CA1107704A - Reflector for spoked wheels - Google Patents
Reflector for spoked wheelsInfo
- Publication number
- CA1107704A CA1107704A CA308,706A CA308706A CA1107704A CA 1107704 A CA1107704 A CA 1107704A CA 308706 A CA308706 A CA 308706A CA 1107704 A CA1107704 A CA 1107704A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- reflector
- spoke
- hole
- wheel
- hook member
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Abstract
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
Reflector for Spoked Wheels ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A reflector for spoked wheels, for example, wheels of bicycles, consists of a plate-like body having a central opening extending from one side to the other of the body.
A hook member is located through the hole so that one end engages a wheel spoke and the other end of the member is in the form of a nut into which a screw engages. The screw engages the opposite side of the body to the spoke and the body also has a groove engaged by the spoke for inhibiting rotation of the body when fixed to the wheel.
Reflector for Spoked Wheels ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A reflector for spoked wheels, for example, wheels of bicycles, consists of a plate-like body having a central opening extending from one side to the other of the body.
A hook member is located through the hole so that one end engages a wheel spoke and the other end of the member is in the form of a nut into which a screw engages. The screw engages the opposite side of the body to the spoke and the body also has a groove engaged by the spoke for inhibiting rotation of the body when fixed to the wheel.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a reflector for spoked wheels, for example bicycle wheels having a rim supported by radial spokes, the reflector being arranged to be mounted on the spokes.
In particular the reflector is of the kind having a plate-like body having reflecting surfaces and means for connecting the body to the spokes for rotation with the wheel. Such reflectors are employed to reflect light to other vehicles, particularly at night, to indicat.e the presence of the wheeled vehicle bearing the reflectors to the other vehicles.
With prior reflectors the means for fixing the reflector to the wheel has often been troublesome. In some cases since the fixing means has been in the form of separate loose members which have to be coupled together in a given , ~3i77~4 order it has been difficult to effect fixing. In other cases the force applied to the fixing means to fit the reflector has been transmitted to the reflector body to reduce the life of the reflector. Moreover, the fixing means may loosen due to vibra-tion and the small contact area with the wheel spokes and loosereflectors will reflect the light in the wrong direction or will fall off.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a reflec-tor for a wheel including a plurality of spokes, said reflector including a plate-like reflector body having reflective surfaces each provided with reflective zones capable of reflecting inci-dent light in generally parallel relation thereto, the improve-ments comprising a through hole in said reflector body, a nut portion which is coaxially movable in the through hole, a hook member formed integrally with one end face of said nut portion and extending therefrom in the axial direction, a bolt portion coacting with said nut portion and adapted to firmly press a spoke against the inside face of said hook member by virtue of the extremity of said bolt portion, fixing means for retaining the bolt portion on its opposite side through said through hole in a state where the spoke is firmly pressed against the inside face of said hook member and the spoke is in abutting engage-ment with reflector, said fixing means including the bolt por-tion and a spring washer between the head of the bolt portionand the reflector body, and a rotation-restraining means for preventing rotation of said plate-like reflector body relative to the spokes, said rotation-restraining means comprising a - groove in the reflector body, said spokes being inclined with ,~ -2-respect to a plane through the wheel at a predeterminedangle, and the axis of said through hole being perpendicular to said spoke to which the reflector body is secured.
-~a-1~77~
The through hole may have large and reduced cross-section portions, the nut portion being received in the large cross-section portion for axial movement therein and the bolt portion, but not the nut portion, being movable through the reduced cross-section portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
Further features of the invention appear from the following description of various embodiments of the invention given by way of example only and with reference to the drawings, in which:-Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment ofthe invention fitted to a spoked wheel, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the reflector of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 in Fig. 1, Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are front, side and end views of a hook member of the reflector of Figs. 1 to 3, Fig. 7 is a section corresponding to that of Fig. 3 of a second embodiment of the invention, Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the invention fitted to a spoked wheel, Fig. 9 is a vertical section of the reflector of Fig. 8, Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are front, side and rear views of the reflector of Figs. 8 and 9, and Figs. 13, 14 and 15 are a cross section, a side view and a rear view of a hook member of the reflector of Figs. 8 to 12.
7 7 i~ 4 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings and firstly to Figs. 1 to 6, a reflector 1 is fitted to a spoked wheel 2 of a bicycle having spokes S. The reflector 1 includes a plate-like body 3, a hook member 4, retaining means 5 for fixing the hook member 4 to the body, and restraining means 15 for restraining rotation of the body relative to the wheel 2.
