JPH0112719B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a vehicle height adjustment device for a motorcycle.

In recent years, attempts have been made to install various fluid devices on motorcycles in order to improve their performance. For example, in order to improve the shock absorbing function of a shock absorber, air suspension is a system in which the amount of extension is changed by controlling the supply and discharge of pressurized air using a pressure pump, etc. This makes it possible to maintain a good ride comfort when the vehicle gets tired, or when the vehicle changes from driving on a paved road to driving on a rough road, without preventing bottoming out.

In motorcycles with such air suspension installed on the front and rear sides, the appropriate pressure set for the shock absorber is significantly different between the front and rear sides, and the latter side is generally larger than the former side. pressure range. Because of this difference in set pressure between the front and rear, in conventional equipment, pressure gauges are installed independently on the front and rear sides to detect the pressure of each shock absorber, and the pressure is adjusted independently for each shock absorber. In other words, the vehicle height adjustment). For this reason, it is difficult to make these individual adjustments have the same sensitivity on the front and rear sides, which has a large effect on ride comfort. There was also the problem of mechanical complexity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, it is an object of the present invention to easily adjust the sensitivity of the front shock absorber and the rear shock absorber to be the same, and to simplify the adjustment mechanism. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle height adjustment device for a motorcycle, which allows the user to adjust the vehicle height of a motorcycle.

The vehicle height adjustment device of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following features:
The pressurized fluid supply path extending from the pressurizing pump is branched into two, and the front shock absorber is connected to one branch path via an on-off valve, and the rear shock absorber is connected to the other branch path via an on-off valve. The expansion amount of each shock absorber can be individually adjusted by supplying and discharging pressurized fluid to either the front side shock absorber or the rear side shock absorber by selective operation of the both opening/closing valves. In the pressurized fluid supply path from the pressure pump to both the opening and closing valves, one pressure sensor common to both the shock absorbers is provided, and a pressurized fluid discharge valve is attached, and the pressure sensor detects the pressure sensor. A comparison circuit is provided to compare the signal with the pressure setting value for each buffer via a range switching circuit that inputs the selection signal of both opening/closing valves, and the control signal of this comparison circuit is used to control the pressure pump and pressurized fluid discharge. The invention is characterized in that it is configured to selectively operate the valve for use.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained with reference to examples shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a motorcycle equipped with an air suspension as a shock absorber. A main frame 2 and a down tube 3 extend diagonally rearward from the top and bottom positions of the head pipe 1, and an engine 4 is mounted below the down tube 3. Furthermore, an air suspension 6 is provided between the rear end of the main frame 2 and the upper end of the rear arm 5, as shown in detail in FIG. Reference numeral 8 denotes an air suspension having a similar structure and provided at the tip of the front fork 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the above-mentioned air suspension 6 has as its main parts a cylinder 20, a piston 21 fitted into the cylinder 20 so as to be movable up and down, and a rod 22 connected to the piston 21. . The cylinder 20 is filled with oil, and as the piston 21 moves up and down, the oil moves up and down the piston 21.
It flows to pass through holes provided inside, and the flow resistance generated at this time generates a buffering force. Further, a free piston 23 is fitted below the cylinder 20, and an inert gas is filled in a space within the lower cylinder 20 that is partitioned by the free piston 23.

On the other hand, a cylindrical case 24 connected to a rod 22 is fitted into the upper part of the cylinder 20 so as to be movable up and down. The inner wall of this case 24 and the cylinder 20
A rubber bellows 25 is provided between the outer wall and the outer wall of the rubber bellows 25, and an air chamber 26 is formed inside the bellows 25. Air pressurized by a compressor 10, which will be described later, is pressurized into the air chamber 26 so that it functions as an air pump. In addition, a spring receiver 2 provided at the lower end of the case 24 and the lower part of the cylinder 20
A spring 28 is inserted between the spring 28 and the spring 7.
Therefore, by changing the amount of pressurized air supplied to the air chamber 26, the air suspension 6 moves the case 24 up and down to expand and contract the entire case, and this operation reduces the buffering force of the air suspension by the air chamber 26 and the spring. 28 buffering forces can be adjusted simultaneously.

FIG. 3 schematically shows a vehicle height adjusting device of the present invention based on the air suspension 6 described above, and FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the device.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 10 denotes a pressure pump (compressor) that pressurizes air, which is driven by a motor 11 to pressurize the air sucked from the air cleaner 12, and passes it through the check valve 16 to the supply path 1.
It is designed to be pumped to 3. The end of the supply path 13 is branched into branch paths 14r and 14f, and air suspensions 6, 8 are provided in each branch path 14r, 14f via solenoid valves 15r, 15f, which are opening/closing valves, respectively. Further, a branch path is provided from the middle of the supply path 13, and a solenoid valve 17 is provided as a pressurized air discharge valve.

A pressure sensor 18 common to both the air suspensions 6 and 8 is installed in the supply path from the pressure pump 10 to the branch paths 14r and 14f, and the detection signal of this pressure sensor 18 is sent to the controller. 30.
The controller 30 is further supplied with a switching signal for selecting the front side or the rear side, which will be described later, and a pressure setting signal for presetting the shock absorber from an operation panel 31 provided separately. ing. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the operation panel 31 is provided with a front/rear changeover switch 32 and a pressure setting switch 33. In the front/rear selector switch 32, when the switch 32f is turned on, the setting can be made to the front side, and when the switch 32r is turned on, the setting can be made to the rear side. Moreover, the pressure setting switch 33 is designed to allow three types of settings to be made in advance for setting the pressure of the buffer, and the three switches 33s, 33
Of these, turning on switch 33s allows you to set the soft pressure, turning on switch 33h allows you to set the hard pressure, and turning on switch 33t allows you to set the pressure for two people. It is now possible to set the pressure according to the specifications. This pressure setting switch 33
An indicator lamp 34 is provided correspondingly to the pressure setting switch 33, and the lamp 34 is turned on corresponding to which switch 33s, 33h or 33t of the pressure setting switch 33 is turned on.
s, 34h or 34t is lit. The detection signals of the pressure sensor 18 and the signals set by the operation panel 31 are input to the controller 30, and the control signals issued from the controller 30 are transmitted to the solenoid valves 15r, 15f,
17 and motor 11 to perform vehicle height adjustment control.

