JPH0141677Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a bicycle gear shift operation lever device, and more specifically, the bicycle transmission can be switched from a high gear to a low gear, or from a low gear to a high gear, with only a push-in operation. It relates to something that is configured to be operable.

A bicycle transmission device consists of an external transmission or an internal transmission, and a transmission control lever that is connected to the transmission via an operating cable and fixed at a position on the frame or handlebars that is easily operated by the rider. be done. The above operating cable is usually a double cable constructed by passing a flexible inner cable through a flexible outer cable, and the operating force on the operating lever is converted into relative movement in the axial direction between the inner cable and the outer cable. This information is transmitted to the transmission, allowing predetermined gear shifting operations to be performed.

By the way, the conventional general gear shift operation lever is
The end of the inner cable is connected to the base of a lever that is rotatably supported about a fixed shaft, and when the lever is rotated in one direction, the inner cable is pulled into the winding section formed at the base of the lever. When the lever is rotated in the opposite direction, the inner cable is pulled out from the winding section while being pulled by the restoring force of the spring built into the transmission. There is. At this time, since both ends of the outer cable are fixed to appropriate fixing members, the relative axial movement between the outer cable and the inner cable applied by the lever side is transmitted as is to the transmission side, thereby causing the speed change. The machine is activated. In other words, conventional general bicycle gear shift operation levers have a structure in which the transmission cannot be operated from a high gear to a low gear, or from a low gear to a high gear, unless the lever is rotated in both directions. It's summery.

Among bicycle transmissions, internal transmissions are often equipped on women's bicycles and light vehicles, and generally have a small number of gears, 2 or 3 gears, and allow for safe and reliable gear shifting while holding the handlebar. In addition, the gear shift control lever is mounted on the handlebar near the grip. Usually, these shift control levers are made relatively short in length to shorten the rotation locus of the operating force acting part that the thumb touches, so that they can be operated with just one thumb. There is a method in which the lever is rotated in one direction by pushing the action part with one thumb, and then the lever is rotated in the opposite direction by hooking the thumb on the end of the lever.
This has the disadvantage that it is difficult to operate because the specified speed change operation cannot be performed without using two types of fingers.

Therefore, a shift control lever has been proposed that allows the transmission to be switched from a high gear to a low gear and from a low gear to a high gear simply by pushing the lever. , as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 17893/1983. This device has a first lever that can be rotated while winding the inner cable, and a second lever that is installed parallel to this first lever and can be rotated, and one of these levers is rotated in one direction. When one lever is rotated, the other lever is forcibly rotated in the opposite direction, and when one lever is rotated to a predetermined position, this lever is locked at that position and at the same time A locking mechanism is provided for releasing the other lever that is locked at a predetermined rotational position. According to this operating lever, when the first lever is rotated in the pushing direction, the inner cable is wound and pulled around the base of the first lever and is locked at the same time, and at the same time the second lever returns, and vice versa. When the second lever is rotated in the pushing direction, the second lever rotates to a predetermined position and is locked, and the first lever returns and the inner cable wound around it is let out. Therefore, if the first lever or the second lever, which rotates alternately in a see-saw manner, is rotated alternately in the pushing direction, the first lever attached to the end of the inner cable will eventually rotate back and forth. become,
Both the switching operation of the transmission from a low gear to a high gear and the switching operation from a high gear to a low gear can be performed only by pushing the lever.

However, in the bicycle gear shift operation lever shown in the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-17893, if we pay attention to one lever, we can see that it is in a locked state after being pushed and rotated by a predetermined amount, and that the other lever is in a locked state. Since it is a two-state selection type with the unlocking state conditioned on the condition that the lever is pushed and rotated a predetermined amount and takes a predetermined position, it can be used for a two-speed transmission, but it cannot be used for a three-speed or higher speed transmission. It cannot be applied to transmissions. For example, when trying to adapt it to a three-speed transmission, it is necessary to lock the first lever in the middle of its rotation range, but with the above operating lever, it is necessary to lock the first lever in the middle of its rotation range. This is because there are only two possible states: a stopped state and a returned rotation state when the locked state is released.

