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CN-113997725-B - Spoke attachment assembly for a bicycle wheel, wheel and manufacturing process thereof

CN113997725BCN 113997725 BCN113997725 BCN 113997725BCN-113997725-B

Abstract

The present invention relates to a spoke attachment assembly for a bicycle wheel, a wheel and a manufacturing process thereof. The spoke attachment assembly (80) is configured to be coupled to a rim of a spoke type bicycle wheel. Such an assembly (80) comprises a cap (40) having an enlarged head (44) and a post (42) provided with a coupling portion (47) for coupling with the spoke, at least one shaped washer (50) associated with the cap (40) and configured to abut on one side the enlarged head (44) of the cap (40) and on the other side the rim (10), and retaining means (90) configured to retain said at least one shaped washer (50) associated with the cap (40). The foregoing assembly (80) is for use in a spoke type bicycle wheel.

Inventors

  • MARIO MAJOLAN
  • FILIPPO BOVE

Assignees

  • 坎培诺洛有限公司
  • 坎培诺洛有限公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260421
Application Date
20210726
Priority Date
20200728

Claims (12)

  1. 1. A spoke attachment assembly (80), the spoke attachment assembly (80) being configured to be coupled to a rim (10) of a spoke type bicycle wheel (5), the spoke attachment assembly (80) comprising: A cap (40), the cap (40) having an enlarged head (44) and a post (42), the post (42) being provided with a coupling portion (47), the coupling portion (47) for coupling to the spoke (30); At least one shaped washer (50, 60), said at least one shaped washer (50, 60) being associated with said cap (40) and being configured to abut on one side an enlarged head (44) of said cap (40) and on the opposite side said rim (10); wherein the spoke attachment assembly (80) includes a retaining device (90), the retaining device (90) being configured to retain the at least one shaped washer (50, 60) in association with the cap (40), Characterized in that the spoke attachment assembly (80) includes a portion made of a magnetically attractive material and the retaining device (90) is of a magnetic type.
  2. 2. The spoke attachment assembly (80) according to claim 1, wherein the retaining device (90) is removable.
  3. 3. The spoke attachment assembly (80) according to claim 1, comprising an insert (200) made of a magnetically attractive material, the insert (200) being removably associated with the cap (40).
  4. 4. The spoke attachment assembly (80) according to claim 3, wherein the insert (200) comprises a head (204) and a stem (202), the stem (202) being removably received in the post (42) of the cap (40), wherein a free end (205) of the stem (202) is magnetized, and wherein the retaining means (90) is defined by the magnetized free end (205).
  5. 5. The spoke attachment assembly (80) according to claim 3, wherein the insert (200) includes a head (204) and a stem (202) that is removably received in the post (42) of the cap (40), the at least one shaped washer (50, 60) has a predetermined inner diameter, and the retaining device (90) includes a flexible washer (192), the flexible washer (192) fitting onto the stem (202) of the insert (200) and being interposed between the free end (42 a) of the post (42) of the cap (40) and the head (204) of the insert (200), the flexible washer (192) having an outer dimension that is greater than the inner diameter of the at least one shaped washer (50, 60).
  6. 6. The spoke attachment assembly (80) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one shaped washer (50, 60) has a predetermined inner diameter and the retaining device (90) comprises a retaining washer (92), the retaining washer (92) being mounted in a groove (43 a), the groove (43 a) being formed on an outer surface of the post (42) of the cap (40) on an opposite side of the at least one shaped washer (50, 60) relative to the enlarged head (44) of the cap (40), wherein an outer dimension of the retaining washer (92) is greater than the inner diameter of the at least one shaped washer (50, 60), and wherein the retaining washer (92) is made of a water soluble material.
  7. 7. The spoke attachment assembly (80) according to claim 1, wherein the retaining device (90) comprises an adhesive substance interposed between the at least one shaped washer (50, 60) and the head portion (44) and/or the post portion (42) of the cap (40).
  8. 8. A process intended for manufacturing a spoke-type bicycle wheel (5), comprising the steps of: a) -providing a rim element having a tire coupling channel (12) and at least one spoke attachment chamber (14), the at least one spoke attachment chamber (14) being provided with at least one opening (15 c) and with a spoke attachment surface (17), the spoke attachment surface (17) comprising a plurality of spoke attachment seats (18); b) Inserting a spoke attachment assembly (80) into the at least one spoke attachment chamber (14) through the at least one opening (15 c), the spoke attachment assembly (80) comprising: a cap (40), the cap (40) having an enlarged head (44) and a post (42), the post (42) being provided with a coupling portion (47), the coupling portion (47) being for coupling to a respective spoke (30); At least one shaped gasket (50, 60); -a retaining device (90), the retaining device (90) being configured to retain the at least one shaped gasket (50, 60) in association with the cap (40); c) Moving the spoke attachment assembly (80) along the spoke attachment surface (17) toward one of the spoke attachment seats (18) and to the one of the spoke attachment seats (18); d) Inserting a post (42) of a cap (40) of the spoke attachment assembly (80) into the spoke attachment seat (18); e) Constraining the spoke attachment assembly (80) to the spoke attachment seat (18); f) Repeating steps b) through e) to couple a respective spoke attachment assembly (80) to each other spoke attachment seat (18), Characterized in that the spoke attachment assembly (80) further comprises a portion made of a magnetically attractive material and that the step b) of inserting the spoke attachment assembly (80) into the at least one spoke attachment chamber (14) comprises the steps of: coupling a steering magnet (300) to the spoke attachment assembly (80) due to a magnetic coupling between the steering magnet (300) and the portion made of magnetically attractive material; inserting the steering magnet (300) into the at least one spoke attachment chamber (14) through the at least one opening (15 c); withdrawing the steering magnet (300) from the at least one spoke attachment chamber (14) through a second opening (15 b), the second opening (15 b) being substantially aligned with the at least one opening (15 c); the steering magnet (300) is uncoupled from the spoke attachment assembly (80).
  9. 9. The process of claim 8, wherein the portion made of magnetically attractive material is defined by an insert (200) made of magnetically attractive material, the insert (200) being removably coupled to the cap (40).
  10. 10. The process according to claim 8, wherein step c) of moving the spoke attachment assembly (80) occurs due to magnetic interaction between the portion made of magnetically attractive material and a guiding magnet (310) and comprises moving the guiding magnet (310) along the spoke attachment surface (17) towards and to one of the spoke attachment seats (18), and Wherein step d) of inserting the post (42) of the cap (40) into the spoke attachment seat (18) is performed due to a magnetic coupling between the guiding magnet (310) and the portion made of magnetically attractive material.
  11. 11. The process of claim 8, comprising the steps of: during or after the step of restraining the spoke attachment assembly (80) to the spoke attachment seat (18), an end (32) of a spoke (30) is coupled to a coupling portion (47) of a post (42) of the cap (40) inserted in the spoke attachment seat (18).
  12. 12. The process according to claim 11, comprising removing the retaining device (90) after step e) of restraining the spoke attachment assembly (80) to the spoke attachment seat (18) and before or after the step of coupling the end (32) of the spoke (30) to the coupling portion (47) of the post (42) of the cap (40).

