DEVICE FOR TOWING A TOW BICYCLE WITH A TRAIN BICYCLE

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device for towing a towing bicycle with a towing bicycle, comprising a frame attachment for the towing bicycle and a carrier connected to the frame attachment, which carrier comprises a hub holder for the front wheel hub of the towing bicycle.

[0002] The prior art discloses a variety of devices for towing a towing bicycle with a towing bicycle. The device is mounted on the towing bicycle to tow the towing bicycle without a rider. The generic document DE10159547C1 shows such a device, which is attached to the rear wheel hub of the towing bicycle and has a fork that is open against the direction of towing. The children's bicycle to be towed has fastening nuts attached to the front wheel hub, which can be inserted into lockable clamps located at the end sections of the fork. In this towing position, the children's bicycle is locked via the front wheel hub, although the front wheel can still rotate freely within the fork.

[0003] A disadvantage of the prior art, however, is that the bike to be towed must be equipped with the fastening nuts, and that the clamps must be secured using screws or other fastening devices in order to tow the towing bike. This means that the bike to be towed must be known in advance, and short-term towing, for example in the event of an accident, is not possible. This requires that the bike to be towed first be converted, and that the tool required to tighten the fastening nuts must be carried along. Although DE10159547C1 discloses embodiments in which the clamps can be closed manually, it is questionable whether the clamps can be securely closed by the user in this way, particularly in stressful situations such as heavy traffic or an accident.

[0004] The invention is therefore based on the object of enabling safe towing of a towing bicycle without its modification, whereby the towing position can be established as simply as possible and driving safety during towing is impaired as little as possible.

[0005] The invention achieves this objective in that the carrier forms a tire support for the tire of the front wheel of the towing bicycle, and the hub holder comprises a hub support for the front wheel hub and a hub stop that engages behind the front wheel hub on the side facing away from the tire support. As a result of these measures, the front wheel of the towing bicycle is raised and positioned so that it is supported on the device at three points: One support is provided by the hub holder on the side facing away from the tire support, i.e., behind the front wheel hub as viewed by the rider of a towing bicycle. The second support is provided below the front wheel hub, as this rests on the hub support, preventing the front tire from making contact with the ground. The third support is provided at the tire support, against which the front tire is secured.This lifts the tow bike even when being towed and supports it against forces acting both in and against the direction of travel. The hub holder is spaced from the tire support in such a way that the front tire is secured due to its round shape and the effect of gravity between the hub holder and the tire support. This also prevents the tow bike from accidentally shifting in another direction. Depending on its deformability, the front tire can be elastically compressed to a greater or lesser extent in the area of ​​the tire support when secured according to the invention, exerting a counterforce on the tire support that further stabilizes the secured position. By securing it, the handlebar of the tow bike cannot be moved independently of the towing bike, so that the tow bike cannot tip over when cornering and thus cause the towing bike to wobble.However, the tow bike can automatically follow a change in direction of the towing bike, since only the front wheel, not the steering, is fixed. The device is preferably mounted on the towing bike's frame so that the tow bike's center of gravity is as low as possible, while still allowing the tow bike to corner safely. In the simplest case, the hub holder can be a bolt extending from the carrier, allowing the tow bike to be easily hooked into the device from above along the longitudinal axis of the bolt.

[0006] Although unwanted lateral slipping of the front wheel of the tow bike is largely prevented by securing the front wheel, lateral slipping out of the device can be prevented if the carrier forms a fork in the area of ​​the tire support to laterally secure the front wheel of the tow bike. The fork base forms the tire support from which the fork arms run towards the front wheel of the tow bike. If the front wheel should twist due to external forces, the fork arms act as a lateral stop to limit the deflection of this rotational movement. Since the moment acting in the front wheel is highest in the area of ​​the front tire, the carrier only needs to form a fork according to the invention in the area of ​​the tire support in order to laterally secure the front wheel.

[0007] To prevent the front tire from slipping sideways out of the device and at the same time keep the weight of the device as low as possible, the fork can have two fork arms, with the length of the fork arm enclosing the hub holder being at least twice the length of the other fork arm. The hub holder is arranged on the long arm, the minimum length of which depends on the diameter of the front tire of the tow bike. The short arm is long enough to form a stop for the front wheel, or preferably for the front tire, so that the front wheel is laterally immobilized. Since the front wheel will first touch the short arm in the area of ​​the fork base in the event of accidental twisting, this arm can be kept relatively short, thus reducing the overall weight of the device.If the length of the fork arm encompassing the hub holder exceeds the length of the other fork arm by at least twice, this effect according to the invention can be ensured for a wide range of tire diameters.

