NL2021754B1 - Handlebar shock absorption structure - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, a bicycle handlebar is connected to a front fork tube by a stem seat and a handlebar seat. The stem seat is integrally provided with a pair of lug clip portions and a sleeve portion. The sleeve portion is sleeved on the top of the front fork tube, and the lug clip portion is pivotally connected to a pivotal portion of the handlebar seat, wherein a shock absorbing assembly is disposed inside the sleeve portion, and the handlebar seat is provided with at least one pressing portion. When a rider is riding a bicycle to an uneven road causing the handlebar to shake and move up and down, the invention may buffer and absorb the shock force as the pressing portion presses against the shock absorbing assembly, thus improving the comfort and safety of bicycle riding.

Description

HANDLEBAR SHOCK ABSORPTION STRUCTURE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention generally relates to an improved shock absorption structure that is applicable to a bicycle, and more particularly to a shock absorption structure that is capable of damping shock impulses and improving riding comfort.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Bicycles are a type of commonly used transportation vehicles powered by human pedaling. They do not need electricity or gasoline, and they are very environmentally friendly and very suitable for use as general vehicles or leisure sports devices. Further, since bicycles have the advantages of energy-saving and functioning as an exercise tool, more and more people in modern times use bicycles as a means of transportation. In general, a bicycle handlebar is used to control the direction of travel, and the handle grip is connected to the front fork tube of the bicycle by a stem, so that a bicycle rider can control the rotation of the front fork tube by turning the handlebar, thereby changing the direction of travel of the bicycle.

[0003] However, a conventional bicycle stem has only the function of connecting the handlebar and the front fork tube. As there is rarely a completely flat road, when a user rides a bicycle and encounters rugged roads or climbs on a stony road where there are high or low slopes on the road surface, the bicycle will vibrate due to the unevenness of the ground. The vibration on the front wheel is easily transmitted to the handlebar via the front fork tube and the stem. In a less serious situation, such a vibration will affect the rider's comfort in gripping the handlebar. Long time of riding is likely to cause tingling discomfort of two hands. In a more serious situation, it will hamper the rider’s handling of the bicycle and affect the safety of the bicycle as it travels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] in view of this, a primary object of the invention is to provide an improved shock absorption structure that is suitable for use in bicycles, and more particularly, to a shock absorption structure that is capable of damping shock impulses and improving riding comfort.

[0005] According to the invention, a bicycle handlebar is connected to a front fork tube by a stem seat and a handlebar seat. The stem seat is integrally provided with a pair of lug clip portions and a sleeve portion. The sleeve portion is sleeved on top of the front fork tube, and the lug clip portions are pivotally connected to a pivotal portion of the handlebar seat, wherein a shock absorbing assembly is disposed inside the sleeve portion, and the handlebar seat is provided with at least one pressing portion. The pressing portion presses against the shock absorbing assembly.

[0006] When a rider is riding a bicycle on an uneven road causing the handlebar to shake and move up and down, the invention disclosed herein can buffer and absorb the shock force as the pressing portion presses against the shock absorbing assembly to reduce the discomfort of the hands due to the shaking of the bicycle, thus improving the comfort and safety of bicycle riding.

[0007] According to the technical features above, the shock absorbing assembly comprises at least: a rod body having a fixing portion at its top end and an enlarged portion at its bottom end, wherein the enlarged portion has an outer diameter larger than an outer diameter of the rod body; a fixing member fixed to the fixing portion; and a shock absorbing member sleeved outside the rod body and disposed on top of the enlarged portion.

[0008] According to the technical features above, the sleeve portion may be further provided inside with a partition plate, wherein the partition plate may be formed with a first through hole through which the rod body may be inserted, and wherein the shock absorbing member may be confined between the partition plate and the enlarged portion.

[0009] According to the technical features above, the pressing portion may be further formed with a second through hole through which the rod body is inserted, and the fixing member may be located above the second through hole.

[0010] According to the technical features above, a bushing may be further disposed between the fixing member and the second through hole, through which the rod body may be inserted, wherein the bushing and the second through hole may have an arc-shaped interface.

[0011] According to the technical features above, the fixing portion may comprise external threads.

