GB2548782A - A 'Quicktwist' 180° rotating, lockable joint for bicycle handlebar stems - Google Patents

Abstract

A locking joint on a bicycle stem, allows the handlebars to be rotated on the stem into an upright position, or any angle up to 90° in either direction, to reduce the width of the bicycle, at handlebar height by around 80% facilitating the parking of the bicycle against a wall or building. The stem comprises a fork portion A, a handlebar portion B and a collar C. Spring loaded pins E lock the joint in position by engaging holes H, and are withdrawn by sliding collar C to allow rotation of the handlebar.

Description

A ’Quicktwist’ 180° rotating, lockable joint for bicycle handlebar stems (and other applications).

Background to the invention A bicycle is an awkwardly-shaped object to park or store due largely to the width of the handlebars.

Existing bicycle stems are solid, non-twisting components that allow no re-positional or rotational movement of the bicycle’s handlebars without the use of tools and expert knowledge.

This invention relates to the addition of a novel, adjustable joint design to a straight handlebar stem. A 180° rotating, lockable (‘Quicktwist’) joint between the steering column headstock and the handlebars.

What the invention does

This invention concerns the inclusion of a 180°, rotating, lockable (‘Quicktwist’) joint to the handlebar stem design. The joint forms an integral part of the bicycle handlebar stem assembly enabling the handlebars to be ‘twisted/rotated’ up to 90° on the stem in either direction from the horizontal (left or right), thereby dramatically reducing the longitudinal width of the bicycle by around 80% at handlebar height.

How the invention does this

By operating the ‘Quicktwist’ stem mechanism the handlebars can be repositioned by turning them up to 90° in either direction and can be locked into the new 90° position or left positioned at any angle up to 90°.

The novel ‘Quicktwist’joint design allows this action to be made without tools, to safely store or park the bicycle before re-aligning the handlebars for normal riding in a safe, locked, horizontal position, again without tools and with just a simple twist action to relocate the locking pins.

The advantages of the invention

The advantage of this ‘Quicktwist’ stem invention is that a bicycle can be ‘parked’ or stored or left ‘flat’ against a wall or building or other vertical surface without having the handlebars protruding across the pavement or pathway, for example.

Therefore the key advantage of this ‘Quicktwist’ stem is that it will be possible, with one simple twist action, to reduce the longitudinal width of the bicycle by around 80% making it easier to store while also reducing crowding on pavements which will have the added benefit of making pathways in towns and cities safer and less congested by the awkward protrusion of handlebars from parked cycles. A ’Quicktwist’ 180° rotating, lockable joint for bicycle handlebar stems (and other applications) - cont'd.

Another advantage is that bicycles can be stored in a garage or shed and will take up far less space and be stored more efficiently and less awkwardly than is currently possible with a fixed handlebar stem.

Key benefit of the invention

Bicycles can be parked/left safely against walls and buildings, for example, without having handlebars protruding out across the pavement or walkway. Bicycles can also be stored more efficiently in garages, hallways, sheds or for storage in transport or bicycle racks for cars.

Detailed description

The 'Quicktwist' stem consists of two halves connected by the novel twisting and locking mechanism. To operate the rotational twist action the sliding collar is pulled back toward the cycle which releases the (hidden) sprung pins from their locked position in the locating holes on the other half of the stem allowing it to be rotated up to 90° in either direction. When the handlebars have been rotated they can locked at 90° when the pins will automatically be pushed by the springs back into the pinholes to re-lock the handlebars in the 'parked' position or they can be left at any angle up to 90° from the horizontal.

Detailed operation (please refer to illustrations)

The Locking Collar (C) is pulled back towards the cycle against the pressure of the Springs (G) thereby retracting the Locking Pins (E) from their Locating Holes (H) in the Handlebar Section (B) of the ‘Quicktwist’ bicycle stem assembly. This allows the handlebars to be rotated on the stem (twisted) up to 90° in either direction, left or right, which puts the handlebars into an ‘upright’ position reducing the width of the bicycle by around 80%. As the handlebars turn into this new position the Locking Pins (E) will automatically ‘click’ into the Locating Holes (H) being pushed by the Springs (G) securing the handlebars in the new ‘park or storage’ position.

To return the handlebars to a riding position the procedure is repeated and the handlebars rotated/twisted on the stem back into a flat/hotizontal for riding where the Locking Pins (E) will now click back into the Locating Holes (H) to safely secure the handlebars in a normal horizontal position.

Claims (4)

A’Quicktwist’ 180° rotating, lockable joint for bicycle handlebar stems (and other applications) - cont'd. Invention claims

1. A unique, novel design of bicycle handlebar stem allowing the handlebars to be rotated on the stem and locked into an upright position up to 90° in either direction, to reduce the width of the bicycle, at handlebar height by around 80%.

2. A method of making a bicycle easier and safer to ‘park’ up against a flat wall or building in towns or cities, for example.

3. A method of making bicycles easier to store in garages, sheds and hallways.

4. A method of making bicycles easier to transport on bicycle racks on cars. Other applications The ‘Quicktwist’ joint design and method can be applied to other applications where it may be desirable to rotate and lock a longitudinal stem or bar into different positions, on handtools for example.