CN217320592U - Bicycle seat post structure - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides a bicycle seat pole structure, it contains low tube, top tube, height adjusting device, second piston and push rod. The upper pipe is movably inserted in the lower pipe and comprises an upper end, and the height adjusting device comprises a first piston and at least one fluid. The first piston is located in the upper tube, the at least one fluid is located in the upper tube, and at least a portion of the at least one fluid is located above the first piston. The second piston is located within the upper tube and directly contacts the at least one portion of the at least one fluid. The push rod is located at the upper end of the upper pipe and pushes against the second piston, and the push rod is used for enabling the second piston to be switched from a first position to a second position along the axial direction so as to compress the volume of the at least one part of the at least one fluid between the first piston and the second piston. Whereby the fluid pressure can be adjusted.

Description

Bicycle seat post structure

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a bicycle seat post structure, and more particularly to a bicycle seat post structure with adjustable shock absorbing amplitude.

Background

Generally, a bicycle has a seat post mounted on a center tube, the seat post being provided with a seat cushion, and the height of the seat cushion can be adjusted by relative movement of the seat post and the center tube.

In order to increase the height adjustment amount, the seat post may include an upper tube, a lower tube and a telescopic clamp box, the lower tube is inserted into the middle tube, the telescopic clamp box is arranged in the upper tube and the lower tube, the telescopic clamp box is operated to drive the upper tube to move relative to the lower tube, and thus the height of the seat cushion can be adjusted through the height difference between the upper tube and the lower tube. In addition, since the bellows contains fluid and piston, the fluid can be slightly compressed to provide shock absorbing capability when a shock occurs.

However, when the height is fixed, the total volume of fluid, such as gas, in the bellows is also fixed and cannot be changed, so the pressure of the gas is fixed and the shock absorbing amplitude is also fixed and cannot be adjusted.

Accordingly, it is an objective of the related art to improve the structure of the seat post of the bicycle so that the shock absorbing amplitude can be adjusted.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a bicycle seat post structure, which can compress fluid to change the fluid pressure to change the shock-absorbing amplitude through the configuration of the bicycle seat post structure.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a bicycle seat post structure is provided, which comprises a lower tube, an upper tube, a height adjustment device, a second piston and a push rod. The upper pipe is movably inserted in the lower pipe and comprises an upper end, and the height adjusting device comprises a first piston and at least one fluid. The first piston is located in the upper tube, the at least one fluid is located in the upper tube, and at least a portion of the at least one fluid is located above the first piston. The second piston is located within the upper tube and directly contacts the at least one portion of the at least one fluid. The push rod is located at the upper end of the upper pipe and pushes against the second piston, and the push rod is used for enabling the second piston to be switched from a first position to a second position along the axial direction so as to compress the volume of the at least one part of the at least one fluid between the first piston and the second piston.

Therefore, the push rod drives the second piston to displace, the pressure of the volume adjusting fluid can be changed, and the shock absorbing amplitude can be changed.

The bicycle seat post structure according to the aforementioned embodiment, wherein the first piston, the at least one fluid and the second piston can directly contact the inner tube surface of the upper tube.

In the bicycle seat post structure according to the foregoing embodiment, the height adjustment device may further include a tube and a plug, the tube receives the first piston, the at least one fluid, and the second piston, the plug is disposed in the tube and includes a central hole, and the push rod enters the tube through the central hole.

The bicycle seat post structure according to the foregoing embodiment may further include a screw seat located in the upper tube and through which the push rod is screwed, and the push rod rotates relative to the screw seat to switch from the first position to the second position.

In the bicycle seat post structure according to the aforementioned embodiment, the screw seat can be correspondingly screwed to the inner screw portion of the upper tube.

The bicycle seat post structure according to the foregoing embodiment may further include an adjustment seat rotatably limited above the screw seat and including at least one side hole, the push rod rotatably coupled to the adjustment seat, the upper tube further including a radial through hole located at an upper end of the upper tube and correspondingly communicated with the at least one side hole, the radial through hole being for a tool to extend into the at least one side hole from an outer side of the upper tube, so as to drive the adjustment seat to rotate in situ and drive the push rod to rotate.

