Front fork for steering with adjustment structure

Abstract

This utility model relates to the field of front fork technology, specifically a steering front fork with an adjustable structure. The fork body consists of two sets of hydraulic damping rods and a connecting rod connected to the top of the two sets of hydraulic damping rods. It also includes an oil supply pipe, with its inlet and outlet ends connected to the oil circuits of the hydraulic damping rods. The oil supply pipe has a conical piston that can slide along its inner cavity, and the axial movement of the conical piston adjusts the oil flow area within the oil supply pipe. This utility model senses the wheel speed through a friction wheel and uses a centrifugal mechanism to drive the conical piston to adjust the flow rate of the oil supply pipe, thereby achieving automatic matching of damping force and vehicle speed. At low vehicle speeds, the damping is small, ensuring vibration damping comfort, while at high vehicle speeds, the damping automatically increases, improving driving stability and handling. The entire process is fully automatic, requiring no manual intervention, effectively solving the problem that traditional front forks cannot adaptively adjust according to vehicle speed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of front fork technology, and in particular to a steering front fork with an adjustable structure. Background Technology

[0002] The steering fork is a core component of the suspension system of a two-wheeled vehicle, and its performance directly affects the vehicle's handling stability, riding safety, and ride comfort. Traditional forks primarily rely on internal springs to provide support and use hydraulic damping systems to suppress vibrations generated during spring compression and rebound. Their damping characteristics are typically determined by a fixed-diameter orifice or a valve pre-installed in the hydraulic circuit, thus providing a relatively constant damping force during vehicle operation.

[0003] As vehicle performance and user demands improve, fixed damping characteristics are no longer sufficient to meet complex driving conditions. At low speeds or when traversing bumpy roads, a smaller damping force is needed to adequately absorb road impacts and ensure comfort; while at high speeds, a larger damping force is required to effectively suppress excessive fork extension and retraction and vehicle sway, ensuring precise handling and driving stability.

[0004] Existing technologies cannot achieve real-time dynamic adjustment of damping based on vehicle speed during driving. Utility Model Content

[0005] In view of this, the purpose of this utility model is to propose a steering fork with an adjustable structure to solve the problem that the existing technology cannot achieve real-time dynamic adjustment of the damping magnitude according to the vehicle speed during driving.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides a steering fork with an adjustable structure, including a fork body, wherein the fork body is composed of two sets of hydraulic buffer rods and a connecting rod connected to the top of the two sets of hydraulic buffer rods; and further comprising: The oil supply pipe has its inlet and outlet ends connected to the oil circuit of the hydraulic buffer rod. The oil supply pipe is equipped with a conical piston that can slide along its inner cavity. The flow area of ​​the oil in the oil supply pipe is adjusted by the axial movement of the conical piston to control the flow rate. When the conical piston moves downward, the flow rate in the oil supply pipe decreases. An adaptive control disc includes a fixed disc fixedly installed on the top of the oil supply pipe. The fixed disc has a rotatable turntable inside. The turntable is configured to drive the conical piston to move axially according to the rotational speed. When the rotational speed increases, the turntable pushes the conical piston to move downward. A drive shaft is rotatably disposed on the outer periphery of the fixed disk. One end of the drive shaft is fixedly connected to a friction wheel, and the other end is fixedly connected to the input shaft of the turntable.

[0007] In some alternative embodiments, the input shaft of the turntable is coaxially and fixedly connected to the transmission shaft; at least six sets of push blocks are evenly arranged on the turntable along its circumference, and the push blocks are slidably connected to the turntable through a sliding assembly and can rotate with the turntable to push the conical piston to move.

[0008] In some alternative embodiments, the sliding component includes: A groove formed on the turntable; A guide rod is fixedly installed between the two ends of the slide groove; A sliding block sleeved on and slidable along the guide rod, the sliding block being fixedly connected to a corresponding push block; and A first return spring is sleeved on the guide rod, and the first return spring is disposed between the side of the sliding block near the turntable axis and the corresponding end of the slide groove.

[0009] In some optional embodiments, the hydraulic buffer rod has a piston chamber and a spring chamber arranged sequentially along its axial direction inside, and the bottom of the spring chamber has an opening; a piston rod is slidably arranged in the piston chamber, and a spring seat is fixedly arranged on the piston rod, with a buffer spring arranged between the spring seat and the end of the spring chamber; an oil chamber is also arranged at the top of the piston chamber, and the oil chamber is separated from the piston chamber by a partition, and the oil chamber and the piston chamber are connected through the oil supply pipe.

