Speed indicator for a shifting device of a bicycle

Abstract: A shifting apparatus for a bicycle includes a takeup element for winding a change speed wire, a shifting device having shift levers (11) for rotating the takeup element, a speed indicator (20) formed separately from the shifting device and attached to a handlebar (3), and an interlocking wire (6) for transmitting a displacement of the shifting device to the speed indicator (20).

Description: The present invention relates to a gear indicator for indicating gears selected by a shifting device of a bicycle. Some conventional bicycles have a gear indicator provided for a shifting device per se for indicating gears selected by the shifting device. Such an indicator, depending on the position of the shifting device relative to the handlebar, could not easily be seen by the rider. In US-PS 3 524 979 an illuminated gear shift selector for a bicycle is disclosed. The gear shift selector has a movable stick shift which simultaneously shifts gears and indicates which gear is operation through an indicator. As the gear shift selector is not provided to a handle bar the indicator cannot easily be seen by the rider. In an alternative embodiment a torsion spring transmits rotational movement of a gear connected to the gearshift to a gear indicator. The steering handle apparatus for the use in a bicycle described in US-PS 5 052 241 comprises indicator means arranged on a change speed lever apparatus as in the first part of claim 1. This construction is very compact but has the drawback of giving the rider the information which gear is selected in a way difficult to read. The actuating device for a gear shifting device disclosed in DE-A-3 215 426 and the brake gear for a bicycle shown in FR-A-2 673 594 comprise both indicator means integrated in the device mounted on the handle bar. This also results in the drawback that the size of the indicator and its place of positioning is limited. Hence, the indicator cannot easily be seen by the rider. An object of the present invention is to provide a gear indicator easily seen by the rider regardless of the position of the shifting device relative to the handlebar. Another object of the present invention is to provide a compact gear indicator. The above objects are fulfilled, according to the present invention, by a gear shifting apparatus having the features of claim 1. The above construction allows the gear indicator to be attached to a position of the handlebar easily seen by the rider of the bicycle at all times regardless of the position of the shifting device relative to the handlebar. Further and other objects, features and effects of the invention will become more apparent from the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the invention taken with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a gear indicator for a shifting device of a bicycle according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the shifting device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the shifting device and gear indicator shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a sectional side view of the gear indicator and relevant parts of the shifting device; Fig. 5 is a sectional bottom view of the gear indicator; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modified gear indicator according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a brake lever device with a shifting device of a bicycle includes a brake lever 1 pivotably supported by a lever bracket 2, and two shift levers 11 and 12 also supported by the lever bracket 2. The shifting device includes a shifter 10 having the shift levers 11 and 12, and the lever bracket 2. The lever bracket 2 is used also as a member for securing the shifter 10 to a handlebar 3. The shift levers 11 and 12 are pivotable to pull or relax a change speed wire 4. Specifically, the shifter 10 includes the shift levers 11 and 12, a takeup element 13, as shown in Fig. 3, to which the change speed wire 4 is connected, and a case 14 for pivotably supporting the shift levers 11 and 12 and rotatably supporting the takeup element 13. The case 14 is attached to the lever bracket 2 by a mounting screw 9, and the lever bracket 2 is fixed tight to the handlebar 3 by a mounting band 2a. Thus, the lever bracket 2 for supporting the brake lever 1 is used to secure the shifter 10 to the handlebar 3. The case 14 houses an interlock mechanism (not shown) for interlocking the shift levers 11 and 12 to the takeup element 13. The interlock mechanism includes a feed pawl (not shown) for transmitting drive from an operated one of the shift levers 11 and 12 to the takeup element 13 to rotate the latter in a wire winding direction, a stopper pawl (not shown) for stopping the takeup element 13 rotating in a wire unwinding direction under tension of the change speed wire 4 or the like, a pawl controller (not shown) operable in response to an operation of the other shift lever 11 or 12 to retract the stopper pawl and allow the takeup element 13 