JPS6121352Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a bicycle internal transmission, and more particularly to a bicycle internal transmission that operates reliably and is extremely easy to adjust for speed change control.

Bicycle internal transmissions generally include a sun gear fixed to a hub axle, a plurality of planetary gears that mesh with the sun gear and revolve and rotate around it, and rotate while meshing with these planetary gears on the outside. It uses a so-called planetary gear mechanism consisting of a gear ring (annular gear). The plurality of planetary gears are circumferentially supported on the bottom of one substantially cylindrical gear frame at predetermined intervals. Therefore, when this gear frame is rotated, that is, when the planetary gear is forced to revolve around the sun gear, the gear ring that meshes with the outside of the planetary gear rotates at a higher speed than the rotation of the gear frame. On the other hand, when the gear ring is rotated, the gear frame rotates at a slower speed than the gear ring. Therefore, if the rotation of the sprocket wheel is transmitted only to the gear frame and the rotation of the gear ring is transmitted only to the hub body, the hub body or the wheel will be in a so-called high position where it rotates at a higher speed than the rotation of the sprocket wheel. If the rotation of the sprocket wheel is transmitted only to the gear ring and the rotation of the gear frame is transmitted only to the hub body, the hub body or the wheel will be in a so-called low position, rotating at a slower speed than the rotation of the sprocket wheel. Furthermore, if the rotation of the sprocket wheel is transmitted only to the gear frame, and the rotation of the gear frame is further transmitted to the hub body, and the gear ring is free from any member, the sprocket The rotation of the wheel is directly transmitted to the hub body without going through the planetary gear mechanism, and the hub body or the wheel is in a so-called normal position in which it rotates at the same number of rotations as the sprocket wheel.

Conventionally, the above-mentioned switching between the high position, normal position, and low position has been performed by moving a switching actuator that is movable in the axial direction with respect to the hub shaft, for example, as shown in FIG. 6 of the present application. was. That is, a chain b is connected to the tip of a control rod a connected to a switching actuating body, and the chain b is pulled forward of the bicycle. However, in such a structure, a large frictional force is generated when the chain b slides against the cap nut c, and a large switching operation force is required.

In addition, in order to reduce the resistance when pulling the chain b, for example,
As shown in FIG. 3 of the publication, there are also systems in which the control rod is moved axially via a bell crank that is swung by a control wire, but in this case, additional There are the following problems.

First, since the pivot point of the bell crank is located forward of the hub axle, the outer wire receiver for the control wire that is introduced from the front and connected to one end of the bell crank is located further forward of the pivot point. As a result, the structure of the outer wire receiver or the bell crank mechanism becomes larger in size from front to back, and the external appearance of this part becomes very poor and complicated.

Second, since the axial position of the control rod and the position of the bellcrank support member relative to the hub axle are not uniquely determined for each bicycle, the rotational posture of the bellcrank when assembled is different for each bicycle. The results are inconsistent, and after assembly, delicate adjustments to the control system are required.

This invention solves the problems of the above conventional example,
To provide an internal transmission for a bicycle that is improved so that the external appearance of a control system is compact and well-organized and does not require delicate adjustments.

