Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1~4~3565
This invention relates to a suspension apparatus for a
vehicle such as an automobile or a motor tricycle, having at
least one unit with a pair of right and left wheels.
In a vehicle which has such a pair of right and left
wheels, the body tends to incline outwardly or to the side remote
from the turning center of the vehicle when it turns, due to cen-
trifugal force. However, in a motorcycle, the turn is made whlle
inclining its body inwardly. In other words, the motorcycle
makes a turn in a leaning state. The present invention intends
to dec]ine a body of an automobile or a motor tricycle toward the
turning center side during turns, so that a driver of the automo-
blle or the motor tricycle can en~oy the same sort of driving
sense or feeling as that of the motorcycle.
One example of such a motor tricycle which can decline
lts body toward the turning center side when it turns is dis-
closed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai Tokkyo
Koho) NO. sho 54-25033. This motor tricycle has a pair of rlght
and left front wheels and one rear wheel. It is designed such
that when it turns, a driver shifts his weight toward the turning
center side reslstlng the centrifugal force in order to decllne
the vehicle body toward the turnlng center side. Slnce this
motor tricycle ls of a saddle type ~ust the same as a common
motorcycle, the driver can comparatlvely easily shlft hls weight
to decline the vehicle body as described above. However, in the
case of a common automobile where the driver sits on a seat, it
is not necessarily an easy ~ob for him to decline the vehicle
body by shifting his weight.
The present lnvention thus provides a suspension appa-
ratus for a vehicle, wherein the vehicle body can be automati-
cally declined toward the turning center side by means of steer-
ing operation and without the drlver's intended shifting of his
weight to that direction irrespective of whether the vehicle is
of said saddle type or seat type.
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The present invention also provides a suspension appa-
ratus for a vehicle, wherein the entire length of a suspension
spring is changed by expanding and contracting a telescopic mem-
ber provided integrally with said suspension spring thereby caus-
ing to decline a vehicle body.
The present invention also provides a suspension appa-
ratus for a vehicle, wherein said telescopic member is expanded
and contracted by means of a fluid pressure regulated by a steer-
ing mechanism.
According to the present invention therefore there isprovlded a suspenslon apparatus for a vehicle provlded between a
pair of left and right wheels of the vehicle and the vehicle
body, comprlslng telescopic members integrally connected to sus-
pension sprlngs and expanded and contracted by means of fluld
pressure, fluld passages for feeding fluid pressurized by a pump
to sald telescoplc members and discharging the fluid from sald
telescopic members, controlling valves provided in said fluid
passages, each valve havlng a cylindrical inner valve member, a
cylindrlcal outer valve member rotatably fitted on said lnner
valve member and a maln body containing and supporting sald inner
and outer valve members for rotation respectively, means for con-
necting each said inner valve member to a steering mechanism to
rotate said inner valve member in accordance with the movement of
said steerlng mechanism, and means for connecting each said outer
valve member to one of said telescopic members to rotate said
outer valve member in accordance with the movement of said tele-
scopic member relative to the vehicle body, whereby the control-
ling valves are connected to the steering mechanism and to saidtelescopic members to control said valves not only with respect
to the steering but also wlth respect to the movement of the
telescopic members relative to the vehicle body so that the veh-
icle body is caused to decline toward turnlng center side due to
telescopic movement of said telescopic members in accordance with
a steering operation. Desirably said means for connecting each
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inner valve member to a steering mechanism is a first lever por-
tion piece formed on said inner valve member which is directly
connected to a moving bar of the steering mechanism; and whereln
said means for connecting each outer valve member to one of said
telescopic members is a second lever portion piece formed on said
outer valve member which is directly connected to a plston side
member of said one of said telescopic members.
Thus, in a suspension apparatus according to the pre-
sent invention, a telescopic member expanded and contracted bymeans of a fluid pressure regulated by a steering mechanism is
provided integrally with a suspension spring and when a vehicle
makes a turn, said telescopic member is expanded and contracted
accordlng to steerlng operatlon thereby causlng to decllne a
vehlcle body in the turnlng center slde.
