Abstract:
A storage tube for fixed installation inside the handlebar of a bicycle or motorcycle, that is designed to protect stored contents from rain and debris, and to provide a convenient means for carrying a motorcycle registration and the like, and the storage function of which is designed to be inconspicuous to casual passersby.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates most generally to the temporary storage of items inside a motorbike or bicycle. More specifically, this invention relates to a hollow storage tube designed to be fixedly installed inside a motorcycle or bicycle handlebar. 
     Devices designed to be installed on or within a pre-existing bike handle are generally found in three categories: 1) signaling devices to alert other drivers or riders; 2) mechanical devices used in operating the transport vehicle; and 3) storage units. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,498 (Gossett et al., Sep. 14, 1999) describes a storage unit for a bicycle that is designed to be removably engaged with a handlebar. When the user wants to store something in the handlebar, he or she first inserts it into the unit and then temporarily slides the unit into the handlebar. To retrieve the item, the entire unit is disengaged from the handlebar, and therefore each time the unit is used, the unit and its contents are subject to being dropped, lost, scratched or otherwise damaged. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,323 (Prager, Nov. 11, 1975) describes a motorcycle throttle-grip protector designed for fixed attachment to a motorcycle handlebar. It is designed to protect the throttle grip from damage during extreme tipping, and is not capable of serving as a storage device. 
     The following patents describe turn signal indicator lights designed for fixed attachment into a bike handle. By design, any tubular portion is used for holding batteries and or mechanical parts and therefore it is not available or capable of serving additionally as a storage device: U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,190 (Kellermann, Jun. 27, 2000); U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,431 (Liu, Sep. 21, 1993) U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,142 (Spector, Oct. 17, 1989); U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,954 (Schott et al., Nov. 18, 1986). 
     Metal end plugs designed to be inserted into the very end of a motorcycle or bicycle handlebar have been manufactured to provide the user with a decorative device with which to display trademarks or other insignia, but they are merely decorative plugs and serve no useful purpose. 
     What would be useful is a storage tube that could be fixedly attached to the inside of a handlebar, and in which the motorcycle&#39;s certificate of registration and/or other small items could be safely stored, protected from water and debris, and easily retrieved therefrom without having to remove the entire storage unit from the handlebar. What would also be useful is a storage unit designed to be approximately invisible or inconspicuous to casual passersby, unlike typical motorcycle storage saddlebag. What would also be useful is a storage tube cap capable of receiving engraving or decoration for identification or decorative purposes. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention consists of a cylindrical storage tube designed to be fixedly installed inside a motorcycle or bicycle handlebar and having a tight-fitting removable cap, and used to secure items inside the handlebar and protect the secured items from water and debris. A first embodiment of the device is of metal manufacture, and protrudes approximately 1.46 centimeters/0.575 inches from the end of a pre-existing handlebar. The functional capability of the device is designed to be invisible to casual passers-by. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of a first embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a cut-away view of the device shown in FIG. 1 placed inside a handlebar and prior to attachment to the handlebar. 
     FIG. 3 is a cut-away view of the device shown in FIG. 2 after it has been fixedly attached to the handlebar. 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of a second embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the storage device  10  comprising the present invention. The device consists of a hollow storage tube  12  with handlebar engaging means  14 , cap engaging means  16 , and cap  18 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, storage tube  12  has a wall  46 , a collar  32  depending from wall  46 , and a floor  48  opposite collar  32 . Collar  32  has a floor  72  depending from tube wall  46 , and a collar wall  70  depending from collar floor  72 . Collar floor  72  has an interior surface  38 , and an exterior surface  40 . Tube  12  is of approximately cylindrical shape in order to maximize the volume of the storage unit, but could be manufactured in non-cylindrical shapes. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, tube wall  46  has an interior surface  20 , and an exterior surface  22 . As shown in FIG. 2, tube floor  48  has an interior surface  24 , and an exterior surface  26 . As shown in FIG. 1, tube  12  has an access aperture  76  opposite floor  48 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, handlebar engaging means  14  are fixedly disposed proximate to floor  48 , in order to maximize the volume of space available in tube  12  for storing items. In a first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, handlebar engaging means  14  comprises a screw  62 , a washer  56 , a hex nut  60 , and an expandable plug  64 , but other means could be used that provided a fixed engagement of tube  12  to a pre-existing handlebar  80  while maximizing the volume of space available for storing items. As shown in FIG. 2, tube floor  48  has an aperture  66  through which screw  62  is removably received, and expansion plug  64  has an aperture  68  for removably receiving screw  62  before screw  62  is received through tube floor aperture  66 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, tube storage space  28  is approximately defined by tube wall interior surface  20 . In the first and second embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, tube wall interior surface  20  is approximately 10.16 centimeters/4.0 inches long, but the length could vary somewhat. A rolled up motorcycle registration  30  is shown to be stored inside storage space  28  in FIG.  3 . Storage space  28  is designed to be inconspicuous to casual passersby, and tube  12  securely closed to water and debris, and aperture  76  fully blocked, when cap  18  is fully engaged with collar  32 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, collar  32  provides means for engaging cap  18 , and means for aligning access aperture  76  proximate to handlebar end  78 . 
