WO2008059346A1

WO2008059346A1 - Device for continuous height adjustment of a handlebar for motorcycles and the like

Info

Publication number: WO2008059346A1
Application number: PCT/IB2007/003471
Authority: WO
Inventors: Salvatore Volpe; Graziano Magnacca
Original assignee: Lvm S.R.L.
Priority date: 2006-11-13
Filing date: 2007-11-13
Publication date: 2008-05-22
Also published as: WO2008059346B1; ITTO20060805A1

Abstract

A device for adjusting the height of a handlebar (H) for motorcycles and the like, having a generally central portion (P) that can be connected to a support (S) via a pair of attachments (1), characterized in that each of said attachments (1) can be translated vertically with respect to said support (S) and in that manoeuvring means (7) are provided for continuously controlling translation thereof u wards or else downwards and subse uent clam in thereof.

Description

"DEVICE FOR CONTINUOUS HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT OF A HANDLEBAR FOR MOTORCYCLES AND THE LIKE"

*** Field of the invention

The present invention relates in general to vehicles with handlebars, such as motorcycles, trikes, quads and the like, and regards more in particular a device for adjusting the height of the handlebar. State of the prior art Typically, in vehicles of the above sort the handlebar is rigidly connected, generally in a central portion thereof, to a support via a pair of attachments. In the case of motorcycles, the support is normally constituted by the top plate for connection of the telescopic fork of the front wheel. In this case, each of the two attachments is constituted by a pair of vice elements, a top one and bottom one, gripped between which is the central portion of the handlebar, and is fixed in a through hole of the supporting plate.

In the use of vehicles equipped with handlebars, and in particular for off- road puiposes or for competitions in general, it becomes necessary to adjust the height of the handlebar with respect to the supporting plate according to the characteristics of the motorcyclist or driver. Normally, the handlebar is positioned at a predefined height depending upon the motorcyclist or driver, upon the height of the saddle and the width thereof, which must, however, be modifiable according to the specific physical characteristics of the motorcyclist or driver (height, width of his shoulders, length of his arms, etc.), as well as to the riding position chosen. The need to personalize the position of the handlebar, which on the other hand is frequent for professional motorcyclists or drivers, involves the use of shimming elements designed to be inserted between the supporting plate and the attachments. This necessarily involves disassembly of the attachments themselves and of the handlebar, and their re-assembly after insertion of the shims, which evidently involves relatively long and complex operations. In addition, this system entails availability of a multiplicity of different shims and on the other hand enables the height of the handlebar to be adjusted only in a discrete way, using each time shims to obtain different heights so that the identification of the optimal positioning in height of the handlebar involves successive approximations, each time with the need to remove and replace the attachments and the handlebar.

Summary of the invention

The purpose of the invention is to overcome the aforesaid drawback, and to provide an adjustment device that will enable the possibility of continuous, instead of in a discrete, adjustment of the height of the handlebar, with operations that are simple and fast and in particular without requiring disassembly of the handlebar itself and/or of the corresponding attachments to the supporting plate.

According to the invention, the above purpose is achieved thanks to the fact that each of the aforesaid attachments can be translated vertically with respect to said support and to the fact that manoeuvring means are provided for continuously controlling translation thereof upwards or else downwards, and subsequent clamping thereof.

Preferably, the manoeuvring means are of the external-screw/intemal-screw type and are provided in such a way that the screw can be actuated in order to enable continuous adjustment of the height of the handlebar, without requiring either separation between said central part of the handlebar and the corresponding attachment or disassembly of said attachments from the aforesaid support.

