Bicycle stand

Abstract

To provide a portable bicycle stand capable of stably supporting a bicycle by restricting left and right swinging of the tire of a wheel by a configuration less expensive than a conventional one.SOLUTION: A bicycle stand 1 includes: a pair of frame bodies 2, left and right, that support a wheel from left and right sides; and a pair of connecting members 3, front and rear, that connect lower ends of the frame body 2. Each connecting member 3 has: a left member 31 to which the left frame body 2 is connected; a right member 32 to which the right frame body 2 is connected; and a hinge portion 33 coupling the left member 31 and the right member 32 so that they are rotatable. The left member 31 and the right member 32 have wheel placing portions 34 provided on respective upper surfaces thereof and on which a tire of the wheel is placed. The hinge portion 33 is lowered by a load from the wheel placed on the wheel placing portions 34, and the frame bodies 2 and the wheel placing portions 34 are respectively closed to pinch the wheel and the tire from the left and right sides.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a portable bicycle stand that allows freestanding parking of bicycles that do not have a stand. [Background technology]

[0002] A conventionally known portable bicycle stand is a bicycle stand 9A shown in Figure 8(a). This bicycle stand 9A comprises a pair of left and right gate-shaped members 91 and a pair of front and rear leg members 92 welded to the front and rear lower ends of the two gate-shaped members 91. Each leg member 92 is constructed by connecting left and right rods so that they can rotate freely via a pivot 90. When a wheel is placed on the top of the pivot 90 of the bicycle stand 9A, the pivot 90 portion lowers, and the tops of the left and right gate-shaped members 91 come closer to support the wheel from both sides.

[0003] This bicycle stand 9A is unstable because the tire of the wheel sways from side to side above the pivot 90 that supports it in contact with it. To improve this instability, bicycle stand 9B shown in FIG. 8(b) has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Bicycle stand 9B is equipped with a dedicated member 93 above the pivot 90, which is a part that sandwiches and supports the tire of wheel 10. When wheel 10 is placed on dedicated member 93, it closes under the weight of the wheel, deforming to sandwich the tire and restrict the tire's side-to-side movement. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-107952 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the bicycle stand 9B shown in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, it is difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost due to the addition of parts such as the dedicated member 93.

[0006] The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems by providing a portable bicycle stand that can stably support a bicycle by restricting the left and right rocking of the wheel tires with a configuration that is less expensive than conventional ones. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the bicycle stand of the present invention comprises: A portable bicycle stand for supporting bicycle wheels, a pair of left and right frames supporting the wheels from the left and right; a connecting member that connects the lower ends of the frame bodies together, the connecting member has a left member to which the left frame body is connected, a right member to which the right frame body is connected, and a hinge portion that rotatably connects the left member and the right member, the left and right members each have a wheel mounting portion on which a tire of the wheel is mounted, and a leg portion for securing a space in which the hinge portion can move downward; When the wheel is placed on the wheel mounting portion, the hinge portion is lowered by the load of the wheel, and the frame body and the wheel mounting portion operate to sandwich the wheel and tire from the left and right.

[0008] In this bicycle stand, It is desirable that the left and right members are made of resin molded parts, and the frame is formed by bending a metal pipe.

[0009] In this bicycle stand, The left and right members preferably have inclined portions for guiding the wheels toward the wheel rests.

