Patent ID: 6425598
Filing Date: 2002-07-30
Classification: B62H,B62K,B62M

Abstract:
A folding bicycle comprising a front wheel, a rear wheel having an axle, a rear wheel-side sprocket connected to said rear wheel, a sprocket chain for being engaged with said rear wheel-side sprocket, and a folding mechanism permitting the folding bicycle in an extended state to be folded at an intermediate region between said front wheel and said rear wheel, wherein the folding bicycle is folded by said folding mechanism such that said front wheel is brought to a position at one side of said rear wheel,the folding bicycle further comprising: an axle shift mechanism permitting said axle of said rear wheel to be shifted to a position toward said intermediate region and to be held in said position toward said intermediate region; and a chain-holding mechanism that holds said sprocket chain at a predetermined position when said axle is shifted to and held in said position toward said intermediate region by said axle shift mechanism, to thereby release engagement between said rear wheel-side sprocket and said sprocket chain, and that disengages from said sprocket chain when said axle is shifted away from said position toward said intermediate region to permit engagement between said rear wheel-side sprocket and said sprocket chain.