to adjust a spring force of a suspension spring. 2. An inner sleeve fixedly provided on an outer periphery of a main body portion of an oil damper, and an outer sleeve fitted coaxially around the inner sleeve while restricting axial movement with respect to the inner sleeve. 2. A suspension spring force adjusting device for an oil damper according to claim 1, wherein a housing having a ram cylinder and a pump cylinder communicating in series is formed. 3. Instead of screwing the base end operation part of the piston to the outer periphery of the main body of the oil damper via a feed screw, the base end operation part is separated from the piston to form an operation dial having a rising part around the periphery. 3. The oil damper according to claim 1, wherein the oil damper is formed and is provided with a detent between the inner sleeve and the outer sleeve, and is screwed to a feed screw provided on the outer periphery of the housing while supporting the piston with the operation dial. Suspension spring force adjustment device. 4. An inner sleeve fixedly provided on an outer periphery of an oil damper, and a plurality of pump cylinders which are coaxially fitted around the inner sleeve while restricting axial movement of the inner sleeve. A ram cylinder communicating with the pump cylinder in series with the outer sleeve is formed, one end of the suspension spring is supported by the ram inserted into the ram cylinder, and the base end of the piston inserted into each pump cylinder is connected to the oil damper. It is supported by an operation panel screwed through the feed screw on the outer periphery of the main body, and oil is exchanged between the pump cylinder and the ram cylinder while moving the piston along with the rotation operation of the operation panel to advance and retract the ram. A suspension spring force adjusting device for an oil damper, wherein the suspension spring force is adjusted by adjusting a spring force of the suspension spring. 5. The operation panel is formed as an operation dial having a rising portion around the periphery instead of being screwed into a feed screw provided on the outer periphery of the main body of the oil damper, and between the inner sleeve and the outer sleeve. 5. The suspension spring force adjusting device for an oil damper according to claim 4, wherein the suspension spring is adjusted by screwing a feed screw provided on the outer periphery of the housing while supporting the piston with the operation dial.