[0010] In this bicycle stand, the connecting member includes a biasing member that biases the left and right members to rotate about the hinge portion in a direction in which the upper ends of the left and right frame bodies open when the stand is not in use, It is desirable that the wheel mounting portion has a large-diameter arc shape when viewed from the front to back when the stand is not in use, and that when the stand with the wheel mounted thereon is in use, the left and right members rotate against the force of the biasing member to form a small-diameter arc shape. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] With this bicycle stand, when a wheel is placed on the wheel mount, the hinge lowers due to the wheel's weight, and the frame and wheel mount move to sandwich the wheel and tire from the left and right, preventing the tire from swaying left and right and stably supporting the bicycle. Furthermore, since the tire is sandwiched by the wheel mount attached to the connecting member rather than a separate dedicated member for sandwiching the tire as in conventional bicycle stands, a more affordable bicycle stand can be realized. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1A is a perspective view of a bicycle wheel being placed on a bicycle stand according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the bicycle wheel being placed on and supported by the bicycle stand. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bicycle stand in an inoperative state. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a connecting member of the bicycle stand. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a modified example of the hinge portion of the connecting member. [Figure 5] 1A is a front view of the bicycle stand before operation, and FIG. 1B is a front view of the bicycle stand in operation supporting a bicycle wheel. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the bicycle stand. [Figure 8](a) is a perspective view of a conventional bicycle stand, and (b) is a perspective view of another conventional bicycle stand with a bicycle wheel placed on it. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] A bicycle stand according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figures 1 to 3, bicycle stand 1 is a portable bicycle stand that supports a bicycle by placing a bicycle wheel 10 on it, and is equipped with a pair of left and right frame bodies 2, 2 that support wheel 10 from the left and right, and a pair of front and rear connecting members 3, 3 that connect the lower ends of frame bodies 2 together. Each part will be described in detail below.

[0014] The frame 2 has two pillar members 21 arranged in front of and behind the wheels 10 and a beam member 22 connecting the upper ends of the pillar members 21, and has an overall gate-like shape. The frame 2 is manufactured, for example, by integrally molding the pillar members 21 and the beam members 22 by bending a rod-shaped material, especially a metal pipe. The surface of the beam member 22 may be provided with a buffer material 22a made of resin, wood, or the like. The frame 2 may also be formed using a material coated with a resin such as polyvinyl chloride. The frame 2 may also be manufactured as a plastic molded product by resin molding without bending a rod-shaped material, or may be made of wood.

[0015] The connecting member 3 has a left member 31 to which the left frame body 2 is connected, a right member 32 to which the right frame body 2 is connected, and a hinge portion 33 that rotatably connects the left member 31 and the right member 32. The left member 31 and the right member 32 have wheel mounting portions 34 on which the tire 10a of the wheel 10 is placed. The connecting member 3 also has a biasing member 35 that biases the left member 31 and the right member 32 to rotate about the hinge portion 33 in the direction that opens the upper ends of the left and right frame bodies 2, 2 when the bicycle stand 1 is not in use.

[0016] In this embodiment, the left member 31 and the right member 32 that make up the connecting member 3 are each made of a resin molded product. The resin molded products that make up the left member 31 and the right member 32 are parts with the same configuration, molded from resin using, for example, the same mold or a mold of the same shape. Furthermore, the pair of front and rear connecting members 3 are two connecting members 3 with the same configuration. Therefore, the bicycle stand 1 of this embodiment is made up of four resin molded parts with the same configuration. Below, the left member 31 will be mainly described as a representative of the left member 31 and right member 32, and the right member 32 will be described as appropriate. The description of the left member 31 also applies to the right member 32, except for the symbols of corresponding parts and differences in the rotation direction, etc.

[0017] The left member 31 has a structure in which, when the bicycle stand 1 is positioned in use, a pillar portion 311 that is vertical, a leg portion 312 that extends diagonally outward and downward from the side of the pillar portion 311, an arm portion 313 that extends from the side of the pillar portion 311 toward the center of the left and right of the connecting member 3, and an inclined portion 314 that extends diagonally from the upper side of the pillar portion 311 toward the end of the arm portion 313.

[0018] The column portion 311 is provided with an insertion hole 311a into which the lower end of the column member 21 of the frame body 2 is inserted, and a fixing hole 311b into which a pin or screw is inserted to fix the column member 21 inserted into the insertion hole 311a and prevent rotation or vertical movement. The insertion hole 311a may be a bottomed or stepped semi-bottomed, or a straight or tapered through-hole. If the insertion hole 311a is bottomed or semi-bottomed, a filler of any height may be placed inside to allow adjustment of the height position of the frame body 2.

