JPS6258957B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a bicycle handlebar post, which is improved so that the central part of the handlebar that is inserted through the clamp part is reliably held with extremely small tightening force. Regarding.

In the conventional handlebar post, the handlebar is connected and held by the following structure.

As shown in Figure 1, this structure basically consists of a cylindrical inner surface with a slightly larger diameter than the outer diameter of the central part of the handlebar c to be held at the tip of the forward protruding rod b of the handlebar post a. d, and has a notch f that can be reduced by a screw means e, and after inserting the handlebar c into the annular portion of the clamp portion g, the screw is inserted. When the notch part f is reduced by the means e to forcibly reduce the inner diameter of the clamp part g, the handlebar c is fixedly held by being tightened by the clamp part g. As shown in FIG. 2, the above-mentioned clamp part g has a pair of opposing walls h and j forming the notch part f, one h of which is provided with an internal thread n, and the other j is provided with a bolt insertion hole k, By screwing the bolt m inserted into the bolt insertion hole k into the female thread n, the distance between the opposing walls h and j, that is, the gap between the notch f, is reduced. By the way, the above female thread n and bolt insertion hole k
As shown in FIG. 2, for reasons of processing equipment or to facilitate processing, the clamp parts g had to be provided so that they had the same axis in their natural state. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when the notch f is reduced and the handlebar c is fixed and held, the axes of the female screw n and the bolt insertion hole k, which were on the same axis in the natural state, are aligned. There was a problem in that the bolts intersected at a certain angle, and as a result, the bolts m were bent during tightening or in the tightened state. This means that much of the torque for tightening the bolt m is directed to the force that bends the bolt m, so a greater force than is originally necessary is required to tighten the bolt m all the way. Bolt m when tightened
The fact that the bolt m is bent means that more force than necessary is required to loosen the bolt m. Furthermore, it is even more difficult to reuse the bolt m once bent. Furthermore, in this conventional structure, the clamp part g, which in its natural state has an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical handlebar c to be tightened, is forced to reduce its inner diameter to about the outer diameter of the handlebar c. Since the handlebar c is fixed and held in a state where it is elastically deformed, the tightening force of the bolt m is not only the force for the original purpose of tightening and holding the handlebar c, but also the tightening force of the clamp part g. The force for elastically reducing the inner diameter must also be borne, and therefore:
Even in this case, the torque for tightening the bolt m is required to be greater than what is originally required, and the bolt m also needs to be thick. For this reason, this type of holding structure, which has been common in the past, requires an extremely large tightening torque beyond what is originally necessary in order to tighten the screw means.
The work was extremely difficult.

The present invention was devised under the above circumstances, and is capable of firmly holding the middle portion of the handlebar with an extremely small tightening force, and in which the tightening screws are tightened in the tightened state. The object is to provide an improved handle post that does not get damaged when bent.

In order to achieve such an objective, the present invention:
The following technical measures have been taken:

That is, an annular clamp portion having a cylindrical inner surface and a notch sandwiched between a pair of opposing walls is provided at the tip of the upper forward protruding rod, and the center portion of the handlebar is inserted through the cylindrical inner surface. In the bicycle handlebar post to be held, the inner diameter of the cylindrical inner surface is set to be approximately the same as the outer diameter of the center part of the handlebar that is inserted through the handlebar post, and one wall of the pair of opposing walls is A first bolt that is threaded through the drilled screw hole and whose tip can abut against the inner surface of the other wall; A second bolt is provided which is screwed into the screw hole provided in the wall and has a larger head extending from the through hole, and the screw directions of the first bolt and the second bolt are opposite to each other.

When the first bolt is screwed in while the second bolt is sufficiently loosened, its tip pushes against the other wall, so the distance between the pair of opposing walls, that is, the distance between the notches increases, and the inner surface of the cylindrical surface increases. The inner diameter is wider than the set size in its natural state. In this state, the handlebar can be passed through the annular clamp portion having a cylindrical inner surface without any problem. Then, when the first bolt is screwed back, the annular clamp part shrinks due to its own elastic restoring force until the inner diameter of the cylindrical inner surface becomes equal to the outer diameter of the central part of the handlebar.

Then, when the second bolt is threaded, its large diameter head, together with the first bolt, forcibly brings one wall closer to the other wall. At this time, since the screw directions of the first and second bolts are opposite to each other, the first bolt may inadvertently rotate with the second bolt when threading the second bolt. There is no.
In this way, the distance between the notches is reduced,
In other words, the inner diameter of the cylindrical inner surface tends to decrease. Due to this diameter reduction, the center portion of the handlebar is firmly held under pressure by the cylindrical inner surface, and as a result, the center portion of the handlebar is firmly fixed to the clamp portion.

