GB2547204A

GB2547204A - Handlebar light

Info

Publication number: GB2547204A
Application number: GB1602314.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Mcteer Rugg Christopher
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2016-02-09
Filing date: 2016-02-09
Publication date: 2017-08-16
Anticipated expiration: 2036-02-09
Also published as: GB2547204B; GB201602314D0

Abstract

A safety light assembly for bicycle drop-handlebars, the assembly comprising a sleeve 15 and a light (1, Fig 1), and wherein, in use, the sleeve is secured within an open end of the bicycle handlebars 80 and the light (1, Fig 1) is secured within the sleeve 15. This provides an arrangement wherein the light is rear facing and, if the safety lights are inserted into both ends of the handlebars, provides any vehicle approaching from behind an indication as to the width of the bicycle. The sleeve 15 and the light (1, Fig 1) are further preferably provided as separable pieces; the light (1, Fig 1) being of uniform shape, wherein the sleeve 15 may be manufactures in a variety of shapes and sizes to allow fitment to a wide range of handlebars 80. Also disclosed is a bicycle comprising the safety light assembly.

Description

Handlebar light

The present invention relates to bicycle lights, in particular lights for bicycle handlebars. The present invention also relates to bicycles comprising handlebar lights.

Cyclists often have to share the road with other vehicles due to the lack of dedicated cycle lanes. In the dark, or in challenging weather conditions such as fog, it is particularly important in terms of safety that cyclists are seen by other vehicles on the road.

Cyclists often use a single rear light and a single front light in order to be seen by other vehicles on the road.

Although a single rear and front light enable the cyclist to be seen and alert vehicles to their presence, they do not give any indication on the width of the cyclist and their bicycle. This makes the cyclist particularly vulnerable when other vehicles overtake.

There have been attempts to incorporate safety lights at the end of bicycle handlebars.

For example, EP 1 160 149 describes a flashing light for bicycles provided with fastening means which sits on the outside of the handgrip of the handlebar and in which the light projects from the handgrip beyond the contour of the cycle.

However, these types of safety lights interfere with the uniform contours of taped handlebars, which are important in racing style bicycles. Further, these lights interrupt the aesthetic clean lines of the handlebar.

There have also been attempts to incorporate safety lights inside bicycle handlebars.

For example, US 4,623,954 describes a safety light for removable assembly to a bicycle handlebar comprising a battery shell of conductive sheet metal construction having cantilevered inwardly projecting tabs at one end for resilient electrical contact with batteries captured therein and an opening at the opposing end for threadably receiving a lamp. The shell is contoured for sliding press-fit insertion into the open end of a tubular handlebar.

However, in such examples in which the lamp is screwed into the battery shell, it has been found that excessive twisting of the lens and lamp can lead to fracturing the lamp. US 4,875,142 describes a bicycle safety light receivable in the hollow arms of a bicycle handlebar to provide blinking light signals that are highly visible to drivers of vehicles to the rear of the cyclist. Each unit includes a tubular battery case adapted to wedge into the hollow arms of a bicycle handlebar. US 4,656,564 describes a light for improving bicycle safety, which is adapted to be mounted entirely within openings at the rear of each bicycle. A bulb holder is provided with an annular bead at its rear end and forwardly extending resilient expandable handlebar engaging retaining members in contact with the inside surface of the handle bar and surrounding a light bulb mounted within it. US 4,716,502 describes a signal light for removable assembly to a bicycle handlebar or the like comprising a cylindrical battery shell of electrically non-conductive construction having a circumferential array of orthogonally spaced axially extending resilient arcuate ribs integrally projecting outwardly of the shell between the shell ends.

The above examples describe safety lights that push into the ends of the handlebars. However, there are wide variations in the inside diameter of handlebars. Unless the dimensions of the safety light correspond very closely to the inside diameter of the handlebar, the diameter of the light may be too large to fit into the handlebar, or conversely the diameter of the light may be too small and work itself loose due to vibration of the bicycle in use.

Further, the overall length of the safety light may be that it cannot be fully inserted into handlebars with a short end section before the bend of the handlebar.

Therefore, there exists a need to provide a safety light for bicycles which can be securely installed on a wide variety of handlebar sizes and shapes.

It is an aim of the present invention to address this need.

The present invention accordingly provides, in a first aspect, a safety light assembly for bicycle handlebars, comprising: a sleeve, and a light, wherein the sleeve is secured within an open end of the bicycle handlebars and the light is secured within the sleeve.

