JPS6220957B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a bicycle pedal, in particular, a bicycle pedal in which a pedal body having a tread surface is rotatably supported on a crank arm of a bicycle crank, and the crank is rotated by stepping on the tread surface. Regarding pedals.

In general, a pedal body of a bicycle pedal has a tread surface parallel to the axis of the pedal shaft, which is parallel to the axis of the pedal shaft, and which is a horizontal surface.

By the way, when forming a conventional pedal body, the skeleton of the human ankle, the function of the skeleton during pedaling, and the bending and stretching movements of the lower limbs are not considered at all, and therefore the energy of pedaling is not used effectively. As a result, there was a problem of early fatigue.

The present invention focused on the fact that by studying the ankle skeleton and its functions, as well as the bending and stretching movements of the lower limbs when operating the pedals, it is possible to utilize stepping energy to the maximum extent possible, making it possible to operate the pedals with less fatigue. It is something.

First, the ankle skeleton and lower limb movement, which are the basis of the present invention, will be briefly explained.

The human ankle skeleton consists of a combination of 26 bones, and these bones can be roughly divided into tarsals, metatarsals, and phalanges, and the tarsals are made up of large bones. , heel bone, quadrate bone, navicular bone and first
The seven bones of the third to third cunei are closely combined, and the metatarsals extend in front of the tarsal bones, and the five bones of the first to fifth metatarsals, which are the same number as the index, are
There is a book, and each of these metatarsals are lined up laterally. The phalanges are connected to each metatarsal bone and extend forward to form fingers, with two first phalanges forming the thumb and three each of the second to fifth phalanges forming other fingers. It is made up of a total of 14 bones.

In addition, the foot skeleton constructed as described above forms an arch with the tarsal bones and metatarsals when supporting the body weight, and when analyzed from a functional perspective, it is divided into the medial group that forms a large arch. , divided into lateral groups forming small arches.

That is, the inner group consists of the heel bone, quadrate bone, and first to third cuneiform bones in the tarsal bones, the first to third metatarsal bones in the metatarsal bones, and the first to third phalanges in the phalanges. consists of, and
The outer group consists of the giant bones of the tarsal bones, the navicular bones, the fourth and fifth metatarsal bones, and the fourth and fifth phalanges of the phalanges.

The inner group supports the body weight and acts as a spring to kick off the ground when taking a step, while the outer group balances the center of gravity and smoothes the movement of the foot. .

On the other hand, when bending and extending the lower limbs, the hip and knee joints are moved by the action of multiple flexor and extensor muscles, but the biceps femoris muscle, which is involved in the movement of the knee joint, moves between the pelvis and lower leg bones. Because the biceps femoris muscle acts in a spiral manner, the knee joint undergoes flexion and external rotation at the same time, giving an outward turning moment to the ankle.

Therefore, in the present invention, in order to effectively utilize the stepping force, it is necessary to It is effective to place the pressure point on the first metatarsal side while keeping the center of gravity in contact with the pedal body and balancing the center of gravity on the fifth metatarsal side. The contact position with respect to the pedal body is changed from the contact position on the fifth metatarsal side to the axial center side of the pedal axis, and an outward turning moment about the pedal force point generated due to external rotation of the knee joint is generated. They discovered that it is effective to try to accept the situation.

An object of the present invention is to form an inner tread surface and an outer tread surface in consideration of the skeletal structure and function of the ankle when forming tread surfaces on a pedal body, and to position these tread surfaces in consideration of lower limb movement performed when operating the pedal. This allows you to pedal with less fatigue by effectively utilizing the pedaling energy.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bicycle pedal in which the foot can be stably placed on the pedal body when the pedal is not operated.

As described above, the present invention takes into account the behavior of the skeleton and muscles of the cyclist's lower limbs (including the feet) when stepping on the pedal, and provides a pedal body with a pedal shaft located on the side where it is attached to the crank arm. A tread portion having an inner tread surface and an outer tread surface located axially outward of the pedal shaft with respect to the inner tread surface, and the inner tread surface and the outer tread surface are connected to the axial center of the pedal shaft. On the other hand, the elastic force of the inner tread surface is made weaker than the elastic force of the outer tread surface. By displacing it to the side and creating an elastic force that counters the turning moment acting outward in the axial direction of the pedal shaft, the femoral head portion on the fifth metatarsal side is brought into contact with the outer tread surface, thereby balancing the center of gravity. While keeping the foot in place and allowing smooth foot movement, contact the head of the first metatarsal bone with the medial tread surface,
A pedal effort point is placed on the femoral head to allow the pedal force to be effectively transmitted to the pedal body, as well as to absorb the outward turning moment caused by the external rotation of the knee joint when the pedal is depressed.

In addition, in the present invention, the displacement of the inner tread surface is
This is done so that it can be carried out when the pedal is pressed down, but it is not limited to those that always displace when the pedal is pressed; it does not displace when the pressing load is low, such as when driving at high speed on a flat road, and when the pressing load is low. This includes those in which the outer tread surface is displaced when the load exceeds a predetermined load, and the displacement of the outer tread surface also includes those in which the outer tread surface does not displace even when the stepping load exceeds a predetermined load.

Next, an embodiment of the pedal of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

The pedal shown in the drawing is a right pedal in which a pedal body 1 is integrally molded using aluminum alloy or synthetic resin, and this pedal body 1 is connected to a pedal frame 3 having a pedal shaft 2.

The pedal body 1 has an upper surface and a lower surface,
These upper and lower surfaces are made asymmetrical, and an inner cavity 10 extending in the left-right direction (internal and external directions) is provided approximately at the center in the front-rear direction, and an inner tread surface 11 and an outer tread surface 12, which will be described later, are formed on the upper surface. That's what I do.

Further, the pedal frame 3 includes the inner cavity 1
0 and has an elongated shape, and the pedal shaft 2 is integrally formed at one end (inner end) in the length direction.

The pedal shaft 2 has a fixed tube 4 having a screw 41 that is screwed into a screw hole provided at the tip of a crank arm of a bicycle crank, and a pair of balls 5,
The pedal shaft 2 is provided with a ball race 21 for receiving one of the balls 5, 6, and a ball for receiving the other 5 of the balls 5, 6. race 71
A ball pusher 7 with a diameter is screwed on. Furthermore, the second and third
In the figure, 8 is a lock nut and 9 is a reflector.

Therefore, the inner tread surface 11 provided on the pedal body 1 is provided so that the bone head portion on the first metatarsal side in the aforementioned foot skeleton comes into contact with the inner tread surface 11, and the outer tread surface 12 is provided on the inner tread surface 11 so as to contact the bone head portion of the first metatarsal bone. The femoral head portions of the 5th metatarsal side are in contact with each other, and the femoral head portions of the 5th metatarsal side are in contact with each other.
The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 separates the inner tread surface 11 and the outer tread surface 12, and
a pedal body 1 formed separately from the pedal body 1;
3, the outer tread surface 12 is provided integrally with the pedal body 1, and the tread body 13 is formed of an elastic material such as styrene foam.

That is, the inner tread surface 11 is made elastically displaceable under a predetermined load that is smaller than that of the outer tread surface 12, and when the pedal is depressed, the inner tread surface 11 is displaced toward the axis of the pedal shaft 2 with respect to the outer tread surface. This was done so as to absorb the outward turning moment (clockwise for the right pedal) caused by the external rotation of the knee joint.

More specifically, the inner tread surface 11 is sized so that at least the head of the first metatarsal comes into contact with it, as shown in FIG. A tread body 13 having a recessed portion 1a formed near the axis, and the inner tread surface 11 provided in the recessed portion 1a.
The tread body 13 is then pressurized and fixed by thermal welding, such as applying ultrasonic waves to the outer periphery of the tread body 13 to melt it. Note that the recessed portion 1
The longitudinal center of a is located toward the front with respect to the axis of the pedal shaft 2.

Further, the tread body 13 is formed so as to be elastically deformed when the tread force is greater than a predetermined level, but it may be formed to be elastically deformed when the tread body 13 is stepped on, regardless of the tread force.

On the other hand, the outer tread surface 12 has at least a fifth
It is sized so that the head portion of the metatarsal bone comes into contact with it, and is formed near the center of the pedal body 1 in the front-rear direction. Note that the center of the outer tread surface 12 in the front-rear direction is located toward the rear with respect to the axis of the pedal shaft 2.

Although this outer tread surface 12 may be provided on a horizontal plane, it is preferable to incline the outer side upwardly as shown in FIG. The height should be made slightly higher than the height at .

It goes without saying that the outer tread surface 12 may be a horizontal surface, and its height may be the same as the height of the inner tread surface 11 when it is not displaced.

Therefore, when stepping on the pedal configured as described above, the head portion of the first metatarsal side of the foot placed on the pedal is placed on the medial tread surface 11, and
The femoral head portions on the fifth metatarsal side come into contact with the lateral tread surface 12, and while maintaining the balance of the center of gravity on the fifth metatarsal side and making the foot move smoothly, the first metatarsal side The depressing force is transmitted to the pedal body 1 as a point of depressing force, and when the pedal is depressed as described above, the inner tread surface 11 is elastically displaced toward the axis of the pedal shaft 2 with respect to the outer tread surface, and the inner tread surface 11 In other words, the outer tread surface 12 is located higher than the inner tread surface 11.
Since the outer tread surface 12 is substantially inclined, when the biceps femoris acts and external rotation occurs in the knee joint, that is, when the pedal moves in the range of 60 degrees to 200 degrees with respect to top dead center. At some point, the outward turning moment due to the external rotation movement is caused by the tread surface 1
1 and 12, and by this reception, part of the moment can be converted into a stepping force.

Furthermore, since the movement of the foot due to the moment is received by the tread surfaces 11 and 12, there is no need for extra muscle action to counteract the movement of the foot, which eliminates wasted energy consumption and reduces fatigue. Furthermore, when pulling up the pedal past the bottom dead center, the tread surface 1
Since the heads of the metatarsals 1 and 12 can be brought into contact with each other, it is possible to effectively pull up the metatarsals.

In the above explanation, the inner tread surface 11 is provided on the tread body 13 made of an elastic material formed separately from the pedal body 1, but as shown in FIG.
1 and the outer tread surface 12 are provided on first and second tread bodies 13 and 14 formed separately from the pedal body 1, and among these tread bodies 13 and 14, the first tread body 13 is made of an elastic material, and and second stepping body 1
3 and 14 are both made of elastic material, and the first stepping body 13
The elasticity of the second tread body 14 may be made weaker than that of the second tread body 14.

Further, the inner and outer tread surfaces 11 and 12 are provided on one tread body (referred to as a third tread body for convenience of explanation) 15 made of a rigid material and formed separately from the pedal body 1, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. , this third
The tread body 15 is attached to the pedal body 1 via a coil spring, a leaf spring, or another elastic body 16, so that the elastic displacement of the inner tread surface 11 toward the pedal shaft axis is made larger than the elastic displacement of the outer tread surface 12. may be completed.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the inner and outer tread surfaces 11 and 12 are provided on one tread body (referred to as a fourth tread body for convenience of explanation) 17, and this fourth tread body 17 is formed of an elastic material, The elasticity at the position where the inner tread surface 11 is formed may be made weaker than the elasticity at the position where the outer tread surface 12 is formed by, for example, providing a hole 17a in the fourth tread body 17.

Moreover, the pedal body 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a front tread surface 18, which the fingertips contact on the front side, and a rear tread surface 18, which the tarsal side of the metatarsal bone contacts, on the rear side, with respect to the inner and outer tread surfaces 11, 12. Although it has a tread 19, these front and rear treads 18, 19 are not particularly necessary.

As described above, the present invention provides a pedal body equipped with a pedal shaft, which has an inner tread surface located on the mounting side of the crank arm, and an inner tread surface located on the axially outer side of the pedal shaft with respect to the inner tread surface. Since the inner tread surface and the outer tread surface can be elastically displaced with respect to the axis of the pedal shaft, the pedal has good contact with the foot and can be comfortably stepped. The elastic force of the tread is made weaker than the elastic force of the outer tread, and when the pedal is depressed, the inner tread is displaced toward the axis of the pedal shaft with respect to the outer tread, and the elastic force is reduced to the axis of the pedal shaft. Since the elastic force is used to counteract the turning moment acting outward in the direction, if the pedal is not depressed or
When the stepping force is small, the horizontality of the inner tread surface and the outer tread surface can be maintained, and the foot can be placed stably. lateral displacement, the relationship between the inner tread surface and the outer tread surface can be made oblique, that is, the surface on which the pedal effort is transmitted to the pedal shaft.
The positional relationship with respect to the pedal axis is such that the position of the inner tread surface is closer to the position of the outer tread surface, and therefore, the outward rotation of the ankle due to the external rotation movement of the knee joint caused by the action of the biceps femoris muscle. Since the moment can be absorbed and returned to force in the direction of stepping, the loss of stepping energy can be reduced, and the positional displacement of the outer tread surface, which is in contact with the outer part of the foot, which is important for maintaining center of gravity balance, is the same as that of the inner tread surface. Even if a force is applied, the positional displacement is smaller than the positional displacement of the inner tread surface, so it is possible to unconsciously press the pedal in a very stable manner, and it is possible to provide a pedal with a high effective energy ratio.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the pedal of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 4 to 7. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram corresponding to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment. 1...Pedal body, 2...Pedal shaft, 11...
...Inner tread, 12...Outer tread, 13, 14, 1
5,17...Tread body.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A pedal body equipped with a pedal shaft has an inner tread surface located on the mounting side of the crank arm, and an outer tread surface located on the axially outward side of the pedal shaft with respect to the inner tread surface. The inner tread surface and the outer tread surface are made elastically displaceable with respect to the axis of the pedal shaft, while the elastic force of the inner tread surface is made weaker than the elastic force of the outer tread surface. The elastic force is an elastic force that, when the pedal is depressed, causes the inner tread surface to be displaced toward the axis of the pedal shaft relative to the outer tread surface, thereby resisting a turning moment that acts outward in the axial direction of the pedal shaft. Characteristic bicycle pedals. 2. The bicycle pedal according to claim 1, wherein the inner tread surface and the outer tread surface are separated, the inner tread surface is provided on a tread body formed separately from the pedal body, and the tread body is made of an elastic material. 3. An inner tread surface and an outer tread surface are separated, each of the tread surfaces is provided on first and second tread bodies formed separately from the pedal body, and among these tread bodies, the first tread surface provided with the inner tread surface is made of elastic material. A bicycle pedal according to claim 1, which is formed of a material. 4. The inner tread surface and the outer tread surface are provided on one tread body formed separately from the pedal body, and the tread body is
The bicycle pedal according to claim 1, which is attached to the pedal body via an inner elastic body and an outer elastic body, and wherein the inner elastic body has a weaker elastic force than the outer elastic body.