Patent Application
20150191211
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention relates to an aerodynamic straw and a straw mount for aerodynamically positioning a straw on a bicycle.
In road cycling racing events, riders ride their bicycles over an extended period of time. Throughout this period of time, the rider must stay hydrated. To this end, the rider will store water or a hydration fluid in a bottle mounted to the bicycle or backpack. In order to hydrate oneself, the rider must release one hand from the handlebar to grab the water bottle. Additionally, the rider must sit upright to invert the water bottle and drink the fluid therein. Such movements create aerodynamic inefficiencies.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved method and device for hydration while riding a bicycle.
The various embodiments and aspects disclosed herein address the needs discussed above, discussed below and those that are known in the art.
An aerodynamic straw is disclosed which is aerodynamically positioned so that a mouthpiece of the aerodynamic straw is juxtaposed to the rider's mouth. When the rider needs to hydrate him or herself, the rider need only move his or her head slightly so that his or her mouth may bite down on the mouthpiece of the straw and suck in the fluid delivered by way of the straw which is connected to a hydration storage container located elsewhere either on the bicycle or rider. Additionally, the straw may be adjusted front to back as well as tilted in order to optimally position the mouthpiece of the straw immediately adjacent to the mouth of the rider.
More particularly, a straw mount for positioning an upper distal end of a straw adjacent to a rider's mouth when riding a road bicycle is disclosed. The mount may comprise a first member, a second member and a liquid tube. The first member may be attachable to a handlebar of the bicycle. The first member may have a plurality of radially extending teeth. The second member may be rotatable with respect to the first member. The second member may have a corresponding plurality of radially extending teeth. The liquid tube may be in fluid communication with and provide liquid to the rider's mouth from a water storage compartment. The liquid tube and more particularly the mouthpiece attached to the upper distal end of the tube may be positioned by rotating the second member to the first member for aerodynamic purposes.
The second member may be displaced away from the first member to disengage the teeth of the first and second members to allow for rotation of the second member with respect to the first member. The second member may be biased toward the first member to engage the teeth of the first and second members to prevent rotation of the second member with respect to the first member after the unit is set in place. The second member may be biased toward the first member with a compression spring.
In another aspect, an aerodynamic straw to deliver liquid from a liquid bladder to a mouth of a bicycle rider is disclosed. The straw may comprise a tube having a lumen for delivering the liquid from the liquid bladder to the mouth of the bicycle rider. The lumen may be sized and configured to allow for water flow so that the rider may drink from the straw. An exterior surface of the tube may have an aerodynamic cross sectional configuration. The aerodynamic cross sectional configuration may be oval. The oval cross section may have a front half which is substantially identical to a back half of the tube. A maximum thickness of the tube may be at about 50% of a chord length of the oval cross section of the tube.
These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
Referring now to the drawings, an aerodynamic straw 10 and a method for using the same is disclosed. The aerodynamic straw 10 has an aerodynamic cross-sectional configuration in the direction of airflow (i.e., bicycle forward travel) to minimize drag. Moreover, the aerodynamic straw 10 has a mouthpiece 12 that can be placed at a plurality of positions front to back so that the mouthpiece 12 is located closely adjacent to a bicycle rider's mouth. In this manner, when the rider desires to hydrate him or herself, the rider need only bite down on the mouthpiece 12 and drink water. The rider does not need to move his or her body position and hands to drink water. Accordingly, the aerodynamic tucked in position of the rider does not need to be disturbed to drink hydration liquid. Accordingly, the aerodynamic tucked in position can be maintained for a longer period of time and is not interrupted by the need to hydrate. The aerodynamic straw 10 has an aerodynamic structural configuration and also its use allows the user to maintain the aerodynamic tucked in position for a longer period of time.
