US 5,509,677 AGranted

Suspension fork for bicycles with dual, fluid-based dampers

AssigneeManitou Mountain Bikes, Inc.

InventorE. Douglas Bradbury

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Abstract

A bicycle fork for interconnecting a bicycle wheel to a bicycle frame. The bicycle fork includes two leg assemblies, each having first and second leg members slidably engaged with each other, an elastomer for providing a biasing force when the leg members are compressed toward each other, and a fluid-based damping mechanism for providing a fluid-based damping force to resist relative movement of the leg members. The damping mechanism in one of the fork leg assemblies provides the primary compressive, fluid-based damping characteristics for the fork, while the damping mechanism in the other fork leg assembly provides the primary expansive, fluid-based damping characteristics for the fork. Each of these damping mechanisms may be adjusted without disassembling the fork to vary the damping characteristics as desired.

Claims26

Dependent claims

A bicycle fork, comprising:

first and second laterally displaced leg assemblies interconnectable with each of a bicycle wheel and a bicycle frame, said first and second leg assemblies each comprising:
first and second slidably interconnected leg members, each said leg assembly being compressible by relative movement of said first and second leg members associated with said leg assembly toward each other and being expandable by relative movement of said first and second leg members associated with said leg assembly away from each other;
and
at least one elastomer positioned interiorly of at least one of said first and second leg members, one end of said at least one elastomer being interconnected with said first leg member and an opposite end of said at least one elastomer being interconnected with said second leg member;
a first fluid-based damping assembly associated with said first leg assembly;
and
a second fluid-based damping assembly associated with said second leg assembly, wherein said first fluid-based damping assembly is capable of generating a primary fluid damping force for said fork to resist compression of said first and second leg assemblies and said second fluid-based damping assembly is capable of generating a primary fluid damping force for said fork to resist expansion of said first and second leg assemblies.

4 more elements

A bicycle fork, comprising:

first and second laterally displaced leg assemblies interconnectable with each of a bicycle wheel and a bicycle frame, said first and second leg assemblies each comprising:
first and second slidably interconnected leg members, said leg assembly being compressible by relative movement of said first and second leg members associated with said leg assembly toward each other and being expandable by relative movement of said first and second leg members associated with said leg assembly away from each other;
and
at least one elastomer positioned interiorly of at least one of said first and second leg members, one end of said at least one elastomer being interconnected with said first leg member and an opposite end of said at least one elastomer being interconnected with said second leg member;
a first compressive fluid-based damping assembly associated with said first leg assembly;
a first damping adjustment assembly associated with said first compressive fluid-based damping assembly;
a second expansive fluid-based damping assembly associated with said second leg assembly;
and
a second damping adjustment assembly associated with said second expansive fluid-based damping assembly.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.