[0012] According to the technical features above, a pivotal member and a bearing structure may be arranged between the lug clip portions and the pivotal portion, so that the lug clip portions are pivotally connected to the pivotal portion, wherein the lug clip portions may have first contact surfaces and the pivotal portion may have second contact surfaces opposite to the first contact surfaces, and wherein the bearing structure may include upper and lower pad bodies and a thrust member disposed between the upper and lower pad bodies, and wherein the upper and lower pad bodies may be disposed on the first and second contact surfaces, respectively, and the tlmist member may have a shaft ring and rolling members annularly arranged on the shaft ring.

[0013] According to the technical features above, the rolling members may be needle rollers or cylindrical rollers.

[0014] According to the technical features above, the upper and lower pad bodies and the shaft ring may be formed with a perforation, respectively, through which the pivotal member may be inserted.

[0015] According to the technical features above, a pivotal member and at least two gaskets may be arranged between the lug clip portions and the pivotal portion, so that the lug clip portions may be pivotally connected to the pivotal portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG. 1 shows a structural perspective view of the shock absorption structure according to the invention; FIG. 2 shows a structural exploded view of the shock absorption structure according to the invention; FIG. 3 shows a structural schematic diagram of the shock absorption structure according to the invention; FIG. 4 shows a structural perspective view of the bearing structure according to the invention; FIG. 5 shows a structural exploded view of the bearing stmcture according to the invention; and FIG. 6 shows a structural schematic diagram of the bearing structure according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Unless specified otherwise, the following terms as used in the specification and appended claims are given the following definitions. It should be noted that the indefinite article “a” or “an” as used in the specification and claims is intended to mean one or more than one, such as “at least one,” “at least two,” or “at least three,” and does not merely refer to a singular one. In addition, the terms “comprising/comprises,” “including/includes” and “having/has” as used in the claims are open languages and do not exclude unrecited elements. The term "or" generally covers "and/or", unless otherwise specified. The term "about" used throughout the specification and appended claims is used to describe and account for small fluctuations or slight changes that do not materially affect the nature of the invention.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a structural perspective view of the shock absorption staicture according to the invention. As disclosed herein, a bicycle handlebar 1 may be connected to a front fork tube 41 by a stem seat 2 and a handlebar seat 3. The bottom of the front fork tube 41 is adapted for connection to a front wheel (not shown) of the bicycle. The stem seat 2 is integrally provided with a pair of lug clip portions 21 and a sleeve portion 22. The sleeve portion 22 is adapted for being sleeved on top of the front fork tube 41. The handlebar seat 3 is integrally provided with a pivotal portion 31 and a socket portion 32. The socket portion 32 is adapted for being sleeved to the handlebar 1 of the bicycle, while the pair of lug clip portions 21 are pivotally connected to the pivotal portion 31 by a pivotal member 42, thereby forming a connection between the handlebar 1 and the front fork tube 41.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG 3, the gist of the invention is that the sleeve portion 22 is provided with a shock absorbing assembly 5 therein, and that the handlebar seat 3 is provided with at least one pressing portion 33 which is pressed against the shock absorbing assembly 5. In a preferred embodiment, the shock absorbing assembly 5 comprises a rod body 51, a fixing member 52, and a shock absorbing member 53, wherein the rod body 51 comprises at its top end a fixing portion 511 and comprises at its bottom end an enlarged portion 512. The enlarged portion 512 has an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the rod body 51.

[0020] The fixing member 52 is secured to the fixing portion 511. In a preferred embodiment, the fixing portion 511 comprises external threads, and the fixing member 52 is a nut adapted for being fastened and fixed to the fixing portion 511.

[0021] The shock absorbing member 53 is sleeved outside the rod body 51 and is disposed on top of the enlarged portion 512. In a preferred embodiment, the shock absorbing member 53 may be a spring. Although the shock absorbing member 53 illustrated herein is a spring, the shock absorbing member 53 may have any configuration and texture known by a person skilled in the related art (for example, a structure made of elastic material such as plastics, rubbers, etc.).

