Quick release child's bicycle seat

#Bicycling is today a family sport, and participation extends even to those too young to pedal. Rear carriers to accommodate small children on bicycles ridden by adults have become increasingly popular.

#One disadvantage inherent with such carriers is that once attached to the bicycle frame, they are difficult and time consuming to remove. Once mounted, such carriers generally remain mounted, adding unwanted weight and bulk to otherwise lightweight bicycles. In instances where bicycles are first transported by autmobile to more remote bike trails, the bulk of a rear carrier often interferes with bicycle racks designed to carry the bicycle on the rear deck or roof of a vehicle.

#Mounting and demounting of such rear carriers requires the use of tools, and as any cyclist who works on his own machine knows each time a piece of equipment is put on or taken off a bicycle frame, the cyclist runs the risk of marring the finish of a bicycle, damaging the accessory being mounted, or misaligning components such as the wheels, drive chain, free wheel and the like. As an example, many early carriers were supported by attachment to the rear axle of the bicycle. Thus, each time the carrier was mounted or demounted, the rear wheel had to be loosened and consequently realigned before being retightened, necessitating the retensioning and realignment of the drive chain as well. An earlier attempt to solve the problem of rear wheel misalignment is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,598, of which the present applicant is a co-inventor. The device therein illustrated is attachable to and supported by the bicycle frame members, rather than the rear axle. However, mounting and adjusting such a rear carrier calls for the use of tools and necessitates realignment of the seat each time it is subsequently remounted. If, for example, on a family ride, the cyclist wishes to transfer the child and carrier from one bike to the other, the carrier would then have to be demounted, using tools, and remounted, readjusted, and realigned on the second bicycle. If the second bicycle had a rear luggage carrier already installed, the mounting of a rear carrier for a child would also necessitate the removal of the luggage carrier. The cyclist would then have to carry the luggage carrier with him as he pedaled.

#These and further objects will become apparent from a study of the accompanying drawings, in which:

#FIG. 1 is a partial elevation of a bicycle, illustrating attachment of the rear carrier;

#FIG. 2 is a partial elevation of a bicycle, illustrating the rear carrier demounted;

#In furtherance of the foregoing objects and descriptions, Applicant herein provides, in combination with seat 10 and tubular framework 13, the improvement consisting of bracket means 27 and 28 mountable to the seat post and support members, respectively, of a bicycle, whereby said tubular frame 13 may be mounted to and demounted from a bicycle without the use of tools.

#Referring now to FIG. 1, the numeral 10 indicates generally a rear carrier attached to bicycle 11. Rear carrier 10 includes one piece molded seat member 12, and tubular frame assembly 13. As illustrated in FIG. 5, frame assembly 13 is formed from tubes 14 and 15. To construct tubular frame assembly 13, tubes 14 and 15 are bent to extend horizontally parallel one to the other to form yoke A; thence to diverge substantially horizontally one from the other to form seat platform B; thence to depend vertically substantially parallel one to the other as at C; and thence to bend forward substantially parallel one to the other as at D. Thus formed, tubes 14 and 15 are held in spaced relationship by tubular sleeve 16; fastener assembly 17 is then passed through tube 14, sleeve 16 and tube 15, and is secured by nut 18.

#As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, seat member 12 is secured to seat platform B of frame assembly 13 through counter-sunk seat apertures 19, molded into seat 12. Head 20 of threaded fastener 21 seats in counter-sunk aperture 19, while fastener 21 passes through aperture 19, strain relief nut 22, frame member 14, and is secured by nut 23. During assembly, strain relief nut 22 is hand tightened; this prevents overtightening of bolt 20. As illustrated in FIG. 4, strain relief nut 22 is formed with concave section 24 to accommodate frame member 14. Flat-bottomed gusset 25 is molded to the bottom of seat member 12 to provide a contact point for strain relief nut 24. In the completed assembly as illustrated at FIG. 3, head 20 does not protrude above seat surface 26, and thus cannot snag or tear the clothing of a child riding in the carrier.