JPS633355Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a vehicle height adjustment device for a two-wheeled vehicle that automatically adjusts the vehicle height in a certain speed range when the vehicle is traveling.

In general, in motorcycles, etc., if the vehicle height is not adjusted depending on the rider's weight, sitting height, road surface running conditions, or changes in the load, the ride will be uncomfortable and the riding posture will worsen. Otherwise, it seriously impairs steering stability.

For example, when braking suddenly on a two-wheeled vehicle, the center of gravity moves forward and the front fork compresses, while the rear cushion unit stretches, making the rider's riding posture worse and causing the rider to pass over bumps on the road surface during braking. In this case, the front fork is compressed and the effective stroke is not sufficient, causing the vehicle to bottom out.Furthermore, at sudden acceleration, the center of gravity moves rearward, the rear wheel cushion unit compresses, and the front fork When braking to extend the vehicle, the same riding posture deteriorates and the handling stability is impaired.

For this reason, the applicant can adjust the vehicle height in response to changes in the live load, the weight, height, and preferences of the driver even when the load is static, and can also adjust the vehicle height according to the road surface conditions while driving, braking, sudden starts, and sudden accelerations. We have developed a vehicle height adjustment device that can automatically detect changes in vehicle height and correct the vehicle height even when the vehicle height changes during cornering.

This will be specifically explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. First, the vehicle height adjustment device consists of a leveling sensor 1 and an air suspension unit 2, which are mounted between, for example, a rear wheel body frame 3 of a two-wheeled vehicle and a swing arm 4, as shown in FIG. The damper, which is the air suspension unit 2, is installed via the wheel 9.
There are two parallel wires on both sides of the In particular, in order to ensure a sufficient stroke of the damper, and since the swing arm is somewhat inclined, it is preferable to arrange the leveling sensor 1 on the front side and the air suspension unit 2 on the rear side as shown in the figure.

The leveling sensor 1 has a structure as shown in FIG. That is, the bearing 11 is fixed to the head of a cylinder, cylinder, or other similar hollow cylindrical body 10 by roll caulking or the like.
A dust seal 12 is inserted inside the bearing 1.
A rod 13 passes through the center of the rod 1 in a slidable manner.

A bracket 14 is integrally connected to the bottom side of the cylindrical body 10, and this bracket 14 is connected to the wheel side, for example, the swing arm 4. A bracket 15 is also connected to the upper end of the rod 13 by pin connection, screw connection, etc. The bracket 15 is pivotally supported on the vehicle body frame 3 side. Cylinder 1
0, casings 16 and 17 having a U-shaped cross section and other similar shapes are inserted and fixed inwardly facing each other, and the outsides of the casings 16 and 17 are held by a cover 18.

Two sets of upper and lower phototransistors 19 and 20 are held inside one casing 16, and two sets of upper and lower light emitting diodes 21 and 22 are held inside the other casing 17 facing the phototransistors 19 and 20. ing.

A shielding plate 23 is connected to the lower end of the rod 13,
A hole 24 with an arbitrary inner diameter is bored in the center of this shielding plate, and when the lower part of the shielding plate 23 is located between the light emitting diodes 21 and 22 of the phototransistors 19 and 20, it blocks the incident light from the light emitting diodes 21 and 22. Also, the shielding plate 23 is lowered and the holes 24 connect the phototransistors 19 and 20 to the light emitting diode 2.
When the phototransistor 1 is located between 1 and 22, the incident light is irradiated and the vertical movement of the shielding plate 23 causes the phototransistor 1 to be exposed.
9 and 20 are turned on and off.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the air suspension unit 2, a piston rod 27 is slidably inserted into a cylinder 25 via a piston 26, and the cylinder 25 is divided into two upper and lower oil chambers. An air chamber 28 is defined in the lower oil chamber, and a spring 29 is interposed in the lower oil chamber. The cylinder 25 and piston rod 27 have eyes 30 and 31.
are provided, and are connected to the vehicle body side and the wheel side via these eyes 30 and 31.

