Operating lever

Abstract

To provide an operation lever capable of improving its rigidity without increasing its weight.SOLUTION: A lever body 5c of an operation lever 5 is formed of an aluminum-alloy or plastic. A carbon fiber-reinforced prepreg sheet 10 is attached to a surface 5d of the lever body 5c, the surface having an input portion P1 around which a driver puts his / her finger to perform input when the driver performs a turning operation. The carbon fiber-reinforced prepreg sheet 10 is attached to the lever body 5c while a direction in which carbon fibers extend is kept oriented in a longitudinal direction of the lever body 5c. Further, the carbon fiber-reinforced prepreg sheet 10 is attached from a turning base part 5a side over a desired breakage portion P2 where the lever body is broken on a tip-part side when an unexpected impact load is applied to the lever body 5c.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a rotatable operating lever, for example, an operating lever used as a brake lever or clutch lever that activates a brake or clutch by generating hydraulic pressure in an actuator attached to a handlebar or by pulling a wire. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, operating levers have been made of aluminum alloy or resin to reduce their weight, but there is a risk that their rigidity will be lower than that of operating levers made of steel. For this reason, some operating levers made of resin incorporate reinforcing members such as steel to improve their rigidity (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Jikko No. 58-2711 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the operating lever contains a reinforcing member such as a steel material, which increases the weight of the operating lever, making it impossible to sufficiently reduce the weight of the operating lever.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an operating lever that can improve rigidity without increasing weight. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the operating lever of the present invention is a rotatable operating lever that is formed from an aluminum alloy or resin and has a carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet attached thereto.

[0007] The carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet has a surface having an input portion for rotating the operating lever. Only to It is preferable that the carbon fiber is attached so that the direction in which the carbon fiber extends is oriented in the longitudinal direction of the operating lever.

[0008] Furthermore, the operating lever is an operating lever for a bar handle vehicle that is rotatably supported via a rotation shaft on a lever bracket provided on a handle bar and that operates a brake or a clutch by its rotation, and the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet has a desired breakage point that causes the operating lever to break at the tip end side when an unexpected impact load is applied from the rotation shaft side. To the part up to It is preferable to attach it. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the operating lever of the present invention, by attaching a lightweight, high-strength, and high-elasticity carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet, it is possible to improve the rigidity of the operating lever formed from an aluminum alloy or resin without increasing the weight of the operating lever.

[0010] Furthermore, by attaching a carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet to the surface of the operating lever that has the input part used when rotating the operating lever, it is possible to ensure strength and rigidity in the direction in which the operating lever is rotated. Furthermore, since the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet is an anisotropic carbon fiber material and has high strength in the direction in which the fibers extend, by attaching it to the lever body with the direction in which the carbon fibers extend oriented in the longitudinal direction of the lever body, the operating lever can be effectively reinforced by the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet.

[0011] Furthermore, with an operating lever for a bar-handle vehicle, if the bar-handle vehicle were to fall over for some reason and an unexpected impact load were to be applied to the operating lever, the impact would be transmitted to the actuator, lever bracket, etc., potentially damaging not only the operating lever but also the actuator, lever bracket, etc. For this reason, by attaching a carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet from the pivot shaft side to a desired breakage point where the operating lever will break at its tip end when an unexpected impact load is applied, the difference in strength between the part of the operating lever where the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet is attached and the part where it is not attached makes it possible to break the operating lever at the desired breakage point when an unexpected impact load is applied, without affecting the actuator or lever bracket. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view, partially in section, of an operating lever for a bar handle vehicle, showing one embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a partially sectional plan view of the operating lever for a bar handle vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] 1 and 2 show an example of an embodiment in which the operating lever of the present invention is applied to a bar-handle vehicle. A brake actuator 3 for actuating the brake is provided on a handlebar 1 at the front of the body of the bar-handle vehicle, which steers the front wheels.

[0014] This brake actuation device 3 is equipped with a hydraulic master cylinder 4 which serves as a hydraulic pressure generation source, and an operating lever 5 which generates hydraulic pressure in a hydraulic chamber provided on the bottom side of a cylinder body 4a of the hydraulic master cylinder 4. The hydraulic master cylinder 4 is disposed on the front side of the vehicle body of the handlebar 1 by holding the handlebar 1 between a vehicle body mounting arm 4b of the cylinder body 4a and a bracket 6, and the vehicle body mounting arm 4b and bracket 6 are fastened with bolts.

[0015] In addition to the vehicle body mounting arm 4b, the cylinder body 4a is integrally provided with a reservoir 7 for storing brake fluid at its upper part, and a pair of upper and lower lever brackets 4c, 4c extend from the front of the vehicle body, and an operating lever 5 is rotatably supported by the lever brackets 4c, 4c. A bottomed cylinder bore 4d is provided inside the cylinder body 4a, and a piston 8 is movably inserted into the cylinder bore 4d with its rear end protruding from the opening of the cylinder bore 4d.

