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US 6,786,498 B1Granted
Shock absorbing device for a bicycle
AssigneeGiant Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
InventorOwen Chang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shock absorbing device is provided to reduce shock that is transmitted to a handlebar of a bicycle, and includes a damping member disposed between a mount and a leg member and having a damping capacity. A driven member is rotatably mounted on the mount and is turned by a twist actuating member which is in synchronized operation with a brake actuating member of the bicycle. A regulating member is disposed to be actuated, in response to the angular movement of the driven member, to vary the damping capacity of the damping member, thereby enhancing the safety and comfort of the rider when the bicycle is braked.
Claims9
A shock absorbing device adapted for use in a bicycle which includes
- a support frame defining a swivel axis in an upright direction,
- a handlebar disposed to turn the support frame about the swivel axis,
- a wheel axle that defines a rotating axis transverse to the upright direction, and that is provided with a wheel for rotating about the rotating axis, and
- a brake actuating member mounted to the handlebar and being operable to slow down and stop the rotation of the wheel,
- said shock absorbing device comprising:
- a mount adapted to be mounted to the support frame, and having a confronting wall which faces downwards in the upright direction and which has a periphery;
- a leg member including a lower end which is adapted to be anchored to the wheel axle, and an intermediate segment which extends from said lower end in the upright direction and which terminates at an upper end that is spaced apart from said confronting wall and that is movable relative to said confronting wall in the upright direction;
- a driven member having an actuated portion which is disposed on said mount, and which is rotatable relative to said mount about a twisting axis that is parallel to the swivel axis, and a coupling portion which extends from said actuated portion in the upright direction and downwardly of said confronting wall;
- a twist actuating member disposed in synchronized operation with the brake actuating member to twist said actuated portion of said driven member to rotate about the twisting axis so as to angularly move said coupling portion from a first position to a second position;
- a damping member provided with a damping capacity, and disposed between said upper end of said leg member and said confronting wall so as to diminish progressively the shock energy generated by an abrupt movement of said upper end relative to said confronting wall, which is brought about by a sudden depression on the support frame by the combined inertial momenta of the mass of a rider and the mass of the bicycle when the brake actuating member is actuated, or by a shock transmitted upwards through the wheel axle as a result of unevenness of a road surface being traversed by the bicycle;
- and
- a regulating member configured to vary the damping capacity of said damping member in response to the angular movement of said coupling portion from the first position to the second position.
9 more elements
A hand-operated device for diminishing braking initiated shock, and adapted for use in a bicycle which includes
- a support frame defining a swivel axis in an upright direction,
- a handlebar disposed to turn the support frame about the swivel axis, and
- a wheel axle that defines a rotating axis transverse to the upright direction, and that is provided with a wheel for rotating about the rotating axis,
- said hand-operated device comprising:
- a brake actuating member adapted to be mounted to the handlebar and being operable to slow down and stop the rotation of the wheel;
- and
- a shock absorbing device including
- a mount adapted to be mounted relative to the support frame, and having a confronting wall which faces downwards in the upright direction,
- a leg member including a lower end which is adapted to be anchored to the wheel axle, and an intermediate segment which extends from said lower end in the upright direction and which terminates at an upper end that is spaced apart from and that is movable relative to said confronting wall in the upright direction,
- a driven member having an actuated portion which is disposed on said mount, and which is rotatable relative to said mount about a twisting axis that is parallel to the swivel axis, and a coupling portion which extends from said actuated portion in the upright direction and downwardly of said confronting wall,
- a twist actuating member disposed in synchronized operation with said brake actuating member to twist said actuated portion of said driven member to rotate about the twisting axis so as to angularly move said coupling portion from a first position to a second position,
- a damping member provided with a damping capacity, and disposed between said upper end of said leg member and said confronting wall so as to diminish progressively the shock energy generated by an abrupt movement of said upper end relative to said confronting wall, which is brought about by a sudden depression on the support frame by the combined inertial momenta of the mass of a rider and the mass of the bicycle when said brake actuating member is actuated, or by a shock transmitted upwards through the wheel axle as a result of unevenness of a road surface being traversed by the bicycle, and
- a regulating member configured to vary the damping capacity of said damping member in response to the angular movement of said coupling portion from the first position to the second position.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.