ARRANGEMENT FOR MOUNTING A REAR WHEEL AXLE

Abstract

An arrangement for mounting a rear wheel axle, having a dropout and a slide which is movable relative to a chain stay. The slide is displaceably arranged within the chain stay, which is hollow in this region, whilst the dropout is provided outside the chain stay and the slide and the dropout are connected to one another through at least one opening in the chain stay.

Claims

1. An arrangement for mounting a rear wheel axle, comprising a dropout (13, 43) and a slide (15, 60) which is movable relative to a chain stay (11, 41), wherein: the slide (15, 60) is displaceably arranged within the chain stay (11, 41), which is hollow in this region; the dropout (13, 43) is provided outside the chain stay; and the slide (15, 60) and the dropout (13, 43) are connected to one another through at least one opening in the chain stay (11, 41).

2. The arrangement according to claim 1, further comprising at least one connecting member for the in particular releasable connection of the slide (15, 60) and the dropout (13, 43).

3. The arrangement according to claim 1, further comprising at least one connecting member for connecting the slide (15, 60) and the dropout (13, 43) in such a way that, in a clamping position, the slide (15, 60) and the dropout (13, 43) are drawn together and lie in particular against a wall of the chain stay (11, 41).

4. The arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the chain stay (11, 41) has at least one opening, preferably an elongated hole (19, 20) for the connecting member to pass through.

5. The arrangement according to claim 2, further comprising a screw (25, 26) provided as a connecting member, in particular with an internal thread (23, 24) in the slide, and a bore (21, 22) in the dropout (13, 43) for the screw (25, 26) to pass through.

6. The arrangement according to claim 1, further comprising a retaining piece at a free end of the chain stay (11, 41), wherein the retaining piece is connected to the slide (15, 60) in particular by an adjusting member.

7. The arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the retaining piece is a cover plate (30) and reaches, in particular with a sub-region (raised portion 35), into the end of the chain stay (11, 41).

8. The arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the adjusting member is an adjusting screw (32) which is seated in a horizontal/longitudinally directed thread (34) of the slide (15, 60) and passes through a bore in the retaining piece.

9. The arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the retaining piece and the free end of the chain stay (11, 41) are designed to be compatible with one another so that the retaining piece may be pushed onto the free end or at least partially inserted into the free end.

10. The arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the retaining piece and the free end engage in one another in such a way, and are designed in such a way, that they are not rotatable relative to one another.

11. The arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the retaining piece is secured against rotation or release, in particular on the chain stay (11, 41) or an adjacent stay (seat stay 12, 42), by a retaining member.

12. The arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the retaining member is a retaining screw (36) which passes through a bore in the retaining piece.

13. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the dropout (13, 43) is provided with a brake mount.

14. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the dropout (13, 43) is provided with a kickstand mount, in particular with a supporting face (47) and at least one bore (49, 49).

15. The arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the slide (60) is provided with at least one bore (61, 62) corresponding to a bore (48, 49).

16. The arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the chain stay (41) has at least one opening, preferably an elongated hole (63, 64) for a connecting member for connecting the slide (60) and the kickstand mount to pass through.

17. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the dropout (13, 43) and/or the slide (15, 60) are made of metal, in particular light metal.

18. A bicycle frame, in particular with a chain stay (11, 41) made of fibre composite material, having an arrangement for mounting a rear wheel axle, the arrangement comprising a dropout (13, 43) and a slide (15, 60) which is movable relative to a chain stay (11, 41), wherein: the slide (15, 60) is displaceably arranged within the chain stay (11, 41), which is hollow in this region; the dropout (13, 43) is provided outside the chain stay; and the slide (15, 60) and the dropout (13, 43) are connected to one another through at least one opening in the chain stay (11, 41).