The body 3 has reflective surfaces 6 and 7 on opposite side faces and a circular ho]e 8 extends through the body in the central region of the body at a right angle thereto.
The surfaces 6 and 7 are each provided with reflective elements preferably in the form of regular triangular pyramids so as to provide prismatic reflectivity by which incident light is reflected in parallel relationship.
The hook member 4 has a nut portion 9 locatable in the hole 8 and the hook hooks over a spoke S. The retaining means 5 is a screw having a head 11 and in screw threaded engagement with the nut portion 9. ~ washer 10 locates around the screw 5 to be engaged by the head 11 and to retain the screw against one side of the body 3. The screw 5, the washer 10 and the hook member 4 can be assembled prior to mounting the reflector 3 on the wheel.
The restraining means 15 is in the form of a groove 16 (Fig. 2) extending from the hole 8 and engageable by the spoke S when the reflector is on the wheel.
The reflector is mounted on the wheel by threading the screw 5 partly onto the nut portion 9 with the washer 10 in position and the hook member 4 is inserted into the 11~)77~4 hole 8 so that it adopts the dotted line position in Fig. 3.
The spoke S is then located under the hook of member 4 and located in the groove 16. The screw 5 is then tightened until the spoke is firmly fixed against one side of the body, the head of the screw being located against the other side, and hook member is under tension.
The hole 8 and the nut portion 9 are cylindrical, as shown, but they may both be of non-circular section, for example rectangular, as desired, in order to prevent rotation of the hook member relative to the hole.
Referring to Fig. 7 a reflector similar to that shown in Figs. 1 to 6 is illustrated except that the hole 8 is formed with a portlon 17a of larger cross-section than the portion 18a, the nut portion 9 being locatable in the portion 17a but not the portion 18a which admits only the screw 5 in screw-threaded engagement. In this way the member 4 and screw 5 can be retained on the reflector when unattached to the wheel and mounting of the reflector on the wheel is facilitated.
Referring now to Figs. 8 - 15 a similar reflector to that shown in the previous embodiments is illustrated and similar parts are given the same reference numbers in each embodiment.
The reflector 1 of Figs. 8 to 15 is arranged to be fitted to a wheel 2 of a bicycle and includes a body 3, a hook member 4 formed with a nut portion 9, and a headed screw 5.
The body 3 has reflecting members 6 and 7 each with reflecting surfaces on their side faces and the members 6 11~77~4 and 7 being connected in face to face contact by, for example, ultra-sonic welding.
The body 3 is curved to correspond to the curvature of the associated portion of the wheel and is formed of acrylic resin by injection moulding. The members 6 and 7 each have four reflective zones 20, 21, 22 and 23. The zones 20 and 21 towards the ends of the body are arranged symmetri-cally with their front surfaces flat and their rear surfaces formed with reflector elements 14 (Fig. 9) of regular pyramidal form with their optical axes normal to their sur-faces. The zones are thus able to reflect incident light in parallel relative thereto, i.e. provide so-called standard reflection.
The zones 22 and 23 are formed with flat front sur-faces inclined at an angle ~ of about 10 with respect to the front surface of each reflective zone 22 or 23. Each zone 22 and 23 has a number of reflector elements on its rear surface which are of regular triangular pyramidal form with their optical axes inclined at about 20 relatlve to the front surfaces. Thus the zones 22 and 23 reflect incident light in parallel relation thereto to provide so-called wide angle reflection.
A through hole 8 extends through the reflection member 7 at its central portion and a hole 17 extends centrally through the reflector member 6, the hole 17 being of larger size than the hole 8. The holes 8 and 17 are inclined to the plane of the body 3 so that when the body is mounted on the wheel the plane of the body is parallel to the plane of the 11~77~4 wheel, the spokes being inclined to said plane.
A portion 26 of the walls of the hole 17 projects from the surface of the body 3 and recessed grooves 19 and 19' are formed in the portion 26 to receive a spoke S, the base of the grooves being inclined to accommodate the inclination of the spokes S relative to the body.
A hook member 4 (Figs. 13 - 15) has an integral nut portion 9 and a hook portion 27 coaxial with the nut portion 9 and with a part-circular groove 26 in which the spoke S
is located.