The present invention was devised under the above circumstances, and its purpose is to shift from a low gear to a high gear and to shift from a low gear to a high gear by alternately pushing and rotating a pair of levers. To provide an operation lever device for a bicycle transmission capable of performing both gear shifting operations from low speed to low gear and also compatible with a transmission having three or more gear stages.

In order to achieve such an objective, the bicycle gear shift operating lever device of the present invention takes the following technical measures.

That is, it is supported so as to be rotatable within a predetermined angle range around a first axis provided on the fixed member, and one end of the operating cable is connected, and an elastic rotational force is applied by a spring in the direction in which the operating cable is fed out. a first lever supported by a fixed member so as to be rotatable within a predetermined rotation range about a second axis provided parallel to the first axis, and elastically rotated by a spring in the same direction as the first lever; a second lever to which power is applied, and connecting each locking step to at least two locking steps arranged in a radial direction substantially centered on the first axis at the base of the first lever; providing a stepped locking means having a substantially circular arc portion;
Further, the second lever is provided with a locking piece that sequentially engages with each of the locking step portions each time the second lever rotates by a predetermined amount.

The first lever, one end of which is connected to the operating cable, pulls or extends the operating cable by reciprocating within its rotational angle range, thereby causing the transmission, to which the other end of the operating cable is connected, to move. Can be operated by switching. In addition, this first lever is activated by the elasticity of the spring and the tensile force of the spring built into the transmission that pulls the operating cable toward the transmission.
It is constantly trying to rotate in the direction of feeding out the cable. When compatible with a transmission having a three-speed transmission function, the above-mentioned locking means has three approximately circular arc portions with different radii centered on the first shaft, and two locking portions that separate between these approximately circular arc portions. It can be constituted by a stop portion. When this first lever is rotated by a predetermined amount in the direction of pulling the cable against the biasing force, the locking piece that has been slid on the approximately circular arc portion having the maximum radius becomes the first locking piece of the locking stepped portion. Engaging the stop portion, the first lever is held in its pivoted position. When the first lever is further rotated in the traction direction, the locking piece that has been slid on the approximately circular arc portion in the middle of the locking means engages with the second locking step, and the first lever is rotated. held in a moving position. At this time, since the radius of each of the substantially circular arc portions becomes smaller in sequence, the second lever, whose locking piece contacts the engagement means, automatically rotates in steps in the opposite direction to the first lever. On the other hand, when the second lever is rotated a predetermined amount so that its locking piece disengages from the first locking step of the first lever, the first lever is As a result, the lever automatically rotates back by a predetermined angle, and stops when the first locking step portion contacts the locking piece of the second lever. When the second lever is further rotated, the engagement between the locking piece and the second locking step is released, and the first lever is automatically rotated back until it is stopped by a predetermined stopper. move. As described above, in the bicycle gear shift operation lever device of the present invention, by rotating the first lever or the second lever in the same direction, the first lever can be rotated back and forth, and the gear shift operation lever can be rotated in the same direction. switching operation from low gear to high gear,
It is also possible to perform both a switching operation from a high speed gear to a low gear. Furthermore, in the present invention, a step-like locking means is provided at the base of the first lever, and a locking piece that can be engaged with the locking step of this locking means is provided on the second lever, so that it is possible to change the speed. Even if the number of gears of the machine is three or more, it can be easily accommodated by increasing the number of the above-mentioned locking stages, and moreover,
The above switching operation can now be performed without any trouble.

