JP2011225061A - Bicycle carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

【Task】
A bicycle carrier that is easy to load and highly versatile is used by being connected to a trailer hitch housing.
[Solution]
A lower support arm having one end connected to the trailer hitch housing portion of the automobile and extending rearward, and a lateral side on which a front wheel and a rear wheel of a bicycle that are fixed to the extension portion of the lower support arm and extend in the left-right direction can be placed. A bar, a column coupled to the lower support arm and extending upward at a position closer to the vehicle than the horizontal bar fixing position, an upper support arm coupled to the upper part of the column and extending rearward, and the upper support arm. An engaging member that is disposed and capable of sandwiching a bicycle frame, wherein the engaging member includes a pair of holders movable in the axial direction of the upper support arm, and a left and right side of the frame of the bicycle 4 between the pair of holders. A fixing means capable of clamping the surface; and in a state where the clamping state by the fixing means is released, the pair of holders are configured to be movable to a position above the bicycle frame. And wherein the door.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a bicycle carrier that is used by being connected to a trailer hitch housing provided at the rear of an automobile.

For example, US Pat. No. 6,491,195 and US Pat. No. 7,240,816 are known as bicycle carriers 60 that are used by being connected to a trailer hitch housing 50 provided at the rear of an automobile. In the above-mentioned known document, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, a support arm 61 whose one end is connected to a trailer hitch accommodating portion 50 of an automobile by a pin member 51 and extends rearward, and a substantially central portion with respect to the support arm 61. Is connected to the horizontal bar 62 that is fixed and extends in the left-right direction, a holding mechanism 63 that holds the front wheel 41 and the rear wheel 42 of the bicycle 40 provided on the horizontal bar 62, and a substantially central portion of the horizontal bar 62. The holding arm 64 extends upward, and is configured by an engaging portion 65 between the frame 43 of the bicycle 40 provided at the upper end of the holding arm 64.

Further, US Pat. No. 6,431,423 and US Pat. No. 6,732,893 are known as bicycle carriers 70 that are used by being connected to a trailer hitch housing 50 provided at the rear of a vehicle having another configuration. As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 in the above-mentioned known literature, one end is connected to the trailer hitch accommodating portion 50 of the automobile and extends upward, and a support formed on the upper side of the support 71 extends backward. The arm 72 and the support member 73 of the top tube 44 of the bicycle 40 provided on the support arm 72 are configured. In the above-mentioned US Pat. No. 6,732,893, a plurality of support members 73 of the top tube 44 of the bicycle 40 are fixed to the support arm 72 at a constant interval.

US Pat. No. 6,491,195 US Pat. No. 7,240,816 U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,423 US Pat. No. 6,732,893

However, when a plurality of bicycles 40 are loaded on the bicycle carrier 60 of the type described in the above-mentioned US Pat. No. 6,491,195 or US Pat. No. 7,240,816, it is connected to the substantially central portion of the horizontal bar 62 and extends upward. The holding arm 64 that becomes a hindrance has a drawback that the workability when the bicycle 40 is loaded at a position closer to the vehicle than the holding arm 64 is poor. In the above-mentioned US Pat. No. 6,491,195, the holding arm 64 is not used and the belt 66 can be fixed as shown in FIG. 19, but it is difficult to firmly fix the bicycle 40 in the longitudinal direction of the automobile. When acceleration occurs in the front-rear direction due to acceleration or deceleration of the automobile, there is a problem that the bicycle 40 tilts in the front-rear direction of the automobile (the left-right direction of the bicycle), and the bicycles interfere with each other and become scratched.

Further, in order to provide versatility when a plurality of the horizontal bars 62 are arranged and a plurality of bicycles 40 are loaded, the horizontal bars 62 are mutually connected to prevent the bicycles from interfering with each other at the time of wearing or running. The distance between the front bar and the rear wheel of the bicycle must be longer than at least the length of the horizontal bar 62. For this reason, there is a disadvantage that the size of the product during packaging becomes longer and the cost for storage and transportation increases.

