Quick-release axle for wheel attachment

Abstract

A through axle (1) for wheel attachment, in particular for attaching bicycle wheels or similar means of transport in the dropout of a fork head of a front and / or rear wheel, which is tubular and has a through axle head (5) on one side that can be connected to a first dropout and an external thread (4) on the opposite side that can be connected to the other dropout. The through axle head (5) is formed by a cap screw (6) that engages with its bolt-side end in the front end of the axle tube (2) and is anchored there. The cap screw (6) further has a stepped, axial stop surface (19) for the secure positioning of a load-transmitting head disk (8, 9). The head disk (8, 9) is formed in two parts and the cap screw (6) consists of a screw bolt (16) with an external thread.which merges in the axial direction into a first axial stop surface (17) of enlarged diameter (31), which merges into a screw collar (18) of enlarged diameter (31), which forms at its axial end the second axial stop surface (19), which merges in the axial direction into a head collar (20) of enlarged diameter (32), and in that the diameter (31) of the screw collar (18) is smaller than the diameter (32) of the head collar (20) and the diameter (32) of the head screw (6) is not larger than the outer diameter of the axle tube (2) in the region of the thickened section (11) of the plug-in axle (1).

Description

The invention relates to a plug-in axle for wheel fastening, in particular for fastening wheels for bicycles or similar means of transport. As prior art, EP 1 990 265 B2 is specified, which relates generally to a plug-in axle system for wheel fastening.The axle system for wheel fastening illustrated there consists of an approximately tubular axle which has on one side an axle head which is connected to a first dropout and has on the opposite side a threaded shoulder which is connected to another dropout.However, the disadvantage of the known plug-in axle is the complicated fastening and the complicated design of the plug-in axle head and the susceptibility of the O-ring to defects, which secures the annular pressure element against slipping off in the removed state.In the said patent, it is assumed that an annular pressure element is provided, which has a substantially central passage through which at least a part of the axle section extends and has at least one inwardly located recess, against which a shoulder rests in the installed state, so that this shoulder transmits the axial displacement force at least partially to the pressure element.The plug-in axle head is connected in one piece to the pipe section of the plug-in axle, i.e. to the axle pipe.This results in the disadvantage of expensive production, because such a plug-in axle head can only be produced from a solid material by an expensive mechanical upsetting process or by an expensive machining of the entire axle tube, which is associated with high expenditure.DE 20 2011 109 857 U1, DE 10 2008 010 641 A1 and DE 10 2008 013 938 A1 show known clamping bodies which comprise either a rotary lever or a rotary clamping lever and a plug-in axle. Since these levers are operated manually, they are bulky and do not allow fine metering of the tension force. For this reason, a head bolt has been used in combination with the plug-in axle, which head bolt no longer projects in an interfering manner from an axle side.DE 10 2013 013 819 A1 shows a plug axle for fastening wheels in the dropout of a fork head of a front and / or rear wheel, wherein the plug axle is tubular and has on one side a plug axle head which can be connected to a first dropout and has on the opposite side a threaded shoulder which can be connected to the other dropout. The plug-in axle head is formed by a cap screw which engages with its bolt-side end into the end face of the axle tube and is anchored there, and the cap screw furthermore has a stepped, axial stop surface for the bearing of a knurl disk.Since the knurl disk is arranged radially offset from the plug axis surface and functions only to assist in transmitting force, in addition to a further contact surface arranged below, a positionally secure transmission of force to the dropout is not possible.The invention is based on the object of further developing the plug-in axle head of a plug-in axle in such a way that it can be produced in a substantially simplified manner.To achieve the object set, the invention is characterized by the technical teaching of claim 1.A feature of the invention is that the plug-in axle head according to the invention consists of a single- or multi-part head bolt which engages with its bolt-side end into the end face of the axle tube and is anchored there, and that the head bolt furthermore has a stepped shoulder for the position-proof contact of a two-part head washer.The invention accordingly achieves the advantage that forming a plug-in axle head onto an axle tube in one piece of material is dispensed with and that instead a single- or multi-part head screw is inserted into the axle tube and fixed there. In a preferred embodiment, the cap screw is screwed by a screw bolt into an associated thread in the interior of the axle tube. Instead of such a threaded connection, other connections can also be used, such as a press connection, an adhesive connection or a shrink connection.The two-part embodiment is important because the cap screw can be manufactured in a simple manner from a relatively cost-effective, lightweight material. The actual load-transmitting elements are then, in addition to the cap screw itself, also the two-part cap disk, which consists of two metallic high-quality and load-transmitting rings, which bear against one another in a load-transmitting and form-fitting manner, namely a fitting ring and a pressure ring.This has the advantage that the cap screw can be produced from a relatively simple and cost-effective material and the actual load-transmitting parts, namely the two-part cap ring, can be produced from relatively high-quality materials.However, the cap screw can also be made of a material-integral material and is then one-piece. In this case, the cap screw forms a material-uniform, one-piece part with the one- or multi-piece cap disk. For the sake of simplicity of description, however, the following description will proceed from a cap screw and a single- or multi-part cap disc which is separate from the latter, although the invention is not limited thereto. This is the subject of an embodiment not encompassed by the invention.If, for example, the plug-in axle is to be inserted into a carbon drop-out of a fork of a bicycle and fastened there, it has proven advantageous to form the part of the head ring directly adjacent there, which is referred to below as a fitting ring, from a titanium material, while the other part of the head ring, namely the pressure ring, can consist of a simpler material, such as, for example, from aluminum.Thus, with the multi-part, material-separated design of the plug-in axle head, a substantial advantage over the prior art can be achieved, which was not possible up to now.It is also important that the maximum outer diameter of the cap screw does not extend, or does not extend substantially, beyond the outer diameter of the axle tube in the region of the fastening because this results in a considerable saving in weight and the actual stop surfaces are achieved by a two-part high-quality cap disk which consists