NL2017017B1

NL2017017B1 - A vehicle having a frame and leading and trailing end wheels

Info

Publication number: NL2017017B1
Application number: NL2017017A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Van Der Heide Rolf
Original assignee: Van Der Heide Rolf
Priority date: 2016-06-21
Filing date: 2016-06-21
Publication date: 2018-01-04

Abstract

The present invention pertains to a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, further in particular a motorcycle, the vehicle comprising a frame, and attached to that frame a first wheel situated at the leading end of the frame and a second wheel situated at the trailing end of the frame, wherein the first wheel is attached to the frame using a first arm assembly, the first wheel being rotatably provided at a distal end of the first arm assembly, the first arm assembly being movably attached to the frame, and wherein the second wheel is attached to the frame using a second arm assembly, the second wheel being rotatably provided at a distal end of the second arm assembly, the second arm assembly being movably attached to the frame, the vehicle further comprising a first spring to counteract the movement of the first arm assembly with respect to the frame and a second spring to counteract the movement of the second arm assembly with respect to the frame, wherein the first spring is positioned in line with the second spring.

Description

A VEHICLE HAVING A FRAME AND LEADING AND TRAILING END WHEELS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention in general pertains to the suspension of wheels of a vehicle, in particular of a motor vehicle, further in particular of a motorcycle. The vehicle that is the subject of the present invention comprises a frame, and attached to that frame a first wheel situated at the leading end of the frame and a second wheel situated at the trailing end of the frame, wherein the first wheel is attached to the frame using a first arm assembly, the first wheel being rotatably provided at a distal end of the first arm assembly, the first arm assembly being movably attached to the frame, and wherein the second wheel is attached to the frame using a second arm assembly, the second wheel being rotatably provided at a distal end of the second arm assembly, the second arm assembly being movably attached to the frame, and the vehicle further comprising a first spring to counteract the movement of the first arm assembly with respect to the frame and a second spring to counteract the movement of the second arm assembly with respect to the frame.

GENERAL BAKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The suspension of wheels on motorcycles, cars and other vehicles via movable arm assemblies and corresponding springs as introduced here above, was originally not invented for the sheer purpose of comfort, but more for safety while going fast. A mutual continuing problem among all vehicle manufacturers, which problem has continuously been met with better solutions, but never fully solved, is keeping the rubber on the road. A good functioning suspension system should absorb the shock of paved imperfections while increasing cornering, braking and acceleration thresholds. Suspension is the component that allows the wheels to move up and over its impeding obstacle, and it also strives to eliminate traction loss and the transfer of kinetic energy past itself. During the developmental years of the motorcycle in particular, manufacturers experimented with multiple ways to accomplish this. Mirroring the evolutionary sequence, the process of elimination has narrowed the average setup to forks for the front wheel and a (swing) arm for the rear wheel. Because the front wheel is the steering control of a motorcycle, nearly every motorcycle today has a pair of telescopic forks. Forks are basically large shock absorbers with an internal spring and hydraulic damper. They are held in place by a set of triple trees that turn at the steering neck. Other, less used designs are the so-called Earles fork or tele-lever fork that uses a swing arm in the front as well as in the rear. A swing arm is the main component of the rear suspension and it pivots on one end and holds the axle perpendicular to the other end, all regulated by one or two shock absorbers. Although most motorcycles have a similar front end, swing arm designs tend to vary between motorcycles. Before the 1970's, most motorcycles incorporated two shock absorbers on opposing sides of the wheel until the benefits of a monoshock swing arm came to fruition.

Still, the suspension set-up common today (telescopic front forks at the leading end of the frame and a single arm at the trailing end) has its drawbacks and particular designs have been disclosed to even improve the road holding capabilities of vehicles, in particular high speed vehicles such as motorcycles.

For example, JPS63184586 A (titled Front wheel suspension structure of motor cycle, Honda Motor Co, published 1988, July 30) describes a motorcycle front wheel suspension using so-called wishbone levers, in combination with separate spring/damper aligned horizontally.

Another example is US 4702338 (titled Suspension device for a vehicle wheel support arm and front-rear coupling system for said suspension, Elf France, published 1987, October 27). This patent describes s suspension device of a rotatably mounted support arm of a vehicle wheel, in particular a motorcycle, which cooperates with a compression spring and which involves a front-rear coupling system of the suspension. This constitution serves to a design of a motorcycle suspension with linear characteristics.