[0022] hi a preferred embodiment, a partition plate 23 is further provided in the sleeve portion 22. The partition plate 23 is located below the lug clip portions 21. The partition plate 23 is formed with a first through hole 231 through which the rod body 51 may be inserted, while the shock absorbing member 53 is confined between the partition plate 23 and the enlarged portion 512. The pressing portion 33 is disposed above the partition plate 23, and is further formed with a second through hole 331 through which the rod body 51 is inserted. The fixing member 52 is located above the second through hole 331. A bushing 54 is further disposed between the fixing member 52 and the second through hole 331, through which the rod body 51 is inserted. The bushing 54 and the second through hole 331 have an arc-shaped interface. According to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, the second through hole 331 has an arc-shaped surface 332 complementary to the arc-shaped surface 541 of the bushing 54.

[0023] During assembling of the structure disclosed herein, the shock-absorbing member 53 is sleeved on the outside of the rod body 51 and on top of the enlarged portion 512, and the bushing 54 is placed on the second through hole 331 of the pressing portion 33. The bushing 54 and pressing portion 33 are then disposed above the partition plate 23, and the shock absorbing member 53 and the rod body 51 are inserted from below the sleeve portion 22 and sequentially pass through the first through hole 231 and the second through hole 331. The fixing member 52 is placed from top of the sleeve portion 22, and is secured to the fixing portion 511 at the same time to bring the arc surfaces 332, 541 in a contact state. In a preferred embodiment, a cover 24 is provided on top of the sleeve portion 22 to close the opening of the sleeve portion 22. In another preferred embodiment, a tightening member 44 is arranged at bottom of the sleeve portion 22. The sleeve portion 22 is internally threaded at its bottom side for engagement with the external threads formed on the tightening member 44. When the tightening member 44 is rotated downwardly, a ball and socket assembly (not shown) below the sleeve portion 22 can be pressed tightly to achieve the fixing effect. While the connection between the sleeve portion 22 and the tightening member 44 illustrated herein is thread locking, such connection may have any structure known by a person skilled in the related art.

[0024] When a rider is riding a bicycle to an uneven road, causing the bicycle to shake, the handlebar seat 3 will be shaken. At this time, the pressing portion 33 will press against the shock absorbing assembly 5 to allow the rod body 51 to move up and down and press against the shock absorbing member 53, so that the elasticity of the shock absorbing member 53 absorbs the vibration force of the handlebar seat 3 to reduce the degree of shaking of the handlebar seat 3, and the handlebar 1 sleeved on the handlebar seat 3 will not generate vibration or only generate slight shock, effectively reducing the discomfort caused by the bicycle vibration. With the arc surfaces 332, 541, when the pressing portion 33 pulls the rod body 51, the rod body 51 can be linearly moved up and down.

[0025] In a preferred embodiment, during the connection of the lug clip portions 21 to the stem seat and the pivotal portion 31 of the handlebar seat, at least two gaskets 43 may be further disposed in the lug clip portions 21 and the pivotal portion 31 as shown in FIG. 2. A pivotal member 42 is inserted for pivotal connection of the lug clip portions 21 to the pivotal portion 31. The use of the gaskets 43 can reduce the friction between the two rigid components, i.e., the lug clip portion 21 and the pivotal portion 31, thereby preventing seizure by aluminum debris.

[0026] in another preferred embodiment, a bearing staicture 6 is arranged between the lug clip portions and the pivotal portion, as shown in FIG. 4. The bearing structure 6 has upper and lower pad bodies 61, 62 and a thrust member 63 disposed between the upper and lower pad bodies 61, 62. The thrust member 63 has a shaft ring 631 and rolling members 632 annularly arranged on the shaft ring 631, wherein the shaft ring 631 has a plurality of annularly arranged notches 633 for accommodating the rolling members 632. The rolling members 632 may be needle rollers or cylindrical rollers. Each of the notches 633 may accommodate a single rolling member 632 or a number of rolling members 632, so as to allow the rolling members 632 to be exposed from the notches 633 and to freely rotate within the notches 633.

[0027] Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the lug clip portions 21 have first contact surfaces 210, which are opposite to second contact surfaces 310 of the pivotal portion 31. The upper and lower pad bodies 61, 62 are disposed on the first and second contact surfaces 210, 310, respectively, and the upper and lower pad bodies 61, 62 and the shaft ring 631 are formed with a perforation 64, respectively, for insertion of the pivotal member 42.

