WHEEL HUB AND WHEEL FOR A BICYCLE

Abstract: A wheel hub for a bicycle is provided with a bearing housing (1) and a detachable sleeve (6) fitted all round the bearing housing (1) and supporting the wheel. The sleeve (6) may be clamped between a fixed flange (3) and a loose flange (5) on the bearing housing (1). The wheel hub may be incorporated in a spoked wheel or in a disc wheel. The disc wheel (10) is provided with a central hole, into which sleeve halves (13a, 13b) are fitted each provided with a sleeve flange. The sleeve flanges are fitted on either side of the disc wheel (10), and are clamped together between the fixed fange (3) and the loose flange (5).

Description: The invention relates to a wheel hub for a bicycle, provided with a bearing housing which is rotatable about an axle, a sleeve which fits around the bearing housing for supporting the wheel which sleeve is positioned on the bearing housing between a fixed housing flange and a loose housing flange. Such a wheel hub is known from European patent application EP-A-195418. It comprises a sleeve with internal screw thread, at one end, by means of which it is to be screwed onto the external screw thread on the bearing housing. At the other end, sleeve and bearing housing comprise cylindrical surfaces which closely fit together. Between both ends, the sleeve is provided with external flanges between which a wheel disc is fitted. Like all bicycle wheel hub constructions which are hitherto known, the hub and the wheel disc (or wheel spokes in other known constructions) are (semi-)permanently fixed to each other. That is to say that it is only feasible to change the wheel including the complete hub and axle construction. In EP-A-195418 for instance, the sleeve is screwed onto the bearing housing, and locked by means of a lock nut. Therefore, it is not possible to quickly change the hub. In certain circumstances, this may cause problems. For instance, in cycle racing it may be desirable to be able to change the wheel without changing the hub. In that case, only a limited number of parts need to be changed, whereby the changing operation can take place relatively quickly. Also for other reasons, for instance from the viewpoint of manufacturing, it may be attractive to provide for a non-permanent connection between wheel and hub. The object of the invention is therefore to provide a wheel hub which allows a relatively simple and quick replacement of the wheel. This is achieved in that the bearing housing at least at both ends is externally cylindrical, the sleeve at least at both ends is internally correspondingly cylindrical and at said ends is provided with external flanges which cooperate with the fixed respectively the loose housing flange, in such a way that the sleeve is freely slidable in axial direction with respect to the housing when the loose housing flange is removed, and is immobilizable with respect to the bearing housing by uniformly clamping the sleeve parallel to the axle between both housing flanges. Once the loose housing flange has been unscrewed, the sleeve and therefore the rest of the wheel is simply slid from the bearing housing. Conversely, after sliding the wheel onto the bearing housing, a proper play-free and solid connection is obtained by simply tightening the loose housing flange onto the bearing housing. According to a preferred embodiment, the cylindrical surfaces of bearing housing and sleeve are continuous between the respective ends thereof. In this case, a particularly suitable connection with high strength and stiffness is obtained between hub and wheel. Provision is preferably made for the loose flange to have an internally threaded aperture which can be fixed on an external screw thread on the sleeve some distance away form the fixed flange. The sleeve with the wheel can now be detached or fixed by means of a single screwing operation. According to another possibility, rapid fitting and removal can be achieved if the loose flange is fixable on the sleeve by means of a bayonet closure. In order to hold the sleeve, and thus the wheel, non-rotatably on the bearing housing, the fixed flange can be provided with a projection which faces the other flange and which can be accommodated in a corresponding recess in the sleeve. In a wheel with spokes and the wheel hub according to the invention, the spokes are now fixed to the sleeve flanges. It is known to provide a wheel hub with bearings with innermost and outermost bearing halves. In this embodiment of the wheel hub a very flexible run of the wheel can be obtained if the bearing housing has spaces at both ends with stop faces facing away from each other for the outermost bearing halves, said spaces also having an internal screw thread into which a screw ring fits for pressing the outermost bearing halves against the appropriate stop face. For fixing the axle, it can be provided with two stop faces facing away from each other for the innermost bearing halves, the distance between said stop faces essentially corresponding to those of the bearing housing. The flexible running of the wheel can be even further beneficially influenced by the axle ends being provided with a flange for fixing the axle in a fork, in such a way that the flanges form reaction points for the fixing means of the fork. In this embodiment the forces with which the fork is fixed on the axle are not transmitted to the bearings, but are guided directly through the axle itself. through the axle itself. So-called disc wheels have recently come into use, particularly in cycle racing. The wheel hub according to the invention can also be used in such disc wheels if provision is made for the wheel disc to have a central hole by means of which it fits tightly around the sleeve. The sleeve is in this case preferably designed in two cylindrical halves which are each provided with a sleeve flange and which can be fitted on either side of the wheel disc, in such a way that the wheel disc can be held between the