GB2383314A - Connecting device for a mudguard - Google Patents

Abstract

A connecting device (16) for establishing a connection between a mudguard stay (14) and a mudguard (12) including a recess (18) formation in the connecting device (16) which resiliently engages the mudguard stay (14).

Description

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Title: Connecting Device Description of Invention The invention relates to a connecting device for establishing a connection between a mudguard stay and a mudguard, for example of a bicycle.

A mudguard is used to cover part of the circumference of a wheel of a bicycle and is conventionally attached to the bicycle by mudguard stays, normally manufactured from wire. The stays extend generally radially outwardly from a centre of the wheel. Usually the bicycle has a frame, which locates the rear wheel and a front fork, connected to the frame, which locates the front wheel. Each mudguard stay is conventionally connected to the bicycle frame or front fork in the vicinity of the centre of the wheel using a bolt fastener. The mudguard is normally secured to the mudguard stay using a bolt fastener, which may co-operate with a bracket or the like secured to the mudguard.

Thus to provide a connection between the mudguard and the stay, a plurality of components are required and significant labour costs.

According to a first aspect of the invention we provide a connecting device for establishing a connection between a mudguard stay and a mudguard, wherein the connecting device includes a recess formation which resiliently engages the mudguard stay.

Thus in accordance with the invention, the use of a fastener or the like to provide the connection is not required. Moreover, preferably the resilient engagement is achieved by providing the recess formation in a resilient body of the connecting device, the recess formation including an aperture in the body, an internal wall of the aperture being urged into resilient engagement with the stay, to provide the connection.

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Most conveniently the aperture is a through aperture, so that the position of the connecting device along the stay may be adjusted so that the position of the mudguard relative to the wheel can be adjusted.

Thus not only is assembly of the connection simplified by the present invention, but adjustment of the connection may readily be made, without the use of any tools which would be required in a conventional arrangement.

Preferably the body of the connecting device is adapted resiliently to engage the mudguard so that again no tools are required to connect the connecting device to the mudguard. For example the body of the connecting device may be made of a resiliently deformable material, such as for example only a polyolefin or other suitable plastic which is sufficiently strong. The body may include a pair of formations which may resiliently be deformed to allow a part of the mudguard to be received therebetween.

One of the formations may be generally hook-shaped and may in use, be arranged to co-operate with a lip or bead conventionally provided along the periphery of a mudguard, and the other of the pair of formations may include a portion which projects towards the mudguard and in use is adapted to be received in an opening in the mudguard. Preferably the projecting formation includes a head which has a cross section nominally larger than the opening in the mudguard in which the projecting portion is received, the head restricting the projecting portion from disengaging the opening. Preferably in use, the head is located at an opposite side of the mudguard to the body formation from which the projecting portion projects.

Of course to engage the projecting portion in the opening the head would have to be forced through the opening, which may be readily achieved where the projecting portion is integrally provided with the resilient body of the connecting device.

Thus the connecting device may be a snap fit with the mudguard, so that again no tools are required to provide the connection.

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During use of a bicycle, it is possible for a stone or similar foreign object to become trapped between the mudguard and a tyre on the bicycle wheel (i. e. being either caught in the tyre tread or flicked up into the gap between the tyre and the mudguard by the tyre tread). A trapped stone or foreign object between the wheel and the mudguard could cause the wheel to stop rotating (i. e. to lock up). The locking up of a wheel, especially a front wheel, can cause the rider to be dismounted, which could lead to the rider sustaining a serious injury.

It will be appreciated that by virtue of the present invention, in which the connection between the mudguard stay and the mudguard is provided by the connecting device, in the event of a foreign object becoming trapped, in preference to the wheel becoming locked up, the connection will be disrupted and so the risk of injury to the rider is alleviated.

Thus according to a second aspect of the invention we provide a connecting device for establishing a connection between a mudguard stay and a mudguard, wherein the connection is adapted readily to be disrupted.

According to a third aspect of the invention we provide a mudguard and mudguard stay construction including a connecting device according to the first or second aspect of the invention.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention we provide a vehicle including a mudguard and mudguard stay construction according to the third aspect of the invention.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :- Figure I is an illustrative view of a connection between a mudguard stay and a mudguard, in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of figure 1 through X-X.

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Referring to the drawings there is shown a part of a mudguard 12 and a mudguard stay 14 of a bicycle, the mudguard 12 and stay 14 being connected together by a connecting device 16.

