Bicycle derailleur cable actuating system
US5197927A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 18, 1992 |
| Grant date | Mar 30, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 18, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T74/20486
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A bicycle gear shifting system having rotatable front and rear handgrip shift actuators operatively associated with control cables for shifting respective front and rear derailleur mechanisms. In some forms of the invention the control cable is directly actuated by the handgrip rotator, while in other forms the shifter rotator drives a separate "jack spool" which in turn actuates the control cable. A cam on either the handgrip rotator or the jack spool is configured so as to substantially compensate for increasing force of the derailleur return spring during down-shifting. Compensation is provided in the shift actuators of the invention for various lost motions in the derailleur shifting mechanisms and control cable systems. The shift actuators of the invention also provide overshift movement of the derailleur mechanisms in the down-shifting direction so as to overshift the bicycle chain a sufficient amount beyond the destination derailleur sprocket so that the chain will approach the destination sprocket in the same direction as it would in the up-shifting direction. The shift actuators of the invention also provide equalization for the higher derailleur return spring force during…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.