Abstract:
An offroad whip mount as disclosed includes a mounting element that may be secured to a standard mounting location on any suitable vehicle. A closure plate is secured to the mounting element using a tongue, sized and dimensioned to engage a corresponding groove in the mounting element and the closure plate is secured to the mounting element with a threaded fastener. The mounting element and the closure plate each have two corresponding half-cylindrical grooves that form two independent whip receptacles. The engaging tongue and groove combined with the threaded fastener serve to clamp one or two whips into the whip mount.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/760,404, entitled OFFROAD WHIP MOUNT, filed on Apr. 14, 2010 which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/216,041 filed May 13, 2009, the teachings of all of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
         [0003]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0004]    The inventions described below relate to the field of accessories for off highway motorsports and more specifically to the field of whip mounts for off highway motorsports. 
         [0005]    2. Background 
         [0006]    In off-road or off highway areas throughout the United States, any person riding or driving an off highway vehicle (OHV), including all-terrain vehicles (ATVS) and motorcycles, must mount a safety flag on a flexible whip to the OHV when in use. Safety flags provide a necessary safety feature, allowing pedestrians, emergency personnel, and other riders to locate an ATV and rider more easily and avoid collisions or other incidents. 
         [0007]    ATV safety flag whips are often made of fiberglass and vary in size, but two diameters commonly used are ¼ inch and 5/16 inch. ATV safety flag whips are often mounted by forcing the bottom or butt end of the fiberglass whip into a bored out ½ inch bolt, which then mounts in a ½ inch diameter receptacle usually found on a vehicle&#39;s rear bumper or grab bar and is further secured by a ½ inch nut. 
         [0008]    As often happens with off highway use or accidents, these whips break. Being made of fiberglass, a break is never clean. The broken ends of the whip are frayed, to one degree or another, often in dozens or even hundreds of razor-sharp and hair-thin shards protruding from the broken sections. 
         [0009]    In order to remount such safety flags, conventional whip mount designs require removing the ½ inch nut and mounting bolt from the ATV and cutting off the shattered whip shards with a knife or other cutting utensil and forcing the broken butt section out of the mounting bolt. Once trimmed, the whip is then forced back into the mounting hole; often a tight fit and sometimes only possible with the use of a hammer or other tools not easily carried on an ATV. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0010]    An offroad whip mount as disclosed below includes a mounting element that may be secured to a standard mounting location on any suitable vehicle. A closure plate is secured to the mounting element using a tongue, sized and dimensioned to engage a corresponding groove in the mounting element and the closure plate is secured to the mounting element with a threaded fastener. The mounting element and the closure plate each have two corresponding half-cylindrical grooves that form two independent whip receptacles. The engaging tongue and groove combined with the threaded fastener serve to clamp one or two whips into the whip mount. 
         [0011]    The offroad whip mount enables a rider with a broken whip to open the whip mount with a standard wrench and remount a broken whip without the need to trim the broken end. Designed with elements that can open and close tightly around a new or broken whip via a single threaded fastener and a corresponding tongue and groove feature, the offroad whip mount simplifies the flag mounting process by requiring fewer steps and needed tools; it also decreases the time needed to mount a safety flag to an ATV. The offroad whip mount includes parallel channels to accommodate the two most popular sizes of whips sold; ¼ inch and 5/16 inch. 
         [0012]    An offroad whip mount can easily accept damaged and frayed whip ends which are accommodated in a cavity in the base of the mounting element and a corresponding cavity in the closure plate that provides space within the whip mount to accommodate uneven and or frayed ends. This cavity is especially valuable when, due to an accident or other incident, a flag whip breaks and the rider is without the proper cutting utensil to correctly trim and remount it. 
         [0013]    Another process that the offroad whip mount simplifies is the removal of the broken whip section that is often stuck within the whip mount after an accident. Conventional whip mounts require the broken butt section to be punched out with tools such as a hammer and punch. The butt end of a broken whip may be removed from an offroad whip mount by removing the threaded fastener and separating the closure plate from the mounting element. The broken butt section is easily removed by hand. The offroad whip mount can accommodate up to two whips simultaneously. In the event that the rider or a fellow ATV rider loses or damages a whip beyond repair, a spare is available. 
         [0014]    As ATVs make up a majority of the OHV market, all references made in referring to ATVs will generally apply to all off highway vehicles having two, three, four or more wheels including motorcycles. Any suitable mechanism for achieving clamping force between the closure plate and the mounting element may be used, such as a threaded bolt or screw, or a cam lock mechanism. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a side view of an ATV with an offroad whip mount. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a side view of an offroad whip mount. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the whip mount of  FIG. 2  with closure plate open. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the mounting element of the whip mount of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the closure plate of the whip mount of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of an alternate tab configuration for a closure plate. 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an alternate offroad whip mount with a hinged closure plate. 
           [0022]      FIG. 7  is a side view of another alternate offroad whip mount with a rounded tongue. 
           [0023]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of an offroad whip mount for mounting on a bumper or fender. 
           [0024]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an offroad whip mount for securing on a motorcycle. 
           [0025]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an offroad whip mount incorporated into a motorcycle fender. 
           [0026]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of an offroad whip mount incorporated into a side guard plate of a motorcycle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0027]    ATV  10  of  FIG. 1  includes offroad whip mount  12  for securing whip  13  to the ATV. Whip  13  is generally cylindrical and formed of any suitable material such as metal, wood, fiberglass, graphite or any suitable combination. Butt end  13 B is secured in whip mount  12  which is secured to any suitable component of an offroad vehicle such as mounting tab  10 A. 
