This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-068293, filed on Mar. 30, 2018. The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-068293 is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention generally relates to an operating device and an operating system.
An operating device that is manually operable by a user is provided to human-powered vehicles, such as bicycles. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H1-132488 (Patent Literature 1) discloses a technique for providing an operating device for a brake at a plurality of locations.
It is possible to provide a human-powered vehicle with some additional components that are manually operable by a user, without limitation to the operating device for a brake. However, with the brake operating device disclosed in Patent Literature 1, it has been difficult for a user to operate the additional component while accessing the operating device.
The present invention has been made to solve the problem described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an operating device and an operating system capable of allowing a user to operate the additional component more easily.
To solve the above-described problem and achieve the object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, an operating device includes a base member mounted on a human-powered vehicle; an operating member provided to the base member; a first connecting part provided to one of the base member and the operating member in a manner connectable to a power transmitting medium; a second connecting part provided to the base member in a manner connectable to the power transmitting medium; and an additional component provided to at least one of the base member and the operating member.
According to the operating device of the first aspect, the additional component is provided to at least one of the base member and the operating member, and thus a user operating the operating member can operate the additional component easily. Furthermore, the operating device includes the first connecting part and the second connecting part, thereby making it possible to connect plural structures capable of sharing a power transmission system with the operating device via the power transmitting medium.
According to a second aspect, in the operating device according to the first aspect, the operating member is pivotally provided to the base member.
According to the operating device of the second aspect, the operating device can be operated by pivoting the operating device with respect to the base member. Therefore, it is possible to allow a user to operate the additional component more easily. Furthermore, the operating device is easy to operate, and thus the operating device can be easily operated simultaneously with the additional component.
According to a third aspect, in the operating device according to the first or second aspect, the additional component is removably provided to at least one of the base member and the operating member.
According to the operating device of the third aspect, the work including removal of the additional component can be easily performed.
According to a fourth aspect, in the operating device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the additional component is provided to the base member.
According to the operating device of the fourth aspect, the additional component can be fixed and positioned more reliably.
According to a fifth aspect, in the operating device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the base member is configured to be fixed to a handlebar of the human-powered vehicle, and the additional component is provided to the base member at a position accessible by a user holding a grip portion of the handlebar.
According to the operating device of the fifth aspect, a user holding the handlebar can easily access both the operating member provided to the base member, and the additional component simultaneously.
According to a sixth aspect, in the operating device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the additional component is provided at a position accessible by a user touching the operating member.
According to the operating device of the sixth aspect, a user can easily access both the operating member and the additional component simultaneously.
According to a seventh aspect, in the operating device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the additional component is one of a transmission operating device, a driving unit mode selector, a suspension operating device, an adjustable seatpost operating device, and a system information display.
According to the operating device of the seventh aspect, it is possible to allow a user to more easily operate a transmission operating device for a transmission, a driving unit mode selector for a driving unit, a suspension operating device for suspensions, an adjustable seatpost operating device for an adjustable seatpost, or a system information display.
According to an eighth aspect, the operating device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects further includes another operating device connected to the second connecting part via the power transmitting medium.
According to the operating device of the eighth aspect, a user can operate any one of the operating devices.
According to a ninth aspect, in the operating device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the base member includes a cylinder bore, and a piston that is provided in the cylinder bore in a manner movable in response to an input to the operating member; the power transmitting medium is hydraulic fluid; the first connecting part is configured to be connected to a first hose for circulating the hydraulic fluid; and the second connecting part is configured to be connected to a second hose for circulating the hydraulic fluid.
According to the operating device of the ninth aspect, it is possible to allow a user to more easily operate the additional component of the operating device having an operation system that uses hydraulic fluid as the power transmitting medium.
According to a tenth aspect, in the operating device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the power transmitting medium is a Bowden cable including an outer casing and an inner wire; the outer casing includes a first outer casing and a second outer casing; the first connecting part is configured to be connected to the first outer casing; and the second connecting part is configured to be connected to the second outer casing.
According to the operating device of the tenth aspect, it is possible to allow a user to more easily operate the additional component of the operating device having an operation system that uses a Bowden cable as the power transmitting medium.
To solve the above-described problem and to achieve the object, according to an eleventh aspect, an operating system includes the operating device according to any one of the first to tenth aspects; and further includes an operated device connected to the operating device via the power transmitting medium.
According to the operating system of the eleventh aspect, it is possible to allow a user to more easily operate the additional component and to allow the user to more easily operate the operated device via the operating device.
According to the present invention, a user can operate an additional component more easily.
Referring now to the attached drawings which form a part of this original disclosure.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are, however, not intended to limit the scope of the present invention any way, and when plural embodiments are available, any combination of the embodiments also fall within the scope of the present invention.
