Bicycle lock device

Abstract

To provide a bicycle lock device that is able to prevent emission of abnormal noise caused by hitting between an inside surface of a case and a bolt, without hindering smooth movement of the bolt guided by slide contact with the inside surface of the case.SOLUTION: A bicycle lock device includes a bolt 10, a case 20, and a presser spring 30. The bolt 10 engages with a wheel of a bicycle to prevent rotation of the wheel. The case 20 has an inside surface that is brought into slide contact with the bolt 10 and houses the bolt 10 so as to guide movement of the bolt 10 between a locked state in which the bolt 10 and the wheel can be engaged with each other and an unlocked state in which the bolt 10 and the wheel cannot be engaged with each other. When the bolt 10 is in an unlocked state, the pressing spring 30 urges the bolt 10 so as to press the bolt against the inside surface of the case 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to bicycle locking devices, and more particularly to bicycle locking devices, such as horseshoe locks, that lock a bicycle by preventing the wheels from rotating. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a bicycle lock device that includes an arc-shaped latch, a horseshoe-shaped case, a key cylinder, and a knob as a bicycle lock device that locks a bicycle by preventing the rotation of the wheels. The latch is connected to the knob and is stored in the case so that it can be moved in and out. The bicycle is locked by pinching the knob and moving the latch to a locked position that prevents the rotation of the wheels, and then fixing the latch in the locked position with the key cylinder. The latch is released from the locked position by unlocking the key cylinder with a key, and the elastic force of a spring built into the case moves the latch to an unlocked position that does not prevent the rotation of the wheels, and the bicycle is unlocked. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-31881 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the bicycle lock device described in Patent Document 1, the movement of the bar between the locked position and the unlocked position is guided by the sliding contact between the bar and the inside surface of the case. Therefore, it is necessary to provide an appropriate gap between the inside surface of the case and the bar so as not to impede the smooth movement of the bar when it is moved from the locked position to the unlocked position by the elastic force of the spring, for example. As a result, when the bicycle is ridden on an uneven road, the vibration of the bicycle while riding can cause the bar to collide with the inside surface of the case, making an abnormal noise.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a bicycle lock device that can prevent abnormal noises caused by collision between the inner surface of the case and the latch, without interfering with the smooth movement of the latch, which is guided by sliding contact with the inner surface of the case. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The bicycle lock device disclosed in this application comprises a bar (10), a case (20), and a pressure spring (30). The bar (10) engages with a bicycle wheel to prevent the wheel from rotating. The case (20) has an inner surface that is in sliding contact with the bar (10), and houses the bar (10) so as to guide the movement of the bar (10) between a locked state in which the bar (10) and the wheel can engage with each other, and an unlocked state in which the bar (10) and the wheel cannot engage with each other. The pressure spring (30) biases the bar (10) to press it against the inner surface of the case (20) when the bar (10) is in the unlocked state.

[0007] In the bicycle lock device disclosed in the present application, the inner surface of the case (20) includes a first surface (21A) and a second surface (21B) that are not parallel to each other, and the pressure spring (30) biases the latch (10) so as to press it against the first surface (21A) and the second surface (21B).

[0008] In the bicycle lock device disclosed in the present application, the pressure spring (30) is disposed in a position such that it does not press the bar (10) against the inner surface of the case (20) when the bar (10) is in the locked state. Effect of the Invention

[0009] The bicycle lock device of the present invention can prevent abnormal noise caused by collision between the inside surface of the case and the latch, without interfering with the smooth movement of the latch, which is guided by sliding contact with the inside surface of the case. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a bicycle lock device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a plan view showing the appearance of the bicycle lock device of FIG. 1 in an unlocked state. [Diagram 3] 3(a) is a plan view showing the inside of the case of the bicycle lock device of FIG. 1 in an unlocked state, and FIG. 3(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a plan view showing the inside of the case of the bicycle lock device of FIG. 1 in a locked state. [Diagram 5] 1A is a first perspective view of the presser spring of the embodiment, FIG. 1B is a second perspective view of the presser spring of the embodiment, FIG. 1C is a front view of the presser spring of the embodiment, and FIG. 1D is a left side view of the presser spring of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The bicycle lock device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is a preferred example for carrying out the present invention, and therefore various technical limitations are imposed thereon. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment unless otherwise specified in the following description to the effect that the invention is limited thereto.

