GB2467620A

GB2467620A - Bicycle work stand

Info

Publication number: GB2467620A
Application number: GB0916503A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stuart Alexander Eckersley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-02-05
Filing date: 2009-09-21
Publication date: 2010-08-11
Anticipated expiration: 2029-09-21
Also published as: GB0901877D0; GB0916503D0; GB2467620B; GB2467558A

Abstract

A support assembly for a bicycle comprises a support plate 2 arranged to be mountable to a vertical structure such as a wall. A mounting plate 8 is arranged to be slidable downwardly under gravity onto the support plate 2. Mounting plate 8 is arranged to support a bicycle in a raised position. The mounting plate may be tapered from a first end 8a to a second end 8b such that the taper corresponds to that of the support plate 2. A bicycle engagement assembly is connected to mounting plate 8. The bicycle engagement assembly includes engagement member 12 which is mountable in a seat tube of a bicycle.

Description

SUPPORT ASSEMBLY FOR A BICYCLE

The present invention relates to a support assembly for a bicycle, and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to a support assembly for holding an item having an elongate tubular component.

Vehicles such as bicycles or unicycles are generally formed from elongate hollow tubular sections. The tubular sections are generally formed from a lightweight material such as carbon fibre or aluminium and as a result they c.an be prone to distortion or fracturing. Some bicycle workstations or storage devices rely on jaws closing around the tubular sections which can cause damage in the case of over tightening.

An example of such a storage apparatus for a bicycle is described in German Utility Model No. DE2O2l4Ol8ul. This document describes a clamp that is arranged to clamp a tubular section of a bicycle. The clamp is disposed on an arm which is mountable in a wall bracket by means of generally horizontally aligned dovetail joints.

This apparatus suffers from two drawbacks. Firstly, if the clamp is over-tightened, damage can be caused to tubular sections of the bicycle. Secondly, it is difficult to both lift the bicycle with the clamp attached and align the dovetails at the same time to secure the bicycle in a raised position on the wall. If the dovetails are misaligned, damage can be caused to the apparatus. Alternatively, if the clamp arm is already installed on the wall, it is difficult to simultaneously lift the bicycle into the clamp jaws and tighten the clamp jaws.

G82412294 describes a mounting apparatus for items having tubular components. A pivoting tubular member is mountable to a wall and comprises mounting means arranged to be received in the seat support tube of a bicycle. The bicycle's own quick release clamp is used to clamp onto the mounting means.

This apparatus suffers from the drawback that in order to mount a bicycle to the apparatus, the user must lift up the bicycle and align the bicycle' s seat tube to the mounting tube of the apparatus. The mounting tube of the apparatus is pivotable and it is therefore easy for the person to knock the tubes out of alignment when lifting when the bicycle.

This apparatus is therefore particularly awkward to use. It is also not straightforward to attach the tubular bracket to the wall as a result of its cylindrical shape.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to

overcome the above disadvantages of the prior art;

According to the present invention, there is provided a support assembly for a bicycle, the support assembly comprising: a support plate arranged to be mountable to a wall, the support plate comprising support means; a mounting plate arranged to support a bicycle, wherein the mounting plate comprises mounting means and is arranged to be slidable downwardly under gravity onto the support plate such that the mounting means is slid into locking engagement with the support means; and stop means arranged on one of the support plate or mounting plate, wherein the stop means is arranged to prevent the mounting plate sliding downwardly past the support plate.

By providing an assembly wherein the mounting plate is arranged to support a bicycle and is slidable downwardly under gravity onto the support plate, this provides the advantage that the mounting plate is easily mountable to the support plate, even when the mounting plate has been first mounted to the bicycle. This is because the bicycle and mounting plate can be lifted and slid downwardly over the support plate, without a user having to conduct an accurate alignment whilst holding a heavy weight, to mount the bicycle or other tubular item easily to a wall. This therefore makes it relatively straightforward and rapid for a user to safely mount a bicycle to a wall in a position where maintenance can be easily carried out.

