Force transfer unit with gear position indicator

Abstract: A force transfer unit is provided between first and second hand operated shift control units (42, 46) and first and second bicycle transmissions. First and second inner wires interconnect the hand operated shift control units (42, 46) and the bicycle transmissions. First and second gear indicators (134, 138) are disposed in a housing (150) for indicating the gear positions of the first and second bicycle transmissions. The gear indicators move in response to a diverting movement of the first and second wires (120, 130). The transfer unit is spaced apart from the first and second hand operated shift control units (42, 46) and preferably is mounted in a central portion of a handlebar of a bicycle.

Description: The present invention is directed to control devices for bicycle transmissions and, more particularly, to a force transfer mechanism for a bicycle transmission control cable. Bicycle transmissions are commonly controlled by a manually operated shift control unit that includes a lever or ring that is rotated by the rider. The shift control unit is connected to a control cable of the type having an inner wire that slides within a tubular outer casing, wherein one end of the inner wire is connected to the shift control unit, and the other end of the inner wire is connected to the bicycle transmission. The transmission may be a derailleur or internal hub transmission, wherein operation of the shift control unit selectively pulls or releases the inner wire to change gears in the transmission. Such transmissions are usually located at the pedal cranks (a front transmission) and/or the rear wheel (a rear transmission). Bicycles operated with derailleurs, by the far the most common types of bicycle transmission, usually have both front and rear transmissions. With such bicycles the shift control unit for the front transmission is usually mounted at the left gripping end of the handlebar, and the shift control unit for the rear transmission is usually mounted at the right gripping end of the handlebar. Typical shift control units usually include a pulley which winds or unwinds the inner wire in response to rotation of the manually operated lever or ring. The cable winding groove on the pulley may have various configurations such as circular, increasing radius, decreasing radius, etc. to produce a rate of pulling or releasing of the inner wire to accommodate the gear shifting motion characteristics of the transmission. As a result, different shift control units usually must be made to accommodate different transmissions. Additionally, some shift control units have a gear indicator for indicating the current gear position of the bicycle transmission. Some gear indicators take the form of a disc or needle that rotates in repose.to rotation of the pulley. Other gear indicators are simple markings on the manually operated lever or ring that move relative to a stationary scale on the shift control unit housing. In any case, the gear indicator is located with the shift control unit housing. Consequently, since the shift control units are usually mounted at the opposite gripping ends of the handlebar, the rider must divert his or her view from the road or trail and look to the opposite ends of the handlebar to ascertain the currently selected gears. This is very inconvenient, especially during races since full awareness of the race course and nearby riders is required to win the race. The PCT Patent Application WO98/42530 discloses a cable interface device for cruise control in motorcycles adapted to transfer travel motion between input cables and output cables. At least two spools are mounted for rotation in a housing, each spool being adapted for connection to a cable lead through openings in the housing. Travel movement of the first and second input cables causes rotation of the first and second spools, where the first and second spools are rotatable relative to one another, such that rotation of the first spool in a first direction causes movement of the second spool in the first direction, whereas movement of the second spool in the first direction is possible without causing movement of the first spool. The object of the present invention is to provide a force transfer unit with gear position indicators which allow the rider to observe the currently selected gear without diverting attention from his view of the road or trail. According to the present invention, a force transfer unit suitable for transferring forces from hand-operated shift control units to bicycle transmissions is provided as defined in claim 1. Embodiments of the invention are defined in the subclaims. The force transfer unit of the present invention can be used with multiple types of shift control devices and allows the rider to ascertain the gear position of one or more bicycle transmissions while looking straight ahead. First and second gear indicators are disposed in a housing for indicating the gear positions of first and second bicycle transmissions respectively. The first and second gear indicators are arranged to be movable in response to a diverting movement of first and second inner wires. The first and second inner wires can be connected between the hand-operated shift