[0012] <Embodiment> A bicycle lock device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 4. Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a bicycle lock device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a plan view showing the exterior of the bicycle lock device of Figure 1 in an unlocked state. Figure 3(a) is a plan view showing the inside of the case of the bicycle lock device of Figure 1 in an unlocked state. Figure 3(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of Figure 3(a). Figure 4 is a plan view showing the inside of the case of the bicycle lock device of Figure 1 in a locked state.

[0013] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bicycle lock device of this embodiment includes a latch 10, a case 20, a pressure spring 30, a base plate 40, a latch spring 50, a knob 60, a lock lever 70, and a key cylinder 80.

[0014] The bar 10 engages with a bicycle wheel (not shown) to prevent the wheel from rotating. In this embodiment, the bar 10 is formed from a metal round bar curved into an arc. The bar 10 of this embodiment has at one end a spring connecting portion 11 that is connected to one end of a bar spring 50, and at the middle portion in the longitudinal direction a lever engaging recess 12 that is engaged with a lock lever 70. The bar 10 of this embodiment also has a pair of knob connecting shafts 10a that are connected to a knob 60 near the lever engaging recess 12.

[0015] The case 20 houses the bar 10 so as to guide the movement of the bar 10 between a locked state in which the bar 10 can engage with the bicycle wheel and an unlocked state in which the bar 10 cannot engage with the bicycle wheel.

[0016] In the embodiment, the case 20 is made of metal, has an overall horseshoe shape, and is adapted to house the latch 10 when combined with a metal base plate 40. The case 20 has an arc-shaped groove 21, a first opening 21a, a second opening 21b, an accommodating recess 22, a spring locking protrusion 23, and an arc-shaped long hole 24.

[0017] 3, the groove 21 of the case 20 is a portion into which the bar 10 is loosely fitted and in sliding contact with the bar 10, and has a bottom surface 21A, which is included in the "inner surface of the case" in the claims, and one wall surface 21B. The one wall surface 21B is a wall surface located on the inner diameter side of the bar 10 curved in an arc shape, among the walls of the groove 21, and the bottom surface 21A and the one wall surface 21B are not parallel but are substantially perpendicular to each other.

[0018] With the bar 10 loosely fitted in the groove 21, the top opening of the groove 21 is closed by the base plate 40, and the bar 10 is held inside the case 20 so as to be movable in and out via the first opening 21a.

[0019] The first opening 21a and the second opening 21b of the groove portion 21 are disposed on both ends of the groove portion 21 and face each other with a gap greater than the tire width of the bicycle wheel. The bicycle lock device of the embodiment is attached to the bicycle so that the first opening 21a and the second opening 21b allow the latch 10 to be inserted between the spokes of the bicycle wheel in the locked state.

[0020] The accommodating recess 22 of the case 20 accommodates the lock lever 70 and the key cylinder 80. The spring locking projection 23 of the case 20 engages with the other end of the bar spring 50 to lock the bar spring 50. The long hole 24 of the case 20 is open so that a pair of knob connecting shafts 10a of the bar 10 can be inserted therethrough to enable the movement of the bar 10 by the knob 60.

