Audio equipment carrier assembly for a support member of a vehicle such as a bicycle or an aerobic exercise machine

The audio equipment carrier assembly is for attachment to a support member of a vehicle such as a bicycle or an aerobic exercise machine. The assembly includes a carrier assembly body in the form of a generally elongated flat plate adapted to carry a personal radio or other portable audio equipment. The plate has a centrally located depression of uniform depth in which is located a resilient shock absorbing pad having a height greater than the depth of the depression. The shock absorbing pad provides a cushion for the portable audio equipment which is placed thereon when the assembly is mounted on a bicycle. A strap of generally Y-shaped configuration includes an elongated stem. One end of the strap is connected in two places to one edge of the plate while the other end of the strap extends across the top of the portable audio equipment to frictionally hold same on the support plate. The free end of the strap extends through a slot in order to guide the strap along the other edge of the plate. Thereafter the strap is reversed in direction and has the free end of the strap secured to an intermediate portion thereof by means of suitable fastening devices. The main plate is provided with a pair of clamping elements which are attached to the bottom surface of the body for mounting the audio equipment carrier on a support member of a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Technical Field 
This invention relates generally to an audio equipment carrier assembly for 
releasably mounting portable audio equipment on a support member of a 
vehicle, such as a bicycle or an aerobic exercise machine. More 
particularly, this invention relates to a removable audio equipment 
carrier assembly for containing portable audio equipment such as a 
personal radio, portable cassette stereo player, compact disc player and 
the like. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Equipment carriers are attached to the handlebars of bicycles and have been 
used for storage of different supplies and for carrying large articles 
which could not be carried in the pockets of the bicycle operator. With 
the popularity of the Sony Corporation's Walkman-type radios, bicycle and 
aerobic exercise machine manufacturers and operators have wanted to 
provide an accessory for the operator to listen to music from such radios, 
compact disc players, etc. 
However, there has been no place on a bicycle for carrying the bulk of the 
stereo equipment. The bicycle operator has attached the radio to his or 
her body. Such person wears the headphone set to receive the audio signals 
from the stereo. Problems have been experienced with this method, however, 
because the radio itself is too bulky to be easily mounted or attached to 
the body of the operator. Thus, persons have strapped the radio or other 
audio equipment to the front of the bicycle. These conventional devices 
have experienced some difficulties or problems when turning corners, 
hitting bumps in the road or sometimes from improperly being attached to 
the vehicle. Carrying devices produced by such prior methods are sometimes 
unstable due to the manner in which they are attached to the bicycle. 
Conventional carrying devices are limited in that they are not useful for 
holding Walkman-style audio equipment on the bicycle during operation. One 
recent attempt has been made to provide a carrier assembly for audio 
equipment, with the assembly mounted on the handlebars of the vehicle and 
adapted to carry a Walkman-style personal radio. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,243 issued Jan. 1, 1991 to Rogowski discloses an audio 
equipment carrier assembly body adapted to receive and contain a 
Walkman-style personal radio, with the carrier assembly adapted to be 
mounted on the handlebars of a bicycle. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,901 issued Jul. 5, 1988 to Villanuena, et al discloses 
an audio equipment carrier with a pair of built-in speakers for personal 
portable radios, tape players and the like, with the carrier adapt to be 
clamped or mounted on the handlebar of a vehicle such as a bicycle. 
The prior patents discussed previously, as well as other patents cited and 
discussed therein, mount the carriers directly onto the handlebar of the 
vehicle, such as a bicycle. In addition, each prior art device is designed 
for generally one type of equipment. As an example, the carrier disclosed 
in U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,901 includes audio equipment having a pair of 
speakers which is mounted on the handlebar, with the speakers at opposite 
sides of the control stem to which the handlebar is affixed. Also, U.S. 
Pat. No. 4,981,243 has a generally rectangular case with an opening 
designed to receive a generally rectangular Walkman style radio. Thus, the 
carriers themselves dictate the type of audio equipment to be carried 
thereby. 
