Patent Publication Number: US-2017369000-A1

Title: Bicycle-Carrying Device For Motor Vehicles

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of, and claims the benefit of, copending application Ser. No. 14/921,172 filed Oct. 23, 2015, the entire disclosure and content of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to bicycle-carrying devices for motor-vehicles, in particular of the type comprising:
         a support structure,   a plurality of arms carried by the support structure for supporting one or more bicycles, and   a number of flexible clamping belts anchored to the arms and defining cradle-like portions for receiving a frame tube of a bicycle carried by the bicycle-carrying device.       

     In devices of this type the problem exists that the outer coating or paint layer of the bicycle tube may be damaged when the flexible clamping belts are clamped around the tube, due to that one or more metal wires which extend adjacent to, and along, the bicycle tube (such as wires for actuating a bicycle brake or derailleur) are pressed by the clamped belt against the tube surface. 
     OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is that of overcoming the above indicated drawback of the known solutions. 
     Another object of the invention is that of providing a bicycle-carrying device of the above indicated type in which:
         the operations for mounting the device on the motor-vehicle and for dismantling the device from the motor-vehicle are extremely simple, easy and quick,   a high stability is obtained of the bicycle-carrying device during travel of the motor-vehicle, also along the direction transverse to the median vertical plane of the motor-vehicle,   the device has an extremely simple and functional structure and is adapted to assume a configuration of minimum bulk when it is not used,   a high safety is obtained against a non-authorized removal of the bicycle-carrying device from the motor-vehicle,   it is possible for the device to be reconfigured as a function of the shape of the motor-vehicle on which it must be mounted, by simple and quick operations.       

     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of achieving these and further objects, the invention provides a bicycle-carrying device for motor-vehicles comprising:
         a support structure,   a plurality of arms carried by the support structure, for supporting one or more bicycles,   a number of flexible clamping belts anchored to the arms and defining cradle-like portions for receiving a frame tube of a bicycle carried by the bicycle-carrying device,   wherein each of the flexible clamping belts comprises an elongated flat body having a face with a number of projections which are spaced from each other in a longitudinal direction of the belt body and configured to act as spacers when the flexible clamping belt is clamped around a bicycle tube, so as to define gaps between the belt body and the tube surface, through which any bicycle wire extending adjacent to, and along the bicycle tube can be arranged. Representatively, the projections have a height of at least 2 millimetres.       

     The height of at least 2 millimeters ensures that any standard metal wire extending along a bicycle tube is received with clearance through the above indicated gaps created by the projections of the body of the clamping belt. Therefore, the above-indicated problem of the prior solutions is solved, since clamping of the clamping belts around a bicycle tube cannot cause any bicycle wire extending along the tube to be pressed against the tube outer coating, which eliminates the risk of a damage of this outer coating. 
     In a representative embodiment, the elongated flat body has a first face on which a ratchet rack is formed. A buckle is provided at one end of the elongated flat body. A pawl is pivoted to the buckle, the pawl having a tooth adapted to be biased by a spring into engagement with the ratchet rack in a clamped condition of the flexible clamping belt, the elongated flat body having a second face having the projections. 
     In an exemplary embodiment, the support structure defines a main axis, the device further comprises:
         a plurality of legs carried by the support structure for abutment on the rear part of a motor-vehicle, at least some of the legs being orientable around the main axis,   a plurality of belts or cables each having a hook member to be engaged on a motor-vehicle part, for anchoring the bicycle-carrying device to the motor-vehicle,   one or more roll-up devices for winding the belts or cables around respective winding axes, and   wherein at least some of the legs have respective roll-up devices each arranged within an inner cavity of the respective leg and having a winding axis located at a position spaced apart from the main axis.       

     Due to these features, each anchoring belt or cable can be stored inside a respective leg of the bicycle-carrying device. At the same time, since each roll-up device is arranged at a position spaced apart from the main axis, it does not interfere with the leg portion which is mounted on the support structure. As a consequence, if this is desired, it is possible to provide all of the legs of the bicycle-carrying device with respective roll-up devices. 
     Thus, according to a preferred solution, all the legs have respective roll-up devices each arranged within an inner cavity of the respective leg, with the winding axis located at a position spaced apart from the main axis. 
