Patent Application
20210053636
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The disclosure relates to lock device and more particularly pertains to a new lock device for inhibiting a bicycle from being stolen.
The prior art relates to lock devices.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a bicycle that has a frame and a rear wheel. A locking unit is movably coupled to the frame and the locking unit is positioned adjacent to the rear wheel. The locking unit is positionable in a locked position having the locking unit extending through the rear wheel. In this way the rear wheel is inhibited from rotating thereby inhibiting the bicycle from being stolen. The locking unit is positionable in an unlocked position having the locking unit being displaced from the rear wheel thereby facilitating the rear wheel to freely rotate.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The first rear wheel fork 18 has a slot 26 extending through the first side 22. The slot 26 is horizontally oriented on the first side 22. The second rear wheel fork 20 has an opening 28 extending through the primary side 24. The opening 28 is aligned with the slot 26 in the first side 22 of the first rear wheel fork 18. The bicycle 12 may be a touring bicycle 12, a mountain bicycle 12 or any other type of bicycle 12.
A locking unit 30 is provided and the locking unit 30 is movably coupled to the frame 14. The locking unit 30 is positioned adjacent to the rear wheel 16. The locking unit 30 is positionable in a locked position having the locking unit 30 extending through the rear wheel 16. In this way the locking unit 30 inhibits the rear wheel 16 from rotating thereby inhibiting the bicycle 12 from being stolen. The locking unit 30 is positionable in an unlocked position having the locking unit 30 being displaced from the rear wheel 16. Thus, the rear wheel 16 can freely rotate.
The locking unit 30 comprises a lock tumbler 32 that extends through the first rear wheel fork 18. The lock tumbler 32 has a key slot 34 therein for insertably receiving a key 36. The lock tumbler 32 is rotatable between a locked position and an unlocked position. A worm gear 38 is rotatably coupled to the lock tumbler 32 and the worm gear 38 is positioned within the first rear wheel fork 18. The worm gear 38 is rotated in first direction when the lock tumbler 32 is rotated into the locked position. Additionally, the worm gear 38 is rotated in a second direction when the lock tumbler 32 is rotated into the unlocked position.
The locking unit 30 includes an arm 40 that has a first end 42 and a second end 44. The first end 42 is pivotally coupled to a pivot point that is located within the first rear wheel fork 18. The arm 40 extends along a horizontal axis and the arm 40 is aligned with the slot 26 in the first side 22 of the first rear wheel fork 18. The arm 40 is positionable in a retracted position having the arm 40 being contained within the first rear wheel fork 18. The arm 40 is positionable in a deployed position having the arm 40 extending outwardly through the slot 26 and into the opening 28 in the primary side 24 of the second rear wheel fork 20.
The locking unit 30 includes a drive gear 46 that is coupled to the arm 40. The drive gear 46 is aligned with the first end 42 of the arm 40 and the drive gear 46 engages the worm gear 38. The drive gear 46 has a rotational axis that is oriented perpendicular to a rotational axis of the worm gear 38. The arm 40 is urged into the deployed position when the worm gear 38 rotates in the first direction. Conversely, the arm 40 is urged into the retracted position when the worm gear 38 rotates in the second direction. A cap 48 is coupled to the first rear wheel fork 18 with a tether or the like. The cap 48 is positionable over the key slot 34 in the lock tumbler 32 for protecting the key slot 34 from contaminants.
In use, the key 36 is inserted into the key slot 34 for rotating the lock tumbler 32 between locked position and the unlocked position. The arm 40 extends through the rear wheel 16 when the arm 40 is urged into the deployed position. Thus, spokes on the rear wheel 16 will strike the arm 40 when the rear wheel 16 is rotated. In this way the arm 40 inhibits the rear wheel 16 from being rotated. The arm 40 is retracted into the first rear wheel fork 18 when the arm 40 is urged into the retracted position. In this way the rear wheel 16 can freely rotate.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, system and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