The bicycle carrier 70 of the type described in the above-mentioned US Pat. No. 6,431,423 or US Pat. No. 6,732,893 has a holding mechanism 63 for holding the front wheel 41 and the rear wheel 42 of the bicycle 40, respectively. Although it has an effect that it can be configured with parts cheaper than the carrier 60 for a vehicle, since it has a structure that supports the top tube 44 of the bicycle, it is difficult to load a bicycle without the top tube 44. In addition, since the vertical height of the bicycle 40 to be loaded is determined by the vertical position of the support member 73 that supports the top tube 44 of the bicycle 40 provided on the support arm 72, the size of the bicycle and the frame structure are determined. In order to give versatility to different bicycles, the vertical positions of the support arm 72 and the support member 73 must be set higher, which leads to deterioration in workability during loading. Further, as described in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,423, a rotational force in the left-right direction of the bicycle generated when the automobile is running (the longitudinal direction with respect to the automobile) extends below the support member 73. Since the structure is received by the stabilizer 74, a fixing work for firmly fixing the bicycle 40 with the stabilizer 74 is necessary for each of the bicycles 40 to be loaded, so that the work when loading the bicycle 40 becomes complicated. There were drawbacks.

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks.

The bicycle carrier according to the present invention is a bicycle carrier that is used by being connected to a trailer hitch accommodating portion provided at the rear of the automobile, the lower support arm having one end connected to the trailer hitch accommodating portion of the automobile, An extension part of a lower support arm that is formed integrally with or separately from the support arm and extends toward the rear of the automobile, and a front wheel and a rear wheel of a bicycle that are fixed to the extension part of the lower support arm and extend in the left-right direction. A horizontal bar that can be placed, a column that is coupled to the lower support arm or an extended portion of the lower support arm at a position closer to the vehicle than the horizontal bar fixing position, and a column that extends upward, and is coupled to an upper part of the column. An upper support arm extending rearward, and an engagement member disposed on the upper support arm and capable of sandwiching a bicycle frame, wherein the engagement member is the upper support arm A pair of holders movable in the axial direction, and a fixing means for holding the left and right surfaces of the frame of the bicycle 4 between the pair of holders and further releasing the holding state, and a holding state by the fixing means In the released state, the pair of holders are configured to be movable to a position above the bicycle frame.

Further, a plurality of the horizontal bars are fixed to the extending portion of the lower support arm in the front-rear direction of the automobile, and a plurality of sets of holders are arranged on the upper support arm corresponding to the number of the horizontal bars. The bicycle frame may be arranged between the plurality of sets of holders, and the bicycle frame may be sandwiched between the holders by operating the fixing means.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the holder is configured to be capable of at least one of vertical movement and rotational movement with respect to the upper support arm in a state in which the fixing means for the holder is released.

Moreover, it is good to have a means to maintain the state which moved upward rather than the frame of the bicycle which the said holder mounts in the fixed release state of the fixing means with respect to the said holder.

Furthermore, the fixing means of the holder has a shaft hole formed on the other end side of the upper support arm, a shaft rod inserted into the shaft hole, and a lever supported by the shaft rod. The holder contact of the lever is set so that the distance from the shaft center of the lever to the holder contact surface in the fixed state of the holder is larger than the distance from the shaft center of the lever to the holder contact surface in the unlocked state. It is good to form a contact surface.

In addition, an elastic component that urges the pair of holders in a direction of separating the pair of holders may be disposed between the pair of holders.

  In the bicycle carrier of the present invention, the lower support arm and the horizontal bar on which the bicycle is loaded have no harmful protrusions on the upper side for preventing the bicycle from falling down, such as the holding arm, and the bicycle provided on the upper support arm. Since the holder that can hold the left and right surfaces of the frame has means for maintaining the state of moving upward from the frame of the bicycle, the carrier component that becomes an obstacle when the bicycle is attached to and detached from the bicycle carrier Is eliminated as much as possible, and it is easy to move the bicycle with respect to the bicycle carrier. With the above-described configuration, the bicycle can be moved in the left-right direction of the automobile to be attached to and detached from the automobile carrier. When a bicycle is loaded, the bicycle is rotated at the position inside the vehicle (vehicle side) while the bicycle is loaded at the rear of the vehicle. It is possible that the detachable work, have a significant effect.