control units and the corresponding bicycle transmissions. In one embodiment, a cable diverting member is provided in the form of a pulley, where a cable winding groove of the pulley has the appropriate shape to accommodate cable pulling requirements of a shift control device. The present force transfer unit can be used with different types of shift control units having different cable pulling requirements by merely changing the pulley in the force transfer unit. In another embodiment, the gear indicators co-operate with pulleys acting as wire diverting members. The first and second inner wires are diverted by engagement with the first and second pulleys, the first and second gear indicators being movable in response to rotation of the first and second pulleys. When the force transfer unit is mounted in the central portion of the handlebar, the rider can ascertain the current gear of the bicycle transmission without having to look at the end of the handlebars. This is especially convenient when the force transfer unit is used with combined front and rear bicycle transmissions. Figure 1 is a top view of a particular embodiment of a bicycle shift control apparatus according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a view taken along line 2-2 in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a front cutaway view of the force transfer unit shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a view taken along line 5-5 in Figure 4; Figure 6 is an exploded view of the force transfer mechanism shown in Figure 5; Figure 7 is a view taken along line 7-7 in Figure 6; Figure 8 is a view taken along line 8-8 in Figure 6 Figure 9 is a schematic view of an alternative embodiment of pulleys and cables according to the present invention; Figure 10 is a schematic view of another embodiment of pulleys and cables according to the present invention; Figure 11 is a view taken along line 11-11 in Figure 10; and Figure 12 is a view taken along line 12-12 in Figure 11. Figure 1 is a top view of a bicycle shift control apparatus 10 attached to a handlebar 14. Handlebar 14 includes a central portion 18 fitted within a sleeve 22 attached to a conventional handlebar stem (not shown), a left grip section 26 covered with a rubber or foam grip 30, and a right grip section 34 covered with a rubber or foam grip 38. A hand operated shift control unit 42 for controlling a front transmission such as an internal crank hub or derailleur transmission is mounted to handlebar 14 in close proximity to left grip section 26, and a hand operated shift control unit 46 for controlling a rear transmission such as an internal wheel hub or derailleur transmission is mounted to handlebar 14 in close proximity to right grip section 34. Shift control unit 42 includes a housing 50 supporting a brake lever 54 and a ring-shaped actuator 58, and shift control unit 46 includes a housing 62 supporting a brake lever 64 and a ring-shaped actuator 66. Shift control unit 42 is coupled to a control cable segment 70 having an inner wire 74 (Figure 2) that slides within a tubular outer casing 78 such that rotation of actuator 58 selectively pulls and releases inner wire 74 to shift gears in the front bicycle transmission. Similarly, shift control unit 46 is coupled to a control cable segment 80 having an inner wire 84 (Figure 2) that slides within a tubular outer casing 88 such that rotation of actuator 66 selectively pulls and releases inner wire 84 to shift gears in the rear bicycle transmission. In this embodiment, shift control units 42 and 46 are indexed shift control units that may be constructed according to the teachings of U.S. Patent Application No. 08/854,520 entitled "Bicycle Shift Control Device" filed by Takuro Yamane on May 13, 1997. Of course, twist-grip bicycle transmission shift control units are very old and well known, so shift control units 42 and 46 may be constructed in many different ways and need not be indexed. Control cable segments 70 and 80 are coupled to shift control units 42 and 46, respectively, extend parallel to handlebar 14 and are coupled to a force transmission unit 90. Force transmission unit 90 of this embodiment of the invention is further coupled to control cable segments 100 and 110 via conventional cable adjustment barrels 102 and 112, respectively, wherein control cable segment 100 has an inner wire 104 that slides within an outer casing 108, and control cable segment 110 has an inner wire 114 that slides within an outer casing 118. Control cable segments 70 and 100 are segments of an overall control cable 120, and control cable segments 80 and 110 are segments of an overall control cable 130. As discussed more fully below, force transmission unit 90 changes the direction of control cable 120 from the horizontal orientation of control cable segment 70 to the vertical orientation of control cable segment 100 with or without changing the rotational characteristics of shift control unit 42. Similarly, force transmission unit 90 changes the direction of control cable 130 from the horizontal orientation of control cable segment 80 to the vertical orientation of control cable segment 110 with or without changing the rotational characteristics of shift control unit 46. At the same time, force transmission unit 