TWI838223B - Hubs for bicycle wheels - Google Patents

Abstract

A hub for a bicycle wheel set comprises a hub body and a sleeve coaxially sleeved outside a spindle, a ratchet mechanism coaxially mounted between the hub body and the sleeve, and a first bearing, a second bearing, a third bearing and a fourth bearing axially spaced. The ratchet mechanism comprises a ratchet assembly coaxially mounted on the sleeve and exposed in the hub body, and a pawl assembly non-rotatably mounted in the hub body and annularly connected to the outside of the ratchet assembly. By means of the structural design of the first bearing, the second bearing, the third bearing and the fourth bearing installed between the spindle, the hub body, the sleeve and the ratchet mechanism, the relative deviation between the hub body and the sleeve caused by the wear difference between the aforementioned bearings can be improved.

Description

Hubs for bicycle wheels

The present invention relates to a bicycle wheel assembly component, in particular to a hub for a bicycle wheel assembly.

The hub is a very important transmission mechanism in a bicycle wheel set. Generally, the hub generally includes a spindle, a hub body and a sleeve arranged axially along the spindle, two first bearings coaxially sleeved between the spindle and the hub body, two second bearings coaxially sleeved between the spindle and the sleeve, and a ratchet assembly installed and connected between the hub body and the sleeve. The hub body can rotate relative to the spindle through the first bearings, and the sleeve can rotate relative to the spindle through the second bearings. When the sleeve is driven to rotate by the flywheel, the hub body will be driven to rotate synchronously through the ratchet assembly, thereby allowing the entire wheel set to roll.

At present, the design of this type of hub is that the first bearings for carrying the hub body and the second bearings for carrying the sleeve are respectively arranged on the two opposite halves of the spindle. However, because the hub body and the sleeve are driven at different frequencies relative to the spindle rotation, the wear degree of the first bearings and the second bearings will be different. Once the wear degree of the first bearings and the second bearings is different, the rotation of the hub body and the sleeve mounted on the two opposite halves of the spindle will produce different degrees of deflection, which will affect the running performance of the wheel set.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a hub for a bicycle wheel set that can improve at least one disadvantage of the prior art.

Therefore, the hub of the bicycle wheel set of the present invention includes a central shaft extending horizontally along an axis, a hub body coaxially sleeved outside the central shaft and having a first end and a second end opposite to each other, a sleeve coaxially sleeved outside the central shaft, a first bearing, a second bearing, a third bearing and a fourth bearing spaced apart along the axis, and a ratchet mechanism coaxially mounted between the hub body and the sleeve.

The sleeve has a connecting section that is relatively rotatably inserted into the second end of the hub body, and an outer tube section that is exposed outside the hub body. The first bearing is installed and connected between the first end of the hub body and the facing circumferential surface of the axle. The second bearing is installed and connected between the second end of the hub body and the facing circumferential surface of the connecting section of the sleeve. The third bearing is installed and connected between the outer tube section of the sleeve and the facing circumferential surface of the axle.

The ratchet mechanism includes a ratchet assembly coaxially mounted on the connecting section of the sleeve and exposed in the second end of the hub body, and a pawl assembly non-rotatably mounted in the second end of the hub body and annularly connected to the outside of the ratchet assembly. The ratchet assembly can be driven by the rotation of the sleeve to unidirectionally engage with the pawl assembly, so as to drive the pawl assembly to drive the hub body to rotate relative to the spindle. The fourth bearing is mounted and connected between the facing circumferential surfaces of the spindle and the ratchet assembly, and between the axial sides of the first bearing and the second bearing.

The effect of the present invention is that the relative deviation between the hub body and the sleeve caused by the wear difference between the aforementioned bearings can be improved through the structural design of the first bearing, the second bearing, the third bearing and the fourth bearing installed between the spindle, the hub body, the sleeve and the ratchet mechanism.