     In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, In a first embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, collar  32  is circular in shape, and collar wall  70  is approximately 0.76 centimeters/0.300 inches wide, but collar  32  may have another pre-determined shape. As shown in FIG. 1, collar wall  46  has an exterior surface  36  and an interior surface  34  with grooves  50  for removably receiving threaded cap stem  52 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, cap  18  has a visually perceptible shape that matches the visually perceptible shape of collar  32  when cap  18  is received in collar  32 . In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, both cap  18  and collar  32  are circular, but other shapes may be used. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, Cap  18  has an exterior end  54 , a wall  88  and a threaded cylindrical stem  52  depending therefrom designed to removably engage grooves  50  in collar  32 . In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the width of cap wall  88  is approximately 0.68 centimeters/0.270 inches, but the width of wall  88  could vary. 
     In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, cap stem  52  also has an O-ring  42  removably received within a cap stem recess  44  proximate to cap wall  88 . O-ring recess  44  and O-ring  42  provide means to deeply engage cap  18  within collar  32  and thereby reduce any gap between cap  18  and collar  32  when the cap is engaged as shown in FIG. 3; help make the cap and storage functions of device  10  inconspicuous to casual passersby, and to provide a water and debris resistant storage unit. 
     In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, cap  18  and collar  32  have visually perceptible surfaces  54 ,  74 ,  36  that match each other in appearance. In FIG. 1, surfaces  54 ,  74 ,  36  are metallic in appearance and designed to blend in with the metallic exterior surface  82  of pre-existing handlebar  80 , however surfaces  54 ,  74 ,  36  could all appear to be black or some other color and/or texture. 
     In the first embodiment of the device shown in FIG. 1, cap end  54  has a surface area  58  designed for fixedly receiving identifying or decorative symbols by etching, engraving or the like, however cap end  54  may be left blank. 
     In a second embodiment of the device as shown in FIG. 4, cap end  54 , cap wall exterior surface  74 , and collar wall exterior surface  36  are colored in order to blend in with standard handlebar grip material composed of rubber, polyvinyl or the like, and provide a storage unit and cap that is inconspicuous to casual passersby. In the second embodiment, cap end  54  and collar exterior surfaces  36 ,  40  are manufactured with a coat of black rubberized or polyvinyl material. 
     As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the device is designed to fixedly attach to a pre-existing hollow cylindrical handlebar  80 , having an exterior surface  82 , an interior surface  84 , an a handlebar end  78 . 
     When installing the device, the user should ensure that the handlebar&#39;s interior surface  84  is smooth, as shown in FIG. 2, and no metal burrs or rough edges are present that could scratch or block insertion of storage device  10 . To install the device on a pre-existing motorcycle or bicycle handlebar that has a rubber coating covering handlebar end  78 , the user must first cut an entry hole in the rubber coating. 
     Prior to insertion of tube  12  into handlebar  80 , the user should ensure that washer  56 , plug  64  and hex nut  60  are securely disposed on screw  62  as shown in FIG.  2 . Washer  56  abuts plug  64 , hex nut  60  abuts tube floor interior surface  24 , and collar floor exterior surface  40  abuts handlebar end  78 . 
     To install the device  10 , tube  12  is uncapped and is inserted through handlebar end  78  and into handlebar  80  so that collar floor exterior surface  40  abuts handlebar end  78  as shown in FIG.  2 . As shown in FIG. 2, plug  64  does not frictionally engage handlebar interior surface  84  when tube  12  is first received into handlebar  80 , because the diameter of plug  64  when plug  64  is in a non-compressed state is smaller than the interior diameter of handlebar  80 , as shown by the existence of gap  86  between plug  64  and handlebar interior surface  84 . 
     To fix the device inside handlebar  80  after it has been initially received in handlebar  80  as shown in FIG. 2, hex nut  60  is tightened, by using tools common to such a task such as a socket drive, a drive extension and drive ratchet, while keeping pressure on the unit to keep it deep into the handle and pressed against handlebar end  78 . Tightening hex hut  60  causes plug  64  to expand and bulge outwardly, and thereby frictionally engage handlebar interior surface  84 , as shown in FIG.  3 . 
     Finally, the user may place items into storage space  28  and secure the stored items by screwing cap  18  into the collar  32 . 
     If tube  12  should come loose from handlebar  80 , the user may empty tube  12  of stored items, loosen hex nut  60  and re-fix tube  12  by pushing it back into handlebar  80  and re-tightening hex nut  12 . 
     Although the presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail in order to comply with the patent laws, it will be understood that the scope of the invention is to be judged only in accordance with the appended claims.