A control valve 32 can be installed at any position on the vehicle body.
is attached, and pipe lines 33 and 34 are connected to this control valve 32, and these pipe lines 3
3, 34, air is supplied from the air source 35 to one or both of the air suspension units 2 through the control valve 32, and air is supplied to the atmosphere through the control valve 32 and the pipe 34.
Air is discharged to the 6 side.

Three check valves 37, 38, and 39 are provided in the control valve 32, and the check valves 37 and 38 are interposed between the air source 35 and the pipe line 34, and the other check valve 39 is installed between the air source 36 and the pipe line 34. It is interposed in between. The control valve 32 is provided with two solenoids SOL1 and SOL2, one solenoid SOL1 is connected to the phototransistor 19 through a circuit 39, and the other solenoid SOL2 is connected to the other phototransistor 20 through a circuit 40, and the solenoid SOL2 is connected to the other phototransistor 20 through a circuit 40.
When SOL1 is energized, check valves 37 and 38 on the air source side are opened, and when the other solenoid SOL2 is energized, a check valve 39 on the atmospheric side is opened.

The circuit that turns solenoids SOL1 and SOL2 on and off is shown in Figure 5.

That is, the power supply V is connected to the solenoid SOL1 via circuits 41, 42, 43, 44, and the circuit 4
5, a branch circuit 46 is connected to the circuit 44, and the circuit 41 is connected to the solenoid SOL2 through the circuit 44.
It is designed to be selectively connected to any of the circuits 42, 45, 46 via point changeover switches 47, 48, 49. Circuits 42 and 43 are selectively turned on and off via pushbutton switches 50;
This pushbutton switch 50 may be operated manually or automatically.

Circuits 51 and 52 are connected to the circuit 43, and one circuit 51 is connected to a circuit 51' in which light emitting diodes 21 and 22 are provided in parallel. circuit 43
and 44 are turned on and off by relay contacts, and circuit 52 is turned on and off for solenoid SOL2 by relay contact 2 and normally closed contact /B,
The relay contact 1 is turned on and off by a light emitting diode 21 and a phototransistor 19, and the other relay contact 2 is turned on and off by a light emitting diode 22 and a phototransistor 20. The normally closed contact /B is the B contact of the relay contact 1.

Next, talking about the operation, the solenoid SOL
1 is energized, the check valves 37 and 38 open, and air is supplied from the air source 35 such as a pump or an accumulator to extend the air suspension unit 2 and raise the vehicle height.
When the solenoid SOL2 is energized, the check valve 39 opens and the air in the air chamber 28 is discharged into the atmosphere, compressing the air suspension unit 2 and lowering the vehicle height. Therefore, when the driver wants to adjust the vehicle height to his/her preference before getting on the vehicle or while driving, first set the contact point 47 of the three-point changeover switch to turn on the solenoid SOL1 and raise the vehicle height. Also, when set to contact 49, solenoid SOL2 is turned on and the vehicle height can be lowered. Also, if it is normally set to the O contact 48, and the push button 50 is turned off, the solenoid SOL1,
SOL2 is always turned off, so air suspension unit 2 only has a normal damping effect. In addition, when adjusting the vehicle height while driving, the push button 50 is turned on, and this operation may be done manually or automatically, and in the case of automatic operation, it is automatically turned on when there is a change in the vehicle height. It is possible to use a switch like this.

