KR200311408Y1 - Height-adjusters for saddle of bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a height adjusting device mounted on the bicycle saddle support 46 so that the saddle height can be adjusted while the bicycle is running. The internal space of the cylinder 2 into which the gas is injected at a predetermined pressure is applied to the piston 6. Gas spring (1) divided into upper chamber (5) and lower chamber (4), a control valve (8) for controlling the flow between the upper and lower chambers (4, 5), and the control valve Bicycle saddle having an operation means for operating to open and close, the cylinder (2) of the gas spring slidably mounted in the tubular guide tube (3) mounted on the saddle support 46, such as the bicycle frame. In the height adjusting device, the tubular member 11 is arranged concentrically in the inner space 10 of the tubular piston rod 7 supporting the piston 6, and the inner space 12 of the tubular member 11. ) And the inner space 10 of the piston rod (7) The control valve 8 for opening and closing the passage 17 to be provided is provided at the lower end of the piston rod 7 outside the gas spring, so that the saddle can be firmly and efficiently mounted on the upper end of the height adjusting device. Mounted on the outside of the spring can be easily remote control of the height adjustment device has the advantage that the saddle height can be adjusted safely while riding the bicycle.

Description

Height adjustment device of bicycle saddle {HEIGHT-ADJUSTERS FOR SADDLE OF BICYCLE}

The present invention relates to a height adjusting device for easily adjusting the height of the bicycle saddle, and in particular to a height adjustment device for a bicycle that can be adjusted safely by remote operation while riding the bicycle.

In general, the bicycle saddle needs to be mounted on the frame so that the height can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the user's physical condition. The height adjustment is telescopically mounted to the tubular lower support frame. The simplest way is to change the height of the upper frame where the saddle is mounted at the top of the upper frame by releasing the usual fixing means from the lower frame and then reposition the position.In recent years, the gas spring can be used to adjust the height of the saddle even while riding. Has been developed.

An example of a height adjusting device for adjusting the height of such a bicycle saddle is disclosed in US Patent No. 5,826,935, which is slidably tubed at the support 62 of the bicycle frame 61 as shown in FIGS. 63 is provided, in which a cylinder 64 of a gas spring is mounted, a saddle 66 is mounted by a clamp 65 fixed to an upper end of the cylinder, and the cylinder is opened and closed by a lever 67. A control valve 68 is provided. The lever 67 is provided on the bicycle handle (not shown in the figure), and when the cable 69 is pulled by the operating means adapted to be operated by hand, the lever is operated to open the control valve to move the gas inside the cylinder. And the cylinder is lowered by the weight of the occupant and thus adjusted to lower the saddle height.

However, the bicycle saddle height adjustment device also has a structure that allows the user to open and close the control valve provided on the cylinder 64 as an adjustment means to adjust the length of the cylinder for saddle height adjustment by allowing the length to be relaxed This severe flexion causes the top of the gas spring under which the control valve is located just below the saddle, as well as problems of premature damage due to fatigue, problems with cable fixation due to excessive margins of such cables, and aesthetic and operational problems. It is disposed on the saddle coupling device has a difficult and inconvenient problem.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is a bicycle saddle with a structure in which a control valve of a gas spring and an operation means for opening and closing the gas spring are provided at a lower end of the height adjusting device in the height adjusting device for adjusting the saddle height of the conventional bicycle described above. It is to provide a height adjustment device of the improved structure to adjust the saddle height to the lowest position by eliminating the problems that interfere with the assembly work of the saddle so that it can be combined firmly and effectively.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a control valve for the operation of the gas spring to the outside of the gas spring when used in the bicycle so that the control valve of the gas spring can be remotely operated without extending the cable long stretch as in the prior art It is to provide a height adjustment device with improved ease of use by allowing the saddle height to be adjusted easily and safely even while driving.

Figure 1 is a schematic side view showing the structure of the height adjustment device for adjusting the height of the conventional bicycle saddle.

Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the height adjustment device structure of FIG.

Figure 3 is a schematic view showing the structure of the bicycle saddle height adjustment device of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the operating means of the bicycle saddle height adjustment device of the present invention of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a schematic side view of a bicycle employing a bicycle saddle height adjustment device of the present invention of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the height adjusting device of another embodiment of the structure in which the control valve is installed away from the gas spring according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the operation of the control valve of the saddle height adjustment device of the structure shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

2: cylinder 3: guide tube

4, 5: chamber 6: piston

7: piston rod 8: control valve

9: guide bush 11: tubular member

13 housing 14 chamber

15: hall 17: passage

18: pin member 19: groove

36: rotating member 40: cable

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a gas spring is divided into an upper chamber and a lower chamber by a piston to the inner space of the cylinder in which gas is injected at a predetermined pressure, and flow between the upper and lower chambers. A bicycle having a control valve for controlling and an operation means for operating the control valve to open and close the control valve, wherein the gas spring cylinder is slidably mounted in a tubular guide tube mounted on a saddle support such as the bicycle frame. In the saddle height adjusting device, a tubular member is arranged concentrically in the inner space of the tubular piston rod for supporting the piston, and a control valve for opening and closing a passage communicating the inner space of the tubular member with the inner space of the piston rod. In the bicycle, characterized in that provided on the bottom of the piston rod from the outside of the gas spring A height adjustment apparatus is provided.