The present invention is most conveniently supplied for sale as a kit to allow cyclists to install the safety light themselves on their bicycles.

The safety light assembly may be inserted into any handlebars on any kind of cycle, such as a bicycle or motorcycle. Preferably, the safety light assembly is for use on bicycle handlebars, and in particular bicycle drop handlebars.

When the light is secured within the open end of drop handlebars, the light is rear facing so that the cyclist can be seen by vehicles approaching from behind. This is advantageous, as the safety lights in both ends of the handlebars makes approaching vehicles aware of the overall width of the bicycle. The driver of the vehicle can therefore allow plenty of room when overtaking the cyclist.

The sleeve and the light of the safety light assembly are manufactured and supplied as separate pieces. This is advantageous as the sleeve can be manufactured in a variety of different sizes and the correct size may be selected by the user to correspond to the particular diameter of bicycle handlebars. This is advantageous as the sleeve is adaptable to a wide range of bicycle handlebar sizes and shapes.

Bicycle handlebars are often wrapped in tape. Tape provides grip and can provide cushioning from road vibrations. The tape is usually folded inside the handlebar ends and is held in place with handlebar plugs.

In the present invention, the handlebars are preferably wrapped in tape and the tape folds inside the open end of the handlebar. The handlebar plugs may be removed and the sleeve secured inside the open end of the handlebars.

Advantageously, the sleeve is designed to remain inside the handlebars and does not necessarily need to be removed. Therefore, the sleeve may be firmly secured inside the open ends of the handlebars by any suitable means.

Preferably, the handlebars are wrapped in tape and the tape folds inside the open end of the handlebar, and the sleeve is secured by push-fit insertion against the tape within the open end of the handlebar. The sleeve diameter may be chosen so that the outer surface of the sleeve closely contacts the tape fold inside the open end of the handlebar. In this way, the sleeve is securely held within the handlebar ends against the tape fold by friction. In this case, preferably, the tape should extend inside the open end of the handlebar by at least one third the length of the sleeve, and more preferably by at least one half the length of the sleeve.

The sleeve may alternatively or additionally comprise further sleeve securing means or a sleeve fixing. For example, a suitable fixing may include one or more flanges which project outwardly from the outer surface of the sleeve and frictionally engage with the internal surface of the handlebar, or a flexible member extending from the closed end of the sleeve and which can bend around and frictionally engage with the curved portion of the internal surface of the drop handlebar, or a screw mechanism in which one or more flanges can be moved outwards to frictionally engage with the internal surface of the handlebar, or an adhesive between the outer surface of the sleeve and the inner surface of the handlebar. The adhesive may be a tacky non-permanent adhesive to enable the sleeve to be removed if necessary.

The internal diameter of the sleeve remains the same, regardless of the outer diameter of the sleeve. Correspondingly, the external diameter of the light of the invention remains the same. Therefore and advantageously, the same sized light can be inserted into the sleeve of the invention regardless of the outer diameter of the sleeve.

The light is adapted so that the light remains securely in place during use, but also can be removed from the sleeve (for example, in order to change the battery or to recharge the battery).

Preferably, the light comprises a light securing means or light fixing, which grips the internal surface of the sleeve (for example, the fixing may comprise a push-click mechanism, a threaded fixing, a clamping means, or at least one flexible flange which engages with the internal surface of the sleeve), and/or which grips the external surface of the sleeve (for example, the fixing may comprise clips which engage around the perimeter of the open end of the sleeve tube).

Preferably, the light is adapted so that it may only be removed from the sleeve using a key. In this way, the light advantageously cannot be removed by another user.

Preferably, the light comprises a projecting lip (collar lip) to engage with a key and to enable removal of the light from the sleeve. The key preferably comprises suitable corresponding elements to grip and engage underneath the projecting lip to enable removal of the light. For example, please see Figure 2.

The light comprises a power source selected from, for example, a rechargeable battery, an alkaline battery, a lithium battery, a fuel cell, a solar cell or a dynamo or two or more of these power sources. Preferably, the light comprises a rechargeable battery.

Preferably, the light further comprises a recharging adapter in order to recharge the rechargeable battery, if present. Preferably, the recharging adapter comprises a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port, or any suitable attachment for charging the battery at a power supply. This is advantageous as the battery can be conveniently recharged without needing to remove the battery from the light.

Preferably, the light comprises a light source selected from, for example, an LED (light emitting diode), incandescent bulb and a fluorescent bulb, and more preferably a LED.