The internal bicycle transmission of the present invention constantly biases the clutch, which switches the driving force transmission path inside the transmission, inwardly with a coil spring, and pivots the central portion behind the hub axle. A cap nut having a supported bell crank and a positioning hole drilled inward from the side wall is screwed onto the outer end of the hub axle, while the tip of the control rod and one end of the bell latch are screwed onto the outer end of the hub axle. A connecting pin insertion pin is provided in each of the bell latch, and the cap nut is screwed in until the positioning hole of the cap nut substantially matches the pin hole of the control rod, and in this state, the pin hole of the bell latch is overlapped with the pin hole of the bell latch, and The control rod and bell crank are connected by inserting the connecting pin inserted through the positioning hole of the cap nut into each pin hole of the control rod and bell crank, and then the other end of the bell clutch is connected. The main feature is that a control wire introduced from the front is fixed to the front part.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a sun gear that is fixed to the hub axle 2 at approximately the center of the hub axle 2, and since the hub axle 2 is fixed to the rear end plate E of the bicycle, it also rotates with respect to the bicycle body. do not. 3,
3... are a plurality of planetary gears that mesh with the sun gear 1 and rotate on its own axis while revolving around the sun gear 1, with pivot pins 5, 5 provided near the bottom wall 4a of the gear frame 4 having a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape. It is rotatably supported by... In the embodiment shown in the drawings, four planetary gears 3, 3
... are pivotally supported in a circumferential manner at equal intervals, but for example, three planetary gears may be pivotally supported, or five or more may be supported as long as space allows. However, since the gear frame 4 is ultimately supported by the hub shaft 2 via the planetary gears 3, 3, it is preferable that the number of planetary gears 3, 3, etc. is at least three or more. . In addition, each planetary gear 3,
Ends 5a, 5a of the pivot pins 5, 5 that pivot the 3...
protrudes from the outer surface of the bottom wall 4a of the gear frame 4, and these protruding ends 5a, 5a serve as locking parts when a clutch 6, which will be described later, rotates only the gear frame 4.

Ratchet pawls 10, 10 are provided on the outer circumferential wall 4b of the cylindrical portion of the gear frame 4, which has a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape, to constitute the first ratchet mechanism 9 in cooperation with the ratchet teeth 8 provided on the inner circumferential wall of the hub body 7. , the ratchet claws 10,1
The gear frame 4 is buried so that the tip of the gear frame 4 can protrude and retract from the outer peripheral wall 4b of the gear frame 4. In order to do this, the known ratchet pawls 10, 10 shown in FIG. Force it to pivot outward. In addition, these claw pins 1
1 and 11 are provided at two locations on the outer surface of the cylindrical portion of the gear frame 4 so as to face each other in the diametrical direction. Further, the ratchet pawls 10, 10 and the ratchet teeth 8 in the first ratchet mechanism 9 are
The hub body 7 is configured so that only forward rotation relative to the gear frame 4 is possible.

13 is a gear ring, four planetary gears 3, 3
It has an internal gear 14 that meshes with all the outer gears of the hub body 7, and ratchet pawls 17, 17 that cooperate with ratchet teeth 15 provided on the inner circumferential wall of the hub body 7 to form a second ratchet mechanism 16. The ratchet claw 1
7 and 17 are ratchet pawls 10 and 10 for the first ratchet mechanism 9 provided on the gear frame 4 on the outer wall of the substantially cylindrical portion 13a formed adjacent to the internal gear 14.
Bury it in the same way. A clutch 6, which will be described later, is located on the inner periphery of the substantially cylindrical portion 13a and adjacent to the protruding ends 5a, 5a, of the supporting pins 5, 5, which pivotally support the planetary gears 3, 3. Axial engagement grooves 18, 18, . . . for driving only the gear ring 13 are formed. In this way, the gear ring 13
Rather than being directly rotatably supported by the hub shaft 2, the internal gear 14 rotates while meshing with the four planetary gears, thereby indirectly rotating around the hub shaft 2. The ratchet pawl 17 and the ratchet teeth 15 in the second ratchet mechanism 16 are such that the hub body 7 is connected to the gear ring 13.
This is similar to the first ratchet mechanism in that it is constructed so that it can only rotate in the normal direction relative to the ratchet mechanism.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a drive member having a sprocket wheel 20 fixed to its outer end, and its inner end 19a extends into the hub body 7, and includes a right ball pusher 21 screwed onto the hub axle 2, and a drive member 19 having a sprocket wheel 20 fixed to its outer end. A plurality of steel balls 2 are arranged between a ball receiving surface 22 formed on the inner periphery of the outer part of the drive member 19.
By interposing 3, 23..., the hub axle 2
It is rotatably supported with low friction. The inner end 19a of the drive member 19 extends to the vicinity of the bottom wall 4a of the gear frame 4 inside the hub shaft 7, and the inner end 19a has a notch 24 in the hub shaft direction. 24... are provided. The notches 24, 24, . . . act as guiding surfaces for guiding the clutch 6, which will be described later, to reciprocate in the hub axis direction while co-rotating with the drive member 19.

