Machine element or mechanism – Elements – Cranks and pedals
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-13
2002-12-17
Bucci, David A. (Department: 3682)
Machine element or mechanism
Elements
Cranks and pedals
C036S132000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06494117
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to pedals for use on bicycles and the like, and, more particularly, to clipless pedal/cleat assemblies in which a cleat attached to the sole of a rider's shoe can be releasably secured to a pedal.
Pedals for use in pedal/cleat assemblies of this particular kind typically include a pedal body, a spindle mounted for rotation relative to the pedal body, and separate pairs of spaced-apart engagement edges, e.g., recesses, located on the pedal body's upper side and lower side. The cleats for releasable securement to such pedals typically each include a cleat body configured to mate with either side of the pedal body, and further include a pair of spring-biased elements, e.g., tongues, that can selectively engage one pair of spaced-apart engagement edges on the pedal, to releasably secure the cleat to the pedal.
The rider can release the cleat and shoe from the pedal simply by rotating the shoe through a predetermined angle about an axis normal to the shoe's sole. This rotation urges the cleat's spring-biased elements apart from each other, eventually leading to a release of the cleat and shoe.
Many pedal/cleat assemblies of this kind provide a “float range,” which is an amount of angular rotation that the rider's shoe can have without disengaging the cleat from the pedal. This reduces restrictions on the natural rotation of the rider's leg during pedaling, and thus reduces the possibility of injury. Prior pedal systems of this kind typically provided float ranges as high as ±7.5°.
In the past, the float ranges of pedal/cleat assemblies typically have been fixed, but in some cases could be adjusted. In general, however, provisions for adjusting the float range have not been entirely satisfactory. In some cases, the adjustments could be made only in large increments, while in other cases, the adjustments have been difficult to perform.
It should, therefore, be appreciated that there is a continuing need for an improved pedal/cleat assembly in which the assembly provides a float range that is easily and precisely adjusted. The present invention fulfills this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is embodied in a pedal/cleat assembly that provides a float range that is easily and precisely adjusted. The assembly includes a pedal having a pedal body and a spindle mounted for rotation relative to the pedal body, and it further includes a cleat having a cleat body configured to be secured to the sole of a rider's shoe and to conformably mate with the pedal body. Either the pedal or the cleat further includes one or more engagement edges, e.g., recesses, and the other of the pedal and cleat further includes one or more spring-biased elements, e.g., tongues, mounted in positions to be engageable with the one or more engagement edges. Either the one or more engagement edges or the one or more spring-biased elements are configured for limited rotation relative to the body on which they are mounted, about a rotation axis generally normal to the sole of the rider's shoe when the pedal body and the cleat body are mated together.
The pedal and the cleat are configured such that, when the one or more spring-biased elements are engaged with the one or more engagement edges, the elements and edges are rotationally locked relative to each other. Rotation of the cleat body relative to the pedal body, thereby causes the elements and edges to rotate together, until a stop surface inhibits such rotation together. The one or more spring-biased elements and the one or more engagement edges are configured such that further rotation of the cleat body relative to the pedal body urges the elements out of engagement with the engagement edges, to release the cleat from the pedal.
In one preferred form of the invention, the one or more spring-biased elements are tongues that are part of a tongue assembly that is rotatably mounted on the cleat body, and the one or more engagement edges are recesses that are defined in the pedal body. When the tongues of the tongue assembly are engaged with the engagement recesses, the tongue assembly is rotationally locked relative to the engagement recesses, such that rotation of the cleat body relative to the pedal body, about an axis normal to the sole of the rider's shoe, causes the cleat body to rotate relative to the tongue assembly. This relative rotation continues until a stop surface of the tongue assembly engages a stop surface of the cleat body, to inhibit further relative rotation.
In more detailed features of the invention, the tongue assembly is a unitary, arcuate spring clip, with two spaced-apart arms that carry two tongues in spaced, facing relationship with each other. Continued rotation of the cleat body relative to the pedal body, after the stop surfaces of the cleat body and the spring clip have engaged each other, urges the tongues of the spring clip apart from each other, to release the cleat from the pedal.
In another feature of the invention, the spring clip includes a finger that projects radially outward from its mid-portion, to define the first of the two stop surfaces, and the cleat body includes a recess sized to receive the finger of the spring clip, the recess being bounded by a wall that defines the second of the two stop surfaces. A pair of adjustable set screws can be used to define the sidewalls of the recess that receives the finger of the spring clip. The positions of these set screws are selectively adjustable, to facilitate a selection of the angle through which the cleat can be rotated relative to the pedal body before the stop surfaces of the cleat body and the spring clip engage each other and thereby inhibit further rotation of the cleat body relative to the spring clip. Preferably, the finger is integral with the spring clip.
In another feature of the invention, the cleat further includes a friction device located between the cleat body and the spring clip, to frictionally inhibit rotational movement of the cleat body relative to the spring clip. Further, the spring clip has a shape substantially corresponding to a circular arc, and it is rotatable relative to the cleat body, about an axis substantially aligned with the geometric center point of the circular arc.
In yet other features of the invention, the engagement recesses and the tongues each include side edges that define cam surfaces configured to urge each tongue out of engagement with the corresponding engagement recess, to release the cleat from the pedal. Further, the cam surfaces defined by each of the engagement recesses are located at the recess's opposite ends, and the cam surfaces defined by each of the tongues are located at the tongue's opposite ends, engageable with the cam surfaces defined by the corresponding engagement recess. The angles of the cam surfaces relative to a radius to the axis of rotation of the cleat body relative to the pedal body, together with the spring bias force provided by the tongue assembly, determine the force required to disengage the cleat from the pedal. The angles for a heel-out release can differ from the angles for a heel-in release.
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pa
Brueggemann James R.
Bucci David A.
Johnson Vicky
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
Speedplay, Inc.
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