Next, let's talk about vehicle height detection and adjustment while driving.For example, when a two-wheeled vehicle accelerates or decelerates while driving and causes a wheelie or nose town, in other words, when the vehicle body becomes lower than the standard height, the leveling sensor When rod 13 is compressed and rod 13 is lowered, shielding plate 2
3, the lower light emitting diode 22 is blocked, and the incident light from the upper light emitting diode 21 is irradiated onto the phototransistor 19 through the hole 24.
For this reason, relay contact 1 is turned on by phototransistor 19, solenoid SOL1 is energized, and check valves 37 and 38 are opened. At this time, air is supplied from the air source 35 to the air chamber 28 of the air suspension unit 2 via the pipes 33 and 34.
The air suspension unit 2 then pushes the vehicle body up to the standard position.
Conversely, when the vehicle body rises above the reference position, the leveling sensor 1 extends, which causes the light emitting diode 2 to
1 is cut off, the phototransistor 20 is activated by the other light emitting diode 22, and the relay 2 is activated.
is turned on. For this reason, the solenoid SOL2 is turned on and the check valve 39 is opened, so that the air in the air chamber 28 is released into the atmosphere, compressing the air suspension unit 2, and the vehicle height is lowered by that amount to the reference height.

In this way, using the above circuit and the leveling sensor 1, the vehicle height can be adjusted arbitrarily using the manual switch, and the vehicle height can be adjusted according to the output of the light detection means by closing the switch 48 and the pushbutton switch 50. Adjustments can be made automatically.

However, for example, when a rider rides on a two-wheeled vehicle and adjusts the vehicle height by switching a manual switch just before the start of a ride, the rider's feet are on the ground, making it impossible to perform an accurate load evaluation. cannot always be said to be desirable.
In addition, it is possible to adjust the vehicle height as described above after the start of driving, but it is troublesome to do so while driving, and it is especially dangerous if the vehicle height changes while driving at high speeds, impairing the stability of the vehicle. . Furthermore, even when automatically adjusting the vehicle height, handling stability at high speeds becomes a problem.

The present invention aims to improve such conventional problems, and in particular, automatically adjusts the vehicle height based on the sensor output of an auto-leveling sensor as a vehicle height detection means, within a predetermined vehicle speed range that does not impair handling stability. To provide a vehicle height adjustment device for a two-wheeled vehicle that can be adjusted only in a vehicle.

FIG. 6 is a system diagram of vehicle height adjustment showing an embodiment of the present invention. Components having basically the same functions as those shown in FIG. 4 are given the same reference numerals. In the figure, a relay switch 61 is connected in parallel to the previously described push button switch 50, and is controlled on/off by a relay coil 63 energized by the output of a sensor 62 that detects vehicle speed. Reference numeral 64 denotes a control circuit which uses the output signals of the changeover switches 47, 48 and the leveling sensor 1 as a vehicle height detection means as control inputs, and has an air source 35 connected to its output side.
The motor 65 and solenoids SOL1 and SOL2 of the control valve 32 are connected. 66,
Reference numeral 67 denotes a drive power source and a drive switch for the motor 65, and a pressure switch 68, which is turned on and off by a plunger 69, is connected in parallel to the switch 67. This plunger 69 is connected to an air pump 70, a gauge 71, and an air tank 72.
and connected with the air charger 73,
It opens and closes in response to the internal pressure of the air tank 72. Note that the air pump 70 is powered by a motor 65.
It is driven by. Further, 74 is a check gauge air valve for detecting the pressure inside the air suspension unit 2 and the air chamber 28.

In the vehicle height adjustment system having such a configuration, if the air tank 72 is to be arbitrarily stored with pressure, the switch 6
Close 7. Then, the motor 65 is driven by receiving the voltage from the power source 66, and the air pump 70 is operated to accumulate air in the air tank 72. Gauge 7 indicates that the air pressure has reached a predetermined value.
1, and turn off the switch 67. On the other hand, even if the switch 67 is open, if the air pressure in the air tank 72 is low, the plunger 69 is pulled back, so the pressure switch 68 is closed, and the motor is 65 is supplied with power supply voltage, the air pump 70 is driven, and pressure is accumulated in the air tank 72. When the accumulated pressure reaches a predetermined level, the plunger 69 is pushed out, the pressure switch 68 is opened, and the pressure in the air tank 72 is accumulated at a constant pressure.

