JP6144764B2 - Bicycle reflector material - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a reflector material for a bicycle, and more particularly to a reflector material that can visually recognize a bicycle traveling forward or approaching from the front at night without incurring high costs.

  Bicycles are, according to the Road Traffic Act, “two or more vehicles driven by human power using pedals or hand cranks, other than wheelchairs for the disabled, walking aids, and children's vehicles. (Including those that use prime movers to supplement human power and fall under the criteria stipulated by the Cabinet Office Ordinance) ”(Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 11-2), usually In addition to pedal-type two-wheeled bicycles, hand-held bicycles, four-wheeled bicycles, and three-wheeled bicycles are included.

  “Bicycle drivers must not drive bicycles that do not have reflectors that meet the standards specified by the Cabinet Office Ordinance at night (including the latter part of Article 52, paragraph 1). This is not the case when the tail is attached according to the provisions of the first part of Article 52, Paragraph 1 ”(Article 63-9, Paragraph 2 of the Road Traffic Law).

  Many bicycles are equipped with tail fins to protect the rear wheels and the pedals are equipped with reflectors. However, it is very difficult for car drivers to see bicycles running at night, causing collisions with bicycles. Is concerned.

  Therefore, a reflector is placed between the two spokes of the tire, the reflector is rotated in parallel with the rotation surface of the tire, and the light from the side is reflected toward the side to cross the road at night. The bicycle's visibility has been improved, but if the bicycle is traveling in front of the car, the light from the car's headlamps are blocked by mudguards and reach the tire reflector. Therefore, it is difficult to recognize a bicycle by reflected light.

  On the other hand, fitting slits are formed on both sides of a reflector plate that can reflect light in all directions, and the rim side base of the tire spoke is fitted into the fitting slit to attach the reflector plate to the tire rim. A reflector material that reflects light from the side, front, and back in four directions has been proposed (Patent Document 1).

  Also, the base plate is attached to the tire spoke and rotated parallel to the tire rotation surface, and the first reflecting plate is fixed to the base plate at an angle within a range of 45 ° to 90 ° with respect to the base plate. In addition, a reflecting surface is provided on both sides or one side of the first reflecting plate, and if necessary, second reflecting plates on both sides of the first reflecting plate are 110 ° to 150 ° with respect to the first reflecting plate. Proposal of a reflector material that is provided at an angle within the range of 1 and 2 so that the first and second reflectors protrude laterally from mudguards on the rear wheels to reflect light from the front and rear. (Patent Document 2).

  In addition, a reflector is integrally formed on a cylindrical mounting member having a slit, a reflector is formed on both sides or one side of the reflector, and the reflector is placed around the hub by fitting the cylindrical portion into the tire hub. There has been proposed a reflector material that is rotated so as to reflect light from the side, front, and back to the side, front, and back (Patent Document 3).

Utility Model Registration No. 3119845 JP 2005-324687 A JP 2004-148962 A

  However, in the reflector material described in Patent Document 1, the reflector is hidden behind the mud and light from the rear hardly reaches the reflector, while the light from the side has a small light receiving area and the reflected light is weak. It is difficult for the driver of the car to visually recognize the reflected light.

  Further, although the reflector material described in Patent Document 2 can sufficiently reflect light forward and backward, due to its structure, the base plate and the reflecting plate are separately manufactured and firmly fixed to each other by a reinforcing rib or the like. Therefore, the manufacturing process becomes complicated, resulting in high costs.

  Furthermore, in the reflector material described in Patent Document 3, when it is provided on the hub of the rear wheel, although the light from the side reaches the reflector, the reflected light is weak because the light receiving area is small, and the light from the back is mudguarded. Since it is blocked and hardly reaches the reflector, it is difficult for the driver of the car to visually recognize the reflected light of the bicycle running at night.

  In particular, in the reflector materials of Patent Documents 1 and 3, it is almost unknown until a bicycle that runs without light from the front at night until it gets close, without light bicycle and pedestrian, lightless bicycle and car, There is concern about a collision between two bicycles.

  In view of such problems, the present invention provides a reflector for a bicycle that can visually recognize a bicycle traveling from the front or rear at night without any light, even if there is no light. The task is to do.