In this example, the mudguard 12 is manufactured from aluminium but may be made in a suitable plastic material as required. The mudguard 12 has a cross-sectional profile of generally C-shape, thus conforming to the general curvature of a bicycle wheel and tyre on the wheel. Along opposite curved peripheral edges of the mudguard 12, the aluminium mudguard 12 is formed with in-turned lips 13 although in the case of a plastic mudguard, there may be a peripheral bead along each of the curved edges, or the edges may not have either lips 13 or beads.

Where the mudguard 12 is made from aluminium for example, the lips 13 may be formed by rolling, and in the case of a plastic mudguard 12, the beads may be made during a moulding process.

The mudguard stay 14, is manufactured from steel wire in this example, but could be made of other materials as desired, and in this example has a generally circular cross-section.

The connecting device 16 is made as a moulding in a suitable resilient plastic material such as a polyolefin material or another suitable plastic or similar material, and is thus strong whilst being resiliently deformable as hereinafter described. The device 16 has a body 15 which has an aperture 18 through which the stay 14 is inserted. The aperture is sized so that an internal wall of the aperture 18 resiliently engages the stay 14 as a tight frictional fit. Thus some force is required to insert the stay 14 in the aperture 18, but if desired to aid inserting the stay 14, a suitable lubricant may be used, preferably an evaporating lubricant.

The aperture 18 is a through aperture in the body and thus the position of the connecting device 16 along the stay 14 is adjustable within wide limits to enable use of the connecting device 16 and stay 14 with a variety of bicycles.

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As shown in the drawing an end 17 of the stay 14 typically will project outwardly of the aperture 18, and accordingly, pressed onto the end of the stay 14 is a safety cap 30, which ensures that the sharp end 17 of the stay 14 is covered.

The body 15 of the connecting device 16 further includes a pair of formations 20,24, between which formations 20,24 the mudguard 12 is received.

One of the formations 20, in this example the formation 20 which extends below the mudguard 12 between the mudguard 12 and bicycle wheel, includes a substantially hook-shaped part 22 in-turned towards the mudguard 12. This hook shaped part 22 in use, clips around the in-turned lip 13 of the mudguard 12.

The other body formation 24 of the connecting device 16 extends above the mudguard 12 at an opposite side of the mudguard to the bicycle wheel. The upper formation 24 extends for approximately twice the length of the lower formation 20 and is shaped conform to the convex upper surface of the mudguard 12.

The upper formation includes an inverted mushroom-shaped projecting portion 26 which includes a head 27. The projecting portion 26 extends generally downwardly from the upper body formation 24 towards the lower formation 20, into an opening 25 provided in the mudguard 12. The projecting portion 26 is retained in the opening 25 by the head 27, which head in this example is beneath the mudguard 12 with a shoulder between the head 27 and the remainder of the projecting portion 26 abutting an underside surface of the mudguard 12 adjacent the hook shaped part 22.

Thus it will be appreciated that by virtue of the inherent resilience of the body 15, and particularly of the pair of formations 20,24 between which the mudguard 12 is received, the connecting device 16 may be connected to the mudguard 12 as a snap fit, by deforming the formations to receive the

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projecting portion 26 in the opening 25, and to engage the hook shaped part 22 with the intumed lip 13. If desired, to aid deformation of the body 15 is snapfitting the connecting 16, leverage may be exerted using the stay 14 where already received in the opening 18. Further to aid deformation of the body 15, there is in the example shown, provided a small slit 28 which extends into the body 15 beyond the extent of the space between the formations 20,24 in which the mudguard 12 is received.

Where the invention is applied to a plastic mudguard 12, particularly of the kind with planar peripheral edges, such slit 28 may not be provided, and the hook part 22 may be of an alternative configurement.

As will be appreciated from the drawings, that usually a mudguard 12 is connected to a pair of stays 14 one at either side of the mudguard 12. Thus a pair of connecting devices 16 are required. The stays 14 extends to a mounting at or towards their opposite ends, at or adjacent to a centre of the bicycle wheel.

The body 15 of each connecting device 16 is shaped with the aperture 18 extending in a direction appropriate to the direction of the stay 14 it is to receive.

If desired, the aperture 18 for the stay 14 need not be a through aperture as shown, but may be a blind aperture 18. In that case, it would be essential for the stay 14 to be of an exact length appropriate to mounting of the mudguard 12 in an appropriate position relative to the wheel.

Moreover, although for ease and economy of manufacture, preferably the body 15 is made as a unitary moulding in a suitable plastics material which is sufficiently strong to provide an adequate connection between the mudguard 12 and stay 14, whilst allowing for the ready adjustment of the position of the connecting device 16 along the stay 14.