The support plate provides the further advantage of being relatively straightforward to mount to a wall or other upright structure by means of simple fasteners such as screws and plugs where required.

In a preferred embodiment, the support means comprises a groove or ridge formed along at least one edge of the support plate and the mounting means comprises a corresponding ridge or groove formed along at least one edge of the mounting H plate, wherein the respective ridge and groove are arranged to slidably engage with one another when the mounting plate is slid downwardly under gravity into locking engagement with the support plate.

This provides the advantage of an interconnection means between the mounting plate and support plate that is relatively straightforward to align and which also prevents the mounting plate from falling forwardly away from the support plate when mounted to the wall.

In a preferred embodiment, the support plate is tapered from a first end to a second end and the support means comprises a groove or ridge formed along each of two opposite edges forming the taper of the support plate, wherein the support plate is arranged to be mounted to a wall such that the widest end of the taper is positioned below the narrowest end; the mounting plate is tapered from a first end to a second end and the mounting means comprises a groove or ridge formed along each of two opposite edges forming the taper of the mounting plate; and the stop means is formed by the tapers of the. respective support plate and mounting plate.

This provides the advantage that the tapered shape of the support plate and mounting plate simplifies alignment. In order to mount the mounting plate to the support plate, the wide end of the mounting plate is passed over the narrow end of the support plate and the respective ridges and grooves then contact as the mounting plate is moved downwardly to guide the mounting plate into correct engagement with the support plate.

This also provides the advantage that the tapered shape of the plates provides an integral stop means to secure the plates together.

In a preferred embodiment, the assembly further comprises a bicycle engagement assembly comprising: a support arm mounted to the mounting plate; and a bicycle engagement member mountable in a seat support tube of a bicycle, wherein the bicycle engagement member is also mountable to said support arm.

The bicycle engagement member may be mountable to the support arm by means of corresponding screw threads formed on the support arm and the bicycle engagement member.

In a preferred embodiment, the assembly further comprises an angular adjustment assembly adapted to enable adjustment of the angle at which the bicycle engagement member holds a bicycle relative to said support arm.

The angular adjustment assembly may further comprise: a holder member mounted to the support arm; an adjustment member mountable to the bicycle engagement member; and locking means arranged to lock the holder member to the adjustment member; wherein one of the holder member and adjustment member comprises a substantially conical recess and the other of the holder member and adjustment member comprises a frusto-conical portion arranged to frictionally engage the sides of the substantially conical recess when the locking means is in a locked condition.

This provides the advantage of a relatively straightforward angular adjustment assembly that is simple to manufacture and permits the bicycle to be held at any desired angle.

The locking means may comprise: a threaded shaft arranged to project through a hole formed in one of the substantially conical recess and frusto-conical portion; and a threaded locking knob arranged to screw onto the threaded shaft to bias the substantially conical recess into frictional engagement with the frusto-conical portion.

This provides the advantage of a relatively straightforward locking means that is simple to manufacture and permits the bicycle to be held at any desired angle.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a support assembly of a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a front view of a support assembly of a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a side view of a support assembly of a third embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 4 is an exploded side view of a support assembly of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, a support assembly for a bicycle or other item having an elongate tubular portion such as a unicycle, comprises a support plate 2 arranged to be mountable to a vertical structure such as a wall. The support plate 2 can be mounted to the vertical structure with countersunk screws (not shown) passed through holes 4.

The support plate comprises support means which may be for example a groove 6 formed along at least one edge of the support plate. Alternatively, the support means may comprise a ridge (not shown) formed along at least one edge of the support plate. In the present case, the support plate is tapered from a first, uppermost narrow end 2a to a lower, wider end 2b. As a result of the taper, tapered grooves 6 are formed along two opposite edges of the support plate 2, the grooved edges forming the taper.

A mounting plate 8 is arranged to be slidable downwardly under gravity onto the support plate 2. Mounting plate 8 is arranged to support a bicycle in a raised position as will be explained below. Mounting plate 8 comprises mounting means which is preferably at least one ridge 10 formed along at least one edge of the mounting plate. Ridge 10 corresponds to groove 6 of the support plate 2. As can be seen from the drawings, the shape of the grooves and ridges means that both the mounting plate and support plate can be considered to have grooves and ridges, although only one or the other is required on each to form a sliding interconnection.

