Bicycle Frame Joint With Stepped Telescopic Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bicycle frame joints are heavy, complex to assemble, and prone to premature failure and finish blemishes due to non-uniform load distribution, which complicates manufacturing and increases weight.
Innovation Solution
A bicycle frame joint system featuring a multidirectional joint with male and female portions having multiple steps and rises, allowing for secure bonding and improved structural integrity without adding weight, using a telescopic design with gradually increasing and reducing circumferences for enhanced load distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional welding or connectors are used to join frame members, then structural connection is achieved, but weight increases and assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the joint construction directly into the frame members by forming stepped portions and corresponding recesses as integral parts of the members themselves, eliminating the need for separate connectors or wrapping materials. This integration reduces weight while maintaining structural connection through the stepped geometry that distributes loads across multiple surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The joint is segmented into multiple steps with progressively smaller diameters, creating a telescopic arrangement where each step engages with a corresponding recess. This segmentation allows the joint to accommodate misalignment and distribute stresses across multiple interfaces, achieving strong connection without requiring additional heavy fasteners.
2Strength
If extraneous connectors or wrapped joints are used, then connection strength is improved, but assembly complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The joint features are merged directly into the frame members during their formation process. The stepped portions are formed as integral features of the members themselves, eliminating the need for separate connectors, wrapping materials, or complex assembly steps. This reduces both device complexity and manufacturing difficulty while maintaining joint strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The stepped portions and recesses are formed as preliminary features during the manufacturing of the frame members themselves, rather than being added later as separate components. This preliminary action integrates the joint preparation into the base manufacturing process, reducing overall assembly complexity and eliminating the need for specialized joining procedures.
3Ease of manufacture
If frame members are joined with traditional joints, then assembly is required, but finish blemishes occur due to non-uniform load distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The joint is divided into multiple steps with progressively smaller diameters, creating multiple engagement surfaces that distribute loads more uniformly across the joint interface. This segmentation prevents stress concentration at single points, reducing the likelihood of paint cracking and finish blemishes while maintaining ease of assembly through the telescopic mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The joint transitions from a simple point or surface connection to a multi-dimensional stepped arrangement that engages loads across multiple surfaces and directions. The telescopic geometry with multiple steps creates a distributed load path that reduces stress concentration and prevents finish damage, while the self-aligning nature of the steps maintains ease of assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
A bicycle frame assembly that includes at least one joint having a number of steps and laps formed between adjoining frame members. A first frame member includes a male portion of the joint and has at least three steps that are separated by rises between adjacent steps formed on an exterior surface of the first frame member. A second frame member includes a female portion of the joint and has the same number of steps and rises as the first frame member formed on an interior surface of the second frame member. The steps and rises of the first and second frame members are constructed and orientated so that the first frame member slidably cooperates with the second frame member to form a continuous multidirectional joint therebetween.