of the fitting ring and the pressure ring.It is preferred if the fitting ring has a conical surface on its plug-in side, so that the two-part head disk consisting of the fitting ring and the pressure ring centers itself on the inner periphery of the tube into which the plug-in axle is inserted.It is also preferred that the mating ring have a longitudinally extending slot which radially severs and divides the periphery of the mating ring so that the mating ring is variable in diameter. It is not necessary for the slot to extend in an exactly axial direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the plug-in axis. The slot can also be formed obliquely, zigzag-shaped or in another manner. It is only important that the fitting ring is designed to be variable in diameter, because the slot makes the diameter of the fitting ring variable.The use of a two-part head disk consisting of a fitting ring and a pressure ring, which lie against one another in a load-transmitting manner along a common contact plane, results in the advantage of favorable production and the possibility of using different materials for the fitting ring and the pressure ring.The pressure ring rests with an associated stop surface against an axial stop surface of the cap screw.The subject matter of the present invention results not only from the subject matter of the individual patent claims, but also from the combination of the individual patent claims with one another.All the details and features disclosed in the documents, including the summary, in particular the spatial configuration illustrated in the drawings, are claimed as essential to the invention, provided they are novel, individually or in combination, compared with the prior art.Insofar as individual articles are referred to as "essential to the invention" or "important", this does not mean that these articles necessarily have to form the subject matter of an independent claim. This is determined solely by the respectively applicable version of the independent claim.The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to a drawing which merely represents one embodiment. In this connection, the drawings and their description reveal further features and advantages of the invention which are essential to the invention.The following are shown: FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section through a plug-in axle according to the invention FIG. 2 : Side view of the plug-in axle according to FIG. 1 FIG. 3 : Side view of the cap screw FIG. 4 is a side view of the fitting ring FIG. 5 is a front view of the fitting ring FIG. 6 : front view of the pressure ring FIG. 7 : Incision through the pressure ringFIG. 1 shows a plug-in axle 1 which substantially comprises an axle tube 2 which can consist of a plastic or a light metal alloy or a combination material of metal and plastic.The axle tube is cylindrically profiled and has on its right end face a screw-in or inserted threading cone 3, with which the plug-in axle 1 can be inserted into an associated receiving opening in a dropout of the wheel attachment on a two-wheeler.For this reason, the outer circumference of the axle tube has an external thread 4.The profile of the axle tube 2 is designed differently for weight reasons and has sections 11, 12 which are thickened in diameter on mutually opposite end sides, while the section 13 lying therebetween is designed to be reduced in diameter for weight saving reasons.The plug-in axle head 5 according to the invention is formed in multiple parts and essentially comprises a cap screw 6, which is screwed into the inner periphery of the axle tube 2 by means of a threaded connection 7.On the end face of the cap screw 6, a tool opening 10 is provided for the insertion of a suitable turning tool, such as, for example, an allen wrench or a torx tool.The head disk according to the invention is in two parts and consists of an inner conical fitting ring 8 and an outer pressure ring 9, with which the plug-in force is transmitted to the head of the head screw 6.In FIG. 2, the plug-in axle 1 is provided with the same reference numerals and it is shown that the threading cone 3 has been removed.FIG. 3 shows the construction of the cap screw 6, wherein a screw bolt 16 with an external thread is adjoined by a stop surface 17 of enlarged diameter, which merges into a screw collar 18 of enlarged diameter.This again merges via a further stop surface 19 into a head collar 20 which has a diameter 32.The diameter 31 of the screw collar 18 is consequently smaller than the diameter 32 of the head collar 20 and, overall, the diameter 32 of the head screw 6 is not or only minimally larger than the outer diameter of the axle tube 2 in the region of the thickened portion 11.The cap screw thus does not project at any point beyond the outer periphery of the axle tube 2 in the region of the section 11.This is a substantial saving in weight, because in other cases solid cap screws 6 had to be used, which therefore had a correspondingly enlarged cap collar 20 which formed the stop limit for the insertion of the axle tube 2.In the present case, the stop limitation is formed by the two-part head disk, one part consisting of a fitting ring 8, which centers itself with its cone surface 21 on a plug-in opening, not shown in more detail, of a dropout, into which the plug-in axle 1 is inserted.In order that the fitting ring 8 can adapt itself favorably to this plug-in opening, a slot 14 is provided, which passes through the material of the fitting ring 8, so that the latter can reduce in diameter (FIG. 4 ).The fitting ring 8 does not bear directly against the end face of the section 11 of the axle tube 2, but has a certain axial clearance 23 there.On its flat end face, it forms a contact surface 24, against which an opposite contact surface 28 of the pressure ring 9 bears in a load-transmitting manner. Both surfaces thus form a load-transmitting contact plane 15.FIG. 5 also shows that a boundary surface 22 is arranged in the circumferential region of the inner bore 25.FIGS. 6 and 7 show the top view and the section through the pressure ring 9, which is provided substantially with a front cone surface 27 on the visible side, which is beveled only for reasons of saving weight.On the rear side, the aforementioned contact surface 29 is arranged, by means of which the pressure ring 9 is contiguous with the contact surface 24 of the fitting ring 8.In the inner bore 28 there is an enlarged annular shoulder which forms a stop surface 30, with which the pressure ring bears, in a load-transmitting manner, against the stop surface 19 on the head collar 20 of the cap screw 6.In another embodiment, it can be provided that the cap screw 6 consists of high-alloy steel or titanium or another hard metallic material. This results in the advantage that the hexagonal socket or the multi-tooth profile located in the plug-in axle head 5 is particularly stable and wear-resistant.Drawing Legend1 Plug-in axle 2 axle tube 3 threading cone 4 external thread 5 plug-in axle head 6 cap screw 7 threaded connection 8 fitting ring 9 pressure ring 10 tool opening 11 section 12 section 13 section 14 slot 15 contact plane 16 screw bolts (of 6) 17 stop surface 18 screw collar 19 stop surface 20 cap collar 21 cone surface (of 8) 22 boundary surface 23 play 24 contact surface (of 8) 25 internal bore 26 27 cone surface (of 9) 28 contact surface (of 9) 29 internal bore 30 stop surface (of 19) 31 diameter 32 diameter