In addition, the control valve is composed of a housing of the hollow body in communication with the internal space of the piston rod, and a chamber formed separately inside the housing so that the lower end of the tubular member is in communication with the internal space, the bottom of the chamber in the center A hole in which the pin member is disposed to be movable up and down is formed through the bottom member, and a passage for communicating the space between the housing wall and the wall of the chamber with the hole is formed in the bottom member. An annular groove is formed on the side of the pin member to open and close the passage by the pin member moved up and down.

In addition, the control valve is not connected directly to the piston rod and the tubular member disposed concentrically therein, but connected by two concentrically disposed flexible tubular members, respectively, disposed adjacent to the bicycle handlebar, and the control valve The pin member of may be configured to be operated by a remote control lever mounted to the handlebars.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail the height adjustment device of the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a height adjustment device according to the present invention. The height adjusting device includes a gas spring 1 into which a gas of a predetermined pressure is injected into the cylinder inner space. The gas spring comprises a cylinder (2) and a tubular guide tube (3) for slidably supporting the cylinder up and down, the guide tube (3) being inserted into and fixed in the saddle support of the frame of the bicycle. .

The cylinder (2) of the gas spring is provided with a piston (6) for variably dividing the internal space into the lower chamber (4) and the upper chamber (5), and a piston rod (7) protruding outwards through the lower cylinder The lower end of the) is fixed to the bottom of the guide tube (3), the control valve 8 is provided to the outside of the gas spring to selectively open and close the gas flow path between the lower chamber and the upper chamber.

When no load is applied to the cylinder when the control valve is opened, the cylinder 2 is telescopically exited from the guide tube 3 by the pressure of the compressed gas inside the cylinder, and is raised upward in the drawing. However, when the user's weight is loaded on the saddle coupled to the top of the cylinder, the cylinder 2 is lowered by the weight, and when the control valve is closed by the control valve opening and closing means at the desired height level, the cylinder is positioned. It remains stopped at. In this way, in order to smoothly guide the up and down slide motion of the cylinder, the upper guide inner surface of the guide tube 3 is provided with a guide bush 9 which contacts and supports the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder. The guide bush may be configured as a separate part from the guide tube, but may be formed integrally.

The piston rod (7) for supporting the piston is made of tubular shape, and the tubular member (11) is arranged concentrically in the inner space (10), the clearance between the tubular member (11) and the piston rod (7) and the tubular member. The internal space 12 of 11 serves as a passage through which gas flows.

A control valve 8 is connected to the lower end of the piston rod 7 which protrudes from the lower end of the guide tube 3. The control valve 8 is a chamber 13 in which the hollow housing communicating with the internal space 10 of the piston rod 7 and the lower end of the tubular member 11 is connected to the internal space 12 ( 14 is formed separately in the housing 13. A hole 15 is formed in the center of the bottom of the chamber 14 to penetrate the bottom member 16, and the pin member 18 is disposed to be movable up and down, and the bottom member 16 has the hole ( A passage 17 is formed which communicates the space between the wall 15 of the chamber 14 and the interior of the housing. The pin member 18 has an annular groove 19 formed on its side, and the lower end of the pin member 18 is disposed in contact with the operation means described later.

Thus, when the pin member 18 moves upward by the operating means, the groove 19 is communicated with each other as it is disposed over the passage 17 and the chamber 14, and the lower chamber 4 of the cylinder and the piston rod ( It communicates with the upper chamber 5 of the cylinder through the chamber 14 inside the housing 13 and the inner space 12 of the tubular member 11 through the inner space 10 and the passage 17 of 7. Compressed gas of the lower chamber 4 of (2) flows into the upper chamber 5, so that the cylinder is lowered in the guide tube 3 by the weight of the user acting on the saddle mounted to the cylinder 2. To adjust the saddle height of the bike mounted on the top of the cylinder.

In addition, the lower space of the lower end of the cylinder 2 should be in communication with the outside so that the cylinder 2 can move up and down smoothly in the guide tube 3. For this purpose, the guide tube 3 forms a hole up to the upper end of the wall. It is preferable.

An example of the operation means for opening and closing the control valve 8 by moving the pin member 18 is shown in Figure 4, the upper end of the cylinder is formed in a tubular shape to engage the support member of the saddle, Figure 5 Bicycle is schematically illustrated according to the bicycle saddle height adjustment device according to.