The invention envisages different embodiments of the adjustment device, in which each attachment can be inserted in a vertically translatable way within a respective sleeve fixed to the support via the aforesaid screw, and in this case the internal screw is carried by the bottom vice element of the attachment, or else in which each attachment is connected to the support in a vertically translatable way along a respective turret and includes the internal screw. In this case, the screw extends through the turret for fixing it to the support, and is accessible at the top of the turret itself for the adjustment manoeuvre.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the annexed plates of drawings, which are provided purely by way of non-limiting example and in which: - Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a handlebar for a motorcycle in accordance with the prior art;

- Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1 showing the same handlebar for motorcycle of Figure 1 but equipped with a device for adjusting the height according to a first embodiment of the invention; - Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view at a larger scale illustrating one of the attachments used in Figure 1 ;

- Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating the attachment of Figure 3 with the corresponding sleeve;

- Figure 5 is an exploded view of the attachment of Figure 4; - Figure 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the attachment of Figure 4, represented in which is also the supporting plate of the attachment;

- Figure 7 shows a first variant of one of the attachments used in the adjustment device according to the invention; and

- Figure 8 shows a second variant of one of the attachments used in the adjustment device according to the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

With initial reference to Figure 1 , the reference H designates a handlebar of motorcycle connected in a conventional way, according to the state of the art, to a support S constituted by the top plate of the telescopic fork for suspension of the front wheel of the motorcycle. The handlebar H, typically constituted by a tubular element with external diameter comprised between 22.2 and 28.6 mm, has a central portion P fixed to the supporting plate S by means of a pair of attachments set at a distance apart from one another, both designated by 1.

The attachments 1, one of which is represented in detail in Figure 3, are conventionally each constituted by a pair of vice elements, namely, a top one 2 and a bottom one 3, defining respective generally semicircular seats, gripped between which is the central portion P of the handlebar H. Clamping of the portion P with respect to the attachments 1 is obtained, for each of them, via a pair of through screws 4 that grip the vice elements 2, 3 together and are clamped with respect to the plate S.

With said known arrangement, as has already been explained previously, the adjustment in height of the handlebar H, i.e., its positioning at increasing distances with respect to the supporting plate S, is obtained by means of interposition, between the bottom vice elements 3 of the attachments 1 and the supporting plate S, of shimming plates 5 of variable thickness or number, according to the adjustment chosen. The adjustment evidently involves disassembly of the handlebar H with the attachments 1 with respect to the plate S, via disengagement of the fastening screws 4, and subsequent re-assembly.

These operations are altogether eliminated thanks to the adjustment device according to the invention, a first embodiment of which is exemplified in Figure - A -

2, where parts that are identical or similar to the ones already described previously with reference to Figure 1 are designated by the same reference numbers as the ones used in Figures 4 to 6.

In this first embodiment, as in the alternative ones that will be described in what follows, each of the attachments 1 of the handlebar H can be translated vertically with respect to the supporting plate S by means of a manoeuvring member, which can be actuated without requiring either separation between the central part P of the handlebar H and the attachments 1 or disassembly of said attachments 1 from the supporting plate S. In the first embodiment according to Figures 2 and 4 to 6, each attachment

1 , also in this case constituted by a top vice element 2 and a bottom vice element

3, joined together via screws 4 for fastening the central part P of the handlebar H, is mounted so that it can slide vertically within a respective guide sleeve 6, which is in turn fixed to the supporting plate S via a stem 7, which is either partially or totally threaded on the outside, onto the bottom end of which a nut 8 is screwed for bottom clamping thereof. The stem 7 has in its top part an internally threaded cavity 9, within which there engages, like an internal screw, a threaded stem 10 projecting downwards from the bottom vice element 3 and clamped in rotation with respect to the latter via a head 11. In order to carry out continuous height adjustment of the handlebar H with respect to the supporting plate S, it is sufficient to turn each stem 7 in one direction or in the opposite direction, after loosening the corresponding nut 8, so as to bring about translation either upwards or downwards of the internal screw 10 and thus of the respective attachment 1 with respect to the corresponding sleeve 6. For clamping each stem 7 in the desired position of adjustment of the handlebar H, it is sufficient to tighten^'the respective nut 8 again.

The second embodiment, represented in Figure 7, differs from the one described above only as regards two aspects: the external-screw/internal-screw manoeuvring system for controlling vertical adjustment of each attachment 1 and hence of the handlebar H with respect to the supporting plate S is, in this case, constituted by an externally threaded top portion 9a of the stem 7 and by an internally threaded hole 10a formed in the base of the sleeve 6. An internally threaded bushing 17, screwed on the top end of the thread 9a, axially connects the stem 7 rotatably to the bottom vice element 3 of the attachment 1. In addition, in this variant, each attachment 1 is equipped with a transverse pin 12 slidably projecting within a side slit 13 of the sleeve 6 and functioning as travel limiter in regard to the vertical translations of the attachment 1 with respect to the sleeve 6.