According to the bicycle seat post structure of the foregoing embodiment, the adjusting seat may further include a ring wall and a bottom wall, the ring wall is provided with at least one side hole, the bottom wall is integrally connected to the ring wall and includes a through hole, and the through hole is provided for the push rod to pass through.

According to the bicycle seat post structure of the foregoing embodiment, the bottom wall may further include at least one radial protruding rib protruding into the through hole, and the push rod includes at least one groove for the radial protruding rib to protrude into, so that the bottom wall and the push rod are rotationally limited.

In the bicycle seat post structure according to the above embodiment, the adjusting seat further includes a plurality of receiving holes and a plurality of balls, the plurality of receiving holes are disposed around the outer peripheral surface of the annular wall, and each ball is movably limited between each receiving hole and the inner surface of the upper tube.

The bicycle seat post structure according to the previous embodiment, wherein the radial through hole may have an oblong cross-section and include a minor axis parallel to the axial direction.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bicycle seat post structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial exploded schematic view of the bicycle seat post structure of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an adjustment seat of the bicycle seat post structure of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the bicycle seat post structure of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is another cross-sectional schematic view of the bicycle seat post structure of the embodiment of FIG. 1; and

fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a bicycle seat post structure according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. For the purpose of clarity, numerous implementation details are set forth in the following description. However, the reader should understand that these practical details should not be used to limit the present invention. That is, in some embodiments of the invention, details of these implementations are not necessary. In addition, for the sake of simplicity, some conventional structures and elements are shown in the drawings in a simple schematic manner; and repeated elements will likely be referred to using the same reference number or similar reference numbers.

Furthermore, the terms first, second, third, etc. in the present disclosure are used only to describe various elements or components, but there is no limitation to the elements/components themselves, and thus, the first element/component may be alternatively referred to as the second element/component. And the combination of elements/components/mechanisms/modules in the present invention is not a commonly known, conventional or existing combination in the art, and it cannot be determined whether the combination relationship is easily accomplished by a person skilled in the art based on whether the elements/components/mechanisms/modules are existing.

Referring to fig. 1 to 4, wherein fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a bicycle seat post structure 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 2 is a schematic partial exploded view illustrating the bicycle seat post structure 100 in the embodiment of fig. 1, fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an adjustment seat 130 of the bicycle seat post structure 100 in the embodiment of fig. 1, and fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the bicycle seat post structure 100 in the embodiment of fig. 1. The bicycle seat post structure 100 includes a lower tube 110, an upper tube 120, a height adjustment mechanism 150, a second piston 170, and a push rod 140.

The upper tube 120 is movably inserted in the lower tube 110 and includes an upper end, the height adjustment mechanism 150 includes a first piston 151 and at least one fluid, the first piston 151 is located in the upper tube 120, the at least one fluid is located in the upper tube 120, and at least a portion of the at least one fluid is located above the first piston 151. The second piston 170 is disposed in the upper tube 120 and directly contacts the at least one portion of the at least one fluid. The push rod 140 is located at the upper end of the upper tube 120 and pushes against the second piston 170, and the push rod 140 is configured to switch the second piston 170 from the first position to the second position along the axial direction I1 to compress the volume of the at least one portion of the at least one fluid between the first piston 151 and the second piston 170.

Therefore, the push rod 140 can drive the second piston 170 to displace, and the pressure of the volume adjusting fluid is changed, so as to change the shock absorbing amplitude. The details of the bicycle seat post structure 100 will be explained in more detail later.

The upper tube 120 and the lower tube 110 both have a hollow circular tube structure, and the lower tube 110 includes an inner surface surrounding to form an insertion space for the upper tube 120 to be inserted, and the insertion space can communicate with the upper tube space S1 of the upper tube 120.