Claims

A plug axle (1) for wheel fastening, in particular for fastening wheels for bicycles or similar means of transport in the dropout of a fork head of a front and / or rear wheel, which is tubular and has on one side a plug axle head (5) which can be connected to a first dropout and on the opposite side an external thread (4) which can be connected to the other dropout, wherein the plug axle head (5) is formed by a head screw (6) which engages with its bolt-side end into the front end of the axle tube (2) and is anchored there, and that the head screw (6) further has a stepped, axial stop surface (19) for the position-proof contact of a load-transmitting head disc (8, 9), characterized in that the head disc (8, 9), The socket head screw (6) is designed in two parts and that the socket head screw (6) consists of a screw bolt (16) with an external thread which merges in the axial direction into a first axial stop surface (17) of enlarged diameter (31) which merges into a screw collar (18) of enlarged diameter (31) which forms at its axial end the second axial stop surface (19) which merges in the axial direction into a socket collar (20) of enlarged diameter (32) and that the diameter (31) of the screw collar (18) is smaller than the diameter (32) of the socket head collar (20) and the diameter (32) of the socket head screw (6) is not larger than the external diameter of the axle tube (2) in the region of the thickened portion (11) of the plug axle (1).Plug-in axle according to Claim 1, characterized in that the screw bolt (16) is screwed into an associated thread in the interior of the axle tube (2).Plug-in axle according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the two-part head disc (8, 9) consists of two rings which bear against one another in a load-transmitting and form-fitting manner, namely of a fitting ring (8) and a pressure ring (9).Plug-in axle according to Claim 3, characterized in that the fitting ring (8) consists of a titanium material and the pressure ring (9) consists of a light metal alloy.Plug-in axle according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the diameter (32) of the cap screw (6) overall does not project beyond the outer diameter of the axle tube (2) in the region of the fastening.The plug-in axle according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the fitting ring (8) has a conical surface (21) on its plug-in side, so that the two-part head washer (8, 9) consisting of the fitting ring (8) and the pressure ring (9) centers itself on the inner periphery of a tube into which the plug-in axle (1) is inserted.Plug-in axle according to Claim 3, 4 or 6, characterized in that the fitting ring (8) has a slot (14) which runs in the longitudinal direction and which severs the circumference of the fitting ring (8) in the radial direction and forms the fitting ring (8) so as to be variable in diameter.Plug-in axle according to Claim 3, 4, 6 or 7, characterized in that the fitting ring (8) has an axial clearance (23) with respect to the end face of the section (11) of the axle tube (2) and forms, on its flat end face, a contact surface (24), against which a contact surface (29), lying opposite, of the pressure ring 9 bears in a load-transmitting manner.

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