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gear shift lever device 1 of the present invention can be fixed near the grip 3 of the handlebar 2 via a tightening band 4. The main body mechanism part of this lever device 1 is covered by a cover 5, and the arm parts 8 and 9 of the first lever 6 and the second lever 7 are inserted into the slit 10 of the cover 5,
It protrudes outward from 11. The arm portion 8,
Resin knobs 12 and 13 are attached to the ends of the knobs 9 so that they can be pushed and rotated easily with the rider's right thumb.

As shown in FIG. 2, the base bracket 14 to which the main body mechanism part is to be assembled is a cross-sectional core having a pair of opposing walls 15, 16 and a connecting wall 18 with an inner cable w2 insertion hole 17. The tightening band 4 is attached to one opposing wall 16. This base bracket 1
As shown in FIG. 5, in the internal space of 4, a first lever 6 is attached to a first shaft 19 provided near the center so as to span between the opposing walls 15 and 16, and the first lever 6 is mounted within a predetermined range at its base. The second lever 7 is rotatably supported by a second shaft 20 which is parallel to the first shaft 19 at a position displaced to the side opposite to the connecting wall 18 with respect to the first shaft 19. It is rotatably supported at its base.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first lever 6 includes an arm portion 8 or a knob 1 extending obliquely upward.
2 and the cover 5.
A cylindrical curved stage number display section 23 for externally displaying a gear stage number 22 is formed to extend laterally from a window 21 of the window 21, and a protruding piece 37 for locking one end 36a of a spring 36, which will be described later, is formed on the side. For example, a rivet (not shown) is used to connect the plate-shaped second member 62 formed to extend and the third member 63 formed with a locking means 26 to be described later.
It is constructed by overlapping and fixing. Furthermore, on the opposing surfaces of the first member 61 and the second member 62, there are grooves 2 each having a semi-cylindrical inner surface.
7 and 28 are formed, and when assembled, the inner cable w2 introduced from the insertion hole 17 formed in the connecting wall 18 of the base bracket 14 is inserted into the space formed by the cooperation of these grooves 17 and 18. The nipple 29 is accommodated and held. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the arcuate portion 64 of the first member 61 adjacent to the stage number display section 23 of the second member 62 is connected to the inner cable when the first lever 6 is rotated in the direction of arrow F in FIG. It functions as a winding section for w2.

The locking means 26 can be constructed by forming the upper edge of the third member 63 in a stepped shape, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. That is, in this example, the first axis 1
The first circular arc part 30, the second circular arc part 31, and the third circular arc part 32 are formed so that the radius around 9 becomes gradually shorter, and the first circular arc part 30 and the second circular arc part 31 are A first locking stepped portion 33 that is stepped approximately in the radial direction connects the second circular arc portion 31 and a third circular arc portion 32 with a second locking step portion 34 that is stepped approximately in the radial direction. The above-mentioned locking means 26 is configured in this manner.

On the other hand, the second lever 7 has the locking means 26 overlapping the edge of the third member 62 of the first lever.
A locking piece 35 that can be engaged with is formed.

Note that the first lever 6 is directed in the direction in which the inner cable w2 whose end is connected to the first lever 6 is fed out;
That is, an elastic rotational force is applied to the second lever 7 in the direction of the arrow R in FIG. 5, and an elastic rotational force is applied to the second lever 7 in the same direction as the first lever 6, that is, in the direction of the arrow R in FIG. However, in this example, the first axis 1
One end 36b of the spring 36, in which the coil portion 36a is fitted in the spring 36, is hooked onto the protrusion 37 formed on the second member 62 of the first lever 6, and the other end 36c is hooked onto the protrusion 38 formed on the second lever 7. By hooking them together, one spring 36 biases the two levers in the same direction.

Furthermore, in this example, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, a regulating piece 39 is formed in the vicinity of the third circular arc portion 32 on the third member 63 of the first lever 6, and a regulating piece 39 is formed on the second lever 7. As shown in FIG. 7, the locking piece 35 of the second lever 7 is engaged with the second locking step 34 of the locking means 26, that is, the first lever 6 is in the most F direction. Only when the second lever 7 is rotated in the f direction from the state where it has rotated and stopped, the contact piece 40 comes into contact with the restriction piece 37 to prevent the second lever 7 from over-rotating. It is formed. Note that this regulating piece 39 and the abutting piece 40
The action will be explained in detail later in the operation explanation.

