EP0086204A1

EP0086204A1 - Child carrier seat assembly for mounting on bicycles

Info

Publication number: EP0086204A1
Application number: EP19820902440
Authority: EP
Inventors: Frantz Bergquist
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1981-08-13
Filing date: 1982-08-11
Publication date: 1983-08-24
Also published as: NL8220282A; DE3248941T1; DK359081A; WO1983000470A1

Abstract

Un assemblage de sièges pour le transport d'enfants comprend un châssis de support de siège (10, 8) s'étendant de la partie supérieure de la fourche arrière inclinée du vélo, d'abord droit vers l'arrière et ensuite en s'inclinant vers le bas et vers l'avant jusqu'à l'essieu arrière, un châssis de support de repose-pied (9, 28) s'étendant de la partie supérieure de la fourche arrière inclinée du vélo d'abord quelque peu vers l'arrière et ensuite s'inclinant vers le bas et vers l'arrière jusqu'à l'essieu arrière, et un support combiné d'accoudoir et de dossier (1), qui est monté de manière pivotante à l'extrémité arrière de la partie horizontale (10) du châssis de support de siège. Ces trois pièces sont toutes réalisées avec des tubes, chacune en une seule pièce et sans soudure. Le châssis de support de siège (10, 8) est muni de repose-pieds (11) qui sont réglables mais toujours à l'arrière de la fourche arrière inclinée du vélo et donc à une distance de sécurité des pédales du vélo, alors que le support de dossier et d'accoudoir (1) est muni en partie d'accoudoirs et en partie d'un dossier spécial (2). Par l'utilisation de tubes dans toutes les pièces on évite le risque d'une cassure des soudures pouvant être à l'origine d'un accident.A child transport seat assembly includes a seat support frame (10, 8) extending from the top of the inclined rear fork of the bicycle, first straight back and then tilting down and forward to the rear axle, a footrest support frame (9, 28) extending from the top of the inclined rear fork of the bicycle first somewhat towards the rear and then tilting down and back to the rear axle, and a combined armrest and backrest support (1), which is pivotally mounted at the rear end of the horizontal part (10) of the seat support frame. These three pieces are all made with tubes, each in one piece and seamless. The seat support frame (10, 8) is provided with footrests (11) which are adjustable but always at the rear of the inclined rear fork of the bicycle and therefore at a safe distance from the pedals of the bicycle, whereas the backrest and armrest support (1) is partly provided with armrests and partly with a special backrest (2). By using tubes in all parts, the risk of breakage of the welds which could cause an accident is avoided.

Description

CHILD CARRIER SEAT ASSEMBLY FOR MOUNTING ON BICYCLES

The invention relates to a child carrier seat assem- bly for mounting on bicycles, said assembly being of the kind mentioned in^' the introduction of claim 1.

Several different child carrier seat assemblies of this kind are known. The common feature is that they have weaknesses or drawbacks of various kinds. Not uncommonly, the footrests of the known assemblies are mounted so close to the pedals of the bicycle that the child's feet get in the way of the cyclist's feet when these follow the rear part of the path des¬ cribed by the pedals. Other footrests, or even the same footrests . may be designed in such a way that they are difficult to adjust at different hights ac¬ cording to the length. of the child's legs or that they are poorly secured and thereby may cause acci¬ dents. Another not uncommon drawback by known child carrier seat assemblies is that the parts made of tubing can be made of several different welded pieces. The weld, which in itself is not always a high quali¬ ty weld, weakens the resistance to corrosion and the hardness of the tubes - it is often a question of cold-rolled or cold-drawn tubes - and the result therefore is that the end product is not so good and reliable as it should be. A third drawback by the known child carrier seat assemblies is that the side screening for the protection of the child's legs - ^"•■ and by older children also their hands - against con- tact with the bicycle wheel and especially its spokes is in may cases quite inadequate and often simply made up of a socalled dress guard, which - as the name implies - is only intended to prevent the cy- clist's coat-tails from entering between the spokes, and which does normally not cover the area immediate¬ ly above the horizontal chain stays. This is rather dangerous since a foot inserted here will be exposed to a "cutting" between the chain stay in question and the spokes of the wheel moving downwards.

It is therefore the purpose of the invention to pro¬ vide the design of a child carrier seat assembly of the kind mentioned in the introduction of claim 1 which does not have the mentioned drawbacks and which offers the child a very high degree of security even if the bicycle with a mounted child carrier seat as¬ sembly has been exposed to wind and weather and thus a certain risk of corrosion.