[0021] The pressing spring 30 biases the bar 10 so as to press it against the bottom surface 21A and one wall surface 21B of the groove portion 21 included in the inner surface of the case 20 when the bar 10 is in an unlocked state while the bicycle is traveling.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 3, in the unlocked state, the entire bar 10 is housed inside the case 20 and cannot engage with the wheel of the bicycle. In the unlocked state in which the bicycle can be ridden, the pressing spring 30 biases the bar 10 so as to press the bar 10 against the bottom surface 21A and one wall surface 21B of the groove portion 21 near the longitudinal center of the bar 10, as shown in Fig. 3(b).

[0023] In the unlocked state of FIG. 3, when the knob 60 is operated by the user to enter the locked state shown in FIG. 4, the latch 10 moves with the other end leading so as to be pushed out of the case 20 through the first opening 21a.

[0024] Then, when the other end of the latch 10 enters the case 20 through the second opening 21b and the latch 10 is moved to a position where the lever engagement recess 12 and the lock lever 70 can engage with each other, the lock lever 70 is moved by the biasing force of a lever spring (not shown) to an engagement position shown in Figure 4 where it can engage with the lever engagement recess 12.

[0025] When the lock lever 70 is moved to the engagement position shown in FIG. 4, the key cylinder 80 automatically enters a locked state, the lock lever 70 is fixed in the engagement position by the key cylinder 80, the key 81 can be removed from the key cylinder 80, and the latch 10 is maintained in the locked state.

[0026] When the latch 10 is to be unlocked, a key 81 is inserted into the key cylinder 80. When the key 81 is turned, the key cylinder 80 is unlocked and the lock lever 70 is moved to the disengagement position shown in FIG. 3 where it cannot engage with the lever engagement recess 12. The latch 10 is then placed in the unlocked state shown in FIG. 3 by the biasing force of the latch spring 50.

[0027] Next, the presser spring of the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. In Fig. 5, (a) is a first perspective view showing the presser spring of the embodiment. In Fig. 5, (b) is a second perspective view showing the presser spring of the embodiment. In Fig. 5, (c) is a front view showing the presser spring of the embodiment. In Fig. 5, (d) is a left side view showing the presser spring of the embodiment.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 5, the pressure spring 30 of the embodiment is formed, for example, from polyacetal, and has a first resin plate 31, a second resin plate 32, a contact portion 33, and a pivot shaft 34. The first resin plate 31 and the second resin plate 32 are joined at one end in the longitudinal direction so as to form a predetermined angle, and in the unlocked state, with a force being applied to bring the first resin plate 31 and the second resin plate 32 closer to each other, the pressure spring 30 is interposed between the latch 10 and the inner surface of the case 20.

[0029] In the unlocked state, the contact portion 33 of the pressing spring 30 contacts the bar 10 due to the repulsive force of the first resin plate 31 and the second resin plate 32 moving away from each other, and urges the bar 10 against the inner surface of the case 20. In addition, the pressing spring 30 of the embodiment is rotatably supported by the case 20 and the base plate 40 with the rotating shaft 34 inserted into the first shaft hole 25 of the case 20 and the second shaft hole 41 of the base plate 40 as shown in FIG.

[0030] As described above with reference to Figures 1 to 5, according to the bicycle lock device of the embodiment, in the unlocked state in which the bicycle can be ridden, the pressure spring 30 urges the latch 10 against the inside surface of the case 20. Therefore, even if an appropriate gap is provided between the inside surface of the case 20 and the latch 10 so as not to impede the smooth movement of the latch 10 between the locked state and the unlocked state, it is possible to prevent the latch 10 from colliding with the inside surface of the case 20 due to vibrations of the bicycle and generating abnormal noise, and it is possible to prevent abnormal noise from being generated due to collisions between the inside surface of the case and the latch without impeding the smooth movement of the latch, which is guided by its sliding contact with the inside surface of the case.

[0031] In addition, according to the bicycle lock device of the embodiment, by forming the pressure spring 30 from a material such as polyacetal that has excellent fatigue resistance, wear resistance, springiness, and self-lubricating properties, it is possible to more reliably prevent abnormal noise caused by collision between the latch and the inner surface of the case over a long period of time without interfering with the smooth movement of the latch that is guided by sliding contact with the inner surface of the case.

