US3861234A — Brake levers for bicycles

Claim 1

Independent Claim 328 words

For use in a bicycle which has a handlebar provided with an intermediate straight horizontal portion and a pair of opposed substantially U-shaped end portions projecting forwardly and downwardly from said intermediate horizontal portion, a pair of bracket means respectively fixed to and projecting forwardly from said U-shaped portions of said handlebar, a pair of primary brake levers respectively pivotally carried by said pair of bracket means and extending downwardly therefrom and situated forwardly of said U-shaped portions of said handlebar, and a pair of auxiliary brake levers pivotally connected to said pair of bracket means at inner side surfaces thereof which are directed toward each other, each of said auxiliary levers being connected respectively to said pair of bracket means for swinging movement with respect thereto about a predetermined axis and having an outer arm extending from the latter axis toward the primary brake lever and situated in part beside the same, each primary brake lever and outer arm of each auxiliary lever situated beside the same carrying an interconnecting means for interconnecting a primary brake lever and an auxiliary brake lever for movement together, and each auxiliary lever having an inner arm extending from its pivot axis in the direction opposite to said outer arm and terminating in an elongated free end portion extending substantially parallel to said horizontal straight portion of the handlebar at a distance close enough to said horizontal straight portion of said handlebar to be grasped by the hand of an operator when the hand is on the horizontal straight portion of the handlebar, so that the primary levers can also be turned by turning of the auxiliary levers, each outer arm of each auxiliary lever being symmetrical with respect to a plane which contains the pivot axis of each auxiliary lever so that the auxiliary levers may be interchangeably connected with the brackets and primary levers and arranged with said free end portions of said inner arms extending toward each other.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 328 words

For use in a bicycle which has a handlebar provided with an intermediate straight horizontal portion and a pair of opposed substantially U-shaped end portions projecting forwardly and downwardly from said intermediate horizontal portion, a pair of bracket means respectively fixed to and projecting forwardly from said U-shaped portions of said handlebar, a pair of primary brake levers respectively pivotally carried by said pair of bracket means and extending downwardly therefrom and situated forwardly of said U-shaped portions of said handlebar, and a pair of auxiliary brake levers pivotally connected to said pair of bracket means at inner side surfaces thereof which are directed toward each other, each of said auxiliary levers being connected respectively to said pair of bracket means for swinging movement with respect thereto about a predetermined axis and having an outer arm extending from the latter axis toward the primary brake lever and situated in part beside the same, each primary brake lever and outer arm of each auxiliary lever situated beside the same carrying an interconnecting means for interconnecting a primary brake lever and an auxiliary brake lever for movement together, and each auxiliary lever having an inner arm extending from its pivot axis in the direction opposite to said outer arm and terminating in an elongated free end portion extending substantially parallel to said horizontal straight portion of the handlebar at a distance close enough to said horizontal straight portion of said handlebar to be grasped by the hand of an operator when the hand is on the horizontal straight portion of the handlebar, so that the primary levers can also be turned by turning of the auxiliary levers, each outer arm of each auxiliary lever being symmetrical with respect to a plane which contains the pivot axis of each auxiliary lever so that the auxiliary levers may be interchangeably connected with the brackets and primary levers and arranged with said free end portions of said inner arms extending toward each other.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 34 words

The combination of claim 1 and wherein said primary levers respectively have with respect to said pair of bracket means, respectively, pivot axes which are different from the pivot axes of said auxiliary levers.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 50 words

The combination of claim 2 and wherein the pivot axes of said primary levers are at least substantially coincident with each other while the pivot axes of said auxiliary levers are also substantially coincident with each other and spaced from while extending parallel to the axes of said primary levers.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 54 words

The combination of claim 3 and wherein said interconnecting means interconnecting each primary lever and an auxiliary lever includes a slot formed in a wall portion of the primary lever and a substantially U-shaped free end portion at the outer arm of each auxiliary lever terminating in a tongue which extends into said slot.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 121 words

The combination of claim 3 and wherein said inner arms of said auxiliary levers are mirror images of each other and are arranged with said elongated free end portions thereof situated at an elevation different from the pivot axis of each auxiliary lever, so that said auxiliary levers may be selectively connected with the pair of bracket means in such a way that the free end portions of said inner arms are either at an elevation hIgher than or at an elevation lower than the elevation of the pivot axis of the auxiliary levers, thus providing the possibility of situating the free end portions of said inner arms either closer to or distant from the horizontal intermediate portion of the handlebar.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 96 words

In a bicycle brake operating device adapted to be secured to a drop type bicycle handle having main brake lever means for operating the brake of a bicycle, and auxiliary brake lever means in interconnecting engagement with said main brake lever means whereby the brakes on the bicycle may be effectively operated by either lever, the improvement which comprises each outer arm of each auxiliary brake lever being symmetrical with respect to a plane which contains the pivot axis of each auxiliary lever so that the auxiliary levers can be interchangeably connected to said main lever.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 96 words

In a bicycle brake operating device adapted to be secured to a drop type bicycle handle having main brake lever means for operating the brake of a bicycle, and auxiliary brake lever means in interconnecting engagement with said main brake lever means whereby the brakes on the bicycle may be effectively operated by either lever, the improvement which comprises each outer arm of each auxiliary brake lever being symmetrical with respect to a plane which contains the pivot axis of each auxiliary lever so that the auxiliary levers can be interchangeably connected to said main lever.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 46 words

The improvement of claim 6 wherein said auxiliary brake lever is interconnected to said main lever by its terminal end gripping an appendage fixed to the side of said main lever causing the latter''s movement with the movement of the auxiliary lever about its pivot axis.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1978-01-20	1978-07-22	1979-01-21	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1982-01-20	1982-07-22	1983-01-21	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1986-01-20	1986-07-22	1987-01-21	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Brake levers for bicycles

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