JPH0443631Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] <Field of industrial application> The present invention relates to an alignment device for a front fork, and more specifically, an inner tube on the axle side is inserted into an outer tube on the vehicle body side, and a damper is installed in the outer tube and inner tube. This invention relates to an alignment device for a front fork for a two-wheeled vehicle, which is installed in an upside-down manner.

<Prior art> For example, an inverted front fork in which an inner tube is slidably inserted into an outer tube and a damper is installed inside the outer tube and the inner tube is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5666/1983. It has been known.

In this front fork, the upper end of the piston rod is connected via a pin and ring to a mounting bracket provided at the upper end of the outer tube, and the lower end of the damper cylinder is also connected to the upper end of the inner tube via a pin and ring.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> If coaxiality between the piston rod connected to the inner tube side and the cylinder connected to the outer tube side is not ensured, the sliding resistance of the damper will increase and the smoothness of operation will be affected. will be lacking.

Therefore, in order to eliminate the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an alignment device in the connecting portion of the piston rod to reduce sliding resistance and improve smoothness of operation.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above object, the structure of the present invention is that the axle side inner tube is slidably inserted into the vehicle body side outer tube, and there is a single tube inside the outer tube and the inner tube. In a front fork with an inverted cylindrical damper, a hollow support rod is erected from the bottom of the inner tube, a flange and a spacer are connected to the outer periphery of the lower part of the piston rod, and a flange is formed at the upper end of the support rod. A feature is that the piston rod is interposed between the flange and the spacer, and a gap is formed between the flange and the flange, and between the outer periphery of the spacer and the inner periphery of the support rod, and movement of the piston rod in the radial direction and the inclination direction is allowed through the gap. That is.

<Operation> If the axes of the piston rod and the cylinder do not match, the piston rod moves in the radial direction to make the axes of the two coincide. Further, if the axes of the cylinder and piston rod intersect, the piston rod is inclined in a direction along the axis of the cylinder, so that the axes of both are aligned.

Therefore, the sliding resistance of the damper is reduced and the smoothness of operation is improved.

<Example> An inner tube 4 is slidably inserted into the outer tube 1 via a piston portion 2 and a bearing 3, and a monocylindrical damper 5 is installed inside the outer tube 1 and the inner tube 4 in an inverted manner. ing.

The outer tube 1 is attached to the front body of a two-wheeled vehicle via an under bracket and an upper bracket held on its outer periphery, and the inner tube 4 is coupled to an axle via a bracket 6 coupled to its lower part.

The bracket 6 is also connected to the brake caliper via attachment parts 7, 7, so that the front fork A is held in an inverted state between the vehicle body and the axle.

The damper 5 has a hollow piston rod 10 slidably inserted into the damper cylinder 8 via a piston part 9 and a bearing part 9a. and 12, and a gas chamber 13' filled with air, gas, etc. is formed above the upper end oil chamber 13.

The damper cylinder 8 has a cylinder tube 14
The piston rod 10 is connected to the upper end of the outer tube 1 via a connecting portion 15 having an alignment mechanism, and the base end of the piston rod 10 is connected to the center of the bottom of the inner tube 4 via a connecting portion 16 also having an alignment mechanism. As a result, the damper 5 is installed in an inverted state.

A bearing 3 and an oil seal 17 are provided on the lower inner periphery of the outer tube 1, and a dust lip 19 is integrally provided on a cover 18 held at the lower end. is in sliding contact with the outer periphery of the inner tube 4.

An oil chamber 20 is defined between the outer tube 1 and the inner tube 4, and this oil chamber 20 communicates with an oil chamber 22 through an oil hole 21 provided in the inner tube 4.

The oil chamber 22 is divided into the outer tube 1 and the inner tube 4.
The oil level is up to an arbitrary height in the outer tube 1, and above this oil level there is a gas part 2 such as air.
3 is provided.

An upper spring seat 26 having a through hole 24 and a bush 25 is held on the outer periphery of the damper cylinder 8 by a snap spring or the like, and a lower spring seat 28 is also held on the lower connecting portion 16 side so that its position can be adjusted freely. A suspension spring 27 is interposed between the upper and lower spring seats 26 and 28, and this suspension spring 27 constantly urges the damper cylinder 8 upward, so that the outer tube 1 that is interlocked with the damper cylinder 8 is constantly pushed upward. I'm trying to be like that.

The lower connecting portion 16 of the piston rod 10 has a vertically standing support rod 29.
A plurality of annular grooves 30 serving as locking portions are formed on the outer periphery of the holder, and by selectively engaging one of the annular grooves 30 with the lower spring seat 30 via a stopper, the lower spring seat 30 can be brought into the engaged position. The corresponding initials are set in the suspension spring 27.

