JPH08156868A - Front wheel drive bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To stabilize a bicycle when using a front-wheel drive mechanism by providing a stabilizing bar attached to the frame of a hand crank mechanism, and providing the stabilizing bar with a chest support against which a driver presses the upper part of his/her chest when operating a front-wheel drive hand crank mechanism. CONSTITUTION: A stabilizing bar 24 is attached to a hand crank mechanism and extends rearwardly therefrom. An appropriately formed chest support 26 padded for supporting the chest of a driver is attached to the rear end of the stabilizing bar 24. A normal manually turned adjustment means 28 is provided to allow the stabilizing bar 24 to be vertically rotated for adjustment. Similar adjustment means 30, 32 are provided so that the chest support 26 can be rotated to the position desired by the driver and can be taken in and out.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bicycle in general, and more particularly, to a dual drive system in which a driving force can be selectively transmitted by a driver to a rear wheel by a foot pedal and a front wheel by a hand pedal as in the prior art. A bicycle equipped with a mechanism.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are many dual drive bicycles in the prior art. The basic structure of this type of bicycle is US Pat. No. 3,19.
No. 3,305, No. 4,147,370, No. 4,68
Some are described in 5,692 and 4,773,662. These known patents describe various bicycles that employ either a hand crank that drives the front wheels of the bicycle or a lever reciprocating mechanism in addition to the conventional foot pedal rear wheel drive mechanism.

[0003]

Most of the known double-drive bicycles have the important drawback that when the driver cranks or pedals his arm, the twisting movement is transmitted to the front wheels of the bicycle. This twisting movement is rather unstable and is of a magnitude that makes cycling difficult. Maybe this flaw is due to why traditional dual-drive bicycles were not accepted by bicycle enthusiasts. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dual drive bicycle that does not generate a force that makes the bicycle unstable when using a front wheel drive mechanism.

[0004]

This and other objects include a stabilizing rod attached to a frame of a hand crank mechanism, the stabilizing rod being operated by a driver while operating a front wheel drive hand crank mechanism. This is accomplished by the preferred illustrated embodiment of the present invention, which has a breastplate that presses against the chest of the upper body. The force of pushing the driver's upper body against the chest plate acts in a straight line in front of the front wheel of the bicycle, which considerably improves the stability of the bicycle. Furthermore, the combination of the stabilizer bar and the breast pad generates a reaction force that makes it easier for the driver to operate while operating the front wheel hand crank mechanism.

[0005]

Operation and Embodiments Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a dual drive bicycle 10 having a conventional foot pedal rear wheel drive mechanism. A similar drive mechanism is provided so that the driver can use the arms and hands to transfer the drive force to the front wheels of the bicycle. The front wheel drive mechanism is provided with the same chain drive sprocket 12 as the conventional one, and this has the left and right crank handles 16 included in the hand crank mechanism.
And 18 are driven. It is desirable that the left and right crank handles 16, 18 are laterally close to each other with a slight gap left from the bicycle frame, so that the twisting force generated during the operation of the hand crank mechanism can be prevented. Can be minimized. The chain drive sprocket 12 connects the drive chain 13 to the front wheels of the bicycle 10 as is conventional, either directly or via a transmission mechanism as is conventional. The hand crank mechanism is conventionally equipped with a bearing frame 20, which is attached to the front wheel steering column 22 of the bicycle 10. It is extremely important that the hand crank mechanism is arranged so that the center of rotation of the crank handles 16 and 18 is considerably close to the center line of the front wheel steering support column 22. As a result, the twisting force generated by the operation of the hand crank mechanism is reduced. Communication to the front wheel steering column 22 can be minimized.