Also in this case, in order to carry out continuous height adjustment of the

5 handlebar H with respect to the supporting plate S, it is sufficient to turn each stem 7 in one direction or in the opposite direction, after loosening the corresponding nut 8, so as to bring about translation either upwards or downwards of the respective attachment 1 with respect to the corresponding sleeve 6.

The third embodiment, represented in Figure 8 and currently considered

10 preferred, envisages for each attachment 1 - instead of the sleeve 6 of the preceding embodiments - a turret 14, through which the stem 7 rotatably extends, formed with an external thread 9b mating with an internal thread 1 Ob carried by one and/or the other vice element 2, 3 or else fonried integrally with the latter.

The stem 7 has, at its bottom, a manoeuvring head 15, accessible from 15 underneath the plate S, via which - after loosening of the nut 8 — rotation of the screw 9b and consequent translation of the internal screw 10b and thus of the attachment 1 along the turret 14 is controlled either upwards or downwards.

Each attachment 1 projects in cantilever fashion through a vertical guide opening of the respective turret 14, the ends of which 16 function as end-of-travel 20 arrests.

At the end of adjustment, the two attachments 1 are clamped with respect to the corresponding turret 14, and hence with respect to the supporting plate S, by fastening of the respective nuts 8.

Of course, the details of construction and the embodiments may vary widely 25 with respect to what is described and illustrated herein, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the ensuing claims. Thus, even though, in all the embodiments exemplified, the system of adjustment in height and subsequent clamping of the attachments 1 envisages an external- screw/internal-screw system, there can likewise be provided equivalent 30. mechanical or even hydraulic systems.

Claims

1. A device for adjusting the height of a handlebar (H) for motorcycles and the like, having a generally central portion (P) that can be rigidly connected to a support (S) via a pair of attachments (1), characterized in that each of said attachments (1) can be translated vertically with respect to said support (S) and in that manoeuvring means (7) are provided for continuously controlling translation thereof upwards or else downwards and subsequent clamping thereof.

2. The adjustment device according to Claim 1, characterized in that said manoeuvring means (7) use an external-screw/internal-screw system (9, 10; 9a,

10a; 9b, 10a; 9b).

3. The adjustment device according to Claim 2, characterized in that the screw (9; 9a; 9b) of said external-screw/internal-screw system (9, 10; 9a, 10a; 9b, 10b) can be actuated without requiring either separation between said central part (P) of the handlebar (H) and the corresponding attachment (1), or disassembly between said attachment (1) and said support (S).

4. The adjustment device according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which each attachment (1) includes a first, top, vice element (2) and a second, bottom, vice element (3), gripped between which is said central part (P) of the handlebar (H), characterized in that each attachment (1) is inserted so that it can slide vertically within a respective sleeve (6) fixed to said support (S) via a rotatable stem (7) fixed with respect to said screw (9), and in that said internal screw (10) is carried by the bottom vice element (3) of the attachment (1).

5. The adjustment device according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which each attachment (1) includes a first, top, vice element (2) and a second, bottom, vice element (3), gripped between which is said central part (P) of the handlebar (H), characterized in that each attachment (1) is inserted so that it can slide vertically within a respective sleeve (6) fixed to said support (S) via a rotatable stem (7) fixed with respect to said screw (9a), and in that said internal screw (10a) is carried by said sleeve (6).

6. The adjustment device according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which each attachment (1) includes a first, top, vice element (2) and a second, bottom, vice element (3), gripped between which is said central portion (P) of the handlebar (H), characterized in that each attachment (1) is mounted so that it can slide vertically along a respective turret (14) and includes said internal screw (10b), and in that the screw (9b) extends rotatably through said turret (14) for fixing it to said support (S).

7. The adjustment device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it moreover includes means of arrest (12; 16) for limiting the vertical travel of said attachments (1).