90 includes a front gear indicator 134 for indicating a state of the front transmission and a rear gear indicator 138 for indicating a state of the rear transmission. As shown in Figure 1, force transmission unit 90 includes a housing 150, a first handlebar attachment member 154 which attaches force transmission unit 90 to handlebar 14 on the left side of sleeve 22, and a second handlebar attachment member 158 which attaches force transmission unit 90 to handlebar 14 on the right side of sleeve 22. In this embodiment, first handlebar attachment member 154 is substantially parallel to second handlebar attachment member 158. As shown in Figures 4-6, housing 150 includes an upper wall 160, a rear wall 164 and a bottom wall 168. A cable diverting member in the form of a pulley 170 is rotatably mounted to rear wall 164 through a pivot bolt 174 and washer 178, and a cable diverting member in the form of a pulley 180 is rotatably mounted to rear-wall 164 through a pivot bolt 184 and washer 188. In this embodiment, pulleys 170 and 180 have the same general structure, so only the details of pulley 180 shall be described in detail. As seen more clearly in Figures 6-8, pulley 180 includes a first cable winding groove 190 having a substantially constant radius of curvature R1 for winding inner wire 84 of control cable segment 80, a first cable attachment location or stop 194 for supporting a conventional cable end bead (not shown) attached to inner wire 84, a second cable winding groove 198 having a substantially constant radius of curvature R2 (at least for the portions that actually wind the cable) for winding inner wire 114 of control cable segment 110, and a second cable attachment location or stop 202 for supporting a conventional cable end bead (not shown) attached to inner wire 114. In general, the radius of curvature R2 is less than the radius of curvature R1 to "step down" the rate of cable pull per unit rotation of actuator 66 for rear derailleurs that have a high actuating ratio. Radius of curvature R2 could be less than radius of curvature R1 in derailleurs with a low actuation ratio, and either radius of curvature R1 or R2 could be variable for derailleurs with a variable actuation ratio as is well-known for four-bar-link-type derailleurs. Figures 9-12 are schematic views of alternative embodiments of pulleys and cables that may be used in a force transfer unit according to the present invention. In the embodiment shown in Figures 4-8, each control cable was made from two control cable segments having two inner wires. In the embodiments shown in Figures 9-11, each control cable has only one inner wire, although there will still be two outer casing segments that attach to the housing as in the embodiment shown in Figures 4-8. More specifically, Figure 9 shows an embodiment wherein pulleys 170' and 180' have a single spiral cable winding groove such that inner wires 300 and 304 wind around each pulley by approximately 270°. The radius of curvature of each winding groove is substantially constant and produce a 1:1 actuation ratio. Although the net diversion of each cable is only approximately 90°, having the cables 300 and 304 wind by approximately 270° ensures firm engagement between cables 300 and 304 and their respective pulleys 170' and 180'. Also, a 270° winding allows each cable 300 and 304 to enter and exit housing 150 at the bottom so that it appears to the user that the cable makes a very sharp 90° turn. Figures 10-12 show an embodiment wherein the input radius if curvature R1 of pulleys 170" and 180" is greater than the output radius of curvature R2. The effect is substantially the same as in the first embodiment. The same scheme could be used to increase the radius of curvature from input to output as where radius R2 is the input radius and radius R1 is the output radius. As shown further in Figures 5 and 6, pulley 180 has a bevel tooth gear 350 on an outer peripheral surface thereof for meshing with a complementary bevel tooth gear 354 disposed on the outer peripheral surface of an indicator transfer gear 358. Indicator transfer gear 358 is fixed to an indicator disk 360 through a removable fastener 364 so that indicator disk 360 rotates together with indicator transfer gear 358. As shown in Figure 5, pulley 180 rotates around a pulley axis X that is substantially perpendicular to a rotational indicator axis Y of indicator disk 360 so as to provide for a very compact structure. In this embodiment, indicator disk 360 is fitted within a recess 362 in upper wall 160. Indicator disk 360 has an indicating needle formed or printed thereon which cooperates with gear indicia formed or printed on the housing to form rear gear indicator 138 as shown in Figure 1. A similar transfer gear and indicator disk (not shown) mesh with pulley 170 to form front gear indicator 134, and a cover 366 (Figure 1) having a viewing window 370 is placed over the top wall 160 to protect the indicators 134 and 138 from the elements. As shown in Figure 6, handlebar attachment member 158 is a U-shaped member having an opening 378 which aligns with an opening 379 in a mounting flange 380 on housing 150. A mounting bolt 384 extends through openings 378 and 379 and engages with a nut (not shown) for attaching handlebar attachment