The hub body 7 includes a cylindrical member 26 having hub flanges 25, 25 for attaching spokes (not shown) at both ends.
A left ball pusher 29 is screwed onto the left side of the hub shaft 2, and a left ball pusher 29 is screwed onto the left side of the hub shaft 2. A plurality of steel ball groups 31, 31... are interposed between the ball receiving surface 30 to be formed, and
A ball pressing surface 32 formed on the outer periphery of the driving member 19
By interposing a plurality of steel ball groups 34, 34, .

The clutch 6 has a substantially cross shape, and has a central hole 3.
5 is fitted onto the hub axle 2 via a clutch sleeve 36. The four cross-shaped protrusions 37, 37... are
Cuts 24, 24... provided in the drive member 19
The clutch 6 is engaged with the drive member 1.
It is possible to reciprocate on the hub shaft while rotating together with 9. In order to control the clutch 19 from the outside of the internal transmission of the present invention, a control rod 39 inserted through an axial bore 38 formed in the hub axle 3 is used.
This is accomplished by moving the control rod 39 in the axial direction within the hub shaft 2. In order to make the control rod 39, which is not rotatable, and the clutch 6, which rotates on the hub shaft 2, interlock, the following structure may be used.

That is, elongated holes 40, 40 are formed in the hub shaft 2 along the axial inner hole 39, and both ends of a rod-shaped shift key 41 attached to the tip of the control rod 39 are inserted into the elongated holes 40, 40. 40 to the outside of the hub axle 2, and both ends of the shift key 41 are engaged with horizontal holes 42, 42 of a clutch sleeve 36 which is fitted over the hub axle 2, while the clutch sleeve 36 is fitted with the clutch 6. It rotatably fits into the central hole 35. Furthermore, the clutch sleeve 3
A collar 36a is provided inside the clutch sleeve 36 to prevent the clutch 6 from slipping off inside the clutch sleeve 36, and a compression coil spring 43 is interposed between the clutch 6 and the right ball pusher 21. As a result, the clutch 6 is always biased toward the inside of the hub shaft. When the control rod 39 is pulled outward in the hub axis direction, that is, in the direction of arrow O in FIG. 2, the clutch sleeve 36 moves in the same direction, and the clutch 6 also moves in the same direction. However, at this time, the clutch 6 and clutch sleeve 36
are in a fitted relationship that allows relative rotation, so that although the clutch sleeve 36 moves only in the hub axial direction, the clutch 6 can also rotate while moving in the hub axial direction. Due to the action of the coil spring 43, the control rod 39 to the clutch 6 always try to move inward in the hub axial direction, that is, in the direction of arrow I in FIG. When released, the clutch 6 automatically returns in the direction of arrow I in FIG.

Next, the operation of the internal transmission mechanism inside the clutch 6 or hub body 7 will be explained.

FIG. 2 shows the clutch 6 in its innermost high position. At this time, the cross-shaped protruding piece 37 of the clutch 6 is connected to the protruding end 5 of the shaft support pin 5 which pivotally supports the planetary gears 3, 3... in the gear frame 4.
It's stuck on a. When the sprocket wheel 20 is rotated in the normal direction and the driving member 19 is driven in the normal rotation, the gear frame 4 is rotated in the normal direction via the clutch 6. At this time, since the gear ring 13 rotates at a higher speed than the gear frame 4, the rotation of the gear ring 13 is transmitted to the hub body 7 via the second ratchet mechanism 16. Therefore, the hub body 7 rotates at a higher speed than the rotation of the sprocket wheel 20.