Preferably, the light comprises an illumination mode control switch, in which the breadth of the beam may be varied (such as a narrow angle beam or wide angle beam), the type of beam may be varied (such as a steady beam or a flashing beam) or the angle of the beam may be varied (such as a dipped beam, a beam angled upward from the line of the end of the handlebars, and a beam in line with the handlebars). This is advantageous, as it enables the cyclist to choose the appropriate illumination mode depending upon the environment.

Preferably, the safety light assembly of the invention further comprises an ambient light detector mode. The ambient light detector will cause the safety light to automatically illuminate when environmental light levels are low and therefore does not rely on the cyclist having to manually switch on the light. This is advantageous as the safety light will be illuminated as soon as the outside light levels are sufficiently low that a cyclist becomes less visible on the road to other vehicles.

Preferably, the light also comprises an on/off switch. The switch may be any kind of suitable switch. Preferably, the on/off switch is operated by pushing on the end of the light. This is advantageous in that the switch is easy to find and operate (which is particularly important if the safety light has to be switched on while the cyclist is riding), and the aesthetic clean lines of the handlebar are not interrupted.

Preferably, the light comprises an impervious weather resistant end seal. Any seal that prevents the ingression of water into the internal electrical parts (the battery and associated electrical connections) of the light is suitable. The weather resistant end seal enables the safety light to withstand wet weather conditions.

The safety light may partly extend beyond the end of the handlebars, in which case the outer diameter of the safety light is similar to outer diameter of the handlebar. Alternatively, the safety light may wholly sit within the end of the handlebar so that the safety light lies flush with the end of the handlebar.

Preferably, the safety light lies flush with the end of the handlebar. This is advantageous in that the light is not bulky so does not interfere with the uniform contours of the handlebars (which is important in racing style bicycles). Further, the safety light does not interrupt the aesthetic clean lines of the handlebars.

The handlebars may comprise tape wrapped around the handlebar, which folds inside the ends of the handlebars. Preferably, the sleeve comprises a lip which secures the tape at the end of the handlebar, and prevents the tape from unravelling.

The lip of the sleeve abuts the impervious end seal and therefore helps to create a tight impervious seal.

The present invention accordingly provides, in a second aspect, a bicycle comprising the safety light assembly according to the first aspect of the invention.

The present invention accordingly provides, in a third aspect, a handlebar for a bicycle comprising the safety light according to the first aspect of the invention.

The present invention accordingly provides, in a fourth aspect, a sleeve for use in the safety light assembly according to the first aspect of the invention.

The present invention accordingly provides, in a fifth aspect, a light for use in the safety light assembly according to the first aspect of the invention.

Figures 1 to 6 show an embodiment of the safety light assembly of the present invention.

Figure 1 shows the safety light assembly (2) of the present invention, in which the light (1) has been fully inserted into the sleeve (5).

Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the safety light assembly (2) of the present invention.

Figure 3 shows the assembled safety light of the present invention, in which the light (1) is inserted into the sleeve (5) and the key (70) is engaged with the collar lip (25) of the light.

Figure 4 shows a cross section of the safety light assembly (2) inserted into the end of drop handlebars (75).

Figure 5 shows al) a side view of the light (1), showing the long edge of the USB port (65), and a2) the corresponding cross-sectional view (section A-A); bl) a side view of the light (1), showing the short edge of the USB port (65); and b2) the corresponding cross-sectional view (section B-B).

Figure 6 shows the safety light assembly (1) inserted into each of drop handlebars (75) and ready for use.

Figure 7 shows a bicycle with the safety light assembly inserted in the handlebars and in operation, in which the light beam is in line with the handlebars.

Referring to Figure 1, the complete light assembly (2) is shown, including the light (1) fully inserted into the sleeve (5).

Referring to Figure 2, the sleeve comprises a lip (10) and a body (15). In use, the body (15) is inserted inside the end of the handlebar (not shown in Figure 2, see Figure 4) and the lip (10) abuts the end of the handlebar to secure any tape (not shown) at the end of the handlebar.

The light (1) comprises a collar (20) which further comprises a collar lip (25). The collar (20) and collar lip (25) act as the impervious weather resistant end seal for the light. The light further comprises a rubber seal (30) in the form of an O ring between the collar (20) and the lens (35), a light source (40; the light source shown in the Figure is an LED), the battery (45), the battery casing (50) and the outer housing (55). The outer housing (55) further comprises a flexible flange (60), which frictionally engages with the internal surface of the sleeve and acts as a catch to retain the light (1) in the sleeve (5). The light further comprises a USB connection (65) to enable charging of a rechargeable battery. The key (70) for removing the light from the sleeve is also shown.