A screw 5 locates in screw-threaded engagement with the nut portion 9, the screw 5 having a threaded portion 29, and a head 24. A washer 25 is locatable about the screw 5 to engage with the head 24 The hook member 4 is movable axially along the hole 17 and the screw 5 is insertable through the smaller hole 8.
The reflector of Figs. 8 to 15 is located on the wheel
This invention relates to a reflector for spoked wheels, for example bicycle wheels having a rim supported by radial spokes, the reflector being arranged to be mounted on the spokes.
In particular the reflector is of the kind having a plate-like body having reflecting surfaces and means for connecting the body to the spokes for rotation with the wheel. Such reflectors are employed to reflect light to other vehicles, particularly at night, to indicat.e the presence of the wheeled vehicle bearing the reflectors to the other vehicles.
With prior reflectors the means for fixing the reflector to the wheel has often been troublesome. In some cases since the fixing means has been in the form of separate loose members which have to be coupled together in a given , ~3i77~4 order it has been difficult to effect fixing. In other cases the force applied to the fixing means to fit the reflector has been transmitted to the reflector body to reduce the life of the reflector. Moreover, the fixing means may loosen due to vibra-tion and the small contact area with the wheel spokes and loosereflectors will reflect the light in the wrong direction or will fall off.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a reflec-tor for a wheel including a plurality of spokes, said reflector including a plate-like reflector body having reflective surfaces each provided with reflective zones capable of reflecting inci-dent light in generally parallel relation thereto, the improve-ments comprising a through hole in said reflector body, a nut portion which is coaxially movable in the through hole, a hook member formed integrally with one end face of said nut portion and extending therefrom in the axial direction, a bolt portion coacting with said nut portion and adapted to firmly press a spoke against the inside face of said hook member by virtue of the extremity of said bolt portion, fixing means for retaining the bolt portion on its opposite side through said through hole in a state where the spoke is firmly pressed against the inside face of said hook member and the spoke is in abutting engage-ment with reflector, said fixing means including the bolt por-tion and a spring washer between the head of the bolt portionand the reflector body, and a rotation-restraining means for preventing rotation of said plate-like reflector body relative to the spokes, said rotation-restraining means comprising a - groove in the reflector body, said spokes being inclined with ,~ -2-respect to a plane through the wheel at a predeterminedangle, and the axis of said through hole being perpendicular to said spoke to which the reflector body is secured.
-~a-1~77~
The through hole may have large and reduced cross-section portions, the nut portion being received in the large cross-section portion for axial movement therein and the bolt portion, but not the nut portion, being movable through the reduced cross-section portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
Further features of the invention appear from the following description of various embodiments of the invention given by way of example only and with reference to the drawings, in which:-Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment ofthe invention fitted to a spoked wheel, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the reflector of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 in Fig. 1, Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are front, side and end views of a hook member of the reflector of Figs. 1 to 3, Fig. 7 is a section corresponding to that of Fig. 3 of a second embodiment of the invention, Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the invention fitted to a spoked wheel, Fig. 9 is a vertical section of the reflector of Fig. 8, Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are front, side and rear views of the reflector of Figs. 8 and 9, and Figs. 13, 14 and 15 are a cross section, a side view and a rear view of a hook member of the reflector of Figs. 8 to 12.
7 7 i~ 4 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings and firstly to Figs. 1 to 6, a reflector 1 is fitted to a spoked wheel 2 of a bicycle having spokes S. The reflector 1 includes a plate-like body 3, a hook member 4, retaining means 5 for fixing the hook member 4 to the body, and restraining means 15 for restraining rotation of the body relative to the wheel 2.
The body 3 has reflective surfaces 6 and 7 on opposite side faces and a circular ho]e 8 extends through the body in the central region of the body at a right angle thereto.
The surfaces 6 and 7 are each provided with reflective elements preferably in the form of regular triangular pyramids so as to provide prismatic reflectivity by which incident light is reflected in parallel relationship.
The hook member 4 has a nut portion 9 locatable in the hole 8 and the hook hooks over a spoke S. The retaining means 5 is a screw having a head 11 and in screw threaded engagement with the nut portion 9. ~ washer 10 locates around the screw 5 to be engaged by the head 11 and to retain the screw against one side of the body 3. The screw 5, the washer 10 and the hook member 4 can be assembled prior to mounting the reflector 3 on the wheel.
The restraining means 15 is in the form of a groove 16 (Fig. 2) extending from the hole 8 and engageable by the spoke S when the reflector is on the wheel.
