Bicycle Locking Element Centering Contour Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing locking arrangements for bicycle luggage racks lack design flexibility and aesthetic appeal, requiring excessive material and compromising mechanical stability while being visually intrusive.
Innovation Solution
A locking arrangement featuring a centering contour on the first component, surrounded by a fork-like holder with a recess that facilitates easy mounting and secure attachment of accessories, allowing for a filigree design and independent support configuration, including a spring clip bolt and optional adapter for versatile use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional locking arrangements use material defects (holes, recesses) for centering, then the accessory can be guided and positioned, but the support requires excessive material and compromised mechanical stability
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating a centering contour as a material defect (hole, recess, indentation) in the support, the patent inverts the approach by providing the centering contour as a protruding element on the support and the complementary recess on the accessory. This inversion eliminates the need to remove material from the support, preserving its mechanical integrity and allowing a filigree, material-efficient design.
2Reliability
If traditional locking arrangements use visible supports and guide elements, then the accessory can be secured, but the aesthetic appeal is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the lateral guidance function from the support structure and relocates it to the accessory. The support only provides the essential centering contour and bearing function, while the accessory's holder with its recess and lateral guide elements performs the guidance. This allows the support to be designed as a minimal, aesthetically pleasing filigree structure without visible guide elements.
3Strength
If the support is designed with sufficient material for mechanical stability, then the structure is strong, but design flexibility and aesthetic appeal are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the locking arrangement into two independent parts: the support with the centering contour and the accessory's holder with the complementary recess. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the support can be designed as a minimal, material-efficient structure for strength and aesthetics, while the accessory contains all necessary guidance and positioning elements, providing design flexibility without compromising structural integrity.
Data Source
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AI summary
In a locking arrangement for locking an accessory (7) to a bicycle, comprising a first component (1) attachable to the bicycle, which has two supports (3) spaced apart from each other in a first longitudinal direction, and a second component, designated as accessory (7), which is optionally connectable to or detachable from the first component (1), and which has a latch (14) movable transversely to the first direction in a direction designated as the vertical direction, wherein the accessory (7) can be slid onto the two supports (3) in the first direction until it reaches a latching position in which the latch (14) engages a retaining contour of the first component (1) such that the accessory (7) is secured against movement in the opposite direction, and wherein the accessory (7) has stops which bear against retaining contours of the first component (1),When the accessory (7) is in the locked position, such that the accessory (7) is fixed to the first component (1) in all directions of movement except for movement opposite the first direction, the invention proposes that the two supports (3) each have a central centering contour (5) designed as a projection, and that holders (11) of the accessory engage this centering contour (5) transversely to the longitudinal direction on both sides in a fork-like manner when the accessory (7) is in its locked position, such that the centering contour (5) is received in a recess (12) of the holder (11).