Abstract:
A bicycle support that when attached to a vertical surface can support a wheel of a bicycle upright and support the bicycle upright with the wheels of the bicycle resting on a horizontal surface. The bicycle support has opposed projections having support parts between which the tire and rim of a bicycle can be received and supported, retaining parts to help retain the tire of the bicycle between the support parts, and guide parts for guiding a tire between the retaining parts and to a position between the support parts. The distance between the support parts is adjustable to support bike wheels with different width tires, and the projections are positioned at an angle with respect to the surface to which the bicycle support is attached that allows the entire bicycle engaged with the bicycle support to be positioned closely adjacent the surface to which the bicycle support is attached.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 61/547,425 filed Oct. 14, 2011, the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to supports adapted to support a wheel of a bicycle upright and thereby support the bicycle upright with the wheels of the bicycle resting on a horizontal surface below the supports. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The prior art is replete with descriptions of supports adapted to support a wheel of a bicycle upright and thereby support the bicycle upright with the wheels of the bicycle resting on a horizontal surface below the supports. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,047,614, 4,465,196, 4,830,196, and 5,743,411 provide examples. While those examples may provide such supports, they are either not as low cost and/or do not afford storing the bicycle closely along a surface at which the support is located. 
       DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention provides an inexpensive bicycle support that can be attached to a vertical surface (e.g., the inside surface of a wall of a garage) and can support a wheel of a bicycle upright and thereby support the bicycle upright with the wheels of the bicycle resting on a horizontal surface below the support (e.g., on the garage floor). The bicycle support according to the present invention is easy for a bicycle to engage with or disengage from, and allows a bicycle engaged with it to be positioned closely adjacent the surface of a wall to which the support is attached to minimize the distance the engaged bicycle projects away from that surface, thereby restricting its interference with other items stored nearby (e.g., an automobile). 
         [0005]    The bicycle support according to the present invention comprises first and second stiff resiliently flexible projections. Each of the projections comprises (1) a support part having a straight first edge, an opposite second edge, and a support surface between its first and second edges, (2) a retaining part having a first edge along the second edge of the support part and having an opposite second edge, the retaining part projecting above the support surface of the support part along the second edge of the support part and having a retaining surface adjacent the support surface of the support part, the first edge of the retaining part being spaced greater than about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) (e.g., 2.25 inches or 5.7 cm) from the first edge of the support part, and (3) a guide part along the second edge of the retaining part that has a guide surface diverging away from the retaining surface of the retaining part. 
         [0006]    The bicycle support further comprises mounting means for (1) mounting the projections from along the first edges of their support parts with the support and retaining surfaces of their support and retaining parts parallel to and generally opposed to each other and the support surfaces of the support parts at a fixed distance selected to be closely spaced from or to contact the opposite sides of a tire on the wheel of a bicycle to be supported; for (2) affording attachment of the support parts to a vertical surface with the first edges of the opposed support parts extending generally vertically upwardly and the center of those first edges at a distance dimension above a horizontal surface below the bicycle support that is about equal to the radius dimension of a bicycle wheel the bicycle support is adapted to support; and for (3) positioning the support surfaces of the support parts of the projections at an angle generally in the range of about 30 to 60 degrees (e.g. 45 degrees) with respect to a vertical surface to which the bicycle support is attached. 
         [0007]    In use with the projections properly attached by the mounting means to a vertical surface such as the inner wall surface of a garage, the wheel of a bicycle (typically the front wheel) for which the spacing between the support parts is appropriate can be moved between the support parts until the tire of the wheel is in an engaged position between the opposed support surfaces. At that engaged position of the tire the support surfaces of the projections are contacting or very close to the opposite sides of the tire to support the bicycle wheel upright and thereby support the bicycle upright with its wheels resting on the horizontal surface below the bicycle support (i.e., the floor of the garage). Such movement of the wheel between the projections will be facilitated by the guide surfaces of the guide parts that cause the tire on the wheel to compress and/or resiliently flex the projections away from each other so that the tire and rim of the wheel can first pass between the opposed retaining surfaces of the retaining parts (which are normally spaced more closely than the support surfaces), and then move to a position between the support surfaces. After the tire on the bicycle wheel is between the support surfaces, the opposed retaining parts will restrict removal of the tire from between the support surfaces until a small force is applied to cause the tire to again compress and/or resiliently flex the projections apart so that the tire can pass between the retaining parts and out of the bicycle support. 
