JPH09175470A - Lever mechanism for bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make diversified operations smooth, and enhance attractive feature. SOLUTION: Two nodes 51 and 52 out of a link mechanism 3 composed of four links and four nodes, are provided for a frame 1, an inner cable 8 is connected to one link 41 or 43, and areas 9 and 11 or 12 with which the fingers of an operator are brought into contact for driving the link mechanism 3, are provided for two links 41 and 42 or 43 so as to be actuated smoothly as an one link lever as a whole, so that operations are thereby diversified.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a bicycle lever mechanism. More specifically, the present invention relates to a bicycle lever mechanism that can be used for bicycle gear shifting operations, braking operations, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An operation lever mechanism for operating a control cable of a bicycle is conventionally a one-link mechanism. In the operation lever mechanism of the one-link mechanism, the dynamic relationship and the movement position of the lever have a one-to-one correspondence. Such correspondence seems to be free, but is actually not arbitrary. For this reason, the operating force of the finger is uniformly determined, and the degree of constraint is large and the degree of freedom is small. The operation lever mechanism of the bicycle is required to be drastically improved in order to be released from such restraint.

A brake lever mechanism employing a four-bar linkage is known (US Pat. No. 5,287,
765). Although this four-bar linkage can select the lever ratio as compared with the one-link mechanism, it does not improve the operability.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made under the above-mentioned technical background, and achieves the following objects.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bicycle lever mechanism having a high degree of freedom in operation.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bicycle lever mechanism having high operation stability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a bicycle lever mechanism that provides various operation feelings.

[0008] The present invention is to provide a bicycle lever mechanism which gives a great deal of variety to operation feeling.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bicycle lever mechanism which makes the operation feeling uniform.

[0010]

The present invention employs the following means to achieve the above object.

The bicycle lever mechanism of the present invention 1 is a lever mechanism which is attached to a bicycle frame and operates a control cable, wherein two of four link four link mechanisms are provided on the frame. An inner cable of the control cable is connected to the one link, and at least the two links are provided with a portion for driving an operator's finger to drive the link mechanism.

The bicycle lever mechanism of the present invention 2 is a lever mechanism which is attached to a bicycle frame and operates a control cable. Two links of a link mechanism consisting of four links and four sections are freely rotatable on the frame. The inner cable of the control cable is connected to the one link, and a portion for driving the link mechanism by touching a finger of an operator is provided on at least the three links.

A bicycle lever mechanism according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect, a spring has one end connected to the link or the joint and the other end connected to the frame.

A bicycle lever mechanism of a fourth aspect of the present invention is the bicycle lever mechanism according to the first or second aspect, wherein one end is connected to the link or the joint, the other end is connected to the frame, and the bicycle is positioned at a plurality of positions. A bicycle lever mechanism characterized by being composed of.

A bicycle lever mechanism according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the third aspect, each of the two links out of the four links is operated without interposing another link.

A bicycle lever mechanism according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the bicycle lever mechanism according to the third aspect of the present invention, wherein the fourth section includes two stationary sections and two movable sections. The first stationary section of the second stationary section and the first movable section of the second movable section. The distance between the node and the other stationary 1 node and the distance between the other movable 1 node are equal, and the distance between the stationary 2 node and the movable 2 node
It is characterized by unequal distances between nodes.

A bicycle lever mechanism according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the third aspect, the link between the movable two joints is operated by a finger.

A bicycle lever mechanism according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the same as the third aspect of the present invention, wherein the fourth joint is composed of two stationary joints and two movable joints, and the link mechanism is a parallelogram link. Is operated by a finger.

The bicycle lever mechanism of the present invention is a four-bar linkage mechanism. Two of the four sections are fixedly provided in a movable portion such as a handle frame with respect to the frame of the bicycle, particularly the body of the bicycle (the saddle shaft is a reference). Two of the four links are rotatably fixed to a bicycle frame, in particular a handle frame, which is movable with respect to the body of the bicycle.

The bicycle lever mechanism of the present invention functions as if the 4-bar, 4-link mechanism is one 1-link lever mechanism. That is, the force of the finger can be applied to at least two of the four links. Alternatively, finger force can be applied to any part of the four links.
Such an operation has a high degree of freedom, a high degree of stability, and a variety of operation feelings. The sense of operation can be made uniform.
The lever mechanism can be designed in various ways according to the driver's taste, competition type, and usage pattern.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(Embodiment 1) Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of a bicycle lever mechanism of the present invention. The bicycle body is defined by a saddle shaft. The bicycle frame is composed of a main body frame (referred to as an immovable frame) and a movable frame. The handle frame (hereinafter, simply referred to as a handle) is a part of the movable frame and is integral with the front wheel fork. As shown in FIG. 1, a link mounting member 2 is fixedly provided on the handle 1.

The link mounting member 2 is a member fixed to the handle 1 with bolts or the like. The link attachment member 2 is provided with a four-section four-link mechanism 3. 4-section 4-link mechanism 3
Is a single fixed link 44 and three movable links 4 that are adjacent to each other and are rotatably connected to each other with four joints as rotation centers.
1, 42, and 43. The four-node, four-link mechanism 3 is composed of two fixed joint pins 51, 54 and two movable joint pins 52, 53.

The movable link 41 and the stationary link 44 are rotatably connected to each other by a stationary node pin 51 adjacent to each other. The movable link 41 and the movable link 42 are adjacently rotatably connected to each other by a movable joint pin 52. The movable link 42 and the movable link 43 are adjacently rotatably connected to each other by a movable joint pin 53.

The movable link 43 and the stationary link 44 are rotatably connected to each other by a stationary node pin 54 adjacent to each other. The four links form a parallelogram. The movable link 41 is extended. Extension 6 of movable link 41
An end portion of an inner cable 8 of a control cable (not shown) is connected to the. A part of the control cable is fixed and attached to the link attachment member 2.

The movable link 41 is provided with a first finger operation hook portion 9. The first finger operation hook 9 has a movable link 41.
It is integrally molded. The first finger operation hooking portion 9 forms a pressing surface (a spherical surface, a cylindrical surface, a flat surface, etc.) against the finger. The movable link 42 is provided with the second finger operation hooking portion 11. The second finger operation hook 11 is formed integrally with the movable link 42.

The second finger operation hooking portion 11 forms a pressing surface (spherical surface, cylindrical surface, flat surface, etc.) against the finger. Movable link 43
Is provided with a third finger operation hook portion 12. The third finger operation hook 12 is formed integrally with the movable link 43. The third finger operation hooking portion 12 forms a pressing surface (a spherical surface, a cylindrical surface, a flat surface, etc.) against the finger. The fixed link 44 is not provided with a finger operation hooking portion. The fixed link 44, which is shown for convenience in the drawings, is functionally the same as the link attachment member 2. The tension spring 13 is interposed between the movable joint pin 52 and the link attachment member 2.

In the lever mechanism constructed as described above, three of the four links function as a lever which receives an operating force by a finger. Because of the parallel movement, the positional relationship with the finger is substantially unchanged with respect to the movable link 42. Although the posture of the finger is almost unchanged, the operating force of the finger varies at the starting end, the intermediate part, and the ending end of the parallel movement of the movable link 42.

This is because the length of the tension spring 13 varies. The variation of the finger operating force varies not only due to the variation of the length of the tension spring 13 but also due to the mechanical relationship of the other end of the inner cable 8. The mechanical relationship at the other end of the inner cable 8 is the relationship between the derailleur and the chain. Although the four-link lever functions as a one-link lever, the lever mechanism is the same, but since the levers are supported at four different positions, the operation is stable and smooth. The range of activity of the operated finger is expanded. The activity range is an area from the solid line display position to the chain line display position.