As shown in FIG. 4, the actuating means for operating the pin member 18 is in contact with the surface of one end 38 of the pivot member 36 to be elastically pivoted at the pin 37 and the other of the pivot member. The end 39 has a structure in which the cable 40 is mounted and the cable is protected by the tube 41. The cable 40 is connected to the lever 42 mounted on the handle of the bicycle so that when the lever is pulled, the end portion 38 is raised as the pivot member 36 rotates clockwise in the drawing as the cable is pulled. As described above, the pin member 18 in contact with the one end 38 is raised to open a passage between the lower chamber 4 and the upper chamber 5 of the cylinder 2 so that gas can flow. The cylinder is lowered by the load of the user acting on the cylinder 2 so that the height can be easily adjusted. After the saddle height is adjusted to the required level, when the user releases the lever provided on the handlebar, the gas pressure inside the cylinder causes the pin member 18 of the control valve to move downward, thereby closing the passage 17 and thus the cylinder. Stops without descent anymore.

In addition, in order to easily mount the gas spring assembly of the present invention into the saddle support 46, the rotating member 36 comprises one end 38 and the other end 39 as a separate part, the gas spring The other end 39 connected to the cable 40 is connected to one end 38 is inserted into the saddle support 46 in the state assembled in the assembly through the opening formed in the support 46 and the cover 47 ) Can be sealed.

FIG. 6 is a modification in which the above-described control valve 8 can be mounted at a position away from the gas spring mounted on the bicycle saddle support, for example, at a bicycle handle or a position adjacent thereto in the height adjustment device according to the present invention. In this case, the tubular piston rod (7) is connected to the tube 44, the tubular member (11) concentrically arranged in the piston rod is connected to the tube (43), respectively, the control valve (8) )

With this structure, as shown schematically in FIG. 7, the control valve 8 is disposed adjacent to the lever 42 provided on the bicycle handle, and the control valve 8 opening / closing pin member 18 is operated as a lever ( 42) can be configured to move between the control valve open position and the closed position for remote operation, thereby making it possible to adjust the saddle height more quickly and simply while riding a bicycle, thereby improving safety. The other control valve part is the same as that described in FIG. Reference numeral 50 in the figures denotes a check valve for injecting gas into the cylinder 2 after assembling the gas spring.

According to the present invention, the height adjustment device is a structure of the gas spring with a control valve for opening and closing the gas flow passage between the upper and lower chambers partitioned by the piston in the cylinder inner space of the gas spring The saddle mounted on the top of the cylinder can be assembled more firmly and efficiently, and the control valve is mounted on the outside of the gas spring so that it can be opened and closed easily by the operation lever provided on the handle. There is an advantage that can be adjusted quickly and safely.

Claims (3)

The internal space of the cylinder 2 into which the gas is injected at a predetermined pressure is separated by the piston 6 into the upper chamber 5 and the lower chamber 4, and the upper and lower chambers 4. And a tubular guide tube (3) mounted to a saddle support (46), such as a bicycle frame, having a control valve (8) for controlling the flow between the valves, and an actuating means for opening and closing the control valve. In the bicycle saddle height adjusting device in which the cylinder of the gas spring (2) is slidably mounted in the vertical direction, the tubular member (3) is provided in the inner space (10) of the tubular piston rod (7) for supporting the piston (6). 11 is disposed, the control valve 8 for opening and closing the passage 17 for communicating the inner space 12 of the tubular member 11 and the inner space 10 of the piston rod 7 is the outside of the gas spring Bicycle saddle height adjustment station characterized in that provided at the bottom of the piston rod (7) Chi. 2. The control valve (8) according to claim 1, wherein the control valve (8) is a hollow housing (13) connected in communication with the internal space (10) of the piston rod (7), and the internal space (12) of the tubular member (11). A chamber 14 which is connected in communication with the chamber and is formed separately in the housing, a hole 15 formed through the bottom member 16 at the center of the bottom of the chamber 14, between the housing and the wall of the chamber 14. A passage 17 formed in the bottom member 16, an annular groove 19 is formed on the side so as to communicate the space of the hole 15 with the hole 15, and the position and closure for opening the passage 17 by the operation means Bicycle saddle height adjustment device characterized in that it comprises a pin member (18) disposed in the hole (15) to be movable between positions. 3. The control valve (8) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control valve (8) is mounted away from the gas spring, the piston rod (7) is connected to the tube (44), and the tubular member (11) is connected to the tube (43). Connected, the tube 43 is disposed in the tube 44, the pin member 18 of the control valve 8 is configured to be operated by the lever 42 disposed on the handlebars bicycle saddle height adjustment Device.