Bicycle brake arrangement

Claim 2

A bicycle brake arrangement for a bicycle having front and rear wheel accommodating forks and front and rear wheels supported by the forks, comprising a master cylinder means carried by the bicycle, a pair of separate, aligned brake block units carried by the bicycle on opposite sides of the rim of each wheel, said units each including slave cylinder means and axially movable brake blocks carried by the slave cylinder means, conduit means connected to the master cylinder means and to each of the slave cylinder means to convey pressurized fluid from the master cylinder means to the slave cylinder means, said axially movable brake blocks movable toward and away from the opposite sides of the rims of the wheels in respective rim engaging and rim disengaging relationship upon actuation of the master cylinder means and slave cylinder means.

Claim 3

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein is included mounting means connected to the bicycle and to the brake block units supporting the brake block units on their respective opposite sides of a respective front and rear wheel.

Claim 4

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said master cylinder means includes a pair of master cylinders, each having a normally extended piston therein, a pair of fluid conveying conduits indpendently interconnecting one master cylinder with the pair of slave cylinders associated with the front wheel and the other master cylinder with the pair of slave cylinders associated with the rear wheel, said fluid conveying conduits each including a tee coupling and a conduit section extending from the tee coupling to each of the slave cylinders on respective opposite sides of the front and rear wheels.

Claim 5

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 3, wherein is included means mounting said master cylinders in side-by-side relationship on a handlebar of said bicycle, and only one movable hand manipulatable control lever operatively connected with said master cylinders to substantially simultaneously pressurize the fluid in the master cylinders to thus operate the slave cylinders and brake blocks.

Claim 6

A bicycle brake arrangement for a bicycle having front and rear wheel accommodating forks and front and rear wheels supported by the forks, comprising a factory sealed fluid pressurizable system, including a master cylinder means, separate aligned wheel associated brake block units, including slave cylinder means for each of the front and rear wheels, and a brake block carried by each slave cylinder means, and conduit means connected between the master cylinder means and the slave cylinder means, said master cylinder means, said slave cylinder means and said conduit means all assembled together, filled with fluid and sealed prior to attachment thereof as a unit to a bicycle, and brake block means on opposite sides of each of the front and rear wHeels and operably connected to the slave cylinder means so as to be actuatable by the slave cylinder means into and out of rim engaging relationship upon actuation of the master cylinder means, said factory sealed system eliminating the necessity of filling the system at the time of attachment of the brake arrangement to a bicycle and preventing loss of fluid from the system or contamination of the fluid in the system.

Claim 7

A bicycle brake arrangement for a bicycle having front and rear wheel accommodating forks and front and rear wheels supported by the forks, comprising a factory sealed fluid pressurizable system, including a master cylinder means, separate aligned wheel associated brake block units, including slave cylinder means for each of the front and rear wheels, and a brake block carried by each slave cylinder means, and conduit means connected between the master cylinder means and the slave cylinder means, said master cylinder means, said slave cylinder means and said conduit means all assembled together, filled with fluid and sealed prior to attachment thereof as a unit to a bicycle, and brake block means on opposite sides of each of the front and rear wHeels and operably connected to the slave cylinder means so as to be actuatable by the slave cylinder means into and out of rim engaging relationship upon actuation of the master cylinder means, said factory sealed system eliminating the necessity of filling the system at the time of attachment of the brake arrangement to a bicycle and preventing loss of fluid from the system or contamination of the fluid in the system.

Claim 8

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the mounting means for said brake block units includes components on said forks supporting said units with their axes at least generally perpendicular to the planes of the adjacent wheel rims.

Claim 9

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 6, in which said brake block units are axially adjustable in said mounting means.

Claim 10

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 6, in which said brake block units are vertically adjustable in said mounting means.

Claim 11

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 6, in which said brake block units are both axially and vertically adjustable in said mounting means.

