Patent Application
20170166276
This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent Application No. 104220037, filed on Dec. 14, 2015.
The disclosure relates to a seat, and more particularly to a bicycle seat.
Bicycle seats have the primary function of allowing a rider to be seated thereon, and are therefore generally designed to cooperate in shape with the buttocks of the human physique. In order to enhance the comfort of a seated rider, another layer of padding may be fitted in or on the pants of the rider to lessen friction between the buttocks and the seat. While most conventional pads for bicycle seats are made of soft material, recently there have been pads made of hard material with the aim of better supporting the rider. The latter type of pads possess higher structural strength and provides more support for the buttocks of the rider, preventing the buttocks from undergoing uncomfortable deformation when being seated on the pad for longer periods of time.
Most bicycle seats are designed with a centrosymmetric structure, and have two protruding structures expanding in opposite lateral directions from the center for the buttocks to rest on. Referring to
Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a hard seat device for a bicycle that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.
A hard seat device is adapted to be mounted on a seatpost of a bicycle for supporting a hard protective cycling pad thereon, and includes a hard seat member and a linking unit. The hard seat member includes a main body that is adapted for contacting the hard protective cycling pad, and that is elongated without any part expanding laterally for supporting buttocks of a rider. The linking unit is mounted to the hard seat member and is adapted to be coupled to the seatpost.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.
Referring to
The hard seat device 2 includes a hard seat member 21 and a linking unit 22. The hard seat member 21 includes a tubular main body 211 that extends in the front-rear direction and that defines an elongated hole 212 extending therethrough in the front-rear direction. The main body 211 is adapted for contacting the hard protective cycling pad 9, and has a shape that substantially complements that of the groove 91 of the hard protective cycling pad 9, and that is elongated without any part expanding laterally for supporting the buttocks of the rider. It should be noted that a width of an ischium of a male rider is different from that of a female rider, with the latter usually possessing a wider ischium.
The primary function of the main body 211 is to allow the hard protective cycling pad 9 to rest directly thereon, so that in practice or other embodiments, the shape of the main body 211 need only be able to complement that of the groove 91. Hence, the main body 211 may be cylindrical, spindle-shaped, and so forth. The width of the main body 211 may range at maximum from 3 to 10 centimeters, with the range of 4 to 9 centimeters being preferable, and the range of 5 to 8 centimeters being optimal. The material of the main body 211 may be plastic, metal, or alloys. In this embodiment, the main body 211 is cylindrical, with a uniform external diameter of 7 cm, and made of plastic material.
The elongated hole 212 extends through the main body 211 along a front-rear direction, and is formed by hollowing out the main body 211 to allow the passage of air therethrough so that drag can be reduced when cycling forward or rearward. The shape of the elongated hole 212 may also be any shape that can complement that of the groove 91 of the hard protective cycling pad 9. In this embodiment, the elongated hole 212 is cylindrical in accordance with the shape of the main body 211.
The linking unit 22 includes a linking member 221 that is mounted to a bottom of the hard seat member 21, that is substantially cylindrical, and that is adapted to be inserted into the seatpost 8.
The rider can first fit the hard protective cycling pad 9 on the inner or outer side of his/her pants against the buttocks, then simply seat him/herself on the hard seat member 21. Since the hard seat member 21 does not need any structures expanding left and right to accommodate the buttocks, weight and drag can be effectively reduced, with the latter further reduced by allowing air passage through the elongated hole 212 in the main body 211.
Referring to
In this embodiment, the entire main body 211 is shaped in a curve, as can be seen from a side view thereof. The shape of the elongated hole 212 is also curved in accordance with that of the main body 211, but substantially extends in the front-rear direction as with the elongated hole 212 of the first embodiment.
By virtue of the curved shape of the main body 211 of the second embodiment, it will be harder for the rider to slide off the hard seat member 21, and easier for the rider to take advantage of the curvature to find a most suitable contact angle for sitting.
