The invention relates to an accessory attachable to any wheel having spokes and, more particularly, to an accessory having a body with appendages for securing the accessory to the spokes.
Wheel attachments are known in the prior art to provide several benefits to both users of the wheel attachments and operators of motor vehicles who are in visual contact with the users. Wheel attachments, such as reflectors, often reflect a motor vehicle's light and, as a result, make the user more visible to motor vehicle drivers. Moreover, this feature typically provides safety benefits to the users.
Reflectors are often used on bicycles but may also be used on motorcycles, wheelchairs, and other vehicles desired to have enhanced visibility. One problem often associated with wheel mounted reflectors is difficulty mounting the reflectors to the spokes of the wheel. Some reflectors are fastened to spokes via fasteners such as screws, nuts, bolts, and the like. Fasteners that come loose during normal riding conditions over time may result in the reflectors coming off and becoming lost. Other reflectors snap onto the spokes, making removal difficult and often resulting in damage to the reflectors and/or bending of the spokes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,923,483 to Sloot (“Sloot”) relates to a wheel spoke reflector typically having holes that accept and hold a wheel spoke. The holes generally secure the reflector to the spoke but may permit the reflector to freely slide up and down and rotate about the spoke. U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,101 to Brown (“Brown”) relates to an illuminated bicycle reflector typically having an arc shaped outer portion and an arc shaped inner portion. The outer and inner portions are generally fastened to each other on either side of the wheel spokes via screws, thereby securing the reflector to the spokes. U.S. Patent to Burison (Burison”) generally relates to a bicycle reflector having several reflective members. The reflective members may be attached to spokes of the wheel via bolts, nuts, and washers. Also, attaching reflective members using fasteners, such as bolts, nuts, and washers, can be relatively expensive and complex to operate when compared to other securing mechanisms.
Neither Sloot, Brown, nor Burison discloses a wheel accessory that is easily attached to and removed from a wheel. No reference discloses a wheel accessory that reduces damage to the wheel accessory and/or wheel upon installation or removal. Further, no reference discloses a wheel accessory that, in addition to being easily attached to and removed from a wheel, is adequately secured to the wheel. Additionally, neither of these references disclose a securing mechanism for attaching the wheel accessory to the wheel that is simple and inexpensive to use.
What is desired, therefore, is a wheel accessory having a simple and inexpensive mechanism for securely attaching the wheel accessory to the spokes of a wheel. Another desire is to have an accessory with indicia on at least one side of the accessory for advertising purposes. It is another desire to have an accessory with reflective characteristics on at least one side of the accessory for safety purposes.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a wheel accessory having a simple and inexpensive mechanism for securely attaching the wheel accessory to the spokes of a wheel.
It is another object of the invention to provide an accessory that is easily attached to and removed from the spokes.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by providing an accessory for wheels, including a body, two appendages extending from the body, each of the two appendages having a securing mechanism and an aperture, and each of the two appendages being wrapped around a diameter of a spoke and the securing mechanism being placed in the aperture, thereby securing each of the two appendages about the spoke.
The accessory may further include a second, or multiple, apertures for receiving the securing mechanism, thereby permitting adjustment of a perimeter of each of the two appendages being wrapped around the diameter of the spoke.
The accessory may further include indicia on at least one side of the body, the indicia being selected from the group consisting of a logo, advertising indicia, a trademark, and combinations thereof. The accessory may also include a reflective element on at least one side of the body. Further, the accessory may also include a section removably attached to the body, the section having information thereon.
In another embodiment, the securing mechanism is a stud protruding generally perpendicularly from each of the two appendages. The appendage is secured to the spoke by placing a portion of the stud in the aperture. The stud may further include a mushroom shaped end being placed through the aperture, thereby inhibiting the stud from separating from the aperture.
In another embodiment, the securing mechanism is a free end having at least one indentation. The appendage is secured to the spoke by placing the free end in the aperture. The appendage is further secured to the spoke by placing the free end in the aperture until the at least one indentation is engaged with the aperture, thereby inhibiting the free end from separating from the aperture. The free end may further include a tapered geometry for facilitating placement of the free end in the aperture.
The invention and its particular features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description considered with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Accessory 10 comprises body 20, left appendage 22, and right appendage 24. In certain embodiments, body 20 includes reflective properties for reflecting the light of oncoming vehicles. In other embodiments, body 20 includes indicia, such as a logo, trademark, advertisement, or some combination of the above. The indicia may be for the purposes of advertising a name, product, or contact information. In further embodiments, body 20 includes both reflective properties and indicia. Appendages 22 and 24 may also include reflective properties, indicia, or both. However, appendages' 22 and 24 primary purpose is to act as a securing mechanism to secure body 20 to spokes of a wheel.
It should be understood that, although two appendages are shown, more that two appendages may be utilized. All that is required is for there to be at least two appendages. For example, there may be two, three, or more on each side of body 20 for securing body 20 to bicycle 11.
Both left appendage 22 and right appendage 24 have the same characteristics and limitations. Therefore, for the sake of simplicity, the description will focus on left appendage 22. Left appendage 22 is an extension extending generally horizontally from body 20 and further includes a stud 30 (see
As shown in
It should be understood that stud 30 is not limited to be located on end 32 but may be located on free end 36 and aperture 34 or plurality of apertures 34 may be located on end 32.
Preferably, body 20 and left appendage 22 are made of a soft material such that left appendage 22 may be wrapped around a spoke. A soft material further results in less damage to accessory 10 if accessory 10 came loose from the wheel. In other embodiments, body is made of a rigid material but left appendage 22 is still made of a soft material.
Optionally, accessory 10 may further include section 44 (see
Although the invention has been described with reference to a particular arrangement of parts, features and the like, these are not intended to exhaust all possible arrangements or features, and indeed many other modifications and variations will be ascertainable to those of skill in the art.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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627920 | Gould | Jun 1899 | A |
D233422 | Amoroso | Oct 1974 | S |
4470663 | Tresch et al. | Sep 1984 | A |
4612935 | Greifer | Sep 1986 | A |
4837959 | Celico | Jun 1989 | A |
5923483 | Sloot | Jul 1999 | A |
6016101 | Brown | Jan 2000 | A |
6273572 | Rood | Aug 2001 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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2430346 | Jul 1978 | FR |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20030177678 A1 | Sep 2003 | US |