Motor vehicles – With means for promoting safety of vehicle – its occupant or... – Responsive to sensing of acceleration – deceleration – or tilt...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-22
2003-03-04
Dickson, Paul N. (Department: 3616)
Motor vehicles
With means for promoting safety of vehicle, its occupant or...
Responsive to sensing of acceleration, deceleration, or tilt...
C180S220000, C307S009100, C307S121000, C200S061520, C340S440000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06527077
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-265299, filed Sep. 1, 2000, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a body incline sensor for a motorcycle. In particular, the present invention relates to a body incline sensor for a motorcycle, which can improve the accuracy with which the incline angle of the body of the motorcycle is detected. Accordingly, the production costs of the motorcycle can be suppressed.
2. Description of Background Art
An “Incline Sensor” has been disclosed, for example, in JP-A-11-337332 and is known as an incline sensor for detecting the incline of the body of a motorcycle.
Illustrated in
FIGS. 2 and 3
of the aforesaid unexamined patent publication is an incline sensor in which an aluminum weight
5
is mounted on a disc-like substrate
1
in such a manner as to freely swing. A notched portion
5
c
is formed in the weight
5
, a photo-sensor
8
is disposed so as to face the notched portion
5
c
. Furthermore, a magnet
4
is mounted on the substrate
1
.
In a case where the weight
5
and the magnet
4
swing relatively to each other, since the weight
5
cuts through a magnetic field formed by the magnet
4
, an eddy current is generated in the weight
5
. This causes the motion of the weight
5
to be suppressed.
In addition, in a case where the body is inclined and the photo-sensor
8
moves relative to the weight
5
such that it goes out of the notched portion
5
c
, since the surface of the weight
5
is imparted with a high reflection factor, since the photo-sensor
8
faces the surface of the weight
5
, it detects reflected light to thereby detect that the body is inclined.
Normally, even when the magnet
4
is inclined together with the body, an eddy current is generated in the weight
5
through the relative rotation of the magnet
4
and the weight
5
. Furthermore, the weight
5
is also inclined slightly as the magnet
4
is inclined, the weight
5
then gradually returning to its original position.
In a case where the body is suddenly inclined at a speed equal to or faster than a predetermined speed, even if an operation to restore the body to its neutral position follows that, the weight
5
continues to be inclined in an originally inclined direction due to an inertia force acting on the weight
5
. Furthermore, the photo-sensor
8
deviates from the notched portion
5
c
in the weight
5
and detects the reflected light. In this case, an accurate detection of the incline of the body may become difficult.
Additionally, since a number of man-hours are required to form the weight
5
in which the notched portion
5
c
is formed and the magnet
4
which is formed into a doughnut shape, an increase in production cost is required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a body incline sensor for a motorcycle, an object of the present invention resides in improvement of the accuracy with which the incline of the body is detected, as well as suppression of increase in the production costs.
With a view to attaining the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a body incline sensor for a motorcycle comprising a case mounted on a body of a motorcycle, a weight being mounted in the case in such a manner as to freely swing in a width direction of the motorcycle, and an incline angle detecting means for detecting the swing of the weight through a predetermined angle, the body incline sensor being characterized by provision of an inclined state transmitting means for transmitting an inclined state signal by determining that the body is in an inclined state when the incline angle detecting means detects the weight and a state so detected continues over a predetermined length of time.
When the detected state continues over the predetermined length of time, the inclined state signal is transmitted from the inclined state transmitting means by determining that the body is in an inclined state. When the detected state only continues within the predetermined length of time, no inclined state signal is transmitted from the inclined state transmitting means by determining that the body is not in an inclined state.
According to this construction, if the incline angle detecting means does not detect the weight within the predetermined length of time due to inertia force generated when the body rolls, no inclined state signal is transmitted from the inclined state transmitting means. Accordingly, an erroneous detection of the incline of the body of the motorcycle can be prevented, and the accuracy with which the incline of the body is detected can be improved.
In addition, if the incline angle detecting means is constituted by the magnet mounted on the weight and reed switches adapted to be switched on by the magnet, and in the event that the inclined state transmitting means is constituted by a simple electric circuit, the production costs of the body incline sensor can be suppressed.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
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patent: 3772643 (1973-11-01), Dodd et al.
patent: 3882957 (1975-05-01), Fritz
patent: 3889774 (1975-06-01), Schwenk
patent: 4278854 (1981-07-01), Krause
patent: 4866379 (1989-09-01), Odagawa et al.
patent: 4972595 (1990-11-01), Shimamura et al.
patent: 5283402 (1994-02-01), Green
patent: 5613571 (1997-03-01), Rank et al.
patent: 5955714 (1999-09-01), Reneau
patent: 5983724 (1999-11-01), Yoshida
patent: 11337332 (1999-12-01), None
patent: 2000-65568 (2000-03-01), None
Akieda Masao
Murasawa Naoki
Shimamura Koichi
Yamamoto Takao
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Dickson Paul N.
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Rosenberg Laura B.
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