[0028] When a rider is riding a bicycle on an uneven road, causing the bicycle to shake, the handlebar seat 3 will be shaken at that time. Referring to FIG. 6, the bearing structure 6 serves as a lining between the lug clip portions 21 and the pivotal portion 31, allowing the relative shaking force between the stem seat 2 and the handlebar seat 3 to be absorbed by the rolling action of the rolling members 632, so that friction between two rigid components (i.e., the lug clip portion and the pivotal portion) will not take place and the occurrence of seizure phenomenon is avoided.

[0029] in summary, this invention provides a better and more feasible improved shock absorption structure. While the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments above, it should be recognized that the preferred embodiments are given for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention and that various modifications and changes, which will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0030] List of the Description of the Reference Numerals 1 handlebar 2 stem seat 21 lug clip portion 22 sleeve portion 23 partition plate 231 first through hole 24 cover 3 handlebar seat 31 pivotal portion 32 socket portion 33 pressing portion 331 second through hole 332 arc-shaped surface 41 front fork tube 42 pivotal member 43 gasket 44 tightening member 5 shock absorbing assembly 51 rod body 511 fixing portion 512 enlarged portion 52 fixing member 53 shock absorbing member 54 bushing 541 arc-shaped surface 6 bearing structure 61 upper pad body 62 lower pad body 63 thrust member 631 shaft ring 632 rolling member 633 notch 64 perforation

Claims (12)

A steering shock absorption structure, wherein a handlebar is connected to a front fork tube through a pin seat and a handlebar seat, the pin seat being integrally provided with a pair of clamping lip portions and a socket portion; wherein the socket part surrounds the top of the front fork tube and the clamping lip parts are hingedly connected to a hinge part of the steering seat; characterized in that: a shock-absorbing assembly is arranged in the socket part, and the control seat is provided with at least one pressure part, the dew-section pressing against the shock-absorbing assembly. The steering shock absorption structure according to claim 1, wherein the shock-absorbing assembly comprises at least: a rod body having a mounting portion on its upper side and having an enlarged portion on its underside, the enlarged portion having an outer diameter greater than an outer diameter of the rod body ; a fixing member connected to the fixing part; and a shock absorption member arranged outside the rod body and arranged on top of the enlarged portion. The control shock absorption structure according to claim 2, wherein the socket part is further internally provided with a distribution plate; wherein the divider plate is formed with a first opening through which the rod body is inserted, and wherein the shock absorption member is enclosed between the divider plate and the enlarged portion. The control shock absorption structure according to claim 3, wherein the pressure member is further formed with a second opening through which the rod body is inserted, and the attachment member is located above the second opening. The control shock absorption system according to claim 4, wherein further a bushing is arranged between the mounting member and the second opening through which the rod body is inserted; wherein the sleeve and the second opening have an arcuate interface. The steering shock absorption structure according to any of claims 2-5, wherein the fixing part comprises an external screw thread. The control shock absorption system according to any of claims 2-5, wherein the shock absorption member can be a spring, plastics or rubbers. The control shock absorption structure according to any of claims 2-5, wherein a hinge member and a bearing structure are arranged between the clamping lip parts and the hinge part, so that the clamping lip parts are hingedly connected to the hinge part, wherein the clamping lip parts have first contact surfaces and the hinge part has second contact surfaces opposite the first contact surfaces, and wherein the bearing structure comprises upper cushion bodies and lower cushion bodies and a pressure member arranged between the upper and lower cushion bodies; and wherein the upper and lower pad bodies are arranged on the first and, respectively, second contact surfaces; and the pressure member has an axle ring and rolling bodies arranged annularly on the axle ring. The handlebar shock absorption structure of claim 8, wherein the rolling bodies are roller pins or cylindrical rollers. The control shock absorption structure according to claim 8, wherein the upper and lower cushion bodies and the shaft ring are respectively provided with a perforation through which the hinge member is inserted. The control shock absorption system according to any of claims 1-5, wherein a hinge member and at least two gaskets are arranged between the clamping lip parts and the hinge part, so that the clamping lip parts are hingedly connected to the hinge part. The control shock absorption system according to any of claims 1-7, wherein a tensioning member is arranged at the bottom of the socket part and wherein the socket part is provided on its underside with an internal screw thread for attachment with an external screw thread formed on the tensioning member.