More particularly, referring now to
The aerodynamic straw 10 is positioned along the longitudinal length 28 of the aerobar 18 so that a tube 30 that extends back to a water storage container 32 is generally straight. When the bicycle is moving forward, the air is moving in the direction of arrow 34. The tube 30 should be generally in line with the air direction to cause as little aerodynamic drag during riding. Accordingly, the frontal profile of the tube 30 would ideally be the cross-section of the tube 30 to minimize aerodynamic drag. To keep the tube straight, the rider or person installing the aerodynamic straw 10 may cut the tube 30 so that when the rider is in the aerodynamic tucked in position, the mouthpiece 12 of the aerodynamic straw 10 is located juxtaposed to the rider's mouth. To drink water, the rider need only lower his or her head slightly so that the rider can bite down on the mouthpiece 12 to drink water. With the tube 30 cut to the proper length to achieve aerodynamic benefits, the mounting member 14 may be secured to the aerobar 18 to properly position the tube 70 for aerodynamic purposes.
In certain situations either the tube 30 cannot be cut to the proper length to position the mouthpiece 12 near the rider's mouth or minute positional adjustments may be necessary to position the mouthpiece 12 so that the rider can conveniently bite down on the mouthpiece 12 while riding the bicycle in an aerodynamic tucked in position. To this end, the aerodynamic straw 10 allows the rider or installer to move the mouthpiece 12 front or back by rotating the mouthpiece 12 about a pivot axis 36. To rotate the mouthpiece 12, the aerodynamic straw 10 has a joint 38 or knuckle that allows the user to rotate and lock the position of the mouthpiece 12.
The joint 38 includes the mounting member 14 and a straw member 40. The mounting member 14 and the straw member 40 have corresponding interlocking pieces 42, 44. The straw member 40 is normally biased so that the teeth 42, 44 are engaged to each other as shown in
Referring now to
The protrusion 52 extends through the through hole 56 of the straw member 40. The protrusion 52 is seated onto the inner surface of the through hole 56 so that as the straw member 40 is pulled out and released, the straw member 40 is relatively stable. An enlarged cavity 60 is formed beyond the throughhole 56. The enlarged cavity 60 receives the protrusion 52 and a compression spring 62. The compression spring 62 is seated on a bottom surface 60 formed by the enlarged cavity 60. The other end of the compression spring 62 is seated on a washer 66 having a diameter greater than the outer diameter of the protrusion 52. The washer 66 and spring 62 are attached to the protrusion 52 by way of bolt or screw 68.
The distance 70 between the bottom surface 64 of the enlarged cavity 60 and the washer 66 and the length of the spring 62 are sized so that the spring 62 places slight pressure to bias the teeth 42, 44 of the mounting member 14 and the straw member 40 into engagement. Also, the spring 62 and the distance 70 are sized to allow the user to pull the straw member 40 in the direction of arrow 46 to disengage the teeth 42, 44 of the mounting member 14 and the straw member 40, as shown in
Referring back to
The tube 70 may have an aerodynamic cross sectional configuration, as shown in
The tube 74 may be extruded. However, due to the tube 74 being oval (i.e., non-round), the polymeric material does not deform uniformly after exiting the die of the extruder. As such, the length 80 to width 82 ratio of the cross sectional configuration of the tube 74 is designed to be 1.86 to 1, but the production tube 74 has an aspect ratio of 1.41 to 1. The length 80 of the tube 74 is preferably about 16.3 mm and the width 82 about 11.5 mm. The length 80 of the tube may be up to about 35 mm with the width 82 being no more than 15 mm. As such, the range of length 80 to width 82 ratios may be about 1.3:1 to 4:1. The inner diameter 84 of the tube 70 is sized to the outer diameter of the inlet of the mouthpiece 12. In particular, stem of the mouthpiece or drinking bite valve inlet has an outer diameter of 8 mm, whereas the inner diameter 84 of the tube 74 has a production inner diameter of about 7.6 mm. However, it is contemplated that the inner diameter 84 of the tube 74 has a production inner diameter of about 6 mm to about 9 mm.
More broadly, the outer cross-sectional configuration of the tube 74 may be non-round but also aerodynamic in the direction of airflow while the bicycle is moving forward. The outer cross-sectional size of the tube 74 is limited to an inner diameter 84 sufficient for water flow to hydrate the rider. Additionally, the tube 74 does not require a cover for aerodynamic purposes. The exterior surface of the tube 74 is shaped to an aerodynamic configuration.
The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein, including various ways of attaching the mounting member to the aerobar. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.