     The invention is also directed to the flexible clamping belt according to claim  7  and the method according to claim  12 . 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further features and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from the following description with reference to the annexed drawings, given purely by way of non-limiting example, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a bicycle-carrying device according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 1A  is a perspective exploded view of the bicycle-carrying device of  FIG. 1 , 
         FIGS. 2-4  are further perspective views of the bicycle-carrying device of  FIG. 1 , 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view of a leg forming part of the bicycle-carrying device of  FIG. 1 , 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of  FIG. 5 , 
         FIG. 6A  shows the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 6  with the leg in a different condition of use, 
         FIG. 7  is a view at an enlarged scale of a detail of  FIG. 6 , 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective exploded view of a roll-up device forming part of the bicycle-carrying device according to the invention, 
         FIGS. 9-11  are views in cross-section and at an enlarged scale of the roll-up device of  FIG. 8 , which show three different operative conditions of the roll-up device, 
         FIGS. 12-14  show a clamping device forming part of the bicycle-carrying device according to the invention, at an enlarged scale, in three different operative conditions, 
         FIG. 15  is an exploded perspective view of a detail of an arm forming part of the bicycle-carrying device according to the invention, provided with an anti-theft device, 
         FIG. 16  is an exploded perspective view of one of the flexible clamping belts forming part of the bicycle-carrying device according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 17  is a perspective view of the opposite side of the flexible clamping belt of  FIG. 16 , 
         FIG. 18  shows a variant of  FIG. 17 , corresponding to a different embodiment of the flexible clamping belt, 
         FIG. 19  shows a side view of both the embodiments of  FIGS. 17,18 , and 
         FIG. 20  shows a cross-section of a frame tube of a bicycle carried by the device of the present invention, in a condition clamped by the above mentioned flexible clamping belt. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIGS. 1-15  are identical to FIGS. 1-15 of US 2016/0185304 A1. However, these figures are applicable also to the device according to the present invention, provided that the flexible clamping belts are formed according to the teachings of the present invention, such as shown for example in  FIG. 16  or  FIG. 18 . 
     In  FIGS. 1-4 , reference numeral  1  generally designates a preferred embodiment of a bicycle-carrying device according to the invention. 
     In this embodiment, the bicycle-carrying device  1  comprises a support structure constituted by a fluted shaft  2 , for example having a tubular body made of aluminium, which in the mounted condition of the device  1  on the motor-vehicle is arranged with its axis  2 A directed transversally, i.e. orthogonally to the median vertical plane of the motor-vehicle. On the fluted shaft  2  there are mounted the hubs  3 A of two pairs of legs  3  each provided with an abutting foot  3 B which is to abut against the rear part of a motor-vehicle. In the illustrated example, each foot  3 B has a body pivotally mounted on the free end of the respective leg  3  around a transverse axis  3 C and including two foot portions  3 B 1  which are spaced apart transversally from each other. 
     The bicycle-carrying device  1  further comprises a pair of arms  4  which are for supporting bicycles, in a way known per se, on a plurality of cradles  4 A each provided with a flexible clamping belt  4 B. Each arm  4  also has a hub  4 C which is mounted and locked over the fluted shaft  2 . 
       FIGS. 16, 17 and 19, 20  show a first embodiment of the flexible clamping belt  4 B. With reference to these figures, the clamping belt  4 B has an elongated flat body  401  including one or more layer of any suitable material, such as a synthetic elastomeric material. The flat body  401  has a first face  402  on which a ratchet rack  403  is formed, including teeth adapted to cooperate with a tooth  404 A of a pawl  404 . Pawl  404  is pivotally mounted by means of a pivot pin  405  between two supporting wings  406  projecting from one end of the elongated flat body  401 . The wings  406  form part of a buckle portion through which the opposite end of the belt body  401  can be inserted when the belt is to be clamped. A coil spring  407  is mounted around pin  405  and engaged between one wing  406  and the pawl  404  to bias pawl  404  to a position engaging rack  403 . Pawl  404  can be moved away from this engaging position, against the action of spring  407 , by pressing the end  404 B of pawl  404  opposite to the tooth  404 A. On the face  402  of the elongated flat body  401 , also a T-shaped projection  408  is formed which is to be received by a sliding movement within one of a number of cooperating seats  409  (see  FIG. 15 ) formed in the arms  4 . 
     The opposite face  410  of body  401  (see  FIG. 17 ) has a distribution of projections  411  arranged in pairs on the two sides of a median longitudinal axis M of the belt body  401 . The projections  411  of each pair are aligned with each other along a direction orthogonal to the axis M. The various pairs of projections  411  are spaced apart from each other in the direction of the axis M, so that a portion of face  410  free from projections is left between adjacent pairs. 
