Clutch for motorcycles

Details Clutch for motorcycles Clutch for motorcycles

2000-04-14

2001-12-11

Lorence, Richard M. (Department: 3681)

192 clutches and power-stop control

Clutches

Axially engaging

C192S09300C, C192S096000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06328147

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clutch for motorcycles and the like, which clutch enables engagement and disengagement by a small pulling force applied to a clutch lever.
2. Discussion of Background
Generally, motorcycles have a clutch between a driving means on a side of an engine and a drive wheel, which clutch is operated to be engaged and disengaged for transmission of a driving force by pulling and releasing a clutch lever, located in a handle and connected to the clutch through a wire.
When the clutch is operated, a sufficient grasping force is ordinarily required to pull the clutch lever. However, there may be a case where fingers of a hand operating the clutch are substantially fatigued after continuous operations of the clutch.
Further, there may be a case where a rider with a weak grasping force has difficulty in operating a clutch.
Further, such difficulty is increased at the time of engaging and disengaging a clutch of a motorcycle having a high-power engine as a driving means.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a clutch having a simple structure and enabling an easy disengaging operation by a small pulling force applied to a clutch lever at the time of operating a clutch.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, as shown in
FIG. 1
, there is provided a clutch including a rod driver (
1
) for driving an operation rod (
40
) in a direction of an axis of the operation rod (
40
), which rod (
40
) drives a pressure plate (
30
) urged to push driving friction plates (
14
) and driven friction plates (
27
) so as to be engaged with each other against urging by the pressure plate (
30
), which rod driver (
1
) comprises:
a pair of operation members (
50
,
60
), on which surfaces are opposite each other and arranged in a direction perpendicular to an imaginary line (
2
) passing through a central axis of the operation rod (
40
) and one of which operation members (
60
) is rotatable around a center axis of the imaginary line (
2
) and the other operation member (
50
) is unrotatable, wherein the pair of the operation members (
50
,
60
) respectively has at least two guide grooves (
51
,
64
), best shown in
FIG. 6
, a central line of which guide grooves (
51
,
64
) is provided in an outer periphery of an imaginary circle having a radius of about 19.3 mm, which guide grooves (
51
,
64
) are separated by a predetermined interval, and cross-sections of which guide grooves (
51
,
64
) are shaped like an arc being a part of an imaginary circle (
8
) in
FIG. 12
having a diameter of about 11 mm in a direction from the imaginary line (
2
) in
FIG. 1
to the periphery of the operation members (
50
,
60
); and
balls (
70
) having a diameter of about 9.5 mm, each of which balls (
70
) is positioned in each of the guide grooves (
51
,
64
) of
FIG. 6
so as to be in contact with a bottom surface of each of the guide grooves (
51
,
64
), and located between pairs of the operation members (
50
,
60
),
wherein one of the operation members (
60
) is separated from the other operation member (
50
) by a rotational operation around an imaginary circle (
6
) in
FIG. 3
having a radius of about 40.35 mm with the center of the rotational axis (
2
),
wherein the operation rod (
40
) located in the pressure plate (
30
) of
FIG. 1
is moved by a movement of the other operation member (
50
) to separate from the one of the operation members (
60
), and
wherein the guide grooves (
51
,
64
) are provided on opposite surfaces of the operation members (
50
,
60
) and respectively have bottom slanted surfaces (
51
b
,
64
b
), best shown in
FIG. 8
, with an angle of 13.7° through 14.4° with respect to the opposite surfaces, and a depth of each of the guide grooves (
51
,
64
) is gradually increased toward a center (
51
a
,
64
a
) and is about 3.872 mm at the center of the guide grooves (
51
,
64
).
According to a second aspect of the present invention, seen in
FIG. 1
, there is provided a clutch comprising:
a clutch outer flywheel (
10
);
a clutch center (
20
) located inside the clutch outer flywheel (
10
) so as to be rotatable around a rotational axis being the same as that of the clutch outer flywheel (
10
);
driving friction plates (
14
) being a plurality of annular plates movably located inside the clutch outer flywheel (
10
) so as to be moved toward a direction of the rotational axis of the clutch outer flywheel (
10
);
driven friction plates (
27
) being a plurality of annular plates movably located outside the clutch center (
20
) so as to be moved toward a direction of the rotational axis of the clutch center (
20
), surfaces of the annular plates being arranged opposite to surfaces of the annular plates of the driving friction plates (
14
);
a pressure plate (
30
), located in the clutch center (
20
), for urging to engage closely the driving friction plates (
14
) and the driven friction plates (
27
) with a pressure;
an operation rod (
40
), located in the pressure plate (
30
), for moving the pressure plate (
30
) to release the close engagement between the driving friction plates (
14
) and the driven friction plates (
27
) against urging on the pressure plate (
30
); and
a rod driver (
1
) for moving the operation rod (
40
) in an axial direction of the operation rod (
40
);
wherein the rod driver (
1
) includes a pair of operation members (
50
,
60
), which operation members (
50
,
60
) have surfaces opposite to each other, which surfaces are perpendicular to an imaginary line (
2
) passing through a central line of a rod shaft of the operation rod (
40
), one of which operation members (
60
) is rotatably located around a rotation axis of the imaginary line (
2
) and the other operation member (
50
) is unrotatably located, and which operation members (
50
,
60
) respectively have at least two guide grooves (
51
,
64
) as seen in
FIG. 6
, which guide grooves (
51
,
64
) are arranged around an imaginary circle (
8
) in
FIG. 12
having a radius of about 19.3 mm with the center of the imaginary line (
2
) with a predetermined interval on the surfaces of the operation members (
50
,
60
) in
FIG. 6
opposing each other, cross-sections of which guide grooves (
51
,
64
) are like an arc as a part of the imaginary circle (
8
) having a diameter of about 11 mm in a direction from a center of the imaginary circle (
8
) to an outer periphery of the imaginary circle (
8
), and a depth of which guide grooves (
51
,
64
) is largest in a center of each of the guide grooves (
51
,
64
) and becomes gradually small toward both sides of the guide grooves (
51
,
64
),
wherein the rod driver (
1
) in
FIG. 1
further includes balls (
70
) having a diameter of about 9.5 mm, each of which balls (
70
) is respectively located in each of the guide grooves (
51
,
64
) of
FIG. 6
so as to be in contact with a bottom surface of the guide grooves (
51
,
64
) and which are located between the pair of operation members (
50
,
60
),
wherein the one (
60
) of the operation members (
50
,
60
) is separated from the other operation member (
50
) by a rotation along an imaginary circle (
6
) in
FIG. 3
having a radius of about 40.35 mm with the center of the rotational axis of the one (
60
) of the operation members (
50
,
60
),
wherein the operation rod (
40
) located in the pressure plate (
30
) is moved by a movement of the other operation member (
50
) by separating from the one (
60
) of the operation members (
50
,
60
), and
wherein the guide grooves (
51
,
64
), which are provided in
FIG. 6
on the opposing surfaces of the operation members (
50
,
60
) and formed to slant so as to increase gradually the depth thereof respectively toward the center of the guide grooves (
51
,
64
) having a depth of about 3.872 mm at the centers of the guide grooves (
51
,
64
), and the slant (
51
b
,
64
b
) of each of the guide grooves (
51
,
64
) seen in
FIG. 8
is about 13.7° through 14.4° with respect to the opposing surfaces of the operation members (
50
,
60
)

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