Sald fluld pressure may be supplied to said telescopic
member from a hydraulic cylinder including a piston associated
for movement with said steerlng mechanism. Alternatively, a
fluid pressurized by a pump driven by an engine may be supplied
to said telescopic member through a controlling valve whlch oper-
ates in response to said steering mechanism~
According to the present lnventlon, when the vehlcle
makes a turn, a driver can en~oy a similar steering operation
sense or feeling as that of a motorcycle.
The present invention will be further lllustrated by
way of the accompanying drawings, in which:-
Fig. 1 is a front vlew of a suspension apparatus
~ according to one embodiment of the present-invention when a veh-
; icle is running in a straight line;
Fig. 2 is a front view of the suspension apparatus of
' Fig. 1 when the vehicle ls turning;
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Fig. 3 is a front view of a suspension apparatus
according to another embodiment of the present invention when the
vehicle is running in a straight line in which the hydraullc sys-
tem is not shown;
Fig. 4 iS a front view of the hydraulic system of the
suspension system of Fig. 3 when the vehicle is running in a
straight line;
Fig. 5 is a view showing a part of the hydraulic system
at a certain time;
Fig.s 6 and 7 are views showing a part of the hydraulic
system at a time when the vehlcle is turning;
Flg. 8 ls a horlzontal sectional vlew of a controlling
valve;
Fig. g is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX of
Flg- 8; and
Fig. lO is a perspective view showing a concrete con-
stltution of a suspension apparatus.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be
described hereunder with reference to the accompanying drawings
in which the suspension system is applied to a motor tricycle
having a pair of front wheels and one rear wheel.
Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 illustrate a flrst embodiment of the
present invention. More specifically, Fig. l is a front view of
a suspension apparatus when the vehicle is running ln a straight
line, and Fig. 2 is a front view of the same when the vehicle is
, turning left. The expression ~right~ or ~left~ as used hereln
means right or left to the driver. 1l denotes a left front
wheel, 12 denotes a right front wheel, and 2 denotes a body of a
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12/-~3565
motor tricycle. The right and left front wheels 11,l2 are inte-
grally provlded with knuckles 31'32' respectively, to the lower
ends of which lower arms 41'42 are connected via ball ~oints
51'52' respectively, while, the upper ends of said knuckles 31'32
are connected with upper arms 61,62 via ball joints 71~72~
respectively. The other ends of the lower arms 41~42 are piv-
otally connected to the body 2 via brackets 81,82 and the other
ends of the upper arms 61,62 are pivotally connected to the body
2 via brackets 91~92~ The foregolng arrangement constitutes the
so-called double wishbone type suspension.
Said knuckles 31'32 are provided with knuckle arms
101,102 extending backwardly therefrom. The knuckle arms 101,102
are connected with tie rods 121,122 via ball ~oints 111,112. The
other ends of
! 25
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said tie rods 121, 122 are pivotally connected to both ends of
slider 13 respectively. Said slider 13 is slidably supported on
the body 2 via a bearing 21. Said slider 13 is provided at its
central portion with a rack 17, with which a pinion 18 mounted on
a steering shaft 19 meshes. 20 dPnotes a steering wheel.
141, 142 denote right and left suspension springs
respectlvely. These suspension springs 141, 142 are provided at
the upper portions thereof with hydraulically operated telescopic
members 2~1, 242 comprising a piston 22 and a cylinder 23. The
upper ends of said suspension springs 141, 142 are secured to the
body 2 vla pivots 151, 152 and said brackets 91~ 92~ while the
lower ends of said suspension springs 141, 142 are secured to the
intermediate portions of said lower arms 41~ 42 via pivots 161,
162.
Cylinders 231, 232 f said telescopic members 241, 242
are communicated with cylinder chambers 261, 262 f a hydraulic
cylinder 26 through hydraulic pipe lines 251, 252, respectively.
Within said hydraulic cylinder 26, a hydraulic piston 27 adapted
to partition said cylinder chambers 261, 262 is reciprocally
moveably provided. A piston shaft 28 of said hydraulic piston 27
is connected to said slider 13 via an arm member 29. And the
insides of said cylinder 23, hydraulic pipe 25 and hydraulic
cylinder 26 are filled with oil.