The bicycle seat post structure 100 can further include a screw seat 160 disposed in the upper tube 120 and through which the push rod 140 is screwed, and the push rod 140 can rotate relative to the screw seat 160 to switch from the first position to the second position. Specifically, the screw base 160 can be correspondingly screwed to the internal thread portion of the upper tube 120, the push rod 140 has a bolt structure and includes an external thread portion 142, and the internal thread of the screw base 160 can correspond to the external thread portion 142 of the push rod 140, so that when the push rod 140 rotates, the push rod 140 can be lifted relative to the screw base 160 by the screwing relationship between the internal thread and the external thread portion 142, and the second piston 170 can be pushed.

The height adjustment mechanism 150 is configured such that the at least one fluid is a gas, the fluid is divided into two parts by the first piston 151, and the fluid of each part can flow from one side of the first piston 151 to the other side of the first piston 151, so as to displace the upper tube 120 relative to the lower tube 110. In the embodiment of fig. 1 to 4, the first piston 151 and the fluid may directly contact the inner surface of the upper pipe 120, and in the process, the inner surface of the upper pipe 120 may be smoothed in advance by using a broaching process, so that the fluid and the first piston 151 may be directly placed in the upper pipe space S1 of the upper pipe 120 without additionally disposing a pipe body in the upper pipe 120, so that the first piston 151 smoothly moves along the smooth inner surface. The height adjustment mechanism 150 may further include a valve 152, an actuating rod 153, a plug 155 and a rubber 154, the valve 152 is located in the first piston 151, the actuating rod 153 is connected to the valve 152 and penetrates the rubber 154, the plug 155 is sleeved outside the rubber 154, and the upper pipe 120 may further include an upper pipe tail plug 123 screwed to a lower end thereof and located below the plug 155.

Thus, the actuating rod 153 can be moved along the axial direction I1 by the actuating lever, thereby opening and closing the valve 152. When the valve 152 is opened, the fluid flows relative to the first piston 151, which causes the upper tube 120 and the lower tube 110 to displace relative to each other; when the valve 152 is closed, the relative position of the upper tube 120 and the first piston 151 is fixed.

The second piston 170 may include a body 171 and an O-ring 172, the O-ring 172 is disposed around the body 171, and since the second piston 170 is pressed against the fluid, the second piston 170 is also directly contacted to the inner surface of the upper tube 120 and blocks the fluid. In other embodiments, the number of the at least one fluid may be two, wherein one fluid is a gas, the other fluid is an oil, and the gas is completely located between the first piston and the second piston, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The bicycle seat post structure 100 may further include an adjusting seat 130, the adjusting seat 130 is located in the upper tube 120, and is rotatably limited above the screw seat 160 and includes at least one side hole 131, the second piston 170 is located between the adjusting seat 130 and the first piston 151, the screw seat 160 is located between the second piston 170 and the adjusting seat 130, and the push rod 140 is rotatably coupled to the adjusting seat 130. The upper tube 120 further includes a radial through hole 121, the radial through hole 121 is located at the upper end of the upper tube 120 and is correspondingly communicated with the at least one side hole 131, the radial through hole 121 is used for a tool to extend into the at least one side hole 131 from the outer side of the upper tube 120, so as to drive the adjustment seat 130 to rotate in situ and drive the push rod 140 to rotate.

With this structure, the radial through hole 121 allows a tool to extend into the at least one side hole 131 from the outside of the upper tube 120 to drive the adjusting seat 130 to rotate in situ, so that the push rod 140 is driven by the adjusting seat 130 to screw in or out relative to the screw seat 160 along the axial direction I1, thereby changing the position of the second piston 170 and adjusting the pressure of the fluid. Further, to facilitate the movement of the tool, the cross-section of the radial through hole 121 may be oblong and include a minor axis that is parallel to the axial direction I1 of the bicycle seat post structure 100. Accordingly, by making the cross-section of the radial through-hole 121 oblong, space is provided for the tool to move in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction I1.

