JPS6330193B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sensor device for detecting steering of a steering wheel relative to a vehicle body of a motorcycle.

For example, the sensor that detects the steering of the steering wheel relative to the vehicle body is a part of an auto-cancellation device that automatically turns off the turn signal lamp after the motorcycle turns, or it detects the steering wheel turning angle from the steering angle center and uses this detection signal. It is used to perform other operations of the motorcycle.

In this way, a steering detection sensor device is installed on a motorcycle, but when installing this device, since the motorcycle is made up of many parts and devices, the positional relationship with these must be taken into consideration. It is necessary to set the assembly position. In particular, since the sensor is a structure made up of electrical components, it is desirable to consider protection from external forces, and it is necessary to set the assembly position so as to meet this requirement.

The present invention has been made to effectively meet the above-mentioned demands, and its objects are to provide a sensor that effectively utilizes the dead space of a motorcycle to detect the steering of a steering wheel relative to the vehicle body, and a sensor for detecting the steering of a steering wheel relative to the vehicle body. To provide a steering detection sensor device for a motorcycle, which assembles and arranges transmission members for transmitting steering, protects them from external forces, and arranges them in a position where they can be isolated from the influence of external forces.

In order to achieve this object, the present invention is characterized in that the sensor and the transmission member are arranged in a space surrounded by the front fork, head pipe, top bridge, and bottom bridge at the front and rear, and the top and bottom.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the main parts of a motorcycle to which the device according to the present invention is applied. A head pipe 2 is fixedly installed at the front end of a body frame 1.
a top bridge 3 extending forward in parallel to the top and bottom of the
A bottom bridge 4 is provided. Both the top and bottom bridges 3, 4 are pivotally held at their rear parts to the head pipe 2 by a steering shaft rotatably inserted into the head pipe 2, so that the bridges 3, 4 can swing from side to side. This is accomplished by steering a handle 6 attached to the top surface of the top bridge 3 via a bracket 5. The upper part of the front fork 8, which supports the front wheel 7 at its lower end, is fixed longitudinally to the front parts of the top bridge 3 and the bottom bridge 4, and the front fork 8 for suspension of the front wheel is connected and held by both bridges 3 and 4.

A sensor 20 for detecting the steering of the steering wheel relative to the vehicle body is installed on the lower surface of the top bridge 3, which is a member on the steering wheel side together with the bottom bridge 4 and the front fork 8. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. This was done by inserting a bolt 9 into a long hole 21a formed in 21 and screwing it onto the top bridge 3.
The sensor 20 is attached with a rotary shaft 22, which is a movable part into which a steering wheel steering amount is input, facing backward, and a bevel gear 10 is mounted on the rotary shaft 22.
A bevel gear 11 cut into an annular shape and shaped into an arc is fixed on the front surface of a head pipe 2 which is a member on the vehicle body side, and both bevel gears 10 and 11 are meshed with each other. This combination of bevel gears 10 and 11 is the second
As shown in the figure, the bevel gear 11 is connected to the bevel gear 10.
The relationship is such that the rotation angle is amplified. Since the position of the sensor 20 can be adjusted back and forth through the elongated hole 21a, the gear engagement can be adjusted to eliminate backlash.

When the top bridge 3 is swung around the head pipe 2 by steering the handle, the sensor 2
0 swings together with the top bridge 3. During this swinging, the bevel gear 10 rotates while meshing with the fixed bevel gear 11, and these bevel gears 10,
11 amplifies and transmits the steering rotation angle of the steering wheel,
This amplified rotation angle is input to the sensor 20. That is, the bevel gears 10 and 11 function as transmission members that amplify the steering wheel steering amount and transmit it to the sensor 20.

FIG. 3 shows a modified embodiment, in which the sensor 20 is attached to the head pipe 2, which is a member on the vehicle body side, and the transmission member 12 is attached to the bottom bridge 4, which is a member on the handle side, contrary to the previous embodiment.
Specifically, the sensor 20 is mounted on a bracket 1 provided on the front surface of the head pipe 2 with the rotating shaft 22 facing downward.
3, the transmission member 12 is an arm that extends rearward while its front end is integrally fixed to the upper surface of the bottom bridge 4 by a fixed shaft 12a, and has a ball portion 12b on the lower surface of its rear end. There is. The rear end of an arm 14 extending forward is fitted onto the rotating shaft 22 of the sensor 20 and is screwed together with a screw 14a, and the arm 14 has a long hole 14b formed therein. The long hole 14b has the above-mentioned spherical portion 12b.
A seat member 15 that encloses the is slidably fitted. The ball part 12b is held by the seat member 15 and the seat member 15 is fitted in the elongated hole 14b so that a gap in rotation angle does not occur in the arms 12 and 14 when the steering wheel is switched between right and left steering. the ball portions 12 within the seat member 15.
sliding property of b and seat member 1 along elongated hole 14b
In order to make the sliding property of arm 5 smooth, arm 1
2, 14. It is effective to make the catch member 15 made of synthetic resin, and in particular, to make the catch member 15 made of oil-impregnated synthetic resin.

The above ball portion 12b, long hole 14b, and seat member 15
ball joint, arm 12 by elongated hole engagement,
14 are connected.

In order to prevent dust from entering the connecting portions of the arms 12 and 14, the arms 12 and 14 may be covered with a dust seal cover 16, and this cover 16 may be filled with a low-viscosity lubricating oil.

When the handle is steered, the bottom bridge 4 swings around the head pipe 2, and the arm 12 swings together with the bottom bridge 4, always facing the direction of the head pipe 2 as shown in FIG. 4, and moving on an arcuate trajectory A. As a result, the arm 14 engaged with the arm 12 in the elongated hole rotates together with the sliding movement in the elongated hole 14b of the seat member 15, that is, the rotating shaft 22 of the sensor 20 is rotated. Similarly, the steering wheel operation angle is amplified as shown in FIG. 4 and is input to the sensor 20 via the rotating shaft 22.

