Patent Publication Number: US-2004041065-A1

Title: Clamping device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001] Not Applicable  
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002] Not Applicable  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0004] This invention is generally related to a clamping device which can be used on a bicycle frame or similar structure for connecting an accessory thereto. In addition, the clamping device of this invention can be quickly detached.  
       [0005] 2. Description of the Related Art  
       [0006] The technique for connecting two or more pieces of articles is widely used in existing products. For bicycles, various connecting devices have been developed for securing accessories such as mileage meter, luggage, lock, etc. on the bicycle frame. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,270 issued to Rixen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,134 issued to Chang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,289 issued to Shieh, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,321,961 issued to McDaid et al. have disclosed related techniques.  
       [0007] All of the techniques disclosed in the above patents may be applied to bicycles by providing a lock or similar device to affix the accessories onto a bicycle. However, among these patents, U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,270 specifically discloses a clamping device with compact structure to enable quick attachment and detachment of two articles. It primarily comprises two detachable components. Each of these two components may be connected with different articles respectively, and these two detachable components may be further engaged by latching such that they are indirectly fixed together.  
       [0008] More specifically, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,270, a linear slot is provided on one of the two components and the slot has at least one opening; the other component has an extended anchor which may be inserted into the slot through the opening such that the two components are engaged. Further, the component with the slot also includes a retaining bar which is adapted to lock with the anchor slid into the groove, thus the two components are engaged and fixed, The retaining bar can be resiliently deformed or moved upon an external force such that the engagement between the anchor and the slot may be released and the anchor may be slid out of the slot.  
       [0009] As illustrated in the preferred embodiment of this patent, the retaining bar has a pair of handles at the both ends thereof, and the user must apply a force to at least one of the two handles in order to deflect the middle section of the retaining bar for releasing the engagement between the retaining bar and another component. It can also be found that the extending direction of the retaining bar is perpendicular to the extending direction of the slot and therefore, the direction of the external force to be exerted on the handles is different from the direction for removing the anchor out of the slot. In other words, the user must apply both hands, of which one is used to force the handles for releasing the engagement between the retaining bar and the anchor, and the other must be used to remove the anchor out of the slot, such that the two components may be detached. Strictly speaking, such kind of operation is inconvenient and further improvements thereon are required.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010] A primary objective of this invention is to overcome the above disadvantages and provide a latching mechanism such that two separable articles can be assembled thereby. As compared with the conventional techniques, the operation of this invention is easier and faster.  
       [0011] According to this objective, this invention provides a clamping device comprising an insertion member, a main body and a release member. The main body has a slot extending along a first direction into which the insertion member is adapted to be inserted. The main body also has at least one positioning latch having a projection thereon, wherein the projection is adapted to be inserted into at least one notch of the insertion member for positioning when the insertion member is inserted into the slot. The release member is operatively connected with the main body and is adapted to be moved along a second direction upon an external force thereon such that the projection is removed from the at least one notch for removing the insertion member out of the slot in a direction opposite to the first direction. The second direction for the external force exerted on the release member is substantially parallel with the opposite first direction for removing the insertion member out of the slot.  
       [0012] The structures and characteristics of this invention can be realized by referring to the appended drawings and explanations of the preferred embodiments. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0013]FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the structure of a preferred embodiment of the clamping device of this invention which is applied to a bicycle frame for carrying an accessory;  
     [0014]FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing the structure of the clamping device according to the preferred embodiment of this invention;  
     [0015]FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the clamping device according to the preferred embodiment of this invention;  
     [0016]FIG. 4A is a schematic planar view showing the operation process of the clamping device illustrated in FIG. 3;  
     [0017]FIG. 4B is another schematic planar view showing the operation process of the clamping device illustrated in FIG. 3;  
     [0018]FIG. 4C is a schematic planar view showing the assembled structure of the clamping device illustrated in FIG. 3;  
     [0019]FIG. 4D shows the clamping device of FIG. 4C in which the release member is forced to trigger the positioning latch;  
     [0020]FIG. 5A shows another preferred embodiment of the clamping device according to this invention;  
     [0021]FIG. 5B shows the clamping device of FIG. 5A in which the release member is forced to trigger the positioning latch;  
     [0022]FIG. 6A shows yet another preferred embodiment of the clamping device according to this invention;  
     [0023]FIG. 6B shows the clamping device of FIG. 6A in which the release member is forced to trigger the positioning latch;  
     [0024]FIG. 7A shows a further preferred embodiment of the clamping device according to this invention;  
     [0025]FIG. 7B shows the clamping device of FIG. 7A in which the release member is forced to trigger the positioning latch;  
     [0026]FIG. 8A shows a further preferred embodiment of the clamping device according to this invention;  
     [0027]FIG. 8B shows the clamping device of FIG. 8A in which the release member is forced to trigger the positioning latch;  
     [0028]FIG. 9A shows the other preferred embodiment of the clamping device according to this invention; and  
     [0029]FIG. 9B shows the clamping device of FIG. 9A in which the release member is forced to trigger the positioning latch. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
     [0030] This invention is related to a clamping device which is adapted to connect two pieces of articles. For example, it can be used on a bicycle frame for fast and easy attachment and detachment of accessories such as lock, mileage meter, drink bottle, basket, bag, etc.  
