JPS633281Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a bicycle hub, and more specifically, the hub body rotates extremely smoothly with respect to the hub axle, assembly and disassembly is extremely easy, and the hub body and the hub axle rotate in the axial direction. The present invention relates to a bicycle hub configured to instantly eliminate rattling and maintain high performance for a long period of time by preventing local excessive loads from being applied to the hub axle.

Conventionally, in order to rotatably support the hub body with respect to the hub axle fixed to the bicycle frame, a ball bearing surface was provided at the end of the center hole of the hub body, and the ball bearing surface was diagonally opposed to the hub body. By screwing a ball pusher having a ball-receiving surface to the hub shaft, interposing a plurality of steel balls between these two ball-receiving surfaces, and rolling these steel balls while being sandwiched between the two ball-receiving surfaces. Generally, the hub body is configured to rotate by friction with respect to the hub shaft.

However, in such a configuration, if an excessive load is applied to the hub body in the radial direction, the steel balls will create impressions of irregular depth on the ball receiving surface, making it impossible to maintain smooth rotation performance for a long period of time. There is a problem. In particular, in a hub having such a conventional configuration, the bearing portion is integrated, so if one ball-receiving surface is damaged, the resulting decrease in rotational performance cannot be recovered. In addition, it is very troublesome to adjust the ball pusher to the hub shaft to the extent that the steel ball is clamped with an appropriate pushing force between both ball receiving surfaces, and it is difficult to adjust the ball pusher to the hub shaft. Another problem is that it is difficult to uniformly manufacture a large number of products. If the ball pusher is screwed in too much, the steel ball strongly pressed between the two ball receiving surfaces will damage the ball receiving surface.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the general configuration of such hubs, we developed an outer ring, an inner ring, and a driving body (steel balls in the case of ball bearings) interposed between them via a retainer. A hub using a commercially available bearing consisting of However, since such hubs are constructed so that the inner ring of the bearing is directly fitted onto the hub axle, when an excessive load is applied to the hub body in the radial direction, stress concentrates on the surface of the hub axle, causing the hub axle to locally The disadvantage is that it undergoes plastic deformation. This causes the bearing to sit poorly and even causes looseness between the inner ring and the hub shaft. Furthermore, since the distance between the two inner rings is defined by a spacer inserted into the hub axle, the depth of the counterbore that must be provided in the hub body and the dimensions of the spacer must be equivalent to the depth of the counterbore that must be provided in the hub body in order to accurately position the bearing in the specified position. High precision is required, which increases manufacturing costs. Furthermore, since the bearing is fixed by a hub nut screwed onto the hub axle so as to contact the outer end surface of the inner ring, dirt, dust, or rainwater may enter the bearing through the gap between the hub nut and the counterbore. , there is a problem that these have an adverse effect on the rotational performance of the bearing. Furthermore, even if axial play occurs between the hub body and the hub axle, since a substantial portion of the hub nut is located within the counterbore, a wrench is applied to the hub nut to tighten it. That was difficult.

The present invention aims to solve all the problems in the conventional example described above at once.

That is, in the present invention, counterbore portions are provided at both ends of a center hole of a hub body, a hub shaft having a threaded portion is inserted into the center hole, and a sleeve provided with an engaging portion on an outer portion is attached to the threaded portion. The bearing is interposed between the hub body and the hub shaft by threading the outer ring onto the inner circumferential surface of the counterbore and the inner ring onto the outer circumferential surface of the sleeve. A cover is provided which engages with the sleeve and rotates integrally with the sleeve, and an engagement part for engaging a tool is provided on the outer part of the cover, and a lock nut whose inner part abuts the cover is attached to the threaded part of the hub shaft. It is characterized by being screwed together.