The mentioned purpose is achieved by a child carrier seat assembly which according to the invention is characterized, by the design mentioned in the charac- terizing part of claim 1.

By means of the footrest assembly mentioned in para¬ graph of claim 1 with sub-paragraphs e_l and e2₃ the child's feet will at any time be positioned at a safe distance from the feet of the cyclist and the foot¬ rests can be conveniently adjusted. By the design mentioned in paragraph f of claim 1 of the supporting frame for the seat, of the back and arm support and of the supporting frame for the footrest the above mentioned drawbacks incident to welded part are avoided, and by the design of the side guards men- - tioned in paragraph g of claim 1 a secure protection of the child's feet from entering between the spokes of the wheel is obtained, since even a very restless

OMPI ^~ child will be unable to kick its feet through the -wheel side guards, always provided that the guards have been constructed with a suitable thickness, and nor will the child be able to insert one_, of its feet over the horizontal chain stays and thus get one of its feet caught between the spokes of the wheel.

The effects of the measures mentioned in the sub- claims will be explained in the following detailed part of this specification wherein the invention is further explained with reference to the drawing, where

Pig. 1 is a side view of a mounted child carrier seat assembly according to the invention, Fig. 2 is a part view showing a front view of the footrest of Fig. 1 and its attachment, Fig. 3 is a side view of a mounting plate, and Fig. H are part views showing the rear mudguard and 5 of the bicycle and with the wheel side guards according to the invention in a' mounted and mounted position, respect¬ ively.

The child carrier seat assembly shown in the drawing comprises three main components, namely, firstly, the seat itself with frame and locking means belong¬ ing to it, secondly, the footrests, and thirdly, the wheel side guards. As will be seen from fig. 1, the carrier seat itself comprises a seat 6 and a back 2 extending almost vertically as shown in a solid line

'BUR^EA

O PI in the working postion of the seat. The seat 6 is carried by and secured to a frame bridge 10 which at its rear end inclines downwards and forwards so as to form two frame rear stays 8, the lower ends of which in a known manner are^"fastened to-the rear axle of the bicycle or to bolts on the rear stays. The front end of the frame bridge 10 is secured to the bicycle frame by means of a clamping screw 27, said clamping screw 27 simultaneously securing a connecting part 28 connecting the two frame front stays 9 with each other at the top, the lower ends of the frame front stays 9 being secured to the bicycle frame in the same or like manner as mentioned in connection with the frame rear stays 8.

The back 2 is carried by a combined back and arm sup¬ port 1 consisting of a single piece of bent tube ex¬ tending from the left end (visible in fig. 1) where it is connected with one end of a back support 5 which is likewise in one piece and which can for instance have the shape of a U-formed support with a long middle piece, backwards, upwards and forwards, upwards and backwards so as to form the left arm rest, the rear end of which inclining upwards passes into a back support element to which the back 2 is secured and which on the right side (not visible) continues_^;, downwards, forwards through the arm rest, downwards, backwards, downwards and again forwards to the right hand end which in the same manner as the left hand end is connected with the back support 5₃ namely at its right end which is not visible in the drawing. Uppermost in the lower part on each side, the back and arm support 1 is pivotably mounted on bearing webs 24 on a mounting plate 23 which is secured to

-gUREA. the frame bridge 10 in a suitable not shown way. Be¬ hind the back 2 there is mounted a luggage clamp 3 whereby luggage can be clamped against the back - also when the seat is in the 'position of rest' .-) 5 shown in a dotted line. The back and arm support 1 and thus the back 2 is kept in the working position by means of the above mentioned back support 5 , the ^•' middle piece of which in the working position by a forwardly extending lock nose 12c is kept locked in 10 a downwardly and backwardly extending lock notch 12b, which is positioned at the end of a slit 12a in a back support guide 12 made (as shown in fig. 3) integrally with the mounting plate 23-

15 When one wishes to lay down the back and arm support 1 and the back 2, the middle piece of the back sup¬ port 5 is moved out of the lock- notch 12b first for¬ wards by pulling the back backwards and then up¬ wards by means of the lifting hook 13 which for this

20 purpose is activated by means of a release handle 14. A kind of "pre-release" is thereby obtained reducing the risk that the child or the adult get their fin¬ gers squeezed by unintentionally actuating the re¬ lease handle 14. -A safety strap (not shown) is fas-