         [0028]    Offroad whip mount  12  of  FIGS. 2 and 3  includes mounting element  15  and closure plate  16  secured together by fastener  17  and the engagement between tab, tang or tongue  16 A and slot or groove  15 S. Mounting element  15  is generally L-shaped as shown in the side view of  FIG. 2 . Mounting element  15  includes base portion  15 B as the foot of the L and engagement portion  15 A as the vertical portion of the L. Lower surface  15 L of base  15 B may be secured to any suitable vehicle using mounting fastener  18  extending into base  15 B or a mounting element such as threaded stud  19  may be included into base  15 B to engage a corresponding nut. 
         [0029]    Whip mount  12  includes two channels, channels  20  and  21  for engaging the butt end of a whip to be mounted. Channel  20  is sized to frictionally engage whips having a butt diameter of 5/16 inch, and channel  21  is sized to frictionally engage whips having a butt diameter of ¼ inch. Fastener  17  engages threaded bore  14  in mounting element  15  and may be any suitable releasable fastener such as a bolt or screw or a quick release mechanism such as a cam lock. 
         [0030]    Referring now to  FIG. 4 , mounting element  15  includes slot or groove  15 S formed in upper surface  22  of base  15 B. Slot  15 S is parallel to face  23  of engagement portion  15 A. First cavity  24 A is formed in engagement portion  15 A to accommodate broken or splintered portions of the butt end of a whip that had been broken. Two semi-cylindrical channels, channel  20 A and channel  21 A are formed in face  23  and extend from top  15 T into cavity  24 . Threaded bore  14  may include a malleable insert such as insert  14 A to reduce the likelihood of vibration loosening of fastener  17 . Insert  14 A may be formed of any suitable material such as Teflon®. 
         [0031]    Referring now to  FIG. 5 , closure plate  16  includes top surface  16 T, bottom surface  16 B, inner surface  16 X and outer surface  16 Y. Tongue  16 A extends from bottom surface  16 B and is sized and dimensioned to removably engage groove  15 S. Second cavity  24 B is formed in inner surface  16 X to accommodate broken or splintered portions of the butt end of a whip that had been broken. Two semi-cylindrical channels, channel  20 B and channel  21 B are formed in inner surface  16 X and extend from top surface  16 T into cavity  24 B. When closure plate  16  is secured to mounting element  15  semi-cylindrical channels  20 A and  20 B form cylindrical channel  20  and semi-cylindrical channels  21 A and  21 B form cylindrical channel  21 . Fastener bore  11  extends through closure plate  16  from inner surface  16 X to outer surface  16 Y to permit fastener  17  to engage threaded bore  14 . 
         [0032]    In use, whip mount  12  is secured to a vehicle such as ATV  10 . Fastener  17  is loosened allowing closure plate  16  to be separated from mounting element  15  as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Butt end  13 B of a whip is inserted into an appropriately sized channel between closure plate  16  and mounting element  15  with tongue  16 A engaging slot  15 S and fastener  17  tightened to maintain the relative positions of the elements and secure the whip. If a whip is broken, fastener  17  is loosened allowing closure plate  16  to be separated from mounting element  15 . The broken stub of the whip is removed from the whip mount. The broken end of the whip is placed into the appropriately sized channel between closure plate  16  and mounting element  15  with the splintered end of the whip extending into cavity  24  formed by first cavity  24 A and second cavity  24 B. 
         [0033]    Referring now to  FIG. 5A , closure plate  26  may include one or more tabs such as tabs  27 A and  27 B. 
         [0034]    Referring now to  FIG. 6 , whip mount  30  includes hinge  31  securing the bottom of closure plate  32  to mounting element  34 . Releasable fastener  35  is a cam lock. 
         [0035]    Referring now to  FIG. 7 , whip mount  40  includes mounting element  41  and closure plate  42 . Tab or tongue  43  is rounded to enable rotation of closure plate  42  about tongue  43  without disengaging tongue  43  from slot  44  in upper surface  45  of base  41 B. Upper surface  45  may also be radiused to further enable rotation of closure plate  42  about tongue  43 . 
         [0036]    Referring now to  FIG. 8 , offroad whip mount  50  is configured to mount to vehicles without using a conventional whip mounting bracket. Mounting element  51  is configured with first portion  51 A and base  51 B for engaging closure plate  52  to form parallel whip mounting channels  20  and  21  which extend into cavity  24  as discussed above. Upper portion  51 A includes upper mounting arm  53  and lower mounting arm  54  extending perpendicular to upper portion  51 A. The relative orientation of upper mounting arm  53  and lower mounting arm  54  creates channel  55  for engaging any generally planar element of a vehicle, such as a fender or bumper, which may be used for securing offroad whip mount  50 . Any suitable means of engaging the planar vehicle element such as clamp  56  may be used. 
         [0037]    Referring now to  FIG. 9 , offroad whip mount  60  is configured for motorcycles. Mounting element  61  includes base  61 B and first portion  61 A oriented for generally horizontal mounting. First channel  62 A and second channel  63 A are formed in base  61 B, and groove  64  is formed in first portion  61 A with groove  64  being parallel to first and second channels  62 A and  63 A. Closure plate  65  is formed with first channel  62 B and second channel  63 B formed parallel to tongue  66 . 
         [0038]    Referring now to  FIG. 10 , motorcycle fender whip mount  67  is formed with mounting element  68  integrated into fender  69 . 
         [0039]    Referring now to  FIG. 11 , offroad whip mount  70  may be integrated into side guard plate  71  of a motorcycle. 
         [0040]    While the preferred embodiments of the devices and methods have been described in reference to the environment in which they were developed, they are merely illustrative of the principles of the inventions. Other embodiments and configurations may be devised without departing from the spirit of the inventions and the scope of the appended claims.