The reflector is mounted on the wheel by threading the screw 5 partly onto the nut portion 9 with the washer 10 in position and the hook member 4 is inserted into the 11~)77~4 hole 8 so that it adopts the dotted line position in Fig. 3.
The spoke S is then located under the hook of member 4 and located in the groove 16. The screw 5 is then tightened until the spoke is firmly fixed against one side of the body, the head of the screw being located against the other side, and hook member is under tension.
The hole 8 and the nut portion 9 are cylindrical, as shown, but they may both be of non-circular section, for example rectangular, as desired, in order to prevent rotation of the hook member relative to the hole.
Referring to Fig. 7 a reflector similar to that shown in Figs. 1 to 6 is illustrated except that the hole 8 is formed with a portlon 17a of larger cross-section than the portion 18a, the nut portion 9 being locatable in the portion 17a but not the portion 18a which admits only the screw 5 in screw-threaded engagement. In this way the member 4 and screw 5 can be retained on the reflector when unattached to the wheel and mounting of the reflector on the wheel is facilitated.
Referring now to Figs. 8 - 15 a similar reflector to that shown in the previous embodiments is illustrated and similar parts are given the same reference numbers in each embodiment.
The reflector 1 of Figs. 8 to 15 is arranged to be fitted to a wheel 2 of a bicycle and includes a body 3, a hook member 4 formed with a nut portion 9, and a headed screw 5.
The body 3 has reflecting members 6 and 7 each with reflecting surfaces on their side faces and the members 6 11~77~4 and 7 being connected in face to face contact by, for example, ultra-sonic welding.
The body 3 is curved to correspond to the curvature of the associated portion of the wheel and is formed of acrylic resin by injection moulding. The members 6 and 7 each have four reflective zones 20, 21, 22 and 23. The zones 20 and 21 towards the ends of the body are arranged symmetri-cally with their front surfaces flat and their rear surfaces formed with reflector elements 14 (Fig. 9) of regular pyramidal form with their optical axes normal to their sur-faces. The zones are thus able to reflect incident light in parallel relative thereto, i.e. provide so-called standard reflection.
The zones 22 and 23 are formed with flat front sur-faces inclined at an angle ~ of about 10 with respect to the front surface of each reflective zone 22 or 23. Each zone 22 and 23 has a number of reflector elements on its rear surface which are of regular triangular pyramidal form with their optical axes inclined at about 20 relatlve to the front surfaces. Thus the zones 22 and 23 reflect incident light in parallel relation thereto to provide so-called wide angle reflection.
A through hole 8 extends through the reflection member 7 at its central portion and a hole 17 extends centrally through the reflector member 6, the hole 17 being of larger size than the hole 8. The holes 8 and 17 are inclined to the plane of the body 3 so that when the body is mounted on the wheel the plane of the body is parallel to the plane of the 11~77~4 wheel, the spokes being inclined to said plane.
A portion 26 of the walls of the hole 17 projects from the surface of the body 3 and recessed grooves 19 and 19' are formed in the portion 26 to receive a spoke S, the base of the grooves being inclined to accommodate the inclination of the spokes S relative to the body.
A hook member 4 (Figs. 13 - 15) has an integral nut portion 9 and a hook portion 27 coaxial with the nut portion 9 and with a part-circular groove 26 in which the spoke S
is located.
A screw 5 locates in screw-threaded engagement with the nut portion 9, the screw 5 having a threaded portion 29, and a head 24. A washer 25 is locatable about the screw 5 to engage with the head 24 The hook member 4 is movable axially along the hole 17 and the screw 5 is insertable through the smaller hole 8.
The reflector of Figs. 8 to 15 is located on the wheel
2 by inserting the hook member 4 in the hole 17 and the screw 5 is partially located in the nut portion 9. In this position the hook 27 projects so that the spokes can be located in the groove 26. The screw 5 is then tightened to firmly engage the spoke in the groove 22 and the grooves 19 and 19' in the body. The head 24 of the screw 5 is located against the opposite side of the reflector through the washer 25.
The spokes of wheels are generally of 1.8 to 4.0 mm in diameter and preferably the grooves 26, 19 and 19' have a diameter of 4 mm so that the reflector can be fitted to any wheel. Moreover the length of the screw 5 can be selected irrespective of the size of spoke giving universal application of the reflector to any spoked wheel.
