Bicycle seat cushions with different stiffness zones

Abstract

A bicycle saddle includes a base and a pad connected to the top surface of the base. The pad includes a first support and a second support, which are separated by the longitudinal axis of the base. When the top surface of the pad is projected in two dimensions on a horizontal plane, each of the supports defines at least a rear section, a middle section, and a front section. The stiffness of the middle section is less than the stiffness of the front and rear sections, and the stiffness of the rear section is greater than the stiffness of the front section.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of bicycle seat cushions, and in particular to a bicycle seat cushion that can adapt to different riding postures. [Previous Technology]

[0002] U.S. Patent No. 10,633,048 B2 discloses a bicycle saddle having a front section and a rear section, wherein the rear section is more rigid than the front section and is used to support the rider's ischium, while the less rigid front section is used to support the rider's genitals. U.S. Patent No. 11,787,490 B2 discloses another bicycle saddle having a bottom shell and a liner coupled to the top of the bottom shell. The liner is divided into a first lateral side and a second lateral side, each side having an innermost region with relatively low stiffness, a second region surrounding the innermost region with slightly higher stiffness, and a third region surrounding the second region with even higher stiffness, thereby allowing for a more even distribution of the load applied to and around the rider's ischium by the saddle. Both patents addressed some of the rider's problems, but both prior art had shortcomings in ensuring rider comfort in every riding posture. Furthermore, US Patent No. 6039395A disclosed another bicycle saddle with a first member and a second member spaced apart along the longitudinal axis of the saddle, thereby reducing pressure on the rider's perineum. The drawback of this saddle is that each member has only a single stiffness, and therefore cannot ensure rider comfort in every riding posture. [Summary of the Invention]

[0003] The core of this invention lies in the inventor's recognition that when riders ride a bicycle in different postures, the contact points between them and the saddle will also be different. Therefore, by adjusting the stiffness or deformability of the bicycle saddle according to the parts that may come into contact with the rider, the rider can feel comfortable in various postures.

[0004] Therefore, according to several embodiments of the present invention, a bicycle saddle includes a base and a pad connected to the top surface of the base. The pad includes a first support member and a second support member, which are separated by the longitudinal axis of the base. When the top surface of the pad is projected in two dimensions on a horizontal plane, each support member defines at least a rear section, a middle section, and a front section. The area of ​​the rear section is larger than that of the middle section and the front section, and the area of ​​the middle section may be greater than or equal to that of the front section. The compressive deformation of the middle section is greater than that of the front section and the rear section, and the compressive deformation of the front section is greater than that of the rear section. In other words, the stiffness of the middle section is less than that of the front section and the rear section, and the stiffness of the rear section is greater than that of the front section. Therefore, the bicycle saddle can provide sufficient support for the rider's ischium through the rear section of the pad, provide more comfortable support for the rider's soft tissues through the middle section of the pad, and provide good support for the rider when pedaling through the front section of the pad.

[0005] According to several embodiments of the present invention, the length of each segment of the bicycle saddle support along the longitudinal axis of the base (hereinafter referred to as longitudinal length) is specifically designed for each riding posture. In particular, the longitudinal length of the rear segment is greater than that of the middle and front segments, while the longitudinal length of the middle segment is greater than or equal to that of the front segment.

[0006] According to certain embodiments of the present invention, the lateral width (hereinafter referred to as lateral width) of each segment of the bicycle saddle support member along the longitudinal axis perpendicular to the base is specifically designed according to different parts of the rider's contact with the liner. Specifically, each support member has an inner edge and an outer edge. The maximum lateral width of the rear segment is defined by the straight-line distance between the outermost point of the outer edge and the innermost point of the inner edge. The minimum lateral width of the front segment is defined by the straight-line distance between the innermost point of the outer edge and the outermost point of the inner edge.

[0007] According to certain embodiments of the present invention, the liner of the bicycle saddle can be made of an elastic material, such as rubber, foam, or other similar materials. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the liner is manufactured by 3D printing. This manufacturing method allows the stiffness of specific areas of the liner to be determined by a variety of sizes, shapes, orientations, spacings, and three-dimensional lattice structures of different densities.

Implementation Method

[0009] Figures 1 to 5 show a preferred embodiment of the present invention, namely a bicycle saddle 10. The bicycle saddle 10 includes a base 20 and a pad 30 connected to the top of the base 20. In these figures, the base 20 is fixed to a support frame 40, which is typically used for connection to a bicycle frame, such as coupling to a bicycle saddle post tube.

[0010] The base 20 is used to support the pad 30 and is typically made of materials such as plastic, carbon fiber, or metal. The base 20 has a recessed central portion 22 that defines the longitudinal axis X-X' of the bicycle saddle 10. The central portion 22 also has a cutout area 220 extending an appropriate length along the longitudinal axis X-X'. The base 20 further has a left half 26 and a right half 28 located on either side of the central portion 22.