[0032] In addition, according to the bicycle lock device of the embodiment, when the latch 10 moves from the locked state to the unlocked state due to the biasing force of the latch spring 50, the latch 10 comes into sliding contact with the abutment portion 33 of the pressure spring 30, thereby suppressing the momentum of the movement of the latch 10 and also suppressing the generation of abnormal noises such as clangs after unlocking the key cylinder 80.

[0033] The presser spring 30 of the embodiment will be described in more detail below.

[0034] In the embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4, the pressing spring 30 is disposed in a position where it does not press the bar 10 against the inner surface of the case 20 when the bar 10 is in the locked state. More specifically, the pressing spring 30 in the embodiment is disposed in a position where the abutting portion 33 overlaps with the spring connecting portion 11 of the bar 10. In the embodiment, the spring connecting portion 11 is plate-shaped and does not have a thickness as large as the diameter of the main body of the bar 10, which is a round bar, so that the pressing spring 30 does not press the bar 10 against the inner surface of the case 20 when the bar 10 is in the locked state.

[0035] Therefore, when assembling the pressing spring 30 to the case 20, if the latch 10 is in a locked state, it is not necessary to attach the pressing spring 30 to the case 20 while applying force to the pressing spring 30 to give it a biasing force, and the work of attaching the pressing spring 30 to the case 20 can be facilitated.

[0036] Furthermore, by arranging the pressure spring 30 so that the abutment portion 33 overlaps with the spring connecting portion 11 of the latch 10 when the latch 10 is in the locked state, the abutment portion 33 does not overlap with the main body of the latch spring 50 when the latch 10 moves between the locked state and the unlocked state, and it is possible to prevent the abutment portion 33 from getting caught in the gap between the windings of the latch spring 50, causing the latch spring 50 to fail to operate.

[0037] 3(b), in this embodiment, the pressing spring 30 biases the bar 10 in a direction oblique to the depth direction of the groove 21. More specifically, the pressing spring 30 biases the bar 10 so as to press it against both the bottom surface 21A and one wall surface 21B of the groove 21. This prevents the bar 10 from vibrating in the front-rear and up-down directions of the bicycle, for example, and more reliably prevents abnormal noise caused by the bar 10 colliding with the inner surface of the case 20.

[0038] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings (FIGS. 1 to 5). However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention (for example, see (1) below).

[0039] (1) In the above embodiment, the pressure spring 30 presses the bar 10 against the inner surface of the case 20 only in the unlocked state. However, it is sufficient that the pressure spring 30 presses the bar 10 against the inner surface of the case 20 at least in the unlocked state, and the present invention includes the case where the pressure spring 30 presses the bar 10 against the inner surface of the case 20 in the locked state. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 10...barrel 20…Case 21A…Bottom surface 21B…One wall 30…Press spring

Claims

1. A latch (10) that engages with the bicycle wheel and prevents the wheel from rotating; a case (20) that has an inner surface that is in sliding contact with the bar (10) and that houses the bar (10) so as to guide the movement of the bar (10) between a locked state in which the bar (10) and the wheel can engage with each other and an unlocked state in which the bar (10) and the wheel cannot engage with each other; a pressing spring (30) for biasing the bar (10) against the inner surface of the case (20) when the bar (10) is in the unlocked state; A bicycle lock device comprising:

2. 2. The bicycle lock device of claim 1, wherein the inner surface of the case (20) includes a first surface (21A) and a second surface (21B) that are not parallel to each other, and the pressure spring (30) biases the latch (10) so as to press against the first surface (21A) and the second surface (21B).

3. 3. The bicycle lock device according to claim 1, wherein the pressure spring (30) is disposed in a position such that the pressure spring (30) does not press the bar (10) against the inner surface of the case (20) when the bar (10) is in the locked state.

Images