  Therefore, the bicycle reflector material according to the present invention is provided on the front wheel or rear wheel of the bicycle, and reflects the light of the headlight of the automobile to reflect the light, and is adjacent to the front wheel or rear wheel of the bicycle. A base plate spanned between the spokes, and a base plate integrally formed so as to cross the base plate, and between the pair of spokes and the blade or seat stay of the bicycle frame at the attachment position of the base plate. A front reflector having a height less than the distance and having a plurality of reflective protrusions formed on the back surface, and having the same height as the front reflector, and the back surface overlaps with the back surface of the front reflector and lower side A back-side reflecting plate fixed to the front-side reflecting plate so that an edge is in contact with the base plate, and having a plurality of reflecting protrusions formed on the back surface.

  One of the features of the present invention resides in that a base plate is attached to the spoke and a reflection plate is formed so as to cross the base plate.

  As a result, the reflector is at a height to the blade or seat stay of the bicycle frame, but protrudes to the side of the mudguard so that it is directed toward the bicycle traveling in front of the vehicle or approaching from the front. When light is emitted from the headlight of an automobile, the light reaches the reflector without being blocked by the bicycle mud and is reflected forward or backward from the rotating reflector.

  As a result, the driver of the car can recognize the reflected light of the bicycle that shines intermittently by his / her own vision even when the bicycle is far away, especially for bicycles approaching from the front with no light at night. Therefore, the presence of the reflected light can be reliably recognized, so that the possibility of a collision accident can be surely reduced.

  The second feature of the present invention resides in that the front-side reflecting plate is integrally formed so as to cross the base plate, and the back-side reflecting plate is overlapped and fixed to the front-side reflecting plate.

  As a result, the front-side reflector is reinforced by the base plate and the back-side reflector, and the back-side reflector is reinforced by the base plate and the front-side reflector, so the front and back reflectors are firmly fixed to the base plate, and an impact is applied. Even it won't break easily.

  In addition, the base plate and the front-side reflecting plate have an integral structure, and the back-side reflecting plate is separate from these, but it is only necessary to form a plurality of reflecting protrusions on the back side of the front-side reflecting plate and the back-side reflecting plate. Since it is a shape that can be molded and the reflectors on the front and back sides reinforce each other, unlike the reflector material described in Patent Document 2, it is not necessary to manufacture it separately and firmly fix it with reinforcing ribs, etc. It is simple and does not incur high costs.

  In addition, the base plate does not have a reflecting surface, and a reflecting plate for the tire side can be attached to the spoke separately.However, if the reflecting surface is formed, the bicycle crossing the road at night can be seen from the reflected light from the base plate. Bicycles can be recognized reliably and collision accidents can be prevented.

  Furthermore, if an assembly of a base plate and front and back reflectors is manufactured and the back surfaces of the base plates of the two assemblies are overlapped and fixed together, the reflectors are laid out on the left and right sides of the bicycle, Reflected light is emitted from both sides, and safety during night driving can be further improved.

  In addition, when the two assemblies are fixed to each other, a mounting space for fitting the spokes of the tire can be formed between the base plates of the two structures, thereby easily attaching the reflector material to the spokes. it can. Further, one of the two assemblies is provided with a front and back reflecting plate, but only the base plate may be provided below.

  Furthermore, if a certain amount of phosphorescent material is included in the material of the reflector, or if the phosphorescent material is applied to the front and back surfaces of the reflector, even if the bicycle traveling from the front or rear is a non-light bicycle Since the reflecting plate shines intermittently, the existence of the bicycle can be recognized with certainty, and collision accidents between non-lighted bicycles and collisions between non-lighted bicycles and pedestrians can be reliably reduced. Further, the base plate material may contain a phosphorescent material, or a phosphorescent material may be applied to the front surface or the back surface of the base plate to impart lateral phosphorescence.