Yet another example of an alternative wheel suspension set up is disclosed in Dutch patent application NL7805244 (titled Gemotoriseerd tweewielig voertuig, Didier Jillet, published 1978, November 21). In this application a motorcycle having a front and rear wheel is described, each of the wheels being suspended via one oscillating arm attached to the engine.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide an alternative wheel suspension system for a vehicle, which system provides good road holding capabilities for the vehicle, even when travelling at high speeds such as 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour) or above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to meet the object of the invention, a vehicle as introduced here above in the FIELD OF THE INVENTION section has been devised, viz. a vehicle comprising a frame, and attached to that frame a first wheel situated at the leading end of the frame and a second wheel situated at the trailing end of the frame, wherein the first wheel is attached to the frame using a first arm assembly, the first wheel being rotatably provided at a distal end of the first arm assembly, the first arm assembly being movably attached to the frame, and wherein the second wheel is attached to the frame using a second arm assembly, the second wheel being rotatably provided at a distal end of the second arm assembly, the second arm assembly being movably attached to the frame, the vehicle further comprising a first spring to counteract the movement of the first arm assembly with respect to the frame and a second spring to counteract the movement of the second arm assembly with respect to the frame, wherein the first spring is positioned in line with the second spring.

Applicant found that when the first and second springs are positioned in line, the vehicle has very good road holding capabilities. Probably, the fact that the forces of the springs are at least partly counterbalanced internally in the set of springs, instead of being balanced mainly by the frame itself, improves the overall handling of the vehicle. The fact that the springs are positioned in line is essential in the present invention. To be in line does not mean that the springs are exactly aligned at each and every moment during use. It means that they are positioned such that when the springs (in respect of their spring forces) would have a mutual position such that the springs form an angle of 0° with respect to each other, then the springs (meaning in this respect: the spring forces) are exactly aligned with respect to each other, meaning that they do not only run in parallel in that situation, but also, that the actual forces on the springs coincide along the same line. In practice the springs may not be exactly in line (i.e. not exactly at an angle of 0°) at each and every moment during use of the vehicle. This is because there may be continuous movement of the springs with respect to the frame and also, since the momentary position during use of the vehicle i.a. depends on the initial positioning of the springs (vehicle standing still, no load) and the actual load (including load originating from cargo and load originating from irregularities of the road) as is commonly known in the art. The in line positioning is such that the springs, or actually, the forces of the springs, may form an angle of at most 45°, as long as when the angle would be 0°, the forces exactly coincide and run along the same line. This means that during use, many of the forces of the two springs are counterbalanced within the set of the two springs, not needing full absorption of these forces in the frame itself.

DEFINITIONS A vehicle is any wheeled conveyance in or by which people or objects are transported. A frame of a vehicle is the basic rigid supporting structure of the vehicle. When the vehicle is a motor vehicle, the frame may include or consist essentially of the engine of the motor vehicle.

The leading end of a frame is the front end of the frame as seen in a direction of forward movement of the vehicle. A motorcycle is a two-wheeled vehicle, having one front wheel and one back wheel, which vehicle is powered by a motor and has no pedals. The front and/or back wheel may be constituted as a double wheel, i.e. a wheel unit comprising two adjacent wheels functioning as one unit at either the front or back of the vehicle.

An arm assembly means an assembly comprising at least one arm, optionally comprising at least a second arm, for example to provide a fork.

An arm assembly that is movably attached to a frame means that the arm is able to move with respect to that frame by rotation, translation or by a movement including both a rotation and a translation. A proximal section of a vehicle means a section that is close to the point of attachment of the corresponding part to the frame. A distal section is far away from the point of attachment of the corresponding part to the frame. A spring is a resilient device, for example a helical metal coil, a pneumatic spring, a bellow spring, a leaf spring etc., which can be pressed or pulled but returns to its former shape when released after being distorted. In a wheel suspension system of a vehicle, a spring is typically used to absorb movement. A first spring to be positioned in line with a second spring means that the two forces (one force for each spring) for movement of the springs towards their former shape during distortion, essentially coincide, meaning that both forces intersect and form an angle of no more than 45°, preferably no more than 40°, 35° or 30° degrees, optionally no more than 29,28, 27,26, 25, 24,23, 22,21,20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1° during distortion of the springs, and that when the angle is 0°, the forces run along the same line, thus exactly coincide (as opposed to running merely in parallel). A force is a push or pull upon an object resulting from the object's interaction with another object. Force is a vector quantity and therefore has magnitude, direction and a site of origin. In a diagram, a force is often indicated as an arrow, the length being representative for the magnitude of the force, the direction of the arrow coinciding with the direction of the force, and the site of origin corresponding to the beginning of the arrow. A rigid object is an object that has a shape that is in essence free of distortion visible with the naked human eye during its normal use.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In a first embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention, the first arm assembly comprises at least one rigid arm. Such an arm may be a regular swing arm or any other type of rigid lever. In a further embodiment the first arm assembly comprise two parallel rigid arms, for example arms of the type as known from GB2207645 (figures 1 and 3, element 1).

