Bicycle control device and method for manufacturing it

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9711304-B2
Application number	US-201514873954-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 2, 2015
Priority date	Oct 3, 2014
Publication date	Jul 18, 2017
Grant date	Jul 18, 2017

Abstract

A control device for a bicycle on-board electronic device that includes: a switch for inputting a command of the on-board electronic device. There is a control member with a constraint region, a driving region configured to be pushed by a cyclist's finger, and a driven region configured to actuate the switch when the driving region is actuated. The control member resembles a control lever where the constraint region, driving region, and the driven region are arranged on an oblong body that is elastically yielding about the constraint region, whereby the driven region is displaced with respect to the driving region and/or to the constraint region by virtue of the elastic yielding.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A control device of a bicycle on-board electronic device, comprising:
at least one electric switch, a change of state of the at least one switch inputting a command of the on-board electronic device,
at least one control member having a constraint region, a driving region configured to be pushed by at least one finger, and a driven region configured to actuate said at least one switch when said driving region is actuated upon,
wherein said at least one control member is a lever-resembling control member, wherein said constraint region, said driving region, and said driven region are made on an oblong body elastically yielding about the constraint region, wherein the driven region is displaced with respect to the driving region and/or to the constraint region purposely by virtue of the elastic yield.

2. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the constraint region is not a pivoting region.

3. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the constraint region constrains said at least one lever-resembling control member to a brake lever.

4. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein two of said lever-resembling control members, having the respective driven region associated with a respective switch, are made on a single body.

5. The control device according to claim 4 , wherein a common constraint region constrains said two lever-resembling control members to a brake lever.

6. The control device according to claim 5 , wherein the single body has a channel shaped configuration, and the at least one switch is shaped to insert within the channel of the single body.

7. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the elastically yielding oblong body has a comparatively high yield in a pushing direction (X, Y) on the driving region, and a comparatively low yield in two directions perpendicular to the pushing direction (X, Y) and to each other.

8. The control device according to claim 7 , wherein the elastically yielding oblong body has a comparatively low thickness in a pushing direction (X, Y) on the driving region, and a comparatively high thickness in two directions perpendicular to the pushing direction (X, Y) and to each other.

9. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one switch comprises two switches mounted on a same printed circuit board (PCB), the PCB being housed within a channel defined in a single body carrying said two lever-resembling control members.

10. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein each lever-resembling control member or said single body is co-moulded with said brake lever.

11. The control device of claim 1 further comprising:
a bicycle-fixing-body, and
a control sub-set comprising at least one lever-resembling control member,
wherein the components of the control sub-set are together in a single assembly that is separable from the bicycle-fixing-body with all of the components of the control sub-set remaining in the assembly.

Assignees

• Campagnolo Srl

Inventors

• Rosati Stefano

Classifications

• B62K23/06

  Levers · CPC title

• B62M25/08 Primary

  with electrical or fluid transmitting systems · CPC title

• H01H21/36

  Driving mechanisms · CPC title

• H01H21/22 Primary

  Operating parts, e.g. handle · CPC title

• B62K23/02 Primary

  hand actuated (arrangements of controls on handle-bars of engine-driven cycles B62K11/14) · CPC title