19. A bicycle, in particular with a chain stay (11, 41) made of fibre composite material, having an arrangement for mounting a rear wheel axle, the arrangement comprising a dropout (13, 43) and a slide (15, 60) which is movable relative to a chain stay (11, 41), wherein: the slide (15, 60) is displaceably arranged within the chain stay (11, 41), which is hollow in this region; the dropout (13, 43) is provided outside the chain stay; and the slide (15, 60) and the dropout (13, 43) are connected to one another through at least one opening in the chain stay (11, 41).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Further features of the invention are revealed moreover in the description and in the claims. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to drawings, which show:

[0030] FIG. 1 is an exploded illustration of a dropout for connection to a chain stay on the right-hand side of a bicycle;

[0031] FIG. 2 is a dropout for a chain stay on the left-hand side;

[0032] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section through part of the arrangement according to FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] Reference is first of all made to FIG. 1. This shows a connecting region 10 of the chain stay 11 and seat stay 12 of a bicycle (not illustrated in more detail), namely on the right-hand side of the bicycle. A dropout 13 having a downwardly directed axle mount 14 is associated with the connecting region 10. The dropout 13 is connected in a clamping manner to the chain stay 11 in the connecting region 10. To this end, a slide 15 is provided, which may be slid in the longitudinal direction L into a compatible mount 16 of the chain stay. The chain stay 11 is designed to be hollow, at least in this region, on account of the mount 16. An opening 17 in the mount 16 is surrounded by a supporting face 18. The opening 17 and the supporting face 18 form an end face of the chain stay 11.

[0034] The chain stay 11 has two elongated holes 19, 20 below the mount 16. Corresponding to these, the dropout 13 has two vertically directed bores 21, 22. The slide 15 is provided accordingly with two internal threads 23, 24 which serve to receive retaining screws 25, 26. The threads thereof are guided from below through the bores 21, 22 and through the elongated holes 19, 20 into the internal threads 23, 24 and screwed in place there. Screw heads of the retaining screws 25, 26 effect a clamping seat of the dropout 13 and the slide 15 on a lower side 27 of the chain stay 11. For a uniform distribution of the forces, an upper side 28 of the dropout 13 and a lower side 29 of the slide 15 are adapted to the contour of the chain stay 11 and the mount 16 respectively in this region.

[0035] The dropout 13 and the slide 15 are preferably made of a metal material, whilst the chain stay 11 or the connecting region 10 is preferably manufactured from a fibre composite material.

[0036] The slide 15 is to be guided into the chain stay 11 from behind, i.e. through the opening 17. When the rear wheel, which is moved by a chain drive or belt drive, is inserted into the axle mount 14, a tension force is produced in the longitudinal direction L. A precise adjustment to the position of the slide 15 in the mount 16 is expedient. To this end, a cover plate 30 is provided, which comes to lie with a peripheral edge 31 on the supporting face 18 and is provided with a bore for an adjusting screw 32. The slide 15 has, at its end face 33, an internal thread 34 for receiving a thread of the adjusting screw 32. A head of the adjusting screw 32 lies externally on the cover plate 30.

[0037] The cover plate 30 is provided with a raised portion 35 within the peripheral edge 31, which raised portion is directed into the mount 16. The external contour of the raised portion is adapted to the internal contour of the mount 16. Cross-sections of the external contour and internal contour are configured to be substantially polygonal, preferably trapezoidal, as is the cross-section of the slide 15. Rotational movements are thereby virtually impossible.

[0038] A retaining screw 36 is provided as an additional anti-rotation means and as an assembly aid, the thread of which retaining screw is screwed into an internal thread 37 in the supporting face 18 through a bore in the peripheral edge 31. The internal thread 37 here is provided above the opening 17.

[0039] When assembling the dropout 13 on the chain stay 11, the slide 15 is initially slid into the mount 16 until the internal threads 23, 24 are positioned over the elongated holes 19, 20. The dropout 13 is then held against the elongated holes 19, 20 from below and the retaining screws 25, 26 are pushed through the bores 21, 22 and tightened until a loose connection is produced between the slide 15 and the dropout 13. The cover plate 30 is then placed on the opening 17 and the retaining screw 36 is screwed into the internal thread 37. The adjusting screw 32 is subsequently screwed into the internal thread 34. With this, the position of the slide 15 and the dropout 13 alters until a desired position is reached. Finally, the retaining screws 25, 26 are firmly tightened, preferably with a predetermined controlled torque.

