TW202508909A - Front driving apparatus of bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

A front driving apparatus of bicycle, used to connect to a drive belt for transmitting torque, comprises: a drive wheel with a body and multiple buffer components; the body is configured to connect to the drive belt, having multiple fitting portions, each fitting portion equipped with a fitting hole; the buffer components are respectively set to fill the fitting holes; a crankset is mounted on one side of the drive wheel; the crankset has multiple crank arms, each of which corresponds to one of the fitting portions of the drive wheel; and multiple drive members, each passing through one of the crank arms of the crankset and one of the fitting portions of the body, and connecting to the buffer components. When the crankset is driven by torque and moves the drive members, the drive members exert force on the buffer components, causing deformation relative to the body, and driving the drive wheel to rotate the drive belt.

Description

Bicycle front drive structure

The present invention relates to bicycles, and more particularly to a front driving structure of a bicycle capable of reducing the instantaneous tension borne by the entire chain/belt.

According to the information provided by the manufacturer, the transmission methods of bicycles mainly include chain transmission and belt transmission. The chain transmission method uses a metal chain combined with a sprocket to drive the wheels to rotate. Belt transmission is a technology different from the traditional chain transmission. Its transmission method mainly uses a belt made of high-strength rubber or polymer combined with a pulley to transmit power to replace the traditional metal chain. Whether it is a chain transmission system or a bicycle belt transmission system, the operation is controlled and adjusted by tension. The proper tension of the chain/belt (hereinafter referred to as the transmission belt) is one of the key factors to ensure the smooth operation of the transmission system. Too high or too low tension may lead to performance degradation, failure or even damage to the transmission system.

Among them, too low a belt tension may cause the belt to slip or fall off. If the belt is too loose, it cannot transmit power correctly and may jump teeth, lose transmission efficiency or even fall off. This will cause the vehicle to fail to operate normally and may pose a risk to the safety of the rider. On the other hand, too high a belt tension may lead to increased running resistance. When the belt is over-tightened, friction increases, which will lead to energy loss and reduced efficiency. More force is required to push the wheels when riding, which will also increase riding fatigue. In addition, the instantaneous high tension caused by pedaling too hard when riding may cause the belt to be over-tightened, accelerate wear and reduce its service life.

Therefore, how to improve the wear problem of the transmission belt caused by the instantaneous excessive tension is one of the issues that the bicycle industry and researchers need to solve urgently.

The main purpose of the invention is to provide a front driving structure of a bicycle, which can improve the wear problem of the conventional transmission belt caused by the instantaneous excessive tension.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned invention purpose, the present invention provides a front driving structure of a bicycle, which is used to connect a transmission belt to transmit torque, and includes: a driving wheel, having a body and a plurality of buffers; the body is used to connect to the transmission belt, and the body has a plurality of matching parts, each of the matching parts is respectively provided with a receiving hole; the buffers are respectively arranged in the receiving holes to fill the receiving holes; a claw plate is arranged at the driving wheel On one side; the claw plate has a plurality of claws, which respectively correspond to the matching parts of the driving wheel; and a plurality of driving members, which respectively pass through the claws of the claw plate and the matching parts of the main body and are connected to the buffer members; wherein, when the claw plate is driven by torque to drive the driving members to move, the driving members apply force to the buffer members to cause the buffer members to deform relative to the main body, and the driving wheel drives the transmission belt to rotate.

In one embodiment, the buffer member has a plurality of deformation holes, and the penetration directions of the deformation holes are generally parallel to the axial direction of the driving member.

In one embodiment, the buffer member has a through hole for the driving member to pass through, and the deformed holes of the buffer member surround the through hole.

In one embodiment, the buffer has a column portion, a first annular surface and a second annular surface; the column portion is located between the first annular surface and the second annular surface to connect the first annular surface and the second annular surface, so that the first annular surface and the second annular surface are located at the axial ends of the column portion; wherein the deformed holes penetrate the first annular surface, the column portion and the second annular surface in sequence along the axial direction.

