Bicycle hub that will not drive the pedal and will not produce noise when the hub is rotated in the backward direction

• US 7,938,242 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2008
• Issued: 05/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Chosen Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Chosen Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Chen, Ching-Shu
• Primary Examiner(s): Lorence; Richard M.
• Application Number:
  US12/272,066
• Publication Number:
  US 20100122886A1
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• Field of Search: 192/64
• US Class Current: 192/64
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 41/30 with hinged pawl co-operating with teeth, cogs, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/2135 Noiseless

Abstract

A hub for a bicycle includes a shaft, a hub body, a ratchet wheel, a damper, a drive seat, a plurality of pawl members, and a plurality of elastic plates. The ratchet wheel has a plurality of oneway ratchet teeth. The drive seat has a support base which has a plurality of receiving slots. Each of the pawl members has a locking detent. Thus, when the pedal is driven backward (and the drive seat is rotated backward), each of the pawl members is fully hidden in the respective receiving slot, and the locking detent of each of the pawl members is detached from the oneway ratchet teeth constantly, so that each of the pawl members will not touch the ratchet wheel when the pedal is driven backward to prevent from incurring a noise.

Claims

1. A hub for a bicycle, comprising:

a shaft;

a hub body rotatably mounted on the shaft;

a ratchet wheel secured in the hub body to drive the hub body to rotate relative to the shaft and having an inner wall provided with a plurality of oneway ratchet teeth;

a damper mounted between the shaft and the hub body and having a periphery provided with a plurality of oblique guide slots;

a drive seat rotatably mounted on the shaft and having a support base which is rotatable in the ratchet wheel and has a periphery provided with a plurality of receiving slots;

a plurality of pawl members each pivotally mounted in a respective one of the receiving slots of the support base of the drive seat and each having a side provided with a guide post which is movable in a respective one of the oblique guide slots of the damper to drive each of the pawl members to move between a first position where each of the pawl members meshes with the oneway ratchet teeth of the ratchet wheel so that the ratchet wheel is combined with and rotatable with the support base of the drive seat and a second position where each of the pawl members is detached from the oneway ratchet teeth of the ratchet wheel so that the ratchet wheel is released from and non-rotatable with the support base of the drive seat;

a plurality of elastic plates each pivotally mounted on the support base of the drive seat and each pressing a respective one of the pawl members to detach the respective pawl member from the oneway ratchet teeth of the ratchet wheel at a normal state.

2. The hub for a bicycle of claim 1, wherein

each of the receiving slots of the support base has a bottom provided with a pivot hole;

each of the pawl members has a first end provided with an enlarged pivot fulcrum pivotally mounted in the pivot hole of the respective receiving slot of the support base and a second end provided with a locking detent which is movable with the guide post to mesh with or detach from the oneway ratchet teeth of the ratchet wheel.

3. The hub for a bicycle of claim 2, wherein the second end of each of the pawl members is provided with the guide post.

4. The hub for a bicycle of claim 2, wherein

the periphery of the support base is provided with a plurality of retaining grooves each facing a respective one of the receiving slots to receive a respective one of the elastic plates;

each of the elastic plates is pivotally mounted in a respective one of the retaining grooves of the support base.

5. The hub for a bicycle of claim 4, wherein

each of the retaining grooves of the support base has a bottom provided with a pivot bore;

each of the elastic plates has a first end provided with an enlarged pivot portion pivotally mounted in the pivot bore of the respective retaining groove of the support base and a second end provided with a pressing portion which presses the locking detent of the respective pawl member.

6. The hub for a bicycle of claim 5, wherein

each of the pawl members has a peripheral wall provided with a limit groove to receive the respective elastic plate;

the pressing portion of each of the elastic plates is received in the limit groove of the respective pawl member.

7. The hub for a bicycle of claim 6, wherein the limit groove of each of the pawl members is located at a middle position of each of the pawl members.

8. The hub for a bicycle of claim 6, wherein the limit groove of each of the pawl members is located at a side of each of the pawl members.