member 158 to housing 150. The orientation of handlebar attachment member 158 relative to housing 150 may be adjusted by loosening bolt 384, setting the desired relative positions of the two members and retightening the bolt. Handlebar attachment member 158 also includes openings 388 and 390 for receiving a fastener 392 therethrough. Fastener 392 screws into a nut 394 which nonrotatably fits within opening 390 so that handlebar attachment member 158 may clamp to the handlebar 14. The orientation of handlebar attachment member 158 relative to handlebar 14 may be adjusted by loosening bolt 392, setting the desired relative positions of the two members and retightening the bolt. Handlebar attachment member 154 is constructed the same way. It should be readily apparent from the foregoing description that force transfer unit 90 can be used with any desired shift control unit merely by changing the pulleys 170 and 180 to accommodate the different shifting characteristics of the shift control unit. The force transfer mechanism allows the control cables to neatly run along the handlebar and then along the main bicycle frame to their respective transmissions. Also, since the force transfer unit 90 is mounted on the center of the handlebar, the gear indicators 134 and 138 may be easily viewed by the rider without having to look to the opposite sides of the handlebar. While the above is a description of various embodiments of the present invention, further modifications may be employed without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the size, shape, location or orientation of the various components may be changed as desired. The functions of one element may be performed by two, and vice versa. It is not necessary for all advantages to be present in a particular embodiment at the same time. Thus, while force transfer unit 90 was mounted at the center of the handlebar, force transfer unit could be mounted any where on the handlebar as long as it is spaced apart from at least one of the shift control units. The rotational axes X and Y for the pulleys need not be perpendicular to each other, and the pulleys may be placed above and below each other (e.g., vertically aligned with the handlebar stem) rather than being horizontally aligned to the left and right of each other as shown in Figure 4. An optional indexing mechanism 400 may be disposed with one or more of the pulleys as shown by the broken lines in Figure 6. Such indexing mechanisms are very well known and will not be described in detail. Alternatively, such an indexing mechanism may be disposed with the indicator transfer gears. The direction of rotation of the indicator disks may be reversed by reversing the direction of winding of the inner wire around pulley 170 and/or pulley 180. A gear indicator may be formed with the force transfer unit or by itself so that the gear indicator may be located remotely from the shift control unit. In the latter case the inner wires of the control cables would terminate at the pulleys, for example, by omitting second control cable segments 100 and 110 in the embodiments shown in Figures 4-8, by having the inner wires wind around the indicator transfer gears, or by some other method. Clearly, many modifications can be made to the described embodiments. Thus, the scope of the invention should not be limited by the specific structures disclosed. Instead, the true scope of the invention should be determined by the following claims.

Claims: A force transfer unit for transferring forces from first and second hand operated shift control units (42, 46) to first and second bicycle transmissions, respectively, a first inner wire (84, 114) being able to be coupled to said first hand operated shift control unit (42) and to said first bicycle transmission and a second inner wire (74, 104) being able to be coupled to said second hand operated shift control unit (46) and to said second bicycle transmission, said force transfer unit comprising: a housing (150), a first gear indicator (134) disposed in said housing (150) for indicating a first gear position of said first bicycle transmission, said first gear indicator (134) being movable in response to a diverting movement of said first inner wire (84, 114), a second gear indicator (138) disposed in said housing (150) for indicating a second gear position of said second bicycle transmission, said second gear indicator (138) being movable in response to a diverting movement of said second inner wire (74, 104), wherein said housing (150) is arranged to be spaced apart from said first and second hand operated shift control units (42, 46). The force transfer unit according to claim 1, wherein said force transfer unit (90) is adapted to be mounted in a central portion of a handlebar of a bicycle. The force transfer unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said first gear indicator (134) cooperates with a first pulley (170) as a wire diverting member and said second gear indicator (138) cooperates with a second pulley (180) as a wire diverting member, said first and second inner wires (84, 114, 74, 104) being diverted by engagement with said first and second pulleys (170, 180), respectively, and said first and second gear indicators (134, 138) being movable in