Abstract:
A bicycle rack for supporting a bicycle has an attachment mount member configured for coupling to a transport vehicle. A support assembly is connected to the attachment mount member and is configured to hold a wheel of the bicycle. A vertical support beam is connected at a first end to the support assembly. When the bicycle rack is used to transport a bicycle, the vertical support beam is stationary relative to the support assembly. A seat anchoring assembly is attached at a second end of the vertical support beam and is configured to hold a portion of a set of the bicycle.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/097,514, filed Aug. 21, 1998. This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/378,566, filed Aug. 19, 1999. 
    
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The present disclosure describes a universal bicycle rack that universally holds all different kinds of bicycles. More specifically, the present disclosure teaches a bicycle rack that is configured to hold a portion of a seat of said bicycle. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Bicycle racks that attach to the rear of a vehicle are known. One such system, which attaches to a trailer hitch, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,231. This system mounts to the trailer hitch of the automobile. Most of these prior art bicycle racks are either hitch-mounted to or strapped onto the vehicle using either a support beam or support arms. 
     Certain prior art bicycle racks include arms to hold a bicycle. Tubes that form the bicycle frame typically rest on the arms of the rack. 
     These bicycle racks work well with traditional bicycle frames. However some new bicycles, often called “full suspension” bicycles, may not have the same main tube frames as traditional bicycles. Some bicycles may have no frames at all. 
     Accordingly, conventional bicycle carriers do not work well with bicycles that have non-traditional frames. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present system defines a bicycle carrier that does not rely on traditional bicycle frames for holding the bicycle and instead holds the bicycle by elements that are common to all bicycles, including non-frame bicycles. 
     According to this aspect, one such element common to almost all bicycles is the seat post. Although the post diameter and angle may vary, the post is generally cylindrical and its location in relation to the bicycle&#39;s overall geometry is consistent. 
     Another consistent point is the bicycle wheels. Hence, one embodiment of this invention uses the bicycle seat post and wheels to hold the bicycle on the carrier. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other aspects of the invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 shows a bicycle rack in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 shows a bicycle rack in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a wheel holding assembly; and 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a seat post clamp in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A bicycle rack according to one embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG.  1 . The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes an automobile attachment portion  102  which is adapted to insert into the trailer hitch of an automobile or truck or the like. It will be appreciated that any other attachment to the vehicle is possible, preferably attachment to the rear of the vehicle. The automobile attachment portion  102  is connected to an upward extending element  104 , which itself is connected to a support bracket  106 . Support bracket  106  supports a main transverse support beam  108 , which is substantially parallel to the automobile attachment portion  102 , but spaced upward therefrom. 
     The main support beam  108  supports bicycle mount devices  110 ,  112 ,  114 ,  116 , each of which may be identical. A seat mount assembly  120  is shown mounted on bicycle mount device  116 . 
     A seat mount support beam  122  is screwed onto bicycle mount device  116  using screws  124 ,  125 , near a first end  123  of seat moved support beam  122 . A second end  128  is connected to a tightenable clamp  130  which allows selectively tightening and loosening pressure between a first surface  134  and a second surface  138  of clamp  130 . Second surface  138  includes an inner surface  140  which is substantially of the same shape as the outer surface of an upwardly extending part  142 . Similarly, fixed portions  144 ,  146  of the clamp are attached to the seat mount support beam  122 , and include an inner surface  147  that is substantially the same shape as the outer surface of upwardly extending part  142 . 
     In operation, the clamp  130  can be tightened and loosened. When tightened, the clamp is in the position shown in FIG.  1 . The upwardly extending part  142  is rigidly held between the second surface  138  and fixed portions  144 ,  146  with the two fixed portions  144 ,  146  on one side of the upwardly extending part  142 , and the movable second surface  138  on the other side. Hence, the part  142  cannot move. 
     The clamp  130  can be loosened to allow the second surface  138  to be retracted from the fixed portions  144 ,  146 . When moved sufficiently far away, the upwardly extending part  142  can be similarly moved away and can move beyond the outer edge surfaces  148  of the fixed portions  144 ,  146  of the clamp  130 . This allows the upwardly extending part  142  to rotate relative to clamp  130  so that it can be folded down to a position where it is parallel and coplanar with the seat mount support beam  122 . In this folded down and out of the way position, the part  142  will not interfere with access to the rear of the vehicle, such as a hatchback or the like. Upwardly extending part  142  preferably includes a hollow piece  143  with a second upwardly extending piece  150  located inside the hollow piece  143 . 
     Seat mount assembly  120  also includes a seat clamp  160 . The overall height where the seat clamp  160  is located can be adjusted by changing the amount of second upwardly extending piece  150  which extends from the hollow piece  143 . The height of the seat clamp  160  can be raised or lowered in this way to accommodate any height of bicycle. Moreover, since the overall height changes, the length of the upwardly extending part  142  is actually changed. Accordingly, when part  142  is shortened, there is less of the part  142  that could otherwise be inconveniently located when folded down for storing. 
