Land vehicles – Wheeled – Occupant propelled type
Reexamination Certificate
1996-12-23
2001-03-13
Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Occupant propelled type
C280S253000, C280S288100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199884
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to bicycles, and more particularly to a bicycle frame and drive construction.
BACKGROUND ART
The bicycle is a marvelous invention, supporting loads many times its own weight over all types of surfaces and terrain, yet powered by man, mostly without undue stress to the human body. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the earliest bicycle was invented in Scotland, about 1839, by Kirkpatrick MacMillan and improved a few years later by Gavin Dalzell. The modern bicycle, known also as the “safety bicycle”, was invented by H. J. Lawson in 1876 and was first marketed in a useful form in 1885. One of the features of the modern bicycle is a chain or indirect drive, transferring power from pedals driving a crank below and forward of the saddle to a rear gear and axle associated with the rear wheel. Thus, bicycle design has basically remained the same for over 100 years, with improvements in materials, gearing, brakes and manufacturing methods. On the other hand, earlier bicycles, prior to the modern bicycle, frequently employed direct drive, i.e. direct transfer of power to a wheel without use of a chain or belt.
Both early and modern bicycles have relatively high centers of gravity because a rider is seated generally upright. The invention of the recumbent cycle lowers the center of gravity, but this is an exception. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,936 to D. Schmidlin or U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,181 to H. Fales et al.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,412, O. Meguerditchian teaches a bidirectional rectilinear motion system for pedals of a bicycle whereby linear motion is converted to rotary motion for driving a chain and a rear wheel. The linear motion saves energy which is otherwise lost in providing circular motion to a crank. In U.S. Pat. No. 555,242 to J. Hannenbeck, a cycle is shown having pinions on the rear axle which are driven by reciprocating pedals, connected to jointed arms having toothed sectors at the rearward ends for traveling around the pinions. U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,469 to F. Ruiz teaches a similar drive mechanism.
Notwithstanding advances of the prior art, there is a need for a more efficient bicycle which maximizes human power, while minimizing energy losses. An object of the invention was to provide such a bicycle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above object has been achieved with a bicycle which features a direct drive mechanism realizing power from reciprocating rectilinear motion of the legs. The drive arrangement provides for rearward extension of the legs as the pedals are moved backwards, allowing for maximum pushing force similar to weightlifting, and at the same time matching human ergonomics. Pedals are guided along a track in a power assembly. An elongated bar is twisted along its axis by the pedals and is mounted for axial rotation. One end of the bar carries a pinion gear and is mounted next to the rear wheel hub, where a pair of crown gear faces are mounted in power transfer relation to the pinion gear. The crown gear faces may be either a pair of spaced apart gears on opposite sides of the rear hub or a single double sided gear integral with, or surrounding, the rear hub. The opposite end of the power assembly extends toward the front wheel at an angle for convenient pedal motion parallel to the assembly. Each pedal carries a slider which moves along the track of the power assembly and includes a slot which captures the cross-section of the helical bar. Motion of the pedals forces rotation of the helical bar. A freewheel mechanism at the end of the bar, coaxial with the pinion gear, allows power transfer from the pinion to the crown gear only during rearward pedal motion, corresponding to rotation of the helical bar in one direction and freewheeling during the pedal reset motion.
An arc-like position of the bicycle rider can produce a lower center of gravity compared to conventional bicycles, giving a better balance. Forward and downward curved handlebars, possibly made of a composite material, lower the frontal area and silhouette, and create a lower drag coefficient, as well as provide some shock absorption. In this manner, maximum power transfer from the human body to the driving wheel via the helical drive train is achieved. The increased efficiency of the bicycle of the present invention is realized particularly in sprint racing, where simplicity of design is a particular advantage. Since direct drive is used, the frame consists of a single hollow frame tube, a front fork tube for the front wheel and rear forks extending from the frame tube for the rear wheel. This drastically reduces weight compared to the safety bicycle, which typically features a triangular frame, plus front and rear fork tubes. An appropriate gear is selected by choice of front to rear wheel sizes, as well as gear ratios of the crown and pinion gears. In this application, bicycles are intended to include exercise cycles.