The spokes of wheels are generally of 1.8 to 4.0 mm in diameter and preferably the grooves 26, 19 and 19' have a diameter of 4 mm so that the reflector can be fitted to any wheel. Moreover the length of the screw 5 can be selected irrespective of the size of spoke giving universal application of the reflector to any spoked wheel.
Claims (3)
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A reflector for a wheel including a plurality of spokes, said reflector including a plate-like reflector body having reflective surfaces each provided with reflective zones capable of reflecting incident light in generally parallel relation thereto, the improvements comprising a through hole in said reflector body, a nut portion which is coaxially movable in the through hole, a hook member formed integrally with one end face of said nut portion and extending therefrom in the axial direction, a bolt portion coacting with said nut portion and adapted to firmly press a spoke against the inside face of said hook member by virtue of the extremity of said bolt por-tion, fixing means for retaining the bolt portion on its oppo-site side through said through hole in a state where the spoke is firmly pressed against the inside face of said hook member and the spoke is in abutting engagement with reflector, said fixing means including the bolt portion and a spring washer between the head of the bolt portion and the reflector body, and a rotation-restraining means for preventing rotation of said plate-like reflector body relative to the spokes, said rotation-restraining means comprising a groove in the reflector body, said spokes being inclined with respect to a plane through the wheel at a predetermined angle, and the axis of said through hole being perpendicular to said spoke to which the reflector body is secured.
2. A reflector according to Claim 1, wherein the through hole has large and reduced cross-section portions, the nut portion being received in the large cross-section portion for axial movement therein, and the bolt portion, but not the nut portion, being movable through the reduced cross-section portion.
3. A reflector for a spokewise wheel as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the rotation-restraining means is a groove provided in a reflective surface and said groove is inclined at said predetermined angle, such that when the reflec-tor is mounted on said spoke, the reflective surfaces are held perpendicularly to said plane through the wheel.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA308,706A CA1107704A (en) | 1978-08-03 | 1978-08-03 | Reflector for spoked wheels |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA308,706A CA1107704A (en) | 1978-08-03 | 1978-08-03 | Reflector for spoked wheels |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1107704A true CA1107704A (en) | 1981-08-25 |
Family
ID=4112058
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA308,706A Expired CA1107704A (en) | 1978-08-03 | 1978-08-03 | Reflector for spoked wheels |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1107704A (en) |
-
1978
- 1978-08-03 CA CA308,706A patent/CA1107704A/en not_active Expired
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| EP1035370A3 (en) | Optical design of a reflector for reflecting light rays | |
| CA1148390A (en) | Lug nut | |
| FR2611009A1 (en) | CLUTCHING STOP, IN PARTICULAR FOR MOTOR VEHICLE | |
| US3901554A (en) | Spoke mountable display device | |
| EP0822118B1 (en) | Intermediate element for mounting a reflector on a supporting member of a headlamp | |
| CA1107704A (en) | Reflector for spoked wheels | |
| US4037925A (en) | Reflector assembly | |
| US4971495A (en) | Lug nut retainer | |
| CA1246035A (en) | Reflex reflector | |
| JPS6122066Y2 (en) | ||
| FR2480200A1 (en) | WHEEL TRIM AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE | |
| US4347640A (en) | Connector assemblies for connecting wiper blades to wiper arms | |
| KR830000188Y1 (en) | Reflector for spoke wheel | |
| US4436445A (en) | Stud anchor for securing a hollow non-round extension base | |
| EP0827865B1 (en) | Mounting of an optical block on a vehicle bodypart | |
| US4718743A (en) | Reflector for spoked wheel | |
| NL7809346A (en) | Reflector for spoked wheel - employs plate with tow reflective surfaces clamped to spoke by double hook retained by screw and nut | |
| EP2168811B1 (en) | Beleuchtungs- oder Signalisierungsvorrichtung für Kraftfahrzeug, die ein Befestigungselement umfasst, das mit einem elastisch verformbaren Element versehen ist | |
| JPS5844067Y2 (en) | Spoke-mounted side reflector | |
| US4648694A (en) | Bicycle wheel safety attachment | |
| US5450234A (en) | Bicycle wheel reflector assembly | |
| SU1689197A1 (en) | Reflector for vehicle spoke wheel | |
| JP3224944B2 (en) | Aiming screw support structure for automotive headlamp | |
| EP0893333B1 (en) | Connection device for track chain link | |
| SU1678693A1 (en) | Reflector of spoke wheel of vehicle |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |