Motorcycle Fork Leg with Sensor and Preload Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motorcycle fork legs lack cost-effective solutions for adapting to various driving situations and do not effectively manage spring movements, rebound, and position sensing, leading to inadequate performance in different riding conditions.
Innovation Solution
The integration of a spring preload adjustment device, rebound limiting device, and sensor device within the fork leg to measure lift position, speed, and acceleration, allowing for undamped operation while enabling adjustable preload and controlled rebound, and potentially combining with a damped fork leg for enhanced performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a damped fork leg with electronic damping device is used, then fork performance and adaptability to driving situations is improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The fork assembly is divided into two distinct fork legs: one damped fork leg with electronic damping device and one undamped fork leg without damping device. This segmentation allows the system to achieve adaptive performance through the damped leg while keeping the undamped leg simple and cost-effective, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and device complexity.
2Measurement precision
If sensor device is placed in the damped fork leg, then measurement functionality is integrated, but device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor device is relocated from the damped fork leg to the undamped fork leg. This segmentation of functions allows the undamped leg to serve as a dedicated measurement platform, reducing the complexity of the damped leg while maintaining precise fork position sensing capability through the sensor device in the undamped leg.
3Adaptability or versatility
If spring preload adjustment device is added to fork leg, then adaptability to different driving situations is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spring preload adjustment device enables dynamic modification of the suspension characteristics by allowing the spring preload force to be adjusted in real-time based on driving conditions. This dynamic adjustability improves adaptability to different driving situations while maintaining a relatively simple structural implementation through the adjustment mechanism.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration allows for adaptable and responsive fork performance, reducing the risk of abrupt rebound and improving handling in various conditions, such as off-road jumps and high-speed cornering, while maintaining a lightweight and cost-effective design by distributing measurement and damping functions between fork legs.
Implementation Method 1
The sensor device is provided for sensing the instantaneous lift position and/or the instantaneous lift speed and/or the lift acceleration of the fork leg
Implementation Method 2
A suspension spring element is functionally arranged between the standpipe and the sliding tube of the fork leg, which absorbs the weight of the vehicle during operation
Implementation Method 3
the rebound limiting device elastically counteracts a further pulling out of the sliding tube from the standpipe from a predetermined rebound travel
Data Source
AI summary
Undamped fork leg (1) in particular for a motorcycle fork, with a spring preload adjustment device (11, 13, 14), a rebound limiting device (17) and a sensor device (22) which is provided for sensing the instantaneous stroke position and/or stroke speed and/or stroke acceleration of the fork leg (1).