Brake apparatus for a bicycle

This invention relates to a brake apparatus for a bicycle including a main brake body having a braking device and a brake controller, in which the brake controller is operable to switch the braking device between a braking position and a release position.

As shown in FIG. 14, a conventional brake apparatus for a bicycle includes a brake ring 13 engaged with an outer periphery at one end of a hub 2 , so that the brake ring 13 forms a part of the hub 2 . Brake shoes 6 acting as a braking device and other components of a main brake body 100 are assembled to the hub 2 in a separate process from assembly of the brake ring 13 . FIG. 15 shows another conventional brake apparatus in which a brake ring 13 is formed integral with a hub 2 . With a main brake body 100 assembled to the hub 2 , the brake apparatus, brake ring and hub may be carried together as a unit.

With the former, it is necessary to assemble the brake ring 13 and main brake body 100 to the hub 2 in separate steps. This assembly operation tends to be of poor efficiency with displacements of the respective components occurring at a time of adjustment.

In the latter case, the three components of the bicycle are handled as a unit which is heavy. Another disadvantage of this construction is that the end of the hub where the brake apparatus and brake ring are attached is bulky, and particularly large in diameter. It is difficult to handle the bulky construction packed for transportation.

An object of the present invention is to provide a brake apparatus easy to assemble and adjust, and easy to transport and handle.

In order to fulfill the above object, the present invention is characterized by the following three features:

1) A braking device forming the brake ring is provided as a separate component from the bicycle hub.

2) A coupling device is provided to connect the brake ring to the hub to be rotatable together.

3) A restrictor is provided to interconnect the brake ring and the main brake body into an integral unit to be inseparable from each other.

The feature 1) allows the hub to be packed and transported separately from the brake ting. The coupling device of feature 2) is provided to facilitate connection of the brake ring to the hub. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the coupling device includes outer splines formed on the brake ring and inner splines formed in the hub. In the preferred embodiment, the restrictor of feature 3) includes an annular shoe presser spring fitted circumferentially of the brake shoes, and grooves formed in an inner peripheral wall of the brake ring for receiving the presser spring. The brake apparatus has the brake ring and main brake body connected together through engagement between the presser spring and one of the grooves. This construction reduces the possibility of adjustment errors such as a displacement between each brake component and brake ring occurring when the brake apparatus is assembled to the hub, and realizes improved assembling efficiency.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

The drawings show a brake apparatus for a bicycle according to the present invention, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a hub having a brake apparatus for a bicycle according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a side view of the brake apparatus,

FIG. 3 is a view, partly in section, of the brake apparatus as assembled,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the brake apparatus separated from the hub,

FIG. 5 is a view, partly in section, of the brake apparatus,

FIG. 6 is a view, partly in section, of a coupling portion of the hub,

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a roller assembly of the brake apparatus in an OFF position (second position),

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the roller assembly of the brake apparatus in a non-use position (third position),

FIG. 9 is a side view of a roller case of the brake apparatus,

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the roller case,

FIG. 11 is a side view showing return springs,

FIG. 12 is a side view of an ornamental cap,

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the ornamental cap,

FIG. 14 is a view, partly in section of a hub having a brake apparatus according to the prior art, and

FIG. 15 is a view, partly in section of another example of hub and brake apparatus according to the prior art.

As shown in FIG. 1, a bicycle hub 2 includes a left cover 2 a having a spoke connecting flange 1 , an inner element 2 b having a spoke connecting flange 3 and a ratchet mechanism 5 for interlocking a drive gear 4 and the inner element 2 b, and a pipe portion 2 c interconnecting the left cover 2 a and inner element 2 b.

As shown in FIG. 3, the left cover 2 a has a brake apparatus assembled thereto and including brake shoes 6 and a brake controller 7 . The hub 2 is supported by a hub shaft 11 through balls 8 and ball pressers 9 . The brake apparatus is supported by the hub shaft 11 through a bush 10 .

The hub shaft 11 has mounting nuts 12 screwed to opposite ends thereof for securing the brake apparatus and hub 2 to bicycle frames 101 connected to the hub shaft 11 . The above components constitute a brake and hub assembly of a bicycle.

As shown in FIG. 3, the brake apparatus includes a main brake body 100 having the brake shoes 6 , brake controller 7 and other components, and a brake ring 13 coupled to the hub 2 . A basic brake operation is based on a mechanism in which the main brake body 100 applies a frictional braking force to the brake ring 13 , thereby to brake the hub 2 . The construction and working of this apparatus will be described in detail hereunder.