     A clamping mechanism  152  in this embodiment includes a screw which is screwed into the outer hollow piece  143  and provides friction against the second upwardly extending piece  150 . 
     A more preferable system uses a clamp which attaches to both the pieces  143  and  150 . However, any clamp which holds piece  150  relative to piece  143  can be used to adjust this height. 
     The seat clamp  160  is shown in further exploded detail in FIG.  3 . Seat clamp  160  can be made to hold any part of the bicycle seat. In one embodiment of the invention, the seat clamp holds the seat post. 
     The seat clamp  160  includes first and second clamping jaws  162  and  164  which can be extended away from each other and contracted closer to each other to hold the seat post. In the open position shown in FIG. 1, the two jaws  162 ,  164  are wide open, and the bicycle seat post can be positioned between the two jaws. Note that inner surfaces  165  of each of the jaws  162 ,  164  are substantially arcuate to hold a typical bicycle seat post. Each inner surface also includes a notched portion  156  facilitating holding a seat post which is other than cylindrical in shape. 
     Once the seat post is inserted between the jaws  162 ,  164 , the jaws are contracted to bring the surfaces  165  closer to one another. The jaws are contracted until inner surfaces  165  fit snugly around the seat post. 
     One technique of contracting the jaws is by using an over-the-center cam lever  170 , as shown in FIG.  1 . Referring to FIG. 3, the over-the-center cam lever includes a cam handle  302  connected to a lead screw  304 , a spring  306  and a nut assembly  308 . The lead screw  304  threads into the nut assembly  308 . Hence, when the cam handle  302  is rotated in a rotation perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 3, it causes the jaws  162 ,  164  to come closer to one another. When they reach a desired position, the cam is then rotated in the direction of arrow  310  to put even further force holding the jaws  162 ,  164  against one another. The clamp  160  stays locked in that rotated position until it is unlocked by rotating cam handle  302  in opposite of the direction shown in arrow  310 . 
     The position of the seat clamp  160  can also be adjusted in many different ways. A clamping mechanism  180  holds the seat post clamp  160  in a desired orientation relative to a horizontal plane. While the device in FIG. 1 shows the seat post clamp  160  as being horizontal, it can be tilted relative to the horizontal by clamp  180 . 
     The height of the clamp can also be adjusted, as previously described, by raising or lowering second upwardly extending piece  150  relative to hollow piece  143 . 
     In operation, the bicycle seat post is clamped within the jaws  162 ,  164 . This holds the top portion of the bicycle. The bottom portion of the bicycle is held by a wheel holding assembly  200 , as illustrated in FIG.  2 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 1,  2  and  2 A, a wheel holding assembly  200  is screwed onto the bicycle mount device  110 . The wheel holding assembly is held on disc shaped portions  202  which are located at the top of screwable devices  204 ,  205 . The devices  204 ,  205  can be tightened or loosened to allow more slack between a top surface  111  of bicycle mount device  110  and the disc shaped portion  202 . 
     The outer diameter of disk shaped portion  202  fits within a holding channel  206 . FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view across the line  2 A— 2 A which shows holding channel  206  as substantially u-shaped. The disk shaped portion  202  is held within the channel  206 , with a bottom surface  250  of disk shaped element  202  being pressed against two flange portions  252  and  254  of the channel  206 . The screwable device  204  having an integral lead screw  256  is also shown. The screwable device  204  can be tightened in order to hold the wheel holding assembly  200  firmly into place relative to the bicycle mount device  110 . However, when the screwable devices  204  and  205  are loosened, the corresponding disk shaped portions  202  become loose within the channel  206 . This allows the wheel holding assembly  200  to be slid in the direction shown by arrow  210  in FIG.  2 . Hence, while the orientation of the wheel rack is maintained, the position of the wheel rack can be changed to accommodate any relative positioning between the bicycle seat post and the bicycle wheel. 
     Note that the additional two bicycle mount devices  112 ,  114  enable placing a second bicycle rack holding device on the same main transverse support beam  108 . This allows using a second seat mount assembly for example on support element  114 , and a second wheel holding assembly  200 , e.g., on support rack  112 . Any additional number of support devices could also be accommodated. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the wheel holding assembly  200  generally includes an inner wheel resting part  220  which is substantially flat, sloped sections  222 , both extending up from the wheel resting part  220  and flanged outer edges  224 . A bottom portion of the wheel resting part  220  includes channel  206  which has been previously discussed. 
     Although only a few embodiments have been described in detail above, other embodiments are contemplated by the inventor and are intended to be encompassed within the following claims. In addition, other modifications are contemplated and are also intended to be covered.