Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
  • B62J—CYCLE SADDLES OR SEATS; AUXILIARY DEVICES OR ACCESSORIES SPECIALLY ADAPTED TO CYCLES AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, e.g. ARTICLE CARRIERS OR CYCLE PROTECTORS
  • B62J11/00—Supporting arrangements specially adapted for fastening specific devices to cycles, e.g. supports for attaching maps
  • B62J11/04—Supporting arrangements specially adapted for fastening specific devices to cycles, e.g. supports for attaching maps for bottles

Definitions

• the present invention is applicable in general to the field of bicycles and similar vehicles and, in particular, relates to a bottle and bottle-holder assembly for fixing a bottle to the frame of a bicycle or similar vehicle.
• bicycles may be provided with a support for one or more bottles so that the user is able to carry on the bicycle beverages for satisfying his/her need for liquids and other nutritional substances. Normally the user removes the bottle without stopping and it is therefore necessary for the bottle to be easily accessible both during extraction and during insertion into the support.
• the support is formed by a structure which is made of metallic or plastic material and is able to receive the bottle in a removable manner.
• the bottle is inserted selectively into the support by means of translation thereof substantially in an axial direction, usually against the action of elastic locking means.
• a further drawback of this solution consists in that the elastic means for locking the bottle on the support may hinder the extraction and insertion operations, thereby increasing the difficulty for the user.
• US-A-4,976,385 and US-A-3, 149,268 describe devices for removably locking containers made of magnetic material and having a substantially cylindrical shape.
• These devices comprise a plurality of permanent magnets which are integral with a support structure and a support base attached stably or rotatably to the said support structure.
• the support base prevents displacement of the container in a longitudinal direction, while the permanent magnets prevent the transverse movement thereof.
• a disadvantage of these known solutions consists in that the container made of magnetic material may be heavy, making the locking device of limited use when overall lightness is an important consideration.
• a main object of the present invention is to eliminate the abovementioned drawbacks by providing a drinking bottle/bottle-holder assembly in which the bottle can be easily engaged with and removed from the bottle-holder, even when the user is occupied with steering the vehicle.
• a particular object is that of providing an assembly which is relatively light and has small overall dimensions.
• a further object of the invention is that of providing an assembly which requires a limited amount of force in order to engage and remove the bottle.
• Another particular object is that of providing an assembly which is advantageous from a cost point of view.
• a drinking bottle and bottle-holder assembly in which the bottle-holder can be associated with the frame of a bicycle or similar vehicle, characterized in that the bottle comprises first magnetic engaging means and the bottle-holder comprises second magnetic engaging means, the first and second magnetic engaging means being arranged in mutually facing positions so as to provide a system for removably engaging the bottle and the bottle-holder with each other.
• the base material of the bottle is non-magnetic. Owing to this characteristic, it will be possible to obtain a bottle which is light and particularly suitable for bicycles and similar vehicles.
• FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a first example of embodiment of an assembly according to the invention
• FIG. 2 shows a side view of the assembly according to FIG. 1 , in a different configuration
• FIG. 3 shows a top plan view of the assembly according to FIG. 2;
• FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a second example of embodiment of an assembly according to the invention;
• FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a detail of the assembly according to FIG. 4.
• a bottle and bottle-holder assembly according to the invention is described, said assembly being denoted in its entirety by the reference number 1 and consisting of a bottle 2 and a bottle- holder 3.
• the bottle 2 has a substantially cylindrical shape with a bottom wall 4 which is substantially flat and a side wall 5 which is substantially cylindrical, defining a longitudinal axis L.
• the bottle-holder 3 can be associated with the frame T of a bicycle or similar vehicle, schematically shown with a tube portion H in FIGS. 1-3.
• the bottle 2 comprises first magnetic engaging means, denoted overall by 6, and the bottle-holder 3 comprises second magnetic engaging means, denoted overall by 7.
• the first and the second magnetic engaging means 6, 7 comprise one or more permanent magnets 8 and/or one or more ferromagnetic elements 9. According to the invention, the magnets 8 and the elements 9 are facing each other so as to ensure removable engagement of the bottle 2 and the bottle-holder 3 with each other.
• the bottle-holder device 3 comprises a support 10 with which the second magnetic engaging means 7 are associated.
• the support 10 may be shaped so as to form an open housing seat 11 inside which it will be possible to position the bottle 2 in any angular position about the longitudinal axis L of the said bottle.
• the shaped support 10 may comprise a transverse lug 12 which extends from an upright 12' able to be joined to the frame T and which is intended to support the bottom wall 4 of the bottle 2, and an upper portion 13 having an arcuated shape able to interact with the side wall 5 of the bottle 2.
• the upper arcuated portion 13 may have an angular extension which is less than or equal to 180° so as to surround at least partially the side wall 5 of the bottle 2.
• the shaped support 10 comprises a bottom portion 14 which is similar to the upper portion 13.
• the bottom portion 14 interacts with the side wall 5 of the bottle 2 and surrounds it at least partially.
• the second magnetic engaging means 7 may be positioned on the upper portion 13 and/or on the bottom portion 14 of the shaped support 10 and/or on the transverse lug 12.
• the permanent magnets 8 and/or the ferromagnetic elements 9 may be arranged on the shaped support 10 symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the bottle 2 once the latter is engaged with the bottle- holder 3.
• the second magnetic engaging means 7 may be embedded inside or attached externally to the upper portion 13 and the bottom portion 14 and to the transverse lug 12.
• the base material of the bottle 2 is non-magnetic so as to make the assembly 1 particularly light.
• synthetic materials or light metals with a relatively low specific weight such as for example polymer materials or aluminium, may be used.
• the first magnetic engaging means 6 of the bottle 2 may be positioned on the side wall 5 and/or on the bottom wall 4.
• the permanent magnets 8 and/or the ferromagnetic elements 9 positioned on the side wall 5 may have an annular shape so that they can be advantageously inserted in the vicinity of one or both the longitudinal ends of the side wall 5.
• these engaging means may have an elongated or grid-like shape, not shown in the drawings, so as to be distributed at least partially over the side wall 5 of the bottle 2.
• the permanent magnets 8 and/or the ferromagnetic elements 9 positioned on the bottom wall 4 may be substantially plate-shaped, as schematically illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.
• the first magnetic engaging means 6 may be embedded in the side wall 5 and/or in the bottom wall 4 or may be attached externally thereto.
• the second magnetic engaging means 7 may be directly associated with a hollow element H of the frame T, on the inside and/or on the outside thereof.
• the side wall 5 of the bottle 2 may comprise a longitudinal concave portion having a shape substantially complementing that of the hollow element H of the frame T so as to engage easily therewith.
• the first magnetic engaging means 6 may be positioned on the concave portion so as to interact magnetically with the second magnetic engaging means 7 positioned on the hollow element of the frame T and keep the bottle 2 fixed to the hollow element of the frame T even without the aid of the shaped support 10.
• the bottle 2 When the bottle 2 is arranged on the shaped support 10 in the case of the first and the second example of embodiment, or with the hollow portion in contact with the hollow element H of the frame T in the case of the third example of embodiment, it is kept engaged with the frame T as a result of the attraction between the first magnetic engaging means 6 integral with the bottle 2 and the second magnetic engaging means 7 integral with the said frame.
• the bottle 2 may be arranged in any angular position about the longitudinal axis L on the support 10 and be retained by the latter in a stable manner.
• the user does not necessarily have to pay attention to the position of the bottle 2 when moving it towards the support 10.
• the attraction between the first and the second magnetic engaging means 6, 7 ensures that the bottle 2 is arranged securely and stably on the support 10.
• the assembly according to the invention achieves the predefined objects and in particular the bottle removal and insertion operations may be performed in a particularly easy and reliable manner.
• the user does not have to apply force to the bottle in order to remove it or position it on the support, thereby avoiding any risk of distraction.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Details Of Rigid Or Semi-Rigid Containers (AREA)
• Automatic Cycles, And Cycles In General (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=11452510

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (11)

Family Cites Families (6)

• 2002
  • 2002-04-04 IT IT2002PD000027U patent/ITPD20020027U1/it unknown
• 2003
  • 2003-04-04 WO PCT/IB2003/001240 patent/WO2003084805A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-04-04 EP EP03710086A patent/EP1494915A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2003-04-04 AU AU2003221301A patent/AU2003221301A1/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events