Steering damper, a saddle riding type vehicle having the same, and a method of manufacturing the same
AssigneeYamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsYasunobu Harazono, Nobuo Hara, Satoshi Ishikawa, Hiromi Fukuda
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A steering damper is configured to adjust a damping force of a rotor covered by a lower casing and an upper casing by changing the viscosity of a magnetic fluid with an electromagnet. Since a magnetic fluid chamber is provided with a volume compensating unit, even when the volume of the magnetic fluid expands, or air entrainment occurs, air bubbles lighter than the magnetic fluid are collected in the volume compensating unit. Thus, characteristic variations of the steering damper due to volume expansion or air entrainment of the magnetic fluid are prevented.
Claims16
1-15. (canceled)
A steering damper comprising:
- a lower casing including an opening located centrally thereof;
- a rotor including a disk portion that is circular or substantially circular, and a rotary shaft configured to project upward and downward along a rotating center of the disk portion and to be rotatable with the rotary shaft inserted in the opening of the lower casing;
- an electromagnet fixedly disposed around the rotor and spaced from the rotor;
- an upper casing including a bearing, and fastened to the lower casing to cover the electromagnet and the rotor, with the rotary shaft of the rotor inserted in the bearing;
- a magnetic fluid chamber located at least between the rotor and the electromagnet, and filled with a magnetic fluid;
- and
- a volume compensating unit configured to communicate with the magnetic fluid chamber to compensate for volume variations of the magnetic fluid.
A method of manufacturing a steering damper including a rotary shaft of a rotor rotatably held in an opening of a lower casing and a bearing of an upper casing, the method comprising the steps of:
- enclosing in the lower casing and the upper casing a disk portion that is circular or substantially circular and extends in outer peripheral directions from the rotary shaft;
- placing an electromagnet adjacent to an outer circumference of the rotor so as to be fixed and spaced from the rotor;
- and
- filling a magnetic fluid into a magnetic fluid chamber formed at least between the rotor and the electromagnet;
- wherein
- the steering damper includes:
- a volume compensating unit configured to communicate with the magnetic fluid chamber that is configured to compensate for volume variations of the magnetic fluid;
- a first working bore configured to communicate with the magnetic fluid chamber;
- and
- a second working bore configured to communicate with the magnetic fluid chamber, and opposite to the first working bore across the rotary shaft;
- wherein
- the magnetic fluid is filled into the magnetic fluid chamber at a position where one of the first working bore and the second working bore is located above the rotary shaft, by injecting the magnetic fluid from the other of the first working bore and the second working bore.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.