The present invention is directed to an audio equipment carrier assembly 
which may support any number of differently configured portable stereo 
equipment such as radio, television, cassette player, portable dictating 
equipment and the like. In addition, the present invention locates the 
audio equipment carrier assembly by clamping it to the front beam (upper 
horizontal bar) of the bicycle or to the beam under the rider's seat 
(vertical seat post). The audio equipment may be used by a bicycle rider 
for enjoyment purposes with the assistance of earphones as is well known. 
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an audio 
equipment carrier assembly designed to hold and secure a wide variety of 
portable cassette stereo players to a bicycle and/or to an aerobic 
exercise machine by clamping the carrier assembly to the front beam (upper 
horizontal bar) or the beam under the rider's seat (vertical seat post) of 
the vehicle or bicycle. If so mounted, it provides to the rider of the 
bicycle maximum flexibility to operate the portable cassette stereo. The 
audio equipment carrier assembly is provided with good shock absorbing 
features in order to minimize music distortion and to insure smooth 
functioning of the portable cassette stereo equipment. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is a feature of the present invention to provide an audio equipment 
carrier assembly for holding and securing a wide variety of portable 
cassette stereo players or other portable audio equipment to a bicycle 
and/or to an aerobic exercise machine by clamping the carrier assembly 
body to the upper horizontal bar or to the vertical beam under the rider's 
seat of the bicycle. The advantage of such a feature is that it provides 
maximum flexibility to the rider of the bicycle to operate the portable 
cassette stereo or audio equipment. 
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an audio equipment 
carrier assembly of the aforementioned type wherein the carrier assembly 
body is in the form of a generally elongated flat plate which is adapted 
to carry the portable audio equipment and has a pair of longitudinally 
extending edges and top and bottom surfaces, with the plate having a 
generally centrally located depression of uniform depth in the top surface 
thereof. 
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide an audio 
equipment carrier assembly of the aforementioned type wherein a pair of 
longitudinally spaced apart slots are provided adjacent to one 
longitudinal edge of the plate, with an additional slot being located 
adjacent to the other longitudinal edge of the plate, said slots being 
constructed and arranged to mount a strap. 
A further feature of the present invention is to provide an audio equipment 
carrier assembly of the aforementioned type wherein a resilient shock 
absorbing pad is located in the depression in the top surface of the 
plate, with the pad having a uniform thickness which is greater than the 
depth of the depression and providing a cushion for the portable audio 
equipment placed thereon. 
A still further feature of the present invention is to provide an audio 
equipment carrier assembly of the aforementioned type wherein a flexible 
or elastic, neoprene or foam strap of generally Y-shape configuration is 
provided, with the strap having an elongated stem and a pair of spaced 
apart tabs having ends, with the tabs being connected to one end of the 
stem. With such a construction, the ends of the tabs extend through the 
pair of slots and are thereafter attached or secured to other portions of 
the tabs to thereby connect the strap to the plate. 
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an audio equipment 
carrier assembly of the aforementioned type where the stem has a length 
sufficient to extend across and to engage the top of the portable audio 
equipment and to hold it against the shock absorbing pad and plate by 
extending the free end of the stem along a side of the portable audio 
equipment and through the additional slot and to thereafter reverse 
direction so that the free end of the stem is anchored to an intermediate 
portion of the stem which holds the audio equipment against the pad and 
plate. 
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide an audio 
equipment carrier assembly of the aforementioned type where a pair of 
clamping elements are attached to the bottom surface of the body for 
mounting the assembly on a support member of the vehicle. 
A further feature of the present invention is that the carrier assembly for 
the portable audio equipment provides good shock absorbing qualities in 
order to minimize music distortion and to insure smooth functioning of the 
equipment. 
A still further feature of the present invention is that the audio 
equipment carrier assembly is made of relatively few parts which are easy 
to assemble and in use provides an appealing look and appearance. With 
such a construction, the audio equipment carrier assembly, once mounted on 
the vehicle, permits the portable audio equipment to be easily mounted to 
and removed from the carrier to prevent theft of the equipment. Such audio 
equipment is held in place on the carrier by means of the flexible or 
elastic strap which is adjustable to accommodate any appropriate size and 
shape of portable audio equipment. 
Another feature is that the portable audio equipment rests upon the shock 
absorbing pad and thereafter the strap, tied to the body, is looped over 
and against the audio equipment to hold the equipment against the shock 
absorbing pad. With such a construction, the pad provides a cushion for 
the portable equipment so that some of the vibration and stress generated 
and transferred to the assembly from the road is absorbed. 
