Suspension seatpost with internal spring
AssigneeRedshift Sports LLC
InventorsStephen Dewei Ahnert, Erik Teig de Brun, Scott David Poff
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A bicycle suspension seatpost with a four-bar linkage design and a suspension spring element located within the seatpost tube is provided. The bicycle seatpost comprises a seatpost tube configured to be secured to a bicycle frame, a pair of substantially vertically stacked linkage bars rotatably connected to the seatpost tube, a rear linkage rotatably connected to the pair of substantially vertically stacked linkage bars, and a biasing member disposed within the protrusion to resist rotation of the pair of substantially vertically stacked linkage bars about one or more axes of rotation.
Claims13
A bicycle suspension seatpost mountable between a bicycle frame and a bicycle saddle for securing the saddle to the bicycle, the bicycle suspension seatpost comprising:
- a seatpost tube having an upper end and one or more projections extending outward at the upper end, wherein the one or more seatpost tube projections have an upper end and a lower end;
- a pair of substantially vertically stacked linkage bars rotatably connected to the seatpost tube at the upper ends of the one or more seatpost tube projections, wherein
- a first of the pair of substantially vertically stacked linkage bars rotatably connects, at its first end, to the one or more seatpost tube projections at a first axis of rotation,
- a second of the pair of substantially vertically stacked linkage bars rotatably connects, at its first end, to the one or more seatpost tube projections at a second axis of rotation,
- the first axis of rotation is separate from the second axis of rotation, and
- the first and the second axes of rotation are forward of the seatpost tube centerline;
- a rear linkage having one or more projections extending outward, wherein
- the one or more rear linkage projections have an upper end and a lower end,
- the first of the pair of substantially vertically stacked linkage bars rotatably connects, at its second end, to the rear linkage projection at a third axis of rotation,
- the second of the pair of substantially vertically stacked linkage bars rotatably connects, at its second end, to the read linkage projection at a third axis of rotation, and
- the third axis of rotation is separate from the fourth axis of rotation;
- and
- a biasing mechanism disposed within the seatpost tube, configured to resist rotation of the pair of substantially vertically stacked linkage bars about one or more axes of rotation,
- wherein
- the first of the pair of substantially vertically stacked linkage bars is an upper linkage and the second of the pair of substantially vertically stacked linkage bars is a lower linkage,
- a plunger linkage engages the lower linkage of the substantially vertically stacked linkage bars, and
- the plunger linkage further engages the biasing mechanism within the seatpost tube.
A bicycle suspension seatpost mountable between a bicycle frame and a bicycle saddle for securing the saddle to the bicycle, the bicycle suspension seatpost comprising:
- a seatpost tube having an upper end and at least one projection extending outward at the upper end;
- a pair of adjacently stacked linkages rotatably connected to the at least one projection, wherein
- the linkages are comprised of an upper linkage and a lower linkage,
- the upper linkage rotatably connects to the at least one projection at a first axis of rotation,
- the lower linkage rotatably connects to the at least one projection at a second axis of rotation,
- the first axis of rotation is separate from the second axis of rotation, and
- the first and the second axes of rotation are forward of the seatpost tube centerline;
- a rear linkage having at least one projection, wherein the rear linkage is rotatably connected to the pair of adjacently stacked linkages at the at least one rear linkage projection;
- a biasing mechanism disposed within the seatpost tube configured to resist rotation of the pair of adjacently stacked linkages about one or more axes of rotation;
- and
- a plunger linkage engaged with the lower linkage, wherein
- the plunger linkage has upper and lower ends and at least the lower end has an opening,
- the biasing mechanism is a coil spring,
- the plunger linkage connects to a plunger, wherein the plunger is located above the coil spring,
- the plunger has a pair of parallel projections extending upward from a top end, and
- each projection of the plunger has a hole to receive a shaft for securing the plunger linkage to the plunger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.