Claim 12

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 2, in which said mounting means for each of said brake block units include, mounting brackets carried by the respective forks, each mounting bracket extending generally parallel to the plane of the wheel and having a generally vertically extending slot therein, each slave cylinder means carried in a split sleeve, bolt means associated with each said split sleeve for clamping said sleeve on said slave cylinder in different adjusted positions, said bolt means disposed through said slot, internally threaded nut means in threaded engagement with said bolt means associated with each slave cylinder means for adjustably clamping the slave cylinder to the mounting bracket so that their axes are at least generally perpendicular to the plane of the adjacent wheel rim so that said slave cylinders can be axially and vertically adjusted relative to a wheel rim to permit the brake blocks associated with one wheel to engage the rim thereof before the brake blocks associated with the other wheel engage the rim thereof.

Claim 13

A bicycle arrangement as claimed in claim 10, wherein each slave cylinder means includes an extension on one end thereof, each said extension having a hole in the side thereof, and a hydraulic line connected with said hole.

Claim 14

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 6, and wherein said split sleeve, mounting bracket and bolt means include means for releaseably permitting said brake blocks to swing out of line about axes parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bicycle so as to facilitate wheel removal.

Claim 15

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 1, including mounting means releasably mounting each said slave cylinder and its associated brake block for at least upward swinging movement relative to its support about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bicycle to facilitate wheel removal.

Claim 16

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 5, and means for axially and vertically adjusting the position of each brake block unit.

Claim 17

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said slave cylinder means each includes a normally retracted piston means, a brake shoe housing means carried by each piston means, said housing means including an open end facing away from the forward direction of bicycle movement, and a brake shoe carried by each housing means.

Claim 18

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 15 wherein each slave cylinder and each housing has external heat dissipating fins thereon.

Claim 19

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 15, wherein each mounting means includes a movable mounting arm carried by the bicycle forks on opposite sides of the associated wheel, each arm having a vertical slot therein, each slave cylinder means axially adjustably mounted in a split sleeve means, and externally threaded means on said split sleeve meAns disposed through said slot in an associated arm, and an internally threaded nut means in threaded engagement with the externally threaded means on each split sleeve to adjustably clamp each slave cylinder and piston means to each arm.

Claim 20

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 17, wherein each mounting arm is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends to the frame of the bicycle, the lower ends of the arms having said slots therein and normally biased apart by spring means engaged with the mounting arms.

Claim 21

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 18, wherein the upper ends of the arms are held in spaced apart relationship against the action of said spring means by a micrometer adjusting bolt engaged between the upper ends of the arms.

Claim 22

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 19, wherein the mounting arms are mounted by means of pivot bolts to the opposite ends of a crescent shaped mounting plate fixed to the frame of the bicycle.

Claim 23

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 20, wherein said micrometer adjusting bolt includes a nut threadably mounted thereon for adjusting the length of the bolt to adjust the distance between the adjacent ends of the mounting arms, and detent plate means carried by the mounting bracket and engaged with the nut for preventing accidental turning thereof.

Claim 24

A bicycle brake arrangement as in claim 16, wherein each slave cylinder is carried by a clamping attachment adjustably secured to the lower ends of a horseshoe shaped bracket, said bracket being connected to the frame of the bicycle with the opposite ends thereof positioned on opposite sides of the rim of the wheel of the bicycle.

Claim 25

A bicycle brake arrangement as in claim 22, wherein said horseshoe shaped bracekt is of one piece construction and has an elongated vertically extending slot in the lower ends of the bracket, said clamping attachment means each having a portion extending through the slots and adjustably clamped thereto by means of a nut or the like.

Claim 26

A bicycle brake arrangement as claimed in claim 23, wherein each slave cylinder means is axially adjustably positioned in said clamping attachment means, said clamping attachment means each having a bore extended therethrough in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the wheel of the bicycle with said slave cylinder means received through said bores, and a set screw associated with said clamping attachment means and said slave cylinder means for clamping said slave cylinder means in axially adjusted position in said clamping attachment means.

Claim 27

A bicycle brake arrangement as in claim 5, wherein the fluid pressurizable system includes bellows type master cylinders and bellows type slave cylinders.

Claim 28

A bicycle brake arrangement as in claim 25, wherein the fluid pressurizable system is vacuum filled and sealed at the factory to insure a closed, air-tight system requiring no bleeding or filling by the user of the brake arrangement.