An operation force is directly applied to the movable link 41 via the first finger operation hook portion 9, and an operation force is indirectly applied via the movable link 42 and the movable link 43. An operating force directly acts on the movable link 42 via the second finger operation hook portion 11, and an operating force indirectly acts on the movable link 42 via the movable link 41 and the movable link 43. An operation force directly acts on the movable link 43 via the third finger operation hook portion 12, and an operation force indirectly acts on the movable link 43 via the movable link 41 and the movable link 42. Movable link 41, movable link 42, movable link 4
The acting force of the finger can be simultaneously applied to the two bodies of 3.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the bicycle lever mechanism of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG.
Fixed joint pin 51, movable joint pin 52, movable joint pin 53, relationship between stationary joint pin 54 and handle 1, link mounting member 2, movable link 41, movable link 42, movable link 4
3, fixed link 44, fixed link pin 51, movable link pin 5
2, the relationship between the movable joint pin 53 and the stationary joint pin 54 is the same as those in the first embodiment. The immobile link 44 of the first embodiment is omitted.

Also in the second embodiment, the first finger operation hook portion 9, the second finger operation hook portion 11 and the third finger operation hook portion 12 in the first embodiment can be provided. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the following points. The working end of the inner cable 8 is connected to the intermediate position of the movable link 43.
The first embodiment and the second embodiment are basically the same in operation, but different in the proportional relationship of the action force in the leverage action.

The 4-link lever functions as a 1-link lever. As in the first embodiment, the lever is supported by four points at different positions and the operation is stable and smooth.

(Embodiment 3) Embodiment 3 is basically the same as Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the member that supports the fixed joint pin 51 and the fixed joint pin 54 is the handle 1. As described above, since the handle 1 and the link attachment member 2 are the same body, the difference between the support members is an apparent difference, and there is no substantial difference. Movable link 4
The point 1 has an extension 6 is also the same as the first embodiment. The extension 21 of the movable link 43 is newly added. The extension 21 is further extended and a re-extension 22 is added. The end of the inner cable 8 is joined to the end of the re-extension part 22. The end of the extension portion 21 and the end of the extension portion 6 are rotatably connected by an auxiliary link 23. The method of providing the tension spring 27 is different from that of the first and second embodiments.

In comparison with the first embodiment, the third embodiment has the same leverage ratio, but the lever operation is mechanically more stable due to the addition of the auxiliary link 23. Also in the third embodiment, the first finger operation hooking portion 9, the second finger operation hooking portion 11, and the third finger operation hooking portion 12 in the first embodiment can be provided. Since the tension spring 27 has a small variation rate of expansion and contraction, the variation of the operating force is small. The third embodiment is preferred by the user who prefers that the fluctuation of the operating force is small.

(Embodiment 4) Embodiment 4 is basically the same as Embodiment 3 in the operating method. As shown in FIG. 4, the tension mechanism is different between the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment. The third embodiment and the fourth embodiment are the same in that both ends of the pull are the nodes of the movable joint pin 52 and the auxiliary link 23.
The pulling mechanism 31 according to the fourth embodiment has two diagonal links 3.
It is composed of 2, 33.

Between the diagonal link 32 and the diagonal link 33, as shown in FIG. 5, a diagonal tension spring 34 is provided.
Is interposed. Due to the tensile force of the diagonal tension spring 34, the diagonal link 32 and the diagonal link 33 are in a tensile relationship. The diagonal link 33 includes a case 35. The diagonal link 32 includes a guide portion 36.
The case 35 is guided by the case 35 and moves diagonally. A hooking protrusion 37 is provided on the inner surface side of the case 35. A hook recess 38 is provided on the outer surface of the guide portion 36. The hanging recesses 38 are provided side by side in the diagonal direction at a plurality of positions. By the expansion and contraction of the tension mechanism 31, the hook protrusion 3
7 and the hooking recess 38 engage at different positions and are locked at the engaging position.

(Fifth Embodiment) A fifth embodiment of the bicycle lever mechanism of the present invention shown in FIG.
Section 4 link mechanism. Section 4 is immovable Section 2 pins 51, 54
And the movable 2-node pins 52 and 53 are the same as those in the first embodiment.
It is the same as 2, 3 and 4. The distance between the stationary 1-node pin 51 of the stationary 2-node pins 51 and 54 and the movable 1-node pin 52 of the movable 2-node, and the other stationary 1-node pin 54 and the other movable 1
The distance to the node pin 53 is equal. Fixed 2-section pin 51,
The distance between 54 and the movable two-node pins 51 and 52 are not equal. The non-parallel links are trapezoidal.

