Hub of a bicycle

A hub of a bicycle including a hub shell having a tapered surface formed in each end, an axle disposed in the hub shell, two bearings engaged on the axle, a tube engaged on the bearings and having a cone formed on one end, the cone having a tapered surface engaged with one of the tapered surfaces of the hub shell, and a cap threadedly engaged on the other end of the tube and including a tapered surface for engagement with the other tapered surface of the hub shell, whereby, the hub shell is clamped between the cone and the cap.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a hub, and more particularly to a hub of a 
bicycle. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The closest prior art of which applicant is aware is his prior U.S. Pat. 
No. 4,810,040 to Chi, entitled "BRACKET BEARING AXLE DEVICE FOR BICYCLE", 
filed Feb. 19, 1988. Generally, the hub includes a pair of dust caps 2, 3 
provided on both end portions of the axle 1 and to be threadedly engaged 
in the end portions of the hub shell 4 of the bicycle; however, when one 
of the dust caps is threadedly engaged in one end of the hub shell, the 
axle 1 may not precisely coincide with the axis of the hub shell so that 
the other dust cap can not be easily threaded into place; this causes 
difficulty for assembling the hub. 
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the 
afore-described disadvantages of the conventional bicycle hubs. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a hub of a 
bicycle in which the hub can be easily assembled. 
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a hub of 
a bicycle comprising a hub shell including a first tapered surface formed 
in a first end portion thereof and a second tapered surface formed in a 
second end portion thereof, an axle rotatably provided in the hub shell 
and including a pair of tracks formed on an outer peripheral portion 
thereof, a bearing engaged on each of the tracks, a tube including two end 
portions engaged on the bearings respectively and including a cone formed 
integral on a first end portion thereof and an outer thread formed in a 
second end portion thereof, the cone including a third tapered surface 
formed in an outer peripheral portion thereof for engagement with the 
first tapered surface of the hub shell, and a cap including an inner 
thread formed therein for threaded engagement with the outer thread of the 
tube and including a fourth tapered surface formed in an outer peripheral 
portion thereof for engagement with the second tapered surface of the hub 
shell, whereby, the hub shell is clamped between the cone and the cap. 
Further objectives and advantages of the present invention will become 
apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description provided 
hereinbelow, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to the drawings, a hub in accordance with the present invention 
comprises generally an axle 10 rotatably provided in the hub shell 20, the 
hub shell 20 includes a tapered surface 21, 22 formed in each end thereof, 
the axle 10 includes a pair of annular ribs 11, 14 formed thereon, each of 
the annular ribs 11, 14 includes an annular track 12, 15 formed on one 
side thereof for engagement with a bearing 16, 17 respectively. 
A tube 30 is engaged between the axle 10 and the hub shell 20 and includes 
two ends engaged on the bearings 16, 17 respectively, the tube 30 includes 
a cone 31 formed integral on one end thereof and an outer thread 33 formed 
on the outer peripheral portion of the other end thereof, the cone 31 
includes a tapered surface 32 formed in the outer peripheral portion 
thereof for engagement with the tapered surface 22 of the hub shell 20, 
and a cap 35 includes an inner thread 36 formed therein for threaded 
engagement with the outer thread 33 of the tube 30 and includes a tapered 
surface 37 formed in the outer peripheral portion thereof for engagement 
with the tapered surface 21 of the hub shell 20, and a sealing ring 38 is 
engaged between the tapered surfaces 21, 37 of the hub shell 20 and the 
cap 35. 
In assembling operations, it is only required to threadedly engage the cap 
35 onto the outer thread 33 of the tube 30 such that the hub shell 20 can 
be stably engaged and clamped between the cone 31 and the cap 35. 
Accordingly, the hub can be easily assembled. 
Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of 
particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been 
made by way of example only and that numerous changes in the detailed 
construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted 
to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as 
hereinafter claimed.