9. The hub for a bicycle of claim 4, wherein each of the retaining grooves of the support base has an oblique shape.

10. The hub for a bicycle of claim 2, wherein

each of the oblique guide slots of the damper has an inner side and an outer side;

the inner side of each of the oblique guide slots is located between the shaft and the outer side of each of the oblique guide slots;

the outer side each of the oblique guide slots is located between the inner side of each of the oblique guide slots and the oneway ratchet teeth of the ratchet wheel.

11. The hub for a bicycle of claim 10, wherein

when the locking detent of each of the pawl members is movable to detach from the oneway ratchet teeth of the ratchet wheel, the guide post of each of the pawl members is located at the inner side of the respective guide slot of the damper;

when the locking detent of each of the pawl members is movable to mesh with the oneway ratchet teeth of the ratchet wheel, the guide post of each of the pawl members is located at the outer side of the respective guide slot of the damper.

12. The hub for a bicycle of claim 1, wherein the drive seat has a first end provided with the support base and a second end provided with a sprocket.

13. The hub for a bicycle of claim 1, wherein

the hub body has an inner wall provided with a stepped receiving chamber located beside the ratchet wheel to receive the damper;

each of the pawl members is rotatable with the support base of the drive seat and is rotatable relative to the damper and the shaft.

14. The hub for a bicycle of claim 1, wherein

each of the receiving slots of the support base has an oblique shape;

each of the pawl members has an oblique shape.

15. A hub for a bicycle, comprising:

a shaft;

a hub body rotatably mounted on the shaft;

a ratchet wheel secured in the hub body to drive the hub body to rotate relative to the shaft and having an inner wall provided with a plurality of oneway ratchet teeth;

a damper mounted between the shaft and the hub body and having a periphery provided with a plurality of oblique guide slots;

a drive seat rotatably mounted on the shaft and having a support base which is rotatable in the ratchet wheel and has a periphery provided with a plurality of receiving slots;

a plurality of pawl members each pivotally mounted in a respective one of the receiving slots of the support base of the drive seat and each having a side provided with a guide post which is movable in a respective one of the oblique guide slots of the damper to drive each of the pawl members to move between a first position where each of the pawl members meshes with the oneway ratchet teeth of the ratchet wheel so that the ratchet wheel is combined with and rotatable with the support base of the drive seat and a second position where each of the pawl members is detached from the oneway ratchet teeth of the ratchet wheel so that the ratchet wheel is released from and non-rotatable with the support base of the drive seat;

wherein;

the shaft has a mediate portion provided with an enlarged stop ring and has two opposite ends each provided with an outer thread;

the hub further comprises;

a biasing member mounted on the stop ring of the shaft and biased between the hub body and the damper to push the damper toward the support base of the drive seat;

a positioning bushing mounted between the shaft and the drive seat and having an enlarged first end abutting the stop ring of the shaft and the damper;

a self-lubricating bearing mounted between the positioning bushing and the drive seat;

a locking nut screwed onto the respective outer thread of the shaft and abutting a second end of the positioning bushing and the self-lubricating bearing.

16. The hub for a bicycle of claim 15, further comprising:

a bearing mounted in the receiving chamber of the hub body and located between the hub body and the biasing member;

wherein the biasing member is biased between the bearing and the damper.

17. The hub for a bicycle of claim 15, wherein the damper has a side provided with a retaining recess for retaining the biasing member.

18. The hub for a bicycle of claim 15, wherein

the drive seat has a central portion provided with a shaft hole;

the positioning bushing and the self-lubricating bearing are mounted in the shaft hole of the drive seat.

19. The hub for a bicycle of claim 15, wherein

the damper has a ring shape and is frictionally mounted on the stop ring of the shaft;

the damper has an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the ratchet wheel;

the support base of the drive seat has a substantially cylindrical shape and abuts the damper;

the damper is located between the hub body and the support base of the drive seat.