When the clutch 6 is moved in the direction of arrow O from the position shown in FIG. engage with. When the sprocket wheel 20 is rotated in the normal direction and the drive member 19 is driven in the normal rotation, the driving force of the drive member 19 is first transmitted to the gear ring 13 via the clutch 6. When the gear ring 13 rotates, the gear frame 4 also rotates, but since the rotation of the gear ring 13 is faster than the rotation of the gear frame 4, the gear ring 1
3 is transmitted to the hub body 7 via the second ratchet mechanism 16, and as a result, the hub body 7 rotates at the same number of rotations as the sprocket wheel 20 (normal position).

When the clutch 6 is further moved in the direction of the arrow O from the normal position, the cross-shaped protrusion 37 of the clutch 6 remains engaged with the engagement groove 18 of the gear ring 13, and the third portion embedded in the gear ring 13 is moved. 2 Ratchet pawl 1 of ratchet mechanism 16
Push up the butt portions 17a of the ratchet claws 17, 17, and force the tips of the ratchet claws 17, 17 into the gear ring 13.
By embedding the second ratchet mechanism 16 into the cylindrical wall of the second ratchet mechanism 16, the second
Depending on the ratchet mechanism 16, the driving force is transferred to the hub body 7.
so that it cannot be transmitted to When the gear ring 13 is rotated via the clutch 6 by driving the sprocket wheel 20 in normal rotation, the gear frame 4 rotates at a lower speed than the gear ring 13, but as described above, the gear ring 13 side rotates at a lower speed than the gear ring 13. Since the second ratchet mechanism 16 is released, the rotation of the gear frame 4 is transmitted to the hub body 7 via the first ratchet mechanism 9. Therefore,
The hub body 7 rotates at a lower speed than the rotation speed of the sprocket wheel 20. (low position).

The control rod 39 is connected to one end of a bell crank 45 whose central portion is pivotally supported rearward with respect to the hub axle 2 in a cap nut 44 with a crank base screwed onto the outer end of the hub axle 2. 39 and the bell crank 4
When the control wire W is fixed to the other end of the hub body 7 and the wire W is pulled toward the front of the bicycle, the control rod 39 is pulled outward against the elasticity of the coil spring 43 inside the hub body 7. If you move and loosen the pulling force of the wire W, the control rod 39
is controlled so that it automatically moves back inward by the stored force of the coil spring 43. In this way, the traction resistance of the chain as shown in the conventional example shown in FIG. 6 is completely eliminated, and the operability is dramatically improved. This will be explained in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cap nut 44 used in the present invention is screwed onto the outside of the rear end plate E of the hub axle 2 in order to clamp the rear end plate E and fix the hub axle 2 to the bicycle. The cap nut 44 is formed separately from the tightening nut 44a to be tightened.
does not exert any tightening action. This will be explained in detail later, but the purpose is to position the cap nut 44 at an arbitrary position in the axial direction of the hub axle 2, thereby facilitating adjustment of the control section of the internal transmission, which was originally complicated and difficult. be.

Two walls 46, 46 are provided on one side of the cap nut 44, facing each other and extending toward the rear of the bicycle.
A support hole 48 into which the fulcrum pin 47 for supporting the bell crank 45 is inserted is bored at an appropriate portion of each of the bell cranks 45 and 46, and the bell crank 45 is inserted into the fulcrum pin 47 supported by the support hole 48.
It is supported by Therefore, the bell crank 4
One end portion 45a of the cap nut 44 is accommodated in a space formed between the two walls 46, 46, and this space communicates with a threaded hole in the nut portion of the cap nut 44. The other end portion 45b of the bell crank 45 is provided with a wire fastening portion 50 configured to be able to fasten the wire W by a known method such as clamping the wire W with a screwing means 49.

