Patent Application
20190061860
The technology described herein relates to a recreational system and method for attaching a leash to a vehicle. In particular, the technology provided herein may be used for attaching a leash for a domesticated animal to a human-powered vehicle.
Pet owners often desire ways to provide increased exercise for their pet, such as in some examples a dog. Some breeds of dogs have higher energy levels requiring more time exercising, increased energy expenditure such as running or walking for longer distances, or both. Accordingly, pet owners may often desire ways to increase the energy expenditure of their dog such as by increasing the speed and/or distance that they travel. Some users may choose to use a bicycle or other type of motorized or non-motorized vehicular transportation to increase the speed and/or distance for exercising their dog. However, when attempting to attach a dog leash to a bicycle, the leash or attachment assembly may interfere with safe operation of the bicycle, causing the user of the bicycle to risk accidents and injury.
Previous solutions have provided various ways to attach a dog leash to a bicycle or other vehicle, but have often done so without solving the underlying issue of interfering with the safe operation of the vehicle. In particular, in previous solutions the mounting of the leash to a bicycle may cause the user to inadvertently hit the leash with their legs, feet, or other parts of their body, causing them to tug on the dog's collar or causing the user to lose balance, or uncontrollably steer the bicycle into pedestrian or vehicular traffic or in front of the dog. This may result in serious injury to the user, the dog, or both, and may result in damage to the bicycle. Previous solutions have also reduced the ability to quickly remove the leash attachment mechanism, and have reduced flexibility in attachment of the leash to the bike. Furthermore, previous solutions have rigidly attached the leash mounting assembly to the handlebars, frame, or other place on the bicycle, resulting in decreased ability for a user to control the bicycle. Since previous solutions are rigidly attached to the bicycle, they often require tools to attach or detach the mounting assembly, which may require the user to bring tools along with them, or require the user to keep the leash mounting assembly attached to the bicycle for the duration of the time they are outdoors. This may reduce a users ability to use existing bicycle stands or locks, remove their ability to secure their bicycle to existing structures for storage of bicycle, and therefore reduce a users desire to use the mounting assembly to exercise their dog.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a quickly removable, flexibly mounted, rotatable leash attachment assembly for recreational enjoyment and exercising of their dog using a vehicle such as bicycle.
The information included in this Background section of the specification, including any references cited herein and any description or discussion thereof, is included for technical reference purposes only and is not to be regarded subject matter by which the scope of the disclosure as defined in the claims is to be bound.
The present disclosure is directed to a leash mounting recreational assembly which allows a user to quickly and easily attach a leash mounting device to a vehicle such as a bicycle. By allowing flexibility with mounting the leash mounting device to a vehicle, a user may choose which side the leash mounting assembly is attached to the bicycle. Further, by providing a separation distance from the user, the leash mounting assembly as described herein may reduce the chance that a user contacts the assembly, thereby reducing the chance of accidentally becoming entangled with the leash, inadvertently tugging the dog, causing unwanted steering or uncontrollable operation of the bicycle, and therefore reducing the chance of accident and injury. By allowing for rotation of a main post within the leash mounting assembly, the leash attached to an end of the main post has a reduced chance of wrapping around the main post, and therefore allows the dog to maintain a safe distance from the bicycle and user of the recreational system.
This and other characteristics shall become more readily apparent from the description that follows of a preferred embodiment shown, purely by way of non-limiting example, in the accompanying drawings.
Turning now to the drawings, an example of the recreational system will now be discussed with reference to
The extension assembly 130 of the recreational system 100 may include a main post 131, an end cap 132, and a resilient member 136. The resilient member 136 may be formed such that it is coupled to a proximal tip 134 of the main post 131 at a first end 131A of the main post 131. In some examples, the proximal tip 134 may extend partially within the resilient member 136 to form a frictional fit, press fit, or interference fit and the like, to be securely retained therein, thereby coupling the proximal tip 134 to the resilient member 136. End cap 132 may be provided at a second end 131B of the main post 131, the second end 131A being opposite the first end 131a. Similarly, end cap 132 may be coupled to the main post 131 and may cooperate with an attachment member 154 of the leash assembly 150 to couple the leash assembly 150 the main post 131. In some examples, the end cap 132 may extend partially within main post 131 to form a frictional fit, press fit, or interference fit and the like, to couple the end cap 132 to the main post 131. In other examples, the end cap 132 may be welded to a second end 131B of the main post 131. In some examples, attachment member 154 may be generally be shaped as a D-ring having proximal portions 154A which cooperate with corresponding holes or apertures 132A provided on the end cap 132, as illustrated in
In addition to the attachment member 154, the leash assembly 150 may also include a strap 152 and a clasp 156. In some examples, the attachment member 154 may be shaped and formed to allow attachment of the strap 152 to the end cap 132 of the extension assembly 130 through the attachment member 154. In some examples, as discussed above, the attachment member 154 may be shaped in a D-ring shape having a distal portion 154B for engaging a loop of the leash 152, thereby securing the leash 152 to the end cap 132. Clasp 156 may be coupled to a distal end of the strap, and may include a connection portion 157 to couple the clasp 156 to the strap 152, as shown in
As illustrated in
The stem 112 may include a support portion 113 for providing structural support to the stem 112. In some examples, the support portion 113 may be formed integrally with the stem 112 and extend substantially orthogonally to the stem 112. In particular, the stem 112 may be substantially planar with a substantially flat upper surface 112a. Support portion 113 may be substantially planar and extend downward from a bottom surface of the stem 112, forming a substantially right angle between the support portion 113 and stem 112. Accordingly, as shown in
As discussed above, the extension assembly 130 may include a main post 131 and a resilient member 136. The resilient member 136 may be formed such that it is coupled to a proximal tip 134 of the main post 131 at a first end 131a of the main post 131. The proximal tip 134, as depicted in
Similar to the proximal tip 134 of the main post 131, the quick connection member 138 may be formed such that it is coupled to the resilient member 136 at a second end 136b. In some examples, the quick connection member 138 may extend partially within the resilient member 136 to form a frictional fit, press fit, or interference fit and the like, to be securely retained therein and coupled to the resilient member 136. In some examples, the quick connection member 138 may include a portion which extends within the windings of the resilient member 136 to securely and tightly retain the quick connection member 138 within a portion of the resilient member 136 (see
As illustrated in
The interaction of the retention pin 120 and the quick connection member 138 is best shown in the partial cross-sectional top view of
As discussed above, the groove 142 may be provided around the circumference of the quick connection member 138 and allow the quick connection member 138 to rotate about the axis of the quick connection member 138, where the axis of the quick connection member 138 is substantially aligned with a bore axis of the stem aperture 115. Accordingly, when the extension assembly 130 is coupled to the mounting assembly 110, as shown in
It is noted that although the extension assembly 130 is illustrated in
The retention pin 120 may also include a retention clip 122. When the retention pin 120 is inserted into the retention pin aperture 123, the retention clip 122 may be secured to a bottom end of the bolt 121 to ensure the retention pin 120 cannot inadvertently or accidentally be removed from the retention pin aperture 123. This can ensure a safe operation of the recreational system 100 by ensuring the extension assembly 130 cannot be vibrationally decoupled from the mounting assembly 110 while the retention pin 120 is in place within the retention pin aperture 123 and groove 142.