The solenoid control valve 32 has a neutral position b and left and right positions a and c. When in the neutral position b, the circuit 34 is cut off from the air source and the atmosphere, and the suspension unit 2 maintains a constant height. are doing.

Next, when adjusting the vehicle height manually,
When the selector switch 47 is selected, a current flows from the control circuit 64 to the solenoid SOL1, which is energized to switch the control valve 32 to the left position a and open the check valve 37. Therefore, air is supplied from the air tank 72 to the air chamber 28 of the air suspension unit 2, causing the air suspension unit 2 to extend and raise the vehicle height. Then, when the desired vehicle height is reached, when the changeover switch 47 is opened, the solenoid SOL1 is demagnetized, the control valve 32 returns to the neutral position, and the conduit 34, conduits 33 and 36
is blocked. Similarly, when the changeover switch 49 is selected, the control valve 32 is switched to the right position c, the check valve 39 is opened, the pipes 34 and 36 are communicated, the air chamber 28 is evacuated, and the spring 29 is The vehicle height decreases due to the return force. When the changeover switch 49 is opened, the solenoid SOL2 is demagnetized, the control valve 32 returns to the neutral position, and a predetermined vehicle height is maintained.

Next, when performing automatic leveling, that is, vehicle height adjustment, the push button switch 50 is closed and the auto switch 48 is closed. Then, the leveling sensor 1 becomes activated, and if the vehicle height deviates from the preset position, the leveling sensor 1 outputs a rise or fall signal to the control circuit 64, and the solenoid SOL1 or SOL2 of the control valve 32 is activated. An energizing current is output to one of the two valves, the valve position is switched, and the air chamber of the air suspension unit 2 is supplied and exhausted in the same manner as described above, thereby adjusting the vehicle height. Here, when the vehicle height reaches a preset position, the control circuit 64 operates based on the output of the leveling sensor 1.
Each solenoid SOL1 of the control valve 32,
Cut off the power to SOL2. In this way, the desired vehicle height adjustment position is maintained.

On the other hand, in a vehicle that can automatically adjust the height of the vehicle as described above, when the rider sits on the seat before riding, one foot rests on the ground to support the rider's weight, so it is difficult to accurately adjust the height of the vehicle for the correct load. I can't do it. Therefore, in this invention, the vehicle speed sensor 6 detects when the vehicle is traveling and the speed has reached a slow speed of 10 km/h, for example.
2, the relay coil 63 is energized and the relay switch 61 is closed based on the sensor output, and only then the leveling sensor 1 is activated and outputs a signal to the control circuit 64. In this way, the height adjustment of the vehicle when the vehicle speed is low does not impair the steering stability of the vehicle, and is the correct amount of adjustment that takes into account the total load of the rider or luggage.

FIG. 7 shows an operation control circuit for the leveling sensor 1, which starts the vehicle height adjustment at, for example, 10 km/h and automatically ends the adjustment operation when the speed reaches 15 km/h. In the figure, reference numeral 62 is the same as the vehicle speed sensor described above, and is formed from a generator or the like that converts the vehicle speed into an induced voltage output. Two comparators 75 and 76 are connected to this vehicle speed sensor 62, and relay coils 77 and 7 are connected to their output sides.
8 are connected in series. Further, a negative set voltage and a lower negative set voltage are applied to the reference voltage and input terminal of each of the comparators 75 and 76, respectively. It is assumed that the comparator 75 outputs a signal at a speed of, for example, 10 km/h or more, and the comparator 76 outputs a signal at a speed of 15 km/h. Further, reference numerals 79 and 80 are single-circuit, two-contact type relay switches for the relay coils 77 and 78, which are connected in parallel to the auto switch 48 described above.