The brake ring 13 is in the form of a braking body which is a separate component from the left cover 2 a As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the brake ring 13 has splines 13 a formed on an outer peripheral surface at one end thereof. These splines 13 a are fitted in a coupling portion of the left cover 2 a defining splines 2 d as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. The brake ring 13 is fixed to the hub shaft 11 by a pair of lock nuts 14 mounted on opposite end regions of the hub shaft 11 . The brake ring 13 is interlocked to the left cover 2 a through the splines 13 a and 2 d to be rotatable therewith.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the main brake body 100 includes a plurality of brake shoes 6 and rollers 15 arranged in the circumferential direction of the brake ring 13 and supported by a brake frame 17 through a roller case 16 , and a rotary cam 18 mounted inwardly of the roller case 16 to be rotatable about an axis of rotation of the hub 2 to operate the brake shoes 6 . The rotary cam 18 is rotatable by the brake controller 7 to switch the main brake body 100 between a braking position and a release position. For consistency of terminology used in this specification, the term “first position P 1 ” corresponds to a position of the brake controller 7 to apply the braking force, and “second position P 2 ” corresponds to a position not to apply the braking force. In addition to the first and second positions, the main brake body 100 has a third position P 3 which will be described later.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the brake frame 17 has one end thereof supported by the hub shaft 11 through the bush 10 . A waterproof cap 19 and an ornamental cap 20 amare attached to this end of the brake frame 17 . The other end of the brake frame 17 is supported by a chain stay 102 of the bicycle frame 101 through a clamp band 21 . Thus, the brake frame 17 is in a fixed position relative to the bicycle frame 101 despite a reaction resulting from a braking operation. As shown in FIG. 7, the roller case 16 accommodates all the rollers 15 . The roller case 16 has a fixed pin 22 extending through and contacting the brake frame 17 . The roller case 16 has a range of strokes determined by a circumferential dimension of a bore for receiving the fixed pin 22 . The fixed pin 22 serves to limit circumferential movement of the roller case 16 to the above range of strokes relative to the brake frame 17 . With the above construction, the rollers 15 are supported to be immovable circumferentially of the brake ring 13 during a braking operation. The circumferentially immovable rollers 15 push the brake shoes 6 radially outwardly toward the brake ring 13 .

The brake controller 7 extends through the brake frame 17 and rigidly interlocked to the rotary cam 18 , with one end of the brake controller 7 engaged with the rotary cam 18 . The other end of the brake controller 7 projects outwardly from the caps 19 and 20 . As shown in FIG. 2, a cable coupler 23 is attached to the end of the brake controller 7 projecting from the caps 19 and 20 , and a brake cable 24 is connected to the coupler 24 . By a force applied through the brake cable 23 , the brake controller 7 is pivotable about the axis of rotation of the hub 2 .

As shown in FIG. 2, when the brake cable 24 is pulled, the resulting tension switches the brake controller 7 to the braking position ON (first position P 1 ). When the brake cable 24 is relaxed, the brake controller 7 is switched to the OFF position (second position P 2 ) shown in FIG. 2, under the force of a return spring 25 acting on the cable coupler 23 .

When the brake controller 7 is switched from the second position P 2 to the first position P 1 , the rotary cam 18 is rotated relative to the rollers 15 . As shown in FIG. 7, the rotary cam 18 has brake applying cam portions 18 a formed peripherally thereof which push the rollers 15 radially outwardly of the roller case 16 . The rollers 15 pushed out apply a pressing force to the brake shoes 6 , whereby the brake shoes 6 are pressed on an inner peripheral wall of the brake ring 13 to brake the latter.

When the broke brake controller 7 is switched from the first position P 1 to the second position P 2 , the rotary cam 18 rotates to the position shown in FIG. 7 . The rollers 15 rest in broke brake canceling recesses 18 b of the rotary cam 18 (that is, the rollers 15 are retracted into the roller ease 16 ) as a result of the rotation of the rotary cam 18 , under a biasing force of the roller ease 16 produced by a return spring 26 acting on the fixed pin 22 , and by returning action of an annular shoe presser spring 27 extending eircumferentially circumferentially of and contacting all the brake shoes 6 . This cancels the braking action of the brake shoes 6 applied to the brake ring 13 .