The resilient force exerted to retain the stay 14 relative to the connecting device 16 may be provided by an alternative recess formation to the aperture 18 described. For example, a re-entrant channel shaped recess formation may be

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provided by the body 15 of the connecting device 16 to receive and provide a resilient frictional force on the stay 14, although the arrangement described is preferred.

The invention not only provides a more convenient and economic connection between a mudguard 12 and a mudguard stay 14 than a conventional connection which requires a fastener, but the invention provides an additional safety advantage.

If a large stone or foreign object is caught between the mudguard 12 and the tyre of the wheel, this could in a conventional arrangement cause the wheel to lock up, resulting possibly in injury to a rider.

By virtue of the invention, in the event of foreign object such as a stone becoming wedged between the mudguard 12 and the tyre, rather than the wheel locking up, the connection will be disrupted.

This can happen in a number of different ways. For example, the connecting device 16 may become detached from the mudguard 12, by the mushroom-shaped projecting portion 26 being pulled out of the opening 25, and the hook part 22 being pulled out of engagement with the intumed lip 13.

It will be appreciated that to insert the head 27 of the projecting portion 26 in the opening 25 requires some force to deform the head 27 which has a larger cross section than that of the opening 25. However the force required to remove it will in general be less than that required to lock up a wheel in the circumstances described. Also to engage the hook part 22 with the intumed lip 13 requires some force sufficiently to deform the formation 20 on which the hook shaped part 22 is provided. However again the force to disengage the hook will be less in general than that which would be required to lock up the wheel.

Thus in the event of a wheel tending to lock up in the circumstances described, the connecting device 16 will tend to unclip from the mudguard 12, thus disrupting the connection between the mudguard 12 and the stay 14 (or

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stays) thus to release the foreign object and permit the wheel to continue to rotate.

Alternatively, because the stay 14 is retained by a frictional force in the aperture 18 relative to the connecting device 16, depending on the nature of the forces experienced if a stone or other foreign object becomes wedged, the stay 14 may become disconnected from the body 15 of the device 16, or even the connecting device 16 may fail.

In each case the above situations all allow for the stone or foreign object to be released from between the tyre and the mudguard 12, thus preventing the rider from being dismounted and/or injured.

The invention has been developed for use on a bicycle although it will be appreciated that invention may be applied to other vehicles, such as for examples only, tricycles, tandems, or even motorcycles, where it is desirable to provide a connection between a mudguard 12 and mudguard stay 14 or stays which does not require a fastener and/or in which it is desirable that the connection fails readily in an emergency situation.

Whereas the body 15 of the device 16 has been described as being made in polyolefin plastic, which may be a mixture of polypropylene and rubber, the body may be made in other suitable materials which are adequately strong to form the connection between the stay 14 and mudguard, adequately resilient to engage and disengage the mudguard 12, and sufficiently resilient/tactile to grip the stay 14 in the opening 18 so that no fastening components are required.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims (15)

1. A connecting device for establishing a connection between a mudguard stay and a mudguard, wherein the connecting device includes a recess formation which resiliently engages the mudguard stay.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the resilient engagement is achieved by providing the recess formation in a resilient body of the connecting device, the recess formation including an aperture in the body, an internal wall of the aperture being urged into resilient engagement with the stay, to provide the connection.

3. A device according to claim 2 wherein the aperture is a through aperture.

4. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the body of the connecting device is adapted resiliently to engage the mudguard.

5. A device according to claim 4 wherein the body of the connecting device is made of a resiliently deformable material and includes a pair of formations which may resiliently be deformed to allow a part of the mudguard to be received therebetween.

6. A device according to claim 5 wherein one of the formations is generally hook-shaped and in use, co-operates with a lip or bead provided along a periphery of a mudguard.

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7. A device according to claim 5 or claim 6 wherein one of the pair of formations includes a portion which projects towards the mudguard and is adapted to be received in use in an opening in the mudguard.

8. A device according to claim 7 wherein the projecting formation includes a head which has a cross section nominally larger than the opening in the mudguard in which the projecting portion is received, the head restricting the projecting portion from disengaging the opening.

9. A device according to claim 8 wherein in use, the head is located at an opposite side of the mudguard to the body formation from which the projecting portion projects.

10. A connecting device for establishing a connection between a mudguard stay and a mudguard, wherein the connection is adapted readily to be disrupted.

11. A connecting device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

12. A mudguard and mudguard stay construction including a connecting device according to any one of the preceding claims.

13. A mudguard and mudguard stay construction substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

14. A vehicle including a mudguard and mudguard stay construction according to claim 12 or claim 13.

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15. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or as shown in the accompanying drawings.