The suspension spring 27 comes into sliding contact with the inner periphery of the inner tube 4 during expansion and contraction, but the outer tube is usually made of lightweight metal such as aluminum, while the inner tube 4 is made of iron. For this reason, even when the suspension spring 27 comes into sliding contact, almost no abrasion powder is produced.

A cushion spring 31 is provided above the spring seat 26 via a stopper on the outer periphery of the damper cylinder 8, and when extended, the cushion spring 31 comes into contact with the upper part 32 of the inner tube 4 to reduce the impact. It's getting old.

The upper connecting part 15 includes a cap 33 and a spacer 3.
4, a nut 35 and a positioning member 36.

The cap 33 is connected to the upper end of the outer tube 1 via a screw and a seal, and a spherical surface 37 serving as a guide surface is formed on the lower surface of the cap 33. This spherical surface 37 may be a tapered surface.

The spacer 34 is hollow, and the outer periphery of the lower flange fits into the upper part of the cylinder tube 14, and is held by a snap spring.

The positioning member 36 is made of a cylindrical column,
This column is fitted into and held at the upper end of the cylinder tube 14, and a curved chamfered portion 38 serving as an annular centering portion is provided on the upper portion of the column.
It is in contact with the spherical surface 37 of No. 3. The chamfered portion 38 may not be curved but may have a right angle, and in the case of a right angle, the end portion is in annular line contact with the spherical surface 37 or the tapered surface.

The guide surface of the cap 33 and the positioning member 36 constitute an alignment mechanism.

Attach the nut 35 to the top of the spacer 34,
When this is rotated and tightened, the spacer 34, the cylinder tube 14, and the damper cylinder 8 connected to the cylinder tube 14 are pulled up.
At this time, the positioning member 36 is pulled up and the chamfered portion 38 comes into close contact with the spherical surface 37, resulting in the cylinder tube 14 being coupled to the cap 36.

The cylinder tube 14 is connected to the damper cylinder 8
The positioning member 36 may be integrally formed with the upper end of the cylinder tube 14 or the damper cylinder 8.

A lid body 14a is attached to the inside of the upper part of the cylinder tube 14 through two upper and lower snap springs and a seal.
At the same time, the upper end of a hollow pipe 39 is connected to the inner lower part of the lid body 14a with a screw or the like, and the hollow pipe 39 is vertically disposed concentrically with the cylinder tube 14.

An adjuster 40, a drive member 41, and a control rod 43 are inserted in series from above into the spacer 34, the lid 14a, and the hollow pipe 39, and an air valve 42 is inserted into the upper hollow 45 of the control rod 43. The hollow portion 45 communicates with a hole formed in the control valve 43 and a hole 46 formed in the hollow pipe 39, and this hole 46 communicates with the gas chamber 13' in the cylinder tube 14.
The sealing pressure inside the damper 5 can be adjusted by supplying and discharging gas from the air valve 43.

The gas chamber 13' of the upper end oil chamber 13 is in contact with the oil surface, and there is a baffle plate 4 on the oil surface to prevent oil from blowing up.
7 is floating.

The adjuster 40 is irregularly connected to the drive member 41,
The drive member 41 is screwed onto the inner periphery of the spacer 34, and its lower end is connected to the control rod 43.
When it comes into contact with the upper end and rotates the adjuster 40, the drive member 41 is interlocked, rotates while being guided by the screw, and also moves in the vertical direction, and the downward movement of the drive member 41 is transmitted to the control rod 43. Move this downward, and at this time, as described later,
A needle valve 44 provided at the lower end of the control rod 43 adjusts the damping force.

The adjuster 40 is positioned on the spacer 34 via the daytent 45. The upward return of the control rod 43 is effected by the pressure within the damper 5.

Next, the lower connecting portion 16 will be described.

A bottom 48 is removably connected to the lower end of the inner tube 4, that is, the lower inner periphery of the bracket 6 connected to the inner tube 4 via screws and seals, and a hollow support is provided at the upper inner periphery of the bottom 48. The rod 29 is inserted, and a cap 49 is screwed onto the lower inner circumference of the support rod 29 and the lower inner circumference of the bottom 48, thereby holding the support rod 29 upright and drawing it onto the bottom 48 at the same time.