According to this, when the vehicle speed reaches 10 km, the output of the vehicle speed sensor 62 exceeds the set level potential, so a signal current flows from the comparator 75 to the relay coil 77, which is energized and the relay switch 79 turns on the solid line. It can be switched to the position shown. In this way, the level sensor 1 performs the above-mentioned action,
The control valve 32 is driven to raise the vehicle height. Subsequently, when the vehicle speed reaches 15 km/h, the output of the vehicle speed sensor 62 changes to the comparator 76.
Its output voltage, above the set level potential applied to it, energizes the relay coil 78. Thus, the relay switch 80 is switched to the position shown by the dotted line, and the terminals A and B are opened, so that the level sensor 1 stops operating, and the vehicle height stops rising, and is maintained at a predetermined level. Similarly, when the vehicle height is too high, the relay switches 79 and 80 are switched in the same manner as above in the vehicle speed range of 10 km to 15 km/h, and the vehicle height lowering operation is performed depending on the output of the level sensor 1. It will be done.

Figure 8 shows a magnet 8 attached to the pointer shaft 82 of a speedometer 81 to detect speeds of 10km to 15km/h.
3 and a switch 84 that is turned on in the range of 10 km to 15 km per hour on the vehicle speed scale. In the figure, 62 is a vehicle speed sensor that outputs an induced voltage corresponding to the vehicle speed, applies this to a fixed coil 85, and uses the magnetic force of the coil 85 to move the movable iron piece 36 attached to the pointer shaft 82 of the speedometer 81. The pointer 87 on the vehicle speed scale plate integrated with the pointer shaft 82 is rotated in the same manner. Also,
A needle 88 for detecting vehicle speed is attached to this pointer shaft 82, and the magnet 83 described above is attached to this, and when the pointer 87 indicates the range of 10 km to 15 km per hour on the vehicle speed scale, the needle 38 is also displaced by the same amount, The switch 84 installed opposite this is operated to close at 10 km and open at 15 km. Therefore, by connecting both ends of the switch 84 in parallel to the auto switch 48, the vehicle height can be adjusted and the adjusted position can be maintained within the vehicle speed range of 10 km to 15 km.

As explained above, according to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle height detection means, a control circuit that calculates a future vehicle height detection output and controls switching of a control valve, and air supply from an air source through the control valve. In the vehicle height adjustment device for a two-wheeled vehicle, the device has an air suspension unit that receives air from the vehicle, and an exhaust passage that exhausts air from the air suspension unit through the control valve. By associating the vehicle speed detection means that operates within the range, the vehicle height can be automatically adjusted in accordance with the correct load at a vehicle speed that does not impair steering stability, and safe driving can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a side view of the vehicle height adjustment device attached to the vehicle body, Figure 2 is a vertical side view of the vehicle height detection device, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the - line in Figure 2, and Figure 4 is a side view of the vehicle height adjustment device attached to the vehicle body.
Figure 5 is a system diagram of the vehicle height adjustment device, Figure 5 is an electric circuit diagram, Figure 6 is a system diagram of the motorcycle height adjustment device of the present invention, and Figures 7 and 8 are circuit diagrams for vehicle speed detection. be. 1...Vehicle height detection means, 2...Air suspension unit, 32...Control valve, 3
5...Air source, 36...Exhaust passage, 62...
...Vehicle speed detection means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] (1) Vehicle height detection means, a control circuit that calculates the detection output of the vehicle height detection means and controls switching of a control valve, and supply of air from an air source through the control valve. an air suspension unit that receives air from the air suspension unit; an exhaust passage that exhausts air from the air suspension unit through the control valve; and vehicle speed detection means associated with the vehicle height detection means; A vehicle height adjustment device for two-wheeled vehicles that operates only in the vehicle speed range of . (2) The vehicle height adjustment device for a two-wheeled vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle speed detection means comprises a control circuit including a comparator. (3) The vehicle height adjustment device for a two-wheeled vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle speed detection means is a speedometer.