sleeve flanges. The advantage of this is that the loose and fixed flanges of the bearing housing do not directly contact the fragile lightweight material of the wheel disc, but contact the sleeve flanges which are better prepared for it. According to a first preferred embodiment, provision is made for the two sleeve halves to be detachable from the wheel disc and when the loose flange is tightened on the bearing housing to be movable towards each other in such a way that the wheel disc can be clamped between the sleeve flanges. According to a second preferred embodiment, provision can be made for sleeve halves to be fixed to the wheel disc, in such a way that the wheel disc with the sleeve flanges can be clamped between the loose and the fixed flange. The sleeve flanges are also absolutely non-rotatable relative to the material of the wheel disc during tightening of the loose flange on the bearing housing, so that damage thereof is largely avoided. In order to achieve, for example, low weight and high strength, such a wheel disc can be designed in such a way that the wheel disc comprises shell halves which are symmetrical relative to the wheel centre plane at right angles to the central axis of the axle, and that the space formed between the shell halves is filled with foam material. The wheel is preferably designed in such a way that the shell halves are fixed on the outside of the flanges, and the foam material on the inside of the flanges. For the purpose of other weight savings, provision can be made for the apertures to be circular or sector-shaped, in such a way that the parts of the wheel disc lying between the apertures in the peripheral direction form spokes. In order to increase the strength, in the last case the wheel can be designed in such a way that the spokes are provided adjacent to the apertures with reinforcement tubes extending approximately in radial directions. In order to reduce the air resistance of the rotating wheel, one reinforcement tube of each spoke can always have a greater diameter than the other, in such a way that the spokes always taper in tangential cross-section. The assembled wheel can be designed in such a way that the shell half edges are provided with edges which are parallel to the centre plane of the wheel and which are fixed to each other by a correspondingly shaped strip. The shell halves are preferably made of a composite material of resin and fibres, and the foam material is PVC, such as, for example, aramid fibres or carbon fibres, or an epoxy resin. The invention will be explained in greater detail below with reference to a number of examples of embodiments. Fig. 1 shows an exploded side view of a wheel hub according to the invention with spokes fixed on it. Fig. 2 shows a part of the wheel hub according to Claim 1 suitable for the accommodation of a chain wheel. Fig. 3 shows the wheel hub in cross-section for use on a disc wheel. Fig. 4 shows on a smaller scale a first variant of a disc wheel in side view. Fig. 5 shows cross-section V-V of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 shows a second variant of a disc wheel in side view. Fig. 7 shows a third variant of a disc wheel in side view. The wheel hub shown in Fig. 1 comprises a bearing housing 1 in which axle 2 is rotatably mounted. At one end bearing housing 1 has a fixed flange 3, and at the other end is provided with screw thread 4 onto which the loose flange 5 can be screwed. The sleeve 6 can be slid onto the bearing housing 1 and can then be clamped between the flanges 3, 5. Sleeve 6 has two sleeve flanges 7 to which spokes 8 are fixed in this embodiment. Fig. 2 shows a variant of the bearing housing of Fig. 1. In this variant provision is made for a second screw thread 9, onto which a chain wheel (not shown) can be screwed. The variant shown in Fig. 3 shows a disc wheel, provided with a wheel hub according to Fig. 1, and a wheel disc 10 connected thereto. This wheel disc 10 is made up of two shells 11, for example of composite material with aramid or carbon fibres and an epoxy resin, and a foam core 12 of, for example, polypropylene. The sleeve now comprises two sleeve halves 13a, 13b, fitted on either side of foam core 12. The shell halves 11 cover the outside edge of the sleeve halves 13a, 13b and are glued thereto. The sleeve halves 13a, 13b are positioned in the direction of rotation relative to the wheel hub by means of pin 14 and recess 15. The bearing housing 1 is supported by means of ball bearings 25 on the axle 2. The outermost bearing halves of said bearings 25 can in this case each be pressed by the screw rings 22 against a breast 23. The axle 2 always lies with a breast 21 against the innermost bearing halves. By means of a labyrinth seal (not shown), dirt, dust etc. are prevented from penetrating to the bearings. The wheel can be fixed to a fork (not shown) by means of the flanges 24, in which case the bearings are then not placed under stress by the fixing forces exerted on the fork. Fig. 4 shows a first variant of the form of the shell halves 11, with spokes 14 and rim 20. In cross-section the spoke 14a can taper, as shown in Fig. 5. The spoke 14 is also reinforced by means of the tubes 15a, 16. It can also be seen that the shell halves have edges 17 which are fixed to each other by means of edge strips 18 formed matching said edges 17. The wheel rim is formed with a suitable recess, to accommodate the tyre. Fig. 6 shows a variant in which the shells 11 are provided with circular recesses 19. The variant shown in Fig. 7 has spokes 26 which are positioned staggered relative to the radii running out from the centre point of the wheel. In the direction of rotation indicated by the arrow the spokes have an aerodynamically beneficial drop-shaped cross-section 27. This wheel has a low air resistance, partly because the front edge of each spoke in the direction of rotation is relatively short. Of course, such a wheel can also have a different number of spokes, for example two.

