Abstract:
A shoe positioning device of a bicycle that has a pedal, a sole and multiple positioning elements. The pedal has multiple locating recesses formed therein. The sole is made of a resilient material. Each positioning element has a top end selectively engaging one of the locating recesses, thereby positioning a shoe and the pedal to increase cycling speed. Besides, easy disengagement of the shoe from the pedal reduces chances of accident in cycling.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a positioning device, and more particularly to a shoe positioning device of a bicycle for conveniently snapping in and pulling out from a cyclist&#39;s sole. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Aside from being a means for transportation and recreation, bicycles are also used for regular exercise, professional racing, and climbing. To win a bicycle racing or climbing game/tournament, increasing riding speed and efficiency of cyclists is the name of the game. 
         [0005]    With reference to  FIG. 10 , a shoe positioning device of a bicycle disclosed in Taiwanese utility model patent publication no. M317392 “Shoe Positioning Device of a Bicycle”, has a pedal  80  and a shoe locator  90 . The pedal  80  has a recess  81 , an opening  82 , a shaft  83 , a first engagement element  84  and a second engagement element  85 . The recess  81  is recessed from one end of the pedal  80 . The opening  82  is formed through the pedal  80 . The shaft  83  is formed on the pedal  80  and between the recess  81  and the opening  82  to be assembled with a frame of the bicycle. The first engagement element  84  is pivotally mounted on two sidewalls of the recess  81  and has a torsion spring  86  mounted around a pivot axis of the first engagement part  84  so that the first engagement part  84  can be pivoted in one direction and return back to the original position. The second engagement  85  is a flange formed on and protruding inwardly from one inner wall of the opening  82  facing the recess  81 . The shoe locator  90  has a rib  91 , two wings  92  and a tab  93 . The rib  91  is formed on a recessed end of the shoe locator  90 . The two wings  92  are obliquely formed on the recessed end of the shoe locator  90  and beside the rib  91 . The tab  93  is formed on and extends outwardly from a protruding end of the shoe locator  90 . When the rib  91  is inserted in the first engagement element  84 , the two wings  92  hold and abut against a periphery of the first engagement element  84  so that the shoe locator  90  can firmly engage the pedal  80  without being easily detachable from the pedal  80 . 
         [0006]    Nevertheless, the foregoing shoe-positioning device has the following drawbacks: 
         [0007]    1. Although the rib  91  and the wings  92  secure the engagement of the pedal  80  and the shoe locator  90 , the shoe locator  90  is difficult to detach from the pedal  80 . This issue could cause injuries or life-threatening accidents to cyclists if they encounter a dangerous situation and not being able to jump off the bicycle. 
         [0008]    2. Because the shoe locator  90  is mounted on and protrudes from a bottom of a shoe, the shoe having the shoe locator  90  is dedicated to cycling instead of regular walking. Consequently, cyclists need to change shoes when they want to take a walk, which is inconvenient. 
         [0009]    3. The conventional shoe positioning device comprises many parts. Therefore, production costs are relatively high as more labor hours and materials are needed to produce the conventional shoe positioning device. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The objective of the present invention is to provide a shoe positioning device of a bicycle that can be quickly engaged and disengaged from a cyclist&#39;s sole. 
         [0011]    To achieve the foregoing objective, the shoe positioning device of a bicycle has a pedal, multiple positioning elements and a sole. 
         [0012]    The pedal has a body, a shaft tube and multiple tabs. The shaft tube is longitudinally and centrally formed through the body along the Y-axis direction and has a periphery. The tabs are formed on the periphery of the shaft tube and respectively protrude forwards and backwards along the X-axis direction. Each tab has a through hole and a top. The through hole is formed through the tab. 
         [0013]    Each positioning element has a rod and a locating block. The rod is inserted in the through hole of a corresponding tab and has a top and a cylindrical periphery. A locating block is connected with the top of the rod and has a maximal width. 
