Bicycle front derailleur fork and derailleur comprising this fork
AssigneeCampagnolo S.r.l.
InventorValentino Campagnolo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A forked member for a bicycle front derailleur is provided on the inside face of its outer plate with an extra plate, preferably made of a plastic with a low coefficient of friction, that locally reduces the gap between the two plates of the forked member, in order to ensure the correct shifting of the chain from a smaller-diameter chainring to a larger-diameter chainring.
Claims31
Forked member for a bicycle front derailleur having smaller and larger chainrings, comprising interior and exterior substantially mutually parallel plates having a generally-planar surface, said exterior plate being located next to the larger-diameter chainring and having an aperture extending through its planar surface, said plates being joined at the top by a bridge portion, said exterior plate having on its inside face adjacent a rear end thereof, where “rear” refers to its position on the bicycle, an additional generally-planar plate that locally reduces the gap between the two plates of the forked member, said additional plate having a planar surface engaging the inside face of said exterior plate, and connecting means extending through said aperture in the planar surface of said exterior plate for connecting said additional plate to said exterior plate.
Forked member for a bicycle derailleur having smaller and larger chainrings, comprising a pair of substantially mutually parallel elongated plates joined at the top by a bridge portion wherein a first plate is located next to the larger-diameter chainrings and is provided on an inside surface with an additional plate of predetermined thickness that reduces a gap between said plates of the forked member by a predetermined amount, said additional plate and said first plate being connected by connecting means extending through an aperture in the planar surface of the first plate.
Forked member for a bicycle front derailleur, comprising a pair of substantially mutually parallel elongated plates joined at the top by a bridge portion wherein one of said plates of the forked member, which is to be next to the larger-diameter chainrings is provided between said plates on an inside surface of said one of said plates with an additional, detachable plate of predetermined thickness that locally reduces a gap between said plates of the forked member by a predetermined amount.
A bicycle front derailleur comprising a forked member for a bicycle front derailleur having smaller and larger chainrings, comprising a pair of substantially mutually parallel elongated plates joined at the top by a bridge portion wherein a first plate is located next to the larger-diameter chainrings and is provided on an inside surface with an additional plate of predetermined thickness that reduces a gap between said plates of the forked member by a predetermined amount, said additional plate and said first plate being connected by connecting means extending through an aperture in the planar surface of the first plate.
A bicycle front derailleur comprising a forked member for a bicycle front derailleur, comprising a pair of substantially mutually parallel elongated plates joined at the top by a bridge portion wherein one of said plates of the forked member, which is to be next to the larger-diameter chainrings is provided between said plates on an inside surface of said one of said plates with an additional, detachable plate of predetermined thickness that locally reduces a gap between said plates of the forked member by a predetermined amount.
A replaceable adapter for a standard front derailleur fork of a bicycle having multiple front chainrings, the standard derailleur fork including an interior and exterior plate having generally-planar surfaces, the plates being substantially parallel and joined at the top by a bridge portion, the plates extending generally parallel to the frame of the bicycle and having rear and front ends facing the rear and front ends of the bicycle, respectively, the exterior plate having at least one aperture extending through its planar surface, said adapter comprising:
- a removable adapter plate having a generally-planar connecting surface, a chain-guiding surface with at least one bevel, and a peripheral shape which compliments at least a portion of the shape of the exterior plate;
- and,
- connecting means adapted to extend through the aperture in the planar surface of the exterior plate for statically but replaceably connecting said adapter plate to the exterior plate with the connecting surface of the adapter plate in contact with the interior surface of the exterior plate;
- wherein said adapter plate provides a plurality of reduced interior widths between said adapter plate and the interior plate through which the chain of the bicycle travels during gear shifting.
An adapter for modifying an existing front derailleur fork of a bicycle having multiple front chainrings, the existing derailleur fork including spaced apart interior and exterior plates, each of which has inner and outer surfaces between which a first chain having a first predetermined thickness passes with a predetermined distance between the chain and the plates, for use with a second chain having a second predetermined thickness less than the first predetermined thickness, the adapter comprising:
- a plate having an exterior chain guiding surface with at least one bevel, an interior surface configured to compliment at least a portion of the inner surface of a selected one of the plates with the bevel facing the chain, and a maximum thickness which is less than the difference between the first chain's predetermined thickness and the second chain's predetermined thickness;
- and,
- fastening means for securing the adaptor to the selected plate,
- whereby the adapter plate reduces the space between it and the inner surface of the non selected plate by an amount no greater than the difference.
A modified front derailleur and front derailleur fork combination comprised of:
- a front derailleur with multiple chainrings,
- a derailleur fork including spaced apart interior and exterior plates, each of which has inner and outer surfaces between which a first chain of the front derailleur having a first predetermined thickness passes with a predetermined distance between the first chain and the plates, for use with a second chain having a second predetermined thickness less than the first predetermined thickness, and
- an adaptor having an exterior chain guiding surface with at least one bevel, an interior surface configured to compliment at least a portion of the inner surface of a selected one of the plates with the bevel facing the chain, and a maximum thickness which is less than the difference between the first and second chain's predetermined thicknesses;
- and,
- fastening means securing the adaptor to the selected plate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.