The movable link 52 between the movable two-node pins is operated by one second finger operation hook portion 11. The left position (chain line position) and the right position (solid line position) are symmetrical with respect to the neutral position. In the left position and the right position, the postures of the fingers are almost symmetrical. At such symmetrical positions, the operating forces have a strong and weak relationship.
The posture is not uniform and the operation force is not uniform, but there is symmetry with respect to position. You may provide the 1st finger operation hanging part 9 and the 3rd finger operation hanging part 12 in the position shown by arrow A, B in the figure.

The first to fifth embodiments are common in that the finger operation portion is a spherical surface or a cylindrical surface. For example, the cylindrical surface can be pushed from a wide angle perimeter. It can be operated with both the right and left fingers. When only the right hand finger is used, the pushing operation can be performed by changing the angle of the finger. In this way, the operation can be diversified.

[0040]

According to the bicycle lever mechanism of the present invention,
The following effects are exhibited. There is a clear correspondence between the posture of the finger and the operation force, and the taste is rich. The operation is stable and powerful operation is smooth. Since there are many operating points,
High degree of freedom of operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of a bicycle lever mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the bicycle lever mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a third embodiment of a bicycle lever mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a fourth embodiment of the bicycle lever mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a fifth embodiment of the bicycle lever mechanism of the present invention.

6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Handle 2 ... Link attachment member 3 ... Section 4 4 Link mechanism 6 ... Extension 7 ... Control cable 8 ... Inner cable 9 ... First finger operation hook 11 ... Second finger operation hook 12 ... Third finger operation hook Part 13, 27 ... Tension spring 41 ... Movable link 42 ... Movable link 43 ... Movable link 44 ... Immovable link 51 ... Immovable node pin 52 ... Movable node pin 53 ... Movable node pin 54 ... Immovable node pin 31 ... Tension mechanism 32, 33 ... Diagonal link 34 ... Diagonal tension spring 36 ... Guide part 37 ... Hanging protrusion 38 ... Hanging recess

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A lever mechanism attached to a frame of a bicycle for operating a control cable, wherein two links of a link mechanism consisting of four links and four links are provided on the frame, and one link of the control cable is provided. A bicycle lever mechanism, wherein an inner cable is connected and at least a portion for driving the link mechanism by contacting a finger of an operator is provided on at least the two links. 2. A lever mechanism attached to a bicycle frame for operating a control cable, wherein two links of a link mechanism consisting of four links and four joints are rotatably provided on the frame, and one link is provided on the one link. A bicycle lever mechanism, wherein an inner cable of a control cable is connected, and at least a portion for driving the link mechanism by contacting a finger of an operator is provided on at least the three links. 3. The spring according to claim 1, wherein one end of the spring is connected to the link or the node,
A bicycle lever mechanism, the other end of which is connected to the frame. 4. The bicycle according to claim 1, wherein one end is connected to the link or the joint, the other end is connected to the frame, and the positioning mechanism is positioned at a plurality of positions. Lever mechanism. 5. The bicycle lever mechanism according to claim 3, wherein each of the two links of the four links is operated without interposing another link. 6. The third section according to claim 3, wherein the fourth section includes two stationary sections and two movable sections, and a distance between a stationary one section of the two stationary sections and a movable one section of the two movable sections and other factors. 2. The bicycle lever mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the stationary 1-node and the other movable 1-node is equal, and the distance between the stationary 2-node and the distance between the movable 2-node are not equal. 7. The bicycle lever mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the link between the movable two joints is operated by a finger. 8. The linking mechanism according to claim 3, wherein each of the four joints includes a stationary two joint and a movable two joint, the link mechanism is a parallelogram link, and the link between the movable two joints is operated by a finger. Characteristic bicycle lever mechanism.