Patent Application
20050146113
The present invention relates to a bicycle pump that is used as a seatpost on a bicycle.
Conventional bicycle pumps are typically mounted with brackets on the bicycle frame. It is not unusual for the hand pump to fall off when the cyclist goes over rough road. The relative heaviness of the hand pump as compared with the flexibility of many plastic frame mounts makes it difficult for the plastic frame mounts to retain the pumps once they acquire momentum. An additional problem is the limited amount of space on modern bicycles in which to mount the hand pump.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bicycle hand pump, which can function as a seatpost.
According to the invention there is provided a bicycle pump for inflating tires of a bicycle, which comprises a short barrel having an elongated tube affixed thereto, and an elongated barrel having a hollow interior, into which the elongated tube slides. The elongated barrel is slidably insertable into a hollow frame element of the bicycle, and is adapted to be clamped and used as a seatpost.
Preferably, the elongated tube has male threads adjacent an engaging end of the short barrel, which faces an engaging end of the elongated barrel. An engaging end of the elongated barrel has female threads, which receive and register with the male threads of the elongated tube so as to hold the short barrel in abutting relationship with the elongated barrel.
Advantageously, the elongated barrel has a storage chamber for storing tire patches and a bicycle tire adapter operative to detachably couple to an end of the short barrel at one end and to a bicycle tire valve at another end.
In another aspect of the invention there is provided a bicycle having a seat, a seat clamp and a frame having a seatpost receiving frame element and a seatpost clamp. The bicycle has a bicycle pump with an outside diameter such that the pump is slidably insertable into the seatpost receiving frame element. A clamp clamps the bicycle pump to the seatpost receiving frame element.
In yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of carrying a bicycle pump on a bicycle, comprising forming an outside diameter of the bicycle pump such that it is slidably insertable into a seatpost receiving frame element of the bicycle, clamping the pump to the seatpost receiving frame element, and clamping a bicycle seat to a top end of the pump.
By utilizing the pump as a seat post the need to mount it along a frame element with clamps is avoided. Often such mountings fail when traversing rough terrain and the pump is either lost or the cyclist must stop and return to pick up the pump. In addition, valuable space is taken up which could be used for mounting such items as water bottles and the like. A storage space in the pump allows for storage of the pump-to-tire valve adapter and the tire patches. Other items such as jewelry and pens can also be stored.
Further features and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description, given by way of example, of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
Referring to
Adjacent the second cylinder 33 is a storage space 36, which carries a bicycle tire valve adapter 34 and tire patches 38. It can also carry such items as keys and small valuables (not shown). Tube 20, which is affixed to short barrel 14, has a hollow interior 21, which is in fluid communication with threaded opening 19. Bushing 26 is threaded in end 24. When tube 20 is pushed into elongated barrel 12, threads 22 contact the threads in end 24 of bushing 26. Upon rotating short barrel clockwise, male threads 22 engage female threads in end 24 of bushing 26 pulling the short barrel 14 into abutment with end 24.
Storage chamber 36 is closed by a large bolt 16 (see
In operation, storage chamber 36 is at atmospheric pressure and O-rings 37 are positioned adjacent one-way valve 31. As elongated barrel 12 is moved away from short barrel 14, O-rings 37 on tube 20 move to the right in pumping chamber 30 creating a lowered pressure in the chamber 30. Air then flows through hole 23, through storage chamber 36, through opening 29 in one-way valve 31 and into pumping chamber 30, filling up pumping chamber 30 with air. With the O-rings abutting the bushing 26, short barrel 14 is then moved in an opposite direction so that O-rings 37 move towards one-way valve 31. The latter valve does not permit air to travel through it into storage chamber 36. The air is forced along hollow interior 21 of tube 20 and out through opening 19.
Pump 10, when assembled as shown in
When a rider has a flat tire, the above process is reversed. Seat 52 is removed and the clamp released to allow the pump 10 to slide out of the hollow frame element 50. Large bolt 16 is unscrewed and both the patches 38 and the adapter 34 are removed. Once the bicycle tire 11 has been patched, the end 44 of adapter 43 is screwed onto the bicycle valve (not shown) and the other end is screwed into threaded opening 19. The pump 10 is operated by, alternately, separating and then closing the elongated barrel 12 and the short barrel 14.
Accordingly, while this invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to this description. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments as fall within the true scope of the invention.