to rotate in the unwinding direction under tension of the change speed wire 4 or the like and to restore the stopper pawl with a rotation through each predetermined angle of the takeup element 13. Thus, by operating the shift lever 11 or 12, the takeup element 13 is rotatable to wind or unwind the change speed wire 4, thereby to shift a front or rear derailleur to a desired speed stage. The shifter 10 is attached to the lever bracket 2 such that the shift levers 11 and 12 are located below the mounting band 2a. Consequently, with the shifter 10 attached to the handlebar 3, the shift levers 11 and 12 are located below the handlebar 3. With this arrangement, the shift levers 11 and 12 are within easy reach of the thumb and finger of a hand holding a grip 3a of the handlebar 3. The rider can carry out a shifting operation while firmly holding the grip 3a. As shown in Fig. 1, a gear indicator 20 is formed separately from the shifter 10, and mounted on the mounting band 2a of the lever bracket 2. The indicator 20 is interlocked to the shifter 10 through a cable 5 in the form of a coil spring as shown in Fig. 3. The rider may readily confirm speed stages selected by the shifting device despite the manner in which the shifter 10 is attached to the handlebar 3. The indicator 20 preferably has a scale panel facing rearwardly or upwardly and rearwardly of the mounting band 2a. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 3, the indicator 20 includes a scale panel 21, a pointer 22 and a transparent cover plate 23. As shown in Fig. 5, the pointer 22 has opposite ends thereof slidably fitted in a pair of guide grooves 21a and 21b formed in the scale panel 21. Thus, the pointer 22 is slidable along the guide grooves 21a and 21B between a surface of the scale panel 21 and the cover plate 23 curved into a semicircular shape. The pointer 22 selectively points to a plurality of speed marks 24 printed or otherwise shown in numerals or signs on the scale panel 21. As seen from Figs. 3 and 4, the scale panel 21 has a substantially semicircular shape extending circumferentially of the handlebar 3. The scale panel 21 may be snapped on or, though not shown in the drawings, detachably attached by screws or the like or rigidly fixed to the mounting band 2a. The pointer 22 is T-shaped as a whole, and may be formed of a soft material such as plastic or vinyl or of a metal such as aluminum or steel. To be visible at night, the pointer 22 may be coated with a fluorescent paint or formed of vinyl including a fluorescent substance. Alternatively, the speed marks 24 may be formed of a fluorescent paint. As seen from Fig. 4, the interlock cable 5 extends between the shifter 10 and indicator 20 through a cable passage 6 in the form of a pipe between the scale panel 21 and lever bracket 2, and through a cable receiving bore 14a formed in the case 14. In this embodiment and another embodiment described later, a thin coil spring is used as the interlock cable 5, but a flexible material such as plastic or rubber may be used instead. The cable passage 6 may be formed of a soft material such as vinyl or plastic, or a metal such as aluminum or steel to provide enhanced protection for the cable 5. The shifter-end of the cable 5 is connected to the takeup element 13 by means of an L-shaped metal coupling 7, while the indicator-end of the cable 5 is connected to one end of the pointer 22. With rotation of the takeup element 13, the cable 5 is slidable through the cable receiving bore 14a and cable passage 6 to slide the pointer 22. In this way, the speed indicator 20 is interlocked to the takeup element 13 through the cable 5 to be operable in response to operation of the shift levers 11 and 12. Specifically, when the shift lever 11 or 12 is manipulated in a shifting operation, rotation of the takeup element 13 and interlocking action of the cable 5 cause the pointer 22 of the indicator 20 to point to one of the gear marks 24. From the gear mark 24 indicated by the pointer 22, the rider can grasp a speed stage provided by the derailleur. The gear indicator 20 is attached to the handlebar 3 to be readily visible to the rider though the shift levers 11 and 12 are disposed below the handlebar 3, which also facilitates confirmation of a selected speed stage. Further, in this embodiment, the gear indicator 20 is located in approximately the same direction as the shift levers 11 and 12 as seen in the rider's eyes. This is convenient in that the rider can see the indicator 20 and shift levers 11 and 12 at the same time. Where the indicator 20 lies between the pair of shift levers 11 and 12 as seen from the rider, the rider may look in the same direction to see the indicator 20 and shift levers 11 and 12. In the above embodiment, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the gear indicator 20 is mounted on the lever bracket 2 which secures the shifter 10 to the handlebar 3. This construction has the advantage of allowing the shifter 10 and indicator 20 to be attached to the handlebar 3 in one operation