Patent Publication Number: US-2004047527-A1

Title: Bicycle bearing journal assembly

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The present invention relates to a bicycle bearing journal assembly that includes a skirt portion on an end of the head tube of the bicycle and steel balls and a top race are engaged with the skirt portion.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] A conventional bearing journal assembly for bicycles is shown in FIG. 4 and generally includes a lower race  10  having a groove defined in a top thereof and a plurality of steel balls  11  are arranged in the groove and a retainer  20  is mounted to the balls  11  and retains the balls  11 . A top race  30  is mounted to the lower race  10  so as to position the retainer  20 . The conventional way requires precise skill to position the steel balls  11  one by one and takes a lot of time to assemble a bearing journal assembly. The bearing journal assembly is then engaged with each of two ends of the head tube so that a steering tube may extend through the bearing journal assemblies so that the steering tube can smoothly rotate.  
       [0003] The present invention intends to provide a bearing journal assembly for bicycles and the bearing journal assembly includes a skirt portion extending directly from each of the two ends. The balls are combined with a retainer as a one piece which is engaged with the skirt portion.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a combination of a bearing journal assembly and a head tube, and the combination comprises a skirt extending from each of two ends of the head tube and having a groove defined therein. A plurality of balls are rotatably engaged with a retainer as a one-piece member which is engaged with the groove in each skirt.  
       [0005] 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  
     [0006]FIG. 1 is an exploded view to show a head tube with two bearing journal assemblies and a head tube;  
     [0007]FIG. 2 includes two cross sectional views of the combination of the bearing journal assembly and the head tube;  
     [0008]FIG. 3 is a perspective view to show a steering tube extending through the head tube of the bearing journal assembly and the head tube, and  
     [0009]FIG. 4 is an exploded view to show a conventional bearing journal assembly. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
     [0010] Referring to FIGS.  1  to  3 , the combination of the bearing journal assembly  60  and the head tube  50  of the present invention comprises a skirt  61  extending from each of two ends of the head tube  50  and each skirt  61  has a groove defined therein.  
     [0011] A plurality of balls  62  are rotatably engaged with a retainer  63  as a one-piece member which is engaged with the groove in each skirt  61 . The balls  62  may also be arranged in the retainer  63  by manual way. A seal cap  64  is further located between the balls  62  and the retainer  63  so as to prevent rain or dust entering the space between the balls  62  and the retainer  63 . A steering tube  70  extends through the head tube  50  and the two bearing journal assemblies  60  are mounted to the steering tube  70  which is then smoothly rotated relative to the head tube  50 .  
     [0012] The bearing journal assembly  60  is combined with the skirt  61  extending from each of the two ends of the head tube  50  directly so that the assembling time can be reduced and the precision of the assembly can be increased.  
     [0013] 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.