HK1092115B - Reflector and bicycle - Google Patents

Description

Reflector and bicycle

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a reflector and a bicycle, and more particularly, to a reflector having a high degree of freedom in mounting and a bicycle having the reflector.

Background

As a reflector (reflector) to be attached to a fender portion of a bicycle, for example, the following reflectors are disclosed in japanese patent publication No. 2-42551 (patent document 1) and japanese patent laid-open No. 2004-149030 (patent document 2).

Namely: patent document 1 discloses a reflector having a substantially flat front surface, and patent document 2 discloses a reflector having a front surface with a curved surface.

The front surface flat reflector shown in patent document 1 is attached to a fender portion of a rear wheel of a bicycle. It can be mounted on the fender of the rear wheel of a bicycle via a base plate which corresponds in shape to the curved shape of the fender. As a result, the reflector may protrude from the curved member, which may hinder the use of the bicycle or the like.

It is also important to provide a reflector that can ensure a certain degree of reflected light intensity with respect to incident light at a large angle. Thus, the degree of freedom in mounting the reflector is increased.

However, although the reflector disclosed in patent document 2 can reflect light rays in 2 directions, as described above, since a structure that defines the direction of reflected light is employed, the reflected light intensity is sometimes limited. Further, the reflector in patent document 2 clearly divides the direction of reflected light into two directions, which are completely different in the premise and the configuration compared with the present invention having the recycling reflection structure.

Disclosure of Invention

The reflector of the present invention comprises: a main body; and a plurality of retro-reflective structures (retro-reflective structures) disposed along a front surface of the body, wherein the front surface has a curved shape formed in an arch shape in a longitudinal section of the body, and an optical axis direction of the plurality of retro-reflective structures is constant in an entire longitudinal direction of the body.

As the above-described retroreflective structure, for example, a cubic structure can be used. In addition to this, a spherical glass bead or the like is also conceivable. Further, the front surface of the reflector is preferably in the shape of a curved surface in the shape of a circular arc.

Preferably, the front face of the reflector has an inclined portion inclined along an obliquely rearward direction in a central portion extending in a lateral direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction in a lateral cross section of the main body and both sides thereof.

The bicycle according to the present invention has the reflector mounted on the fender portion of the rear wheel thereof.

An opening is provided in a fender portion of one curved surface of the bicycle, and a reflector is attached to the opening.

The reflector is attached to a stay for fixing the fender portion on the other curved surface of the bicycle, and the reflector is fixed to the fender portion by the stay.

In another curved surface of the bicycle, the fender portion serves not only as a base portion for covering the reflex type reflecting structure but also for attaching the reflector to the fender portion. The base portion may then cover the retro-reflective structure so that water or the like does not flow into the interior of the retro-reflective structure.

By adopting the invention, the reflector can keep certain reflected light intensity relative to incident light with larger angle. This improves the freedom of mounting the reflector.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front view of a reflector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a view of the reflector according to the embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the upper side of the front surface.

Fig. 3 is a view of the reflector according to the embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the lower side of the rear surface.

Fig. 4 is a side view of a reflector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a side sectional view (cross-sectional view along V-V in fig. 1) of a reflector of an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a rear view of a reflector of an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a detail of the retro-reflective structure of the reflector shown in fig. 1 to 6.

Fig. 8 is a front view showing an example of a state in which the reflector is attached to the fender portion.

Fig. 9 is a side view showing an example of a state in which the reflector is attached to the fender portion.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of a state in which the reflector is attached to the fender portion.

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view XI-XI in fig. 8.

Fig. 12 is a front view showing another example of a state in which the reflector is attached to the fender portion.

Fig. 13 is a side view showing another example of a state in which the reflector is attached to the fender portion.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view showing another example of a state in which the reflector is attached to the fender portion.

Fig. 15 is a sectional view XV-XV in fig. 12.

Fig. 16 is a front view showing another example of a state in which the reflector is attached to the fender portion.

Fig. 17 is a side view showing another example of a state in which the reflector is attached to the fender portion.

Fig. 18 is a perspective view showing another example of a state in which the reflector is attached to the fender portion.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view XIX-XIX in FIG. 16.

Fig. 20 is a front view showing another example of a state in which the reflector is attached to the fender portion.

Fig. 21 is a side view showing another example of a state in which the reflector is attached to the fender portion.

Fig. 22 is a perspective view showing still another example of a state in which the reflector is attached to the fender portion.

Fig. 23 is a sectional view XXIII-XXIII in fig. 20.

Fig. 24 is a schematic view showing an example of the installation range of the reflector.

Fig. 25 is a schematic configuration diagram of a reflectivity testing apparatus for reflectors.

Detailed Description

The reflector of the present invention and a bicycle equipped with the reflector will be explained below.

Fig. 1 to 6 are views showing a reflector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 1 is a front view, fig. 2 is a view seen from the upper side of the front (front surface), fig. 3 is a view seen from the lower side of the rear surface (rear surface), fig. 4 is a side view, fig. 5 is a side sectional view (V-V sectional view in fig. 1), and fig. 6 is a rear view.