This adjustment operation will be explained with reference to the control block diagram shown in FIG.

Now that there are two people on board, we will adjust the air suspension 6 on the rear side. First, the main switch 35 is turned on, then the rear side switch 32r of the front/rear switch 32 is turned on, and the two-seater specification switch 33t of the pressure setting switches 33 is turned on. By such a switch operation, the rear solenoid switch 15r is opened via the relay circuit 36, and the supply path 13 is communicated with the air suspension 6. Further, the ON signal of the rear side switch 32r of the front/rear changeover switch 32 is transmitted to the range changeover circuit 37.
is input and the pressure range is switched to match the rear side. On the other hand, the signal detected by the pressure sensor 18 is input to the range switching circuit 37 set in this way, and then compared with the pressure value set for the two-person riding specification by the pressure setting switch 33t input to the comparison circuit 38.

In the signal comparison in the comparison circuit 38,
When the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor 18 is smaller than the pressure value set by the pressure setting switch 33, the output signal from the comparison circuit 38 starts the motor 11 via the relay circuit 39 and starts the pressure pump 1.
0, but the solenoid valve 17 for exhaust
The valve remains closed without being driven. Therefore, pressurized air is supplied to the air suspension 6 and continues to be supplied until the set pressure is reached. Conversely, when the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor 18 is larger than the pressure value set by the pressure setting switch 33, the motor 11 is not started and the exhaust solenoid valve 17 is opened. The pressurized air in the air suspension 6 is exhausted,
Continue until it reaches the set pressure.

This adjustment operation is similarly performed for other pressure settings by the pressure setting switch 33.

The adjustment of the air suspension 8 on the front side is the same as the operation on the rear side described above, and the front side switch 32 in the front/rear changeover switch 32 is
By turning on f, the front side solenoid valve 15f is opened and the range switching circuit 37 is switched to the front side pressure setting. Then, the detection signal from the same pressure sensor 18 is processed according to the specifications set on the front side, and the vehicle height is adjusted.

In the vehicle height adjustment device described above, the pressure sensor 18
Only one pressure sensor 18 is provided, and this pressure sensor 18 serves to detect the pressures of both the front air suspension 6 and the rear air suspension 8. Therefore, compared to conventional equipment that had separate pressure gauges at the front and rear,
The mechanism, including the circuit configuration, is extremely simple.
Furthermore, the vehicle height of both air suspensions is adjusted by comparing the detection signal from this single pressure sensor 18 with pressure values set separately for the front and rear, so the sensitivity of both the front and rear shock absorbers can be adjusted to the same level. Settings can be easily performed.

In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiment explained the case where pressurized air is used as the pressurized fluid of the shock absorber, the present invention can also be used in a shock absorber that uses other pressurized gas or pressurized liquid. be.

As described above, the present invention branches a pressurized fluid supply path extending from a pressurizing pump into two, and connects a front side shock absorber to one branch path via an on-off valve, and connects the front side shock absorber to the other branch path via an on-off valve. the rear shock absorbers are connected to each other, and pressurized fluid is supplied to and discharged from either the front shock absorber or the rear shock absorber by selective operation of both opening/closing valves, thereby adjusting the amount of extension of each shock absorber individually. The pressurized fluid supply path from the pressurizing pump to the both opening/closing valves is configured to be adjustable,
A common pressure sensor is provided for both of the shock absorbers, and a pressurized fluid discharge valve is provided, and the detection signal of the pressure sensor is transmitted through a range switching circuit that inputs selection signals of both the opening and closing valves. A comparison circuit is provided to compare the pressure set value for each shock absorber, and the pressure pump and pressurized fluid discharge valve are selectively operated by the control signal of this comparison circuit. When adjusting the shock absorbers individually, the vehicle height of the front and rear shock absorbers can be adjusted using a single pressure sensor, which simplifies the mechanism and improves the sensitivity of both the adjusted front and rear shock absorbers. It becomes easy to make them the same.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a side view of a motorcycle equipped with the device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air suspension in the motorcycle, and Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle height adjustment device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a control block diagram of the adjusting device, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the operation panel. 6, 8... Air suspension, 10... Motor, 11... Pressure pump, 13... Supply path, 14
r, 14f...branch road, 15r, 15f, 17...
... Solenoid valve, 18 ... Pressure sensor, 3
0...Controller, 31...Operation panel, 32
...Front/backward selector switch, 33...Pressure setting switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 The pressurized fluid supply path extending from the pressurizing pump is branched into two branch paths, the front shock absorber is connected to one branch path via an on-off valve, and the rear shock absorber is connected to the other branch path via an on-off valve. concatenate each,
The pressure pump is configured to supply and discharge pressurized fluid to either the front side shock absorber or the rear side shock absorber to individually adjust the extension amount of each shock absorber by selectively operating the both opening/closing valves. A pressure sensor common to both the shock absorbers is provided in the pressurized fluid supply path from , a comparison circuit is provided which compares the pressure setting value for each shock absorber via a range switching circuit which inputs selection signals for both opening/closing valves, and the pressure pump and the pressurized fluid discharge valve are controlled by the control signal of this comparison circuit. A vehicle height adjustment device for a motorcycle configured to selectively operate.