The outer end of the control rod 39 and one end 45a of the bell crank 45 are connected to the cap nut 4.
In the space between the double walls 46, 46 of No. 4, the connecting pins 53 are inserted into pin holes 51, 52 provided on both sides to communicate with each other. Thus the wire W,
A control system consisting of a bell crank 45, a control rod 39, and a clutch 6 is connected.

In the present invention, as described above, when the control rod 39 and the bell crank 45 are made to work together, the control system can be adjusted. That is, as shown in FIG.
A positioning hole 54 that can be inserted into the inside of the bell crank 45 is drilled, and the connecting pin 53 is inserted into the hole 54 and the control rod 39 and the bell crank 45 are pin-joined at the same time. The hole 54 is closed with a stopper 55 so that the connecting pin 53 will not be accidentally removed from the hole 54. Further, the plug body 55 includes a plug portion 56 that can be fitted into the hole 54, and a mounting tongue 57 extending laterally from the top of the plug portion 56, preferably formed integrally with resin, Insert the screw 59 through the through hole 58 provided in this tongue piece 57, and
a screw hole 60 provided in the nut portion of the cap nut 44;
It is configured to be fixed by screwing into the
Note that the screw 59 also functions as a so-called set screw that prevents the cap nut 44 from rotating with respect to the hub shaft 2. Therefore, if the tongue piece 57 is formed into a corrugated plate shape as shown in detail in FIG.
This is advantageous because the plug portion 56 is reliably fixed in the hole 54 regardless of the screwing amount of the hole 9.

Next, a method of adjusting the control system consisting of the wire W, bell crank 45, control rod 39, etc. constructed as described above will be explained.

As mentioned above, the control section in the bicycle internal transmission of the present invention is configured so that adjustment can be completed at the same time as assembly.

First, the control rod 39 is inserted into the axial inner hole 38 of the hub axle 2, and the horizontal holes 42, 42 of the clutch sleeve 36 and the elongated hole 40 of the hub axle 2 are inserted in advance.
The inner end of the control rod 39 is screwed into the axial screw hole 41a provided in the shift key 41, which can be inserted into the gear shift key 40. In addition, the speed change key 41 is a coil spring 4.
3, it is positioned at the innermost position of the movable range. Next, the cap nut 44 to which the bell crank 45 is attached in advance is screwed from the outer end of the hub axle 2, and the hole 54 for inserting the connecting pin 53 drilled in the cap nut 44 is inserted into the pin of the control rod 39. hole 5
Screw it until it matches 1. That is, in practice, the pin hole 51 is screwed until the pin hole 51 appears in the center when viewed from the hole 54. Next, the pin hole 52 of the one end portion 45a of the bell crank 45 pivotally supported on the cap nut 44 is aligned with the pin hole 51, and the hole 5 is
After inserting the connecting pin 53 from 4 and communicatingly inserting it into the two pin holes 51 and 52 (see Fig. 5), the hole 54 is plugged with the plug body 55 (see Fig. 4). . At this time, the screw 59 functions as a so-called set screw, and the cap nut 44 is attached to the hub axle 2.
The adjustment of the control system is completed. In this way, the relationship between the axial position of the control rod 39 and the rotational position of the bell crank 45 can be very easily adjusted to a constant value.

In addition, the reference numeral 61 in the figure indicates the hole 5 of the cap nut 44.
The connecting pin 53 is bored in a portion facing 4.
This hole has a smaller diameter, and is used to insert a needle through this hole 51 during disassembly to push out the connecting pin 53 from the bottom.