though the two devices are formed independently of each other. However, the present invention may be embodied as shown in Fig. 6. In this embodiment, the shifter 10 is attached to the handlebar 3 through the lever bracket 2, while the gear indicator 20 is attached to the handlebar 3 through a special mounting member 8. That is, the shifter 10 and indicator 20 are attached separately from each other to the handlebar 3. Where the indicator 20 is shaped to extend circumferentially of the handlebar 3 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the indicator 20 may advantageously be mounted on the handlebar 3 in a compact manner to project a minimal amount from the handlebar 3. Alternatively, the indicator 20 may be shaped to extend along the handlebar 3 as shown in Fig. 6, i.e. to extend longitudinally of the handlebar 3. The speed indicator is not limited to the type having the slidable pointer as in the foregoing embodiments. The indicator may be the type in which the pointer is revolvable, or the type in which the pointer is fixed and the speed marks are movable. The shifting device may include only one shift lever. The shift lever or levers may be directly connected to the takeup element. In this case, the gear indicator may be interlocked to the shift lever or levers to be operable in response to operation of the lever or levers. In the described embodiments, the lever bracket is used for supporting the shifting device. Instead, a mounting bracket exclusive for the shifting device may be used to support the shifting device separately from the, brake lever. The technical concept of the present invention lies in forming a gear indicator independently of the main body of a shifting device, so that the indicator may be attached to a position of the handlebar easily seen by the rider regardless of the position of the shifting device on the handlebar. Thus, the indicator may be disposed at a certain height from the handlebar, using a prop or the like, and may be disposed adjacent a halfway position longitudinally of the handlebar.

Claims: A shifting apparatus for a bicycle comprising: shift means attachable to a handle bar (3) of said bicycle, said shifting means including: a takeup member (13) for winding a change speed wire (4) thereon; and shift lever means (11,12) for rotating said takeup member (13); gear indicating means (20); interlock means (5,6,7) for transmitting a displacement of said shift means to said gear indicating means (20); characterized in that said gear indicating means (20) is directly or indirectly mounted to the handle bar and that said interlock means (5,6,7) includes a flexible member (5) with one end fixed to said takeup member, for transmitting a displacement of said shift means to said gear indicating means (20) by a longitudinal sliding motion of said flexible member (5). A shifting apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that said shift lever means is disposed below said handlebar. A shifting apparatus as defined in claim 1 or 2, further comprising a mounting member for securing said shift means to said handlebar, said. gear indicating means being disposed on said mounting member. A shifting apparatus as defined in claim 3, characterized in that said mounting member is a mounting band. A shifting apparatus as defined in one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said gear indicating means has a substantially semicircular shape extending circumferentially of said handlebar. A shifting apparatus as defined in one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said gear indicating means includes a transparent cover, a scale panel and a pointer. A shifting apparatus as defined in claim 6, characterized in that said scale panel includes guide means, said pointer being slidable along said guide means. A shifting apparatus as defined in claim 7, characterized in that said guide means is a pair of guide grooves extending circumferentially of said handlebar. A shifting apparatus as defined in one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that said pointer is T-shaped as a whole. A shifting apparatus as defined in one of claims 6, 7 and 9, characterized in that said gear indicating means extends along said handlebar, said pointer being movable along said handlebar. A shifting apparatus as defined in one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that said shift lever means is a pair of arms extending in different directions, said gear indicating means being disposed substantially between said pair of arms as seen from a rider on said bicycle. A shifting apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that said interlock means further includes a cover surrounding said flexible member. A shifting apparatus as defined in claim 1 or 12, characterized in that said flexible member is a coil spring.

Inventors: KAWAKAMI TATSUYA, KAWAKAMI, TATSUYA, KAWAKAMI, TATSUYA, C/O SHIMANO INC.
Applicants: SHIMANO KK, SHIMANO INC.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B62M25
IPC codes: B62M25