Patent Application
20160214433
The present invention relates to wheels for bicycles and more specifically to hubs for rear wheels of bicycles.
A bicycle wheel typically include a rim, a hub, a cogset mounted to the hub via a connector body for one-way rotation, and a plurality of spokes extending between the hub and the rim.
Various wheel configurations have been attempted to achieve desirable wheel attributes of reduced weight and increased lateral stiffness over a traditional spoked bicycle wheel. For example, in a typical attempt to produce a lightweight wheel, a reduction in weight commonly results in a corresponding reduction in wheel stiffness. Conversely, with an attempt to increase wheel stiffness, such as by increasing the number or size of the spokes, increased weight is often an undesirable by-product. Increasing the lateral width of the connection between the hub and the spokes typically increases wheel stiffness without a substantial increase in weight. However, the amount of space available to mount the cogset limits the available width of the hub/spoke interface.
Multi-speed bicycles traditionally utilize a cogset having a number of cogs or gears. Prior art cogsets are commonly mounted for one-way rotation to the hub by a connector body, which may comprise a freewheel or freehub body. Freewheels traditionally include a female portion of a threaded connector system which may be fixedly mounted to a fixed cluster of cogs. Freehub bodies may have a generally cylindrical shape and a splined outer surface configured to mate with a complementary splined configuration defined by the cogs. A number of complementary spline configurations between the freehub body and the cogset are possible, and the number of cogs that are mounted to the freehub varies according to the spacing between the cogs and width of each cog. Although the number of cogs attachable to the freehub body may vary, the length of prior art freehub bodies has remained largely constant.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a wheel having increased stiffness and reduced weight that utilizes commercially available connector bodies.
The present invention provides a bicycle hub assembly having a rotational axis and comprising a sidewall defining a bore coaxial with the rotational axis and a first length between first and second ends of the sidewall, a connector body (e.g., a freehub body) coupled to the sidewall first end, and a first flange extending radially outward and axially away from an outer surface of the sidewall at the sidewall first end such that the first flange axially overlaps (e.g., at least 2 mm, 5 mm, or 7 mm) with a portion of the connector body. The first flange can define a plurality of spoke attachment holes adjacent a radially outermost periphery to facilitate incorporating the hub assembly into a bicycle wheel.
The hub assembly can further comprise a second flange extending radially outwardly from an outer surface of the sidewall at the second end, wherein the first flange projects radially farther away from the sidewall than the second flange. Preferably, the sidewall and first flange define a second length between an end of the first flange and the sidewall second end, the second length being larger than the first length.
In one embodiment, and also at least partially defines a concave receptacle that houses at least a portion of the connector body. In this embodiment, the hub assembly can further comprise an adapter body (e.g., generally frustoconically shaped) positioned around the connector body and at least partially in the concave receptacle. Preferably, the adapter body defines an adapter bore coaxial with the rotational axis. The concave receptacle can have an axial depth of at least 2 millimeters, preferably at least 5 millimeters, and more preferably at least 7 millimeters.
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.
Referring to
The cogset 8 is attached to the hub assembly 6 via a connector body in the form of a freehub 26 as shown in the embodiment illustrated in
Referring to the embodiment shown in
As seen in
As seen in
In an alternative embodiment, the cogset first radial surface 42 may define a plane perpendicular to the rotational axis A. In this embodiment, an adapter 41 (
As depicted in
The freehub 26 in the illustrated embodiment is widely commercially available, and typically accommodates cogsets having a maximum number of cogs N, such as 9 or 10. However, the above-described hub is specifically designed to accommodate fewer than the maximum number of cogs N. Specifically, the overlapping first flange 32 of the above-described hub will prevent the use of one or more of the innermost cogs (i.e., on the left side of the free hub 26 in
The axial overlap between the connector body and the first flange 32 occurs at the spoke attachment locations 38, axially outboard of the connection between the connector body first end 27 and the sidewall first end 28. The result is that the connection between the spokes and the first flange occurs at a location more widely spaced than was previously possible with the given freehub, resulting in a shallower angle to the spokes on the right side of the wheel. Accordingly, the hub assembly 6 of the present disclosure increases the lateral stiffness of the rear wheel 2, can receive fewer than N cogs, yet can accommodate a commercially available freehub 26. Moreover, the increase in wheel stiffness does not come at the cost of requiring new shifters and a new rear derailleur 7, as the same spacing between cogs may be maintained regardless of the number of cogs actually mounted to the freehub 26.
Although the foregoing systems and methods have been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the disclosure herein. Additionally, other combinations, omissions, substitutions and modifications will be apparent to the skilled artisan in view of the disclosure herein. While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms without departing from the spirit thereof. Accordingly, other combinations, omissions, substitutions and modifications will be apparent to the skilled artisan in view of the disclosure herein.
Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62107277 | Jan 2015 | US |