[0019] A plate-shaped rib 315 that protrudes inward in the left-right direction of the connecting member 3 is provided on the lower side surface of the pillar portion 311. The rib 315 has a locking hole 315a for fixing one end of the biasing member 35. The biasing member 35 biases the left and right leg portions 312 of the connecting member 3 toward each other and biases the upper portion of the connecting member 3, more precisely, the portions located above the central axis of the hinge portion 33, in a direction separating them from each other. The biasing member 35 is, for example, an elastic body such as a coil spring.

[0020] The lower ends of legs 312 contact the ground and support bicycle stand 1 from below so that no part other than legs 312 touches the ground, both when bicycle stand 1 is in use and when not in use immediately before use. Left and right legs 312, 322 slide along the ground surface to open and close bicycle stand 1 when it is in operation. Legs 312, 322 form a space below the left and right centers of connecting member 3 that allows hinge portion 33 to move downward.

[0021] The arm portion 313 is a structure that forms the hinge portion 33 and part of the wheel mounting portion 34. The arm portion 313 has an axial hole 33a near its end, into which the hinge shaft part 3a is inserted. The central axis of the axial hole 33a is located at the left-right center of the connecting member 3 when the two resin molded products that become the left member 31 and the right member 32 are joined by the hinge shaft part 3a to form the connecting member 3. The arm portions 313, 323 are illustrated as hollow circular pipe structures, but the outer shape does not have to be circular, and they do not have to be pipes; for example, they may be solid rectangular pillars as shown in FIG. 4.

[0022] A plurality of notches are formed around the shaft hole 33a of the arm portion 313. These notches are formed so that the left member 31 and the right member 32, which are connected by the hinge shaft part 3a, can rotate around the hinge shaft part 3a without interfering with each other (see FIG. 5(b)). The notches have, for example, an arc-shaped cross-sectional outer shape centered on the central axis of the shaft hole 33a, and come in two types: a convex end face and a notched concave face. When the connecting member 3 is assembled, the convex end face (or notched concave face) of the left member 31 faces the notched concave face (or convex face) of the right member 32.

[0023] The arm 313 has a cutout structure around the shaft hole 33a, with an upward step 33b midway along the convex end surface and a downward step 33c midway along the concave cutout surface. These together form a stopper structure. When the connecting member 3 is assembled, the upward step 33b of the left member 31 abuts the downward step 33c of the right member 32, stopping further rotation of the left and right members. This stopper structure and the biasing member 35 keep the bicycle stand 1 in a standby state before use.

[0024] The connecting member 3 is formed by combining the left and right members 31 and 32 using the notch structures of the arms 313, 323 of the left and right members 31 and 32 and the hinge shaft component 3a to form a hinge portion 33 that allows the upper left and right portions of the connecting member 3 to move closer to and away from each other. The distance between the left and right frames 2 of the connecting member 3 is determined by the position of the hinge portion 33 relative to the pillar portion 311. Also, because the hinge portion 33 is formed on the arm portion 313 that extends perpendicular to the pillar portion 311, it is easy to change the design to move the position of the hinge portion 33 closer to or farther away from the pillar portion 311. In other words, the design of the bicycle stand 1, such as the distance between the left and right frames 2, can be easily changed, and the design can be easily changed to suit different vehicle types, such as to accommodate bicycles with wide tires (such as fat bikes).

[0025] The inclined portion 314 is a structure that forms part of the wheel mounting portion 34 and a guide mechanism that guides the wheel 10 into the wheel mounting portion 34. The upper surface of the inclined portion 314 is lowered toward the wheel mounting portion 34. Due to this inclined structure, the inclined portion 314 acts as a guide mechanism that guides the wheel 10 toward the center of the wheel mounting portion 34 when the wheel 10 is placed on the wheel mounting portion 34. The center of the wheel mounting portion 34 is the center of the connecting member 3 and the center of the hinge portion 33 when viewed from the top and bottom. The wheel 10 is preferably inserted upright between the left and right frame bodies 2 of the bicycle stand 1 from directly above the center of the left and right frame bodies 2, i.e., directly above the center of the wheel mounting portion 34. However, even if the wheel 10 is inserted tilted to the left or right or off-center, the tire 10a comes into contact with the inclined portions 314, 324 and is guided, so the wheel 10 can be easily and properly placed on the wheel mounting portion 34. The inclined portion 314 may also function as the arm portion 313, and for example, the lower end of the inclined portion 314 may be provided with a hinge portion 33.

