Abstract:
A combination of derailleur shifter and brake lever for bicycles includes a lever which can be pivoted relative to the handlebar so as to respectively control the braking mechanism and the derailleur gears. The lever has a rod connected thereto which controls a driving pawl unit which allows the rider to operate the rack of a driving unit to pull or release the derailleur cable.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a combination of a derailleur shifter and a brake lever for bicycles, the rider operates the lever to respective control the braking mechanism and the derailleur gears. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   A conventional bicycle brake lever is connected to each of two ends of the handlebar so as to control the brake mechanism of the front and rear wheels. For a bicycle with derailleur system, two shifters are also connected to the handlebar so as to control the derailleur cables for engaging the front and rear gears. The break levers and the shifters are separately installed so that the rider has to move his/her hands from one to another when operating the shifter and the break lever. The separate shifters and brake levers not only increase the complexity of installation, but also increase the potential risk of accident. 
   The present invention intends to provide a combination of derailleur shifter and brake lever for bicycles so that the rider can operate the braking action and the gearing on the same lever at different directions. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a combination of derailleur shifter and brake lever for bicycles, and the combination comprises a base connected to a bicycle handlebar and an end member is pivotably connected to a distal end of the base. A lever has a first end pivotably connected to the end member by a pivot and a toothed portion is defined in the first end of the lever so as to be connected with a driving unit in the base. A rod is connected to the lever and has a protrusion which is located close to a second end of the lever. A first block and a second block extend radially from the rod with an angle defined therebetween so that when the rider pushes the protrusion, the first and second blocks are rotated an angle with the rod  31 . 
   The driving unit includes a driving plate, a rack and a driving pawl unit. The driving plate is movably connected to a first guide rod includes a plurality of teeth extending from on a side thereof. The toothed portion is engaged with the teeth. Two positioning members are connected to the other side of the driving plate and each positioning member has an inclined engaging end. The rack is movably connected to a second guide rod and has a plurality of notches with which the inclined engaging ends of the positioning members are removably engaged. The rack further has a plurality of first engaging recesses and second engaging recesses. A derailleur cable has an end fixed to the rack. 
   The driving pawl unit has a first pawl and a driving member, wherein the first pawl includes a first piece and a hooked piece which has one end fixed with one end of the first piece. The hooked piece is removably engaged with first recesses and the driving member has a hooked end which is removably engaged with the second engaging recesses. The first block on the rod is located in contact with a first side of the first piece and the second block is located in contact with the first pawl. By rotating the rod, the driving pawl unit is disengaged from the rack which is then can be pulled by operating the lever to control the derailleur cable. 
   The primary object of the present invention is to provide a lever that can be used as a conventional brake lever and a derailleur shifter by operating a rod attached on the lever. 
   The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view to show the combination lever of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view to show the combination lever of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2-1  shows the rack from the other side thereof; 
       FIG. 3  shows the connection of the driving unit, the lever and the rod of the combination lever of the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view to show that the combination lever is pivoted to operate the derailleur cables; 
       FIG. 5  shows that the combination lever has not yet pivoted; 
       FIG. 6  shows that the combination lever is pivoted and the rack is moved; 
       FIG. 7  shows that the combination lever returns to its original position when being released; 
       FIG. 8  shows that the rack is moved to contact an inside of the base; 
       FIG. 9  shows that the driving pawl unit is not operated when the rod is not yet rotated; 
       FIG. 10  shows that the rod is rotated, and the driving pawl unit is rotated by the rotation of the rod, and 
       FIG. 11  shows that the driving pawl unit returns to its original position when the rider releases the protrusion on the rod. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 4 , the combination lever  1  for bicycles of the present invention comprises a base  10  connected to each of two ends of a bicycle handlebar  50  and an end member  11  is pivotably connected to a distal end of the base  10 . A lever  20  has a first end  21  pivotably connected to the end member  11  by a pivot  23  and a toothed portion  24  is defined in the first end  21  of the lever  20 . The pivot  23  has a first torsion spring  231  mounted thereto so that when releasing the lever  20 , the lever returns to its original position. 
   A rod  31  is connected to the lever  20  in parallel with the lever  20  and has a protrusion  30  which is located close to a second end  22  of the lever  20  so that the rider can conveniently operate the protrusion  30 . A first block  312  and a second block  313  extend radially from the rod  31 , and an angle defined between the first and second blocks  312 ,  313 . A second torsion spring  231  is mounted to the rod  31  so that the rod  31  returns to its original position when being released. 
   Further referring to  FIG. 2-1 , a driving unit  40  is located in the base  10  and includes a driving plate  41 , a rack  42  and a driving pawl unit  43 . The driving plate  41  is movably connected to a first guide rod  411  and a plurality of teeth  410  extend from on a side of the driving plate  41 . The toothed portion  24  is engaged with the teeth  410 . Two Z-shaped positioning members  412  are pivotably connected to the other side of the driving plate  41  and each positioning member  412  has an inclined engaging end. 
   The rack  42  is movably connected to a second guide rod  421  and has a plurality of notches  423  with which the inclined engaging ends of the positioning members  412  are removably engaged. The second guide rod  421  is located at a first end of the rack  42  and a fixing recess  422  is defined in a second end of the rack  42 . A first end of the derailleur cable  51  is fixedly engaged with the fixing recess  422  and a second end of the derailleur cable  51  extends through a tube  1212  extending from the base  10 . The rack  42  further has a plurality of first engaging recesses  424  and second engaging recesses  425 . 
   The driving pawl unit  43  includes a first pawl  432  and a driving member  433 , a pin  434  extends through the first pawl  432  and the driving member  433 . The first pawl  432  includes a first piece  4321  and a hooked piece  4322  which has one end fixed with one end of the first piece  4321 . The hooked piece  4322  is removably engaged with first recesses  424 . The driving member  433  has a hooked end  4331  which is removably engaged with the second engaging recesses  425 . The first block  312  on the rod  31  is located in contact with a first side of the first piece  4321  and the second block  313  located in contact with the first pawl  433 . A biasing member  431  is located between an inside of the base  10  and a second side of the first piece  4321 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , when the rider pivots the lever  20  to drive the driving plate  41 , the positioning members  412  on the driving plate  41  then move the rack  42  so that the derailleur cable  51  is pulled together with the rack  42 . When the lever  20  is released, the lever  20  returns to its original position by the first torsion spring  231  as shown in  FIG. 7 . The positioning members  412  are engaged with the notches  423 , and the rack  42  is not moved with the return of the lever  20  so that the derailleur cable  51  is maintained its position. 
   As shown in  FIG. 8 , when the lever  20  is operated several times, the rack  42  moves to a position to contact an inside of the base  10 , the rack  42  cannot be moved further in the same direction. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 9-11 , when the button is not yet pressed, the first pawl  432  is engaged with the first engaging recess  424 , and the rack  42  is held at its current position as shown in  FIG. 9 . When the button  30  is pushed, the rod  31  rotates an angle and the first block  312  pushes the first piece  4321 , and the hooked piece  4322  is disengaged from the first engaging recess  424 . In the meanwhile, the second block  313  pushes the driving member  433  whose hooked end  4331  is moved toward the second engaging recess  425  to push the rack  42  toward the other direction os that the derailleur cable  51  is loosened. 
   As shown in  FIG. 11 , when the button  30  is released, the second torsion spring  311  returns the rod  31  to its original position, and the driving pawl unit  43  is pivoted by the biasing member  431  to the position as shown in  FIG. 9 . The rack  42  does not move when the driving member  433  are removed from the second engaging recess  425 . The derailleur cable  51  is maintained its tension. 
   While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.