Patent Application
20090189421
This application claims priority to Taiwan Patent Application No. 097103453 filed on Jan. 30, 2008 and Taiwan Patent Application No. 097115042 filed on Apr. 24, 2008.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a venting device, and more particularly, relates to a venting device of a saddle assembly and the saddle assembly comprising the venting device.
2. Descriptions of the Related Art
Bicycles have become more of a means for recreation and physical exercise, rather than merely for transportation. As a result, the demands on the bicycle have increased accordingly. Aside from the weight and the profile of the bicycle, the comfort of the saddle has also become an important purchasing factor. The two most important factors that determine the quality of the saddle are the ventilation and cushioning capability against various external forces during the ride. These two factors improve the comfort and health of the cyclist, regardless of the gender. Furthermore, these are also the two factors on which saddle designers seek to improve sport apparatuses (for example but not limited to bicycles) used for various purposes (racing, recreation, children playing).
To provide the desired cushioning effect, a conventional saddle 1 as depicted in
In view of this, it is highly desirable in the field to provide a saddle assembly with favorable cushioning capability and ventilation effect, as well as a venting device thereof.
One objective of this invention is to provide a saddle assembly and a venting device thereof with a favorable ventilation effect and cushioning capability.
This invention provides innovative research and design on the venting device of a saddle assembly. The venting device comprises a body and an air-passage structure. The body has an upper surface and a peripheral portion. The air-passage structure is at least partially formed on the upper surface and in fluid communication with at least one portion of the peripheral portion. The venting device may be optionally (but not limited to) made of a shock-absorbing material. The saddle assembly of this invention at least comprises the venting device, a pad device and a fastening device, which may be entirely or partially formed integrally. The pad device is disposed on the venting device, and the fastening device is disposed between the venting device and the pad device to fasten the pad device on the venting device.
The detailed technology and preferred embodiments implemented for the subject invention are described in the following paragraphs accompanying the appended drawings for people skilled in this field to well appreciate the features of the claimed invention.
As depicted in
Preferably, the air-passage structure 211 comprises a plurality of ribs 211a. The plurality of ribs 211a are substantially parallel to and extend upwards from the top surface 210a of the body 210 to correspondingly form the plurality of air passages 211b, so that ambient air is allowed to flow from the peripheral portion 210b through the air passages 211b into the saddle assembly 2. Each of the ribs 211a substantially extends to the peripheral portion 210b symmetrically with respect to a center line A of the body 210 to form V-shape configurations with the angles pointed towards the rear of the saddle assembly 2 to force the ambient air to flow backwards into the saddle assembly 2 from the front during the ride. Furthermore, the venting device 21 is preferably made of a shock-absorbing material that is moderately elastically deformable to provide the venting device 21 with a desirable cushioning capability by virtue of deformation of the ribs 211a during the ride. The elastic deformation of the ribs 211a tends to change the shape and volume of the air passages 211b between the ribs 211a and forces the air to flow more smoothly inside the air passages 211b, thus enhancing the venting performance of the venting device 21.
It should be noted that since the shock-absorbing material for the venting device 21 may be either used alone or combined with other materials at the top or bottom to enhance the cushioning effect, materials with a soft or hard touching sense may be adopted in practice. In particular, this material may be selected from the group consisting of foam materials (optionally, either partially or completely foamed), Silica Gel, Ethylene-vinyl Acetate (EVA), Poly Urethane (PU), Thermo Plastic Rubber (TPR) and the combination thereof, any of which may provide the air-passage structure with the appropriate hardness and elasticity and provide necessary support, shock absorption and heat dissipation.
As depicted in
As shown in
The supporting device 23 is disposed under the venting device 21 and has substantially the same profile as the body 210. The supporting device 23 is primarily comprised of a base 231 and includes a rail device 232 fastened to a lower surface of the base 231. The rail device 232 is adapted to interface with the body of the bicycle to fasten the saddle assembly 2 on the bicycle body. The base 231 may be made of a plastic material with a certain strength or a carbon fiber reinforced material.
The pad device 22, which is disposed on the venting device 21, provides an ergonomic surface for properly supporting the buttocks and crotches of the cyclists. In this embodiment, the pad device 22 comprises a foam layer 221 and a fastening layer 222, all with substantially the same profile as the body 210 of the venting device 21. The fastening layer 222 is fixedly disposed under the foam layer 221, while a male connecting device 224 extends downwards from the fastening layer 222. The fastening layer 222 has at least one hollowed portion 223. The foam layer 221 may have a plurality of fine pores 223a. With such an arrangement, air is allowed to flow through the plurality of air passages 211b of the venting device 21, the hollowed portion 223 of the fastening layer 222, the foam layer 221, and the fine pores 223a of the foam layer 221 to an upside of the saddle assembly 2. The foam layer 221 and the fastening layer 222 are enclosed and fastened by a breathable layer (not shown) disposed on the foam layer 221 to form a complete pad device 22 which allows comfortable riding over a long period of time and provides adequate support. The fastening layer 222 may be made of various plastic materials or carbon fiber reinforced materials to provide adequate support, while the breathable layer may be made of various textiles, breathable leathers or other breathable materials to provide an appropriate heat dissipation passage directed upwards.
As shown in both
The air flow path inside the saddle assembly 2 will be further described. As shown in
In the above embodiment, the saddle assembly 2 of this invention is primarily comprised of the foam layer 221 of the pad device 22, the fastening layer 222 of the pad device 22, the venting device 21 and the supporting device 23. However, in other embodiments, these devices may be partially or entirely integrated together. For example, instead of being comprised of the foam layer 221 and the fastening layer 222, the pad device 22 may be formed integrally of a carbon fiber reinforced material. In this case, the pad device 22 can be assembled into the saddle assembly 2 by simply having the male connecting device 224 of the fastening device 24 correspondingly formed on the lower surface of the integrally formed pad device; and by forming a plurality of venting pores or hollowed portions in the pad device 22, the pad device 22 can cooperate with the venting device 21 and the supporting device 23 to achieve the desirable ventilation effect. Similarly, if both the venting device 21 and the base 231 of the supporting device 23 are also made of a shock-absorbing material, a single-piece device may be formed integrally. However, in order for the resulting single-piece device to have sufficient supporting ability to connect the bicycle body and support weight of the cyclist, this material may be selected from materials with both an adequate strength and an adequate cushioning capability such as poly urethane (PU) or thermal plastic rubber. In case these devices are highly integrated, the saddle assembly 2 as a whole can further be formed into a single-piece of materials also with both an adequate strength and an adequate cushioning capability such as polyurethane (PU) or thermal plastic rubber. Hence, any other saddles incorporating similar ribs 211a or air passages 211b of the air-passage structure 211 of this invention can accomplish the basic objective of favorable ventilation performance of this invention. Moreover, in case the air-passage structure 211 is made of a shock-absorbing material, a favorable cushioning capability can further be obtained. Therefore, all these embodiments shall fall within scope of the claims of this invention.
The above disclosure is related to the detailed technical contents and inventive features thereof. People skilled in this field may proceed with a variety of modifications and replacements based on the disclosures and suggestions of the invention as described without departing from the characteristics thereof. Nevertheless, although such modifications and replacements are not fully disclosed in the above descriptions, they have substantially been covered in the following claims as appended.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 097103453 | Jan 2008 | TW | national |
| 097115042 | Apr 2008 | TW | national |