The adjusting seat 130 may further include an annular wall 132 and a bottom wall 133, the annular wall 132 is provided for the at least one side hole 131, the at least one side hole 131 may be plural, and the at least one side hole 131 is disposed on the annular wall 132 at intervals in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction I1. The bottom wall 133 is integrally connected to the annular wall 132 and includes a through hole 1332, and the push rod 140 is inserted through the through hole 1332. The bottom wall 133 may further include at least one radial rib 1331, the radial rib 1331 is protruded into the through hole 1332, and the push rod 140 includes at least one groove 141, and the groove 141 is provided for the radial rib 1331 to protrude into, so that the bottom wall 133 and the push rod 140 are limited in rotation.

The annular wall 132 may be higher than the bottom wall 133 and may form an adjustment space around the bottom wall 133, the adjustment space communicates with the through hole 1332, the side hole 131 may be far from the bottom wall 133, and a through axis of the side hole 131 is spaced apart from an inner plane of the bottom wall 133. Therefore, when the adjusting seat 130 drives the push rod 140 to move downward along the axial direction I1, the head of the push rod 140 can enter the adjusting space, so as to increase the moving stroke of the push rod 140, thereby increasing the adjustable amount of the pressure.

The number of the radial ribs 1331 is two and are symmetrically arranged, so that the cross section of the through hole 1332 is generally dumbbell-shaped. The push rod 140 may include an external threaded portion 142, the extending direction of the groove 141 is parallel to the axial direction I1, a symmetrical external threaded portion 142 may be spaced on the body of the push rod 140, and the groove 141 may not have threads. By the structure of the radial rib 1331 protruding from the through hole 1332, the push rod 140 cannot rotate relative to the adjustment seat 130, but can move up and down relative to the adjustment seat 130.

The adjusting seat 130 may further include a plurality of receiving holes 134 and a plurality of balls 135, the receiving holes 134 are disposed around the outer peripheral surface of the annular wall 132, and each ball 135 is movably limited between each receiving hole 134 and the inner surface of the upper tube 120. Further, the upper tube 120 further includes an inner annular groove 122, and each ball 135 is movably limited between each receiving hole 134 and the inner annular groove 122. In detail, the upper tube 120 may form a relatively concave inner annular groove 122 through the inner diameter change of the inner tube surface, and when the balls 135 are located in the accommodating hole 134 and the inner annular groove 122, the balls 135 located in the accommodating hole 134 may rub against the groove surface of the inner annular groove 122 to roll by rotating the adjusting seat 130, thereby facilitating the smoothness of the adjusting seat 130 during rotation.

Referring to fig. 5 in conjunction with fig. 2 to 4, fig. 5 is another schematic cross-sectional view of the bicycle seatpost structure 100 of the embodiment of fig. 1. As shown in fig. 4, when the second piston 170 is located at the first position, the user can insert the tool into the side hole 131 through the radial through hole 121, and then move the tool in the radial through hole 121 along the direction orthogonal to the axial direction I1, so as to rotate the adjustment seat 130, such that the push rod 140 moves downward along the axial direction I1, and as shown in fig. 5, the second piston 170 can be pushed to the second position of fig. 5, at this time, the volume between the second piston 170 and the first piston 151 is reduced, the gas pressure is increased, and the velocity of the rebound of shock absorption is increased (becomes hard). On the contrary, if the rebound velocity of shock absorption is to be slowed (softened), the adjusting seat 130 is rotated reversely by the tool, so that the advantage of convenient adjustment is obtained.

In other embodiments, the upper tube may not have a radial through hole, but the user may directly detach the setting cover above the upper tube to expose the push rod, and the user may rotate the push rod with hand to achieve the same effect.

Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a bicycle seat post structure 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The bicycle seat post structure 200 is similar to the bicycle seat post structure 100 of fig. 1-5, except that the height adjustment mechanism (not shown in fig. 6) may further include a tube 256 for receiving a first piston (not shown in fig. 6), a fluid and a second piston 270, and a plug 257 disposed in the tube 256 and including a central hole through which the push rod 240 enters the tube 256. That is, the first piston, the fluid and the second piston 270 are not directly contacted with the inner tube surface of the upper tube 220, but the tube 256 is additionally disposed in the upper tube space (not labeled in fig. 6) of the upper tube 220, and the height adjustment mechanism and the second piston 270 are both accommodated in the tube 256, and other structures identical or similar to those of the bicycle seatpost structure 100 of fig. 1 to 5 are not repeated.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, it should be understood that various changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[ notation ] to show

100,200 bicycle seat post structure

110 lower tube

120,220 upper pipe

121 radial through hole

122 inner ring groove

123 upper pipe tail plug

130 adjusting seat

131 side hole

132 annular wall

133 bottom wall

1331 radial ribs

1332 penetrating the hole

134 containing hole

135 sphere

140,240 push rod

141 trench

142 external thread part

150 height adjusting mechanism

151 first piston

152: valve

153 actuating rod

154 rubber

155, pipe plug

160: screw seat

170,270 second piston

171 main body

172O-ring

256 tube body

257 plug column

I1 axial direction

And S1, upper pipe space.

Claims (10)

1. A bicycle seat post structure, comprising:

a lower pipe;

the upper pipe is movably inserted in the lower pipe and comprises an upper end;

a height adjustment device comprising:

a first piston located within the upper tube; and

at least one fluid located within the upper tube, at least a portion of the at least one fluid being located above the first piston;

a second piston located within the upper tube and directly contacting the at least a portion of the at least one fluid; and

the push rod is positioned at the upper end of the upper pipe and pushes against the second piston, and the push rod is used for enabling the second piston to be switched from a first position to a second position along the axial direction so as to compress the volume of the at least one part of the at least one fluid between the first piston and the second piston.

2. A bicycle seat post structure according to claim 1, wherein the first piston, the at least one fluid and the second piston directly contact the inner tubular surface of the upper tube.

3. A seat post structure for a bicycle according to claim 1, wherein the height adjusting device further comprises a tube for receiving the first piston, the at least one fluid and the second piston, and a plug assembled to the tube and including a central hole through which the push rod enters the tube.

4. The bicycle seat post structure of claim 2 or 3, further comprising a screw seat disposed in the upper tube for the push rod to thread through, the push rod rotating relative to the screw seat to switch from the first position to the second position.

5. The bicycle seat post structure according to claim 4, wherein the screw seat is correspondingly screw-locked to the inner screw portion of the upper tube.

6. The bicycle seat post structure of claim 4, further comprising an adjustment seat rotatably disposed above the screw seat and including at least one side hole, the push rod rotatably coupled to the adjustment seat, the upper tube further including a radial through hole at the upper end of the upper tube and correspondingly communicating with the at least one side hole, the radial through hole allowing a tool to extend from an outer side of the upper tube into the at least one side hole to drive the adjustment seat to rotate in place and the push rod to rotate.

7. The bicycle seat post structure of claim 6, wherein the adjustment seat further comprises:

the annular wall is used for arranging the at least one side hole; and

and the bottom wall is integrally connected with the annular wall and comprises a through hole, and the through hole is used for the push rod to penetrate through.

8. The bicycle seat post structure of claim 7, wherein the bottom wall further comprises at least one radial rib protruding from the through hole, the push rod comprises at least one groove, and the radial rib protrudes from the groove to limit the rotation of the bottom wall and the push rod.

9. A bicycle seatpost structure according to claim 7, wherein the adjustment seat further comprises a plurality of receiving holes and a plurality of balls, the receiving holes are annularly disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the annular wall, and each ball is movably restrained between each receiving hole and the inner tubular surface of the upper tube.

10. A bicycle seat post structure according to claim 6, wherein the radial through hole has an oblong cross-section and includes a minor axis parallel to the axial direction.

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