When the vehicle run in a straight line, the pinion 18
meshes with the rack 17 at the central position thereof as shown
in Fig. 1. However, when the vehicle is going to make, for
example, a left turn, the steering wheel 20 is turned clockwise
as shown by an arrow a as in Fig. 2. Then, due to the rotation
of said pinion 18, the slider 13 slides to the right, as shown by
an arrow b. Since the hydraulic piston 27 is also moved to the
right within the hydraulic cylinder 26 in accordance with the
movement of said slider 13, the oil within the cylinder chamber
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262 is sent to the cylinder 232 through the hydraulic pipe line
252 and the oil flows into the cylinder chamber 261 from the
cylinder 231 through the hydraulic pipe line 251. Since coil
springs 301, 32 of the suspension springs 141, 142 are of high
rigidity and have little elasticity, the cylinder 232 is moved
upward by means of hydraulic pressure between the cylinder 232
and the piston 222 (i.e., the telescopic member 242 is expanded),
the entire length of the suspension spring 142 is lengthened.
However, the entire length of the suspension spring 141 is
shortened since the cylinder 231 moves downward, i.e., the
tele5copic member 241 is contracted.
As a result, the suspension spring 142 pushes the lower
arm ~2 down relative to the body 2, while the suspension spring
141 pulls the lower arm 41 relative to the body 2. At this
moment, said upper arms 61, 62 follow the movement of said lower
arms 41~ ~2. However, since the wheels 12~ 11 are normally in
contact with the ground, when the respective members are moved in
such a manner as described above, the body 2 is finally caused to
incline to the left or to the turning center side (the front
wheels 11, 12 are also caused to decline) as shown in Fig. 2.
Thus, the vehicle turns in a leaning state as in the case with
the motorcycle.
In connection with the above description, it should be
noted that since the both ends of said slider 13 are connected to
said knuckle arms 101, 12 through said tie rods 121, 122
respectively, according to the movement of the slider 13, the
respective knuckles 31~ 32 rotate about king pin axes Kl, K2, and
as soon as the body 2 starts inclining as mentioned above, the
respective front wheels 11, 11 are steered.
Although the left turn is described in detail in the
above, the right turn is also effected in the same manner.
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Fig. 3 through Fig. 10 illustrate a second embodiment
of the present invention. In these Figures, like or
correspondeing parts with respect to the above mentioned first
embodiment are denoted at like numerals. In this embodiment, a
hydraulic system adapted to charge and discharge oil into or from
a cylinder 23 is different from that of the above described first
embodiment. However, there are no other substantial differences
between the two ~though, the hydraulic system is not shown), as
readily understood when compared with Fig. 3 and Fig. 1. Only
minor dlfferences in Fig. 3 are that the upper arm 6 is provided
beneath and the tie rod 12 ls provided above, and that the
suspension spring 14 is connected to a bracket 15a other than a
bracket 9.
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Fig. 4 illustrates a hydraulic system employed in this
embodiment. The oil charging into the cylinder 23 and the oil
discharging therefrom is controlled by means of a controlling
valve, or a rotary valve 60 which is actuated in response to the
movement of a slider 13. Oil pressurized by a pump 61 is charged
into this rotary valve 60. The pump 61 is driven by the engine
of the vehicle. When the engine is started, oil in a reservoir
tank 62 is sent into a feed pipe 31 by the pump 61 through a cut-
off valve 63 and a one way valve 64, and reaches said rotaryvalve 60. And a part of the oil is sent into an accumulator 32
and stored therein. When the pressure within the feed pipe 31
has reached a preset value, a piston 33 of the cut-off valve 63
ls moved to the right in the Figure against a spring 34 in order
to isolate the feed pipe 31 from the pump 61, as shown in Fig. 5.
At the same time, oil discharged from said pump 61 is circulated
toward an intake side via a by-pass pipe 35. The one way valve
64a ~Fig. 4) provided on the feed pipe 31 serves to
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prevent tn, press~re (;enerated at the susp~n~io
~-r<~ CaL)irl~ illtO t--,e acclllnulator 32.