response to rotation of said first and second pulleys (170, 180). The force transfer unit according to claim 3, wherein said first gear indicator (134) further comprises a first indicator transfer gear (358), a first indicator disk (360) rotatable together with said first indicator transfer gear (358), and a first tooth gear (350) formed on said first pulley (170), so as to mesh with said first indicator transfer gear (358) and cause rotation of said first indicator disk (360). The force transfer unit according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said second gear indicator (138) further comprises a second indicator transfer gear (358), a second indicator disk (360) rotatable together with said second indicator transfer gear (358), and a second tooth gear (350) formed on said second pulley (180), so as to mesh with said second indicator transfer gear (358) and cause rotation of said second indicator disk (360). The force transfer unit according to claim 4 or 5, wherein said first and/or second tooth gear (350) is a bevel tooth gear and said first and/or second indicator transfer gear (358) is a complementary bevel tooth gear. The force transfer unit according to claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein said first and/or second indicator disk (360) has an indicating needle formed thereon and cooperates with gear indicia to indicate said gear position. The force transfer unit according to any one of the claims 3 to 7, wherein said first pulley (170) rotates in first direction when said first inner wire (84, 114) is pulled by said first hand operated shift control unit (42) and said second pulley (180) rotates in second direction when said second inner wire (74, 104) is pulled by said second hand operated shift control unit (46), and wherein said first direction is different from said second direction. The force transfer unit according to claim 8, wherein said first direction is opposite to said second direction. The force transfer unit according to any one of the claims 3 to 9, wherein said first pulley (170) includes a first cable attachment location (194) for attaching a first cable segment (70) and a second cable attachment location (202) for attaching a second cable segment (100). The force transfer unit according to any one of the claims 3 to 10, wherein said first pulley (170) includes a first cable winding surface (190) and wherein a circumferential engagement between said first cable winding surface (190) and said first inner wire (84, 114) extends over more than 90°. The force transfer unit according to claim 11, wherein said second pulley (180) includes a second cable winding surface(198) and wherein a circumferential engagement between said second cable winding surface (198) and said second inner wire (74, 104) extends over more than 90°. The force transfer unit according to claim 11, wherein said circumferential engagement is approximately 270°. The force transfer unit according to claim 11, wherein said first cable winding surface (190) includes a cable winding groove having a constant radius of curvature. The force transfer unit according to claim 11, wherein said first cable winding surface (190) includes a cable winding groove having a varying radius of curvature. The force transfer unit according to any one of the claims 1 to 15, wherein said housing (150) further comprises a first cable stop adapted to receive a first outer casing coupled to said first hand operated shift control unit (42) and a second cable stop adapted to receive a second outer casing coupled to said second hand operated shift control unit (46). The force transfer unit according to claim 16, wherein said housing (150) further comprises a third cable stop adapted to receive a third outer casing extending substantially parallel to a bicycle frame and a fourth cable stop adapted to receive a fourth outer casing extending substantially parallel to said bicycle frame. The force transfer unit according to claim 16, wherein said third cable stop and said fourth cable stop include adjusting barrels (102, 112). The force transfer unit according to claim 17 or 18, wherein said first cable stop is adapted to receive said first outer casing from a substantially horizontal orientation and said second cable stop is adapted to receive said second outer casing from a substantially horizontal orientation and wherein said third cable stop is adapted to receive said third outer casing in a substantially vertical orientation and said fourth cable stop is adapted to receive said fourth outer casing in a substantially vertical orientation. The force transfer unit according to any one of the claims 1 to 19, further comprising a view window (366) disposed on said housing (150) for covering said first gear indicator (134) and said second gear indicator (138). The force transfer unit according to any one of the claims 1 to 20, further comprising an attachment member (154) adapted to fix said housing (150) in front of a handlebar of a bicycle. The gear position indicator unit according to claim 21, wherein said attachment member (154) is a handlebar attachment member.

Inventors: OSE KENJI, OSE, KENJI
Applicants: SHIMANO KK, SHIMANO INC.
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B62M25
IPC codes: B62M25