Motorcycle Height Control Damper with Segmented Hydraulic Jack
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle height control devices for motorcycles, which include hydraulic jacks, pumps, and selector valves in dampers, require significant configuration changes and are bulky, heavy, and costly, and may fail to rapidly lower vehicle height when decelerating, especially when only one damper is equipped.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle height control device with a simplified configuration in one damper, featuring a wheel side tube, a vehicle body side tube, a damper cylinder, a piston rod, an oil chamber, an oil reservoir chamber, a hydraulic jack, a suspension spring, a pump housing, and a selector valve controlled by an ECU, allowing for adjustable vehicle height and rapid reduction during predicted stops.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a vehicle height control unit including hydraulic jack, pump, and selector valve is provided in each of the pair of dampers, then vehicle height control function is achieved, but the device occupies large space, has heavy weight, and high costs
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle height control function is segmented: one damper is equipped with the complete vehicle height control unit (hydraulic jack, pump, selector valve), while the other damper is simplified to contain only the suspension spring. This segmentation achieves the control function while significantly reducing overall system weight and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The suspension spring and vehicle height control unit are merged in one damper, while the other damper contains only the suspension spring. This merging strategy allows the system to achieve vehicle height control functionality with reduced weight by concentrating the control mechanisms in a single damper rather than duplicating them in both dampers.
2Adaptability or versatility
If vehicle height control unit is provided in damper, then vehicle height can be controlled, but the configuration of damper needs to be significantly changed
Solution Approach 1:
The damper system is segmented into two different configurations: one damper integrates the vehicle height control unit (hydraulic jack, pump, selector valve) with the suspension spring, while the other damper is simplified to contain only the suspension spring. This segmentation reduces the complexity burden on individual dampers.
Solution Approach 2:
One damper is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a suspension element (via spring) and a vehicle height control mechanism (via hydraulic jack, pump, and selector valve). The other damper serves solely as a suspension element. This universal design in one damper reduces overall system complexity.
3Speed
If vehicle height reducing operation is performed when vehicle is rapidly decelerated, then vehicle height should be reduced quickly, but the control device may fail to sufficiently reduce vehicle height within short time
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit predicts stoppage based on vehicle deceleration and performs preliminary vehicle height reduction before the vehicle actually stops. When rapid deceleration is detected, the control unit activates the hydraulic pump to feed oil to the hydraulic jack in advance, ensuring the vehicle height is reduced sufficiently before the vehicle comes to a complete stop.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit continuously monitors vehicle deceleration and uses this feedback to determine when to activate the vehicle height reduction function. Based on the detected deceleration pattern, the control unit adjusts the timing and extent of oil feeding to the hydraulic jack, ensuring reliable height reduction adapted to the actual stopping conditions.
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
The solution enables a compact, lightweight, and cost-effective vehicle height control system that ensures the vehicle height is reduced quickly upon stopping, allowing riders to easily place their feet on the ground, while maintaining stability and reducing occupied space and weight.
Implementation Method 1
a hydraulic pump including a pump housing and a pump pipe, the pump housing being provided in an upper end portion of the damper cylinder and forming a pump chamber of a hydraulic pump such that the pump pipe forming a part of the piston rod and communicating with the oil chamber in the damper cylinder is slidably inserted into the pump chamber in the pump housing
Implementation Method 2
a suspension spring provided between the plunger of the hydraulic jack and the wheel side tube
Implementation Method 3
a selector valve controlling a vehicle height by adjustment of an amount of hydraulic oil fed to the jack chamber in the hydraulic jack by the hydraulic pump
Data Source
AI summary
A damper is provided with a vehicle height control unit including: a jack housing of a hydraulic jack provided at an upper end portion of a vehicle body side tube such that a plunger which defines a jack chamber is fitted on the jack housing so as to be movable up and down; a suspension spring provided between the plunger and a wheel side tube; and a pump housing provided in an upper end portion of a damper cylinder and forming a pump chamber in a hydraulic pump such that a pump pipe forming a part of a piston rod and communicating with an oil chamber in the damper cylinder is slidably inserted into the pump chamber.