It is a schematic side view which shows the bicycle equipped with preferable embodiment of the reflector material for bicycles concerning this invention. It is a top view which shows the said embodiment. It is a front view which shows the said embodiment. It is a rear view which shows the said embodiment. It is a side view which shows the said embodiment. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the said embodiment. It is a figure which shows one example of the shaping | molding die in the said embodiment. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows 4th Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on specific examples shown in the drawings. 1 to 7 show a preferred embodiment of the bicycle reflector material of the present invention. In FIG. 1, two bicycle spokes 13 adjacent to a front wheel 11 and a rear wheel 12 of a bicycle 10 are equipped with a bicycle reflector member 20 of this example.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the bicycle reflector member 20 of this example is composed of two assemblies 21 in which a base plate 22, a front-side reflector 23 and a back-side reflector 24 are assembled, and the two assemblies 21. Are fitted by overlapping the back side of the base plate 22 and fixed by ultrasonic bonding or the like.

  The assembly 21 has a base plate 22 and a front side reflection plate 23 integrally formed by a mold, and the back side reflection plate 24 is formed by a mold separately from the base plate 21 and the front side reflection plate 23. A back-side reflecting plate 24 is fixed to the base plate 23 by ultrasonic bonding or the like with the back side being overlapped and the lower end edge of the back-side reflecting plate 24 being brought into contact with the surface of the base plate 22.

  A plurality of reflective projections having a small pyramid shape or a truncated pyramid shape are formed on the back surfaces of the front and back reflecting plates 23 and 24 of the base plate 22 to form a reflecting surface 25, and the base plates of the two assemblies 21 are formed. The adjacent spokes 13 of the bicycle are fitted between the two side portions of the bicycle 22 and are prevented from coming off by the locking protrusions 26.

  Since the front and back reflectors 23 and 24 are attached to the spokes 13 inclined with respect to the vertical plane, they are formed so as to be inclined by, for example, 5 ° with respect to the plane perpendicular to the base plate 22. Reflects straight backward with respect to the direction or direction of travel.

  When manufacturing the reflector material 20 of this example, the metal mold | die 30 shown by FIG. 7 is used. The mold 30 includes a lower mold 30 and a pair of movable upper molds 31 and 32, and mold surfaces 33 and 34 are formed on the mating surfaces of the lower mold 30 and the movable upper molds 31 and 32. Has a recess (not shown) for forming a reflective projection.

  When the upper molds 31 and 32 are mold-matched, the lower mold 30 and the movable upper molds 31 and 32 are mold-matched and tightened, and molten resin is cast, the molten resin is injected into the mold surfaces 33 and 34, and FIG. That is, a part in which the front side reflection plate 23 is integrally formed on the base plate 22 and a back side reflection plate 24 are obtained.

  Next, the back surface of the back side reflection plate 24 is overlapped with the back surface of the front side reflection plate 23, the lower end edge of the back side reflection plate 24 is brought into contact with the surface of the base plate 22, and is fixed by ultrasonic bonding or the like. Are assembled, the back surfaces of the base plates 22 of the two assemblies 21 are overlapped with each other, and fixed by ultrasonic bonding or the like, whereby the reflector material 20 of this example is obtained.

  When two adjacent spokes 13 of the front wheel 11 or the rear wheel 12 are fitted between the two base plates 22 of the reflector material 20 and are slid to a position where the spokes 13 are in close contact with the inner surface of the base plate 22, It is prevented from coming off by the projecting piece 26, and the reflector member 20 can be reliably mounted on the front wheel 11 or the rear wheel 12.

  When the bicycle equipped with the reflector material 20 of this example is driven at night, when the vehicle travels from behind the bicycle 10, the light from the headlight of the vehicle is not obstructed by mudguards and the reflector 23 , 24 and reflected, the driver of the car can see the light reflected intermittently with the eyes, and can recognize the presence of the bicycle ahead.

  When a bicycle crosses the front of the car, the light from the headlight of the car reaches the base plate 22 and is reflected, so that the driver of the car can see the reflected light rotating with the eyes. It is possible to reliably recognize the existence of a bicycle while crossing.

  By the way, when an unlit bicycle approaches, the driver of the car cannot confirm the existence of the bicycle by the headlight of the bicycle, and it is understood that the bicycle is approaching only after approaching Sometimes.

  In the case of the reflector material 20 of this example, the reflectors 23 and 24 reflect light intermittently with the front and rear wheels 11 and 12 as the front wheel 11 and the rear wheel 12 rotate, so the driver of the car approaches a distant place. The existence of the coming bicycle can be recognized reliably.