         [0008]    Having the support surfaces of the support parts at an angle generally in the range of about 30 to 60 degrees (e.g. 45 degrees) with respect to a vertical surface to which the bicycle support is attached restricts the distance a wheel of a bicycle engaged with the bicycle support projects away from the surface to which the bicycle support is attached and allows the rear portion of that bicycle to be closely spaced from that surface to restrict its projection away from that surface and its potential interference with other adjacent objects (e.g., an automobile that may also be stored along that surface in a garage). 
         [0009]    The mounting means can also include adjustment means for allowing the fixed distance between the support surfaces of the support parts to be changed, thereby facilitating supporting within the bicycle support bike wheels with tires of different widths (e.g., either mountain bike tires or road bike tires). To provide that adjustment means the bicycle support can be made in two portions, a first portion including the first projection and a first base portion, and a second portion including the second projection and a second base portion. The first base portion can be rigidly attached along an edge to the first projection along the first edge of the first projection and can have a planar rear surface adapted to be positioned along a vertical surface to which the bicycle support is to be attached and an opposite front surface. The second base portion can be rigidly attached along one edge to the second projection along the first edge of the second projection and can have a rear surface positionable along the front surface of first base portion with the support and retaining surfaces of the first and second projections opposed to each other by means that allow the fixed distance between the support surfaces of the first and second support parts to be adjusted to fit the width of the tire of a specific bicycle wheel by changing (if necessary) the position of the second base portion with respect to the first base portion, and then attaching the base portions together. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING 
         [0010]    The present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts in the several views, and wherein: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a vertical side view of a bicycle support according to the present invention shown attached to a vertical surface; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the bicycle support and vertical surface of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken approximately along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 11 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken approximately along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 2 , which view is essentially the same as a view taken along lines  4 ′- 4 ′ of  FIG. 2 ; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view taken approximately along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    With reference to the Drawing, there is illustrated a bicycle support according to the present invention adapted to be attached to a vertical surface (surface  9  as illustrated), and then to support the front wheel of a bicycle (not shown) upright and thereby support the bicycle upright with its wheels resting on a horizontal surface (not shown) below the bicycle support  10 . 
         [0017]    Generally, the bicycle support  10  comprises first and second portions  11  and  12 , each of which portions  11  and  12  is an integral molding of a stiff resiliently flexible polymeric material (e.g., polyethylene). Each of the portions  11  and  12  includes a projection  13   a  and  13   b  respectively. Each of the first and second projections  13   a  and  13   b  comprises a support part  14  having a straight first inner edge  16 , having an opposite second outer edge  17  with an arcuate concave central portion between arcuate convex end portions, having a generally uniform thickness (e.g, 0.2 inch or 0.5 cm), and having a planar inner support surface  18  between its edges  16  and  17 . Each of the projections  13   a  and  13   b  also includes a retaining part  20  having a first edge along the outer edge  17  of the support part  14  and having an opposite straight outer edge  22 . The retaining part  20  has a planar inner retaining surface  23  that projects above the support surface  18  of the support part  14  along the outer edge  17  of the support part  14  (e.g. by a distance in the range of 0.1 to 0.3 inches (0.25 to 0.76 cm) and preferably about 0.1 inch. The outer edge  17  of the support part  14  is spaced greater than about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) and preferably about 2.25 inches (5.7 cm) from the inner edge  16  of the support part  14  to provide a distance there between for the support surface  18  that will receive the radial thickness of the tires and rims of most bicycles that the bicycle support  10  is likely to receive. 