As described above, the present invention interposes a sleeve between the inner ring of the bearing and the hub axle, thereby dispersing the excessive load applied to the inner ring over the length of the sleeve and supporting it on the hub axle, unlike the conventional example. This avoids the stress concentration that would otherwise occur if the inner ring were in direct contact with the hub axle, thereby maintaining the rotational performance of the hub for a long period of time. Further, the present invention provides a cover that integrally fits into the engaging part provided on the outer part of the sleeve, and also provides an engaging part for engaging a tool on the outer part of the cover. In addition to having the function of a dust removal cover, the sleeve also has the function of a tool adapter that allows the rotation of the sleeve to be easily adjusted. This prevents dirt, dust, rainwater, etc. from entering the bearing and adversely affecting the rotational performance of the bearing, and also prevents, for example, axial play between the hub body and the hub shaft. In this case, the looseness can be removed very easily by applying a tool to the engaging portion of the cover and rotating the sleeve in the assembled state. Furthermore, in the present invention, a lock nut that abuts on the outer surface of the cover is screwed onto the hub shaft, so that if the cover is made of a material with a relatively high elastic deformation rate, the cover will not displace the sleeve. Since the sleeve is always elastically pressed inward in the axial direction of the hub, loosening of the sleeve can be effectively prevented.

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

The example shown in the drawings is an example in which the present invention is applied to a front hub.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a hub body, which is integrally formed with left and right hub flanges 4 having a plurality of spoke retaining holes 3 drilled at both ends of a cylindrical body 2, and a center hole 5 is bored through the entire body in the axial direction. Furthermore, counterbore portions 8 are formed at both ends of the center hole 5 into which an outer ring 7 of a bearing 6 to be described later is to be fitted.

The hub axle 9 is inserted into the center hole 5 of the hub body 1 and is to be rotatably supported by a bicycle fork (not shown). A claw (not shown) of a bicycle fork is clamped between the lock nut 11 and the mounting nut 10 which are screwed together.

In order to rotatably support the hub body 1 on the hub shaft 9, the present invention is constructed as follows.

That is, between the hub shaft 9 and the hub body 1, there is an outer ring 7, an inner ring 15, and a plurality of driving bodies (steel balls in this embodiment) interposed between these with a retainer 13 interposed therebetween.
A commercially available bearing 6 consisting of 14 pieces is inserted.
As described above, the outer ring 7 of this bearing 6 is fitted into the counterbore 8 provided in the hub body 1, but the inner ring 15 is not directly fitted or screwed into the hub shaft 9, but is connected to the inner ring 15. A sleeve 17 having a cylindrical portion 16 having a dimension longer than the width of the inner ring 15 is interposed between the sleeve 17 and the hub shaft.

The sleeve 17 has the cylindrical portion 16 on the inner side, an engaging portion 19 on the outer side that engages with a cover 18 (described later), and a shaft that can be screwed into the threaded portion 10 of the hub axle 9. A directional screw hole 20 is provided. In this embodiment, the engaging portion 19 is configured with a hexagonal head 21 and a cylindrical portion 22 extending further outward from the hexagonal head 21, as shown in FIG.

Therefore, the outer ring 7 of the bearing 6 is fitted into the counterbore portion 8 of the hub body 1 until it abuts against the bottom wall 8a of the counterbore portion 8, while the inner ring 15 is fitted into the counterbore portion 8 of the hub body 1 until it abuts against the bottom wall 8a of the counterbore portion 8. When the sleeve 17 is fitted onto the outer surface and screwed axially inward on the hub axle 1, it is pressed against the inner wall 21a of the hexagonal head 21.
In other words, the sleeve 17 has its hexagonal head 2
The inner wall 21a of the inner ring 15 is screwed until it comes into contact with the outer end of the inner ring 15. As a result, the bearing 6 is interposed between the inner circumferential surface 8b of the counterbore portion 8 and the outer circumferential surface 16a of the cylindrical portion 16 of the sleeve 17 without any play in the radial direction, and the position in the axial direction is as described above. It is defined by the bottom wall 8a of the counterbore 8 and the inner wall 21a of the hexagonal head 21 of the sleeve 17.