[0011] The pad 30 is designed to comfortably support the rider's contact points with the bicycle saddle 10 during riding, such as the ischium or buttocks. It typically contains elastic materials such as rubber, foam, elastic materials, etc., and / or similar materials, and can be manufactured using 3D printing or non-3D printing processes. The pad 30 includes a first support member 32 and a second support member 34. The first support member 32 may fully or partially cover or be attached to the left half 26 of the base 20, and the second support member 32 may fully or partially cover or be attached to the right half 28 of the base 20. Since the supports 32 and 34 are symmetrical, the following description focuses only on the first support member 32. When the top surface of the pad 30 is represented by a two-dimensional projection on a horizontal plane, the first support member 32 defines a rear section 320, a middle section 322, and a front section 324, each of which is separated by a thick black line. In this embodiment, the area of ​​the rear section 320 is approximately 4624.84 mm², the area of ​​the middle section 322 is approximately 2072.70 mm², and the area of ​​the front section 324 is approximately 1477.90 mm².

[0012] The longitudinal length and transverse width of each of the segments 320, 322, and 324 are further described below. The longitudinal length L1 of the rear segment 320 is approximately 104 mm, the longitudinal length L2 of the middle segment 322 is approximately 70 mm, and the longitudinal length L3 of the rear segment is approximately 66 mm. Furthermore, for ease of explanation, the support member 32 has an inner side Si and an outer side So. The transverse width W1 of the rear segment 320 extending from the outermost point a of the outer side So along the parallel transverse axis Y-Y' to the innermost point a' of the inner side is approximately 67 mm, which is also the point where the transverse width of the first support member 32 is greatest. The rear segment 320 extends from point b on the outer side So along the parallel transverse axis Y-Y' to point b' on the inner side Si, with a transverse width W2 of approximately 40 mm. The rear segment 320 extends from point c on the outer side So along the parallel transverse axis Y-Y' to point c' on the inner side Si, with a transverse width W3 of approximately 29 mm. The middle segment 322 extends from point d on the outer side So along the parallel transverse axis Y-Y' to point d' on the inner side Si, with a transverse width W4 of approximately 25.4 mm. The middle segment 322 extends from point e on the outer side So along the parallel transverse axis Y-Y' to point e' on the inner side Si, with a transverse width W5 of approximately 17.3 mm. The front segment 324 extends from point f on the outer side So along the parallel transverse axis Y-Y' to point f' on the inner side Si, with a transverse width W6 of approximately 16.4 mm. The front segment 324 extends from point g on the outer side So along the parallel transverse axis Y-Y' to point g' on the inner side Si, with a transverse width W7 of approximately 9.3 mm.

[0013] The present invention designs different stiffnesses for each of the segments 320, 322, and 324. These stiffnesses are defined based on the different deformation amounts of each segment. In this embodiment, a 200-Newton load is applied using a 30mm diameter cylinder, and the compressive deformation is measured at the center positions H0, H1, and H2 of each segment 320, 322, and 324. The compressive deformation of the rear segment 320 is 5.1 + / - 0.3, that of the middle segment 322 is 6.0 + / - 0.3, and that of the front segment 324 is 5.5 + / - 0.3. In other words, the rear segment 320 has the highest stiffness, providing sufficient support for the rider's ischium. The middle segment 322 has the lowest stiffness, providing comfortable support for the soft tissue areas of the rider in contact with the saddle. The stiffness of the front segment 324 is between that of the rear segment 320 and the middle segment 322, providing good support when the rider needs to perform pedaling at the front end. Furthermore, the stiffness of each segment 320, 322, and 324 gradually transitions.

[0014] Finally, please refer to Figure 7, a photograph of the actual bicycle seat cushion 10. The cushion 30 adopts a three-dimensional lattice structure made by 3D printing, and the material is a mixture of ultraviolet-curable resin and elastomeric polyurethane. As shown in the photograph, the three-dimensional lattice structure of the rear section 320 has the highest density, the middle section 322 has the lowest density, and the density of the front section 324 is between that of the rear section 320 and the middle section 322. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0008] The technical concept of the present invention will be disclosed in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a rear view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a bottom view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1; Figure 6 is a top view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1, which is represented by the top surface of the embodiment being projected onto a horizontal plane in two dimensions; and Figure 7 is a photograph of the embodiment shown in Figure 1.

Claims

1. A bicycle saddle, comprising: a base having a longitudinal axis and a left half and a right half symmetrically arranged on both sides of the longitudinal axis; a pad connected to a top surface of the base; the pad comprising a first support member arranged on the left half and a second support member arranged on the right half; each support member comprising a rear section, a middle section and a front section; the area of ​​the rear section being larger than that of the middle section and the front section, the area of ​​the middle section being greater than or equal to that of the front section; and the stiffness of the rear section being greater than that of the middle section and the front section, the stiffness of the front section being greater than that of the middle section.

2. The bicycle saddle as described in claim 1, wherein the longitudinal length of the rear section is greater than that of the middle section and the front section, and the longitudinal length of the middle section is greater than or equal to that of the front section.

3. The bicycle saddle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base has a central portion and a cutout area extending a predetermined length along the longitudinal axis of the base.

4. The bicycle saddle as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the support members has an inner side and an outer side, the rear section has an outermost point located on the outer side and an innermost point located on the inner side, and the straight-line distance from the outermost point to the innermost point defines the maximum lateral width of each support member.

5. The bicycle seat cushion as described in claim 1, wherein the cushion is manufactured by 3D printing.

6. The bicycle saddle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the rear section has the highest density three-dimensional lattice structure, the middle section has the lowest density three-dimensional lattice structure, and the density of the three-dimensional lattice structure of the front section is between that of the rear section and the middle section.

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