Referring to Figures 1, 2, and 3, an embodiment of the hub 200 of the present invention for a bicycle wheel set is suitable for installation on a rim (not shown) and a flywheel (not shown). The bicycle can be a normal human-powered bicycle or an electrically assisted bicycle (commonly known as an electric-assisted bicycle). The hub 200 includes a spindle 31 extending horizontally along an axis 310, a limiting sleeve 32 sleeved outside the spindle 31, two end sleeves 33 sleeved on opposite ends of the spindle 31, a hub body 4 coaxially sleeved outside the spindle 31 and the limiting sleeve 32, a sleeve 5 coaxially sleeved outside the spindle 31 and partially inserted in the hub body 4, and a hub body 4 mounted and connected to the spindle. A first bearing 61 is installed and connected between the hub body 31 and the hub body 4, a second bearing 62 is installed and connected between the hub body 4 and the sleeve 5, a third bearing 63 is installed and connected between the sleeve 5 and the spindle 31, a ratchet mechanism 7 is coaxially sleeved outside the spindle 31 and installed and connected between the hub body 4 and the sleeve 5, and a fourth bearing 64 is installed and connected between the ratchet mechanism 7 and the spindle 31.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the hub body 4 can be used for mounting multiple spokes of the rim, and has a first end 41 and a second end 42 disposed opposite to each other along the axis 310, and a connecting tube portion 43 coaxially connected between the first end 41 and the second end 42. The second end 42 is radially expanded relative to the connecting tube portion 43, and its inner diameter is larger than the inner diameter of the connecting tube portion 43, and the inner circumferential surface of the second end 42 is provided with a first sliding structure 420 extending axially and continuously extending in a concave-convex manner along its circumference to form a ring.

Since there are many structural types of the hub body 4 for mounting the spokes, and it is not the focus of the present invention, it will not be described in detail, and the implementation is not limited to the diagram.

Referring to Figs. 1, 3 and 4, the sleeve 5 includes a barrel portion 51 extending along the axis 310, an annular stopper 515 radially protruding from the outer circumference of the barrel portion 51, and an annular connecting ring portion 514 radially protruding from the inner circumference of the barrel portion 51. The barrel portion 51 has a connecting section 511 that is relatively rotatably inserted into the second end portion 42 of the hub body 4, and an outer barrel section 513 that is exposed outside the hub body 4 and is used for the installation of the flywheel. The inner circumference of the connecting section 511 is provided with a first anti-rotation structure 512 that extends axially and continuously extends in an annular shape along its circumference. The stopper 515 is protruding from the outer circumference of the connecting section 511. The connecting ring 514 is protruded from the inner circumference of the connecting section 511. Since there are many types of structures for the sleeve 5 to be used for installing the flywheel, and it is not the focus of the present invention, it will not be described in detail, and the implementation is not limited to the drawings.

The first bearing 61, the second bearing 62, the third bearing 63 and the fourth bearing 64 are arranged at intervals along the axis 310. The first bearing 61 is sleeved and connected between the facing circumferential surfaces of the central shaft 31 and the first end 41 of the hub body 4. The second bearing 62 is sleeved and connected between the facing circumferential surfaces of the second end 42 of the hub body 4 and the connecting section 511 of the sleeve 5. The third bearing 63 is sleeved and connected between the facing circumferential surfaces of the central shaft 31 and the outer tube section 513 of the sleeve 5. The fourth bearing 64 is between the axial sides of the first bearing 61 and the second bearing 62, and is sleeved and connected between the facing circumferential surfaces of the central shaft 31 and the ratchet mechanism 7. The first bearing 61 and the fourth bearing 64 are against two ends of the limiting sleeve 32 facing each other.

That is, the first bearing 61 and the second bearing 62 for carrying the hub body 4, and the third bearing 63 and the fourth bearing 64 for carrying the sleeve 5 and the ratchet mechanism 7 connected thereto, are arranged alternately along the axis of the spindle 31. The hub body 4 can rotate relative to the spindle 31 and the sleeve 5 via the first bearing 61 and the second bearing 62. The sleeve 5 and the ratchet mechanism 7 can rotate relative to the spindle 31 via the third bearing 63 and the fourth bearing 64.