As shown in FIG. 8, the brake controller 7 lies in a non-use position opposed to the first and second positions P 1 and P 2 under the force of the return spring 25 when the brake cable 24 is not connected or when the brake cable 24 is connected but adjustment is not made yet. This non-use position is called the third position P 3 in this specification. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 11, the roller ease 16 is biased in a fixed direction by the return spring 26 acting on the fixed pin 22 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the bush 10 has an inward end 10 c, and a stopper 10 b projecting from the other end thereof. The inward end 10 a is press fit into the brake frame 17 , whereby the bush 10 is assembled securely.

The stopper 10 b formed on the outward end of the bush 10 serves to hold the ornamental cap 20 in place. When the ornamental cap 20 is assembled to the bush 10 , the ornamental cap 20 is elastically deformed to override the stopper 10 b before fitting in place. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the ornamental cap 20 has a plurality of lugs 20 a for contacting the stopper 10 b. Thus, the ornamental cap 20 is not easily separable from the bush 10 . The waterproof cap 19 is mounted on the end of the bush 10 press fit into the brake frame 17 , and is sandwiched between the bush 10 and brake frame 17 . The return spring 25 is fitted on the bush 10 between the two caps 19 and 20 . The brake controller 7 extends through the brake frame 17 and is securely assembled to the brake frame 17 along with the caps 19 and 20 , bush 10 and return spring 25 .

As shown in FIG. 11, the return spring 26 is engaged with the waterproof cap 19 and fixed pin 22 , so that the fixed pin 22 is not movable out of the waterproof cap 19 toward the brake frame 17 . With the fixed pin 22 not movable out of the waterproof cap 19 , the roller case 16 is assembled to the brake frame 17 along with a case stopper 16 a and waterproof cap 19 .

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the roller case 16 includes a first stopper 16 a projecting from an inner end thereof for acting on the rotary cam 18 , and second stoppers 16 b projecting from an outer end thereof for acting on the brake shoes 6 . The first stopper 16 a of the roller case 16 assembled to the brake frame 17 contacts an end of the rotary cam 18 , so that the rotary cam 18 is not movable out of the roller case 16 toward the hub 2 . The second stoppers 16 b of the roller case 16 contact ends of the brake shoes 6 to prevent the brake shoes 6 from becoming displaced from the rollers 15 toward the hub 2 .

By the contacting action of the first and second stoppers 16 a and 16 b, the brake shoes 6 , roller case 16 and rotary cam 18 remain assembled to the brake frame 17 .

According to the above construction, all the components of the main brake body 100 , such as the brake shoes 6 and brake controller 7 remain assembled together even when the brake apparatus is detached from the hub 2 .

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the shoe presser spring 27 includes stoppers 27 a for acting on the brake shoes 6 . As shown in FIG. 3, the brake ring 13 has grease holding grooves 13 b formed in the inner peripheral wall thereof. When the brake controller 7 is shifted to the third position P 3 as shown in FIG. 8, the rotary cam 18 moves to the position shown in FIG. 8 with the movement of brake controller 7 from the second position P 2 to the third position P 3 . In this position, ends of the brake applying cam portions 18 a of the rotary cam 18 opposite the ends thereof used in applying the braking force contact the rollers 15 to press the brake shoes 6 on the brake ring 13 . By this pressing action, the stoppers 27 a of the shoe presser spring 27 enter one of the grease holding grooves 13 b of the brake ring 13 to engage the brake ring 13 . As a result, the brake shoes 6 are securely engaged with the brake ring 13 . The viscosity of grease present in the groove 13 b also promotes adhesion to the brake ring 13 of the brake shoes 6 , which allows the brake shoes 6 to support the brake ring 13 .

Thus, the shoe presser spring 27 acts as an engaging device for allowing the brake shoes 6 to securely support the brake ring 13 when the brake controller 7 is in the first position P 1 or the third position P 3 .

With the above construction, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the brake ring 13 and main brake body 100 remain assembled together even when the brake apparatus is detached from the hub 2 . The main brake body 100 and brake ring 13 constituting the brake apparatus do not separate from each other, so that the brake apparatus may be assembled to the hub 2 in a single operation.

The foregoing embodiment may be modified with respect to the coupling device and braking device. In the foregoing embodiment, the coupling device is in the form of splines 13 a and 2 d for coupling the brake ring 13 and hub 2 to be rotatable together. The coupling device may employ other structures such as screws or caulking. The braking device may comprise a brake band and a cam as replacement for the brake shoes 6 and rollers 15 , respectively.