Referring to Figure 3, the key (70) engages with and grips the collar lip (25). In this way the light may be removed from the sleeve for purposes of changing the battery or recharging the battery.

Each component part of the sleeve and light may be manufactured from any suitable material. For example, the key (70) may be made from any suitable plastic or metal (such as steel), the collar (20) may be made from any suitable plastic or metal (such as aluminium), the outer housing (55) may be made from any suitable plastic (such as polycarbonate and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC-ABS)) or nylon) or metal, and the sleeve (5) may be made from any suitable plastic or metal (such as aluminium). It is advantageous to manufacture the component parts of the sleeve and light from plastic or low weight metals, such as aluminium, as these materials will not add a significant extra weight to the bike when the light assembly is installed. Any suitable manufacturing technique may be used for the component parts of the sleeve and light, such as injection moulding or extrusion.

Referring to Figure 4, the light assembly (2) is shown fully inserted into the handlebar (75). The handlebar tape (80) is shown wrapped around the outside of the handlebars and folded into the ends of the handlebars. The sleeve (5) is in close contact with the tape on the inside of the handlebars and is held tightly in place by friction. The sleeve lip (10) is shown to abut the end of the handlebars. The collar lip (25) of the light abuts the sleeve lip (10).

Figure 5 shows further details of the light assembly, including in cross section.

Figure 6 shows handlebars (80) of a bicycle with the light assembly inserted and retained in the left and right ends of the handlebar.

Figure 7 shows a bicycle with light assemblies inserted and illuminated.

List of reference numbers for Figures: (1) light assembly (2) light (5) sleeve (10) lip (15) body (20) collar (25) collar lip (30) rubber seal (35) lens (40) light source (45) battery (50) battery casing (55) outer housing (60) flexible flange (65) USB connection (70) key (75) handlebar (80) handlebar tape

Claims

1. A safety light assembly for bicycle handlebars, comprising: a sleeve, and a light, wherein the sleeve is secured within an open end of the bicycle handlebars and the light is secured within the sleeve.

2. The safety light assembly according to claim 1, wherein the handlebars are drop handlebars.

3. The safety light assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sleeve is secured by push-fit insertion into the open end of the handlebar.

4. The safety light assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the sleeve comprises a fixing to secure the sleeve inside the handlebar.

5. The safety light assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the light comprises a light fixing to secure the light inside the sleeve.

6. The safety light assembly according to claim 5, wherein the light fixing comprises at least one flexible flange.

7. The safety light assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the light is adapted to be removable from the sleeve.

8. The safety light assembly according to claim 7, wherein the light comprises a projecting lip to engage with a key and to enable removal of the light from the sleeve.

9. The safety light assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the light comprises a power source selected from a rechargeable battery, an alkaline battery, a lithium battery, a fuel cell, a solar cell or a dynamo, and preferably comprises a rechargeable battery.

10. The safety light assembly according to claim 9, wherein the light further comprises a recharging adapter for recharging the rechargeable battery.

11. The safety light assembly according to claim 10, wherein the recharging adapter comprises a USB port.

12. The safety light assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the light comprises a light source selected from an LED, an incandescent bulb and a fluorescent bulb.

13. The safety light assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the light comprises an illumination mode control switch, wherein the control switch preferably enables selection from illumination modes including steady beam, flashing beam, dipped beam, raised beam, and handlebar in-line beam.

14. The safety light assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the light further comprises an ambient light detector.

15. The safety light assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the light comprises an on/off switch.

16. The safety light assembly according to claim 15, wherein the on/off switch is operated by pushing the light.

17. The safety light assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the light comprises weather resistant end seals.

18. The safety light assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the light lies flush with the end of the handlebar.

19. The safety light assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the handlebars are wrapped in tape and the tape folds inside the open end of the handlebar, and the sleeve is secured by push-fit insertion against the tape within the open end of the handlebar.

20. The safety light assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the sleeve comprises a lip which secures the tape at the end of the handlebar.

21. A bicycle comprising the safety light assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

22. A handlebar for a bicycle comprising the safety light according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

23. A sleeve for use in the safety light assembly of any one of claims 1 to 20.

24. A light for use in the safety light assembly of any one of claims 1 to 20.