25 tened to the upper part of the back and arm support 1 and designed in such a way that from two positions ^• on the upper part of the support 1 it reaches over the shoulders of the child and downwards in front of the body to a strap lock pin 17, which when in use

30. is taken dovm between the child's legs and is placed in the mounting plate 23 to engage with a strap latch bolt 16 adapted to snap into an opening in the lock pin 17 and to secure it. When the strap is to be re¬ leased, a release handle 15 is activated in a rear-

wardly direction so that the bolt 16 connected to the handle 15 is pulled out of the opening in the lock pin 17 which jumps up when activated by a push out spring 25. As will be seen from fig. 1, both release handles 5 14 and 15 placed in such a way behind the lower part of the back that they are out of the child's reach.

Both the part of the frame constituted by the frame bridge 10 and the frame rear stays 8 and^' the part

10 constituted by the frame front stays 9 and their con¬ necting part 28 are formed in one single piece of bent tube without welds, and the same is the case for the back and arm support 1. Furthermore, the mounting plate 23 is formed of one single undivided piece of

15 sheet material with suitable cuts and lips so as to form the shown guides and bearing webs. The plate 23 therefore has no welds and the thereby ensuing risk that single parts loosen or break off.

20. The seat 6 is fastened to the frame bridge 10 and/or the mounting plate 23 by means of taps and/or rivets, and can be moulded in plastic with ribs on the under¬ side so as to make it elastic. The back 2 is made in weatherproof plastic, and can on its back be made

25 with ribs, taps or the like to engage with the lug¬ gage 4, both when the back is raised and when it lies down. In the latter case the back 2 will protect both the seat 6 and the safety strap against rain and snow in case the latter has been placed on top of the seat

30 6. The back 2 moreover protects the child in case the resilient luggage clamp 3 should break.

The footrests 11 are, as it appears from figs. 1 and 2, adjustably fastened to the frame front stays 9 by

means of clamps 26. As can be seen from fig. 1, the rearwardly displaced positioning of the frame front stays 9 in relation to the inclined seat stays of the bicycle means that the child's feet, when resting in the footrests 11, do not extend into the rearest part of the paths described by the cyclist's feet when pedalling.

When the child is so small that it is inappropriate to use the footrests 11, an additional plate 7 is secured at the front end of the frame bridge 10 in cont±uation of the seat 6 so that the child's calves can rest on it.^' Since by the straps the child is fas¬ tened to the back and arm support 1 and the locked-- lock pin 17_. the child cannot slide forwards on the seat and the additional plate 7.

The design and the fastening of the wheel side guards 19 appear from figs. 1, 4 and 5 , where figs. 1 and 5 show the wheel side guards 19 mounted on the bicycle, whereas figs. 4 and 5 show how they are fastened to the rear mudguard 18 of the bicycle. The wheel side guards can in a -suitable (not shown) way be fastened to the horizontal chain stays of the bicycle and to the frame rear stays 8. The wheel side guards 19' can be made of sheet metal or a plastic plate, or they can be moulded in plastic or another suitable mould¬ ing material, perhaps with stiffening ribs as indi¬ cated in fig. 1. As it especially appears from figs. 4 and 5, the wheel side guards 19 are designed in such a way at the outer edge that they amply cover the sides of the rear mudguard 18 of the bicycle, while having at suitable intervals resilient lock hooks 22 which are adapted to engage with the bead 21 of the mudguard 18 and thereby lock the wheel side guard 19 to the rear mudguard 18. The lock hooks are _radially and axially (in relation to the_wheel axis) at their outer ends provided with an inclined part 20 whereby, when the wheel side guards 19 are taken from the position shown in fig. 4 to the position in fig. 5, they will first yield inwardly so as to pass the guard bead 21, whereupon they snap behind the bead 21 and lock the side guard 19 to it, id. to the rear mud- guard 18 of the bicycle.

Since the wheel side guards 19_ as mentioned, are de¬ signed in such a way at the outer edges that they amply cover the sides of the rear mudguard 18 of the bicycle, wheel side guards of the same size can be used together with mudguards of different sizes or "depths".