On the other hand, a base 51 of a hollow oil hole rod 50, a flange 52 having a T-shaped cross section, and a hollow spacer 53 are sequentially screwed in series to the lower part of the piston rod 10.
The inner flange portion 29a of the support rod 29 is engaged between the support rod 29 and the spacer 53. And between the body of the collar 52 and the flange 29a, and the spacer 5
Arbitrary gaps 54, 55, and 56 are formed between the piston rod 1 and the flange portion 29a, and between the flange portion 29a of the collar 52, respectively.
0 is slidably connected to the support rod 29 in the radial and oblique directions. An elastic body 56a is interposed in the gap 56 so that the flange portion 29 of the support rod 29
By abutting the upper end of the spacer 53, the piston rod 10 is prevented from wobbling in the axial direction.

The body portions of the spacer 53 and the collar 52 may be integral with the piston rod 10, or gaps 54 and 55 may be formed directly between the piston rod 10 itself and the support rod 29.

The gaps 54, 55, 56 are the piston rod 10.
When the piston rod 10 and the damper cylinder 8 are assembled or when the piston rod 10 and the damper cylinder 8 are assembled, or when the coaxiality of the two is not ensured and the sliding resistance is large, the piston rod 10 will close the gaps 54, 55, 5.
The piston rod 10 is movable in the radial and inclination directions within a permissible range of 6 to align the axis of the piston rod 10 with the axis of the damper cylinder 8, thereby reducing the sliding resistance of the damper 5 and improving the smoothness of its operation.

A drive member 57 and an adjuster 58 are inserted in series inside the spacer 53, the drive member 57 is screwed onto the spacer 53 so as to be movable up and down, the adjuster 58 is connected to the drive member 57 in a different shape, and the date tent When the adjuster 58 is rotated from the outside with the cap 49 removed, the drive member 57 rotates and moves vertically.

Inside the hollow piston rod 10 is a needle valve 6.
4, a control rod 62, and a spacer 63 are inserted in series, and the vertical movement of the drive member 57 is transmitted to the control rod 62 and needle valve 64 via the spacer 63. A return spring 68 is provided at the upper part of the needle valve 64, and the upper end of the return spring 68 is connected to the valve housing 6 whose upper end is connected to the piston rod 10.
0, and the return spring 68 always urges the needle valve 64 downward.

The needle valve 64 has a needle 61 formed at its upper end, and is adapted to adjust the damping force on the extension side as described later.

Next, the monotube type inverted damper 5 will be described.

The damper 5 is connected to the damper cylinder 8 as described above.
A piston rod 10 is movably inserted therein via a piston portion 9 and a bearing 9a, and the piston portion 9 defines upper and lower oil chambers 11 and 12.

A valve housing 60 is coupled to the upper end of the piston rod 10, and a rebound damping force generating device 65 is incorporated in this valve housing 60. That is, as shown in FIG.
When the piston part 9 and the stopper 78 are connected to the nut 79
is held in

A port 80 is formed in the piston portion 9, and a disk 83 in which a leaf valve 81 and a port 82 are formed is provided at the mouth end of the port 80 to face each other, and the disk 83 is held by a spring 84 and a cap 85.

Therefore, in the extension operation, the disk 83 and the leaf valve 81 are in the illustrated state, and the lower oil chamber 1
When the predetermined pressure of No. 2 is reached, the leaf valve 81 is bent and opened to generate a desired damping force.

In addition, in the compression operation, the disk 83 and the leaf valve 81 are pushed against the spring 84 by the pressure in the upper oil chamber 11, and the through hole 80 is pushed out from the upper oil chamber 11.
The structure is such that oil is supplied to the lower oil chamber 12 through the lower oil chamber 12.

An upper oil chamber 11 is provided on the inner periphery of the valve housing 60.
A passage 66 is provided that opens to the lower oil chamber 12 through an oil hole 67 formed in the valve housing 60.
A check valve 68 is provided in the middle of the valve 7, and the check valve 68 contacts the needle 61 so that it can be opened and closed by the pressure of the upper oil chamber 11 and the lower oil chamber 12, and guides the valve housing 60 to move up and down. has been done.

That is, the check valve 68 is pushed up by the internal pressure of the lower oil chamber 12 when the damper 5 is extended.
At this time, a rebound damping force is generated depending on the opening area between the needle 61 and the needle 61. The size of the opening area is determined by rotating the adjuster 58 and adjusting the position of the needle valve 64.

Further, when the damper 5 is compressed, the check valve 68 comes into contact with the needle 61 due to the pressure of the upper oil chamber 12, thereby closing the communication between the passage 66 and the oil hole 67.

A seal case 69 is held on the inner periphery of the lower part of the damper cylinder 8 via upper and lower stoppers, and seals 70, 70 and a bearing 9a are held within this seal case 69. guide and
Prevents oil leakage.

