Patent Application
20140260756
The present invention relates generally to vehicles having hand-operated control levers, such as snowmobiles and ATVs, and more specifically to control levers with adjustable reach.
Standard levers for handlebar controls have a hand grip area (the blade), a pivot point and a contact point for actuating the mechanism (e.g., a piston or pushrod). Typically, these levers are used to control brakes and clutches.
Adjustable reach levers are readily available in the marketplace. However, current adjustable reach levers tend to be complex and expensive to produce.
The present invention provides a vehicle comprising a wheel, a seat supported by the wheel, a handlebar supported by the wheel, and a hand control assembly mounted in the handlebar. The hand control assembly comprises a base, an actuating mechanism movable relative to the base, a hub pivotally coupled to the base and positioned to move the actuating mechanism, a lever arm pivotally movable relative to the hub for movement about a pivot axis, and an adjusting mechanism positioned between the lever arm and the hub and adapted to adjust a space between the lever arm and the handlebar. The adjusting mechanism includes a dial (e.g., having a knurled edge) mounted for rotation about an adjusting axis angled (e.g., perpendicular) relative to the pivot axis. In one embodiment, the dial is mounted on the lever arm for rotation between a short-reach position and a long-reach position. In this embodiment, the dial and the lever arm cooperatively define a dimension corresponding with the dial protruding from the lever arm, and it is preferred that this dimension does not change when the dial is rotated from the short-reach position to the long-reach position.
The adjusting mechanism can further include an engaging member, and the dial can be mounted for rotation about an adjusting axis that is offset from the engaging member. The adjusting mechanism can also include an axle rotationally engaging the lever arm and coupled to the dial to facilitate rotation of the dial relative to the lever arm.
Preferably, the dial includes circumferentially-spaced zones of variable thickness that facilitate adjustment of a space between the lever arm and the hub. Preferably, the zones comprise a first recess and a second recess, the first recess having a depth different a depth of the second recess. The zones can further comprise a third recess (or more) having a depth different the depths of the first and second recesses.
Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways.
The lever assembly 22 includes a hub 40, a lever arm 42, and an adjusting mechanism 44 positioned between the hub 40 and the lever arm 42. The hub 40 includes a second opening 46 aligned with the first opening 34 to facilitate pivoting of the hub 40 relative to the base 20. The hub 40 further includes an actuating arm 48 having a recess 50 adapted to receive an end of an actuating mechanism 52, such as a hydraulic piston/rod for a clutch or brake system. The actuating arm 48 further includes an engaging member 54 adapted to receive a force from the lever arm 42 via the adjusting mechanism 44.
The lever arm 42 includes a third opening 56 aligned with the first and second openings 34, 46 to facilitate pivoting of the lever arm 42 relative to each of the hub 40 and the base 20 about a pivot axis 58. A biasing member in the form of a compression spring 60 is positioned between the hub 40 and the lever arm 42 to bias the lever arm 42 toward the handlebars 16 and toward the engaging member 54. The lever arm 42 further includes a blade 62 adapted to be engaged by a user's hand, as is known in the art. A cylindrical recess 64 in the lever arm 42 is dimensioned to receive the adjusting mechanism 44, as described below in more detail.
The adjusting mechanism 44 includes a rotary dial 70 having a knurled edge 71 and a cylindrical axle 72 positioned in the cylindrical recess 64 of the lever arm 42 to facilitate rotation of the dial 70 relative to the lever arm 42 about an adjusting axis 74. The illustrated adjusting axis 74 is offset from (i.e., does not intersect) the engaging member 54, angled (i.e., non-parallel to) the pivot axis 58, and is perpendicular to the pivot axis 58. In the illustrated embodiment, the dial 70 is sandwiched between the lever arm 42 and the engaging member 54 of the hub 40.
The dial 70 includes a series of circumferentially-spaced recesses 76, each of which is dimensioned to receive the engaging member 54 when the dial 70 is in a particular rotational position. These recesses defines circumferentially-spaced zones of variable thickness. That is, the dial 70 can be rotated to multiple discrete rotational positions, each of which will position a particular recess 76 in alignment with the engaging member 54. Each of the recesses 76 in dial 70 has a different depth that will result in the lever arm 42 being positioned at a different distance from the handlebar 16. The compression spring 60 biases the dial 70 into engagement with the engaging member 54.
The recesses 76 are dimensioned to receive the engaging member 54 in such a manner that the dial 70 is substantially prevented from rotating when the engaging member 54 is positioned in one of the recesses 76. In this manner, the dial 70 is substantially prevent from rotating to a different position unless the lever arm 42 is deliberately moved away from the handlebar 16 to disengage the engaging member 54 from the recess 76.
It should be noted that rotation of the dial 70 of the adjusting mechanism 44 does not change the overall profile of the combination of the dial 70 and lever arm 42. That is, a longitudinal dimension D of the dial 70 protruding from the lever arm 42 does not change when the dial is rotated from the long-reach position (
As a result of the illustrated and described arrangement, the position of the lever arm 42 relative to the handlebars 16 can be adjusted as follows. First, the blade 62 of the lever arm 42 is moved away from the handlebars 16 by compressing the spring 60, thereby disengaging the rotary dial 70 from the engaging member 54 of the hub 40. The rotary dial 70 can then be rotated to a different position such that a different recess 76 in the dial 70 is aligned with the engaging member 54 of the hub 40. A deeper recess 76 will result in the blade 62 of the lever arm 42 being closer to the handlebars 16, and a shallower recess 76 will result in the blade 62 of the lever arm 42 being further from the handlebars 16.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61794771 | Mar 2013 | US |