[0026] Next, we will explain the wheel mounting portions 34 of the connecting member 3. As shown in Figures 5(a) and 5(b), the wheel mounting portions 34 are distributed and formed on the upper surfaces of the left member 31 and the right member 32, specifically on the upper surfaces of the hinge portion 33 and the inclined portions 314, 324. The shape of the wheel mounting portions 34 changes depending on the operating state of the bicycle stand 1. Note that the tire 10a of the wheel is shown schematically with a circular cross section.

[0027] 5(a) shows the inoperative state of the stand when not in use, with no wheel load applied to the wheel mounting portion 34 via the tire 10a. The rotation restriction by the stopper structure of the hinge portion 33 and the biasing force of the biasing member 35 result in the widest gap between the upper ends of the left and right frames 2. In this inoperative state, the center of the wheel mounting portion 34 forms a large-diameter recess 34a that is shaped like a large arc when viewed from the front to back. The imaginary circle C1 in the figure is a circle that follows the shape of the large-diameter recess 34a, and the radius of the imaginary circle C1 corresponds to the global or average radius of curvature of the large-diameter recess 34a.

[0028] The diameter of the imaginary circle C1 corresponding to the large diameter recess 34a is, for example, 50 mm, and the width of the tire 10a is assumed to be, for example, 25 mm, because an average road racer-type bicycle without a bicycle stand has tires with a tire width of 25 mm.

[0029] 5(b) shows the stand in use, with a wheel placed on the wheel mounting portion 34 and the load from the wheel applied through the tire 10a. The left and right members 31 and 32 rotate against the biasing force of the biasing member 35, the lower portion of the connecting member 3 opens, and the upper portion closes, causing the upper ends of the left and right frames 2 to approach each other and perform the closed operation. In this closed state, the center of the wheel mounting portion 34 forms a small-diameter recess 34b that is an arc-shaped small diameter recess with a radius of curvature smaller than that of the large-diameter recess 34a when viewed from the front to rear. The imaginary circle C2 in the figure follows the shape of the small-diameter recess 34b, and the radius of the imaginary circle C2 corresponds to the global or average radius of curvature of the small-diameter recess 34b.

[0030] The diameter of the imaginary circle C2 corresponding to the small diameter recess 34b is, for example, 30 mm. The small diameter recess 34b can sufficiently restrict left and right swinging of the tire 10a having a width of 25 mm, and can effectively function as a swing-restricting recess.

[0031] The bicycle stand 1, which has a wheel mounting portion 34 capable of forming a rocking-restricting recess formed by a small-diameter recess 34b, is suitable for use with average road racer-type bicycles. The small-diameter recess 34b is formed in the wheel mounting portion 34, creating a radius corresponding to a 30 mm diameter circle, matching the width of an average road racer tire. Road racer-type bicycles have narrow tires, making them unstable unless placed in the center of the bicycle stand. However, by using the inclined portions 314 and 324 to guide the wheel so that it is centered, it can be easily placed in the center and ensure stability. This bicycle stand 1 is not limited to road racer-type bicycles; the dimensions of each component can be appropriately designed to accommodate various types of bicycles. Furthermore, because the bicycle stand 1 secures the bicycle wheel by clamping the spokes with its own weight, the heavier the bicycle, the more stable the bicycle can be secured. Therefore, by designing it to securely secure the lightest road racer-type bicycle, it can also be used with other types of bicycles.