Claims: 1. Wheel hub for a bicycle, provided with a bearing housing (1) which is rotatable about an axle (2), a sleeve (6,13) which fits around the bearing housing (1) for supporting the wheel which sleeve (6,13) is positioned on the bearing housing (1) between a fixed housing flange (3) and a loose housing flange (5) wherein the bearing housing (1) at least at both ends is externally cylindrical, the sleeve (6,13) at least at ends is internally correspondingly cylindrical characterized in that the sleeve (6,13) at said ends is provided with external flanges (7) which cooperate with the fixed (3) respectively the loose (5) housing flange, in such a way that the sleeve (6,13) is freely slidable in axial direction with respect to the housing (1) when the loose housing flange (5) is removed, and is immobilizable with respect to the bearing housing (1) by uniformly clamping the sleeve (6,13) parallel to the axle (2) between both housing flanges (3,5). 2. Wheel hube according to claim 1, characterized in that the cylindrical surfaces of bearing housing (1) and sleeve (6,13) are continuous between the respective ends thereof. 3. Wheel according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that te cooperation surfaces of housing flanges (3,5) and sleeve flanges (7) are plane, and run perpendicular with respect to the axis of rotation of the hub. 4. Wheel hub according to claim 2, characterized in that the loose flange (5) can be fixed on the bearing housing (1) by means of a bayonet closure. 5. Wheel hub according to Claim 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the fixed flange (3) is provided with a projection (14) which faces the other flange (5) and which can be accommodated in a corresponding recess (15) in the sleeve (13). 6. Wheel hub according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sleeve (6,13) is provided with two external sleeve flanges (7) 7.Wheel hub according to one of the preceding claims, provided with bearings (25) with innermost and outermost bearing halves, characterized in that the bearing housing (1) has spaces inside at both ends with stop faces (23) facing away from each other for the outermost bearing halves, said spaces also having an internal screw thread into which a screw ring (22) fits for pressing the outermost bearing halves against the appropriate stop face. 8. Wheel hub according to claim 7, characterized in that the axle (2) is provided with two stop faces (21) facing away from each other for the innermost bearing halves, the distances between said stop faces (21) essentially corresponding to the distance between the stops (23) of the bearing housing (1). 9. Wheel hub according to Claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the axle ends are each provided with a flange (24) for fixing the axle (2) in a fork, in such a way that the flanges (24) form reaction points for the the fixing means of the fork. 10. Wheel, provided with a wheel hub according to Claim 4, characterized in that the spokes (8) are fixed on the sleeve flanges (7). 11. Wheel provided with a wheel disc and a wheel hub according to one of Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the wheel disc (10) has a central hole by means of which it fits closely round the sleeve (13). 12. Wheel according to Claim 11, provided with a wheel hub according to Claim 4, characterized in that the sleeve comprises two cylindrical sleeve halves (13a,13b) which are each provided with a sleeve flange (7) and which can be fitted on either side of the wheel disc (10), in such a way that the wheel disc (10) can be held between the sleeve flanges (7). 13. Wheel according to Claim 12, characterized in that the two sleeve halves are detachable from the wheel disc and when the loose flange is tightened on the bearing housing are movable towards each other in such a way that the wheel disc can be clamped between the sleeve flanges. 14. Wheel according to Claim 12, characterized in that the sleeve halves (13a,13b) are fixed to the wheel disc (10), in such a way that the wheel disc (10) with the sleeve flanges (7) can be clamped between the loose (5) and the fixed flange (3). 15. Wheel according to Claim 11, 12, 13, or 14, characterized in that the wheel disc (10) comprises shell halves (11) which are symmetrical relative to the wheel centre plane at right angles to the central axis of the axle (2), and that the space formed between the shell halves (11) is filled with foam material (12). 16. Wheel according to Claims 14 and 15, characterized in that the shell halves (11) are fixed on the outside of the flanges (7), and the foam material (12) on the inside of the flanges (7). 17. Wheel according to Claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the apertures (19) in the shell (11) are circular. 18. Wheel according to Claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the apertures are sector-shaped, in such a way that the parts of the wheel disc lying between the apertures in the peripheral direction form spokes (14a). 19. Wheel according to Claim 18, characterized in that the spokes (14a) are provided adjacent to the apertures with reinforcement tubes (15a,16) extending approximately in radial directions. 20. Wheel according to Claim 19, characterized in that one reinforcement tube (15a) of each spoke (14a) always has a greater diameter than the other (16), in such a way that the spokes always taper in tangential cross-section. 21. Wheel according to one of Claims 11 to 20, characterized in that the shell half edges are provided with edges (17) which are parallel to the centre plane of the wheel and which are fixed to each other by a correspondingly shaped strip (18). 22. Wheel according to one of Claims 15 to 21, characterized in that the shell halves are made of a composite material of resin and fibres, and the foam material is PVC. 23. Wheel according to Claim 22, characterized in that the fibres are aramid fibres. 24. Wheel according to Claim 22, characterized in that the fibres are carbon fibres. 25. Wheel according to Claim 22, 23 or 24, characterized in that the resin is epoxy resin.

Inventors: VAN BREEMEN, ERIC HENRI GUENTER, Van Breemen, Eric Henri Günter
Applicants: VAN BREEMEN, ERIC HENRI GUENTER
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B60B27
IPC codes: B60B5, B60B3, B60B1, B60B27