Patent ID: 7194928

Claim:
A bicycle shift operating device comprising: a first operating member arranged to move between a first rest position and a first wire operating position; a second operating member arranged to move between a second rest position and a second wire operating position; a shift wire take-up element arranged to rotate in a first rotational direction upon the movement of the first operating member from the first rest position to the first wire operating position, and arranged to rotate in a second rotational direction that is opposite to the first rotational direction upon the movement of the second operating member from the second rest position to the second wire operating position; and a wire winding/release mechanism operatively coupled to the shift wire take-up element and the first and second operating members to selectively hold the shift wire take-up element in one of a plurality of shift positions, the wire winding/release mechanism including a power switching element operatively coupling the shift wire take-up element to the first operating member to wind the shift wire take-up element upon movement of the first operating member from the first rest position to the first wire operating position, and the power switching element operatively coupling the shift wire take-up element to the second operating member to release the shift wire take-up element upon movement of the second operating member from the second rest position to the second wire operating position, the power switching element including a first portion that engages with the shift wire take-up element to rotate the shift wire take-up element in the first rotational direction in response to movement of the first operating member from the first rest position to the first wire operating position, and a second portion arranged to release the shift wire take-up element to allow limited rotation of the shift wire take-up element in the second rotational direction in response to movement of the second operating member from the second rest position to the second wire operating position, the first and second portions of the power switching element being non-movable relative to each other, and; the second portion of the power switching element being operatively disengaged from the shift wire take-up element to avoid contacting and controlling movement of the shift wire take-up element when the first and second operating members are in the first and second rest positions, respectively, and being operatively engaged with the shift wire take-up element when the second operating member is moved to the second wire operating position.