Patent Application
20150285376
Embodiments herein relate to the field of displays, and, more specifically, to a rearward facing display for indicating the current gear of a bicycle.
Bicycles typically include front and/or rear derailleurs for shifting gears depending upon road conditions and desired speed. The derailleurs may be manipulated by the person riding the bike to change gears and increase or decrease the peddling resistance accordingly. Indicators are often included on the handlebars of the bike to display the current position of the derailleurs to the rider. This information may be useful in determining how to change gears.
When a novice rider is learning to change gears, they may find it challenging to select the preferred gear for a given situation. They may also experience difficulty in knowing when to shift gears in anticipation of upcoming events, such as hills, stops, starts, turns, and/or traffic. The novice rider may find it beneficial to know when a more experienced rider is shifting gears or what gear the more experience rider is using for a particular situation.
Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration embodiments that may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of embodiments is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Various operations may be described as multiple discrete operations in turn, in a manner that may be helpful in understanding embodiments; however, the order of description should not be construed to imply that these operations are order dependent.
The description may use perspective-based descriptions such as up/down, back/front, and top/bottom. Such descriptions are merely used to facilitate the discussion and are not intended to restrict the application of disclosed embodiments.
The terms “coupled” and “connected,” along with their derivatives, may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. Rather, in particular embodiments, “connected” may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. “Coupled” may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. However, “coupled” may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet still cooperate or interact with each other.
For the purposes of the description, a phrase in the form “A/B” or in the form “A and/or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the description, a phrase in the form “at least one of A, B, and C” means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C). For the purposes of the description, a phrase in the form “(A)B” means (B) or (AB) that is, A is an optional element.
The description may use the terms “embodiment” or “embodiments,” which may each refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments. Furthermore, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like, as used with respect to embodiments, are synonymous, and are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.).
With respect to the use of any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.
In various embodiments, methods, apparatuses, and systems for displaying the current gear of a bicycle on a rearward facing display. In this manner a person, such as an individual riding another bike, may know the current gear of the person riding ahead of them. This may allow a novice rider to learn the appropriate gear for a given situation as well as the best time to change gears by mimicking the behavior of a more experience rider. By using a rearward facing display, this may be possible without verbal communication between the riders, which can be difficult in many riding situations. In addition to use as a training aid, the display device of the current application may also be used in a competitive manner. For instance, a rider may want to show another rider that they ride up a particular hill without downshifting into an easier gear. The display apparatus of the current application, may allow the rider to effectively communicate their current gear setting when passing another rider.
The bike 100 may include a front derailleur 104. Pedals (not shown in
If the rider wishes to go faster, they can either move the chain or belt to a front gear having more teeth or move the chain or belt to rear gear having fewer teeth to increase the gear ratio. The rider may do the opposite to decrease the gear ratio making it easier to pedal, for instance when going up a hill, or starting from a stop. As a rider becomes more experienced, he or she tends to develop a feel for what gears are best suited to given riding situations. The experienced rider may also learn to preemptively shift gears when they know a change in riding conditions is coming. For instance, a more experienced rider may down shift when coming to a stop in order to make it easier to start. Selecting the appropriate gear and knowing when to change gears may be challenging for more novice riders, thus it may be beneficial for novice riders to be aware of the gear shifting behavior of more experienced riders.
The bike 100 may include a display 110 (shown in detail in
A front derailleur display 206 may be included as part of handlebars 200. For instances the front derailleur display 206 may be mounted to the cross member 202. The front derailleur display 206 may be connected to the front shift mechanism 204. The front derailleur display 206 may be configured to show the current position of the chain. In a mechanical system, the front derailleur display 206 may be connected to a cable that is operable to change the display when the chain or belt is moved from one gear to another. In an electronic system, front derailleur display 206, may include an electronic display using lights (such as light emitting diodes, LEDs) or screen (such as a liquid crystal display, LCD). Although shown as separate components, front derailleur display 206 and front shift mechanism 204 may be combined into a single component.
A rear derailleur display 210 may also be included as part of the handlebars. The rear derailleur display 210 may be attached and configured similar to the front derailleur display 206, discussed above, with the exception that the rear derailleur display 210 may be configured to show the position of the rear derailleur 106, as opposed to front derailleur 104.
The combination of the front derailleur display 206 and the rear derailleur display 210 allow the rider to quickly know which gears are in use. This information can be important when deciding when and how to shift gears. By including the front and rear derailleur displays 206, 210 on the handlebars 200, the gear information is readily available to the rider, but is not available to others, such as another rider following behind the first rider.
A display 310 may be mounted to the seat post 302 such that the display faces rearward. The display 310 may be mounted such that it is generally vertical and perpendicular to the frame and/or rear tire of the bike. The display 310 may include a first display portion 314 and a second display portion 316.