  As a result, it is expected that the collision accident between a car and a bicycle at night can be surely reduced.

  In the above example, the reflection surface 25 is also formed on the base plate 22, but the reflection surface for the tire side surface may be separately attached to the spoke without forming the reflection surface on the base plate.

  FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment, and FIG. 9 shows a third embodiment. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 2 to 6 denote the same or corresponding parts. In this example, one of the two assemblies 21 is formed by integrally forming the front-side reflecting plate 23 on the base plate 22 and overlaying and fixing the back side of the back-side reflecting plate 24 on the back side of the front-side reflecting plate 23. However, the other assembly 21 is not provided with the front-side reflecting plate 23 and the back-side reflecting plate 24, and is constituted only by the base plate 22. Thus, the reflecting plates 23 and 24 are arranged only on one side of the base plate 22. It may be provided to reduce weight.

  FIG. 10 shows a fourth embodiment. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 8 denote the same or corresponding parts. In this example, the base plate 22 is formed at a height substantially equal to the thickness of the front-side reflecting plate 23 and the back-side reflecting plate 24, thereby further reducing the weight of the reflector material.

  Further, in each of the above examples, if a known phosphorescent material is contained in the front and back reflectors 23 and 24 and / or the base plate 22, or a phosphorescent material is applied to the front and back mating surfaces, a bicycle collision accident occurs. Can be further reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Bicycle 11 Front wheel 12 Rear wheel 13 Spoke 20 Reflector material 21 Assembly body 22 Base plate 23 Front side reflecting plate 24 Back side reflecting plate 25 Reflecting surface

Claims (8)

In a bicycle reflector that is mounted on the front wheel or rear wheel of a bicycle and receives and reflects the light of the headlight of an automobile,
A base plate (22) spanned between two adjacent spokes (13) of the front wheel (11) or rear wheel (12) of the bicycle;
The base plate (22) is integrally formed so as to cross the base plate (22), and the base plate (22) is attached to the pair of spokes (13) at a position less than the distance between the blade or the seat stay of the bicycle frame. A front-side reflector (23) having a plurality of reflective protrusions formed on the back surface,
The front reflector (23) has the same height as the front reflector (23), the back surface overlaps the back surface of the front reflector (23), and the lower edge is in contact with the base plate (22). ) And a back-side reflector (24) having a plurality of reflective protrusions formed on the back surface,
Bicycle reflector material characterized by comprising:   The base plate (22) of the two assemblies (21) in which the base plate (22), the front-side reflecting plate (23), and the back-side reflecting plate (24) are assembled is fixed to each other by overlapping the back side. 2) A bicycle reflector according to claim 1, wherein the front and back reflectors (23, 24) are provided so as to project from both sides of the rear wheel (12).   The base plate (22) is overlapped and fixed to the base plate (22) of the assembly (21) in which the base plate (22), the front-side reflecting plate (23) and the back-side reflecting plate (24) are assembled. The bicycle reflector according to claim 1, wherein a reflector (23, 24) on the front and back sides protrudes from one side of (11) or the rear wheel (12).   The bicycle reflector according to claim 3, wherein the base plate (22) is formed at a height equal to the thickness of the front-side reflecting plate (23) and the back-side reflecting plate (24) fixed to each other.   The bicycle reflector member according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein a spoke (13) is fitted between the two base plates (22) so as to be mounted on the bicycle.   The bicycle reflector member according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a plurality of reflection protrusions are formed on the back surface of the base plate (22).   The front and back reflectors (23, 24) are inclined by 5 ° with respect to a plane perpendicular to the base plate (22), and the base plate (22) is attached to a spoke (13) inclined with respect to the vertical plane. 2. The bicycle reflector according to claim 1, wherein the reflectors (23, 24) on the front and back surfaces reflect light backward in the traveling direction or traveling direction of the bicycle. A phosphorescent material is contained in the material of the said front and back reflectors (23, 24), or the phosphorescent material is apply | coated to the surface or back surface of the front and back reflectors (23, 24), and luminous property is provided. The bicycle reflector material according to any one of 1 to 4.

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