Turning now to
In particular, as discussed above the jaw aperture 117 formed between jaws 114A, 114B of the clamp assembly 114 (
The extension assembly 130 may be coupled to the mounting assembly 110 as illustrated in
As described above with respect to
In use, a user 300 may first couple the mounting assembly 110 to the seat post 214 of the bicycle 200 without attaching the extension assembly 130 thereto. This allows easy placement and alignment of the mounting assembly 110 on the seat post 214, and allows the user 300 to keep the mounting assembly 110 attached to the bike even when the extension assembly 130 is not provided (e.g., the extension assembly 130 is stored for later use, or when the bicycle 200 is parked to reduce the amount of space the bicycle 200 occupies). A user may decide which side the extension assembly 130 should be placed on to ensure safe operation of the bicycle 200. For example, the user 300 may choose to position extension assembly 130 on a right side of the bicycle 200, as shown in
As discussed above, when coupled to the mounting assembly 110 the quick connection member 138 and groove 142 may enable the extension assembly 130 to freely rotate within the stem aperture 115. The resilient member 136 may operate to flex, bend, or otherwise dampen the forces exerted by the dog 310 and/or bicycle 200 when in use. In particular, when a user 300 is operating the bicycle 200 and the speed or direction of the bicycle 200 is different than that of the dog 310, the resilient member 136 may allow for a gentler transference of the relative forces between the mounting assembly 110 mounted on the seat post 214 and the dog 310. If a user 300 has to stop unexpectedly, or change direction before the dog 310 has detected the change, the resilient member 136 may allow the main post 131 to articulate slightly while applying a force on the leash assembly 150 and collar 312 of the dog 310. The elastic modulus of the resilient member 136, or the spring constant of a coil spring resilient member 136, may be selected to ensure that the extension assembly 130 may flex a sufficient amount to transmit the force to the dog 310 to gently signal to the dog 310 to change direction and/or speed. In the example where resilient member 136 is a coil spring, the spring constant may be selected or adjusted to ensure safe communication of the force without causing harm or injury to the dog 310, and without transmitting an unsafe jerking motion or other impulsive forces to the seat post 214 of the bicycle 200 if the dog 310 abruptly stops or changes direction.
It is noted that the position of the mounting assembly 110 of the recreational system 100 on the seat post 214 of the bicycle 200 may allow for the forces transferred to and from the dog 310 to be applied near the center of mass of a user. By doing so, the resulting jerking or tugging on the user 300 may be more predictable, and the user 300 may be better able to correct and compensate for these forces.
Although the system discussed above has been in the context of recreational use, it is noted that the recreational system 100 may not be limited to this, and the system may be used for other purposes including training, therapy, and/or exercising of a domesticated animal, such as a dog. Similar uses of the system are contemplated and within the scope of the present disclosure.
Furthermore, although discussed above with respect to attaching the recreational system to a bicycle, it is contemplated that the recreational system may also be mounted to or otherwise removably attached to another type of vehicle. For example, and without limitations, the recreational system 100 may be attached to a bicycle, wheelchair, stroller, Segway®, a tricycle, and the like. Similarly, the recreational system 100 may be used with motorized devices such as, without limitation, mopeds, scooters, electrically powered bicycles, and the like.
All directional references (e.g., proximal, distal, upper, lower, upward, downward, left, right, lateral, longitudinal, front, back, top, bottom, above, below, vertical, horizontal, radial, axial, clockwise, and counterclockwise) are only used for identification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the present disclosure, and do not create limitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use of the disclosure. Connection references (e.g., attached, coupled, connected, and joined) are to be construed broadly and may include intermediate members between a collection of elements and relative movement between elements unless otherwise indicated. As such, connection references do not necessarily infer that two elements are directly connected and in fixed relation to each other. The exemplary drawings are for purposes of illustration only and the dimensions, positions, order, and relative sizes reflected in the drawings attached hereto may vary.
The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure as defined in the claims. Although various embodiments of the claimed disclosure have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the claimed disclosure. Other embodiments are therefore contemplated. It is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative only of particular embodiments and not limiting. Changes in detail or structure may be made without departing from the basic elements of the disclosure as defined in the following claims.