[0008] To prevent the front wheel of the towing bike from tipping transversely to the direction of travel, the fork can have stop plates on the side facing the front wheel of the towing bike for laterally securing the front wheel of the towing bike. Even if the inventive effect of the device is already achieved when the fork has a flat cross-section in the area of ​​the tire support, such a flat fork, due to its geometry, may not be able to absorb forces caused by lateral tipping in such a way that tipping is completely prevented and damage to the front wheel of the towing bike is avoided. However, the stop plates have contact surfaces that protrude from the fork, whereby such forces can be absorbed over a larger area and transmitted to the device without the towing bike tipping.

[0009] In order to keep the towing bicycle at a distance from the towing bicycle when being towed without impeding the use of the luggage rack or any child seat on the towing bicycle, it is proposed that one fork arm of the fork be connected to the frame attachment at an end section extended beyond the tire support on the side opposite the hub holder. As a result of these measures, the distance between the front wheel of the towing bicycle and the towing bicycle is determined in part by the dimensions of the extended end section. This is a simple design solution that prevents the handlebar or other parts of the towing bicycle from being located directly in the area of ​​the luggage rack or child seat when being towed. Furthermore, the area in which the front wheel of the towing bicycle is mounted is spatially separated from the frame attachment, which makes both easier to access.

[0010] In order to easily adapt the device to different tire diameters of the towing bicycle while maintaining unimpaired functionality, it is proposed that the hub holder have a longitudinal guide in which the hub stop is mounted so that it can be moved and fixed. This allows the distance between the hub stop and the tire support to be varied, allowing tires of different diameters to be effectively fixed. Furthermore, the hub holder can optionally be pressed further towards the tire support after it has gripped the front wheel hub of the towing bicycle before it is fixed. This allows the fixing force exerted on the front wheel to be adjusted independently of the tire diameter, the weight of the towing bicycle, the driving conditions, etc. In a particularly simple embodiment, the hub holder can have an elongated hole along which the hub stop is mounted so that it can be moved and fixed.

[0011] The invention also relates to a towing bicycle with a device according to the invention, in which the frame attachment is connected to the chainstay. This allows for simple attachment of the device while maintaining a low center of gravity of the towing bicycle when towing. Due to the elongated geometry of the chainstay, the device can be easily attached to at least two points on the chainstay without the high torques occurring during towing placing significant mechanical stress on the device.

[0012] Particularly simple installation conditions arise when the frame mount is connected to the kickstand mount on the chainstay. Since such rear wheel stand mounts are usually standardized, such as the KSA 40 or KSA 18 kickstand mounts, the frame mount does not need to be adapted to a variety of bike types. Instead, it can simply engage the standardized holes in the kickstand mount and be mounted there in addition to the bike stand.

[0013] Riding safety can be further increased with simple design measures by having the carrier run parallel to the chainstay. As a result of these measures, the securing forces on the front wheel of the towing bike are in equilibrium in and against the direction of travel when the towing speed is constant. This reduces the likelihood of the front wheel securing it becoming loose or weakened, for example on uneven ground. Furthermore, this allows for a relatively low center of gravity for the towing bike, which not only increases riding safety but also increases ride comfort for the rider of the towing bike. Furthermore, this allows for easy attachment of the device to the towing bike, especially when the frame attachment is located on an end section of a fork arm of the carrier that extends beyond the tire support.

[0014] The drawing shows an example of the subject matter of the invention. Fig. 1 a side view of a towing bicycle with a device according to the invention, which tows a child's bicycle as a towing bicycle, Fig. 2 a partial view of the Fig. 1 with the rear wheel of the towing bicycle, the device according to the invention and the front wheel of the towing bicycle on an enlarged scale and Fig. 3 a plan view of a device according to the invention with the front wheel of the towing bicycle fixed on an even larger scale.

[0015] A device according to the invention for towing a towing bicycle with a towing bicycle comprises a frame attachment 1, with which the device can be attached to the towing bicycle, and a carrier 2 connected to the frame attachment 1. By means of the frame attachment 1, the movements of the towing bicycle are input into the device and transmitted via the frame attachment to the towing bicycle. The carrier 2 further comprises a tire support 3 and a hub holder 4 for the front wheel hub of the towing bicycle, between which the front tire of the towing bicycle is secured.In order to achieve this fixing, the front wheel is arranged on the carrier 2 in such a way that the front tire of the front wheel rests on the tire support 3 and the front wheel hub rests on a hub support 5 of the carrier. Depending on the material of the front tire and its filling, the front tire not only rests on the carrier, but can also be compressed more or less elastically in the area of ​​the tire support 3 and exert a counterforce on the tire support 3, which further stabilizes the fixing position. Furthermore, the front wheel hub is engaged behind on its side facing away from the tire support 3 by a hub stop 6, which is also part of the hub holder 4.For towing, the front wheel of the towing bicycle is lifted and positioned on the carrier. Tire support 3 forms a stop for forces acting against the direction of travel, hub support 5 prevents the front wheel from touching the ground, and hub stop 6 forms a stop for forces acting in the direction of travel. Due to gravity and its round shape, the front wheel is already secured in the carrier with the appropriate spacing between hub stop 6 and tire support 3, without the need for any mechanical modifications to the towing bicycle. Thanks to these measures, the towing bicycle can automatically follow a change in direction of the towing bicycle, since only the front wheel, but not the steering, is secured.