         [0014]    The sole is made of a resilient material and has a bottom and multiple locating recesses. The locating recesses are formed in the bottom of the sole to selectively hold the locating blocks inside. Each locating recess has a bottom opening and a top chamber. The bottom opening has a first width of the bottom opening along the X-axis direction and a second width along the Y-axis direction. The top chamber is defined above and communicates with the bottom opening and has a minimal width along the X-axis direction, a minimal width along the Y-axis direction and a maximal width along the X-axis selected from all sections of the top chamber parallel with a plane constituted by the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction and defined as a third width, a fourth width and a fifth width respectively. 
         [0015]    The first width and the second width of the bottom opening are smaller than the third width and the fourth width of the top chamber. The first width of the bottom opening is smaller than the second width of the bottom opening The first width of the bottom opening is smaller than the maximal width of the locating block. The second width of the bottom opening and the third and fourth widths are greater than the maximal width of the locating block. The fifth width is smaller than the fourth width. The X-axis direction is a direction extending from a center of a front wheel axle of the bicycle to a center of a rear wheel axle. The Y-axis direction extends to transversely and perpendicularly intersect with the X-axis direction. 
         [0016]    The shoe positioning device of a bicycle of the present invention at least has the following advantages and benefits: 
         [0017]    1. In view of the first and second widths being smaller than the third and fourth widths, the locating block of one of the positioning elements can be received and positioned in a corresponding locating recess. Hence, the shoes of a cyclist can be positioned on the pedals. Since the first width is smaller than the second width of the bottom opening of each locating recess, the positioning element received in the locating recess can only be moved forwards and backwards upon cycling and is firmly positioned in the locating recess. When the sole of a shoe is required to pull out from the positioning element, cyclist just needs to move the shoe to the left or to the right and tilt the sole with respect to a horizontal plane to promptly pull out from the locating recess, thereby reducing chances of injury and life-threatening risks in an accident. 
         [0018]    2. The shoe positioning device of the present invention has multiple locating recesses formed in the soles of a pair of shoes. Such shoes can be used for normal walking. Cyclists do not need to prepare an additional pair of shoes for walking after cycling, thereby providing bicycle outfits with more practical value. 
         [0019]    3. The shoe positioning device of the present invention has a simple structure and composition of parts in favor of production, assembly and cost so as to further increase competitive edge of products of the present invention in the market. 
         [0020]    Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is bottom perspective view of a shoe positioning device of a bicycle in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  is an exploded bottom prospective view of the shoe positioning device in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  is a cross sectional bottom view of a positioning recess and a positioning block of the shoe positioning device in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 4  is another cross sectional bottom view of the positioning recess and the positioning block of the shoe positioning device in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0025]      FIG. 5  is a side view in partial section of the shoe positioning device in Fig,  1  along a direction of line A-A in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0026]      FIG. 6  is a side view in partial section of the shoe positioning device along line B-B in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 7  is an operational side view in partial section of the shoe positioning device in  FIG. 6  when the positioning recess is in operation; 
           [0028]      FIG. 8  is another operational side view in partial section of the shoe positioning device in  FIG. 6  when the positioning recess is in operation; 
           [0029]      FIG. 9  is a side view of the shoe positioning device in  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0030]      FIG. 10  is an exploded prospective view of a conventional shoe positioning device. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0031]    An X-axis direction is defined to extend from a center of a front wheel axle to a center of a rear wheel axle of a bicycle, and a Y-axis direction is defined to transversely and perpendicularly intersect with the X-axis direction. With reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  5 , a positioning device of a bicycle in accordance with the present invention has a pedal  10 , multiple positioning elements  20  and a sole  30 . 
         [0032]    The pedal  10  has a body  11 , a shaft tube  12  and multiple tabs  13 . The body  11  has two openings  14  formed through the body  11 . The shaft tube  12  is longitudinally and centrally formed through the body  11  along the Y-axis direction and is formed between the two openings  14 . When the body  11  of the pedal  10  is positioned horizontally, the tabs  13  are formed on a periphery of the shaft tube  12  and respectively protrude forwards and backwards along the X-axis direction. Each tab  13  has a through hole  131  formed through the tab  13 . The tabs  13  may be formed on a top and a bottom of the pedal  10 . In the present embodiment, the through hole  131  is a threaded hole. 
