Motorcycle with improved action electronic steering damper

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10940911-B2
Application number	US-201816176356-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 31, 2018
Priority date	Nov 2, 2017
Publication date	Mar 9, 2021
Grant date	Mar 9, 2021

Abstract

A motorcycle has a front part and a rear part, the front part including handlebars and a handlebar stem with which there is associated an electronic damper controlled by a control unit controlling the action of the damper on the handlebars, provision being made for a device detecting the angle of rotation of the handlebars and the velocity of rotation of the handlebar stem within a handlebar head of the frame. The control unit includes a first block which receives data on the velocity of rotation of the handlebar stem and which on the basis of such velocity determines the presence of oscillating or weave movement of the motorcycle or a wobble movement of the handlebars, the first block of the control unit being connected to a second block and a third block of such unit which alternatively generate a control signal intended to damp the handlebar stem on the basis of the determination made by the first block so that any weave and/or wobble movement is cancelled out.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A motorcycle having a front part and a rear part,
the front part comprising handlebars, a handlebar stem shaft and a front wheel,
the rear part comprising a frame of the motorcycle, a rear wheel and a tank,
an electronic steering damper comprising a first portion firmly attached to the frame and a second portion firmly attached to the handlebars or another part associated with said handlebar stem,
said steering damper being electronically controlled by a control unit which controls the action of the steering damper itself on such part of the handlebar stem,
provision being made for a device detecting the angle of rotation of such part of the handlebar stem and/or the velocity of rotation of the handlebar stem shaft within a handlebar head of the frame and devices detecting the speed and angular velocity of such frame,
the control unit comprising a first block which receives data on the velocity of rotation of the handlebar stem shaft, said first block identifying the presence of a wobble movement in the handlebars through analysing a parameter linked to the velocity of rotation of the handlebar stem in the handlebar head and/or its frequency of oscillation,
said first block of said control unit being connected to a second block and a third block in such control unit wherein, depending upon the determination made by the first block, either the second block or the third block receives a corresponding signal from the first block and generates a control signal directed to the steering damper,
wherein the first block defines two electrical signals from the data on the velocity of rotation of the handlebar stem shaft, said two signals corresponding respectively to an oscillation movement of the motorcycle or weave and an oscillation of the handlebars or wobble,
comparator means capable of comparing such electrical signals to define a parameter through which said first block identifies the simultaneous or individual and separate existence of weave and wobble movements of the motorcycle being provided,
the control unit acting on the steering damper through said control signal in relation to said parameter so that the damper damps both weave oscillation movements and wobble oscillation movements,
wherein the first block comprises two passband filters to filter said handlebar stem velocity data and to separate said filtered data by frequency so as to be able to identify two electrical signals with different frequencies corresponding with certainty to different weave and/or wobble movements,
wherein the comparator means is a power comparator capable of comparing the power of the filtered frequency-separated signals corresponding to the weave movement and the wobble movement, such power comparator performing a mediated comparison of said powers so as to define the parameter through which the first block of the control unit determines the presence of a simultaneous or independent weave movement and wobble movement,
wherein provision is made for a threshold power P threshold against which all the powers of the signals defining weave and wobble movements, P weave and P wobble , are compared, said power comparator detecting one of the following conditions:

a) P weave <P threshold and P wobble <P threshold , or
b) P weave >P threshold and P wobble <P threshold , or
c) P wobble >P threshold and P weave <P threshold ,
said power comparator determining in relation to such conditions the parameter corresponding to a control signal having a discrete value 0 or 1 identifying the presence of a weave movement or wobble movement in the cases in conditions b) and c), or identifying the absence of each of these movements in the case of condition a).

2. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein the control signal is a current signal which in the absence of both said weave and/or wobble movements is a function only of the motorcycle's actual speed, acceleration and roll values for control of the steering damper and which in the presence of at least one of such weave and/or wobble movements is a function of a feedback value of said velocity of rotation and/or handlebar stem oscillation frequency, said current signal controlling said steering damper to damp the weave and/or wobble movement.

3. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein the filters are a low pass band filter and a high pass band filter.

4. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein in the situation in which both P weave and P wobble are greater than P threshold , the power comparator determines that both wobble and weave movements are present simultaneously, said power comparator consequently defining the parameter corresponding to a control signal for the steering damper having a continuous value between 0 and 1 and defined on the basis of the formula P wobble /(P wobble +P weave ).

5. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein the device for detecting the velocity of rotation of the handlebar stem shaft comprises a position sensor associated with the handlebar stem shaft or a gyroscope or other rotation sensor associated with such handlebar stem shaft,
said position sensor or gyroscope or other rotation sensor detecting data on the velocity of rotation of the handlebar stem shaft,
the angular velocity of the frame of the motorcycle being determined by a further gyroscope.

6. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein said control unit is an electronic control unit which commands and controls the delivery of power to the engine and other devices of the vehicle.

7. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , in which the electronically controlled steering damper comprises a sleeve or cylinder and a piston moveable therein, a first of such sleeve or cylinder and the piston being firmly attached to the frame of the motorcycle and the second of such sleeve or cylinder and the piston being firmly attached to the handlebars, provision being made in the steering damper for a hydraulic circuit comprising a valve component controlled by said control unit, wherein the action of said unit on said steering damper is of the predictive type.

8. The motorcycle according to claim 7 , wherein, if the motorcycle returns from rearing up, the control unit is capable of generating a command current signal for such electrically-operated valve such as to prepare the steering damper to act on the handlebars so that there is rapid damping of the oscillation or wobble of the handlebars before the front wheel has completed a complete oscillation of the handlebars with respect to a reference plane or the median plane of the motorcycle before touching the ground.

9. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein said command signal is a high intensity current signal, greater than at least 700 mA.

10. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein said command signal is a high intensity current signal, greater than 1000 mA.

11. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein the part of the handlebar stem to which the second portion is firmly attached comprises the handlebars.

12. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein said control unit is an electronic control unit which commands and controls the delivery of power to the engine and suspensions and/or brakes of the vehicle.

13. A motorcycle having a front part and a rear part,
the front part comprising handlebars, a handlebar stem shaft and a front wheel,
the rear part comprising a frame of the motorcycle, a rear wheel and a tank,
an electronic steering damper comprising a first portion firmly attached to the frame and a second portion firmly attached to the handlebars or another part associated with said handlebar stem,

Assignees

• Ducati Motor Holding Spa
• Milano Politecnico

Inventors

• Panzani Giulio
• Busnelli Fabio
• Savaresi Sergio Matteo
• Zampieri Pierluigi
• Lozej Marco

Classifications

• B62K21/08 Primary

  Steering dampers (dampers in general F16F) · CPC title

• B62K21/18

  Connections between forks and handlebars or handlebar stems · CPC title

• B62J45/00

  Electrical equipment arrangements specially adapted for use as accessories on cycles, not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• B62J35/00

  Fuel tanks specially adapted for motorcycles or engine-assisted cycles; Arrangements thereof (fuel tanks forming part of cycle frames B62K11/00; tanks in general B60K {; closure caps for fuel tanks B60K15/0406}) · CPC title

• B62K11/04

  characterised by the engine being between front and rear wheels · CPC title