[0016] These locking forces may not be sufficient to prevent the front wheel of the tow bike from coming loose and slipping due to the driving conditions. However, the carrier 2 can form a fork in the area of ​​the tire support 3, whereby the front wheel is also secured laterally, since the fork arms 7, 8 form a stop for the front wheel transversely to the direction of travel. For this purpose, it is sufficient for the carrier 2 to form a fork in the area of ​​the tire support 3, since the moments acting on the front wheel are highest there in the area of ​​the front tire. As shown in the Fig. 3 As can be seen, the length of a fork arm 7 is determined by the required distance between the tire support 3 and the hub stop 6, which is why this fork arm 7 in the embodiment shown is longer than the second fork arm 8, which only has to absorb the moments acting from the front wheel and can therefore be shorter. In principle, the front wheel of the towing bicycle can be secured in such a way that it is also secured against tipping over. However, since excessive securing forces can have a negative effect on the front wheel, the front wheel can also be secured against these tipping forces by stop plates 9, which are arranged on the side of the fork facing the front wheel of the towing bicycle. These stop plates can absorb the tipping forces acting on the towing bicycle over a larger area and channel them into the device.

[0017] A fork arm 7 of the fork can have an end section 10 that extends beyond the tire support 3 on the side opposite the hub holder 4 and is connected to the frame attachment 1. This end section 10 spaced the frame attachment 1 from the tire support 3, making the frame attachment 1 easier to access. Furthermore, this spacing can increase the distance between the front wheel of the towing bicycle and any luggage rack, child seat, etc. present on the towing bicycle, thus facilitating its accessibility and usability.

[0018] The hub holder 4 can have a longitudinal guide 11 in which the hub stop 6 is mounted so that it can be moved and secured. This allows, on the one hand, adaptation of the device to different tire diameters of the towing bicycle and, on the other hand, allows adjustment of the securing forces. The hub stop 6 can, after engaging behind the front wheel hub of the towing bicycle, be pushed further toward the tire support 3 and only secured when the desired securing force is reached. In the embodiment shown, the longitudinal guide is an elongated hole, as in the Fig. 3 shown.

[0019] The frame attachment 1 is preferably connected to the chain stay 12 of the towing bicycle, as shown in the Figs. 1 and 2This allows the device to be easily mounted on the towing bicycle so that the front wheel hub of the towing bicycle is at the same height as the rear wheel hub of the towing bicycle, which has a positive effect on handling when towing. For this purpose, the frame attachment can preferably be designed such that it can be attached to the stand mount of the chainstay 12. If the carrier 2 is arranged parallel to the chainstay 12 as shown, a particularly stable arrangement of the front wheel of the towing bicycle when towing is achieved.

Claims

1. Device for towing a trailer bicycle with a towing bicycle, comprising a frame attachment (1) for the towing bicycle and a carrier (2) connected to the frame attachment (1), which carrier (2) comprises a hub holder (4) for the front wheel hub of the trailer bicycle, characterized in that that the carrier (2) forms a tyre support (3) for the tyre of the front wheel of the trailer bicycle and the hub holder (4) comprises a hub support (5) for the front wheel hub and a hub stop (6) gripping behind the front wheel hub on the side facing away from the tyre support (3).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the carrier (2) forms a fork in the area of the tyre support (3) for the lateral securing of the front wheel of the trailer bicycle.

3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the fork has two fork arms (7, 8), the length of the fork arm (7) encompassing the hub holder (4) exceeding the length of the other fork arm (8) by at least double.

4. Device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the fork has stop plates (9) on its side facing the front wheel of the trailer bicycle for the lateral fixing of the front wheel of the trailer bicycle.

5. Device according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that a fork arm (7) of the fork is connected to the frame attachment (1) at an end section (10) extended beyond the tyre support (3) on the side opposite the hub holder (4).

6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the hub holder (4) has a longitudinal guide (11) in which the hub stop (6) is displaceably and fixably mounted.

7. Towing bicycle with a device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the frame attachment (1) is connected to the chain stay (12).

8. Towing bicycle according to claim 7, characterized in that the frame attachment (1) is connected to the stand receiver of the chain stay (12).

9. Towing bicycle according to one of claims 7 or 8, characterized in that the carrier (2) extends parallel to the chain stay (12).