Airbag suspension system for motorcycles
OwnerTimothy Eugene Parkerinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A The airbag suspension system of the invention replaces the stock coil-over shock. The system provides (i) an airbag disposed in essentially the same location as the stock coil-over shock being held in place by an upper airbag mount that attaches to the rear of the motorcycle main frame and a lower airbag mount that attaches to the swingarm; (ii) a shock absorber mounted to the upper airbag mount and to the swingarm via a progressive relay arm linkage similar to the linkage used in modern sportbike suspension; and (iii) an onboard air compressor and switching unit that allows the motorcycle operator to adjust the pressure to the air bag suspension system while the motorcycle is stationary or in motion.
Claims21
An airbag suspension system for a motorcycle, the motorcycle having a main frame and a swingarm-mounted rear wheel, the airbag suspension system comprising:
- a) an upper airbag mount having a main frame attachment site, an upper airbag attachment site, and a shock mounting site, said upper airbag mount being attached to said main frame at said main frame attachment site,
- b) a lower airbag mount having a swingarm attachment site and a lower airbag attachment site, said lower airbag mount being attached to said swingarm at said swingarm attachment site,
- c) an inflatable airbag having a longitudinal axis along which said airbag changes length upon inflation, and having an airbag mount attachment site at each end of the longitudinal axis, said airbag being attached to said upper airbag attachment site and said lower airbag attachment site;
- d) a relay arm having a main frame attachment site at a first end, a shock absorber attachment site at a second end, and a tie-rod attachment site between said first and second ends, said relay arm being pivotally attached to a relay arm mounting site on said main frame,
- e) said relay arm additionally pivotally attached at said shock absorber attachment site to a first end of a shock absorber,
- f) a second end of said shock absorber being pivotally attached to said upper airbag mount shock mounting site,
- g) said relay arm being additionally pivotally attached at said tie-rod attachment site to a first end of at least one tie-rod,
- h) a second end of said tie-rod being pivotally attached to a tie-rod mounting site on said swingarm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.