Furthermore, since the holder holding means can be operated to maintain the holding state of the frames of a plurality of bicycles at the same time, it is much easier than a conventional bicycle carrier that has been fixed individually for each bicycle. As a result, it is possible to contribute to prevention of a bicycle fall accident caused by forgetting to fix the bicycle, and prevention of damage to the bicycle.

It is a perspective view which shows the use condition of the carrier for bicycles concerning the Example of this invention. It is a front view which shows the use condition of the carrier for bicycles concerning the Example of this invention. It is a side view which shows the use condition of the carrier for bicycles concerning the Example of this invention. It is a top view which shows the use condition of the carrier for bicycles concerning the Example of this invention. It is a side view of the state which lowered | hung the lever of the bicycle carrier concerning the Example of this invention. It is a perspective view of the state where the lever of the bicycle carrier concerning the example of the present invention was lowered. It is a perspective view of the state where the lever of the bicycle carrier concerning the example of the present invention was raised. It is a side view which shows the decomposition | disassembly state of the engaging member of the carrier for bicycles concerning the Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the disassembled state of the engaging member of the bicycle carrier concerning the Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the normal use position of the holder with respect to the upper support arm of the bicycle carrier concerning the Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the holder moved upwards with respect to the upper support arm of the bicycle carrier concerning the Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the holder with respect to the upper support arm of the bicycle carrier concerning the Example of this invention rotated. It is a perspective view which shows the use condition with respect to the bicycle without the top tube of the carrier for bicycles concerning the Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of the carrier for bicycles concerning the Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows a prior art. It is a perspective view which shows a prior art. It is a front view which shows a prior art. It is a perspective view which shows a prior art. It is a perspective view which shows a prior art.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a used state, FIG. 2 is a front view of the used state, FIG. 3 is a side view of the used state, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the used state, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view with the lever 13 lowered, FIG. 7 is a perspective view with the lever 13 raised, FIG. 8 is a side view showing the disassembled state of the engaging member 8, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a normal use position of the holder with respect to the upper support arm.

The present invention is a bicycle carrier 1 that is used in connection with a trailer hitch housing provided at the rear of an automobile, and is configured such that one end 2a can be inserted into a trailer hitch housing provided in a lower position in the rear of the automobile in advance. The lower support arm 2 is connected to the railer hitch accommodating portion by a pin member. The other end 2b of the lower support arm 2 disposed rearward is connected to a substantially central portion of the lateral lower support arm 3 disposed in the left-right direction by a fastening element such as a screw member or a rivet or welding. Combined by existing combining means.

The left and right ends of the lateral lower support arm 3 are connected to one end 4a of the branched lower support arm 4 by a connecting member such as a screw member, a fastening member such as a rivet, or welding. (The branch lower support arm may be formed by bending the same member as the lateral lower support arm.) Each of the branch lower support arms 4 has an extension portion with an appropriate length toward the rear.

The branching lower support arm 4 has a horizontal bar 5 that extends in the left-right direction and on which the front wheel 41 and the rear wheel 42 of the bicycle 40 can be placed, such as a screw member, a fastening member such as a rivet, or an existing coupling means such as welding. Combined by. In the embodiment, the horizontal bar 5 uses a member formed in advance in a U-shaped cross section or a V-shaped cross section so that a bicycle tire does not easily fall off. A guide for preventing the rear wheel 42 from falling off may be formed. As shown in FIG. 14, the lower support arm 2 and the lower support arm 4 are not used, but the lower support arm 2 extends rearward as it is, and the horizontal bar 5 is fixed directly or via a reinforcing member. You may do it.

The lower support arm 2 or the lateral lower support arm 3 is joined to the substantially central portion of the lower end of the support column 6 extending upward by a fastening member such as a screw member or a rivet, or by existing coupling means such as welding. (The support column may be integrally formed by bending the lower support arm, or may be joined through auxiliary parts such as a reinforcing member or a spacer for offsetting the fixing position.)

One end 7a of the upper support arm 7 extending rearward is coupled to the upper end portion of the column 6 by an existing coupling means such as a screw member, a fastening member such as a rivet, or welding. (The upper support arm may be integrally formed by bending the support column.) In the present embodiment, the upper support arm 7 is circular in cross section, but the cross section of the upper support arm 7 of the present invention is shown in FIG. The shape is not limited to a circle, and an existing cross-sectional shape can be appropriately used.

