Handlebar Bracket Latch Interface for Secure Quick-Release Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing outdoor bicycle mounting interfaces for accessories like smartphones and navigation devices are not easily mountable or removable.
Innovation Solution
A bracket with a clamp, arm, and plate that includes a latch extending from the exterior surface, allowing linear mounting and rotational unmounting via engagement and disengagement with a detent, providing a secure and easy-to-use mechanical coupling interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional mounting interface is used, then the accessory can be mounted on the handlebar, but the accessory cannot be easily mounted or dismounted
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting interface transitions from a static connection to a dynamic one, allowing the accessory to be easily mounted and dismounted. The latch mechanism enables the interface to switch between locked and unlocked states, providing both ease of operation and reliable security during riding.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting interface is divided into separate components: a bracket with latch and an accessory with detent. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each component and enables easy assembly and disassembly while maintaining secure connection during use.
2Reliability
If a secure mounting mechanism is used, then the accessory is held firmly, but the mechanism becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting interface is designed to be self-latching through the interaction between the latch and detent. Once the accessory is inserted, the latch automatically engages with the detent to secure it, eliminating the need for additional fastening steps or complex mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The securing function is extracted as a separate latch mechanism that can engage or disengage independently. This simplifies the overall design by separating the mounting and securing functions into distinct, simple components rather than integrating them into a complex single mechanism.
3Ease of operation
If a simple latch mechanism is used, then the mounting is easy, but the accessory may accidentally unmount
Solution Approach 1:
The latch and detent are designed with asymmetric geometries that allow easy insertion in one direction but prevent accidental removal. The detent features a ramp surface that guides the latch into the engaged position during mounting, while the same asymmetry creates a mechanical barrier against unintended disengagement during riding.
4Strength
If a traditional bracket design is used, then it can hold accessories, but it creates aerodynamic drag
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket design incorporates aerodynamic fairings that redirect airflow around the mounted accessory. This adds a dimensional element (the fairing structure) that manages airflow in three dimensions, reducing turbulence and drag while preserving the bracket's holding capability through the latch-detent mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure discloses various brackets with various mounting interfaces for engaging (e.g., mechanically) with various surfaces that are correspondingly configured. For example, one of such brackets can clamp onto a bar (e.g., a handlebar of a vehicle) and then an electronic device (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, a dedicated navigational unit) can removably secure (e.g., mate) to that bracket. This form of removable securing can be via that bracket having a latch configured to engage a detent of the electronic device (or vice versa) in order to linearly mount the electronic device onto the bracket (or vice versa) and disengage the detent in order rotationally unmount the electronic device from the bracket (or vice versa).