Abstract:
An adjustable safety mechanism for a motorcycle foot peg, the device including a support mechanism for providing additional support for a foot a mounter for mounting the support mechanism on and spaced from the foot peg, an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the support mechanism relative to the foot peg, the adjusting mechanism extending between the support mechanism and the mounter. A method of retrofitting a safety device on a motorcycle foot peg by mounting the safety device on an attached motorcycle foot peg utilizing a universal bracket.

Description:
TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention generally relates to safety devices for motorcycles. More specifically, the present invention relates to a foot-retaining device for a motorcycle foot peg. 
   DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
   In the past, passengers on two-wheeled vehicles such as motorcycles generally placed their feet on portions of the vehicle frame for support while driving on a roadway. In some instances, foot supports for passengers have been pivotally incorporated into the frame behind the seat of the driver at approximately axle level. Although such incorporations have been successful in providing support for the driver&#39;s feet, nothing is provided for guiding the passenger&#39;s feet onto the support and there is a lack of retention of the foot itself. The passenger is left with a feeling of instability. 
   Several attempts to provide additional passenger foot support have included a boot-type retainer that has been proven to be unsafe in the event the passenger should fall or desire to rapidly put his or her feet on the ground such as at a stop sign. Under such circumstances, the passenger has difficulty extracting his or her feet from the boot-type retainer in a rapid and natural manner. 
   A long-standing need exists to provide aftermarket foot guides and retainers on the frame of a motorcycle or other two-wheeled vehicle that will readily guide and support the feet of a passenger during travel on the vehicle. The support and guide must be capable of allowing the passenger to safely and readily remove or dislodge the passenger&#39;s feet in an emergency situation. 
   Individuals have attempted to overcome the problems disclosed above by providing foot guides for the passenger&#39;s feet that are added to the motorcycle. These foot guides are very elaborate and must be fitted to the motorcycle. A fundamental problem with these foot guides is that they require pedals to be affixed to the motorcycle that are cumbersome and can be intrusive on the machinery of the motorcycle. Additionally, the intricate nature of applying these foot guides to the motorcycle makes them more cumbersome and less likely to be useful for motorcycle passengers. 
   It would therefore be useful to develop a safety device for passenger foot pegs that is retrofittable to the motorcycle and can be affixed with minimal effort. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   According to the present invention, there is provided an adjustable safety device for a motorcycle foot peg, the device including a support device for providing additional support for a foot, a mounting mechanism for mounting the support device on and spaced from the foot peg, an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the support device relative to the foot peg, the adjusting mechanism extending between the support device and the mounter. Also provided is a method of retrofitting a safety device on a motorcycle foot peg by mounting the safety device on an attached motorcycle foot peg utilizing a universal mount. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other advantages of the present invention are readily appreciated as the invention becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of the safety device of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the safety device of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a side view of the safety device of the present invention showing the full range of motion of the safety device; 
       FIG. 4  is a drawing depicting one embodiment of the present invention wherein there are numerous adjusting positions located 30° apart; and 
       FIG. 5  is a drawing depicting the safety device of the present invention with a foot located within the device. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides an adjustable safety device, generally shown at  10  in the attached figures. The safety device  10  is for use on a motorcycle foot peg  16 . The device  10  includes a support mechanism generally indicated at  14 , a mounting mechanism  12  for mounting the support mechanism  14  on and spaced from the foot peg  16 , and an adjusting mechanism  18  for adjusting the support mechanism  14 . relative to the foot peg  16 . The adjusting mechanism  18  extends between the support mechanism  14  and the mounting mechanism  12 . The safety device  10  also provides the passenger with a hands-free feeling of support while riding on a motorcycle. 
   The term “foot peg” as used herein is intended to include a conventional foot peg  16  normally found as part of a motorcycle. The foot peg  16  can be of any size and attached by various means to any motorcycle. For example, the foot peg  16  can be the passenger foot peg  16  on the rear portion of the motorcycle, or alternatively the foot peg  16  can be the foot peg  16  of the driver. The present invention can function with any size foot peg  16  on any make or model of motorcycle. The safety device  10  of the present invention can also be applied to motorcycles with floorboards, using a bracket capable of being affixed to the floorboards. Alternatively, the safety device  10  can be made detachable from the foot peg  16  or frame mount. The detachment process can be accomplished by a quick release mechanism, thus making it possible to remove the device instantly with a release pin trigger similar to the trigger present on the existing part. In other words, the safety device  10  can be removed and stowed either on the motorcycle, on the person, or in a saddle bag, while the adjusting mechanism  18  remains attached to the mounting mechanism  12 . 
   The term “support mechanism” as used herein is intended to indicate the support mechanism:  14  as shown in the attached figures. The support mechanism  14  is a device that can create a platform to abut with a foot and is spaced from the foot peg  16  and can be adjusted to move relative thereto. The support mechanism  14  can be anything that can perform this function, such as a foot peg or shifter peg already manufactured for a motorcycle. Further, the support mechanism  14  can be flat, round, longer, or shorter than the described foot pegs. The support mechanism  14  can be a shifter peg of the same make and model as the motorcycle to which the support mechanism  14  is being attached. Alternatively, the support mechanism  14  can be any support mechanism  14  that can be affixed to the motorcycle. The size of the support mechanism  14  does not have to be identical to that of the shifter peg, but instead can be larger or smaller depending on the preference of the passenger and the location at which it is being fitted. Alternatively, the support mechanism  14  can be made by another maker than that of the motorcycle to which the support mechanism  14  is being affixed. 