Description

Spoke attachment assembly for a bicycle wheel, wheel and manufacturing process thereof Technical Field The present invention relates to a spoke attachment assembly configured to be coupled to a rim of a spoke type bicycle wheel, and to a spoke type bicycle wheel using such an assembly. The invention also relates to a process intended for manufacturing such a wheel. Background The aforementioned wheels may be the front or rear wheels of a bicycle. Such a bicycle may be a mountain bike or a recreational bike or a racing bike. A spoke bicycle wheel includes a rim, a hub and a plurality of spokes extending between the hub and the rim. It is known to couple a rim to a plurality of caps (one for each spoke) and to couple each spoke to the rim through a respective cap. The cap may be configured to allow adjustment of the tension of the spokes at the rim. Instead, the cap may simply allow the spoke to rim coupling. In this case, the adjustment of the tension of the spokes can be performed at the hub. The cap includes an enlarged head configured to abut the rim when the spokes are tensioned, and a post provided with a coupling portion configured to couple to the spokes. Where the cap is configured to allow adjustment of the tension of the spokes, the coupling portion includes a threaded bore that is open at the free end of the post. The spokes include an end configured to be coupled to a hub in a conventional manner and an opposite end configured to be coupled to a rim. Where the caps are configured to allow adjustment of the tension of the spokes, the aforementioned opposite ends of the spokes have external threads configured to screw into threaded holes of the respective caps. The length of the aforementioned external thread may be equal to the length of the threaded hole of the cap, but the length of the aforementioned external thread is typically greater than the length of the threaded hole of the cap, so that the tensioning of the spokes can be adjusted by screwing the spokes into or out of the cap. Such screwing in/unscrewing is obtained by rotating the cap. As a result of this screwing in/out, the screwing depth of the spokes in the threaded holes of the cap varies and, therefore, the overall longitudinal extension of the assembly formed by the spokes and the cap increases or decreases. Throughout this specification and the appended claims, the following definitions apply. The terms "axial," "axially," and similar terms are used to refer to a direction that is substantially coincident with or substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the wheel. The terms "radial", "radially" and similar terms are used to refer to a direction perpendicular to and incident on the axis of rotation of the wheel. The terms "circumferential," "circumferentially," and similar terms are used to refer to directions oriented along a line extending about the rotational axis of the wheel. The terms "axially inner" and "axially outer" and similar terms are used to refer to positions near and away from the transverse midplane of the wheel, respectively, while the terms "radially inner" and "radially outer" and similar terms are used to refer to positions near and away from the rotational axis of the wheel, respectively. On the other hand, the term "longitudinal" is used to refer to the main extension direction of the bicycle component in question. The term "composite" is used to refer to a material comprising structural fibers incorporated into a polymeric material. The structural fibers are preferably selected from the group comprising carbon fibers, glass fibers, boron fibers, aramid fibers, ceramic fibers, and combinations thereof. The polymeric material may be thermoplastic or thermosetting. Rims having radially outer tire coupling channels and radially inner spoke attachment chambers are known. Such as a rim of the type shown in US 2007/0158996 A1 issued to the same applicant. Typically, the rims are made of aluminium or an alloy thereof (in which case they can be obtained by extrusion of profile rods) or of a composite material (in which case they can be obtained by injection or compression moulding). The spoke attachment chamber comprises a lower bridge in which a plurality of spoke attachment through holes are formed, each spoke attachment through hole being configured to receive a respective cap and in which a through hole is also formed for the passage of the inflation valve of the air chamber of the tyre of the wheel or, in the case of a tubeless tyre, for the passage of the inflation valve of the tyre itself. The spoke attachment chamber further includes an upper bridge in which a through hole for the passage of the aforementioned inflation valve is formed. In many solutions, further through holes are formed in the upper bridge, one at each spoke attachment through hole, in order to allow insertion of the cap into the respective spoke attachment through hole. The post portion of each cap is inserted into the correspondi