Still another feature of the invention is that light weight materials are 
used to manufacture the device. The carrier assembly body or plate is 
molded from plastic material such as acrylinitri butidine styrene (A.B.S.) 
or polyethylene. The slots and depression are molded into the plate during 
manufacture. The carrier body has a generally kidney shaped configuration 
including rounded ends and generally longitudinally extending edges, with 
the depression or crevice provided therein being of generally the same 
shape as the outer shape of the plate. 
A further feature of the present invention is to provide a stop at one end 
of the plate for preventing the portable cassette stereo or other 
equipment from slipping out of the grip of the strap with overlies the 
equipment and holds it in place. The stop is molded with the main body or 
plate. 
A still further feature of the invention is that the shock absorbing pad is 
made from a foam rubber or urethane. It has an outer configuration 
following the inner configuration of the depression or crevice. It has a 
thickness greater than the depth of the depression so that the foam rubber 
pad projects outwardly from the depression. The pad is attached to the 
bottom of the depression and provides a compressible cushion for the 
portable audio equipment. 
Another feature of the invention is that the strap is of Y-shape 
configuration and is designed to provide the maximum flexibility in the 
operation of the portable audio equipment after it has been strapped to 
the body. The strap is designed to hold a variety of shapes and sizes of 
portable cassette stereo equipment. For example, the location of the play 
or review buttons on some portable cassette stereos is in the middle for 
many portable cassette stereos. In other equipment the buttons are located 
at the corners of the equipment. The strap is designed and constructed to 
accommodate different portable equipment with a wide variety of button 
locations. Thus, the space between the pair of tabs of the strap provides 
an opening or window to readily access the buttons in order to operate the 
portable audio equipment. In addition, the strap has a width less than the 
width of the equipment and thus does not entirely cover the equipment 
thereby permitting an operator to access the buttons regardless of where 
located. The free end of the strap has Velcro.TM. on its inner side. This 
end is placed into the single slot side of the main body or plate after 
the portable cassette stereo is placed on the cushion or pad. The strap is 
pulled through the slot and reverses direction so that the Velcro.TM. 
provided thereon will stick to the top of the strap to hold the portable 
cassette stereo in place. 
Still another feature of the invention is that the audio equipment carrier 
assembly further includes a pair of clamps. Each clamp may be provided in 
either a one piece design or a two piece construction. When a one piece 
construction is utilized, the entire clamp is molded with the carrier 
assembly body or plate. When a two piece design is utilized, only the 
upper parts of the clamps are formed with the main body or plate. The 
bottom or lower parts of the clamps are separate pieces made from the same 
material as the main body, such as A.B.S. or polypropylene. The clamps are 
fastened to the bicycle using conventional nut and bolt fasteners. The 
inside of the clamps are lined with shock absorbing padding made from a 
material such as foam rubber or a hard rubber which fits in the space 
between the clamps and the support bar. 
Thus it is the final feature of the present invention to provide an audio 
equipment carrier assembly which is simple in construction, easy to 
manufacture, has an attractive design, is safe in operation and provides 
for enjoyment of the audio equipment when properly used by the bicycle 
rider.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings, the audio equipment carrier assembly forming 
the present invention is designated by the numeral 10 or 10' in FIG. 1. 
The bicycle 12 fragmentally shown in FIG. 1 has a horizontal support bar 14 
and a vertical seat bar 16 located below the bicycle seat 18. The carrier 
assembly 10 is clamped to the front beam or upper horizontal bar 14. As an 
optional feature, the audio equipment carrier assembly may be attached to 
the vertical seat bar or beam 16 located beneath the seat 18 as designated 
by the numeral 10' which shows the assembly in dotted lines. 
It should be understood that the present invention may be used with other 
types of vehicles besides bicycles such as aerobatic exercise machines, 
tricycles or other type vehicles having a cross bar where the audio 
equipment carrier assembly could be readily mounted in close proximity to 
the rider of the vehicle. 