The end sleeve 33 adjacent to the first bearing 61 is plugged into the first end portion 41 of the hub body 4, thereby limiting the first bearing 61 in the hub body 4. The end sleeve 33 adjacent to the third bearing 63 is plugged into the outer barrel section 513 of the sleeve 5, thereby limiting the third bearing 63 in the sleeve 5.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the ratchet mechanism 7 is located in the second end 42 of the hub body 4, and includes a ratchet assembly 8 connected between the fourth bearing 64 and the sleeve 5, and a pawl assembly 9 installed in the second end 42 of the hub body 4 and annularly connected to the outside of the ratchet assembly 8. The ratchet assembly 8 can be linked with the sleeve 5 rotating in a first clockwise direction to unidirectionally engage with the pawl assembly 9, thereby driving the pawl assembly 9 to drive the hub body 4 to rotate in the first clockwise direction. The pawl assembly 9 can be driven by the hub body 4 rotating in the first clockwise direction relative to the sleeve 5 to release the ratchet assembly 8, and rotate in the first clockwise direction relative to the ratchet assembly 8.

2 , 5 , and 6 , the ratchet assembly 8 includes a ratchet seat 81 sleeved on the fourth bearing 64 , and a locking member 82 for locking the ratchet seat 81 on the sleeve 5 . The ratchet seat 81 has a ratchet portion 811 rotatably sleeved on the outside of the central shaft 31, a bearing ring portion 814 radially extending outward from one end of the ratchet portion 811 adjacent to the first bearing 61 and sleeved and connected to the outside of the fourth bearing 64, a stop ring portion 817 axially protruding outward from one end of the ratchet portion 811 facing away from the fourth bearing 64, and a locking ring portion 819 coaxially protruding outward from the protruding end of the stop ring portion 817 and passing over the inner circumference of the connecting ring portion 514 of the sleeve 5.

The outer circumference of the ratchet portion 811 is provided with a plurality of slots 812 arranged along the circumference thereof, and the junction of two adjacent slots 812 cooperates to define a ratchet 813. In this embodiment, the ratchet teeth 813 of the ratchet portion 811 are arc-convex along the circumference thereof toward a second clockwise direction opposite to the first clockwise direction, and are deflected toward the sleeve 5 by a predetermined angle.

The bearing ring portion 814 has a radially expanded ring wall 815 radially extending outward from the ratchet portion 811 for limiting the axial displacement of the fourth bearing 64, and a bearing ring wall 816 axially extending from the outer periphery of the radially expanded ring wall 815 away from the ratchet portion 811 and annularly connected to the outer periphery of the fourth bearing 64.

The anti-rotation ring 817 axially abuts against the connecting ring 514 of the sleeve 5, and a second anti-rotation structure 818 extending axially and continuously extending along its circumference is provided on its outer circumference. The anti-rotation ring 817 is axially inserted and engaged with the first anti-rotation structure 512 of the sleeve 5 by the second anti-rotation structure 818, and is sleeved with the sleeve 5 so as to be non-rotatable relative to it, and can be rotated in conjunction with the sleeve 5.

The outer peripheral surface of the locking ring 819 is provided with screw threads. The locking member 82 is screwed and sleeved outside the locking ring 819 and cooperates with the anti-rotation ring 817 to be axially clamped and fixed on the connecting ring 514 .

Referring to Figs. 3, 6, 7 and 8, the pawl assembly 9 is limited between the radially enlarged annular wall 815 and the opposite sides of the sleeve 5 so as to be slightly displaceable axially relative to the ratchet assembly 8, and includes a pawl seat 91 which is axially displaceable and encircles the outside of the ratchet seat 81, a plurality of pawls 92 which are embedded and exposed on the inner circumference of the pawl seat 91, and a plurality of elastic members 93 which elastically press against between the pawls 92 and the pawl seat 91. The range of the slight displacement is 0.1-0.2 mm.