   The mounting mechanism  12  is capable of fixedly attaching the safety device  10  to the motorcycle. The mounting mechanism  12  is preferably a universal bracket that only requires a single bolt  23  to be reversibly affixed to the motorcycle. The bolt  23  is preferably affixed through the foot peg  16  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The mount  12  can be of any configuration such that it enables the safety device  10  to be retrofitted to the motorcycle without requiring the foot peg  16  to be removed from the motorcycle. In other words, the entire safety device  10  can be retrofitted utilizing a single bolt  23  without requiring any part currently on the motorcycle to be removed in order for the safety device  10  to be affixed. Alternatively, the safety device  10  can include a foot peg  16  in combination with the safety device  10  disclosed herein, for use in replacing an existing foot peg. 
   In the preferred embodiment, the universal mount  12  is C-shaped such that it covers the foot peg  16  but does not limit the movement of the foot peg  16 . The mount  12  includes an inner surface  17  that directly contacts the foot peg  16  via a pivot point of the foot peg. Such movement of the foot peg  16  can include, but is not limited to, pivoting the foot peg  16  so that it is not extended from the motorcycle when not required for use such that the foot peg  16  is flush with the motorcycle. 
   The adjusting mechanism  18  of the present invention is a pivotable arm that includes at least two locking positions such that the adjusting mechanism  18  enables the peg  14  to be moved relative to the foot peg  16  as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The adjusting mechanism  18  is fixedly attached to the mounting mechanism  12 . Preferably, this is accomplished either via welding the adjusting mechanism  18  to the mounting mechanism  12  or configuring the entire device to be formed as a single unit. 
   The adjusting mechanism  18  functions as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . More specifically, the adjusting mechanism  18  enables the support mechanism  14  to move in any variety of locations. For example,  FIG. 4  shows nine different locations for the support mechanism  14  to be located. The adjusting mechanism  18  allows the support mechanism  14  to be swung into its location and then affixed at that location. More specifically, the adjusting mechanism  18  includes a pivoting mechanism  31  for perfecting movement between the support mechanism  14  and the mounting mechanism,  12 . 
   The safety device  10  of the present invention includes a support mechanism  14  that is affixed to an adjustment mechanism  18  via a pin tube  22 . The support mechanism  14  is maintained in place via a locking pin  20  that is spring-loaded within the pin tube  22 . Pin sprocket  24  is located within the adjusting mechanism  18 . The pin sprocket  24  is designed to include multiple apertures  26  that engage the spring-loaded pin  20 . The spring  28  for the spring-loading is located at the top of the pin tube  22 , e.g., the end closest to the support mechanism  14 . The locking pin  20  includes an end  30  that is of a size sufficient to engage an aperture  26  in the sprocket  24  of the adjusting mechanism  18 . The locking pin  20  also includes a release pin  40  for moving the locking pin  20  into and out of engagement. The release pin  40  resides in a pin tube  22 . The channel  25  holds the locking pin  20  in proper alignment. When the locking pin  20  is slid within the channel  25 , the pin  20  causes the spring  28  to be compressed thereby withdrawing the end  30  from the aperture  26 . This movement enables the support mechanism  14  to be adjusted to a desired position. When the spring-loaded pin  20  is released, the end  30  is engaged in an aperture  26  of the pin sprocket  24 , thereby locking the support mechanism  14  in place. 
   The adjusting mechanism  18  is fixedly attached to the mounting mechanism  12  and is preferably bolted onto the foot peg  16 . 
   The safety device  10  can function in a number of ways. For example, as shown in  FIG. 5 , a foot  13  can be placed between the support mechanism  14  and the foot peg  16 . Alternatively, the support mechanism  14  can be moved forward or backward to provide more rigid control of the foot movement. The support mechanism  14  can be placed at its farthest most forward or backward position thereby creating a flat surface on which a foot  13  can rest. 
   Additionally, the support mechanism  14  can be pivotable in a similar manner as the foot peg  16 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . In other words, the support mechanism  14  can be moved into and out of engagement such that when the support mechanism  14  is out of engagement, the support mechanism  14  is flush with the motorcycle and not extended outward from the chassis of the motorcycle. The pivot motion occurs in an arc relative to the foot peg  16 . In other words, the pivot motion occurs around the foot peg  16  thereby moving the support mechanism  14  relative to the foot peg  16 , thus allowing for the foot, ankle, and calf to be placed at various angles relative to one another depending upon where the foot peg  16  is located on the motorcycle. 
   The safety device  10  of the present invention is also reversible. The safety device  10  can be placed on either the right side or the left side of a motorcycle. It is this reversibility that enables any number of configurations as are necessary to be formed utilizing the safety device  10 . 
   The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology that has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. 
   Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.