The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 30, 1998
Filed:
Aug. 28, 1996
Masao Terada, Osaka, JP;
Shimano, Inc., Osaka, JP;
Abstract
A bicycle crankset for mounting a plurality of chainrings includes a crank arm having a first end for mounting a pedal and a second end having a boss for mounting to a crank axle, a chainring retainer for supporting at least one of the plurality of chainrings, and a reinforcement member. The chainring retainer has a first engagement member for engaging the boss, and the reinforcement member includes a second engagement member for engaging the boss. The chainring retainer includes a first center ring defining the first engagement member and a plurality of first arms extending radially outwardly from the first center ring. Similarly, the reinforcement member includes a second center ring defining the second engagement member and a plurality of second arms extending radially outwardly from the second center ring. The distal ends of the plurality of first arms may be connected to corresponding distal ends of the plurality of second arms. Alternatively, the chainring retainer may have a first peripheral ring disposed at distal ends of the plurality of first arms, and the reinforcement member may have a second peripheral ring disposed at distal ends of the plurality of second arms. The first peripheral ring may be secured to the second peripheral ring over a part or whole circumference thereof. To provide good balance of the crankset, the plurality of first arms may be offset from the plurality of second arms by a half-pitch in the circumferential direction.