The inner circumference of the pawl seat 91 is concavely provided with a plurality of mounting grooves 911 which are spaced along the circumference and are respectively provided for mounting the pawls 92 and the elastic members 93. The outer circumference of the pawl seat 91 is provided with a second sliding structure 912 which is continuously concave and convex and extends in a ring shape along the circumference. The radial outer end of each of the mounting grooves 911 of the pawl seat 91 is axially deflected by a specific angle (θ1) toward the sleeve 5, and at the same time, extends concavely from the inner circumference to the outer circumference at a predetermined angle (θ2) relative to the sleeve 5. The pawl seat 91 is axially connected to the first sliding structure 420 of the hub body 4 by the second sliding structure 912 so that it can be axially displaced but cannot rotate relative to the first sliding structure 420. The θ1 is between 0∘~30∘ and the θ2 is between 0∘~60∘.

Each of the pawls 92 is generally cylindrical and can be inserted into the corresponding mounting groove 911 along its own axial displacement, and has a buckle section 921 that is obliquely exposed at the opening of the mounting groove 911, and a column section 923 that extends axially from one end of the buckle section 921 into the mounting groove 911. The buckle section 921 is in the shape of a truncated cone that gradually narrows toward the column section 923, and its partial portion obliquely exposed outside the mounting groove 911 constitutes a pawl portion 922 that can be correspondingly engaged in one of the slots 812 and can be unidirectionally buckled and engaged with the corresponding ratchet 813 in the second clockwise direction. Each elastic member 93 is elastically supported between the end of the column section 923 of the corresponding pawl 92 and the pawl seat 91, and always has the elastic force to drive the pawl 92 to protrude toward the opening direction of the corresponding mounting groove 911.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 4, and 7, when the hub 200 of the present invention is used for a bicycle wheel set, since the first bearing 61 and the second bearing 62 for supporting the hub body 4, and the third bearing 63 and the fourth bearing 64 for supporting the ratchet assembly 8 and the sleeve 5, are arranged alternately along the axis of the central shaft 31, when the wear degree of the first bearing 61 and the second bearing 62 is different from the wear degree of the third bearing 63 and the fourth bearing 64, the hub body 4 and the sleeve 5 can still be stably connected, which helps to reduce the degree of mutual deviation between the two. In addition, through the structural design that the second bearing 62 is between the fourth bearing 64 and the third bearing 63, and the structural design that the second bearing 62 is arranged between the facing circumferential surfaces of the sleeve 5 and the hub body 4, the force of the second bearing 62 can be distributed to the fourth bearing 64 and the third bearing 63 on both axial sides thereof, so that the force of all bearings is evenly distributed, which helps to reduce the wear difference of the bearings.

Furthermore, through the structural design that the pawl group 9 can be slightly displaced axially relative to the ratchet group 8, the structural design of the axial deflection of the pawls 92, the structural design of the pawl portion 922 of each pawl 92, and the arc-shaped design of the ratchet teeth 813 of the ratchet seat 81, when the hub 200 of the present invention is driven by the flywheel to drive the rim to rotate, the axial floating displacement design of the pawl seat 91 can be utilized to perform the engagement correction between the pawls 92 and the ratchet teeth 813, thereby reducing the situation where the pawls 92 do not engage the ratchet teeth 813 synchronously, improving the engagement transmission stability between the ratchet group 8 and the pawl group 9, and helping to increase the service life of the pawls 92.