Referring to
The slit 214 is formed in a bottom portion of the main body 211 for communicating the elongated hole 212 with the external environment, and extends through the main body 211 in the front-rear direction. In this embodiment, the hard seat member 21 is a hollow aluminum tube that has the same width at both the front and rear ends, and that has an elongated portion being carved out to form the slit 214.
The linking member 221 is a metal plate, and is first welded to the hard seat member 21, then pivotally connected to the connecting member 222 through a Buick-release structure 24. The connecting member 222 is substantially cylindrical, with its outer diameter thereof being substantially the same as an inner diameter of the seatpost 8 to be fitted into the seatpost 8. The angle of inclination of the hard seat member 21 can thereby be adjusted by pivoting the linking member 221.
By virtue of the slit 214 formed in the bottom portion of the main body 211, the hard seat member 21 is rendered resilient, so that shock experienced by the rider when riding can be reduced. Therefore, the third embodiment not only has the advantages of the first embodiment, but further has the advantage of shock reduction.
Referring to
Since the main body 211 is of a rollable material, a certain level of resiliency is ensured. Another method of forming the main body 211 of the fourth embodiment is to further roll the main body 211 of the third embodiment until two longitudinal portions of the main body 211 which cooperatively define the slit 214 overlap each other (i.e., the slit 214 is no more exist). In this way, the weight-supporting capacity of the left and right sides of the main body 211 can be more even. Therefore, the fourth embodiment not only has the advantages of the third embodiment, but bears weight more evenly so that riding comfort is enhanced.
Referring to
The main body 211 of the hard seat member 21 further has a pivot portion 215 formed at a bottom end of the main body 211. The linking unit 22 further has a pivot member 223 formed at a top end portion of the linking member 221 of the linking unit 22, and is mounted pivotally to the pivot portion 215 of the hard seat member 21.
The angle adjusting mechanism 25 has an adjusting member 251 provided on the hard seat member 21 and formed with a curved groove 253 that is curved with respect to a center of curvature located at the pivot member 223, and a locking member 252 extending through the curved groove 253 for releasably locking the adjusting member 251 to the linking member 221 of the linking unit 22. In this embodiment, the locking member 252 is a quick-release structure.
By pivoting the hard seat member 21 to an angle most suitable for a rider, then fixing the adjusting member 251 to the linking member 221 with the locking member 252, the hard seat member 21 can be stabilized in position.
Therefore, the fifth embodiment not only has the advantages of the first embodiment, but discloses a design with an angle adjusting mechanism as an alternative for the rider.
Referring to
The curved portion 217 is arc-shaped and is bent downwardly from a front end of the support portion 216 to connect with the linking member 221 of the linking unit 22. In this embodiment, the curved portion 217 is U-shaped and is connected at one end to the support portion. 216, and the other end to the linking member 221.
In this embodiment, the hard seat member 21 and the linking member 221 are formed as one piece, and is bent from a metal tube.
Since the main body 211 is made of metal, the U-shaped curved portion 217 has enough resiliency to absorb and reduce shock from cycling. Therefore, the sixth embodiment not only has the advantages of the first embodiment, but further has the advantage of shock reduction.
Referring to
In this way, not only is it harder for the rider to slide off of the front and rear ends, but allows the rider to take advantage of the curvature to find a most suitable contact angle for sitting.
Referring to
Since the front and rear parts of the main body 211 has the two curved portions 217 respectively fixed to the linking member 221, a good overall support is provided to the rider, and can at the same time absorb and reduce shock.
Referring to
The helical configuration of the support portion 216 allows the main body 211 to have an even better shock-reducing capability. Therefore, not only does the ninth embodiment have the advantages of the eighth embodiment, but also further enhances on the shock-reduction aspect thereof.
In sum, the hard seat device 2 according to the disclosure can accommodate the buttocks of a rider with different structural arrangements and can reduce overall weight and drag, thereby achieving the effect of the present disclosure.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 104220037 | Dec 2015 | TW | national |
