Bicycle rack
AssigneeSportworks Northwest, Inc.
InventorMichael K. Reeves
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rack for securing wheeled vehicles, particularly bicycles, includes wheel-receiving wells for receiving the front wheel of the vehicle and contacting the wheel at least at two points. A wheel-engaging arm, pivotally mounted to the rack, is pivoted upwardly and is extensible outwardly against a biasing element. The arm is adapted to engage the wheel of the bicycle at least at a third point for securely holding the vehicle.
Claims17
A bicycle rack adapted for mounting to a vehicle for securing a bicycle to said bicycle rack via contact with the wheels of the bicycle, comprising:
- a frame including a wheel well for receiving a wheel of the bicycle and having a forward stop member and a rearward stop member;
- and
- an extensible arm for engaging the wheel of the bicycle, said extensible arm being pivotally mounted to the frame adjacent to said wheel well and between an outer periphery of said forward stop member and an outer periphery of said rearward stop member, said extensible arm including biasing means to urge said extensible arm to a retracted position, whereby said extensible arm engages a tire of the wheel and urges the bicycle downwardly to urge the tire of the wheel into engagement with said wheel well at least one of said forward and rearward stop members, thereby securing the bicycle to the rack.
A bicycle rack adapted for mounting to a vehicle for securing a bicycle to said rack via contact with wheels of the bicycle and independent of contact with a frame of the bicycle, comprising:
- a rack frame including a first wheel well for receiving a first wheel of the bicycle;
- a second wheel well for receiving a second wheel of the bicycle, wherein said first wheel well and said second wheel well cooperate to engage the first and second wheels of the bicycle and substantially prevent movement of the bicycle beyond a stop position;
- and
- an extensible member for engaging the second wheel of the bicycle, said extensible member being pivotally mounted to the rack frame beneath said second wheel well, said extensible member including biasing means to urge said extensible member towards a retracted position, whereby said extensible member engages a tire of the second wheel and urges the bicycle downwardly to urge the first and second wheels into engagement with their respective wheel wells at the stop position, thereby securing the bicycle to said rack frame independent of contact with a frame of the bicycle.
A bike rack for holding a bike comprising:
- a rack frame including wheel well means having a stop means for engaging a wheel means of the bike;
- extensible engaging means pivotally mounted to said rack frame at a position between the stop means and an outer periphery of said wheel well means, wherein said wheel means comprises a front wheel and wherein said extensible engaging means contacts said front wheel at a position defining an angle relative to a horizontal plane of the bike rack, said extensible engaging means including biasing means for urging said extensible engaging means into firm engagement with the front wheel and urging said bike downwardly to provide firm engagement between said wheel means and said stop means, thereby securing the bike to the bike rack independent of engagement with a frame of the bike.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.