Bicycle chain rings
AssigneeWick Werks, LLC
InventorChristopher A. Wickliffe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention include bicycle chain rings for bicycles having specially shaped ramps, tapers and profiled teeth for improved shifting performance. The embodiments of bicycle chain rings of the present invention may be configured for large chain rings on double cranksets and large and middle chain rings on triple cranksets. The embodiments of bicycle chain rings of the present invention may also be retrofitted to existing bicycle cranksets by replacing original chain rings. The embodiments of bicycle chain rings of the present invention may further be configured for any standard crankset mounting bolt configuration and for any suitable number of teeth.
Claims31
A bicycle chain ring, comprising an inner periphery forming an inner opening disposed in a surrounding configuration to an axis of rotation, a plurality of ramps disposed about an inner surface of the bicycle chain ring, wherein each of the plurality of ramps is configured with a lifting surface engaging a bicycle chain at two or more distinct points concurrently during an up-shift, thereby initiating lift of the bicycle chain without assistance from chain ring teeth, at least one of the lifting surfaces extending radially along the inner surface from the inner periphery of the chain ring outward toward an outer periphery of the chain ring where chain ring teeth emanate.
A method for up-shifting a bicycle chain from a smaller bicycle chain ring to a larger bicycle chain ring, comprising:
- providing the larger bicycle chain ring, comprising:
- an inner periphery forming an inner opening disposed in a surrounding configuration to an axis of rotation;
- a plurality of ramps disposed about an inner surface of the larger bicycle chain ring;
- and
- wherein each of the plurality of ramps is configured with a lifting surface, wherein at least one of the lifting surfaces begins at the inner periphery of the chain ring and extends radially out to an outer periphery near a trough between chain ring teeth;
- rotating a crankset including the smaller and the larger bicycle chain rings in a forward motion direction;
- urging the bicycle chain toward the inner surface of the larger bicycle chain ring;
- the bicycle chain engaging the lifting surface at two or more distinct points simultaneously;
- initiating stable lift of the bicycle chain off of the smaller bicycle chain ring without assistance from chain ring teeth;
- and
- the bicycle chain finally engaging the larger bicycle chain ring.
A bicycle chain ring, comprising an inner periphery forming an inner opening disposed in a surrounding configuration to an axis of rotation, a plurality of lifting surfaces disposed about an inner surface of the bicycle chain ring, at least one of the plurality of lifting surfaces beginning at a first radius defined by the inner periphery of the chain ring and ending at a second radius greater than the first radius, each of the plurality of lifting surfaces further configured to concurrently engage at least one link of a bicycle chain at distinct points below bicycle chain link pins, thereby initiating stable lift to the bicycle chain without assistance from chain ring teeth under tension of force applied to a crank arm during an up-shift.
A bicycle chain ring, comprising an inner periphery forming an inner opening disposed in a surrounding configuration to an axis of rotation, a plurality of ramps disposed about an inner surface of the bicycle chain ring, wherein each of the plurality of ramps is configured with a lifting surface protruding from the inner surface beginning at the inner periphery of the chain ring and extending radially toward chain ring teeth, each of the plurality of ramps placed to engage and lift a bicycle chain during an up-shift, the lifting surface configured to engage the chain at two or more load points along a length of the chain at all times during the up-shift, the load points being directly under chain pivot axes.
A bicycle chain ring, comprising an inner periphery forming an inner opening disposed in a surrounding configuration to an axis of rotation, a plurality of ramps disposed about an inner surface of the bicycle chain ring, wherein each of the plurality of ramps is configured with a lifting surface protruding from the inner surface toward a smaller adjacent chain ring, and extending from a first radial position representing the inner periphery of the bicycle chain ring, outward to a radius measured from an axis of rotation out toward, but stopping short of, bottoms of troughs between chain ring teeth, the lifting surface having placement and length sufficient to engage and to lift the bicycle chain at two or more chain load points during an up-shift, the load points being directly under chain pivot axes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.