Note that the first lever 6 has a notch 41 formed in the first member 61 that comes into contact with a stopper piece 42 formed in the base bracket 14, as shown in FIG. When the arm portion 8 of the first member 61 comes into contact with the stopper piece 43 (FIG. 2) of the base bracket 14, the end of rotation in the direction of arrow F is restricted. Further, the second lever 7 has its locking piece 35 in contact with the third circular arc portion 32 of the locking means 26 of the first lever 6, so that the rotation end thereof is regulated in the direction of the arrow r.
When the arm portion 9 comes into contact with the stopper piece 44 of the base bracket 14, the end of rotation in the direction of arrow f is restricted.

In addition, the inner cable w2 of the operation cable W
The end of the inner cable w2 is connected to the first lever 6 through the insertion hole 17 of the connecting wall 18 of the base bracket 14 as described above.
The end of the outer cable w1 inserted into the sleeve is held against the outside of the connecting wall 18 while being held in the holding hole 45 of the resin cover 5, as clearly shown in FIG. In this way, the end of the outer cable w1 is fixed to the fixed base bracket 14, and the end of the inner cable w2 is connected to the rotating first lever 6, so when the first lever 6 is rotated, Relative movement in the axial direction is imparted to the inner cable w2 and the outer cable w1.

Next, we will discuss the operation of the embodiment described above in the fifth section.
This will be explained based on FIGS. 8 through 8.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the first lever 6 is rotated to the maximum extent in the direction of arrow R, and the inner cable w2 is extended to the maximum extent. At this time, since the second lever 7 is always applied with an elastic rotational force in the direction of the arrow r by the spring 36, the locking piece 35 thereof is elastically in contact with the first circular arc portion 30 of the locking means 26. Next, when the first lever 6 is rotated in the direction of arrow F, the locking piece 35 sliding on the first circular arc portion 30 falls from the first locking step portion 33 to the second circular arc portion 31, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, it comes to come into elastic contact with this second circular arc portion 31. At this time, when you release your finger from the first lever 6, it tries to return in the direction of arrow R due to the biasing force of the spring 36, but the locking piece 35 of the second lever 7 catches on the first locking step 33. , the first lever 6 is held in its pivoted position. When the first lever 6 is further rotated in the direction of arrow F from the state shown in FIG. , as shown in FIG.
2 comes into elastic contact. At this time, even if you release your finger from the first lever 6, the locking piece 35 of the second lever 7 will catch on the second locking step 34, so the first lever 6 will return and rotate in the direction of arrow R. Without,
It is held in that rotational position. The state shown in FIG. 7 is the state in which the first lever 6 is rotated the most in the direction of arrow F and the inner cable w2 is pulled the most.

On the other hand, in order to return the first lever 6 that has been rotated in the direction of the arrow F as described above in the direction of the arrow R, instead of returning the first lever 6 itself in the direction of the arrow R, the second lever 7 is rotated in the direction of the arrow f. It is only necessary to rotate it by a predetermined amount. That is, when the second lever 7 is rotated in the direction of arrow f from the state shown in FIG.
is disengaged from the second locking step 34, at which time the first lever 6 moves in the direction of arrow R until the first locking step 33 is caught on the locking piece 35 as shown in FIG. Return to direction. Then, when the second lever 7 is moved further in the direction of arrow f from the state shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the notch 41 returns and rotates in the direction of arrow R until it comes into contact with the stopper piece 42 of the base bracket 14.