The audio equipment carrier assembly 10 comprises four main components 
including the carrier assembly body or main body or plate 20, a shock 
absorbing pad or cushion 22 carried by the main body 20, a foam material 
or a neoprene strap 24 with elastic or flexible qualities and a pair of 
clamp fasteners 26. In addition, conventional nut and bolt fasteners are 
used to secure the clamps 27 to the horizontal bar 14 of the bicycle 12. 
The carrier assembly body 20 is in the form of a generally elongated flat 
plate molded from a plastic material such as A.B.S. or polypropylene. The 
flat plate 20 is of generally kidney shape configuration having an 
elongated axis 25 and a transverse axis 26. The flat plate or body 20 has 
a pair of longitudinal edges 28 and 30 and a pair of rounded ends 32 and 
34. The rounded ends 32, 34 and the longitudinal edges 28, 30 form the 
outer configuration of the plate 20. The plate 20 further includes an 
upper surface 34 and a lower surface 36. The upper surface 34 has a 
generally centrally located depression or crevice 38 provided therein of 
uniform depth as best shown in FIG. 2. Longitudinal edge 28 is provided 
with a pair of slots 42 and 44 which extend from the top surface 34 
through the bottom surface 36. In addition, the top surface 34 is recessed 
at 46 and 48 to accommodate the strap as will be subsequently described. 
The carrier assembly body 20 has the clamps 27 formed therewith. Thus the 
clamps 27 are an extension of the main body 20 and are formed from the 
same material as best illustrated in FIG. 5. Each clamp 27 includes on the 
inside thereof a cylindrical liner 50 made from shock absorbing material 
such as rubber. The liner 50 may come in different thicknesses and several 
liners may be used to accommodate the various sizes and shapes of the bar 
or beam provided on the bicycle. The clamp 27 further includes flanges 56 
and 58 provided with suitable openings 60 which receive the threaded bolt 
62 and nut 64 as best illustrated in FIG. 5. 
The inside diameter of the clamp 27 is manufactured or made larger than the 
outside diameter of most support members of various size bicycles. The 
difference between the inside diameter of the clamp and the outside 
diameter of the support member is taken up by a shock absorbing rubber 
liner placed between the clamp and the support bar. The rubber liners will 
have different thicknesses to fit the cylindrical spaces which vary from 
one size bicycle to another size bicycle. 
The strap 24 is of Y-shape configuration and is specifically designed to 
provide the maximum flexibility in the operation of the portable audio 
equipment after it has been strapped to the main body 20 overlying the 
shock absorbing pad or cushion 22. The strap 24 is further designed to 
hold a variety of shapes and sizes of portable cassette stereo. The term 
"portable audio equipment" includes within the group personal stereos, 
personal radios, televisions, portable compact disc players, Walkman-style 
radios and stereos and personal cassette tape players, all of which are 
designed to provide stereophonic entertainment for the vehicle rider. Such 
audio equipment is designated by the letter "E". 
The strap 24 includes an elongated stem 66 having a first surface 68 and a 
second surface 69. One end 70 of the stem 66 is provided with a Velcro.TM. 
fastener 74 on the first surface 68. Inwardly spaced from the Velcro.TM. 
fastener 74 is a mating Velcro.TM. fastener 76. The other end 72 of the 
strap 66 is provided with a Y-shaped configuration having a pair of tabs 
80 and 82. The tabs 80 and 82 are spaced apart to provide a window opening 
84 therebetween. The tabs 80 and 82 extend across the bottom of the plate 
20 and up through the slots 42 and 44 respectively where the ends of the 
tabs are reversely turned a relatively short distance so as to overlie the 
adjacent portion of the tabs. The tab ends may be connected to the 
remaining portions of the tabs 80 and 82 by stitching or by other 
fastening methods to thereby assume the configuration illustrated in FIG. 
3. The strap 24 provides a number of advantages. Not only will it hold a 
variety of shapes and sizes of portable cassette stereos on the resilient 
cushion 22 but also the strap, due to the provision of the window 84, will 
not hide or cover the buttons of the portable cassette stereo as best 
illustrated in FIG. 1. Thus, the rider of the vehicle can conveniently 
push the buttons of the stereo to select different stations or discs. 