In another embodiment the first arm assembly is movable attached to the frame via two independent levers that are each rotatably attached to the frame at one end, and attached to the arm assembly at their other end. This set-up which as such is known from the art (e.g. from US 2008/029683; elements 7 and 8 of figure 1), appears to be very suitable for application with the spring set-up according to the present invention in its broadest sense. In a further embodiment each of the levers is formed as a wishbone lever. This may be for example a wishbone lever of the type as disclosed in US 2008/029683 or GB2121364.

In yet another embodiment the second arm assembly comprises at least one rigid arm. Although such a set-up as such is also known from the art, it appears to be very suitable for application with the spring set-up according to the present invention in its broadest sense. In a further embodiment the second arm assembly comprises one rigid arm that is rotatably connected to the frame.

In still another embodiment the first spring and second spring are coil springs. In a further embodiment, both springs at their distal end with regard to the corresponding arm assembly, are attached to the frame, each spring being attached at a corresponding attachment site. This set-up provides an adequate attachment capable of providing the required functionality of the springs. Preferably the two attachment sites of both springs are adjacent. Thus serves the purpose of the springs being better able to counteract each other’s forces without too many forces being transferred to and absorbed by the frame.

In again another embodiment the vehicle comprises at least one damper to damp the movement of at least one of the springs. In a further embodiment the vehicle comprises two separate dampers, a first damper for damping the movement of the first spring and a second damper for damping the movement of the second spring. This way, there is more freedom of design while being capable of providing the required damping activity.

The invention has its particular use when the vehicle according to any of the preceding embodiments is a motor vehicle, in particular a motorcycle. This is even more so when the vehicle has one front wheel and one back wheel, the wheels being in line.

The invention can also be applied advantageously in a motor vehicle when the engine is a part of the frame.

The invention will now be further explained using the following examples.

EXAMPLES

Figure 1 schematically shows basic parts of a motorcycle incorporating the current invention.

Figure 2 schematically shows the motorcycle of figure 1 with added functional elements to make it practically suitable as a motorcycle.

Figure 3 schematically shows some details of the front wheel suspension.

Figure 1

Figure 1 schematically shows basic parts of a motorcycle 1 incorporating the current invention. In this specific example the engine 2 basically constitutes the frame of the motorcycle. At the front end of the frame a first wheel 5 is situated, which wheel is attached to the frame using first arm assembly 51. The wheel is rotatably provided at the distal end of this assembly 51. The assembly basically consists of two parallel rigid arms 55 and 55’ (figure 1 only sown arm 55, see figure 3 for the position of arm 55’), and wishbone levers 56 and 57. These levers grasp (by pivoting) the arms at their respective distal ends, and are rotatably attached to the frame at their proximal ends 151 and 150 respectively. This way, the wheel 5 is attached to the frame and is able to move with respect to that frame: the rigid arms 55 and 55’ can move up and down while the wishbone levers 56 and 57 rotate with respect to the frame. A spring 58 is mounted to counteract the movement of the first arm assembly. This spring is attached to the frame having its distal end adjacent the actual attachment site. The distal end in this respect is the end most far away from the first arm assembly. The movement of the first arm assembly is transferred towards this spring via pushrod 100, in combination with rocker 101, a second pushrod 102 and a second rocker 103. The two rockers are attached to the frame at their respective lowest points of the triangular shape (the points adjacent the frame). A damper 80 is present to damp the action of the spring.