~ s ill~lstr-.ted i~ . d and Fic;. 9, th~ r~t~r~
valve G0 corriprise; a cylindrical inner valve 3~i, a
cylinrlrical ollter valve 37 contacted wit!l tl~ ~)ut r
perii~hery c,f said inner valve 36 and rotata})lv fitte~l
thereto relative to each other, ancl a maill l)o-ly
COntaininCJ and supl~orting said valves 36 arlc3 37 ~,er~ir
for rotation. ~aid inner valve 36 is provide(J with a
Eeed oil l~assa~e 4() communicatin~ with saicl feed ~ipe 31
througll arl inlct port 39 an~ a waste oil l~assage 43
comlnunicatir~J with a return r~e 42 (re~er lo Fi(3. 4)
through an outlet port 41. ~hes~ feed oil pdssa(Je 40
arld waste ~ as6age 43 are, as a~arent from Fi~. 3
and Fig. 9, communicated with a feed oil port 44 and a
waste oil port 45, respectively, which are o~)ened up in
the ~-eri~hery of sai(l inrler valve 36 by di-,pl~lci~J in
the circumferential direction and the axial clirection
with resl~ect Lo each other.
Said outer valve 37 is formed with a feed oil hole
46 allcl a ~/aste oil hole 47 in L~o,itions in agreelli~rlt
witrl said ~ced oil L)ort 44 and sai(l waste oil port 45,
respectively, in the axial direction. These i~oth }loles
46 and 47 are arranged on a common generatillg line Gf a
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cylinc3er. In other worcls, ~eq~ are arLan~Je(l ~ithil~ a
- plane incluciing t}le rotary axial line of said outer
valve 37. Tlle m.lill l,ody 3~3 is provi~u-l .,itl
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l~a~iC;~ 4~ c~ frontir,~, said oi l hole 4~ arld .;.~id ~/a~ite
oi.l ho]e~ ~7. ~aid oil ~assd(Je 4~ is communicated ~lth
the cylind~r 23 of ~ id telescopic rner"~er 24 thr~
a cut-off valve 49.
Said cut-off valve 49 incllldes a piston 51 ~:)iased
by nleans of a spring 50. Wherl the enyine i5 'it L~ ec~
and no hydraulic L~ressure exists wi~-llin tl-le feed pi,~e
31, said cut-off va]ve 49 f;erves, as sllowrl in F~i~3. l"
to isolate the oil passage 4~ from the cylindel- 23 in
order to prevent the oil from escapirlcj froll, the c~lind~r
23 and thereby to preverlt the hody 2 frolll sirll~in~J.
When the enyine is started and the oil pressure is
(~enerated within the fee~ pi.pe 31, OWill(J to the
hydraulic pressure, the piston 51 cornpresses the sprin(J
50 for distortion and allows the oil passage 4~ to
comlnunicate with the cylinder 23.
As shown in Fiq. 4 and in Fig. 10 as will ~e
cle~cri~ed hereinafter, the inner valve 3~ is connectcd
to a slider 13 through a lever portion piece 52 and
rotated in accordance with the reciprocal movelnent of
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~: said ~lider 13. On thc o~hcr harld, the outer valve 37
is connected to a piston 22 side of said telescopic
member 24 through a lever portion piece 53 and rotated
relative to said inner valve 36 in accordance witll the
movement of said pistoll 22 ~movement relative to the
vehicle l)ody. This definition remains unchan~3ed ~Jhen
used hereinafter) anA conducts a feed ~ack opercltioll.
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The return pipe 42 connected to said outlet port 41 of
the rotary valve 60 is further connected, as shown in Fig. 4, to
a reservoir tank 62. Intermediate the feed pip 31 and the return
pipe 42 provided is a safety valve 54 adapted to release oil
within the feed pipe 31 to the reservoir tank 62. Fig. 4
illustrates a state similar to Fig. 1 when the vehicle is running
straight forward. The rotary valve 60 is in its neutral position
wherein the feed hole 46 and the waste oil hole 47 of the outer
valve 37 are positloned intermediate the feed oil port 44 and the
waste oil port 45 of the inner valve 36 in the circumferential
direction. The afore-mentioned Fig. 9 also illustrates such a
neutral state as ~ust mentioned before.