In one embodiment, the outer diameters of the first annular surface and the second annular surface are both larger than the outer diameter of the column portion.

In one embodiment, a reinforcing member is further included, which is embedded in the main body; the reinforcing member has a plurality of reinforcing parts, which respectively correspond to the matching parts of the main body.

In one embodiment, each of the matching portions of the main body is provided with two through holes, and at least a portion of the reinforcement is exposed from at least one of the through holes.

In one embodiment, each of the reinforcing portions has a second accommodating hole and two through holes; the second accommodating hole is used to form a portion of the accommodating hole of the matching portion; the two through holes are adjacent to the second accommodating hole and correspond to the two through holes, and the aperture of one of the two through holes is larger than the other.

In one embodiment, the main body is covered on the outer side of the reinforcing member by one injection molding; and the buffer members are filled in the receiving holes of the main body by two injection molding.

In one embodiment, each of the driving members has a first screw connection and a second screw connection that can be locked with each other; the first screw connection has a first limiting surface on one side adjacent to the buffer; the second screw connection has a second limiting surface facing the first limiting surface on one side adjacent to the claw portion; the driving member forms a limiting distance between the first limiting surface and the second limiting surface; when the first screw connection and the second screw connection are completely locked, the limiting distance is greater than the sum of the widths of the claw portion and the buffer, so that the driving wheel can float axially relative to the claw plate.

The front drive structure of the bicycle provided by the present invention absorbs part of the torque from the crank by the elastic deformation of the buffer parts, and prolongs the time for the torque to be transmitted to the drive belt, thereby improving the wear problem of the conventional drive belt caused by the instantaneous excessive tension. On the other hand, the reinforcement part integrally formed inside the main body of the drive wheel can enhance the structural strength of the entire drive wheel, thereby relatively prolonging the service life of the front drive structure.

The following is a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention in accordance with the objectives, effects and structural configurations disclosed in the present invention, with accompanying drawings.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, which disclose that the front driving structure of a bicycle provided by the first preferred embodiment of the present invention is installed on a bicycle 1. The front driving structure of the bicycle mainly includes a driving wheel 10, a claw plate 20, a crank 30 and a plurality of driving parts 40.

The crank 30 is rotatably mounted on a frame 2 of the bicycle 1. The claw plate 20 is mounted on one end of the crank 30 and connected to the driving wheel 10, so that the driving wheel 10 is located at one side of the bicycle 1. A driven wheel 3 is mounted on the frame 2 of the bicycle 1 at one end opposite to the driving wheel 10 and connected to a rear wheel (not shown) of the bicycle 1. Specifically, the driving wheel 10 is located at the front side of the frame 2, and the driven wheel 3 is located at the rear side of the frame 2. A transmission belt 4 is hung around the driving wheel 10 and the driven wheel 3, so that the driving wheel 10 can be connected to the driven wheel 3 through the transmission belt 4. When a user drives the crank 30 to rotate, the driving wheel 10 can be driven to rotate, and then the power is transmitted to the driven wheel 3 through the transmission belt 4, so that the driven wheel 3 can drive the rear wheel to rotate, and the bicycle 1 can move forward. In this embodiment, the driving wheel 10 and the driven wheel 3 are belt pulleys, and the transmission belt 4 is a belt corresponding to the belt pulleys. In another embodiment, the driving wheel and the transmission wheel can be a single sprocket or a speed sprocket (multi-sprocket) structure, and the transmission belt is a chain structure corresponding to the sprocket.

Please refer to Figures 2 to 6, the driving wheel 10 has a body 11, a reinforcement member 14 and a plurality of buffer members 16. The body 11 is an annular component, having a plurality of engagement portions 12 surrounding the outer annular surface of the body 11 for engagement with the transmission belt 4. The body 11 also has a plurality of matching portions 13 formed on the inner annular surface of the body 11 and extending toward the center of the body 11. Each of the matching portions 13 has a receiving hole 130 and two through holes 131. The penetration directions of the receiving hole 130 and the two through holes 131 are generally parallel to the axial direction of the driving wheel 10. The receiving hole 130 is located at the center of the matching portion 13 , and the two through holes 131 are adjacent to the receiving hole 130 .

