JP2014004988A - Front fork folding mechanism of folding bike - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light, compact folding bike excellent in portability and running performance while suppressing manufacturing costs since the folding bike can be made more compact as there are more folding parts, however, the folding parts have drawbacks of remarkably reducing rigidity of a bicycle.SOLUTION: A front fork is bisected into a main fork 1 and a sub-fork 2 to share roles of quick release 16 for fixing quick release 14 which is loosened in folding and quick release 16 for fixing a front wheel 15. Then, necessity of loosening the delicate and troublesome quick release 16 for fixing the front wheel 15 is excluded to avoid labor in folding and a risk of a failure. Necessity for reinforcing and necessity of cutting the main fork 1 and a main frame 17 from the middle to be folded is also excluded.

Description

The present invention is a mechanism that folds the front fork with a single touch without lowering the rigidity of the folding bike that does not fold the main frame, making the folding bike more compact, more portable, and maintaining stable running performance. It is what I did.

Conventionally, there has been a folding bike with a mechanism for folding the front fork without folding the main frame, but the folding procedure is complicated and it takes time and effort to fold and assemble. In addition, folding bikes that cut the front fork from the root and fold it to fold it significantly reduce the rigidity of the front fork, which takes one-half of the total weight. The three basic performances of the bicycle were not fully met.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-004811 Registration No. 3172778 Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-279102 (P2009-279102) Japanese Patent No. 4529101 (P45529101)

The three basic performances of a bicycle, “Run”, “Bend”, and “Stop”, depend greatly on the rigidity and weight of the bicycle. This is obvious when you look at a road bike specializing in racing. Nowadays, road bikes are no longer common to make frames and wheels with light and durable titanium and carbon.
Although the folding bike can be made more compact as the number of folding points increases, the folding point has a weak point that significantly reduces the rigidity of the bicycle, and must be reinforced.
Therefore, there was a paradox where folding bikes with many folding points increased in weight and markedly deteriorated in portability and running performance. In order to solve this paradox, there is a method of removing the wheel using quick release, but since the delicate quick release that stops the wheel each time it is folded is removed, there is a difficulty that further increases the trouble and risk of failure. It was. The present invention has been made to solve this problem.

Bicycle front fork is divided into main fork 1 and sub fork 2; upper part is beam 3 and lower end is split into quadrilateral with beam 4 and beam 5 separately, and quick release 14 and front to loosen when folded Shares the role of the quick release 16 that fixes the wheel 15.
At the time of folding, if the quick release 14 is loosened after the handle 18 is turned 180 degrees, the main fork 1 and the sub fork 2 are separated by one touch.
The front wheel 15 fixed to the sub-fork 2 is rotated around the hinge 6 so that it can be easily folded.

The role of the quick release 14 that fixes the front wheel 15 and the quick release 14 that loosens when folded is divided, eliminating the need to loosen the quick release 16 that fixes the delicate front wheel 15 and the risk of trouble and failure. Was able to be avoided.
Furthermore, it was possible to eliminate the necessity of cutting and folding the front fork from the middle and reinforcing it. In other words, it has made it possible to manufacture a lightweight and compact folding bike with excellent portability while reducing costs.

  It is the side view of this invention, and a perspective view of an internal structure.   It is a side view which shows the use condition of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the most general bicycle front fork representing an embodiment of the present invention as a main fork 1 and a sub fork. The beam is divided into two, and the upper part is joined to the quadrilateral by the beam 3 and the lower part of the beam 3 separately from the left and right sides.
The main fork 1 and the beam 3 are fixed to a fixed, and the connecting portion between the sub fork 2 and the beam 3 is connected by a hinge 6 that rotates vertically in the traveling direction.
The hinge 7 and the hinge 8 where the beam 4 and the beam 5 are connected to the main fork 1 are vertically rotated in the traveling direction to form a catch and release structure by the hook 9 and the hook 10.
The hook 9 and the hook 10 are normally tightly closed by the tension spring 24 and the tension spring 25, but the arm 11 and the arm 12 are joined and opened and closed by the vertical movement of the arm 11 and the arm 12.
The arm 11 and the arm 12 are connected to the crank 19 and the crank 20 which are connected to the shaft 13, and the shaft 13 is connected to the quick release 14 via the crank 21.
The hinge 22 and the hinge 23 where the beam 4 and the beam 5 are connected to the sub-fork 2 are vertically rotated in the traveling direction, and a constant tension is maintained by a tension spring 26 and a tension spring 27.
The sub fork 2 and the front wheel 15 are fixed by a quick release 16.

When folding the front fork of the folding bike according to the present invention, the handle 18 is turned 180 degrees to rotate the front fork 1 and the sub fork 2 half a turn.
When the quick release 14 is loosened, the crank 21 rotates the shaft 13, and when the arms 11 and 12 open the hooks 9 and 10 by the crank movement of the cranks 19 and 20, the hinges 7 and 8 are unlocked. Fork 1 and sub-fork 2 are separated.
The front wheel 15 is rotated and folded around the hinge 6 while being fixed to the sub-fork 2.

The quick release 14 according to the present invention can be attached to the front side or the side surface. If the structure is such that it does not operate unless it is twisted left and right, the hook 9 and the hook 10 will not be inadvertently released. To become a safety device.
Furthermore, if the rigidity and elasticity of the beam 3 are used, it can be applied as a very simple suspension system. If a cushioning material 28 made of rubber or spring is mounted between the beam 3 and the front fork 1, the effect can be expected further.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main fork 26 Pull spring 2 Sub fork 27 Pull spring 3 Beam 28 Buffer material 4 Beam 5 Beam 6 Hinge 7 Hinge 8 Hinge 9 Hook 10 Hook 11 Arm 12 Arm 13 Shaft 14 Quick release 15 Front wheel 16 Quick Release 17 Main frame 18 Handle 19 Crank 20 Crank 21 Crank 22 Hinge 23 Hinge 24 Pull spring 25 Pull spring

Claims (1)

  Bicycle front fork is divided into main fork 1 and sub fork 2 so that it can share the role of quick release 14 that loosens when folded and quick release 16 that fixes front wheel 15 and is delicate and laborious Without loosening the quick release 16 that fixes the front wheel 15 on which the crank is applied, the crank 21 rotates or moves the shaft 13 back and forth simply by loosening the quick release 14, and the cranks 19 and 20 perform the crank motion of the cranks 19 and 20. Opens the hooks 9 and 10, unlocks the hinges 7 and 8, and the front wheel 15 fixed to the sub-fork 2 rotates around the hinge 6 and is folded by one touch.

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