The strap 24, as indicated in FIGS. 4 and 5, extends across the top of the 
audio equipment E and thereafter extends through the slot 90 provided on 
the longitudinal edge 30 of the plate 20. The slot 90 is located on the 
transverse axis 26. Axis 26 is located midway between the slots 42 and 44. 
The stem 66 of strap 24 extends across the audio equipment E and through 
the slot 90. Thereafter the stem 66 is reversed in its direction and 
extends across the first surface 68 where the Velcro.TM. fastener 74 on 
the free end 70 of the stem 66 is secured to Velcro.TM. fastener 76 
provided on an intermediate portion of the stem 66. 
The strap 24 can be pulled tight and the Velcro.TM. fastener 74 will engage 
the mating fastener 76 of the strap to hold the portable cassette stereo E 
in place. If the portable cassette stereo E is provided with buttons at 
one end, such buttons can be positioned in conjunction with the placing of 
the flexible end of the strap. 
The main body or plate 20 is provided with an integral upstanding stop 
abutment 94 at rounded end 32. The purpose of the stop 94 is to prevent 
the portable cassette stereo equipment E from slipping out of the grip of 
the strap 24. In addition, the stop abutment 94 provides a place where the 
equipment E rests at the time the elastic strap 24 is wrapped around 
equipment E to frictionally hold same on the plate 20. 
The shock absorbing pad 22 has a thickness which is approximately doubled 
the depth of the depression or crevice 38 provided in the body 20. The pad 
22 thus extends above the top surface 34 of the plate 20. Pad 22 is made 
from foam rubber or urethane. As noted in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pad 22 has an 
outer configuration following the inner configuration of the depression 
38. Thus, the pad, which is attached to the bottom of the depression 38 by 
a suitable adhesive, provides a compressible cushion for the portable 
audio equipment E so that some of the vibration and stress generated and 
transferred to the assembly 10 from the road is absorbed. 
The strap 24 provides the means for releasably securing the equipment E on 
the resilient cushion 22 of the main body 20. The elastic strap 24 is made 
from neoprene or foam rubber. The means for attaching the strap 24 to the 
body 20 may include various attachment methods such as stitching, stapling 
or even using Velcro.TM. fasteners. Velcro.TM. is a registered trademark 
of Velcro U.S.A., Inc. Such fastener is a hook and eye type fastening 
material which is well known in the art. There is a female portion such as 
fastener 74 provided on ends 70 of the stem 66 and a male fastener such as 
fastener 76 provided on an intermediate portion of the stem 66. Both 
fasteners are located on the same side 68 of the stem. In addition, other 
conventional means of attachment could be used. 
The clamps 26 may be integrally formed with the plate 20 during the 
manufacture thereof as is best shown in FIG. 5. Thus, the clamps 26 are 
made from the same material as the main body such as A.B.S. or 
polypropylene. The clamps 26 may be opened so as to extend around the bar 
of the bicycle and thereafter converge tightly around the bar so as to 
receive the threaded connections 62 and 64 mentioned previously. 
It is contemplated that the bolt head is hexagonal and it sits on a 
hexagonal groove placed on the upper part of the clamp. The nut 64 is also 
hexagonal. The groove in the main body 20 is designed to make the nut 64 
practically invisible and at the same time able to fit bicycle beams or 
bars of various shapes and sizes. The hexagonal head design makes for easy 
fastening of the device to the bicycle. The nut and bolt combination 
conforms to standards available in the marketplace. 
It should be appreciated that a two piece clamp may be used rather than the 
one piece clamp 26. As shown in FIG. 7, a modified clamp 100 includes an 
upper clamp part 102 which is molded directed with the main body. The 
lower part 104 is a separate piece. Each part, 102 and 104, has a pair of 
flanges which mate with the flanges of the other part. After the audio 
equipment carrier assembly has been mounted on the bar of the bicycle, the 
mating lower part 104 is applied around the lower part of the bar and the 
clamp parts are secured together by conventional nut and bolt fasteners 
64' and 62', respectively. The clamp part 104 is made from the same 
material as the part 102 such as A.B.S. or polypropylene. 
While my invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment, 
it should be appreciate that other embodiments could be readily adapted by 
one skilled in the art. Thus, the scope of my invention is limited only by 
the claims which follow.