The reinforcing member 14 is an annular member embedded in the body 11. The reinforcing member 14 has a plurality of reinforcing portions 15 corresponding to the matching portions 13. Each of the reinforcing portions 15 has a second receiving hole 150. The second receiving hole 150 is used to form a portion of the receiving hole 130 of the matching portion 13, and its penetration direction is generally parallel to the axial direction of the reinforcing member 14. When the reinforcing member 14 is embedded in the body 11, at least a portion of the reinforcing member 14 is exposed from the body 11. Specifically, the reinforcing member 14 is provided with two through holes 151 on each of the reinforcing portions 15, respectively corresponding to the two through holes 131 on the matching portion 13. In this embodiment, the diameter of one of the two through holes 151 on each reinforcing portion 15 is larger than the other, and the diameter of the through hole 151 with the larger diameter is larger than the diameter of the two through holes 131, and the diameter of the through hole 151 with the smaller diameter is smaller than the diameter of the two through holes 131. Therefore, when the reinforcing member 14 is embedded in the body 11, at least a portion of each reinforcing portion 15 of the reinforcing member 14 will be exposed from the through holes 131 of the body 11. In this embodiment, the material of the reinforcing member 14 can be aluminum or steel. In another embodiment, the reinforcing member may also be any other metal material or an equivalent non-metal material having a hardness greater than that of the main body and the buffer members.

The buffer members 16 are respectively disposed in the receiving holes 130 of the body 11. The shape of each buffer member 16 corresponds to the receiving hole 130, so that the buffer member 16 can completely fill the receiving holes 130. Please refer to FIG. 6, the buffer member 16 is a cylindrical elastic member with a certain thickness, having a column 160, a first annular surface 161 and a second annular surface 162. The column 160 is located between the first annular surface 161 and the second annular surface 162 and is respectively connected to the first annular surface 161 and the second annular surface 162, so that the first annular surface 161 and the second annular surface 162 are respectively located at the axial ends of the column 160. The outer diameters of the first annular surface 161 and the second annular surface 162 are both larger than the column 160. The buffer 16 further has a through hole 163 and a plurality of deformed holes 164 that axially penetrate the first annular surface 161, the column 160, and the second annular surface 162. The deformed holes 164 are radially arranged around the through hole 163 and surround the through hole 163. The penetration directions of the through hole 163 and the deformed holes 164 are substantially parallel to the axial direction of the buffer 16. In this embodiment, the buffers 16 are made of a plastic material with elasticity, and the body 11 is made of a plastic material with wear resistance. Since the rigidity of the body 11 is greater than that of the buffers 16, in other words, the flexibility of the buffers 16 is greater than that of the body. Therefore, when the buffers 16 are subjected to force, the buffers 16 can be deformed relative to the body 11. In another embodiment, the buffers and the body may be made of the same material, and the deformation holes are simply arranged on the buffers to generate deformation; or the deformation holes are not arranged on the buffers, and the buffers and the body are only configured differently in material flexibility (hardness) to generate deformation of the buffers. In this embodiment, a gasket 165 is further provided on one side of the buffer 16, which abuts against the second annular surface 162 of the buffer 16.

The claw plate 20 is coupled to one end of the crank 30 and is driven to rotate by the crank 30. The claw plate 20 has a plurality of claws 21. The claw plate 20 is disposed on one side of the driving wheel 10 so that each claw 21 corresponds to each of the matching portions 13 of the body 11. Furthermore, each of the claws 21 has a second through hole 22, and each of the second through holes 22 corresponds to the through hole 163 of the adjacent buffer member 16. In this embodiment, the claw plate 20 is integrally formed with the crank 30. In another embodiment, the claw plate and the crank may be two independent components.

The driving members 40 are respectively connected to each of the buffer members 16 and the claw plate 20, so as to be driven and exert force on the buffer members 16, so that the buffer members 16 can be subjected to force and drive the driving wheel 10 to rotate. In this embodiment, each of the driving members 40 has a first screw member 41 and a second screw member 42. The first screw member 41 is a hollow tubular member, which penetrates the through hole 163 of the buffer member 16 along one side of the driving wheel 10, and the first screw member 41 has a screw hole 410 with internal threads. The second screw-connector 42 passes through the second through hole 22 of the claw portion 21 and is provided with external threads around it for engaging with the screw hole 410 of the first screw-connector 41 .

According to the above structural configuration, when a user drives the crank 30, the claw plate 20 is driven, so that the claw plate 20 is driven to rotate. The driving members 40 are driven by the claws 21 of the claw plate 20 to apply an instantaneous torque to the buffer members 16. At this time, since the buffer members 16 are provided with the deformation holes 164, and the material flexibility of the buffer members 16 is greater than that of the body 11, the buffer members 16 will deform along the deformation holes 164 relative to the body 11 under the condition of force, and then transmit the torque to the body 11, so that the driving wheel 10 generates torque to drive the transmission belt 4 to rotate. Thus, the present invention can absorb part of the torque from the crank 30 and prolong the time for the torque to be transmitted to the transmission belt 4, thereby improving the wear problem of the conventional transmission belt caused by the instantaneous excessive tension.

Please refer to FIG. 7 . In this embodiment, the driving wheel 10 is an integrated structure formed by secondary injection molding. The manufacturing method includes the following steps:

The first injection molding step is to put the reinforcing member 14 into a first mold (not shown) and use plastic injection molding to form the main body 11 covering the outer side of the reinforcing member 14. The main body 11 is formed with the receiving holes 130.

Secondary injection molding step: the body 11 is placed in a second mold (not shown) and a plurality of buffers 16 are formed by plastic injection molding to fill the receiving holes 130 of the body 11, so that the reinforcing member 14, the body 11 and the buffers 16 are combined to form the driving wheel 10. Each of the buffers 16 has the deformable holes 164.

Please refer to FIG. 8 , the driving structure of the bicycle disclosed in the second preferred embodiment of the present invention is similar to the structure of the first preferred embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the first screw connection member 41 of each driving member 40 has a first limiting surface 411 adjacent to one side of the buffer member 16. The second screw connection member 42 has a second limiting surface 421 adjacent to one side of the claw portion 21 facing the first limiting surface 411. The driving member 40 further forms a limiting distance A between the first limiting surface 411 and the second limiting surface 421. When the first screw connection 41 and the second screw connection 42 are completely locked, the limiting distance A of the driving member 40 is greater than the sum of the widths B of the claw portion 21 and the buffer member 16, or the first limiting surface 411 and the second limiting surface 421 respectively form a small gap between the buffer member 16 and the claw portion 21. Thereby, the driving wheel 10 can float axially relative to the claw plate 20, and the first limiting surface 411 and the second limiting surface 421 can limit the axial floating of the driving wheel 10 between the two.

In summary, the front drive structure of the bicycle provided by the present invention can absorb part of the torque from the crank by the elastic deformation of the buffer parts, and prolong the time for the torque to be transmitted to the drive belt, thereby improving the wear problem of the conventional pulley caused by the instantaneous excessive tension. On the other hand, the reinforcement part integrally formed inside the main body of the drive wheel can enhance the structural strength of the entire drive wheel, and relatively prolong the service life of the front drive structure.

The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the technology and its effects of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art may modify and alter the above embodiments without violating the technical principles and spirit of the present invention, and therefore the scope of protection of the present invention shall be as described in the patent application scope below.

1: Bicycle 2: Frame 3: Driven wheel 4: Drive belt 10: Driving wheel 11: Body 12: Engagement part 13: Matching part 130: Accommodation hole 131: Through hole 14: Reinforcement part 15: Reinforcement part 150: Second accommodation hole 151: Through hole 16: Buffer part 160: Column part 161: First annular surface 162: Second annular surface 163: Through hole 164: Deformation hole 165: Gasket 20: Claw plate 21: Claw part 22: Second through hole 30: Crank 40: Driving part 41: First screw connection part 410: screw hole 411: first limiting surface 42: second screw connection 421: second limiting surface

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the appearance of the present invention installed on a bicycle. Figure 2 is a three-dimensional diagram of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a decomposition diagram of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention in another direction. Figure 6 is a three-dimensional view of the buffer of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the schematic process of injection molding of the present invention. Figure 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

10: Driving wheel

11: Body

13: Matching part

16: Buffer

20: Claw plate

21: Claws

30: Crank

40:Driver

Claims (10)

A front driving structure of a bicycle is used to connect a transmission belt to transmit torque, and includes: A driving wheel having a body and a plurality of buffers; the body is used to connect to the transmission belt, and the body has a plurality of matching parts, each of which is respectively provided with a receiving hole; the buffers are respectively arranged in the receiving holes to fill the receiving holes; A claw plate is arranged on one side of the driving wheel; the claw plate has a plurality of claws, and the claws respectively correspond to the matching parts of the driving wheel; and A plurality of driving parts respectively pass through the claws of the claw plate and the matching parts of the body, and are connected to the buffers; When the claw plate is driven by torque to drive the driving parts to move, the driving parts apply force to the buffer parts to cause the buffer parts to deform relative to the main body, and the driving wheel drives the transmission belt to rotate. The front driving structure of a bicycle as described in claim 1, wherein the buffer member has a plurality of deformation holes, and the penetration direction of the deformation holes is generally parallel to the axial direction of the driving member. The front driving structure of a bicycle as described in claim 2, wherein the buffer member has a through hole for the driving member to pass through, and the deformable holes of the buffer member surround the through hole. A front driving structure of a bicycle as described in claim 2, wherein the buffer has a column portion, a first annular surface and a second annular surface; the column portion is located between the first annular surface and the second annular surface to connect the first annular surface and the second annular surface, so that the first annular surface and the second annular surface are located at the axial ends of the column portion; wherein the deformable holes penetrate the first annular surface, the column portion and the second annular surface in sequence along the axial direction. A front driving structure for a bicycle as described in claim 4, wherein the outer diameters of the first annular surface and the second annular surface are both larger than the outer diameter of the column portion. The front driving structure of the bicycle as described in claim 1 further includes a reinforcement member buried inside the main body; the reinforcement member has a plurality of reinforcement parts, which respectively correspond to the matching parts of the main body. The front drive structure of a bicycle as described in claim 6, wherein each of the matching parts of the main body is provided with two through holes, and at least a portion of the reinforcement is exposed from at least one of the through holes. A front driving structure of a bicycle as described in claim 7, wherein each of the reinforcement parts has a second accommodating hole and two through holes; the second accommodating hole is used to form a part of the accommodating hole of the matching part; the two through holes are adjacent to the second accommodating hole and correspond to the two through holes, and the hole diameter of one of the two through holes is larger than the other. The front drive structure of a bicycle as described in claim 1, wherein the main body is covered on the outer side of the reinforcement by one-shot injection molding; and the buffer parts are filled in the receiving holes of the main body by two-shot injection molding. A front driving structure of a bicycle as described in claim 1, wherein each driving member has a first screw connection and a second screw connection that can be locked with each other; the first screw connection has a first limiting surface on one side adjacent to the buffer; the second screw connection has a second limiting surface facing the first limiting surface on one side adjacent to the claw portion; the driving member forms a limiting distance between the first limiting surface and the second limiting surface; when the first screw connection and the second screw connection are completely locked, the limiting distance is greater than the sum of the widths of the claw portion and the buffer, so that the driving wheel can float axially relative to the claw plate.

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