The first display portion 314 may be configured to show the position of the front derailleur of the bicycle. In some embodiments the display 310 may be coupled to the shift mechanism or the derailleur displays (as discussed above with reference to
The second display portion 316 may be configured to show the position of the rear derailleur. Any of the different sensing techniques discussed above with reference to the first display portion 314 may also be used to gather and communicate information regarding the position of the rear derailleur 106.
The display 310 may be of sufficient size to be read easily by a person following the bike. In this manner, the display 310 may communicate gear information to another rider to aid a more novice rider in learning appropriate gears and gear shifting behavior. In some embodiments the display may be at least approximately 1.5 inches tall and approximately 3 inches wide. In some embodiments, the display may be at least approximately 2 inches tall and approximately 4 inches wide.
The display 310 may be formed with significant contrast to aid in readability. In some embodiments the display 310 may utilize a white or yellow background with black numbers. In some embodiments the display 310, may use a dark (such as black) background with white or yellow numbers.
In some embodiments the display 310 may also incorporate one or more lights. For instance, in some embodiments the numbers or background may be configured to light up. As such the display 310 may be more readable and may also serve as a tail light for visibility when used in low light conditions. In some embodiments, portions of the display 310 may blink in a manner known with other bicycle tail lights to improve visibility. In some embodiments, the display may be configure to flash or blink a predetermined number of times when the value displayed in either the first display portion 314 or the second display portion 316 changes. In this manner, the display 310 may be configured to draw attention to a recent change in the position of one or both of the derailleurs.
A few non-limiting examples are included below.
Example 1 includes a display apparatus comprising: a display portion configured to display the current gear of a bicycle; and a mounting bracket configured to mount the display apparatus to a bicycle such that display portion faces rearward and is approximately perpendicular to the length of the bicycle.
Example 2 includes the display apparatus of example 1, wherein the display portion comprises a first display portion configured to display a position of a first derailleur; a second display portion configured to display a position of a second derailleur.
Example 3 includes the display apparatus of example 2, wherein the display apparatus is configured to receive the position of the first derailleur via a first cable and is further configured to receive the position of the second derailleur via a second cable.
Example 4 includes the display apparatus of example 2, wherein the display apparatus is configured to receive the position of the first derailleur from a first sensor and is further configured to receive the position of the second derailleur from a second sensor.
Example 5 includes the display apparatus of example 4, wherein the first sensor is configured to sense the position of a first display indicator and the second sensor is configured to sense the position of a second display indicator.
Example 6 includes the display apparatus of example 4, wherein the first sensor is configured to sense the position of the first derailleur and the second sensor is configured to sense the position of the second derailleur.
Example 7 includes the display apparatus of example 1, wherein the display portion is at least 1.5 inches tall and at least 3 inches wide.
Example 8 includes the display apparatus of example 1, wherein the mounting bracket is configured to mount the display apparatus to a seat post of a bicycle.
Example 9 includes a method of displaying a bicycle gear, the method comprising: receiving information regarding a position of a first derailleur; displaying the position of the first derailleur on a first portion of a rearward facing display apparatus; receiving information regarding a position of a second derailleur; and displaying the position of the second derailleur on a second portion of the rearward facing display apparatus.
Example 10 includes the method of example 9, wherein receiving information regarding a position of a first derailleur includes receiving tension associated with a first cable; and receiving information regarding a position of a second derailleur includes receiving tension associated with a second cable.
Example 11 includes the method of example 9, wherein receiving information regarding a position of a first derailleur includes receiving information from a first sensor; and receiving information regarding a position of a second derailleur includes receiving information from a second sensor.
Example 12 includes the method of example 11, wherein the first sensor is configured to sense the position of a first display indicator and the second sensor is configured to sense the position of a second display indicator.
Example 13 includes the method of example 11, wherein the first sensor is configured to sense the position of the first derailleur and the second sensor is configured to sense the position of the second derailleur.
Example 14 includes a system comprising: a frame having a front portion and a rear portion; at least one shiftable gearing mechanism coupled to the frame; a display apparatus coupled such that it approximately vertical and approximately perpendicular to the frame; wherein the display apparatus is configured to display a current position of the at least one shiftable gearing mechanism.
Example 15 includes the system of example 14 wherein the at least one shiftable gearing mechanism includes: a first derailleur; and a second derailleur configured to receive power from the first derailleur via a chain or belt and further configured to drive an axle.
Example 16 includes the system of example 15 wherein the display apparatus comprises: a first display portion configured to display the position of the first derailleur; a second display portion configured to display the position of the second derailleur.
Example 17 includes the system of example 14, further comprising a seat post coupled to the frame and configured to hold a seat wherein the display apparatus is mounted to the seat post in rearward facing position.
Although certain embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a wide variety of alternate and/or equivalent embodiments or implementations calculated to achieve the same purposes may be substituted for the embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope. Those with skill in the art will readily appreciate that embodiments may be implemented in a very wide variety of ways. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is manifestly intended that embodiments be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.