As can be seen from fig. 1 to 6, the reflector 1 includes: a reflecting member 1A for reflecting incident light in a return manner; and a base member 1B coupled to the reflecting member 1A. In the present specification, the reflection member 1A and the base member 1B are collectively referred to as a body 1C. The main body 1C is made of, for example, resin. The reflecting member 1A is transparent (red).

The main body 1C is mounted on a fender portion of a rear wheel of a bicycle via a base 2. An insert positioning bolt 3 is mounted on the base member 1B, and the insert positioning bolt 3 penetrates the fender portion.

The reflecting member 1A constitutes the front face 10 of the main body 1C. In a longitudinal section of the main body 1C (a section shown in fig. 5), the front face 10 is formed in a curved surface shape of a circular arc (in the example of fig. 5, r is 130 mm). The curved surface may be arcuate, and in addition to circular arc shapes, elliptical shapes, parabolic shapes, and the like may be applied.

A plurality of cubic structures are provided on the back side (base member 1B side) of the reflecting member 1A, and are provided along the front face 10 as a retro-reflective structure. Therefore, the light incident on the reflector 1 can be reflected back.

The front face 10 includes: a belt-shaped central portion 10A extending in the longitudinal direction (up-down direction in fig. 1); inclined portions 10B located on both right and left sides of the central portion 10A. In a cross section (X-X section in fig. 1) of the reflector 1, the central portion 10A extends in a lateral direction perpendicular to a front-rear direction (arrow direction in fig. 5) of the reflector 1, and the inclined portion 10B is inclined in an oblique rear direction. Thus, not only the light incident from the front but also the light incident from the oblique front can obtain a higher reflected light intensity.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a detail of the retro-reflective structure of the reflector 1.

Referring to fig. 7, the direction of the optical axis 5 of the plurality of cubic structures 4 (retro-reflective structures) is constant over the entire longitudinal direction of the reflector 1. This does not mean that the optical axis directions of all the cubic structures 4 arranged in the longitudinal direction are uniform, and it should be interpreted that: even if the optical axis direction of some of the cubic structures 4 is not the same as that of other portions, if the optical axis direction of most of the cubic structures 4 is constant, the optical axis is constant in the entire longitudinal direction.

Light incident on the reflector 1 is reflected back in the original direction. Here, the front face of the reflector 1 is curved along the longitudinal direction, and in the longitudinal direction of the reflector 1, the angle (θ in fig. 7) between the direction of the incident/reflected light 5A and the direction with respect to the perpendicular 5B to the front face is₁、θ₂、θ₃) With a change, in the example shown in fig. 7, θ₁≈23.9°、θ₂≈34.6°、θ₃About 45.5. In addition, θ₂Is the value of the center of the front face of the reflector 1, the angle (theta) between the direction of the optical axis of the cubic structure 4 at this center and the direction relative to the perpendicular 5B to the front face₄) Approximately 22 deg. or so. That is, the incident/reflected light 5A in fig. 7 intersects the optical axis 5 at an angle of about 12.6 ° (34.6 ° -22 °).

In the reflector 1 described above, the reflectivity varies as needed depending on the angle between the direction of the incident light and the optical axis of the cubic structure. Therefore, the optical axis is set in a direction suitable for a predetermined direction of incident light, so that high reflected light intensity can be obtained. Although the front surface of the reflector 1 in the present embodiment has a curved surface shape along the longitudinal direction, since the optical axis of the cubic structure is set to be constant in the entire longitudinal direction, a high reflected light intensity can be obtained if the optical axis direction is set to a direction suitable for a predetermined direction of incident light. Thus, the degree of freedom of mounting the reflector 1 can be improved.

Furthermore, the front surface of the reflector 1 is formed in a circular arc shape, so that the intensity of the reflected light can be effectively further improved with respect to incident light of a larger angle.

Fig. 24 is a schematic view illustrating an example of the installation range of the reflector 1.

Referring to fig. 24, a fender 6 is mounted on an upper portion of a rear wheel 8 of a bicycle via a stay 7, and a reflector 1 is mounted on the fender 6. Although the typical mounting position of the reflector 1 is the mounting position 100, the mounting position can be changed while satisfying the specifications required as a bicycle reflector if the mounting position is within a range of about 5 ° up and down with respect to the center of the rear wheel 8.

Next, a method of testing the reflectivity of the reflector 1 will be described.