The mounting plate is tapered from a first end Ba to a second end 8b such that the taper corresponds to that of the support plate 2. Consequently, the mounting plate is arranged to be slidable downwardly under gravity onto the support plate 2 such that the mounting means comprising ridge 10 is slid into locking engagement with the support means comprising groove 6.

In order to prevent the mounting plate 8 sliding downwardly past the support plate 2, stop means comprises the outward taper of support plate 2. The taper of support plate 2 interacting with the ridge 10 holds the mounting plate 8 on the support plate 2. In an alternative embodiment, the mounting plate 8 and support plate 2 do not need to be tapered and could have substantially vertical edges. In this case, a notch (not shown) could be provided on first end Ba of mounting plate 8 to act as a stop against upper end 2a of support plate 2.

A bicycle engagement assembly is connected to mounting plate 8. The bicycle engagement assembly includes engagement member 12 which is mountable in a seat tube of a bicycle. For example, a user can remove the seat from a bicycle and insert tube 12 into the seat tube of the bicycle. Engagement member 12 has the same diameter as the bicycle seat tube to form a tight fit. Different sized tubes 12 can be provided for different bicycle sizes. Engagement member 12 comprises an external screw thread (not shown) formed on end 14 which *screws into a corresponding threaded recess (not shown) formed in adjustment member 16. Adjustment member 16 comprises a frusto-conical portion 18.

A support arm 20 is connected to mounting plate 8. Support arm 20 is chosen to have sufficient length to accommodate the handle bars of the bicycle away from the wall. At the end of support arm 20, a holder member 22 is provided. Holder member 22 comprises a substantially conical recess 24 out of which a locking means comprising a threaded shaft 26 extends. The locking means also comprises threaded locking knob 28.

Methods of mounting a bicycle to a wall using the support assembly of the present invention will now be described. Is

Support plate 2 is permanently mounted to a wall or other vertical surface to which a bicycle is to be mounted. A user takes a bicycle engagement member 12 that is sized to fit securely in the seat tube of a bicycle. Once engagement member 12 is inserted into seat tube of a bicycle, adjustment member 16 can be screwed onto the end of engagement member 12. Mounting plate 8 is then slid downwardly under gravity over support plate 2 in the direction of Arrow A such that the mounting means and support means interlock. H The bicycle, having adjustment member 16 projecting out of its seat tube, is then lifted and the adjustment member 16 is mounted to the holder member 22 by passing threaded shaft 26 through bore 30 until frusto-conical surface 18 frictionally engages conical recess 24. Locking knob 28 is then screwed onto threaded shaft 26 to lock the adjustment member 16 to the holder member 22. By virtue of the frictional engagement between frusto-conical surface 18 and conical recess 24, the angle at which engagement member 12 projects out of the conical recess 24 can be changed so that the angle at which the bicycle is held to the wall can be changed.

An alternative method of mounting a bicycle to a wall is to assemble the engagement member 12, adjustment member 16 and mounting plate 8 in the seat tube of the bicycle. The bicycle can then be lifted and the mounting plate dropped over support plate to mount the bicycle to the wall. This simplifies alignment since the wide end of the mounting plate is passed over the narrow end of the support plate and the respective ridges and grooves then contact as the mounting plate is moved downwardly to guide the mounting plate into correct engagement with the support plate.

A support assembly of a second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 2, with parts common to the embodiment of Figure 1 denoted by like reference numerals but increased by 100.

Referring to Figure 2, support plate 102 comprises support means in the form of a recessed portion 106. Mounting plate 108 comprises a support arm (not shown), holder member 122 and threaded shaft 126 in common with the embodiment of Figure 1.

