Patent Application
20100175517
The present invention is directed to bicycle tools and, more particularly, to a bicycle tool that can draw a component through the inner portion of a hollow bicycle member.
Bicycles typically include a frame, a front fork rotatably mounted to the front of the frame, a handlebar assembly mounted to the upper part of the fork, a front wheel rotatably attached to the lower part of the fork, a rear wheel rotatably attached to the rear of the frame, and a drive unit including pedals for communicating rotational force from the rider to the rear wheel. The frame, fork, and handlebar assembly typically comprise tubes bonded together in various configurations, and it is sometimes desirable to route cables and other components through one or more of the tubes.
The present invention is directed to various features of a bicycle tool. In one embodiment, a bicycle tool comprises a tool body, wherein the tool body includes a magnetic material; a magnet; and a connector. The connector is movably coupled between the tool body and the magnet. Additional inventive features will become apparent from the description below, and such features alone or in combination with the above features and their equivalents may form the basis of further inventions as recited in the claims.
Drive unit 105 comprises a chain 95, a front sprocket assembly 99f coaxially mounted with a crank 96 having pedals PD, an electrically-controlled front derailleur 97f attached to seat tube 102c, a rear sprocket assembly 99r coaxially mounted with rear wheel 106r, and an electrically-controlled rear derailleur 97r. Front sprocket assembly 99f comprises two coaxially mounted sprockets, and rear sprocket assembly 99r comprises ten sprockets mounted coaxially with an axle of rear wheel 106r. Front derailleur 97f moves to two operating positions to switch chain 95 between the two front sprockets, and rear derailleur 97r moves to ten operating positions to switch chain 95 among selected ones of the ten rear sprockets.
A handlebar stem 111 is mounted to the upper portion of front fork 98, and a drop-style handlebar 112 is mounted to a front portion of handlebar stem 111. A combined brake and shift control device 113f is mounted to the left side of handlebar 112 to control the operation of front derailleur 97f and front brake 107f, and a combined brake and shift control device 113r is mounted to the right side of handlebar 112 to control the operation of rear derailleur 97r and rear brake 107r. An electronic control unit 110 provides the appropriate electrical signals to front derailleur 97f and rear derailleur 97r through an electrical wire assembly 120 routed through the hollow portion of down tube 102b. Electrical signals from combined brake and shift control devices 113f and 113r are communicated to electronic control unit 110 through electrical further wire assembles (not shown). The brake control device in brake and shift control device 113f controls front brake 107f through a Bowden cable assembly 122f, and the brake control device in combined brake and shift control device 113r controls rear brake 107r through a Bowden cable assembly 122r routed through the hollow portion of top tube 102a.
In this embodiment, electrical wire assembly 120 enters the upper portion of down tube 102b through an opening 124. The portion of electrical wire assembly 120 that controls the operation of front derailleur 97f exits the lower portion of down tube 102b through another opening (not shown), and the portion of electrical wire assembly 120 that controls the operation of rear derailleur 97r exits the rear of right-side chain stay 102e through an opening 130. Similarly, Bowden cable assembly 122r enters the front portion of top tube 102a through an opening 134, and Bowden cable assembly 122r exits the rear of top tube 102a through an opening 135 in seat tube 102c.
In order to facilitate the routing of electrical wire assembly 120 and Bowden cable assembly 122r through down tube 102b and top tube 102a, respectively, the tool kit 150 shown in
In this embodiment, flexible connector 168 comprises a filament member. Preferably, but not necessarily, flexible connector 168 is semi-rigid and may even be substantially non-compressible along the longitudinal axis thereof. For example, flexible connector 168 may comprise a metal wire that may be solid, braided, wound, and so on. In this embodiment, flexible connector 168 is a wound metal wire similar in construction to the inner wire of a Bowden cable used for bicycle brake or derailleur control devices.
In this embodiment, magnet 164 is a generally oval-shaped cylinder, and it is detachably or non-detachably connected to the other end of flexible connector 168. Magnet 164 may be a permanent magnet, an electromagnet, etc. Magnet 164 may have one or more rounded ends as shown in
Magnetic material 180 maybe a material that can be magnetized (e.g., iron that can be made magnetic by contact with magnet 164, for example), or it can be another magnet similar to magnet 164. Magnetic material 180 may have one or more rounded ends, one or more chamfered ends, or some other configuration that may help magnetic material 180 move along the outer face of the bicycle structure through which electrical wire assembly 120, Bowden cable assembly 122r, or some other component passes. In this embodiment, the portion of tool body 162 that extends from magnetic material 180 toward flexible connector 168 is formed of a non-magnetic material such as plastic.