     When a bicycle is received on the two arms  4 , a frame tube of the bicycle rests on each cradle-like portion defined by the inner face  410  of a respective clamping belt  4 B (see  FIG. 15 ). In this condition, the bicycle tube can be clamped by the flexible clamping belt by inserting the free belt end through the buckle and pulling this free end to tighten the belt around the tube, the pawl  404  cooperating with the rack  403  to hold the belt  4 B in any desired clamping configuration. 
       FIG. 20  shows a cross-section of belt  4 B clamped around a bicycle tube T. For clarity of illustration, this figure only shows the bicycle tube T clamped by the belt  4 B, the arm  4  being not illustrated. As clearly apparent in  FIG. 20 , when the belt  4 B is clamped around the tube T, the projections  411  of the belt body engage the tube surface so as to act as spacers, defining gaps  412  between the belt body  401  and the tube surface. 
     Thanks to this arrangement, metal wires W forming part of the bicycle (e.g. wires for actuating a bicycle brake or a bicycle derailleur), which extend adjacent to and along the surface of the bicycle tube, can be arranged through the gaps  412 , so that they are not pressed between the belt body  401  and the surface of tube T. In this manner, the drawback is avoided of having the tube outer coating or paint layer being damaged by the wire or wires when the belt is tightened around the tube. To this end, the projections  411  are provided with a height substantially greater than the diameter of a standard metal wire as used in bicycles, i.e. greater than 2 millimetres. Moreover, the projections  411  are sufficiently stiff to ensure that they provide the required spacing when they are compressed against the tube surface. For this purpose, it is also possible to have the projections  411  made of a material different from the material of body  401  and selected to ensure the required stiffness. 
       FIG. 18  shows a variant of  FIG. 17 , corresponding to a second embodiment of the flexible clamping belt  4 B, where in place of each pair of projections  411  of  FIG. 17  a single transversally elongated projection  411  is provided, which occupies a major portion of the belt width. The various elongated projections  411  of  FIG. 18  are also spaced longitudinally from each other for providing the required gaps  412 . 
     While the clamping belt  4 B is shown and described in connection with a bicycle-carrying device having a certain construction and configuration as shown and described herein, it should be understood that the belt  4 B may be used in any type of bicycle carrying device in which a belt or other flexible member is wrapped about a tube or other portion of the bicycle having a wire or cable adjacent its outer surface. That is, the belt  4 B may be used with a trunk-mounted or hatch-mounted carrier as shown and described, or with a hitch-mounted carrier. In addition, while the projections  411  are shown and described with respect to the belt  4 B, which has a ratchet-and-pawl arrangement for securing the belt  4 B about the bicycle tube or component, it should be understood that the projections such as  411  may be employed on a belt having any other type of engagement arrangement that maintains the belt secured about the bicycle tube or other component such as, for example, an engagement arrangement having one or more pegs at one end that are received within one or more openings at the opposite end. 
     Anchoring belts  30  are associated with the four legs  3  which are provided with feet  3 B for abutment on the rear part of the motor-vehicle, one belt being associated with each leg. Each belt  30  has one end provided with a hook member  301  which is to be engaged on the edge of a motor-vehicle part (such as the edge of the trunk or the rear door). On the opposite end, the anchoring belt  30  can be wound within a roll-up device  5  ( FIG. 8 ) carried by a casing  50  mounted within an inner cavity  50 A arranged within the body of the respective leg  3  (see for example  FIG. 6 ) at a position spaced apart from axis  2 A of hub  3 A. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 5-11 , and in particular to  FIG. 8 , the support casing  50  of each roll-up device  5  has, in the case of the illustrated example, a base flange  501  provided with holes for engagement of connecting screws  502  which secure the flange on the outer surface of the respective leg  3  (see also  FIG. 2 ). The casing  50  further comprises two parallel and spaced apart plates  503  between which there is arranged a support pin  504  constituted by two mutually engaged pin elements  504 A, 504 B. Pin  504  rotatably supports a reel  51  around a winding axis  51 A, for winding the respective anchoring belt  30 . A flat spiral spring  510  is arranged within the reel  51  and is operatively interposed between the reel and the pin  504  which is secured to casing  50 , for biasing the reel  51  in the direction for winding the belt  30 . 