Furthermore, a cylindrical hollow oil lock piece 71 is connected downward to the lower end of the damper cylinder 8 with a screw or the like, and an oil chamber 72 is defined within this oil lock piece 71. It opens into the oil chamber 22 in the inner tube 4 via an oil hole 73 formed in the piece 71.

Two bushes 74 are held at the bottom of the oil lock piece 71, and the bushes 74 slide on the outer periphery of the piston rod 10, with a slight gap being formed between the bushes 74 and the piston rod 10.

As described above, the oil hole rod 50 is provided on the outer periphery of the lower part of the piston rod 10, and the hollow cushion chamber 75 formed in the oil hole rod 50 faces the oil lock piece 71, so that the oil lock piece 71 and the oil The hole rod 50 constitutes a shock absorbing device that applies the cushion near the maximum compression.

A tapered surface that expands upward is formed on the inner circumference of the oil hole rod 50, and the oil lock piece 71 is attached to the oil hole rod 5.
When inserted into the cushion chamber 75 of No. 0, the oil in the cushion chamber 75 can gradually flow out to the oil chamber 22 side.

A through hole 76 for opening the cushion chamber 75 below the oil chamber 22 is formed in the lower part of the oil hole rod 50, and a check valve 77 is provided at the end of the through hole 76 on the side of the cushion chamber 75 so as to be openable and closable. .

A compression side damping force generating device 87 is provided at the upper part of the damper cylinder 8 .

That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a cylindrical valve housing 88 is coupled downwardly to the lower part of the hollow pipe 39, and a piston 89, a collar 83, and a valve stopper 90 are provided on the outer circumferential side of the valve housing 88. is held through a nut 91. The piston 89 has a port 92 which is the main passage.
is formed, and a port 94' is formed opposite to port 92.
A disk 94 is provided with a piston 89 .
A leaf valve 93 for opening and closing a port 94' is provided between the cap 94 and the disk 94, and the disk 94 is held by a cap 96 via a spring 87.

Cap 96 has spaced support legs 96'.

Therefore, in the extension operation, the pressure in the upper end oil chamber 13 presses the leaf valve 93 and the disk 94 against the spring 97, and the oil in the upper end oil chamber 13 flows from between the port 92 and the support leg 96' to the upper oil chamber. Room 1
1.

In addition, during compression operation, the leaf valve 93 and the disk 94 are in the state shown in the figure, but when the pressure in the upper oil chamber 11 reaches a predetermined value, the leaf valve 93 is bent, and the oil in the upper oil chamber 11 is compressed by the leaf valve 93. While receiving the oil, it flows into the upper end oil chamber and generates a compression damping force.

A passage 97 that opens the port 92 to the upper oil chamber 13 is formed between the valve housing 88 and the damper cylinder 8 .
An oil hole 98 is formed in the middle of the valve housing 88, and this oil hole 98 communicates with the passage 97 and connects the upper oil chamber 11 and the upper end oil chamber 13 through a passage 99 which is a bypass provided on the inner peripheral side of the valve housing 88. are communicating.

The opening area of the passage 99 is adjusted as the needle valve 44 facing it moves up and down, and a compression damping force is generated in accordance with the opening area.

Next, the operation will be described.

At the time of extension, the outer tube 1 extends upward, and at this time, the damper cylinder 8 extends in conjunction with the outer tube 1, and a damping force is generated by the extension side damping force generation device. That is, when the damper cylinder 8 extends, the bearing 9a rises and the lower oil chamber 12
is compressed, and the upper oil chamber 11 expands.

When the lower oil chamber 12 is compressed, the oil inside flows into the oil hole 67.
The check valve 68 is pushed open and the oil flows out from the passage 66 into the upper oil chamber 11. At the opening formed by the check valve 66 and the needle 61, a damping force corresponding to the opening area is generated, and the elongation speed becomes faster. Oil chamber 12
When the differential pressure between the oil chamber and the upper oil chamber 11 increases, the leaf valve 81 is also pushed open from the port 82, and the oil flows out from the port 80 to the upper oil chamber 11, and a damping force is also generated due to the deflection of the leaf valve 81.

Furthermore, a piston rod 10 is installed in the upper oil chamber 11.
The amount of oil corresponding to the exit volume is also transferred from the upper end oil chamber 13 to the passage 9.
2, the leaf valve 93 and the disk 94 are pressed open, and the oil is supplied to the upper oil chamber 11.

The area of the opening formed between the needle 61 and the check valve 68 is adjusted during or after assembly by rotating the adjuster 58 and moving the control rod 62 up and down.