[0040] FIGS. 2 and 3 show a left-hand side connecting region 40 with a chain stay 41 and a seat stay 42. Where expedient, the reference numerals used are the same as in FIG. 1. A dropout 43 is configured in the same manner as the dropout 13, but with additional functions and has, adjacent to the upper side 28, a projection 44 which is directed substantially upwards and in the longitudinal direction L. The projection 44 contains two upwardly directed connecting pieces 45, 46 as brake mounts for a brake calliper (not shown) of a disc brake, and a supporting face 47 having bores 48, 49 for supporting and fastening a kickstand head 50. This latter is designed to be substantially plate-shaped, with two bores 51, 52 which are adjacent to one another and correspond to the bores 48, 49 for retaining screws 53, 54 to pass through.

[0041] The supporting face 47 is provided below or between the connecting pieces 45, 46. The connecting pieces 45, 46 can be part of a U-shaped configuration with a base 55. The connecting pieces 45, 46 can also continue a short distance downwards and, at the same time, laterally alongside the supporting face 47 to produce an overall H-shaped configuration with the base 55 in the centre.

[0042] The kickstand head 50 has a supporting face 56 (concealed in FIG. 2) corresponding to the supporting face 47. An upper end face 57 of the kickstand head 50 can lie against a lower side of the base 55, which delimits the supporting face 47 at the top. A kickstand 59 adjoins the kickstand head 50 at the bottom by means of a joint 58.

[0043] In the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 2, 3, a slide 60 is also designed in a particular manner in addition to the dropout 43. This slide is approximately twice as long here as the slide 15 in FIG. 1 and is provided with two additional internal threads 61, 62 which are provided for receiving the retaining screws 53, 54 and are arranged accordingly laterally. Compatible with this, the chain stay 41 has, laterally, two additional elongated holes 63, 64 in front of the downwardly directed elongated holes 19, 20 in the longitudinal direction L. A mount 65 in the chain stay 41 is adapted to the longer length of the slide 60. Fully assembled, the slide 60 therefore has at least two screw connections, namely to the dropout 43 and the upper side 28 thereof at the bottom and to the kickstand head 50 through the supporting face 47 at the side. The projection 44 has, on the rear side of the supporting face 47, a supporting face which is not visible and which is adapted to the external contour of the chain stay 41 in this region.

[0044] The slide 60 is designed to be as flat as possible for weight reasons. The slide 60 is designed with a somewhat thicker cross-section only in the region of the adjusting screw 32, the retaining screw 25 and the retaining screws 53, 54 and, in FIG. 2, accordingly has three raised portions and two depressions on its upper side.

[0045] The assembly of the dropout 43 on the left-hand side takes place in a similar manner to the assembly of the dropout 13 on the right-hand side. In addition, the retaining screws 53, 54 are initially only loosely inserted. The retaining screws 53, 54 are only firmly tightened once positioning has taken place by means of the adjusting screw 32.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0046] 10 Connecting region
11 Chain stay
12 Seat stay

13 Dropout

[0047] 14 Axle mount

15 Slide

16 Mount

17 Opening

[0048] 18 Supporting face
19 Elongated hole
20 Elongated hole

21 Bore

22 Bore

[0049] 23 Internal thread
24 Internal thread
25 Retaining screw
26 Retaining screw
27 Lower side
28 Upper side
29 Lower side
30 Cover plate
31 Peripheral edge
32 Adjusting screw
33 End face
34 Internal thread
35 Raised portion
36 Retaining screw
37 Internal thread
38
39
40 Connecting region
41 Chain stay
42 Seat stay

43 Dropout

44 Projection

[0050] 45 Connecting piece
46 Connecting piece
47 Supporting face

48 Bore

49 Bore

[0051] 50 Kickstand head

51 Bore

52 Bore

[0052] 53 Retaining screw
54 Retaining screw

55 Base

[0053] 56 Supporting face
57 End face

58 Joint

59 Kickstand

60 Slide

[0054] 61 Internal thread
62 Internal thread
63 Elongated hole
64 Elongated hole

65 Mount

[0055] L Longitudinal direction