[0032] Furthermore, when bicycle stand 1 is not in use, the left and right frame bodies 2 are open due to the action of the biasing force of biasing member 35, and frame body 2 closes only when a wheel is placed on it, making bicycle stand 1 easy to use. Also, by changing the design of the position of the stopper structure using steps 33b, 33c, or by providing an adjustable stopper structure, the left and right frame bodies 2 can be opened to a parallel position or wider than the parallel position.

[0033] Next, we will explain how to assemble the bicycle stand 1. The bicycle stand 1 shown in Figure 6 includes the following components: two frame bodies 2, four resin molded parts that make up the left member 31 and right member 32, two hinge shaft components 3a, two sets of nut sets 3b and 3c, two biasing members 35, two cushioning materials 22a, and four set screws 3d.

[0034] The basic components of bicycle stand 1 are two types of components: frame body 2 and the resin molded parts that make up left member 31 and right member 32. As for components other than these basic components, depending on the design of bicycle stand 1, hinge shaft component 3a and other components may be designed to use commercially available, general, inexpensive parts, or may not use any parts at all.

[0035] In the process of assembling the bicycle stand 1, for example, first, the left member 31 and the right member 32 are integrated using the hinge shaft part 3a and the nut sets 3b and 3c to form the connecting member 3. Two connecting members 3 are assembled to form a pair of front and rear connecting members 3. The biasing members 35 are attached to the connecting member 3 using the locking holes 315a and 325a (not shown).

[0036] Next, the lower ends of the front and rear pillar members 21 (there are four in total) of the left and right frame bodies 2 are inserted into the insertion holes 311a of the front and rear left members 31 and the insertion holes 321a of the front and rear right members 32, thereby assembling the pair of left and right frame bodies 2 into the pair of front and rear connecting members 3, and the basic shape of the bicycle stand 1 is completed.

[0037] If the two connecting members 3, two frames 2, and other components with the biasing members 35 attached during manufacturing are delivered to the user of the bicycle stand 1 in a packaged state, it can be transported in a flat packaged state. The user can easily assemble the stand from a flat shape to a three-dimensional shape by simply inserting the pipes (pillar members 21) of the frames 2 into the insertion holes 311a, 321a of the connecting members 3. Furthermore, if all assembly is left to the user, it can be packaged in a more compact state.

[0038] Additionally, cushioning materials 22a are appropriately fixed to the girder members 22 of the frame body 2. The cushioning materials 22a are not limited to being attached to the girder members 22 from above, but may be attached to the girder members 22 from the inside, laterally. The cushioning materials 22a may have any physical properties and cross-sectional shape that have the durability and functionality to contact the spokes of the wheel and support the wheel, and a configuration without using the cushioning materials 22a is also possible.

[0039] The frame body 2 is fixed to the connecting member 3 appropriately using a fixing hole 311b and a setscrew 3d provided on the side of the pillar portion 311 of the left member 31. Various structures can be used to fix the pillar member 21 of the frame body 2 to the left member 31. For example, a keyhole for inserting the setscrew 3d can be provided in the pillar member 21. The setscrew 3d can be passed through the fixing hole 311b and inserted into this keyhole. The thread of the setscrew 3d only needs to be sufficient to fix the setscrew 3d itself. A threadless pin that can prevent the pillar member 21 from rotating and moving up and down may be used instead of the setscrew 3d.

[0040] The pillar members 21 may be provided with keyholes at multiple positions above and below, which may be used to adjust the height position of the frame body 2. This makes it possible to adjust the height position at which the girder members 22 of the frame body 2 sandwich and support the spoke portions of the wheels from the left and right.

[0041] If the pole members 21 inside the insertion holes 311a are not prevented from rotating, the rectangle with 90-degree angles and the four pole members 21 as vertices when the bicycle stand 1 is viewed from above will deform into any parallelogram. Another structure to prevent deformation due to rotation is to provide an appropriate slit (slit) or groove from the bottom end of the pole members 21 upward, and provide a vertical convex strip (which may be a single or multiple pins or screws protruding into the insertion holes 311a) on the inner surface of the insertion holes 311a to fit into the slit or groove. In this case, the user can fix the frame 2 in a rotation-preventing manner simply by inserting the pipe of the frame 2 into the insertion holes 311a.