In summary, the first bearing 61, the second bearing 62, the third bearing 63 and the fourth bearing 64 installed between the spindle 31, the hub body 4, the sleeve 5 and the ratchet mechanism 7 can improve the relative deflection caused by the wear difference between the hub body 4 and the sleeve 5. Furthermore, the ratchet set 8 and the pawl set 9 of the ratchet mechanism 7 can be slightly displaced in the relative axial direction to improve the engagement stability between the pawls 92 of the pawl set 9 and the ratchet set 8, thereby improving the service life of the entire ratchet mechanism 7 and improving the linkage stability between the hub body 4 and the sleeve 5. In addition, since the pawl set 9 is coaxially sleeved outside the ratchet set 8, when the spindle 31 is slightly bent and deformed, the pawl set 9 and the ratchet set 8 will deflect synchronously, and the pawls 92 of the pawl set 9 can still be stably and elastically clamped against the equal ratchet teeth 813 of the ratchet set 8. Therefore, the hub 200 for a bicycle wheel set of the present invention is indeed a very innovative and convenient and practical creation. Therefore, the purpose of the present invention can be achieved.

However, the above is only an embodiment of the present invention and should not be used to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention and the content of the patent specification are still within the scope of the present patent.

200:Hub

31: Axis

310:Axis

32: Limit sleeve

33: End sleeve

4: Hub body

41: First end

42: Second end

420: first sliding structure

43: Connecting pipe

5: Sleeve

51: Barrel

511: Link segment

512: First anti-rotation structure

513: Outer tube section

514: Linking ring

515: Limit stopper

61:First bearing

62: Second bearing

63: Third bearing

64: Fourth bearing

7: Ratchet mechanism

8: Ratchet set

81: Ratchet seat

811: Ratchet

812: Card slot

813: Thorns

814:Carrying ring

815:Diameter expansion ring wall

816:Carrying ring wall

817: Stop ring

818: Second anti-rotation structure

819: Locking ring

82: Locking piece

9: Ratchet set

91: Ratchet seat

911:Mounting slot

912: Second sliding structure

92: Ratchet

921: Buckle section

922: ratchet part

923: Column segment

93: Elastic parts

Other features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the embodiments with reference to the drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional diagram illustrating the structure of an embodiment of the present invention for a hub of a bicycle wheel set; FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional exploded diagram illustrating the structure of the embodiment; FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional exploded diagram illustrating the structure of the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a front cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of the embodiment; FIG. 5 is a front view illustrating the structure of a ratchet seat of the embodiment; FIG. 6 is a partial enlarged view of FIG. 4; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the engagement structure of a ratchet assembly and a pawl assembly of the embodiment; and FIG. 8 is a partial enlarged view of FIG. 7.

200:Hub

31: Axis

310: Axis

32: Limit sleeve

33: End sleeve

4: Hub body

41: First end

42: Second end

43: Connecting pipe section

5: Sleeve

51: Cylinder body

511: Link segment

513: Outer tube section

514: Linking ring

515: Limit stopper

61: First bearing

62: Second bearing

63: Third bearing

64: Fourth bearing

7: Ratchet mechanism

8: Ratchet assembly

81: Ratchet seat

811: Ratchet part

812: Card slot

814:Carrying ring

817: Stop ring

819: Locking ring

82: Locking parts

9: Ratchet set

91: Ratchet seat

911: Mounting slot

92: Paw

93: Elastic parts

Claims (7)