     [0031] As illustrated in FIG. 1, basically, the clamping device according to this invention has two essential components which are adapted to be connected respectively to two pieces of articles, such as a bicycle frame  10  and a lock  20  respectively, and the two components can be attached. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the two components are an insertion member  30  and a main body  40 , of which the insertion member  30  has a relatively narrow neck portion  32  and a head portion  31  extended therefrom, forming a shape similar to that of an anchor. At least one notch  33  is provided on the exterior surface of the head portion  31 . The notches  33  may be provided at the locations having substantially the same distance away from the two ends of the head portion  31 , such as the two notches  33  on each side of the head portion  31  shown in the figures, or only one notch  33  (not shown) at the middle along each side of the head portion  31 .  
     [0032] The main body  40  has a generally box-type appearance. One side of the main body  40  is provided with a slot  41  having a cross section with the shape corresponding to that of the insertion member  30 . Thus, the head portion  31  and the neck portion  32  of the insertion member  30  are adapted to be inserted into or removed from the opening  42  of the slot  41  along its extending direction, such as the first direction indicated by arrow  60  in FIG. 4A. The insertion member  30  thereby cannot be transversely inserted into or removed from the slot  41 . At least one positioning latch  43  is provided beside the slot  41  and is extended from an end of the main body  40 . The positioning latch  43  is elongated with a free end and is made by resilient materials to provide flexible property. Thus, the positioning latch  43  may be deflected or deformed by an external force, and it will resume to the original shape and position after the external force is removed. Each of the positioning latches  43  has a projection  431  extending toward the slot  41  at the position close to the free end of the positioning latch  43 . The projection  431  is adapted to be inserted into the notch  33  when the insertion member  30  is inserted into the slot  41  (to be further described later), such that the insertion member  30  and the main body  40  are engaged and cannot be released.  
     [0033] When the insertion member  30  is slid into the slot  41  by the external force, the head portion  31  will touch the projections  431  and the insertion member  30  will force the projections  431  transversely deflected, such as that shown in FIG. 4B, so that the head portion  31  may continue to be slid until reaching a stopping block  411 . Such a motion is possible because the head portion  31  of the insertion member  30  has an arcuate edge  311  at the end thereof, and the corresponding surface at the projections  431  is inclined or arcuate. Accordingly, when the head portion  31  touches the projections  431 , it may force the projections  431  to deflect or deform, so that the insertion member  30  may be further slid along the slot  41 . Because the projections  431  are flexible, they can be further deflected and keep in contact with the head portion  31  as it is slid by the external force, until the notches  33  reach the positions of the projections  431 . The projections  431  are thus inserted into the notches  33  by the resilient recovery force, as shown in FIG. 4C. At this time, unless the positioning latches  43  are forced such that the projections  431  are moved away from the notches  33 , the insertion member  30  and the main body  40  will continue to be in attachment.  
     [0034] In order to release the attachment between the insertion member  30  and the main body  40  for removing the insertion member  30  out of the slot  41 , a release member  50  is provided on the main body  40  in the current preferred embodiment. The release member  50  is adapted to trigger the positioning latch  43  by an external force thereupon. The release member  50  is operatively connected with the main body  40  and is used to trigger the positioning latch  43  when the external force is exerted on the release member  50 , such that the projections  431  is removed from the notches  33 . In the current preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the release member  50  is installed through a hole  44  of the main body  40  and is adapted to be moved along a second direction defined by the hole  44 . The release member  50  further comprises a shoulder portion  51  at the side within the main body  40  and the shoulder portion  51  is larger than the diameter of the hole  44  and thus, the release member  50  is partially exposed outside the main body but cannot be slid out of the main body  40  through the hole  44 , The release member  50  further has at least one arm  52  extending toward the positioning latch  43 . When the release member  50  is moved by the external force, the arms  52  trigger the positioning latches  43  for releasing the insertion member  30 . More specifically, as the release member  50  is exerted by the external force and moved from a first position, such as that shown in FIG. 4C, to a second position, such as that shown in FIG. 4D, along a predetermined path, such as a second direction indicated by arrow  61 , the arms  52  push the positioning latches  43 . Accordingly, the positioning latches  43  deflect along the direction indicated by arrows  62 , such that the projections  431  are moved out of the notches. Consequently, the insertion member  30  is no longer engaged with the main body  40  and can be freely removed from the slot  41  and subsequently separated from the main body  40 .  
     [0035] The main body  40  further comprises a first resilient member  45 , such as a spring or a resilient plate, etc., to provide an outward force on the release member  50 , such that the release member  50  remains at the first position and is partially exposed outside the main body  40  when there is no external force. The first resilient member  45  pushes the release member  50  outward so that the shoulder portion  51  keeps resisting against the flange of the hole  44  of the main body  40 .  