[0010] In some optional embodiments, a push rod is also provided inside the oil supply pipe, the bottom end of the push rod is connected to the top of the conical piston, and a pressure block is provided at the top end; the inlet end of the oil supply pipe is connected to the oil chamber of the hydraulic buffer rod through the inlet pipe, and its outlet end is connected to the piston chamber of the hydraulic buffer rod through the outlet pipe.

[0011] In some alternative embodiments, a second return spring is provided between the top of the conical piston and the top inner wall of the oil supply pipe.

[0012] As can be seen from the above, the steering fork with an adjustable structure provided by this utility model senses the wheel speed through a friction wheel and uses a centrifugal mechanism to drive a conical piston to adjust the flow rate of the oil supply line, thereby achieving automatic matching of damping force and vehicle speed. The damping is small when the vehicle is at low speed, ensuring vibration damping comfort, while the damping automatically increases when the vehicle is at high speed, improving driving stability and handling. The whole process is completely automatic and requires no manual intervention, effectively solving the problem that traditional forks cannot adaptively adjust according to vehicle speed. Attached Figure Description

[0013] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in one or more embodiments of this specification or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only one or more embodiments of this specification. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0014] Figure 1 This is a first-view structural diagram of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the second-view structure of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a first-view cross-sectional structural diagram of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the fixed disk described in this utility model; Figure 5 This utility model Figure 4 A magnified structural diagram of A in the diagram.

[0015] The diagram is marked as follows: 1. Fork body; 11. Hydraulic buffer rod; 111. Piston chamber; 112. Spring chamber; 113. Oil chamber; 12. Piston rod; 121. Spring seat; 122. Buffer spring; 13. Connecting rod; 2. Fixed block; 21. Torque shaft; 3. Side arm; 4. Friction wheel; 5. Drive shaft; 6. Fixed plate; 7. Turntable; 71. Slide groove; 72. Guide rod; 73. First return spring; 74. Sliding block; 75. Push block; 8. Oil supply pipe; 81. Push rod; 82. Conical piston; 83. Second return spring; 84. Pressure block; 9. Inlet pipe; 10. Outlet pipe. Detailed Implementation

[0016] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this utility model clearer, the present utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments and accompanying drawings.

[0017] It should be noted that, unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in the embodiments of this utility model should have the ordinary meaning understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. The terms "first," "second," and similar terms used in this disclosure do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components. Terms such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the element or object preceding the word encompasses the elements or objects listed following the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Terms such as "connected" or "linked" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. Terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" are used only to indicate relative positional relationships; when the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0018] Please see Figures 1 to 5 As an embodiment of this utility model, a steering fork with an adjustable structure mainly includes a fork body 1, an oil supply pipe 8, an adaptive control disc, and a drive shaft 5. The fork body 1, serving as the main support structure of the front fork, consists of two sets of vertically arranged hydraulic buffer rods 11 and a connecting rod 13 fixedly connected to the top of the two sets of hydraulic buffer rods 11. The lower end of the hydraulic buffer rod 11 is used to connect to the wheel axle, and its upper end is connected to the handlebar of the vehicle through the connecting rod 13.

[0019] The hydraulic buffer rod 11 has a piston chamber 111, a spring chamber 112, and an oil chamber 113 inside. The spring chamber 112 is located below the piston chamber 111 and has an opening at its bottom. A piston rod 12 is slidably disposed in the piston chamber 111, and the lower end of the piston rod 12 extends into the spring chamber 112 and is fixed with a spring seat 121. A buffer spring 122 is sleeved on the portion of the piston rod 12 located in the spring chamber 112, and its two ends abut against the spring seat 121 and the top end face of the spring chamber 112, respectively, providing basic buffering and restoring elastic force. The oil chamber 113 is located above the piston chamber 111, and the two are separated by a partition. The oil chamber 113 and the piston chamber 111 are filled with hydraulic oil, and the two are connected through an external oil supply line, forming a hydraulic buffer oil circulation system.

[0020] As the core component for regulating oil flow, the oil supply pipe 8 has its inlet end connected to the oil chamber 113 of the hydraulic buffer rod 11 via the inlet pipe 9, and its outlet end connected to the piston chamber 111 of the hydraulic buffer rod 11 via the outlet pipe 10. Inside the oil supply pipe 8, there is a conical piston 82 that can slide axially. The annular gap between the conical surface of the piston 82 and the inner wall of the oil supply pipe 8 forms the oil flow channel. By moving the conical piston 82 axially, the area of ​​this annular gap can be changed, thereby achieving flow regulation. Specifically, when the conical piston 82 is driven downwards, the flow area decreases, and the oil flow through the oil supply pipe 8 decreases, resulting in a "stiffer" cushioning characteristic for the fork; conversely, if the conical piston 82 moves upwards, the flow increases, and the cushioning characteristic becomes "softer." To ensure that the conical piston 82 can return to its original position without external force, a second return spring 83 is provided between its top and the inner wall of the oil supply pipe 8.

