Operating lever for gear-shifting means of a bicycle

Claim 1

An operating lever for gear-shing means of a bicycle, comprising, a. a base plate fixed to the bicycle frame, b. a fixed shaft fixed to said base plate, c. a lever body supported with said fixed shaft in the relationship of being rotatable around the shaft, said lever body being provided at the center of the root portion thereof with a shaft hole of a diameter greater than the outer diameter of said fixed shaft and with an annular chamber which is formed adjacently to said shaft hole and has a diameter greater than that of said shaft hole, and having at the outer periphery thereof a control wire of which one terminal is retained thereto, d. a resistance member accomodated into said annular chamber of the lever body in the rotatable relationship with the lever, said resistance member comprising a cylindrical portion and a potion which is perpendicularly extending from one end of said cylindrical portion, said perpendicular portion being opposite at one surface thereof to the bottom of said annular chamber, said cylindrical portion being provided at the inner peripheral surface thereof with ratchet teeth, e. a bushing urging said resistance member towards the bottom of said annular chamber so that a given frictional resistance may be applied to the lever body in a relative rotation of said resistance member and said lever body, said bushing being cylindrically elongated enough to be perforated throughout the shaft hole of said lever body and having a screw thread formed at the outer periphery of the foremost end thereof, f. an adjusting nut engagable with said bushing, which serves to frictionally lock said resistance member with respect to the lever body through said bushing so that said bushing may be screwably engagably positioned for previously adjusting said frictional resistance in a given value, g. pawls which are fitted to said fixed shaft at the portion of outer periphery thereof and engaged with ratchet teeth of the resistance member so that said resistance member may be prevented from rotating, and h. retaining means provided at the utmost end of said fixed shaft for preventing said lever body from axially moving.