         [0018]    Mounting means included in the bicycle support  10  (later to be explained) supports the projections  13   a  and  13   b  with their support surfaces  18  generally opposed and spaced apart a distance that is closely spaced from or contacts the opposite sides of a bicycle tire that the bicycle support  10  is adapted to receive. Thus, the bicycle support  10  can support that tire upright when the bicycle support  10  is mounted on a vertical surface with the first edges  16  of the support parts  14  extending vertically upwardly and the centers of the edges  16  at a height dimension above a horizontal surface below on which that tire will rest that is about the same as the radius dimension of that tire. The retaining surfaces  23  of the opposed retaining parts  20  are then spaced slightly closer together (e.g., 0.10 inch or 0.25 cm) to require slight compression of that tire and/or resilient separation of the projections  13   a  and  13   b  for that tire to pass between them. This restricts movement of the tire in and out of the bicycle support  10  until a person applies a small force to insert or remove the tire. Each of the projections  13   a  and  13   b  additionally includes a guide part  24  attached to its retaining part  20  along its outer edge  22  and having a planar guide surface  25  diverging away from its retaining surface  23 . The guide surface  25  on each projection  13   a  and  13   b  extends past an imaginary plane lying along the planar support surface  18  of that projection  13   a  or  13   b  so that it will receive and guide the tire of a bicycle between the projections  13   a  and  13   b  as that tire is moved into the bicycle support  10 . 
         [0019]    The portions  11  and  12  of the bicycle support  10  further each include a base,  28  and  34  respectively. The bases  28  and  34  of the bi cycle support  10  provide the mounting means for (1) mounting the projections  13   a  and  13   b  with their support and retaining surfaces  18  and  23  generally opposed to and parallel to each other and the support surfaces  18  of their support parts  14  at a fixed distance from each other, for (2) affording attachment of the projections  13   a  and  13   b  to a vertical surface with the first edges  16  of their opposed support parts  14  extending generally vertically upwardly and the center of those first edges  16  at a distance dimension above a horizontal surface below the bicycle support  10  that is about equal to the radius dimension of a bicycle wheel the bicycle support  10  is adapted to support on that horizontal surface, and for (3) positioning the support surfaces  18  of the support parts  14  at an angle generally in the range of about 30 to 60 degrees (e.g., 45 degrees) with respect to a vertical surface (e.g., the surface  9 ) to which the bicycle support  10  is attached. The bases  28  and  34  also include adjustment means for allowing the fixed distance between the support surfaces  18  of the support parts  14  to be changed, thereby allowing the bicycle support  10  to be adjusted to receive and support bicycle tires of different widths. 
         [0020]    The first base  28  on the first portion  11  is elongate, rectangular and plate-like and has opposite elongate edges extending between its opposite ends. The first base  28  is attached along a second one of its elongate edges to the support part  14  of the first projection  13   a  along its first edge  16 . The first base  28  has a planar front surface  32  and a parallel opposite planar rear surface  33  adapted to be positioned along a planar vertical surface (e.g., the surface  9 ) on which the bicycle support  10  is to be mounted. Both its front and rear surfaces  32  and  33  are disposed at an angle in the range of 30 to 60 degrees (e.g., 45 degrees) with respect to the support surface  18  of the support part  14  of the first projection  13   a . The first base  28  is adapted to be attached to a planar vertical surface (e.g., the surface  9 ) with the first edge  16  of the projection  13   a  extending generally vertically upwardly and the center of that first edge  16  at a distance dimension above a horizontal surface below the bicycle support  10  that is about equal to the radius dimension of a bicycle wheel the bicycle support  10  is adapted to support. Such attachment can be partially provided by inserting a wood screw (not shown) through a central bore  38  in an elongate rectangular raised bar  39  extending transversely across the middle of the front surface  32 , which bar  39  provides part of the adjustment means for changing the fixed distance between the support surfaces  18  of the projections  13   a  and  13   b  as will later be explained. 