On the other hand, during compression operation, the outer tube 1 and damper cylinder 8 descend, and at this time, the upper oil chamber 11 is compressed, the lower oil chamber 12 expands, and the oil in the upper oil chamber 11 flows through the passage 66 and the through hole 80. Further, the pressure in the upper oil chamber 11 causes the leaf valve 81 and disk 83 to be pressed open against the spring 84, and the oil also flows into the lower oil chamber 12 through the port 80. In addition, oil corresponding to the volume of intrusion of the piston rod 10 flows through the passage 99 to the upper oil chamber 1.
3.

At this time, a compression damping force is generated in accordance with the opening area narrowed by the needle valve 44. When the speed increases and the differential pressure between the oil chambers 11 and 13 increases, the leaf valve 93 is pushed open from the port 94, and oil flows out from the ports 92 and 94' to the upper oil chamber.
At this time, a damping force is also generated due to the deflection of the leaf valve 91.

The oil flowing upward from the passage 92 during compression collides with the baffle plate 47 and suddenly collapses into the gas chamber 1 of the upper end oil chamber 13.
3' prevents the oil from blowing up, thereby preventing air, gas, etc. from getting mixed into the oil.
The gas pressure in the upper end oil chamber 13 is adjusted by the amount of sealed air and gas from the air valve 42.

Further, the opening area of the passage 88 is adjusted during or after assembly by rotating the adjuster 40 and moving the needle valve 44 up and down.

Furthermore, when the damper cylinder 8 is lowered and positioned near the maximum compression, the oil lock piece 71 is fitted into the oil hole rod 50. At this time, the oil in the cushion chamber 75 flows into the oil chamber 22 from between the inner circumferential tapered surface of the oil hole rod 50 and the outer circumference of the oil lock piece 71, and at this time, the cushion is activated and the damper cylinder 8
This prevents the oil lock piece 71 from suddenly bottoming out. Further, a part of the oil in the cushion chamber 75 flows into the oil chamber 72 through the inner peripheral gap of the bush 74, and the oil in the oil chamber 72 flows out into the oil chamber 22 through the oil hole 73.

When the oil lock piece 71 shifts from the state in which it is fitted to the oil hole rod 50 to the extension operation, the oil in the oil chamber 22 is sucked into the cushion chamber 75 by pushing open the check valve 77 through the oil hole 76. room 7
No. 2 oil flows through the inner peripheral gap of the bush 74.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which the cylinder tube, oil blow-up prevention mechanism, and alignment mechanism are slightly modified.

That is, the gas chamber 13' is separated from the upper end oil chamber 11 by an elastic material such as a bellows, and the gas chamber 13' and the upper end oil chamber 1 are separated.
1 is completely separated, and the oil in the oil chamber 11 is prevented from mixing with the gas in the gas chamber 13'.

The cylinder tube 14 connected to the upper end of the damper cylinder 8 is bent outward to allow expansion of the bellows 47, and its upper end is held between the cap 14a and the outer tube 1. Bellows 47 and cylinder tube 14 have caps 14a.
A spacer 34 is fitted into the cap 14a, and the lower flange portion of the spacer 34 is used as a positioning member 36, on which a chamfered portion 38 for centering is formed.
The operation and effect are the same as the embodiment shown in FIG.

<Effect of the idea> According to the present invention, the following effects are achieved.

When connecting the damper to the outer tube and inner tube, even if the coaxiality of the damper piston rod and damper cylinder is not ensured, there will be gaps between the support rod and the collar and between the support rod and the spacer. Since the piston rod moves in the radial and oblique directions along the axis of the damper cylinder to achieve alignment, the sliding resistance of the damper can be reduced and the smoothness of operation can be improved.

Since the flange portion of the support rod is interposed between the collar and the spacer, the piston rod does not come off in the axial direction. In this case, to prevent it from coming off, simply connect the collar and spacer to the piston rod.
Good workability and assembly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a front fork according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a partially longitudinal sectional front view of the rebound damping force generating valve, and Fig. 3 is a partially longitudinal sectional front view of the compression side damping force generating valve. 4 are vertical sectional front views of the upper part of a front fork according to another embodiment of the present invention. 1... Outer tube, 4... Inner tube, 5... Damper, 10... Piston rod, 52... Tsuba, 54, 55... Gap.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In the front fork, the inner tube on the axle side is slidably inserted into the outer tube on the vehicle body side, and the monocylindrical damper is installed upside down inside the outer tube and inner tube. The rod is erected, the flange and spacer are connected to the outer periphery of the lower part of the piston rod, and the flange formed at the upper end of the support rod is interposed between the flange and the spacer. A gap is formed between the
A centering device for a front fork, characterized in that the piston rod is allowed to move in the radial and inclination directions through the gap.