Source: http://www.google.ca/patents/US7192044
Timestamp: 2018-01-18 04:12:42
Document Index: 164019881

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 22', 'art 22', 'art 22', 'art 30', 'art 31', 'art 33', 'art 31', 'art 30', 'art 31', 'art 33', 'art 30', 'art 31', 'art 30', 'art 30', 'art 31', 'art 31', 'art 30', 'art 33', 'art 33']

Patent US7192044 - Bicycle headset - Google Patents
A bicycle headset has an adjustment member and a fastening member. A bicycle fork column passes through the adjustment member and the fastening member. The fastening member is fastened securely to the bicycle fork column by applying pressure to the outer peripheral side of the bicycle fork column. The...http://www.google.ca/patents/US7192044?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7192044 - Bicycle headset
Publication number US7192044 B2
Also published as CN1749101A, DE602005017717D1, EP1634805A2, EP1634805A3, EP1634805B1, US20060055146
Publication number 11140922, 140922, US 7192044 B2, US 7192044B2, US-B2-7192044, US7192044 B2, US7192044B2
US 7192044 B2
a tubular adjustment member having a top end portion, a bottom end portion, a through-bore configured and arranged for receiving a bicycle fork column, a male threaded section on an outer peripheral surface of the top end portion and a retainer part disposed on the bottom end portion that is configured and arranged to retain at least one bearing;
a first nut member having a first female threaded hole that mates with the male threaded section such that the first nut member contacts the fastening member, the first nut member and the tubular adjustment member being arranged and configured such that a first rotational movement of the first nut member causes the first nut member to move axially away from the retainer part and increases axial separation of the retainer part relative to the fastening member.
2. The bicycle headset according to claim 1 wherein
3. The bicycle headset according to claim 1, wherein
4. A bicycle headset comprising:
a fastening member configured and arranged to be releasably attached to the bicycle fork column by applying pressure to an outer peripheral side of the bicycle fork column, the fastening member being adjacent the top end portion of the adjustment member and having a mating part that mates to the adjustment member such that the fastening member is freely movable in an axial direction;
a first nut member having a first female threaded hole that mates with the male threaded section such that the first nut member contacts the fastening member; and
a second nut member having a second female threaded hole that mates with the male threaded section such that the second nut member contacts the first nut member.
6. The bicycle headset according to claim 4, wherein
8. The bicycle headset according to claim 4, wherein
9. A bicycle headset comprising:
a first nut member having a first female threaded hole that mates with the male threaded section such that the first nut member contacts the fastening member,
the through-bore of the adjustment member being eccentric relative to an outer peripheral surface of the adjustment member.
11. The bicycle headset according to claim 10, wherein
12. The bicycle headset according to claim 9, wherein
13. The bicycle headset according to claim 9, wherein
14. The bicycle headset according to claim 13, wherein
15. The bicycle headset according to claim 13, wherein
16. A The bicycle headset comprising:
the mating part of the fastening member being a fastening member step that protrudes from a surface of the fastening member that faces the adjustment member and extends toward the adjustment member.
18. A bicycle headset comprising:
the adjustment member having a wall of varying thickness and a wire insertion groove extending in the axial direction at a maximum thickness of the wall.
19. The bicycle headset according to claim 18, wherein
20. The bicycle headset according to claim 19, wherein
FIG. 5 is a bottom view of an adjustment member of the bicycle headset illustrated in FIGS. 1–4 in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a top elevational view of a fastening member of the bicycle headset illustrated in FIGS. 1–4 in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a top elevational view of an attachment ring of the bicycle headset illustrated in FIGS. 1–4 in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;
Referring to FIGS. 2–5, the adjustment member 15 is made of metal, for example, and has a tubular element 20, a male threaded section 21 and a retainer part 22. The tubular element 20 is an annular member with the fork column 98 a passing therethrough. The male threaded section 21 is fabricated on an outer peripheral surface of a top portion of the tubular element 20 of the adjustment member 15. The male threaded section 21 has M33 sized threads, for example, and mates with the first and second nut members 17 and 18. The retainer part 22 applies pressure to the top ball bearing unit 11 a. The retainer part 22 is located at a bottom portion of the tubular element 20 and is configured and arranged to retain at least one ball bearing.
Referring to FIGS. 5–7, a first central axis O1 runs longitudinally through the bicycle headset 10 and passes through the center of the circle formed by the outer peripheral surface of the tubular element 20. The first central axis O1 also passes through the center of the head tube 102 a. A second central axis O2 runs longitudinally through the through-bore 20 a, as shown in FIG. 5, and is eccentric to the first central axis O1 by about 1.3 mm, for example. The second central axis O2 is centered at the center of the through-bore 20 a and is the central axis of the fork column 98 a. Consequently, as seen in FIG. 5, the through-bore 20 a is offset from the outer peripheral surface of the tubular element 20. Accordingly, a wall thickness of the tubular element 20 gradually thickens when moving from the thin-wall 20 c to the thick-wall 20 d.
Referring to FIGS. 2–4 and 6, the fastening member 16 is securely fastened to the outer peripheral surface of the fork column 98 a. The fastening member 16 is adjacent a top end portion of the adjustment member 15. The fastening member 16 is secured by applying pressure to the outer peripheral side of the fork column 98 a. The fastening member 16 has a ring member 26 and a tightening bolt 27 attached to the ring member 26. The ring member 26 has a first ring part 30, a protruding part 31, a fastening member slit 32 and a second ring part 33. The protruding part 31 protrudes from the first ring part 30. The fastening member slit 32 is fabricated in the protruding part 31. The second ring part 33 is eccentric relative to the first ring part 30.
Referring to FIG. 6, the protruding part 31 protrudes in the outer radial direction from the outer peripheral surface of the first ring part 30. The fastening member slit 32 runs in the radial direction from the inner peripheral part of the first ring part 30 through the protruding part 31. The fastening member slit 32 has a width in the outer peripheral direction of about 3 mm, for example. The protruding part 31 is fabricated with a threaded-bore 31 a and a bolt through-bore 31 b.
An interface section 34 is formed between the first ring part 30 and the second ring part 33, as is illustrated in FIGS. 2–4. Referring to FIGS. 2–4 and 6, a wire access aperture 62 is formed on an inner peripheral surface of the maximal wall 33 d of the thick-wall 33 b. The wire access aperture 62 is disposed in the interface section 34 and the second ring part 33. When the adjustment member 15 and the fastening member 16 are mated together, the wire access aperture 62 is continuous with the wire insertion groove 61. The wire access aperture 62 is open to the outside at the interface section. Accordingly, the electrical wiring 60 that is inserted into the wire insertion groove 61 can be accessed from the outside.
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