Fig. 25 is a schematic configuration diagram of a reflectivity test apparatus of the reflector 1. Referring to fig. 25, it is understood that the reflectivity test can be performed by using the light emitter L (having an effective diameter of about 50 mm) and the light receiving part P. The light receiving part P is disposed directly above the light emitter L, and the size of the window of the light receiving part P is about 25mm or less in the horizontal direction and about 13mm or less in the vertical direction. The reflector 1 is arranged at a distance D (in principle 30.5m) from the light emitter L and the receptor P. The light from the light emitter L is incident on the reflector 1, and the intensity of the light reflected therefrom is measured at the light receiving part P. An angle between a line connecting the center RO of the reflector 1 and the center of the light emitter L and a line connecting the center RO and the center of the light receiving part P is defined as an observation angle α, and an angle between the optical axis of the reflector 1 and a line connecting the centers of RO and L is defined as an incident angle θ. By varying the incident angle θ in the vertical plane and in the horizontal plane, the intensity of the reflected light can be measured in each case.

The above-mentioned reflectivity test is described in JIS D9452-1995 and ISO 6742/2-1985.

Table 1 shows the reflectivity of the reflector 1 obtained by the above test method.

TABLE 1

In Table 1, the standard values are values (normal form, red) specified in JIS D9452-. The mounting angle is an angle of intersection between a line connecting the center of the rear wheel 8 and the center of the reflector 1 and a horizontal plane on which the bicycle is mounted. In addition, (upper) (lower) (left) (right) indicates that light is irradiated from the upper, lower, left, and right sides of the reflector 1.

Referring to table 1, it can be seen that the reflected light of the reflector 1 satisfies the standard values (standard values of the intensity of the reflected light in each set of the observation angle α and the incident angle θ) specified in the above specifications regardless of the installation angles of 25 °, 30 °, and 35 °. Therefore, by using the reflector 1 in embodiment 1, the installation position thereof can be changed at least in the range of the installation angle of 25 ° to 35 °.

However, the manner of attaching the fender portion 6 to the reflector 1 may be changed as appropriate. Fig. 8 to 23 are views showing modifications in a state where the reflector 1 is attached to the fender portion 6.

Fig. 8 to 11 are schematic views of modification 1. In addition, FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view XI-XI in FIG. 8. Referring to fig. 8 to 11, the reflector 1 can be mounted on the fender 6 by joining the base member 1B to the fender 6.

Fig. 12 to 15 are schematic views of modification 2. Fig. 15 is an XV-XV sectional view in fig. 12. As can be seen from fig. 12 to 15, the following structure can be adopted: the fender portion 6 is provided with an opening 6A (opening), and the reflector 1 is attached to the opening 6A. In addition, ultrasonic welding may be used as a method of joining the fender portion 6 and the reflector 1.

Fig. 16 to 19 are schematic views of modification 3. Fig. 19 is a cross-sectional view XIX-XIX in fig. 16. As can be seen from fig. 16 to 19, the following structure can be adopted: a notch 6B is provided in the fender portion 6, and the reflector 1 is attached to the notch 6B. In addition, the cutaway groove portion 6B should be interpreted as one form of the opening portion. Further, in the present modification, the lower portion of the reflector 1 is provided with a flag portion. This makes it possible to display the name of the bicycle manufacturer and the like without attaching a sticker and the like to the fender portion 6.

Fig. 20 to 23 are schematic views of modification 4. In addition, fig. 23 is a sectional view XXIII-XXIII in fig. 20. As is clear from fig. 20 to 23, the reflector 1 may be attached to the stay 7 for fixing the fender 6, and the reflector 1 may be fixed to the fender 6 by the stay 7.

In addition to the above, the following structure may be adopted: the base member 1B is omitted, and the reflecting member 1A is directly fixed to the fender portion 6 by ultrasonic welding or the like. At this time, the mudguard portion 6 functions to cover the base portion of the cubic structure 4 so that water or the like does not flow into the cubic structure 4. As described above, the base member 1B is omitted, and the number of components can be reduced, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated in detail in connection with only exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but rather should be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (7)

1. A reflector, comprising:

a main body (1 c);

a plurality of retro-reflective structures (4) disposed along a front surface of the main body (1c), wherein,

the front face is a curved surface shape formed into an arcuate shape in a longitudinal section of the main body (1C),

the optical axis direction of the plurality of return reflection structures (4) is constant in the entire longitudinal direction of the main body (1 c).

2. The reflector of claim 1 wherein said front surface is arcuate in shape.

3. A reflector according to claim 1, characterized in that said front face comprises a central portion (10A) and inclined portions (10B), said central portion (10A) extending in a transverse direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction in a transverse cross section of said body (1c), said inclined portions (10B) being located on both sides of said central portion (10A) and inclined in an obliquely rear direction.

4. A bicycle, on a mudguard portion (6) of a rear wheel (8) of which a reflector (1) as claimed in claim 1 is mounted.

5. The bicycle according to claim 4, wherein the fender portion (6) is provided with an opening portion (6A), and the reflector (1) is assembled to the opening portion (6A).

6. The bicycle according to claim 4, wherein the reflector (1) is mounted on a stay (7) for fixing the fender (6), and the reflector (1) is fixed to the fender (6) by the stay (7).

7. The bicycle according to claim 4, wherein said fender portion (6) serves not only as a base portion for covering said retro-reflective structure (4), but also for mounting said reflector (1) on said fender portion (6).