[0016] The operating lever 5 is made of, for example, resin, and includes a pivot base 5a that is inserted between the lever brackets 4c, 4c and rotatably attached by a pivot 9 (the pivot axis of the present invention), an operating arm 5b that protrudes from the pivot base 5a toward the hydraulic master cylinder 4 and abuts against the rear end of the piston 8, and a lever body 5c that extends from the pivot base 5a toward the front side of the vehicle body of the grip 2 and is rotated by the driver.

[0017] The lever body 5c has a surface 5d (in this embodiment, the surface on the front side of the vehicle body as shown in Figs. 1 and 2) that has an input part P1 where the driver places his finger to input when rotating the lever, and a carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet 10 is attached to the surface 5d. The carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet 10 is a well-known sheet-like material made by impregnating carbon fiber with a matrix resin, and has the properties of being lightweight, high strength, and high elastic modulus.

[0018] Furthermore, because the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet 10 is an anisotropic carbon fiber material, it has high strength in the direction in which the fibers extend, and is attached to the lever body 5c with the direction in which the carbon fibers extend facing the longitudinal direction of the lever body 5c. Furthermore, the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet 10 is attached from the pivot base 5a side (pivot shaft side) to the tip end side of the lever body 5c, over a desired breakage point P2 where the lever body 5c is to break when an unexpected impact load is applied to the lever body 5c.

[0019] As described above, in this embodiment, by attaching the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet 10 to the lever body 5c, the rigidity of the operating lever 5 can be improved without increasing the weight of the operating lever 5, which is made of resin. Furthermore, the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet 10 can ensure strength and rigidity in the direction in which the driver turns the operating lever (the direction in which the operating lever is gripped), and can also ensure strength and rigidity on the side of the turning base 5a where the maximum tensile stress occurs.

[0020] Furthermore, by attaching the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet 10 to the lever body 5c with the direction in which the carbon fibers extend facing the longitudinal direction of the lever body 5c, the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet 10 can effectively reinforce the lever body.

[0021] Furthermore, by attaching the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet 10 from the pivot base 5a side of the lever body 5c to the desired breakage point P2, a difference in strength occurs between the portion of the lever body 5c where the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet 10 is attached and the portion where it is not attached, so that when an unexpected impact load is applied, the lever body 5c can break at the desired breakage point P2. As a result, when a large impact load is applied to the operating lever 5, the lever body 5c can break at the desired breakage point P2 without affecting the hydraulic master cylinder 4 or the lever brackets 4c, 4c.

[0022] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the operating lever may be made of an aluminum alloy. In the above-described embodiment, the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet is attached only to the surface 5d having the input portion P1, but it may be attached around the entire periphery. Furthermore, the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet is not limited to the surface of the lever body where the driver inputs, but may also be attached to a pivot or the like as appropriate.

[0023] In addition, the operating lever may be formed by dividing it into a lever body that is rotated by the driver and a knocker equipped with an operating arm that actuates the piston, and a carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet may be attached to the knocker abutment portion.

[0024] The operating lever of the present invention is not limited to a brake operating lever as in the above-described embodiment, but can also be applied to a clutch operating lever. Furthermore, it can also be applied to an operating lever that activates a brake or clutch by pulling a connected wire. Furthermore, the operating lever of the present invention is not limited to an operating lever for a bar-handle vehicle, but can be applied to any operating lever that is rotatable. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 1...handlebar, 2...grip, 3...brake actuator, 4...hydraulic master cylinder, 4a...cylinder body, 4b...vehicle body mounting arm, 4c...lever bracket, 4d...cylinder hole, 5...operating lever, 5a...rotating base, 5b...actuating arm, 5c...lever body, 5d...surface having input portion P1, 6...bracket, 7...reservoir, 8...piston, 9...pivot, 10...carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet

Claims

[Claim 1] A rotatable operating lever is made of aluminum alloy or resin and has a carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet attached thereto. the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet is attached only to a surface of the operating lever having an input portion for rotating the operating lever, and is attached with the direction in which the carbon fibers extend facing the longitudinal direction of the operating lever, The operating lever is an operating lever for a bar handle vehicle that is rotatably supported via a rotation shaft on a lever bracket provided on a handlebar and that activates a brake or a clutch by its rotation, An operating lever characterized in that the carbon fiber reinforced prepreg sheet is attached to a section from the pivot shaft side to a desired breakage point at the tip end of the operating lever when an unexpected impact load is applied.

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