Claims

C L A I M S

1. Child carrier seat assembly for mounting on a bi¬ cycle and of the kind, comprising a) a seat carrier frame (10, 8), whereof a first_. part (10) extends substantially horizontally and where the front end is adapted to be fastened to. the inclined rear fork of the bicycle, and a- sec¬ ond part in the form of two frame rear stays (8) which are adapted to extend from the rearest end of the first section (10) inclining downwards and forwards to the rear axle of the bicycle or to a position close to it on the horizontal or in- clined rear fork of the bicycle where the two frame rear stays (8) are adapted to be fastened to their ends, b) a seat comprising, bl) a seat (6) fastened to the first frame part (10), and b2) a combined back and arm support (1, 2), which with its lower end is pivotably mounted on the rear end of the first frame part (10) between a raised position (solid lines in fig. 1), where the back (2) is substantially vertical, and a collapsed position (dotted lines in fig. 1), where the back (2) is collapsed against the seat (6), c) a pair of footrests (11) which are adapted to be fastened to each its side of the bicycle, and d) wheel side guards (19) which are adapted to pre¬ vent a child sitting in the seat to touch the rear wheel of the bicycle or its spokes, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n, e) that the assembly furthermore comprises a foot- Test assembly (9, 28, 11) comprising el) a footrest support frame (9, 28) in form of a support the connecting part (28) of which is adapted to be fastened to the inclined rear fork of the bicycle together with the front end of the first frame part (10), said stays (9) of the support having been designed so as to extend for the greater part from a position behind the con- necting part (28) of the support inclining down¬ wards and rearwards to their lower ends which- are adapted to be fastened at the same place or close to the place where the lower ends of the frame rear stays (8) mentioned in paragraph a above have been fastened and in the same or like manner as these, and e2) a pair of footrest supports (11), which are both adjustably, fastened, for instance by means of • screw clamps (26), to each of the stays (9) men- tioned in paragrahp eL above, f) that the seat support frame (10, 8) as well as a back and arm ^'support (1) belonging to the com¬ bined back and arm rest (1, 2) and the footrest support frame (9 , 28) have been made in one sin- gle piece each, and g) that the side guards consist of a pair of rigid plate-shaped wheel side guards (19) which are adapted to securely engage (fig. 5) with the rear mudguard (18), and which are adapted to cover the wheel sides all the way to the chain stays and/or to the chainguard.

2. Child carrier seat assembly according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n, that the bearing webs (24) for the back and arm support (1) together with guides (12) for a back support (5) adapted to deter¬ mine the two positions of the back and arm support (1), and a guide for a safety strap pin (17) and guide for a bolt (16) adapted to lock said pin (17) are made integrally with a single mounting plate (23), which is secured to the first frame part (10).

3. Child carrier seat assembly according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n, that the release handles (14, 15) for releasing the back support (5) by lifting it up from lock notches (12b) in the guides (12) with a view to collapsing the back or releasing the safety strap pin (17) from the bolt (16) are positioned behind the lower part of the back.

4. Child carrier seat assembly according to claims 1-3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n, that the lock notches (12b) from the front ends of the back support guides (12) extend first downwards and then backwards to form a forwardly protruding lock nose (12c) pre¬ venting the back support (5) from being lifted out of the lock notch (12b) before it has been moved for¬ wards and clear of the lock nose (12c) by moving the back (2) backwards.

5. Child carrier seat assembly according to claims ' 1-4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n, that in the edges of the wheel side guards (19) for engagement with the rear mudguard (18) of the bicycle there are provided a number of inwardly bent and Outwardly resilient lock hooks (22), which are designed with an inclined part (20) in such a way that when mount¬ ing the wheel side guards (19) on the outer edges of the rear mudguard (18) they engage along the inside of the rear mudguard beads (21) and hang on to the side facing away from the rear wheel axle (figs. 4 and 5) .

6. Child seat carrier assembly according to claims 1-5_. c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n an additional plate (7) which is adapted to be fastened to the front end of the horizontal part (10) of the seat carrier frame (10, 8) in continuation of the seat (6).

7. Child seat carrier assembly according to claims 1-6 and provided with a safety strap, preferably of the H-type, which is firmly secured to the upper part of the back and arm support (1), c h a r a c t e r ¬ i z e d i , that the guide with appurtenant larch bolt (16) for the lock pin (17) adapted to receive the lock pin (17) is positioned so far backwards that the lower part of the strap extends between the thighs of a child sitting in the seat, preferably as far backwards as possible.

I.UREATT

O.'Pi