In the present invention, since the inner diameter of the cylindrical inner surface of the clamp part in its natural state corresponds to the outer diameter of the central part of the handlebar, after the first bolt is loosened and the cylindrical inner surface returns to its natural state, The original tightening action by the second bolt begins.

Therefore, almost all of the tightening force exerted by the second bolt is used to hold the central portion of the handlebar in a tightened state. Therefore, the torque applied to the bolt is dramatically smaller than the torque applied to the screw in a conventional handle post. In addition, since there is almost no change in the inner diameter of the cylindrical inner surface of the clamp part from the start of tightening with the second bolt to the end of tightening, there is no possibility that the second bolt will bend during or after tightening. .

Furthermore, in the present invention, since the second bolt is passed through the axial through hole provided in the first bolt and the first and second bolts are configured coaxially, the length of the handlebar in the axial direction of the clamp portion can be adjusted. It is possible to shorten the length and avoid increasing the size of the clamp section.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings from FIG. 4 onwards.

FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of one embodiment of the handle post of the present invention. As can be seen from this figure, the handle post 1 has a clamp portion 3 formed at the tip of its forward protruding rod 2, and is adapted to hold the center portion of the handlebar 4 therein.

As clearly shown in FIG. 5, the clamp portion 3 has an annular shape with a cylindrical inner surface 5, and a cutout portion 6 is formed in a part of the ring.
When the interval between the notches 6 is forcibly widened, the clamp section 3 is elastically deformed so that the inner diameter of its cylindrical inner surface 5 is expanded, and conversely, when this interval is forcibly reduced, the inner diameter of the cylindrical inner surface 5 is deforms elastically so that it shrinks. In the present invention, when the clamp portion 3 is in its natural state, the inner diameter D of its cylindrical inner surface is made to be approximately the same as the outer diameter d of the central portion of the handlebar 4, which is the object to be held.

The cutout portion 6 includes a pair of opposing walls 7 that face each other in parallel across the gap between the cutout portion 6;
8 are integrally formed. These opposing walls 7, 8
, a first bolt 13 for forcibly widening the distance between these opposing walls 7 and 8, and a second bolt 14 for forcibly reducing the distance between these opposing walls 7 and 8. , are arranged coaxially.

In the example shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, one wall 7
A first bolt 13 having an axial through hole 12 is screwed into the screw hole 11 bored in the hole 11, and the tip of the first bolt 13 is brought into contact with the inner surface of the other wall 8. The threaded end portion 14a of the second bolt 14 inserted into the hole 12 is screwed into a threaded hole 15 formed in the other wall 8. The first bolt 13 has a left-hand thread, and when it is turned in the tightening direction, that is, counterclockwise, its tip 13a comes into contact with the inner surface of the other wall 8 and pushes it outward. , the distance between the opposing walls 7 and 8 is forcibly expanded. On the other hand, the second bolt 14 has a right-hand thread, and as it is turned in the tightening direction, that is, clockwise, its head 14b remains in contact with the top surface of the head 13b of the first bolt 13. Since the tip threaded portion 14a threads through the threaded hole 15 of the other wall 8, the distance between the opposing walls 7 and 8 is forcibly reduced. At this time, since the first bolt 13 and the second bolt 14 have opposite spiral directions, the second bolt 13
4, even if it abuts against the head of the first bolt 13, the first bolt 13 does not rotate with the head of the first bolt 13, so the work can be carried out conveniently.