[0021] An adaptive control disc is fixedly mounted on the top of the oil supply pipe 8 and is used to automatically drive the conical piston 82 according to the rotational speed. It mainly includes a fixed disc 6 and a turntable 7. A fixed block 2 is fixed on the hydraulic buffer rod 11. Side arms 3 are rotatably mounted on both sides of the fixed block 2 via a torque shaft 21. A torsion spring is installed inside the torque shaft 21. During installation, a preload is applied to the side arms 3 using a tool, causing them to drive the friction wheel 4 to press against the tire sidewall. At this time, the torsion spring is twisted, generating a continuous restoring torque, which is converted into a positive pressure that keeps the friction wheel 4 pressed tightly against the tire sidewall. When the fork moves up and down relative to the tire during shock absorption, the relative position between the tire sidewall and the friction wheel 4 changes. At this time, the side arms 3 can make a slight adaptive swing around the torque shaft 21 to compensate for the aforementioned positional change, ensuring that the friction wheel 4 maintains a constant contact pressure with the tire sidewall throughout the entire stroke, without disengaging or jamming. One set of side arms 3 is fixedly connected to the fixed disc 6, and the other side arm 3 is rotatably connected to the drive shaft 5 to support the fixed disc 6. The turntable 7 is rotatably mounted inside the fixed disk 6 via bearings. An input shaft extends from the axis of the turntable 7, and this input shaft is fixedly connected to a transmission shaft 5 located on the outer periphery of the fixed disk 6, so that the rotation of the transmission shaft 5 can directly drive the turntable 7 to rotate synchronously.

[0022] At least six sets of push blocks 75 are evenly arranged circumferentially on the upper surface of the turntable 7. Each set of push blocks 75 is connected to the turntable 7 via a sliding assembly. The sliding assembly includes: a groove 71 radially formed on the turntable 7, guide rods 72 fixedly installed at both ends of the groove 71, and a sliding block 74 slidably sleeved on the guide rods 72. The sliding block 74 is fixedly connected to the corresponding push block 75. A first return spring 73 is sleeved on the guide rod 72 and located between the side of the sliding block 74 near the turntable axis and the corresponding end of the groove 71. Under the action of centrifugal force, when the turntable 7 rotates, the push block 75 and the sliding block 74 overcome the elastic force of the first return spring 73 and slide outward along the guide rod 72. The bottom working surface of the slid-out push block 75 can push the pressure block 84 below.

[0023] The drive shaft 5 is rotatably mounted on the outer periphery of the fixed disk 6 via bearings. One end of the drive shaft 5 is fixedly connected to the input shaft of the turntable 7, and a friction wheel 4 is fixedly mounted on the other end. The position of the friction wheel 4 is configured to allow it to make frictional contact with the sidewall of the vehicle's tires.

[0024] Working principle: When the vehicle is traveling at low speed, the turntable 7 rotates at a low speed, and the centrifugal force generated by the slider mechanism is small. Under the action of the first return spring 73, the sliding block 74 and the push block 75 are in the initial position close to the turntable axis. At this time, the push block 75 has only slight contact with the top of the pressure block, and the conical piston 82 is in the uppermost position under the action of the second return spring 83. The oil passage flow area in the oil supply pipe 8 is the largest, the oil flow resistance is the smallest, and the front fork damping is relatively soft, thus providing good shock absorption and comfort.

[0025] When the vehicle is traveling at high speed, the rotation speed of turntable 7 increases, and the centrifugal force generated by the slider mechanism increases. When the centrifugal force overcomes the elastic force of the first return spring 73, the sliding block 74 and the push block 75 slide outward together along the guide rod 72. When the push block 75 moves outward, its bottom pushes the pressure block 84 to make the conical piston 82 move downward against the force of the second return spring 83. This reduces the oil passage flow area in the oil supply pipe 8, significantly increases the oil flow resistance, and stiffens the front fork damping. This increased damping force effectively suppresses excessive extension and sway of the front fork at high speeds, greatly improving the stability and handling confidence of the vehicle when traveling in a straight line and cornering at high speeds.