A hub for a bicycle wheel set, comprising: a spindle extending horizontally along an axis; a hub body coaxially sleeved outside the spindle and having a first end and a second end opposite to each other; a sleeve coaxially sleeved outside the spindle and having a barrel portion and a connecting ring portion radially protruding from the inner circumference of the barrel portion, the barrel portion having a connecting section inserted in the second end of the hub body for relative rotation, and an outer barrel section exposed outside the hub body, the connecting ring portion being in the connecting section; a first bearing, a second bearing and A third bearing is arranged at intervals along the axis, the first bearing is installed and connected between the first end of the hub body and the facing circumferential surface of the axle, the second bearing is installed and connected between the second end of the hub body and the facing circumferential surface of the connecting section of the sleeve, and the third bearing is installed and connected between the outer tube section of the sleeve and the facing circumferential surface of the axle; a ratchet mechanism, including a ratchet set coaxially installed in the connecting section of the sleeve and exposed in the second end of the hub body, and a ratchet set installed in the second end of the hub body in a non-rotatable manner and connected to the hub body by a ring sleeve. A pawl assembly outside the ratchet assembly, the ratchet assembly can be driven by the rotation of the sleeve to unidirectionally engage with the pawl assembly, and drive the pawl assembly to drive the hub body to rotate relative to the spindle; and a fourth bearing, installed and connected between the facing circumferential surfaces of the spindle and the ratchet assembly, and between the axial sides of the first bearing and the second bearing; The ratchet assembly includes a ratchet seat sleeved outside the fourth bearing and inserted in the connecting section of the sleeve so as not to rotate relative to each other, and a locking member screwed to the ratchet seat and locking the ratchet seat to the connecting ring of the sleeve, the ratchet seat having a A ratchet part, a bearing ring part that expands radially outward from one end of the ratchet part facing away from the sleeve and is connected to the outside of the fourth bearing in an annular sleeve, a stop ring part that coaxially protrudes outward from one end of the ratchet part adjacent to the sleeve and is inserted in the connecting section so as not to rotate, and a locking ring part that coaxially extends outward from the end of the stop ring part and crosses the inner circumference of the connecting ring part. The ratchet part has a plurality of ratchets that are distributed along its circumference and arranged on its outer circumference and are used to engage with the pawl assembly in one direction. The locking member screw sleeve is arranged outside the locking ring part and is clamped on the connecting ring part in cooperation with the stop ring part. As described in claim 1, the hub for a bicycle wheel set, wherein the inner circumference of the connecting section of the sleeve is provided with a first anti-rotation structure extending continuously along its circumference, and the outer circumference of the anti-rotation ring of the ratchet seat is provided with a second anti-rotation structure extending continuously along its circumference, and the second anti-rotation structure of the ratchet seat is axially inserted into the first anti-rotation structure of the sleeve so as not to rotate relative to each other. A hub for a bicycle wheel set as described in claim 1, wherein the pawl set includes an annular pawl seat coaxially mounted in a non-rotatable manner in the second end of the hub body, a plurality of pawls embedded and exposed on the inner circumference of the pawl seat and used to unidirectionally engage the ratchets of the ratchet seat, and a plurality of elastic members supported between the pawls and the pawl seat, each of the elastic members having an elastic force to push the corresponding pawl elastic top out of the inner circumference of the pawl seat. As described in claim 1, the hub for a bicycle wheel set, wherein the bearing ring portion of the ratchet seat has a radially expanded ring wall radially extending outward from the ratchet portion, and a bearing ring wall axially extending outward from the radially expanded ring wall and annularly connected to the outside of the fourth bearing, the radially expanded ring wall and the end surface of the connecting section of the barrel portion are spaced apart from each other along the axis, and the pawl assembly is axially movable and limited between the facing sides of the radially expanded ring wall and the connecting section. As described in claim 3, the hub for a bicycle wheel set, wherein the inner circumference of the second end of the hub body is provided with a first sliding embedded structure extending continuously along its circumference, and the outer circumference of the pawl seat is provided with a second sliding embedded structure extending continuously along its circumference, and the second sliding embedded structure of the pawl seat can be axially displaced but cannot be rotated and inserted into the first sliding embedded structure of the hub body. As described in claim 1, the hub for a bicycle wheel set, wherein the sleeve also has a limit stopper radially protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the connecting section of the barrel portion to limit the second bearing in the second end of the hub body. The hub for a bicycle wheel set as described in claim 1 further comprises a limiting sleeve sleeved outside the spindle and between the first bearing and the fourth bearing, and two end sleeves sleeved outside the two opposite ends of the spindle, the end sleeve adjacent to the first bearing and the ratchet assembly press against the first bearing and the fourth bearing along the axis, so that the first bearing and the fourth bearing press against the two ends of the limiting sleeve, and the end sleeve adjacent to the sleeve limits the fourth bearing between the sleeve and the spindle in the direction of the hub body.

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