A human-powered vehicle 1 illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The base member 12 is configured to be fixed to the handlebar HB of the human-powered vehicle 1. The base member 12 includes a clamp 12a for clamping the handlebar HB. A part of the clamp 12a is provided integrally with the base member 12. In the first embodiment, the base member 12 is fixed to the straight portion SP of the handlebar HB.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The first connecting part 16 illustrated in
The hydraulic fluid 22 is pushed out from the cylinder bore 12c by the piston 12d. In this way, the hydraulic fluid 22 is transferred into the operated device 100 via the first connecting part 16 and the first hose 26, and operates the operated device 100. The operated device 100 is connected to the first connecting part 16 via the power transmitting medium. In other words, in the structure explained with reference to
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The additional component 20 is removably provided on at least one of the base member 12 and the operating member 14. Specifically, as illustrated in
The additional component 20 illustrated in
The position of the additional component 20 is not limited to the base member 12. The removable portion 20a can be provided to the operating member 14. An alternative position 20b is shown by a dotted line in
The additional component 20 is preferably provided to the base member 12 at a position accessible by a user holding the handlebar HB. The additional component 20 is also preferably provided at a position accessible by a user touching the operating member 14.
The arrangement of the first connecting part 16 and the second connecting part 18 is not limited to the arrangement in which the first connecting part 16 and the second connecting part 18 are arranged integrally with the master cylinder 12e, as explained with reference to
The other end of the hose 12h is connected to a branching unit 12i. The branching unit 12i is a T-shaped housing in which a transfer channel of the hydraulic fluid 22 is provided. The transfer channel is a transfer channel branched into three. The other end of the hose 12h is connected to one of the three branches of the transfer channel. Another one of the three branches of the transfer channel serves as the first connecting part 16, and the first hose 26 is connected thereto. According to the first modification, a first position P3 is at one of the ends of the T-shaped transfer channel that is provided in the branching unit 12i. The remaining one of the three branches of the transfer channel serves as the second connecting part 18, and the second hose 28 is connected thereto. According to the first modification, a second position P4 is at one of the ends of the T-shaped transfer channel provided to the branching unit 12i, and is different from the first position P3. In
A specific shape of the master cylinder having the hydraulic fluid 22 as the power transmitting medium is not limited to those of the master cylinder 12e and the master cylinder 12g, and can be changed as appropriate. As illustrated in
Furthermore, as illustrated in
The operating systems S1 and S2 operated by the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic fluid 22 are explained above with reference to
The power transmitting medium used in an operating system S3 illustrated in
The operating member 14 illustrated in
To the second connecting part 18 illustrated in
The pivotal movement of the operating member 14 changes the interval between the first outer casing 36 connected to the operating member 14 and the second outer casing 38 connected to the base member 12. A change in the interval results in a change in the positional relation between the outer casing 30a and the inner wire 30b, and causes the operated device 110 to be operated. To perform a braking operation, a user grips the operating member 14 toward the straight portion SP, to cause the interval between the first outer casing 36 and the second outer casing 38 to widen. As a result of this operation, the length of a channel housing the inner wire 30b in the outer casing 30a is extended, and the end of the inner wire 30b coupled with the operating member 64 is moved away from the operated device 110. In other words, the inner wire 30b is pulled away from the operated device 110.
In understanding the scope of the present invention, the term “comprising” and its derivatives, as used herein, are intended to be open ended terms that specify the presence of the stated features, elements, components, groups, integers, and/or steps, but do not exclude the presence of other unstated features, elements, components, groups, integers and/or steps. The foregoing also applies to words having similar meanings such as the terms, “including”, “having” and their derivatives. Also, the terms “part,” “section,” “portion,” “member” or “element” when used in the singular can have the dual meaning of a single part or a plurality of parts unless otherwise stated.
The phrase “at least one of” as used in this disclosure means “one or more” of a desired choice. For one example, the phrase “at least one of” as used in this disclosure means “only one single choice” or “both of two choices” if the number of its choices is two. For another example, the phrase “at least one of” as used in this disclosure means “only one single choice” or “any combination of equal to or more than two choices” if the number of its choices is equal to or more than three.
Also, it will be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” may be used herein to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. Thus, for example, a first component discussed above could be termed a second component and vice versa without departing from the teachings of the present invention.
The term “attached” or “attaching”, as used herein, encompasses configurations in which an element is directly secured to another element by affixing the element directly to the other element; configurations in which the element is indirectly secured to the other element by affixing the element to the intermediate member(s) which in turn are affixed to the other element; and configurations in which one element is integral with another element, i.e. one element is essentially part of the other element. This definition also applies to words of similar meaning, for example, “joined”, “connected”, “coupled”, “mounted”, “bonded”, “fixed” and their derivatives. Finally, terms of degree such as “substantially”, “about” and “approximately” as used herein mean an amount of deviation of the modified term such that the end result is not significantly changed.
While certain embodiment and modification of the present invention have been described, the description thereof is not intended to limit the embodiments. The constituting elements described herein include elements easily achieved by one skilled in the art, elements being substantially the same as the constituting elements, and elements within the scope of equivalents of the constituting elements. The constituting elements described herein may be combined in an appropriate manner. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the constituting elements may be made without departing from the spirit of the embodiment.
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