[0042] Furthermore, to prevent the bicycle stand 1 from becoming a parallelogram, which is a deformation of a rectangle when viewed from above, it is sufficient to maintain a constant distance (defined as the shortest distance) between the front and rear connecting members 3, 3, and for example, bolts and nuts or a structure that integrates the front and rear connecting members 3, 3 may be used. Note that the structure for fixing the pillar members 21 of the frame body 2 to the left member 31 and right member 32 is not limited to inserting the lower ends of the pillar members 21 into the insertion holes 311a, 321a, and any fixing structure may be used.

[0043] The hinge unit 33 does not have to be configured so that the left and right members 31 and 32 rotate without any looseness, but may be configured so that they rotate with some play (appropriate positional freedom). For example, the shaft hole 33a through which the hinge shaft part 3a is inserted may have a cross-sectional shape that is elongated in the left-right direction. This is a joint-shifting structure that disengages the jaws to hold large prey. This degree of freedom of the hinge unit 301 allows the bicycle stand 1 to be easily adapted to wheels of various widths.

[0044] Regardless of the position of the biasing member 35, the position of the point of application of the biasing force of the biasing member 35 is lower than the center position (position of the center of rotation) of the hinge portion 33, so that the left and right frames 2 are biased and maintained in an open state. This is used to improve the operability and convenience of the bicycle stand 1. The force that closes the small diameter recess 34b (swing-restricting recess) is provided by the load from the wheel 10. Therefore, the movement of the hinge portion 33 may be made appropriately heavy so that the frame 2 can be maintained in an open state before use without providing the biasing member 35. The user simply opens the frame 2 before use.

[0045] Furthermore, the height position of the point of application of the biasing force of the biasing member 35 may be set below the center of the hinge portion 33 and close to the center height when the left and right frames 2 are open, thereby maintaining the open state, and the point of application may be moved above the center height when the frames 2 are closed, thereby maintaining the closed state. The main body of the biasing member 35 may be positioned so as not to interfere with the wheel 10. In this case, the biasing member 35 has stable tension states at two locations, above and below. In this way, by attaching the biasing member 35 so as to be able to assume two stable states, the biasing force of the biasing member 35 can be used to close the small-diameter recess 34b in addition to the load from the wheel 10. This can also be applied to the articulation-displacement structure of the hinge portion 33. The transition from the open to the closed state is achieved by the load of the wheel, but removing the wheel from the closed state requires additional external force and operation from the user.

[0046] According to the bicycle stand of the embodiment described above, the wheel mounting portion 34 of the connecting member 3 is configured to receive the load from the wheel 10 and lower together with the hinge portion 33 to close, sandwiching the tire 10a from the left and right, restricting its rocking. This configuration suppresses lateral movement of the tire 10a in the wheel mounting portion 34, thereby stably supporting the bicycle. Furthermore, because the tire is sandwiched by the wheel mounting portion 34 provided on the upper surface of the connecting member 3, a more inexpensive bicycle stand 1 can be realized than conventional examples that require a separate structure, such as a dedicated component for sandwiching the tire. Furthermore, because the bicycle stand 1 has two basic components, the frame 2 and the resin-molded left and right members 31 and 32, only one type of resin molding die is required, and the manufacturing, storage, and management of the basic components only needs to be performed for two types of components, resulting in a more inexpensive bicycle stand than conventional bicycle stands.

[0047] Next, we will explain a modified version of the bicycle stand 1. The modified version shown in Figure 7 differs from the above-described embodiment in that it is composed of a single connecting member 3. The connecting member 3 is made of the same resin molded product that becomes the left member 31 and the right member 32. The bottom end of the wheel is placed on the wheel mounting portion 34 formed on the upper surface of the connecting member 3. Therefore, the wheel mounting portion 34 is formed over an appropriate length in the front-to-rear direction so that the wheel can be stably mounted in the direction of its rolling, and the middle part in the front-to-rear direction is concave or has a hole so that the bottom end of the wheel does not come into contact with it. With this structure, the outer circumference of the wheel is supported from below at two points, front and rear.

