Fork Crown Air Chamber for Adjustable Suspension Volume
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current air spring systems in suspension technologies face challenges in adjusting performance characteristics across different environments, vehicle types, and riding conditions, requiring modifiable suspension characteristics for optimal ride quality and comfort.
Innovation Solution
Incorporation of a fluid chamber with an air volume at the crown portion of a fork assembly, which includes additional fluid chambers and adjustable ports to increase the effective air volume, allowing for enhanced performance without lengthening the upper fork tube, and a moveable switch for controlled fluid access to modify damping and rebound.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the upper fork tube is lengthened to increase air volume, then the air spring performance is improved, but the overall fork assembly size and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent places a fluid chamber containing air volume inside the crown structure, nesting the air reservoir within the existing fork assembly geometry. This allows the air spring system to achieve increased effective air volume without extending the external dimensions of the upper fork tube, as the air is stored in a nested chamber within the crown rather than requiring a longer tube.
2Reliability
If the suspension characteristics are made fixed for reliable performance, then the reliability is improved, but the adaptability to different riding conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates adjustable ports in the crown that allow the rider to modify the connection between the fluid chamber and the upper fork tube during operation. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the suspension characteristics to be changed based on riding conditions (e.g., downhill vs. uphill, road vs. off-road), allowing the system to adapt rather than remain fixed, thus improving versatility while maintaining reliability through controlled adjustability.
Data Source
AI summary
A crown assembly including at least one crown fluid chamber having a first volume, and a fork side opening for fluidly coupling the at least one crown fluid chamber with at least one fluid spring chamber of a fork leg to provide an additional amount of available fluid volume to the at least one fluid spring chamber.