     [0036] From the above explanation, it can be understood that when the release member  50  is forced along the direction indicated by arrow  61 , the release member  50  triggers the positioning latches  43  to remove their restriction on the insertion member  30  which can thereby be slid out of the slot  41  along the same direction with arrow  61 . Accordingly, the user only needs to push the release member  50  to release the engagement between the positioning latches  43  and the insertion member  30 , the release member  30  can be slid out of the slot  41  along the same direction right away. Thus, the clamping device according to this invention is a device which can be operated by one hand only.  
     [0037] According to the technique disclosed in this invention, the release member  50  uses the arms  52  to trigger the positioning latches  43  at the inclined surface thereof. In the preferred embodiments, the positioning latch  43  may have a first inclined guiding surface  432  to be pushed by the arm  52 , as shown in FIG. 4A. Alternatively, the release member  50  may also have a second inclined guiding surface  53  corresponding to the first inclined guiding surface  432 , as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. Moreover, the release member  50  and the positioning latches  43  may also be integrally structured, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B.  
     [0038] On the other hand, the positioning latches  43  may not be directly connected with the main body  40 , and may not be made of resilient materials. As shown in FIG. 7A, the positioning latches  43  may be mounted on the main body  40  through the pivotal axles  70 , or, as shown in FIG. 8A, the positioning latches  43  are further connected with pivotal axles  70 ′. Accordingly, the positioning latches  43  can be pivotally rotated or moved with respect to the main body  40 , such that the projections  431  can be moved into or out of the notches  33  of the insertion member  30 . However, this kind of design needs additional external force to be exerted on the positioning latches  43  which thereby remain at the position that the projections  431  are inserted into the notches  33 . For example, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, second resilient members  46  are mounted on the main body  40  to push the positioning latches  43 .  
     [0039] Further, the release member  50  and the positioning latches  43  may be constructed as that shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B according to similar principle of the inclined guiding surface. In this embodiment, the release member  50  has. slant holes  54  while each of the positioning latches  43  has a directing post  433  extending through the slant hole  54 , such that the slant holes  54  force the directing posts  433 , as well as the positioning latches  43 , to be moved when the release member  50  is moved along the predetermined direction by the external force.  
     [0040] All the structural variations disclosed in the above preferred embodiments meet the objective and technique of this invention. As can be seen in FIGS. 4C, 4D,  5 A,  5 B,  6 A,  6 B,  7 A,  7 B,  8 A,  8 B,  9 A and  9 B, the direction of the force to be exerted on the release member  50  in each embodiments, as indicated by arrow  61 , is parallel with the direction for removing the insertion member  30  out of the slot  41 .  
     [0041] Even though the structural design of each of the above preferred embodiments involves slight variation, the basic technique of this invention involved therein remains the same. That is, the engagement between the positioning latches  43  and the insertion member  30  may be released when the release member  50  provided on the main body  40  is subject to the external force. The first resilient member  45  may be provided in various embodiments to provide an outward force on the release member  50 , such that the release member  50  remains at the first position and is partially exposed outside the main body  40  when there is no external force. In addition, the direction of the force to be exerted on the release member  50  is parallel with the direction for removing the insertion member  30  out of the slot  41  and thus, the disengagement operation of the insertion member  30  and the main body  40  is much easier and faster.  
     [0042] In conclusion, the primary objective of this invention is to provide a clamping device with latching mechanism such that two separable articles can be assembled thereby. As compared with the conventional technique, the operation of this invention is easier and faster.  
     [0043] According to this invention, the main body  40  and the insertion member  30  may further include a connection portion  47  and  34 , respectively, as shown in FIG. 2, so as to connect two separated articles, such as the bicycle frame  10  and the lock  20  shown in FIG. 1. As a result, the bicycle frame  10  and the accessories such as the lock  20  can be attached or detached quickly and easily.  
     [0044] This invention is related to a novel creation which makes a breakthrough in the art. Aforementioned explanations, however, are directed to the description of preferred embodiments according to this invention. Since this invention is not limited to the specific details described in connection with the preferred embodiments, changes and implementations to certain features of the preferred embodiments without altering the overall basic function of the invention are contemplated within the scope of the appended claims.  
                               Sequence Listing                                        10   bicycle frame       20   lock       30   Insertion member       31   head portion       311   arcuate edge       32   neck portion       33   notches       34   connection portion       40   main body       41   slot       411   stopping block       42   opening       43   positioning latch       431   projections       432   first inclined guiding surfaces       433   directing posts       44   hole       45   first resilient member       46   second resilient member       47   connection portion       50   release member       51   shoulder portion       52   arms       53   second inclined guiding surfaces       54   slant holes       60   arrow       61   arrow       62   arrows       70   pivotal axles       70′   pivotal axles