Reference numeral 18 denotes an engagement hole 2 that can engage the engagement portion 19 of the sleeve 17, that is, the hexagonal head 21 and the cylindrical portion 22.
4 is shown. As shown in FIG. 3, this cover 18 has the function of blocking the counterbore 8 of the hub body 1 to prevent dust, rainwater, etc. from entering the bearing 6, and also has the function of blocking the counterbore 8 of the hub body 1 and preventing dirt, rainwater, etc. from entering the bearing 6. It also functions as a tool adapter for causing a tool (not shown) to act on the mating engagement portion 25 to thread the sleeve 17.

In this way, since the sleeve 17 and the cover 18 are formed separately and are engaged with each other to rotate together, it is possible to reduce the weight of the hub by, for example, forming the cover 18 from a lightweight material. Furthermore, if the cover 18 is made of a material with a high elastic modulus, for example, by tightening the lock nut 11 that contacts the outer part of the cover 18 to the extent that the cover 18 is slightly compressed, the sleeve 17 and the cover 18 can be loosened. Screwing can be effectively prevented and the rotational performance of the hub can be maintained for a long period of time.

Reference numeral 26 indicates a non-slip washer provided as desired.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. That is, the engaging portion 19 provided on the sleeve 17 is not limited to a hexagonal head, but may be square. In short, it is sufficient to engage the cover 18 so that the sleeve 17 and the cover 18 can rotate together. Further, the shape of the tool engaging portion 25 provided on the cover 18 may be appropriately determined to suit the tool to be used. Furthermore, although the above-mentioned embodiment applies the present invention to the front hub, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the hub after a freewheel (not shown) can be attached thereto.

As described above, the hub according to the present invention uses a commercially available bearing, so it rotates extremely smoothly, and there is no need to adjust the bearing itself during assembly, so the rotation performance can be uniform during mass production.
Furthermore, even if a bearing is damaged, only this bearing needs to be replaced. Furthermore, since the inner ring of the bearing is integrated with the hub axle via the sleeve, even if an excessive load is applied in the radial direction, the load is distributed over the length of the sleeve, and the hub axle is Cannot be damaged. Furthermore, since a cover that engages with the sleeve and rotates together with it is provided, the dust removal effect is excellent, and furthermore, the sleeve can be screwed using a tool using the tool engagement portion provided on the cover. With this configuration, it becomes extremely easy to adjust the hub body and the hub shaft to absorb the axial play.

As described above, the present invention has the unique effect of dramatically improving the quality of the hub as a whole compared to conventional hubs and maintaining the quality over a long period of time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, with FIG. 1 being a perspective view showing the components in an exploded state, FIG. 2 being a partially sectional front view, and FIG. 3 being a side view. 1... Hub body, 5... Center hole, 6... Bearing, 7
... Outer ring, 8 ... Counterbore, 9 ... Hub axle, 10
...Screw part, 11...Lock nut, 15...Inner ring, 17...Sleeve, 18...Cover, 19...
...Engagement part, 25...Engagement part for tool engagement.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A hub shaft 9 having counterbore portions 8 at both ends of the center hole 5 of the hub body 1 and having a threaded portion 10 in the center hole 5.
A sleeve 17 provided with an engaging portion 19 on the outer side is screwed onto the threaded portion 10, and the counterbore portion 8 is screwed onto the threaded portion 10.
By fitting the outer ring 7 onto the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve 17 and the inner ring 15 onto the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve 17, the bearing 6
is interposed between the hub body 1 and the hub axle 9, and a cover 18 is provided which engages with the engaging portion 19 of the sleeve 17 and rotates together with the sleeve 17, and an outer portion of the cover 18 is provided with a cover 18 for engaging a tool. Engagement part 25
The bicycle hub further comprises a lock nut 11 whose inner portion contacts the cover and is screwed into the threaded portion 10 of the hub axle 9.