         [0033]    Each positioning element  20  has a rod  21 , an urging disk  23  and a locating block  22 . The rod  21  has a cylindrical periphery. The urging disk  23  is formed around a top portion of the cylindrical periphery of the rod  21 . The locating block  22  is formed on a top of the urging disk  23 . The locating block  22  is dome-shaped and has a maximal width smaller than that of the urging disk  23 . The rod  21  of the positioning element  20  is inserted in the through hole  131  of a corresponding tab  13  of the pedal  10  and is fixed with the tab  13  by a fixing means, such as welding or riveting. In the present embodiment, the rod  21  of the positioning element  20  has threads formed around the cylindrical periphery of the rod  21 . Hence, the rod  21  of the positioning element  20  is screwed into the threaded hole  131  of a corresponding tab  13  of the pedal  10 . 
         [0034]    With reference to  FIG. 3 , the sole  30  is made of a resilient material and has multiple locating recesses  31  formed in a bottom of the sole  30 , mutually spaced and arranged in multiple rows and columns aligning with the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction. Each locating recess  31  has a bottom opening  311  and a top chamber  312 . The bottom opening  311  has a first width along the X-axis direction and a second width along the Y-axis direction. The top chamber  312  is defined above and communicates with the bottom opening  311  and has a minimal width along the X-axis direction, a minimal width along the Y-axis direction and a maximal width along the X-axis direction, which are selected from all sections of the top chamber  312  being parallel with a plane constituted by the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction and are respectively defined as a third width, a fourth width and a fifth width. The first width is smaller than the second width. The first width is smaller than a maximal width of the locating block  22 . The second width, the third width and the fourth width are larger than the maximal width of the locating block  22 . The fifth width is smaller than the fourth width. The sole  30  is resilient, so the bottom opening  311  can be expanded to allow the locating block  22  to pass through the bottom opening  311  and pushed into and received in the locating recess  31 . Additionally, a maximal width of the urging block  23  is larger than the first width and the second width. Hence, the urging disk  23  can be positioned between the pedal  10  and the sole  30 , a bottom of the urging disk  23  abuts against a top of a corresponding tab  13 , and a top of the urging disk  23  abuts against the bottom of the sole  30 . 
         [0035]    With reference to  FIGS. 3 ,  5  and  9 , when the shoe positioning device is applied to a bicycle, the shaft tube  12  of the pedal  10  is rotatably mounted around a crank axle of the bicycle. The sole  30  is mounted on a bottom of a shoe  70 , and the locating blocks  22  of the positioning elements  20  selectively snap in the corresponding locating recesses  31  of the resilient sole  30  so that the sole  30  can be selectively positioned on the pedal  10  to meet a cyclist&#39;s demand. When cycling, the cyclist&#39;s feet drive the soles  30  to move forwards and backwards along the X-axis direction. Since the first width of the bottom opening  311  of each locating recess  31  is smaller than the maximal width of the locating block  22  of a corresponding positioning element  20 , the locating block  22  can be firmly held in the locating recess  31 . Accordingly, the shoe  70  can be firmly positioned on the pedal  10 , thereby increasing riding speed and efficiency. 
         [0036]    With reference to  FIGS. 4 and 6  to  8 , in case of an emergency, the cyclist can immediately pulls out the shoes  70  from the pedals  10  so that the cyclist can jump off the bicycle. How the way of the shoe positioning device works is explained as follows. With reference to  FIGS. 4 and 7 , as the second width of the bottom opening  311  of the locating recess  31  is larger than the maximal width of the locating block  22  and the sole  30  is resilient, the cyclist can pull out the locating block  22  from the locating recess  31  by first driving the sole  30  to move to the left or to the right along the Y-axis direction so as to position the locating block  22  adjacent to an inner wall of the locating recess  31 , then tilting the sole  30  with respect to a horizontal plane and widening the second width of the bottom opening  311  to escape from the locating recess  31  for the sake of the resilient nature of the sole  30 . Such an immediate and easy disengagement effectively reduces chances of injury and life-threatening risks. 
         [0037]    Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.