The upper support arm 7 is provided with an engaging member 8 capable of holding and fixing the frame 43 of the bicycle 40. The engaging member 8 sandwiches a pair of holders 9 that can move in the axial direction of the upper support arm 7 and the left and right surfaces of the frame 43 of the bicycle 40 between the pair of holders 9. It has fixing means that can be released. An adjustment base 16 for adjusting the arrangement position of the holder 9 and preventing interference with the column 6 of the bicycle 1 is arranged around the one end 7 a of the upper support arm 7.

The portion of the frame 43 between the pair of holders 9 that holds the frame 43 is provided with a cushion portion 10 formed of an elastic member such as rubber or elastomer (including foamed material), so that the shape and outer diameter of the frame 43 can be reduced. The versatility with respect to the difference is enhanced, and at the same time, the scratch on the frame 43 of the bicycle 40 can be prevented.

In this embodiment, a plurality of the horizontal bars 5 are fixed in the front-rear direction with respect to the lower support arm 2, and a plurality of sets of holders 9 are arranged on the upper support arm 7 corresponding to the number of the horizontal bars 5. Thus, a plurality of bicycles 40 can be transported.

The fixing means of the holder 9 includes a shaft hole 11 formed on the other end side of the upper support arm 7, a shaft rod 12 inserted into the shaft hole 11, and a lever 13 supported by the shaft rod 12. 7 and the distance from the shaft center 13c in the lifted state of the lever 13 shown in FIG. 7 to the holder contact surface 13a, the holder from the shaft center 13c in the lowered state of the lever 13 shown in FIGS. By increasing the distance to the contact surface 13b, the distance between the pair of holders 9 increases when the lever 13 is lifted, and the state where the bicycle 40 is held between the frames 43 is released.

In the state where the lever 13 is lowered, the distance between the pair of holders 9 is reduced, and the frame 43 of the bicycle 40 can be held between the holders 9. In addition, by arranging an elastic part such as a spring 14 between the pair of holders 9, when the fixing means is released, the pair of holders 9 are automatically separated from each other, so that workability is improved. . In addition, the structure of the lever 13 in the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and for example, the frame 43 of the bicycle 40 may be sandwiched with the lever tilted upward, or a different structure may be employed.

In addition, a screw mechanism (not shown) may be provided in the support structure portion of the support arm 7 and the lever 13 so that the tightening force of the frame 43 by the holder 9 can be adjusted when the lever 13 is lowered. 7, a spacer (not shown) is detachably disposed with respect to the upper support arm 7 between the adjacent holders 9a 9a or at the end position 9b of the holder 9, so that the spacer Since it is possible to adjust the tightening force corresponding to the thickness of the bicycle 40, it is possible to easily adapt even when the frame 43 size of the bicycle 40 is special.

In the present embodiment, the lever 43 is used to hold the frame 43 of the bicycle 40 between the pair of holders 9. However, the lever is not used and, for example, a screw thread is formed on the other end side of the upper support arm 7. A screw member (not shown) formed with a screw member may be fixed, and a combination of the screw member and a nut member (not shown) screwed to the screw member may be used as the fixing means. Further, the fixing means of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and an existing fixing technique can be used appropriately.

In the embodiment of the present invention, in the unlocking state of the fixing means (the state in which the lever 13 is lifted), the pair of holders 9 are located above the frame 43 of the bicycle 40 as shown in FIGS. It is configured to be movable. This movable structure is configured to be movable up and down with respect to the upper support arm 7 by an upper support arm insertion hole 15 formed in a substantially central portion of the holder 9 and extending in the vertical direction (longitudinal direction of the holder). At the same time, the upper support arm 7 is configured to be capable of rotating around the axis. By configuring the upper support arm insertion hole 15 so as to always hold the upper support arm 7, the pair of holders 9 can be maintained in a state of moving upward from the frame 43 of the bicycle 40. It is possible to prevent the holder 9 from interfering when the bicycle 40 is loaded. Note that the structure for maintaining the movement state of the holder 9 relative to the upper support arm 7 may use a method other than clamping the upper support arm 7 by the upper support arm insertion hole 15. The holder 9 may be movably fixed to the upper support arm 7 via a latch member (not shown) arranged around the arm insertion hole 15, and other mechanisms or friction members are used. May be.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, since the support position of the holder 9 with respect to the upper support arm 7 can be set freely, as shown in FIG. 13, even a bicycle without the top tube 44 in the frame 43 of the bicycle 40 can be used. Since the bicycle 9 can be fixed by holding the holder 9 between the down tube 45 or the seat tube 46, the versatility is very high.

