Vehicle wheel axle

Abstract

The invention solves the issue of stiff mounting of a wheel to a bicycle frame. The essential feature of the invention is that in the seating nests of the axle are bulges and hollows with slanting surfaces. The outer contour of the axle's wall section, which is parallel to the wheel symmetry plane which goes through the slanting surface, has a non-circular shape, preferably the shape of a regular polygon or similar to a regular polygon or an irregular polygon or the shape of an irregular closed curve.

Claims

1. A vehicle wheel axle in the form of a tube made of metal or carbon fibre-reinforced composite material, wherein in the axle's seating nests are bulges and hollows with reversely slanting surfaces, while the outer contour of the section of the axle's wall, parallel to the symmetry plane of the wheel, which goes through the slanting surface has a non-circular shape, preferably the shape of a regular polygon or an irregular polygon or the shape of an irregular closed curve.

2. The vehicle wheel axle according to claim 1 wherein in the axle's seating nests it has around its circumference V-shaped narrowings whose side surfaces are situated askew inwards in the direction of the centre of the narrowing, whereas the outer contour of the axle's wall section is parallel to the wheel symmetry plane going through the slanting surface and has non-circular shape, preferably that of a regular polygon or similar to a regular polygon or an irregular polygon or the shape of an irregular closed curve.

3. The vehicle wheel axle according to claim 1 wherein its seating nests have on their circumference sawtooth-like bulges, whereas the outer contour of the section of the axle's wall, parallel to the wheel symmetry plane which goes through the slanting surface of the said bulges has a non-circular shape, preferably the shape of a regular polygon or an irregular polygon or the shape of an irregular closed curve.

4. The vehicle wheel axle according to claim 1 wherein the axle's seating nests have on their circumference a bulge which has two slanting surfaces, whereas the outer contour of the section of the axle's wall, parallel to the wheel symmetry plane which goes through the slanting surface has a non-circular shape, preferably the shape of a regular polygon or an irregular polygon or the shape of an irregular closed curve.

5. The vehicle wheel axle according to claim 1, wherein the outer contour of the wall sections parallel to the wheel symmetry plane which goes through the slanting surfaces on one end of the axle is a mirror reflection of the contours of those wall sections on the other end of the axle.

6. The vehicle wheel axle according to claim 1, wherein it is seated in the hook of the frame in slanting surfaces and is secured with an elastic tape having stiff pads which have a shape that meshes with the slanting surfaces of the axle.

Description

[0012] The subject of the invention is presented in an example version in the drawing in which

[0013] FIG. 1 presents an exploded isometric view of the hub assembly with the securing elements,

[0014] FIG. 2 hub section perpendicular to the axle with narrowings,

[0015] FIG. 3 a view with a formed bulge,

[0016] Fig. a view of the axle in the sawtooth-like contour,

[0017] FIG. 5 axle section through a slanting surface with the contour of a regular hexagon,

[0018] FIG. 6 axle section through a slanting surface with the contour of an oval with a vertex,

[0019] FIG. 7 section of the axle's slanting surface with the contour of a curve,

[0020] FIG. 8 section of a slanting surface with the contour of an irregular polygon and

[0021] FIG. 9 the axle's seating nest.

[0022] An axle 1 in the form of a tube made of a composite material has on its circumference at both ends identical, circular narrowings 2 forming V-shaped grooves which are positioned according to the fork legs 3. Slanting surfaces 4 and 5 of each narrowing 2 are convergent inwards.

[0023] In another variant of the axle 1 shown in FIG. 4 the seating nests of the axle 1 have bulges 8 with a sawtooth-like contour and with slanting surfaces 9 and 10.

[0024] FIG. 3 presents the axle 1 which has on narrowed ends 11 a bulge 12 with two slanting surfaces 13 and 14 with opposing slants.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 5, the outer contour 6 of wall section 7, parallel to the wheel symmetry plane and going through the slanting surface 4 of the narrowing 2, has the shape of a regular hexagon. The other slanting surface 5 has identical outer contour 6 of the wall 7, which is a mirror reflection. The slanting surfaces 4 and 5, having a non-circular contour in their section, determine the longitudinal and lateral orientation of the wheel in relation to the bicycle frame.

[0026] Other example shapes of the outer contour 6 of the wall 7 section of the axle 1 parallel to the wheel symmetry plane and going through slanting surfaces 4, 5, 9, 10, 13 and 14 are shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8. FIG. 6 presents the contour 6 which is an oval 17 with a vertex 18 and it refers to all slanting surfaces 4, 5, 9, 10, 13 and 14. FIG. 7 presents the outline 6 of a section in the shape of an irregular curve and FIG. 8 shows the outline 6 in the shape of an irregular polygon and it may occur in all the aforementioned contours of the axle 1 seating nests.

[0027] The presented examples do not exhaust other shapes of the contour of the slanting surfaces.

[0028] FIG. 1 presents axle 1 mount with ribs having the contour 6 of a hexagon. The fork 3 ends with a hook 20 having a nest 21 with a contour of a semi-hexagon with slanting surfaces 22 and 23 on the edges of the nest 21 whose angle equals the angle of the slanting surfaces 4 and 5 on the axle 1. Also the nest of the clamping collar 24 has the contour of a fragment of a hexagon with slanting edges 25 and 26. The mounting collar 14 is connected to the hook 20 with bolts 27.

[0029] According to a different solution, which is presented in FIG. 9, the axle 1 is mounted to the fork 3 with an elastic tape 28 which is secured with a lever 29. The tape 28 has stiff pads 30 whose surface abutting the axle 1 meshes with the contour of the slanting surfaces 4 and 5.