A magnet retainer 184 is disposed at second end portion 176 of body portion 170 for retaining magnet 164 to tool body 162. In this embodiment, magnet retainer 184 has an arcuate shape dimensioned to engage magnet 164 to retain magnet 164 against tool body 162. More specifically, magnet retainer 184 comprises a tubular cylindrical member 188 dimensioned to receive magnet 164 therein. An end wall 192 is formed on the right-side end of cylindrical member 188 to form a floor that prevents magnet 164 from being pulled out of magnet retainer 184 by inadvertent pulling of flexible connector 168. A slot 196 extends through an entire length of the side wall of cylindrical member 188 and into end wall 192. Slot 196 is dimensioned to receive flexible connector 168 therethrough so that magnet 164 may be inserted into magnet retainer 184 simply by passing flexible connector through slot 196 while magnet 164 is disposed to the left of magnet retainer 184 and then by pulling flexible connector 168 to seat magnet 164 inside magnet retainer 184 as shown in
Alternating connector retainers 200 and 204 are disposed on body portion 170 to retain flexible connector 168 to tool body 162 as shown in
In this embodiment, second tool 158 comprises a magnet 220, a component coupler 224 and a flexible connector 228. Flexible connector 228 is detachably or non-detachably connected to magnet 220 and to component coupler 224. As with magnet 164 in first tool 154, magnet 220 may be many types of magnets (e.g., permanent magnet, electromagnet, etc.) having many forms. While flexible connector 228 may be a wire having the same characteristics as flexible connector 168 in first tool 154, in this embodiment flexible connector 228 preferably is a very flexible, easily deformable filament such as a string.
Component coupler 224 is dimensioned to couple to a component that is to be pulled through an inner portion of the hollow bicycle member. In this embodiment, component coupler 224 comprises a hook with a generally U-shape. Coupling prongs 232 extend outwardly in opposite directions from the free end of the U to facilitate coupling to a component, such as an electrical socket, to be pulled through the interior of the hollow bicycle member.
Component coupler 224 may have many different configurations depending upon the configuration of the component to be pulled through the interior of the hollow bicycle member. For example, a component coupler 236 may be used to pull an electrical plug through the interior of the hollow bicycle member. In this case, component coupler 236 comprises an elongated coupler body 240 having a first end portion 244 and a second end portion 248, wherein first end portion 244 includes a coupling base 250 coupled flexible connector 228. A component retainer 252 is coupled to coupler body 240 and is displaced from first end portion 244. In this embodiment, component retainer 252 comprises first and second mounting projections 256, 260 that extend in parallel from second end portion 248 of coupler body 240 to form a clip for retaining the component to coupler body 240. If desired, a detachable coupler may be disposed on component coupler 224 or component coupler 236 so that they may be detachably coupled to flexible connector 228 depending upon the application.
The operation of tool 150 is illustrated in
Sometimes, the interior of tube member 304 may have obstructions such as obstructions 320 schematically shown in
While the above is a description of various embodiments of inventive features, further modifications may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, winding grooves 400 shown in
The size, shape, location or orientation of the various components may be changed as desired. Components that are shown directly connected or contacting each other may have intermediate structures disposed between them. Separate components may be combined, and vice versa. The functions of one element may be performed by two, and vice versa. The function of one element may be performed by another, and functions may be interchanged among the elements. The structures and functions of one embodiment may be adopted in another embodiment. It is not necessary for all advantages to be present in a particular embodiment at the same time. Every feature which is unique from the prior art, alone or in combination with other features, also should be considered a separate description of further inventions by the applicant, including the structural and/or functional concepts embodied by such feature(s). Terms of degree such as “substantially,” “about” and “approximately” as used herein include a reasonable amount of deviation of the modified term such that the end result is not significantly changed. For example, such terms may include a deviation of at least ±5% of the modified term as long as such a deviation would not negate the meaning of the word it modifies. Thus, the scope of the invention should not be limited by the specific structures disclosed or the apparent initial focus or emphasis on a particular structure or feature.