Next, a method of fixing and holding the handlebar 4 using the clamp portion 3 of this embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 5 shows the first bolt 13 and the second bolt 1.
4 shows a state in which no force is applied, and therefore, the clamp portion 3 is also in its natural state, that is, its inner diameter D is approximately the same as the outer diameter d of the handlebar 4. In this state, the handlebar 4 cannot be passed through the clamp portion 3. In the present invention, first, the first bolt 13 is rotated in the tightening direction, that is, counterclockwise, and the tip 13a of the first bolt 13 pushes the inner surface of the opposing wall 8. As shown by imaginary lines in the figure, the distance between the opposing walls 7 and 8 is forcibly expanded, and the handlebar 4 is passed through the clamp portion 3 with the inner diameter D sufficiently expanded. After passing the handlebar 4 through, the first bolt 13 is rotated in the loosening direction until the clamp part 3 returns to its natural state. At this time, the tip 13a of the first bolt and the wall 8
It is important to loosen it until it completely separates from the inner surface of the body. When the clamp part 3 returns to its natural state, its cylindrical inner surface 5 comes into close contact with the outer surface of the handlebar 4.
This is because the inner diameter D of the cylindrical inner surface 5 of the clamp portion 3 is set to be approximately the same as the outer diameter d of the handlebar 4. Therefore, if the inner diameter D of this cylindrical inner surface 5 is made slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the handlebar, when the clamp part 3 returns to its natural state as described above, it will be held back by its own elasticity. Since the handlebar 4 can be temporarily held by holding the handlebar 4, it is convenient for the subsequent tightening and fixing work to be carried out smoothly. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, use a wrench (not shown) to prevent the first bolt 13 from rotating.
When the second bolt 14 is rotated in the tightening direction, that is, clockwise, while being held by a screw or the like, the threaded end portion 14a of the second bolt 14 comes to be threaded into the screw hole 11 of the wall 8, and the clamp portion 3 A force is applied to reduce the inner surface 5 of the clamp portion 3, and the contact pressure between the inner surface 5 of the clamp portion 3 and the face of the handlebar 4 increases. The frictional force generated by this contact pressure effectively prevents axial movement or rotation of the handlebar 4. As shown in the figure, the first bolt 13 and the second bolt 14 are screws that turn in opposite directions, so as explained earlier, when tightening the second bolt 14, The first bolt 13 does not rotate in the same direction.

On the contrary, in order to remove the handlebar 4 from the clamp part 3, the second bolt 14 is sufficiently loosened, and then the first bolt 13 is screwed on to widen the inner diameter of the clamp part 3.

As is clear from the above description, in the bicycle handlebar post of the present invention, the clamp portion 3
is configured such that its inner surface is already in close contact with the outer surface of the central portion of the handlebar in its natural state, and from this state a force for tightening the handlebar is applied by the second bolt. Therefore, even if a torque is applied to the second bolt when fixing the handlebar, the clamp part 3 is hardly deformed, and the contact pressure between its cylindrical inner surface and the outer surface of the handlebar is only increased. . From this, in the present invention, all of the torque applied to the second bolt is converted into force for holding the object to be held, and therefore the clamp part is elastically deformed by the tightening torque of the bolt. It will be understood that the handlebar can be effectively and firmly fixed and held with a small amount of force, compared to the conventional handlebar post which has to bear the force and the force for bending the bolt. Moreover, in the present invention, since the first bolt and the second bolt are coaxial, the entire clamp portion can be made compact, and the weight of the handle post can be reduced at the same time.

Furthermore, since the threading directions of the first and second bolts are opposite to each other, when the second bolt is turned to tighten the handlebar, the first bolt will not inadvertently turn in the same direction. It also has the effect of being extremely flexible.

Of course, the scope of the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, in the embodiment, the first bolt has a left-handed thread and the second bolt has a right-handed thread, but conversely, the first bolt may have a right-handed thread and the second bolt may have a left-handed thread.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional example, FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views showing main parts of the conventional example, and FIGS. 4 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are views corresponding to the cross-section taken along the line -- in FIG. 4 for explaining the operation of this embodiment. 1...Handle post, 2...Front protruding rod, 3
... Clamp part, 4 ... Handlebar, 5 ... Cylindrical inner surface, 6 ... Notch part, 7, 8 ... Opposing wall, 11 ... Screw hole, 12 ... Axial direction through hole, 1
3...First bolt, 14...Second bolt, 15...
...screw hole.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An annular clamp portion having a cylindrical inner surface and a notch sandwiched between a pair of opposing walls is provided at the tip of the upper forward protruding rod, and the cylindrical inner surface is provided with a handlebar. In a bicycle handlebar post whose center portion is inserted and held, the inner diameter of the cylindrical inner surface is set to be approximately the same as the outer diameter of the center portion of the handlebar that is inserted through it, and A first bolt that is threaded through a screw hole drilled in one wall of the wall and whose tip can abut against the inner surface of the other wall; At the same time, a second bolt is provided which is screwed into a screw hole provided in the other wall and has a head having a larger diameter than the through hole, and the threading direction of the first bolt and the second bolt are aligned with each other. A bicycle handle post characterized by being oriented in the opposite direction.