     Also with reference to  FIG. 8 , the two opposite faces of reel  51  carry two toothed crowns  511  (only one of which is visible in  FIG. 8 ) having saw-tooth-shaped teeth, forming part of a ratchet mechanism generally designated by reference numeral  52  in  FIGS. 9-11 . The ratchet mechanism  52  further comprises, in the case of the illustrated example, a pair of pawls  520  ( FIG. 8 ) carried by a pin  521  whose ends are secured to plates  503  within respective holes  521 A. A pin spring  522  is operatively interposed between the assembly of the two pawls  520  and the casing  50  for biasing the two pawls  520  towards a position for engagement of the respective toothed crowns  511 , visible in  FIG. 9 . 
     In this engagement position, the pawls  520  prevent a rotation of the reel  51  having the toothed crowns  511  in the direction for winding the belt  30 . 
     On the contrary, if the reel  51  rotates in the direction for winding the belt  30 , the pawls  520  do not prevent this rotation, but rather repeatedly jump on the toothed crowns  511 , due to the elastic bias of spring  522 . 
     The ratchet mechanism  52  further comprises a tensioning member  523  which in the illustrated example comprises a pair of toothed sectors  524  in engagement with the toothed crowns  511 . The two toothed sectors  524  are rigidly connected to two parallel and spaced apart plates  526  forming part of the body of an actuating lever  525 . The two plates  526  with toothed sectors  524  are pivotally mounted on the ends of a pin  527  (see  FIG. 8 ) which project from the body of a link member  528 . 
     The link member  528  is pivotally mounted on a pin  529  whose ends are secured to plates  503  of the casing  50  within holes  529 A. A pin spring  530  is operatively interposed between the link member  528  and the casing  50  for biasing the link member  528  towards a position in which the toothed sectors  529  are in engagement on the respective toothed crowns  511  (see  FIG. 9 ). With reference to  FIG. 9 , also the teeth of the toothed sectors  524  are saw-tooth-shaped teeth and are arranged so that, in the condition of engagement of sectors  524  on the toothed crowns  511 , the sectors  524  prevent a rotation of reel  51  in the direction for unwinding the belt  30 . 
     Also with reference to  FIG. 9 , the link member  528  has a nose  528 A projecting beyond the articulation pin  529  and adapted to cooperate with a cross-member  520 A which connects the two pawls  520  to each other, in a way that will be described in the following. 
     The operation of the above described roll-up device is as follows. 
     With reference to  FIG. 9 , when the pawls  520  and the toothed sectors  524  are in their rest condition, they are both in engagement with the respective toothed crowns  511  of the reel  51 . If the hook member  301  of the belt  30  is already in engagement on a motor-vehicle part, the belt  30  can be tensioned by winding the belt within the respective roll-up device  51  to the necessary extent. To this end, the actuating lever  525  is repeatedly moved from the rest position shown in  FIG. 9  to a first operative position, or tensioning position, which is shown in  FIG. 10 . Following this rotation, the toothed sectors  524  rotate around the axes of the respective pin  527  causing a rotation of the reel  51  in the winding direction of the belt. This rotation takes place while causing the repeated jumping of pawls  520  on the toothed crowns  511 . Once the belt  30  has been tensioned, a stable anchoring of the bicycle-carrying device on the motor-vehicle is obtained. 
     In this condition, spring  110  would be free to further wind the belt  30 , but it is not able to do so, since it is contrasted by the tension of the belt. 
     With reference to  FIG. 11 , the actuating lever  525  has a second operative position, or release position, rotated in the opposite direction with respect to the tensioning position (i.e. in a clockwise direction with reference to the figure) starting from the neutral rest position. In this release position, lever  525  causes rotation of the link member  528  around the respective fixed pin  529 , with the consequence that nose  528 A presses on the cross-member  520 A of the pawls  520  thus keeping them disengaged from the toothed crowns  511 . In this condition, if the hook member  301  is disengaged from the motor-vehicle, the belt  30  is quickly retracted within the roll-up device, due to the biasing action of spring  510 . In this condition, also the toothed sectors  524  are disengaged from the toothed crowns  511 , so that they do not prevent the free winding of the belt. 