[0026] As the vehicle speed decreases, the rotation speed of turntable 7 decreases accordingly, reducing centrifugal force. Push block 75 retracts inward under the action of the first return spring 73, eliminating the thrust on conical piston 82. Conical piston 82 returns to its original position under the push of the second return spring 83, increasing the oil passage flow area and automatically restoring the fork damping to a softer state to meet the comfort requirements at low speeds. The torque shaft 21 ensures stable and reliable frictional contact between the friction wheel and the rotating tire sidewall, preventing interference during fork extension and retraction.

[0027] Those skilled in the art should understand that the discussion of any of the above embodiments is merely exemplary and is not intended to imply that the scope of this disclosure (including the claims) is limited to these examples; within the scope of this invention, the technical features of the above embodiments or different embodiments can also be combined, the steps can be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations of the different aspects of this invention as described above, which are not provided in the details for the sake of brevity.

[0028] The embodiments of this utility model are intended to cover all such substitutions, modifications, and variations that fall within the broad scope of the appended claims. Therefore, any omissions, modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this utility model should be included within the protection scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. A steering fork with an adjustable structure, comprising a fork body (1), said fork body (1) being composed of two sets of hydraulic buffer rods (11) and a connecting rod (13) connected to the top of the two sets of hydraulic buffer rods (11); characterized in that, Also includes: The oil supply pipe (8) has its inlet and outlet ends connected to the oil circuit of the hydraulic buffer rod (11); the oil supply pipe (8) is provided with a conical piston (82) that can slide along its inner cavity. The flow area of ​​the oil in the oil supply pipe (8) is adjusted by the axial movement of the conical piston (82) to control the flow rate. When the conical piston (82) moves downward, the flow rate in the oil supply pipe (8) decreases. The adaptive control disc includes a fixed disc (6) fixedly installed on the top of the oil supply pipe (8), and a rotatable turntable (7) is provided inside the fixed disc (6). The turntable (7) is configured to drive the conical piston (82) to move axially according to the rotation speed. When the rotation speed increases, the turntable (7) pushes the conical piston (82) to move downward. A drive shaft (5) is rotatably disposed on the outer periphery of the fixed disk (6). One end of the drive shaft (5) is fixedly connected to a friction wheel (4), and the other end is fixedly connected to the input shaft of the turntable (7).

2. The steering fork with an adjustable structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The input shaft of the turntable (7) is coaxially and fixedly connected to the transmission shaft (5); at least six sets of push blocks (75) are evenly arranged on the turntable (7) along its circumference. The push blocks (75) are slidably connected to the turntable (7) through a sliding component and can rotate with the turntable (7) to push the conical piston (82) to move.

3. The steering fork with an adjustable structure according to claim 2, characterized in that, The sliding component includes: A groove (71) is formed on the turntable; Guide rods (72) are fixedly installed between the two ends of the slide (71); A sliding block (74) sleeved on the guide rod (72) and slidable thereal, the sliding block (74) being fixedly connected to the corresponding push block (75); and A first return spring (73) is sleeved on the guide rod (72). The first return spring (73) is located between the side of the sliding block (74) near the turntable axis and the corresponding end of the slide groove (71).

4. The steering fork with an adjustable structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hydraulic buffer rod (11) has a piston chamber (111) and a spring chamber (112) arranged sequentially along its axial direction inside. The bottom of the spring chamber (112) has an opening. A piston rod (12) is slidably arranged inside the piston chamber (111). A spring seat (121) is fixedly arranged on the piston rod (12). A buffer spring (122) is arranged between the spring seat (121) and the end of the spring chamber (112). An oil chamber (113) is also arranged at the top of the piston chamber (111). The oil chamber (113) is separated from the piston chamber (111) by a partition, and the oil chamber (113) and the piston chamber (111) are connected through the oil supply pipe (8).

5. The steering fork with an adjustable structure according to claim 4, characterized in that, The oil supply pipe (8) is also provided with a push rod (81), the bottom end of which is connected to the top of the conical piston (82), and a pressure block (84) is provided at the top. The inlet end of the oil supply pipe (8) is connected to the oil chamber (113) of the hydraulic buffer rod (11) through the inlet pipe (9), and its outlet end is connected to the piston chamber (111) of the hydraulic buffer rod (11) through the outlet pipe (10).

6. The steering fork with an adjustable structure according to claim 5, characterized in that, A second return spring (83) is provided between the top of the conical piston (82) and the top inner wall of the oil supply pipe (8).

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