REFERENCES:
patent: Re. 33058 (1989-09-01), Steuer et al.
patent: 51815 (1866-01-01), Eads
patent: 87630 (1869-03-01), Burns
patent: 381160 (1888-04-01), Moon
patent: 395099 (1888-12-01), Willett
patent: 398899 (1889-03-01), Martignoni
patent: 408745 (1889-08-01), Pool
patent: 443347 (1890-12-01), Allen
patent: 450997 (1891-04-01), Dies
patent: 465099 (1891-12-01), Rice, Jr.
patent: 465100 (1891-12-01), Rice, Jr.
patent: 549397 (1895-11-01), Savorgnan
patent: 552910 (1896-01-01), Kimball
patent: 555242 (1896-02-01), Hallenbeck
patent: 578269 (1897-03-01), Savorgnan
patent: 579218 (1897-03-01), Bremer et al.
patent: 597621 (1898-01-01), Russell
patent: 617762 (1899-01-01), McCollum
patent: 618330 (1899-01-01), Campbell
patent: 622780 (1899-04-01), Olson
patent: 641906 (1900-01-01), Trabue et al.
patent: 651244 (1900-06-01), Forbes
patent: 651316 (1900-06-01), Smith
patent: 690835 (1902-01-01), Clayland
patent: 713633 (1902-11-01), Hall
patent: 771864 (1904-10-01), Eager
patent: 829279 (1906-08-01), Mears
patent: 860953 (1907-04-01), McDowell
patent: 882845 (1908-03-01), Sachs
patent: 931656 (1909-08-01), Sangster
patent: 944064 (1909-12-01), West
patent: 994359 (1911-06-01), Archer
patent: 1005690 (1911-10-01), Carlson
patent: 1019637 (1912-03-01), Hays
patent: 1025989 (1912-04-01), Master
patent: 1047509 (1912-12-01), Dziak
patent: 1072701 (1913-09-01), Collins
patent: 1076179 (1913-10-01), Whitehead
patent: 1108392 (1914-08-01), Picken
patent: 1122085 (1914-12-01), Dudgeon
patent: 1122376 (1914-12-01), Farmer
patent: 1232202 (1917-07-01), Brown
patent: 1316558 (1919-09-01), Cannon
patent: 1389039 (1921-08-01), Estes
patent: 1413036 (1922-04-01), Krantz
patent: 1482689 (1924-02-01), Landes
patent: 1559578 (1925-11-01), Morgan
patent: 1699687 (1929-01-01), Conterio
patent: 1709952 (1929-04-01), Ricketts
patent: 1713219 (1929-05-01), Eisenhauer
patent: 1734649 (1929-11-01), SHull
patent: 1736507 (1929-11-01), Peterson
patent: 1736822 (1929-11-01), Dreisbach
patent: 1776331 (1930-09-01), Lee
patent: 1780398 (1930-11-01), Morgan
patent: 1799458 (1931-04-01), Ekstromer
patent: 1813468 (1931-07-01), Snyer
patent: 1955973 (1934-04-01), Norton
patent: 2023889 (1935-12-01), Kramps
patent: 2028311 (1936-01-01), Berry
patent: 2041319 (1936-05-01), Blomgren
patent: 2084321 (1937-06-01), Corradino et al.
patent: 2137649 (1938-11-01), Hilliard
patent: 2143798 (1939-01-01), Ribe
patent: 2153870 (1939-04-01), Lee
patent: 2193394 (1940-03-01), Deckert, Jr.
patent: 2245457 (1941-06-01), Brassell
patent: 2296164 (1942-09-01), Humphrey
patent: 2301852 (1942-11-01), Brown
patent: 2321828 (1943-06-01), Lane
patent: 2389918 (1945-11-01), MacGill
patent: 2411438 (1946-11-01), Lane
patent: 2425813 (1947-08-01), Kuntz
patent: 2578559 (1951-12-01), Korsgren
patent: 2588524 (1952-03-01), Herbert
patent: 2612312 (1952-09-01), Clarke
patent: 2895576 (1959-07-01), Schwerdhofer
patent: 2988186 (1961-06-01), Dotter
patent: 3102436 (1963-09-01), Schuller
patent: 3107541 (1963-10-01), Parsus
patent: 3113472 (1963-12-01), Schwerdhofer
patent: 3113652 (1963-12-01), Schwerdhofer
patent: 3114442 (1963-12-01), Schwerdhofer
patent: 3122226 (1964-02-01), Schuller et al.
p
7444353 Alberta Ltd.
Johnson Brian L.
Lerner Avraham H.
Moy Jeffrey D.
Weiss Jeffrey
LandOfFree
Helical drive bicycle does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Helical drive bicycle, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Helical drive bicycle will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2447008