Patent Publication Number: US-2017349229-A1

Title: Bicycle beverage cup holder

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/344,022 filed Jun. 1, 2016, under 35 U.S.C. §§119, 120, 363, 365, and 37 C.F.R. §1.55 and §1.78, which is incorporated herein by this reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to bicycle cup holders. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A popular activity includes bicycling to a coffee shop or any beverage purveyor and then transporting a purchased beverage via the bicycle. 
     Traditional bike bottle cages are unsuitable for transporting coffee cups and similar beverages. Attempts have been made to engineer more approximate coffee cup holders for bicycles. See, for example, U.S. Published Application No. 2009/0095765 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,687 both incorporated herein by this reference. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Some prior art bicycle coffee cup holders are complex and/or expensive. Featured in this invention is a bicycle coffee cup holder with spaced concave arms biased about a coffee cup via a stretchable band that itself includes an inside friction surface for securely holding different size coffee cups. 
     In some aspects, a bicycle beverage cup holder comprises spaced flexible concave arms each having a distal end with a gap between the distal ends of the arms. A bracket secures the spaced concave arms to a bicycle handlebar. A stretchable band is operatively disposed across the gap to bias the arms about a beverage cup and to accommodate different size (e.g., diameter) beverage cups. 
     In one design, one said arm distal end includes a hook and the stretchable band includes an end with a channel receiving said hook therein. The hook may extend outwardly from said arm distal end and includes a rearwardly extending post. Preferably, both said arm distal ends each include a hook and the stretchable band includes opposing ends each with a channel receiving a said hook therein. The band may include a friction surface and may be made of rubber. The spaced arms may each have top and bottom rings. 
     Also featured is a method of transporting a beverage cup on a bicycle. The beverage cup holder includes spaced flexible concave arms clamped to a bicycle handlebar. A beverage cup is inserted between the arms spreading apart the arms. A band is stretched from the distal end of one arm about the beverage cup and releasably secured to the distal end of the other arm biasing the arms about the beverage cups. 
     The subject invention, however, in other embodiments, need not achieve all these objectives and the claims hereof should not be limited to structures or methods capable of achieving these objectives. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is schematic three dimensional view of a prior art bicycle bottle cage; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of the Assignee&#39;s prior coffee cup holder; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic three dimensional view of an example of a new beverage cup holder in accordance with the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic three dimensional front view of the holder of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIGS. 5A-5C  are schematic views of the inside of the stretchable band shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is another schematic view of an example of a bicycle beverage cup holder; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic view of the cup holder of  FIGS. 3-6  in place on a bicycle and holding a cup; and 
         FIG. 8  is a top view of the cup holder showing how it expands to grip different size cups. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Aside from the preferred embodiment or embodiments disclosed below, this invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Thus, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. If only one embodiment is described herein, the claims hereof are not to be limited to that embodiment. Moreover, the claims hereof are not to be read restrictively unless there is clear and convincing evidence manifesting a certain exclusion, restriction, or disclaimer. 
       FIG. 1  shows an example of a bicycle water bottle holder  10  largely unsuitable for transporting a coffee cup.  FIG. 2  shows an example of the Applicant&#39;s prior beverage cup holder  12 . 
       FIGS. 3-4  show an example of an improved new design where holder  20  includes flexible clamping ring  21  (e.g., 2-3″ in diameter). Clamping ring  21  includes connected spaced concave flexible plastic arms  22   a  and  22   b  which spread apart and close together to accept different diameter beverage containers. Rearwardly extending split ring bracket  24  attached to rearward wall  31  of clamp ring  21  secures arms  22   a,    22   b  at their rearward junction to a bicycle handle bar section via a fastener received through orifice  29 . Each arm has a distal end  26   a,    26   b  and there is a gap  28  (e.g., 1-2″) between the distal ends of the arms. Stretchable band  30  is operatively disposed across gap  28  and is attached to the distal ends of the arms. 
     In the preferred example shown, band  30  biases arms  22   a,    22   b  about different size beverage cups as band  30  is stretchable and, when in place, slightly urges arms  22   a,    22   b  inwardly about a typical coffee cup from a coffee shop. Arms  22   a,    22   b  are preferably widest (e.g., 1-2″ wide) at their rearward junction proximate clamp  24  and taper slightly at their distal ends (e.g., ½-1½″ wide). But, arms of other shapes may be used. The arms and bracket may be made of nylon and may be molded. The bracket  24  is preferably round and has a center axis  23  disposed at a 90° angle relative to the center axis  27  of the holder. Thus, bracket ring  24  accepts a horizontal bicycle handle bar and clamping ring  21  accepts a beverage container disposed vertically therein. 
     In the example shown, band  30  has an inside friction surface  32 . This material can be molded silicon or other stretchable thermoplastic rubber including natural latex or other synthetic rubber materials. 
     Also, the distal ends  26   a,    26   b  of the arms may each include a hook  40   a,    40   b  and band  30 ,  FIG. 5A  may include corresponding end channels  42   a,    42   b  therethrough receiving a corresponding ann hook therein to maintain the band stretched across the holder gap. Other means for so maintaining the position of the band across the arms may be used. 
     Other inside friction surfaces for band  30  includes raised bumps  60 ,  FIG. 5B , ridges  62 ,  FIG. 5C  and the like. Each arm  22   a,    22   b  may further include top and bottom strengthening rings  70   a,    70   b  as shown. 
     One preferred hook  40 b,  FIG. 6  includes a section  50  extending outwardly and a rearwardly extending post section  52 . The band then securely resides over the section  50  in the space between the post section and the arm. 
     Materials for the arms include injection molded plastics or other semi-rigid bendable substances. Materials for the stretchable band may include molded silicon or other stretchable thermoplastic rubber including natural latex or other synthetic rubber materials. The holder, except for the band, may be molded. 
     In this way, the spaced concave arms are biased about a beverage cup via a stretchable band that itself may include an inside friction surface for more securely holding the coffee cup. 
     In use, the beverage cup holder including spaced concave arms is clamped to a bicycle handle bar  60  as shown in  FIG. 7  using the split ring bracket and a fastener. The bracket is thus oriented to accept a horizontal bar therethough. A beverage cup  62  is inserted downwardly between the arms  22  slightly spreading apart the arms. Thus, the flexible clamp ring is oriented to accept a beverage cup disposed vertically therein. A band  30  is then stretched from the distal end of one arm about the beverage cup and releasably secured to the distal end of the other arm biasing the arms about the beverage cup  62 . Thus, the beverage holder expands to accommodate and grip many different size cups as shown in  FIG. 8 . The holder may also be used with strollers and the like. 
     Although specific features of the invention are shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the invention. The words “including”, “comprising”, “having”, and “with” as used herein are to be interpreted broadly and comprehensively and are not limited to any physical interconnection. Moreover, any embodiments disclosed in the subject application are not to be taken as the only possible embodiments. Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are within the following claims. 
     In addition, any amendment presented during the prosecution of the patent application for this patent is not a disclaimer of any claim element presented in the application as filed: those skilled in the art cannot reasonably be expected to draft a claim that would literally encompass all possible equivalents, many equivalents will be unforeseeable at the time of the amendment and are beyond a fair interpretation of what is to be surrendered (if anything), the rationale underlying the amendment may bear no more than a tangential relation to many equivalents, and/or there are many other reasons the applicant can not be expected to describe certain insubstantial substitutes for any claim element amended.