Furthermore, since the present invention has the above-described structure, a plurality of bicycle frames 43 can be simultaneously held by a holder by operating a fixing means (lever 13) disposed at the other end of the upper support arm 7. Therefore, it is very easy to fix the bicycle as compared with the conventional bicycle carrier.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be effectively used industrially as a bicycle carrier for carrying a bicycle that is used by being connected to a trailer hitch housing provided at the rear of an automobile.

1: Bicycle carrier, 2: Lower support arm, 2a: One end, 2b: The other end, 3: Lateral lower support arm, 4: Branch lower support arm, 4a: One end, 5: Horizontal bar, 6: Post, 7 : Upper support arm, 7a: one end, 8: engagement member, 9: holder, 10: cushion part, 11: shaft hole, 12: shaft rod, 13: lever, 13a: holder contact surface, 13b: holder contact Surface, 13c: shaft center, 14: spring, 15: support arm insertion hole, 16: adjustment base, 40: bicycle, 41: front wheel, 42: rear wheel, 43: frame, 44: top tube, 45: down tube , 46: seat tube, 50: trailer hitch accommodating portion, 51: pin member, 60: bicycle carrier, 61: support arm, 62: horizontal bar, 63: holding mechanism, 64: holding arm, 65: engaging portion, 66: Belt, 70: Rolling wheel carrier, 72: support arm, 73: support member, 74: stabilizer

Claims (6)

It is a bicycle carrier that is used by being connected to a trailer hitch accommodating part provided at the rear of the automobile, and a lower support arm having one end connected to the trailer hitch accommodating part of the automobile, and the lower support arm integrally or separately. An extension part of a lower support arm that includes a portion that extends toward the rear of the automobile and a side that can be placed on the front and rear wheels of a bicycle that is fixed to the extension part of the lower support arm and extends in the left-right direction. A bar, a support arm that is directly or indirectly connected to the lower support arm or the extension portion of the lower support arm at a position closer to the vehicle than the horizontal bar fixing position, and a support pillar that extends upward and is connected to the upper part of the support pillar. And an upper support arm extending toward the upper support arm, and an engagement member disposed on the upper support arm and capable of sandwiching a bicycle frame, wherein the engagement member is the upper support arm. A pair of holders movable in the axial direction, and a fixing means for holding the left and right surfaces of the frame of the bicycle 4 between the pair of holders and further releasing the holding state, and a holding state by the fixing means In the released state, the pair of holders is configured to be movable to a position above the bicycle frame. A plurality of the horizontal bars are fixed to the extending part of the lower support arm in the longitudinal direction of the automobile, and a plurality of sets of holders are arranged on the upper support arm corresponding to the number of the horizontal bars, Bicycle frames can be arranged between a plurality of pairs of holders, respectively, and the bicycle frames can be sandwiched between the holders simultaneously by operating the fixing means. The bicycle carrier according to claim 1 3. The bicycle according to claim 1, wherein the holder is configured to be capable of at least one of vertical movement and rotational movement with respect to the upper support arm in the unlocked state of the fixing means with respect to the holder. Career 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for maintaining a state in which the holder is moved upward relative to a frame of a bicycle on which the holder is loaded in a state in which the fixing unit is not fixed to the holder. 5. Bicycle carrier The holder fixing means includes a shaft hole formed on the other end side of the upper support arm, a shaft rod inserted into the shaft hole, and a lever supported by the shaft rod. The holder contact surface of the lever so that the distance from the shaft center of the lever to the holder contact surface in the fixed state is larger than the distance from the shaft center of the lever in the released state to the holder contact surface. The bicycle carrier according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the carrier is formed. The bicycle carrier according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein an elastic part that biases the pair of holders in a direction of separating the pair of holders is disposed between the pair of holders.

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