[0048] The left member 31 has two legs 312, and the right member 32 also has two legs 322, so that the connecting member 3 as a whole has four legs 312, 322. These four legs 312, 322 are provided facing outward on all four sides to distribute the weight of the bicycle stand 1 and wheel 10 over a wide area for stabilization.

[0049] The bicycle stand 1 of this modified example has a configuration similar to that of the wheel mounting portion 34 shown in Figures 5(a) and 5(b). For example, the front and rear ends of the long wheel mounting portion 34 may be provided with a configuration as shown in Figures 5(a) and 5(b), which forms an arc-shaped large-diameter recess when no wheel is mounted, and a small-diameter recess with a smaller radius of curvature when a wheel is mounted.

[0050] Alternatively, the wheel mounting portion 34 may be configured such that both ends of the elongated wheel mounting portion 34 are primarily configured to support the weight of the wheel 10, while a portion in the center of the wheel mounting portion 34 in the longitudinal direction is configured to simply sandwich the tire 10a from the left and right, without supporting the weight of the wheel 10. This type of wheel mounting portion 34 configuration shares the functions of supporting the wheel load from below at both ends and suppressing lateral wheel sway from the left and right at the center, in different locations. This allows for greater design flexibility and allows for a bicycle stand 1 that can support a wider variety of wheels with different shapes. For example, the structure for suppressing lateral wheel sway from the left and right at the center does not need to have a radius that matches the diameter of the tire 10a. It can be configured to abut the tire 10a from the left and right, regardless of the width of the tire 10a, for example, by simply clamping the tire 10a on a plan view.

[0051] This modified bicycle stand 1 allows for a compact configuration and a reduced number of parts. For example, because it is configured with a single connecting member 3, a structure to prevent rotation of the pole member 21 is not necessary. The shape of the frame body 2 may be, for example, any width in the front-to-rear direction that is sufficient to support the spokes of the wheel 10 by sandwiching them from the left and right. The frame body 2 may also be a plate-shaped member. The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the embodiment and modified examples described above with reference to Figures 1 to 7, and various modifications are possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 1 bicycle stand 10 wheels 10a tires 2 frame 3 Connecting members 31 Left member 32 Right member 311,321 Column 312,322 Legs 313,323 Arm 314,324 Slope 33 Hinge part 34 Wheel rest 34a Large diameter recess (large diameter arc shape) 34b Small diameter recess (small diameter arc shape, swing restriction recess) 3a Hinge shaft parts 35 biasing member

Claims

1. A portable bicycle stand for supporting bicycle wheels, a pair of left and right frames supporting the wheels from the left and right; a connecting member that connects the lower ends of the frame bodies together, the connecting member has a left member to which the left frame body is connected, a right member to which the right frame body is connected, and a hinge portion that rotatably connects the left member and the right member, the left and right members each have a wheel mounting portion on which a tire of the wheel is mounted, and a leg portion for securing a space in which the hinge portion can move downward; This bicycle stand is characterized in that when the wheel is placed on the wheel mounting portion, the hinge portion lowers due to the weight of the wheel, and the frame body and the wheel mounting portion operate to sandwich the wheel and tire from the left and right.

2. 2. The bicycle stand according to claim 1, wherein the left and right members are made of resin molded parts, and the frame is formed by bending a metal pipe.

3. 3. The bicycle stand according to claim 1, wherein the left and right members have inclined portions for guiding the wheel toward the wheel rest portion.

4. the connecting member includes a biasing member that biases the left and right members to rotate about the hinge portion in a direction in which the upper ends of the left and right frame bodies open when the stand is not in use, 4. A bicycle stand as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the wheel mounting portion has a large-diameter arc shape when viewed from the front to back when the stand is not in use, and when the stand is in use with the wheel mounted thereon, the left and right members rotate against the force of the biasing member to form a small-diameter arc shape.

Images