As described above, the bicycle internal transmission according to the present invention changes the driving force transmission path from the sprocket wheel to the hub body by moving the small clutch in the direction of the hub axis, which is different from the conventional bicycle transmission. Unlike the example in which the gear frame or gear ring itself is moved in the direction of the hub axis, the shift operability (lightness) is dramatically improved, the mechanism is simple, and there are fewer failures. In addition, the control rod that moves the clutch in the axial direction is linked to the control wire via a bell crank, so unlike the conventional linkage using a chain, the pulling force of the wire is extremely small. good. Further, the bell crank has a central pivot point located rearward of the hub axle,
In addition, since the control wire introduced from the front is fixed to the end of the bell crank, the outer wire receiver of the control wire can be placed almost above the cap nut, so that the outer wire receiver can be attached to the cap nut. A speed change control system formed integrally with the bell crank support portion or the control wire connected thereto can be configured compactly and with good appearance. Furthermore, to connect the control rod to the bell crank, screw it onto the hub axle until the positioning hole drilled in the cap nut matches the pin hole at the outer end of the control rod, and then screw it into the hub axle until the positioning hole drilled in the cap nut matches the pin hole at the outer end of the control rod. Since the pin is inserted into the pin hole at one end of the bell crank, the rotational position of the bellcrank when assembled is the same for each bicycle, and therefore the rotational position of the bellcrank is distorted. This eliminates the need for fine adjustment of the gear shift operation system, which is required in some cases.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the components of the present invention in an exploded state, Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing the assembled state, Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the cap nut portion, and Fig. 4
The figures are a sectional view taken along the line A--A in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is an exploded explanatory view of the constituent parts of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a conventional example. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Sun gear, 2... Hub axle, 3... Planetary gear, 4... Gear frame, 6... Clutch, 7... Hub body, 9... First ratchet mechanism, 13... Gear ring, 16... ...Second ratchet mechanism, 19...Driving member, 20...Sprocket wheel, 38...
...Axial bore, 39...Control rod, 4
1...Speed key, 43...Coil spring, 4
4...Fukuro Natsuto, 45...Bellcrank, 51...
...Pin hole, 52...Pin hole, 54...Positioning hole, W...Control wire.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A sun gear 1 is fixedly provided around a substantially central portion of a hub shaft 2, and is rotatably supported by a gear frame 4, and rotates and rotates while meshing with the sun gear 1. A plurality of planetary gears 3 revolving around the sun gear 1...
, a gear ring 13 that is rotatable while meshing with all of these planetary gears 3 on the outside of these planetary gears 3 , and a hub body 7 that is rotatably provided with respect to the hub shaft 2 and attached to the gear frame 4 . It has a first ratchet mechanism 9 that allows the hub body 7 to rotate only in the normal direction relative to the gear ring 13, and a second ratchet mechanism 16 that allows the hub body 7 to rotate only in the normal direction relative to the gear ring 13. A clutch 6 is connected to the clutch 6 and is rotatable relative to the fixed driving member 19, slidable relative to the hub axis, and resiliently biased inward in the hub axis direction. By sequentially moving the clutch 6 outward in the axial direction of the hub via a control rod 39 inserted into the inner hole of the shaft, the clutch 6 is moved to a high position where the clutch 6 is connected only to the gear frame 4.
A bicycle internal transmission configured to be located in either a normal position where the clutch 6 is connected only to the gear ring 13 or a low position where the clutch 6 is connected to the gear ring 13 and releases the second ratchet mechanism 16. In the machine, a bell crank 45 that pivots at the center behind the hub axle 2, and a cap nut 44 having a positioning hole 54 drilled inward from the side wall are attached to the outer end of the hub axle 2. While screwing, a pin hole 5 for insertion of the connecting pin is provided at the tip of the control rod 39 and one end of the bell crank 45.
1 and 52, respectively, and the bag nut 44 is
The positioning hole 54 is the control rod 39
In this state, the pin hole 52 of the bell crank 45 is aligned with the pin hole 51 of the bell crank 45, and the connecting pin 53 inserted through the positioning hole 54 of the cap nut 44 is inserted into the control The control rod 39 and the bell crank 45 are connected by being inserted into the respective pin holes 51 and 52 of the rod 39 and the bell crank 45, and the control rod 39 is inserted into the other end of the bell crank 45 from the front. An internal transmission for a bicycle, characterized in that a control wire W is fixed thereto.