Shifting apparatus for operating front and rear derailleurs with a single manual level
AssigneeShimano Inc.
InventorEtsuyoshi Watarai
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A multispeed bicycle having a plurality of front chainwheels, a plurality of rear gears, front and rear derailleurs, and a shifting apparatus operable by a single manual lever to actuate the front and rear derailleurs. The shifting apparatus includes a first actuating mechanism for actuating the front derailleur, a second actuating mechanism for actuating the rear derailleur, and a shift controller for controlling the actuating mechanisms. The shift controller is responsive to operation of the manual lever to drive the first actuating mechanism or second actuating mechanism to produce a speed stage, and responsive to repeated operation of the manual lever to produce all speed stages corresponding to all combinations of the front chainwheels and rear gears.
Claims19
In a multispeed bicycle having a plurality of front chainwheels, a plurality of rear gears, front and rear derailleur mechanisms and a shifting apparatus operable by a single manual lever to actuate the front and rear derailleur mechanisms, said shifting apparatus comprising:
- a first actuating mechanism for actuating said front derailleur mechanism;
- a second actuating mechanism for actuating said rear derailleur mechanism;
- a shift controller responsive to operation of said manual lever to drive one of said first actuating mechanism and said second actuating mechanism to produce a speed stage, and responsive to repeated operation of said manual lever to produce all speed stages corresponding to all combinations of said front chainwheels and said rear gears;
- and
- wherein only said second actuating mechanism is operated when accelerating operations are effected successively from a speed stage (minimum speed) provided by a combination of the smallest front chainwheel and the largest rear gear to a speed stage provided by a combination of the smallest front chainwheel and the smallest rear gear, and only said first actuating mechanism is operated when further accelerating operations are effected from the latter speed stage to a speed stage (maximum speed) provided by a combination of the largest front chainwheel and the smallest rear gear.
In a multispeed bicycle having a plurality of front chainwheels, a plurality of rear gears and front and rear derailleur mechanisms, a shifting apparatus comprising:
- a single manual lever which is adapted to move between a first position and a second position, a neutral position being provided between said first and second positions and said manual lever being urged toward said neutral position:
- a first motor for actuating said front derailleur mechanism;
- a second motor for actuating said rear derailleur mechanism;
- and
- a shift controller responsive to operation of said manual lever to drive one of said first motor and said second motor to produce a speed stage, and responsive to repeated operation of said manual lever to said second position to produce a plurality of speed stages corresponding to a plurality of combinations of said front chainwheels and said rear gears.
In a multispeed bicycle having a plurality of front chainwheels, a plurality of rear gears, and front and rear derailleur mechanisms, a shifting apparatus comprising:
- a single manual lever which is adapted to move between a first position and a second position;
- a first actuating mechanism for actuating said front derailleur mechanism;
- a second actuating mechanism for actuating said rear derailleur mechanism;
- and
- a shift controller responsive to operation of said manual lever to drive one of said first actuating mechanism and said second actuating mechanism to produce a speed stage, and responsive to repeated operation of said manual lever to said second position to produce a plurality of speed stages corresponding to a plurality of combinations of said front chainwheels and said rear gears.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.