Lever assembly for positive lock adjustable seatpost

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9650094-B2
Application number	US-201414330996-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 14, 2014
Priority date	Jul 2, 2010
Publication date	May 16, 2017
Grant date	May 16, 2017

Abstract

A method and apparatus for a seat post assembly that is adjustable to an upper, intermediate, and lower seat post position using a locking member and a sleeve member coupled to an actuator for securing and releasing an inner tube with respect to an outer tube. The actuator may move the sleeve member to release the locking member from engagement with the outer tube to adjust the inner tube and thus the seat post assembly to the upper, intermediate, or lower seat post positions. The actuator and the sleeve may be biased into an initial position that urges the locking member into engagement with outer tube to lock the inner tube to the outer tube.

First claim

What we claim is:

1. A lever assembly for shifting a component between at least two positions, said lever assembly comprising:
a support member, said support member comprising an adjustably secured opening at a first distal end and a support structure at an opposite distal end;
a housing, said housing rotatably supporting a first lever and a second lever for manual manipulation, said housing mountable directly to said support structure to orient said first lever and said second lever in a first orientation and inversely mountable to said support structure to orient said first lever and said second lever in a second orientation;
at least one cable coupled with the first lever and with a suspension component;
said first lever configured to rotate through a first angular distance to pull an amount of cable necessary to cause an adjustment to said suspension component; and
said second lever configured to rotate through only a portion of the first angular distance of said first lever, wherein a force applied to said second lever in one direction causes the first lever to move in a same direction at a same time.

2. The lever assembly of claim 1 , wherein said component is shiftable between three positions.

3. The lever assembly of claim 2 , wherein said three positions of said component correspond to extended, retracted and intermediate positions of said first lever.

4. The lever assembly of claim 1 , wherein said component is shifted with said at least one cable.

5. A lever assembly for shifting a component between at least two positions, said lever assembly comprising:
a support member, said support member comprising an adjustably secured opening at a first distal end and a support structure at an opposite distal end;
a housing, said housing rotatably supporting a first and a second lever for manual manipulation, said housing mountable directly to said support structure to orient said first lever and said second lever in a first orientation and inversely mountable to said support structure to orient said first lever and said second lever in a second orientation; and
at least one cable coupled with the first lever and with a bicycle suspension component wherein manipulation of said first lever causes an adjustment to said bicycle suspension component, wherein said first lever configured to rotate through a first angular distance to pull a full amount of cable necessary to adjust said bicycle suspension component between its lowest position to its highest position.

6. The lever assembly of claim 5 , wherein said second lever configured to rotate through only a portion of the first angular distance of said first lever, wherein a force applied to said second lever in one direction causes the first lever to move in a same direction at a same time.

7. A lever assembly for shifting a component between at least two positions, said lever assembly comprising:
a first and a second lever for manual manipulation;
at least one cable coupled with the first lever and with a bicycle seat post suspension component wherein manipulation of said first lever causes an adjustment to said bicycle seat post suspension component, wherein said first lever is configured to rotate through a first angular distance to pull a full amount of cable necessary to adjust said bicycle seat post suspension component between its lowest position to its highest position; and
said second lever configured to rotate through only a portion of a first angular distance of said first lever, wherein a force applied to said second lever in one direction causes the first lever to move in a same direction at a same time.

8. The lever assembly of claim 7 further comprising:
a housing, said housing rotatably supporting said first and said second lever and orienting said first and said second lever in a first orientation.

9. The lever assembly of claim 8 further comprising:
a support member, said support member comprising:
an adjustably secured opening at a first distal end; and
a support structure at an opposite distal end; and

said housing mountable directly to said support structure to orient said first lever and said second lever in said first orientation.

10. The lever assembly of claim 9 wherein said housing is inversely mountable to said support structure to orient said first lever and said second lever in a second orientation.

Assignees

• Fox Factory Inc

Inventors

• Laird Andrew
• Calendrille Jr John L

Classifications

• B62K2201/08

  Fluid springs · CPC title

• B62J1/08 Primary

  Frames for saddles; Connections between saddle frames and seat pillars; Seat pillars (attaching seat pillars to cycle frames B62K19/36) · CPC title

• B62J2001/085

  Seat pillars having mechanisms to vary seat height, independently of the cycle frame · CPC title

• Y10T74/20396

  Hand operated · CPC title

• G05G1/04

  Controlling members for hand actuation by pivoting movement, e.g. levers · CPC title