Regarding the second wheel 6, this wheel is situated at the trailing end of the frame, which wheel is attached to the frame using second arm assembly 61. The wheel is rotatably provided at the distal end of this assembly 61. The assembly basically consists of one rigid arm 65 that is rotatably attached to the frame at its proximal end 67. This way, the wheel 6 is attached to the frame and is able to move with respect to that frame (as is commonly known in the art). A spring 68 is mounted to counteract the movement of the second arm assembly. The movement of the second arm assembly is transferred towards this spring directly since the spring is attached to the arm 65 via damper 81, which damper is present to damp the action of the spring.

In figure 1, the springs 58 and 68 are arranged in line with both of their respective attachment sites being in an adjacent, neighbouring spatial arrangement. In the situation depicted, the springs form an angle of exactly 0°, i.e. they are positioned such that the spring forces are exactly aligned with respect each other. In this particular constellation the actual forces on the springs coincide along the same line. In this situation the springs absorb each other’s forces maximally, which prevents these forces from needing absorption directly in the frame. This improves tractability of the motor cycle. In practice the springs may not be exactly in line (i.e. not exactly at an angle of 0°) at each and every moment during use of the vehicle. This is because there is a continuous movement of the springs with respect to the frame and also, since the momentary position during use of the vehicle i.a. depends on the initial positioning of the springs (vehicle standing still, no load) and the actual load (including load originating from cargo and load originating from irregularities of the road) as is commonly known in the art. Typically, the springs are positioned initially such that during normal use (i.e. with a passenger, and riding at an average speed) the springs are exactly in line.

It is noted that this is a specific example of an embodiment incorporating the present invention. For example, the springs may also be of a completely other type, and may also be located at a different position, e.g. underneath the frame, as long as they are positioned in line.

Figure 2

Figure 2 schematically shows the motorcycle of figure 1 with added functional elements to make it practically suitable as a motorcycle. For example, a seat, front fairing, covers, a stand etc.

Figure 3

Figure 3 schematically shows some details of the front wheel suspension. Depicted in figure 3 are the two rigid arms 55 and 55’ of the front arm assembly. These arms are horizontally connected via connecting plate 500. In this plate, attachment member 501 is provided. To this member the lower wishbone lever 56 (not shown in figure 3) is pivotably attached. The member 501 can be displaced in horizontal direction to be positioned anywhere in slots 502. This can be used to alter the rake of the front wheel in order to adjust the motorcycle to individual preferences of the rider. Screw 503 is provided to adjust the position of member 501 in the slots 502.

Claims

A vehicle comprising a frame, and attached to said frame, a first wheel located at the front of the frame and a second wheel located at the rear of the frame, the first wheel being attached to the frame using of a first arm assembly, wherein the first wheel is pivotally attached to a distal end of the first arm assembly, the first arm assembly being movably attached to the frame, and wherein the second wheel is attached to the frame using a second arm assembly, wherein the second wheel is pivotally attached to a distal end of the second arm assembly, the second arm assembly being movably attached to the frame, the vehicle further comprising a first spring about the movement of the first arm assembly relative to the frame and a second spring to prevent the movement of the second arm assembly relative to the frame, characterized in that the first spring is positioned in line with the second spring.

A vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the first arm assembly comprises at least one rigid arm.

A vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that the first arm assembly comprises two parallel rigid arms.

A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first arm assembly is movably attached to the frame via two independent levers that are each rotatably attached to the frame at one end, and rotatably attached to the arm assembly at their other end.

A vehicle according to claim 4, characterized in that each of the levers is shaped as a wishbone lever.

A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second arm assembly comprises at least one rigid arm.

A vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that the second arm assembly comprises one rigid arm that is rotatably connected to the frame.

A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first spring and the second spring are coil springs.

A vehicle according to claim 8, characterized in that both springs are attached to the frame at their distal end relative to the corresponding arm assembly, each spring being attached to the frame at a corresponding attachment location.

A vehicle according to claim 9, characterized in that the two mounting locations of both springs are adjacent.

A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vehicle comprises at least one damper to damp the movement of at least one of the springs.

A vehicle according to claim 11, characterized in that the vehicle comprises two separate dampers, a first damper for damping the movement of the first spring and a second damper for damping the movement of the second spring.

A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vehicle is a motor vehicle, in particular a motorcycle.

A vehicle according to claim 13, characterized in that the vehicle has one front wheel and one rear wheel, the wheels being aligned.

A vehicle according to any one of claims 13 or 14, characterized in that the motor forms part of the frame.