Flg. 6 lllustrates one state of a left side ~rlght side
in the Figure) suspension spring 14 and a rotary valve 60 at a
time when a vehicle is turning right. When the vehicle is
turnlng right, a slider 13 is moved left as shown by an arrow b,
and an inner valve 36 connected to said slider 13 through a lever
20 portion piece 52 is pivoted clockwise in the Figure. Accord-
ingly, the feed oil port 44, which was spaced apart from the feed
oil port 46 at the time when the vehicle is running in a straight
line, is brought to be in alignment with the feed oll hole 46.
As a result, the pressurized oil in the feed pipe 31 is fed into
25 the cylinder 23 to push down the piston 22. In accordance with
the movement of the piston 22, an outer valve 37 connected
thereto through a lever portion piece 53 is pivoted clockwise.
Although the feed oil hole 46 iS brought to be spaced apart from
the feed oil port 44, since the feed oil port 44 is also pivoted
clockwise while the slider 13 is moving, the aligning state
between the feed oil hole 46 and the feed oil port 44 ls
maintained, and the piston 22 is kept moving. In other words,
the telescopic member 24 is being expanded and the entire length
of the suspension spring 14 is continuously increased. When the
movement of the slider 13 is stopped, as shown in Fig. 7, the
feed oil hole 46 iS in a spaced apart state with respect to the
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feed oil port 44. Accordingly, the expansion of the telescopic
member 24 is stopped as well, and the entire length of the
suspension spring 14 is maintained in such a length as to
ccrrespond to the moving amount of the slider 13, i.e., the
steering amount.
Simultaneously, in the right side rotary valve 60, the
waste oil port 45 and the waste oil hole 47 are in alignment with
respect to each other. Accordingly, oil in the cylinder 23 is
discharged into the return pipe 42 through the waste oil passage
43, and the outlet port 41. And in the same manner as described
in the foregoing, the entire length of the suspension spring 14
ls contracted correspondlng to the steering amount, and the
suspension spring 14 is maintained in this length.
As a result, as already described with respect to Fig.
1 and Flg. 2, the vehicle body is caused to decline to the right
or toward the turnlng center side, and brought to a leaning state
similar to a motorcycle.
Fig. 10 is a perspectlve view more reallstlcally
lllustrating the structures of the above various devlces, whereln
like numerals denote like parts as before. In Fig. 10, the
steering shaft 19 and the slider 13 are connected with respect to
each other through a llnk mechanlsm instead of the rack and the
pinlon. More specifically, the arm 55 secured to the steering
shaft 19 is connected to the arm 56 pivotally secured to the
vehicle body through a link 57, and the oscillating movement as
shown by an arrow c of the arm 56 is converted to a reciprocal
movement of the slider 13 through the sllder 59 engaged with the
slide rod 58 provided on said arm 56.
The pump 61 and the reservoir tank 62 (not shown in
Fig. 10) juxtaposed thereto are disposed in lower posltions than
the rotary valve 60 is returned to the reservoir tank 62 by
gravity through the return plpe 42. Consequently, as shown in
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Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, the outlet port 41 is formed larger in its
diameter than that of the inlet port 39, and the return pipe 42
is constituted with tubular material also having a large bore
diameter compared with that of the feed pipe 31.
In the present embodiment, althou~h the suspension
spring 14 is expanded and contracted in accordance with the
movement of the slider 13, the slider 13 merely actuates the
inner valve 36 of the rotary valve 60 and the reaction force of
the suspension spring 14 is not transmitted to the slider 13.
Instead, only reaction force which the front wheel 1 receives
from the earth ls transmitted to the slider 13, and this reaction
force is transmitted to the steering wheel 20. Accordingly, a
satisfactory steerlng sense can be obtained.
Although in the above respective embodiments, the
present invention is applied to the double wishbone type
suspension apparatus, it may also be applied to other types of
suspension apparatuses. Also, instead of the steering wheel 20,
a bar handle may be employed. Furthermore, the present invention
may of course be applicable to other vehicles, such as
automobiles. As discussed ln the foregoing, many other
modifications can be made.
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