This invention relates in general to mounting devices for mounting bicycle control components to a handlebar, and more particularly, to a mounting device that mounts at least two bicycle control components to a handlebar.
The present invention provides a mounting device for mounting first and second bicycle control components to a bicycle handlebar having a handlebar axis. The mounting device generally includes first and second mounting brackets. The first mounting bracket is adjustably mounted to the handlebar about the handlebar axis. One of the first and second bicycle control components is attached to the first mounting bracket. The second mounting bracket is adjustably attached to the first mounting bracket. The other of the first and second bicycle control components is attached to the second mounting bracket. The second mounting bracket is displaced between alternative attachment positions on the first mounting bracket. The first mounting bracket is rotated between alternative mounting positions on the handlebar.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the first and second mounting brackets are mounted substantially concentric to the handlebar. The second mounting bracket is slidably attached to the first mounting bracket along a slot between the alternative attachment positions. A third bicycle control component may be attached to one of the first and second clamp portions wherein the second bicycle control component is attached to the other of the first and second clamp portions. The first, second and third bicycle control components are a brake lever assembly, a shift lever assembly and a suspension control assembly. The first mounting bracket may include a first clamp portion attached to the first bicycle control component, a second clamp portion hingedly connected to the first clamp portion and a fastener securing the first and second clamp portions about the handlebar.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood from the following description of certain embodiments of the invention, taken together with the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings:
The mounting device 10 generally includes first and second mounting brackets 51, 52. The first mounting bracket 51 includes first and second clamp portions 30, 32 having bores 34 at one of their ends 36, 38, respectively. The first and second clamp portions 30, 32 are hingedly connected to each other at their other ends 40, 42, respectively, by a pin 44 to form a general C-shape, matingly secure to the bicycle handlebar 12. The first mounting bracket 51 is secured to the bicycle handlebar 12 by tightening a fastener 46 extending through the bores 34 of the first and second clamp portions 30, 32. In this embodiment, the fastener 46 includes a bolt 48 and a nut 50. Looking to
The second mounting bracket 52 is slidably attached to an outer surface of the second clamp portion 32 of the first mounting bracket 51. The second mounting bracket 52 includes an upper portion 56 slidably attached to an outer guide rail 58 on the outer surface of the second clamp portion 32 and a lower portion 60 attached to an inner surface of the second clamp portion 32 and slidable along an inner guide rail 64. The guide rails 58, 64 also prevent rotation of the second mounting bracket 54 relative to the second clamp portion 32. The upper and lower portions 56, 60 are connected by a fastener such as a screw 66 that extends through a slot 68 in the second clamp portion 32. The length of the slot 68 determines the outermost attachment positions of the second mounting bracket 52 on the second clamp portion 32. The upper and lower portions 56, 60 of the second mounting bracket 52 are curved to matingly engage the second clamp portion 32. The upper and lower portions 56, 60 may be fixed in a particular attachment position along the slot 68 by tightening the screw 66. Alternatively, the slot 68 may be replaced with discrete bores 69 to provide alternative predetermined attachment positions of the shift lever assembly 16 on the mounting device 10 (see
The second mounting bracket 52 also includes a flange 70 that extends substantially perpendicular from the upper portion 56. The shifter lever assembly 16 is attached to the flange 70 with a fastener 72 extending through a bore 74 in the flange 70. More specifically, the flange 70 includes a longitudinal rail 76 that engages a longitudinal guide 78 on a housing 80 of the shift lever assembly 16. The longitudinal guide 78 includes at least two bores 82 for mounting the mounting device 10 at different positions on the housing 80. The bores 82 are spaced apart from one another along a direction parallel to the handlebar 12. Alternatively, the two bores 82 may be replaced with a slot.
The mounting device 10 is mounted to the bicycle handlebar 12 by pivoting the first and second clamp portions 30, 32 about the pin 44 to fit the mounting device 10 about a circumference of the handlebar 12. The brake lever assembly 14 is attached to the mounting device 10 by first inserting the bolt 48 through the bore 34 of the first clamp portion 30, then through a bore 84 in a housing 86 of the brake lever assembly 14 and finally through the bore 34 of the second clamp portion 32. The nut 50 is threaded onto the bolt 48 until the mounting device 10 is fixedly secured to the handlebar 12. The shift lever assembly 16 may be attached to the mounting device 10 before or after the mounting device 10 is mounted to the handlebar 12. The attachment position of the shift lever assembly 16 and the second mounting bracket 52 may be adjusted relative to the brake lever assembly 14 by sliding the mounting bracket 52 along the rails 58, 64 or about the circumference of the handlebar 12 into the desired attachment position. The screw 66 is tightened to secure the mounting bracket 52 in the desired attachment position.
The present invention allows the shift lever assembly 16 to be adjusted about the axis 28 of the handlebar 12 and parallel to the handlebar 12 without adjusting the position of the brake lever assembly 14 or the first mounting bracket 51. The shift lever assembly 16 may be rotated about the handlebar 12 relative to the brake lever assembly 14 within a range of 30 degrees, in the embodiment shown, between attachment positions A and B (see
While this invention has been described by reference to one or more embodiments, it will be understood that numerous changes could be made within the spirit and scope of the inventive concepts described. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but that it include the full scope permitted by the language of the following claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4974469 | Romano | Dec 1990 | A |
5203213 | Nagano | Apr 1993 | A |
5701786 | Kawakami | Dec 1997 | A |
D392233 | Masui | Mar 1998 | S |
6305237 | Ichida | Oct 2001 | B1 |
20060053940 | McLaughlin et al. | Mar 2006 | A1 |
20070068316 | Kawakami et al. | Mar 2007 | A1 |
20070137385 | Cesur et al. | Jun 2007 | A1 |
20070151395 | Barnett | Jul 2007 | A1 |
20070199401 | Kawakami et al. | Aug 2007 | A1 |
20080092690 | Kawakami | Apr 2008 | A1 |
20100139442 | Tsumiyama | Jun 2010 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
1 046 385 | Oct 2000 | EP |
54-28851 | Feb 1979 | JP |
63-312291 | Dec 1988 | JP |
63-315390 | Dec 1988 | JP |
01-134591 | Sep 1989 | JP |
01-157091 | Oct 1989 | JP |
2000-2256974 | Aug 2000 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20110253863 A1 | Oct 2011 | US |