By the way, if no care is taken to the second lever 7, in order to stop the first lever 6 at an intermediate position of its rotation range as shown in FIG.
Rotate in the direction of arrow f while making subtle adjustments with your fingertips to the extent that the locking piece 35 does not catch on the second locking step 34 but does catch on the first locking step 33. However, this embodiment also solves this problem. That is, from the state shown in FIG. 7, move the second lever 7 in the direction of arrow f.
When the second lever 7 is rotated in the direction of the arrow f, the contact piece 40 once contacts the restriction piece 39 provided on the first lever 6, as shown in FIG. It has become impossible to do so.
In the state shown in FIG. 8, the locking piece 35 does not interfere with the rotation restriction of the second locking step 34 about the first axis 19, but it does not interfere with the rotation locus of the first locking step 33. Of course, it is in a convenient location.
In the state shown in FIG. 8, the engagement between the locking piece 35 and the second locking step 34 has already been released, so the first lever 6 rotates back as shown in FIG. The first locking step portion 33 and the locking piece 35 are engaged with each other and held at an intermediate position of their rotation range. In the state shown in FIG. 6, the rotation locus of the abutting piece 40 about the second axis 20 does not interfere with the regulating piece 39, so the second lever 7 is further rotated in the direction of the arrow f as described above. 5, and the state shown in FIG. 5 can be achieved.

After all, both when you want to rotate the first lever 6 in the direction of arrow F and when you want to return this first lever 6 to the direction of arrow R, you can move the first lever 6 or the second lever 7 in the same direction, that is, arrow F. If the installation is as shown in Fig. 1, pushing and rotating the first or second lever with the thumb of the right hand will shift the transmission to high gear. It becomes possible to perform switching operations from to low gear and from low gear to high gear.

As described above, the bicycle gear shift operation lever device of the present invention allows the transmission to be switched by rotating the first lever or the second lever in the same direction, thereby reducing the need for using fingers for operation. Not only is it easy to operate, but it also has the special effect of making it possible to change gears in a transmission with three or more gears, which was not possible with conventional examples of this type.

It should be noted that the scope of the present invention is of course not limited to the embodiment shown in the drawings; for example, although the illustrated example is compatible with a three-speed transmission, it can also be adapted to a transmission with four or more speeds. It is also possible. In order to accommodate a four-speed transmission, the number of steps in the stepped locking means may be increased, such as by providing three locking step portions in the locking means provided at two locations in the illustrated example. Further, in the illustrated example, a single spring is used to apply the elastic rotational force to both the first lever and the second lever, but the elastic rotational force may be applied to both using separate springs. Furthermore, the bicycle gear shift operation lever device of the present invention can be used not only for operating an internal transmission but also for an external transmission. Furthermore, it can be mounted not only on the handlebar but also at any suitable position on the bicycle frame.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an external perspective view showing the installed state of the embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of parts excluding the cover, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the internal mechanism shown excluding the cover and base bracket, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure, and FIGS. 5 to 8 are schematic sectional views for explaining the internal structure and operation. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Speed change operation lever device, 6... First lever, 7... Second lever, 19... First shaft, 20...
...Second axis, 30, 31, 32... (omitted) arc part,
33, 34... Locking step portion, 35... Locking piece, 36
……Spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A first shaft is supported to be rotatable within a predetermined angle range around a first axis provided on the fixed member, and one end of the operating cable is connected to the first shaft, and an elastic rotational force is applied by a spring in the direction in which the operating cable is fed out. A lever is rotatably supported within a predetermined rotation range around a second axis provided on a fixed member in parallel with the first axis, and applies elastic rotational force by a spring in the same direction as the first lever. a second lever provided;
A step-shaped locking means having at least two locking step portions arranged in a radial direction approximately centered on the first axis and a substantially circular arc portion connecting each locking step portion at the base of the first lever. and on the second lever,
A bicycle speed change operating lever device, characterized in that a locking piece is provided which sequentially engages each of the locking step portions each time the lever rotates by a predetermined amount.