The stabilizer bar 24 is attached to the hand crank mechanism and extends rearwardly therefrom. An appropriately formed breast pad 26 that is padded to support the driver's chest
Is attached to the rear end of the stabilizing rod 24. A conventional manual turning means 28 is provided so that the stabilizing rod 24 can be rotationally adjusted in the vertical direction. Similar adjustment means 30 and 32 are provided to allow the breastplate 26 to be rotated and moved in and out to the driver's preferred position. A pair of adjustable handlebars 34, 36 are disposed longitudinally intermediate the stabilizer bar 24 for use by the driver when the hand crank mechanism is not in use. The handlebars 34, 36 may be slid along the stabilizer bar 24 so that they can be moved closer to or further from the driver. Brake operating mechanisms 38 and 40 are mounted in association with the handlebars 34 and 36 so that caliper type brakes for the front and rear wheels can be operated as in the conventional case. Alternatively, a conventional coaster type brake may be adopted.

The front and rear wheel drive mechanism of the bicycle 10 may be any combination of a fixed speed or a multi-speed transmission mechanism as in the conventional case. In the case of riding the double-drive bicycle 10 according to the present invention, while the driver operates the crank handles 16 and 18 by using the arms and hands, the driving force is transmitted to the front wheels of the bicycle 10. , Lean forward and place the driver's upper chest on the chest plate. As described above, the force exerted by the driver's upper body on the chest pad 26 is aligned with the front direction of the front wheels of the bicycle 10, and the twisting motion transmitted from the hand crank mechanism to the front wheels is minimized, thereby stabilizing the bicycle 10. Sex is significantly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a double-drive bicycle including a stabilizer rod and a breast pad according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view showing in detail a portion of a front wheel hand crank mechanism having a stabilizing rod and a breast pad in the double drive bicycle shown in FIG.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A main frame, a rear wheel rotatably attached to the main frame, a pedal drive means for driving the rear wheel, and a rotatably attached to the main frame for steering a bicycle. A front wheel support frame, a front wheel rotatably attached to the front wheel support frame, a hand crank drive mechanism attached to the front wheel support frame and connected to the front wheel so that a driver can transmit a driving force to the front wheel, A stabilizer rod connected to the front wheel support frame and extending rearward of the hand crank drive mechanism, the stabilizer rod being adjustably mounted at its end while the hand crank drive mechanism is being operated by a driver. A front-wheel-drive bicycle having a breast pad in which the force for supporting the upper body of the driver is aligned with the front of the front wheel. 2. The front wheel drive bicycle according to claim 1, further comprising adjusting means for adjusting the length of the stabilizing rod to move the chest pad in the front-rear direction. 3. Further comprising handlebar means arranged adjustably in the middle of the lengthwise direction of the stabilizer bar so that the driver can grip when the hand crank drive mechanism is not operated. The front wheel drive bicycle according to claim 1. 4. The front wheel drive bicycle according to claim 3, further comprising brake means attached to the front wheels and brake operation means attached to the handlebar means and operated by a driver. . 5. The front wheel drive bicycle according to claim 1, further comprising adjusting means for adjusting an angle of a stabilizing rod extending rearward of the hand crank drive mechanism. 6. A main frame, a rear wheel rotatably attached to the main frame, a front wheel support frame rotatably attached to the main frame for steering a bicycle, and a rotatably attached to the front wheel support frame. Attached front wheels, a hand crank drive mechanism attached to the front wheel support frame and connected to the front wheels so that a driver can transmit a driving force to the front wheels, and a hand crank drive connected to the front wheel support frame and the hand crank drive It consists of a stabilizer rod extending to the rear of the mechanism, which is adjustably mounted at its end and which exerts a force on the front wheels of the front wheel to support the driver's upper body while the hand crank drive mechanism is being operated by the driver. A front-wheel-drive bicycle, characterized in that it has a breast pad that is aligned in a straight line toward the front. 7. The front wheel drive bicycle according to claim 6, further comprising adjusting means for adjusting the length of the stabilizing rod to move the chest pad in the front-rear direction. 8. A handlebar means is adjustably disposed in the middle of the lengthwise direction of the stabilizer bar so that the driver can grip when the hand crank drive mechanism is not operated. The front-wheel drive bicycle according to claim 6. 9. The front wheel drive bicycle according to claim 8, further comprising brake means attached to the front wheels and brake operation means attached to the handlebar means and operated by a driver. . 10. The front wheel drive bicycle according to claim 6, further comprising adjusting means for adjusting an angle of a stabilizing rod extending rearward of the hand crank drive mechanism.