     The operative release position of the lever  525  which is shown in  FIG. 11 , in which the rotation of reel  51  is free, can be exploited also during the mounting stage of the device, since the user can start by engaging the hook members  301  of two legs  3  of device  1  over the motor-vehicle and then he can manually position the bicycle-carrying device on the motor-vehicle while holding the two respective actuating levers  525  pressed in the position shown in  FIG. 11 . In this manner, the user can cause the free unwinding of belts  30  from the respective roll-up devices, while progressively moving the bicycle-carrying device away from the anchoring points of the hook members  301 . When the desired length of belts  30  is reached, the user can release the two actuating levers  525  which thus return to the position shown in  FIG. 9 , locking the respective roll-up devices. At this moment, the user can engage also the remaining two anchoring belts on the motor-vehicle and finally he can attend to tensioning each of the four anchoring belts  30  by repeated movements of the actuating levers  525  between the position shown in  FIG. 9  and the position shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     Naturally, while the roll-up device  5  has been illustrated in an example comprising two toothed crowns  511  cooperating with two pawls  520  and two toothed sectors  524 , in principle it is possible to provide a single toothed crown cooperating with a single pawl and a single toothed sector. 
     With reference to  FIG. 7 , with each roll-up device  5  there is associated a key-operated release-inhibition device, comprising a cylinder lock  83  which controls the movement of a locking member  84  between a rest position and an active position, in which it inhibits a movement of the actuating lever  525  towards the release position. A non-authorized release of the belts is thus prevented, once the bicycle-carrying device has been mounted and locked on the motor-vehicle. 
     According to a further feature, each belt (made for example of fabric or synthetic material) is reinforced with a plurality of cables made of steel, preferably zinc-plated steel, having an anti-collision and an anti-cut function. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 6, 6A , the roll-up device has two outlets  550  and  551  located on two opposite faces of the respective leg, which can be used selectively for guiding the belt or cable pulled out from the roll-up device respectively adjacent to one or the other of the opposite faces. In the condition of use shown in  FIG. 6A , in which the belt is adjacent to the lower face of the leg (with reference to the figure), the belt is arranged between two portions  3 B 1  of the foot  3 B, so that once the respective hook  301  is engaged on the motor-vehicle, the belt  30  opposes any movements of the leg  3  along a direction transverse to the median vertical plane of the vehicle. 
       FIGS. 12-14  show the clamping device which is preferably associated with hubs  3 A, 4 C of each leg  3  and each arm  4 , for clamping each hub on the fluted shaft  2 . The figures refer in particular to the case of a leg  3 . In this figures, the clamping device associated with each hub  3 A comprises a jaw  60  pivotally mounted around an axis  61  on the body of leg  3  and having teeth  62  for engagement on the outer fluted surface of the transverse shaft  2 . The clamping device  6  further comprises a locking lever  63  pivotally mounted around an axis  64  on the body of leg  3  and carrying (in the case of the illustrated example, in one piece with lever  63 ) a cam member  65  for pressing jaw  60  against shaft  2 . The locking lever  63  is movable between a release position, visible in  FIG. 13 , and a locking position, visible in  FIG. 12 , in which the cam member  65  has passed a dead centre position, which prevents an undesired return of the locking lever  63  to the release position. Also with reference to  FIGS. 12-14 , between the cooperating surfaces of the cam member  65  and locking jaw  60  there is interposed an intermediate wedge-like member  66 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 14 , in the release position of lever  63 , the intermediate wedge-like member  63  can be advanced or retracted in its position interposed between the elements, to enable an adjustment of the clamping force. In order to obtain a precise reference of the mounting position of the wedge-like intermediate member  66 , the surfaces of member  66  and locking jaw  60  which are in contact with each other have parallel micro indentations. 
     Although the example illustrated herein makes use of a fluted shaft  2  and the jaw  60  has teeth cooperating with the fluted surface of the shaft, it is not excluded that the shaft has a non-fluted surface, such as a surface having a high friction coefficient cooperating with a jaw surface which also is made with a high friction coefficient. 
     With reference to  FIG. 15 , at least one of the arms  4  carries inside therein a metal cable  7 , which can be pulled out from the arm, having an anti-theft function, this cable having a free end with a fork-like shape  70 . Cable  7  can be arranged around a frame element of a bicycle carried on the bicycle-carrying device, after which the fork-shaped end  70  can be received within a seat  71  formed in the free end of arm  4  and locked therein by means of a locking member  72  controlled by a rotatable cylinder of a cylinder lock  73 , operable by a key. 
     In the illustrated example, the bicycle-carrying device is further provided with members for opposing an oscillation (anti-sway members) of the transported bicycles, which are constituted by supports  8  associated with the arms  4  (see  FIGS. 1 and 4 ) and provided with respective clamping belts. According to a preferred feature, each anti-sway member is adjustable in position due to a threaded coupling. 
     Naturally, while the principle of the invention remains the same, the details of construction and the embodiments may widely vary with respect to what has been described and illustrated purely by way of example, without departing from the scope of the present invention.