In each of the above embodiments, the sensor 20, bevel gear 11, and arm 12 are used as steering wheel steering transmission members in the space at the front of the motorcycle, which is surrounded by the front fork 8 and head pipe 2 on the front and back, and the top bridge 3 and bottom bridge 4 on the top and bottom. This arrangement makes effective use of the dead space, and as mentioned above, this space is a closed space surrounded by the front, back, top and bottom, so that the sensor 20 and the transmission member are protected from external forces. Be able to isolate and protect.

Furthermore, detection by the sensor 20 can be ensured by amplifying the steering wheel rotation angle.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the sensor 20, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the same side. On the insulating substrate 20a of the sensor 20 is a flat circular resistor 20b.
and an annular conductor 20c inside the rotating shaft 2.
The rotary shaft 22 is provided concentrically with the rotation axis 22 as the center.
A conductive brush 22b having a U-shaped cross section is attached to the insulating arm portion 22a extending in the radial direction from the insulating arm 22a.Both ends of the brush 22b are in contact with the resistor 20b and the conductor 20c, and A conductive state is established between the two. As described above, when the rotating shaft 22 is rotated by the steering operation of the handle,
The arm portion 22a pivots from a corresponding center position B, which is the neutral position of the handle, to positions C and D, for example, depending on the steering angle of the handle and the steering direction, thereby causing the resistor 2 to be in contact with the brush 22b.
The position of the contact 0b changes, the voltage detectable from the resistor 20b changes, and the sensor 20 functions as a potentiometer that outputs the steering wheel steering angle as a voltage value.

Figure 7 shows the sensor 2 that performs the above functions.
0 as an electric element, and this circuit is an auto cancel device that automatically turns off the blinker lamp after the motorcycle turns. One of the detected voltages of the sensor 20 enters the first memory 31 via the switch 30, and the other one enters the first memory 31 via the switch 30.
One enters the comparison circuit 32, and the other one enters the comparison circuit 33. The comparison circuit 32 compares the detected voltage from the sensor 20 and the voltage stored in the memory 31, and when a predetermined condition is satisfied, a high level output is output and the switch 30 is turned on. The switch 30 is turned on or off depending on the output state of the comparator circuit 32 as described above.
However, when the switch 30 is turned on, the voltage stored in the memory is changed to the voltage detected by the sensor 20.

Furthermore, the memory 31 is connected to the second memory via the switch 34.
It is connected to the memory 35 of. This switch 34 activates the timer circuit 3 when the respective output states of the vehicle speed sensor 36 and the comparison circuit 32 satisfy predetermined conditions.
It is turned on by the operation of 7. Therefore, by operating the switch 34, the voltage stored in the memory 31 is selectively transferred to the memory 35, and the voltage corresponding to the steering angle center is held and recorded in the memory 35. The storage voltage of the memory 31 corresponds to the fluctuation of the sensor and changes accordingly, but the memory 35
The stored voltage is maintained in a stable state by the operation of the timer circuit 37.

The voltage obtained by the above steering angle center detection circuit is input to the comparison circuit 33, where the reference voltage related to the center is constantly compared with the voltage detected by the sensor 20, and the steering angle is determined as a voltage difference. If you turn on the turn signal switch before changing direction, the turn signal lamp will operate and
One input 38a of the NAND circuit 38 becomes high level. When the course change starts and a predetermined steering angle is reached, the comparator circuit 33 outputs a high level output.
In such a situation, NAND circuit 38 outputs a low level, causing counter 39 to be set.
The set counter 39 is the distance sensor 40
After counting the pulses from the
Set. The flip-flop is then reset again when comparator circuit 33 returns to a low level output, thereby generating a cancel signal which activates output circuit 42 to restore the turn signal.

The above electric circuit is an example of using the sensor device according to the present invention, and the present invention can also be applied to cause a motorcycle to perform other electrical operations.

As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the dead space left in the motorcycle can be effectively used to assemble and arrange the sensor device, and this space can be used for front forks, head pipes, top bridges, etc. Since the space is surrounded by a bottom bridge, the sensor device can be protected from external forces.

Furthermore, since the steering wheel rotation angle is amplified to ensure sensor detection, the reliability of the sensor device can be increased.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view of the main parts of the motorcycle, Fig. 2 is a partially enlarged view of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a modified embodiment, and Fig. 4 is a diagram of this embodiment. 3 is a plan sectional bottom view showing the operation, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the inside of the sensor, FIG. 6 is a sectional view from the same side, and FIG. 7 is an electric circuit diagram including the sensor as an electric element. In the drawing, 2 is a head pipe, 3 is a top bridge, 4 is a bottom bridge, 6 is a handle, 8 is a front fork, 11 and 12 are bevel gears and arms that are transmission members, 20 is a sensor, and 22 is a rotating shaft that is a movable part. be.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A motorcycle in which the rear portions of a top bridge and a bottom bridge are pivotally held to a head pipe at the front end of the body frame so as to be able to swing left and right by steering the handle, and a front fork for suspending the front wheel is coupled to the front portions of the top bridge and bottom bridge, In the space surrounded by the front fork, head pipe, top bridge, and bottom bridge on the front and bottom, there is a transmission member that amplifies the steering rotation angle of the steering wheel and transmits this rotation angle, and a transmission member that amplifies the steering rotation angle of the steering wheel and transmits this rotation angle. A steering detection sensor device for a motorcycle, characterized in that one of the transmission member and the sensor is attached to a handle-side member, and the other is attached to a vehicle body member.