         [0021]    The mounting means also includes a second elongate base  34  on the second portion  12 . The second elongate base  34  includes a first planar elongate rectangular plate-like part  35  having opposite first and second longitudinal edges  36  and  37  extending between its opposite ends, and a second planar rectangular elongate plate like part  40  also having opposite first and second longitudinal edges. The second plate like part  40  is attached to the first plate-like part  35  along the second longitudinal edge  37  of the first part  35  and the first longitudinal edge of the second part  40  with the surfaces of the parts  35  and  40  disposed at a right angle with respect to each other. The second part  40  is attached to the support part  14  of the second projection  13   b  along the longitudinal edge opposite the first part  35  of the second part  40  and the first edge  16  of the second projection  13   b . A planar rear surface  42  of the first part  35  of the second base  34  is adapted to be positioned along the planar front surface  32  of the first base  28  with the bar  39  on the first base part  28  in a transverse slot  44  midway along the first part  35  and the rear surface  42  of the first part  35  is disposed with respect to the support surface  18  of the support part  14  of the second projection  13   b  at the same angle described above between the rear surface  33  of the first base  28  and the support surface  18  of the first projection  13   a  to position the support surfaces  18  of the first and second projections  13   a  and  13   b  parallel to and generally opposed to each other when the planar rear surface  42  of the first part  35  of the second base  34  is positioned along the planar front surface  32  of the first base  28 . 
         [0022]    To attach and assemble the bicycle support  10 , first the first base  28  of the first portion  11  is attached (by inserting a wood screw through the central bore  38  in the bar  39 ) to a planar vertical surface (e.g., the surface  9 ) with the first edge  16  of the first projection  13   a  extending generally vertically upwardly and the center of the first edge  16  of that projection  13   a  at a distance dimension above a horizontal surface below the bicycle support  10  that is about equal to the radius dimension of a bicycle wheel the bicycle support  10  is adapted to support. Next, the rear surface  42  of the first part  35  of the second base  34  on the second portion  12  is positioned along the planar front surface  32  of the first base part  28  with the bar  39  in the transverse slot  44  across the first part  35  of the second base  34 . The base  34  of the second portion  12  is then slid transversely along the bar  39  in either direction to obtain a desired distance between the support surfaces  18  of the projections  13   a  and  13   b  on the first and second portions  11  and  12  corresponding to the width of the tire on the bicycle the bicycle support  10  is intended to receive. The second portion  12  is then attached to the planar vertical surface and to the first portion  11  by inserting screws through bores  46  at the opposite ends of the first part  35  of the second base  34  and transverse slots  47  aligned with the bores  46  at opposite ends of the first base  28 . 
         [0023]    As an example of useful sizes for the bicycle support  10 , the inner edges  16  of the first and second projections  13   a  and  13   b  are about 20 inches (50.8 cm) long, the outer edges  17  of the support parts  14  at their midpoints are spaced from those inner edges  16  by about 2.25 inches (5.7 cm), the second edges  22  of the retaining parts  20  are spaced from those inner edges  16  by about 3.75 inches (9.5 cm), the guide surfaces  25  are about 0.75 inch (1.9 cm) wide at their midpoints and diverge at an angle of about 25 degrees with respect to their support surfaces  18 , the first base  28  is 2.125 inch (5.4 cm) wide, the first and second plate-like parts  35  and  40  of the second base  34  are both about 1 inch (2.54 cm) wide and the thicknesses of the projections  13   a  and  13   b  and bases  28  and  34  are all about 0.2 inch (0.5 cm) except for being thicker (about 0.275 inch or 0.7 cm) at the junctions between the support parts  14  and the retaining parts  20 . 
         [0024]    The present invention has now been described with reference to one embodiment thereof. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes can be made in the embodiment described without departing from the scope of the present invention. For non-limiting examples, the support surfaces  18  could be concave to generally correspond the side surfaces of tires they are intended to support; and/or a bicycle support intended for use with bicycle tires of a single width or narrow range of widths could be made by making a single base for supporting both of the projections  13   a  and  13   b . Thus, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the structure described in this application, but only by the structures described by the language of the claims and the equivalents thereof.