The mounting plate 108 is arranged to slide downwardly into recess 106 in the direction of Arrow B. Corresponding grooves and ridges (not shown) are provided between the respective H plates in common with the embodiment of Figure 1 to retain the mounting plate 108 on the support plate 102. An outward taper (Figure 1) is therefore not the only way to achieve the *-11-simplicity of having a mounting plate slidable downwardly under gravity into engagement with a support plate.

A support assembly of a third embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 3, with parts common to the embodiment of Figure 1 denoted by like reference numerals but increased by 200.

Referring to Figure 3, instead of using an angular adjustment assembly, a simpler embodiment of the support assembly comprises mounting plate 208, L-shaped support arm 220 and bicycle engagement member 212 which is mountable to L-shaped H support arm by corresponding threaded portions (not shown) In this embodiment, a bicycle can only be held at one angle relative to the horizontal.

S

A support assembly of a fourth embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 4, with parts common to the embodiment of Figure 1 denoted by like reference numerals but increased by 300.

Frusto-conical holder member 322 is disposed on the end of support arm 320, which is mounted to mounting plate 308.

Threaded shaft 326 extends from the end of the frusto-conical holder member 322.

Adjustment member 316 comprises substantially conical recess interconnected with bicycle engagement means 312. A hole 330 is formed in the end of conical recess such that threaded shaft 326 is arranged to project through the hole 330.

Locking knob 328 is arranged to thread on to the shaft 326 to lock engagement member 312 at any angle relative to the horizontal.

It will be appreciated by person skilled, in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMSI. A support assembly for a bicycle, the support assembly comprising: a support plate arranged to be mountable to a wall, the support plate comprising support means; a mounting plate arranged to support a bicycle, wherein the mounting plate comprises mounting means and is arranged to be slidable downwardly under gravity onto the support plate such that the mounting means is slid into locking engagement with the support means; and stop means arranged on one of the support plate or mounting plate, wherein the stop means is arranged to prevent the mounting plate sliding downwardly past the support plate.
2. An assembly according to claim I, wherein the support means comprises a groove or ridge formed along at least one edge of the support plate and the mounting means comprises a corresponding ridge or groove formed along at least one edge H of the mounting plate, wherein the respective ridge and groove are arranged to slidably engage with one another when the mounting plate is slid downwardly under gravity into locking engagement with the support plate.
3. An assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: the support plate is tapered from a first end to a second end and the support means comprises a groove or ridge formed along each of two opposite edges forming the taper of the support plate, wherein the support plate is arranged to be mounted to a wall such that the widest end of the taper is positioned below the narrowest end; the mounting plate is tapered from a first end to a second end and the mounting means comprises a groove or ridge formed along each of two opposite edges forming the taper of the mounting plate; and the stop means is formed by the tapers of the respective support plate and mounting plate.
4. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a bicycle engagement assembly comprising: a support arm mounted to the mounting plate; and a bicycle engagement member mountable in a seat support tube of a bicycle, wherein the bicycle engagement member is also mountable to said support arm.
5. An assembly according to claim 4, wherein the bicycle engagement member is mountable to the support arm by means of corresponding screw threads formed on the support arm and the H bicycle engagement member.
6. An assembly according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising an angular adjustment assembly adapted to enable adjustment of the angle at which the bicycle engagement member holds a bicycle relative to said support arm.
7. An assembly according to claim 6, wherein the angular adjustment assembly further comprises: a holder member mounted to the support arm; an adjustment member mountable to the bicycle engagement member; and locking means arranged to lock the holder member to the adjustment member; wherein one of the holder member and adjustment member comprises a substantially conical recess and the other of the holder member and adjustment member comprises a frusto-conical portion arranged to frictionally engage the sides of the substantially conical recess when the looking means is in a looked condition.
8. An assembly according to claim 7, wherein the looking means comprises: a threaded shaft arranged to project through a hole formed in one of the substantially conical recess and frusto-conical portion; and a threaded looking knob arranged to screw onto the threaded shaft to bias the substantially conical recess into frictional engagement with the frusto-oonioal portion.
9. A support assembly for a bicycle, the support assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.