Bicycle Canopy with Telescoping Segments and Caution Flag
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bicycle canopies fail to provide effective shade and shelter from the Sun and weather conditions while being easy to install, adjust, collapsible, inexpensive, and highly visible for safety purposes.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible canopy apparatus with a support assembly consisting of telescoping segments and a retention assembly, fixed to a bicycle seat post via a bracket with shims, and featuring a caution flag for increased visibility, allowing for easy deployment and stowage, and using materials like extruded aluminum and plastic mesh for durability and sun protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a canopy structure is added to a bicycle for shade and shelter, then rider protection from Sun and weather is improved, but device complexity and installation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support assembly is divided into multiple telescoping segments (first segment, second segment, third segment) that can be independently adjusted and assembled. This segmentation allows the complex canopy structure to be broken down into manageable parts that are easier to manufacture, assemble, and adjust while providing the necessary shade and shelter protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The canopy support assembly incorporates telescoping segments with retention assemblies that allow dynamic adjustment of the canopy position and size. The segments can extend or retract to adjust the canopy coverage area, and the retention assemblies enable easy locking and unlocking for adjustment purposes, making the structure adaptable rather than fixed.
2Ease of operation
If the canopy is made adjustable and collapsible for easy storage, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability and structural stability may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The retention assemblies are pre-configured with release mechanisms that allow easy engagement and disengagement of the telescoping segments. The segments are designed with alignment features and retention slots that guide proper assembly before locking, ensuring that the结构调整 operation is simple while maintaining structural integrity when locked in position.
Solution Approach 2:
The telescoping segments incorporate compression couplings that provide mechanical cushioning and load distribution at the joints. This beforehand cushioning ensures that when the segments are locked together, the connection is robust and stable, compensating for any potential weakness introduced by the collapsible design.
3Ease of manufacture
If a caution flag is added to increase visibility for safety, then safety visibility is improved, but device complexity and wind resistance increase
Solution Approach 1:
The caution flag is integrated with the existing canopy support structure by attaching it to one of the telescoping segments or the canopy frame itself. This merging approach allows the visibility enhancement feature to be added without requiring completely separate mounting hardware or complex attachment mechanisms, thus improving safety while minimizing additional complexity.
4Ease of operation
If telescoping segments with retention assemblies are used for adjustable support, then ease of adjustment is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support assembly is divided into standardized telescoping segments with identical or similar retention assembly designs. This segmentation into modular units allows for economies of scale in manufacturing, as the same components can be mass-produced and then assembled in different configurations to create the final adjustable canopy structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A canopy apparatus includes a support assembly extending from an attached bracket configured to be fixed to a bicycle to an attached canopy extending outwardly from the support assembly over the bracket for providing shade or shelter from the Sun and weather conditions, and a caution flag, or increasing the visibility of the canopy apparatus, depending downwardly from the canopy to an intermediate position of the support assembly between the bracket and the canopy. The support assembly includes a plurality of segments releasably secured with lock pins and compression couplings.