WO2001094192A1

WO2001094192A1 - Bicycle saddle support

Info

Publication number: WO2001094192A1
Application number: PCT/EP2001/006462
Authority: WO
Inventors: Donato Emanuele Vencato
Original assignee: DID Italia SRL
Current assignee: DID Italia SRL
Priority date: 2000-06-08
Filing date: 2001-06-07
Publication date: 2001-12-13
Anticipated expiration: 2002-12-08
Also published as: ITVI20000124A1; ITVI20000124A0; AU7055701A; IT1315363B1

Abstract

A bicycle saddle support (1) with anatomic seat (S) is disclosed, comprising an upper body (2) supporting the seat (S); a lower body (3) coupled to the bicycle frame (T); a central body (4) arranged between the upper body (2) to which it is coupled through first adjustment means (5) and the lower body (3) to which it is coupled through second adjustment means (6). The adjustment means (5, 6) are adapted to modify the position of seat (S) to fit to the cyclist's body and to arrange it in a retracted position relative to the junction point of the lower body (3) with the frame (T).

Description

BICYCLE SADDLE SUPPORT

The present invention relates to a bicycle saddle support.

It is well known that the bicycle saddle supports substantially comprise a column generally coupled inside the vertical tube of the bicycle frame, at the end of which an adjustment unit supporting a seat is arranged.

The seat has a shaped form tapering at the front portion and corresponding to the cyclist's groin when mounting the bicycle.

All the bicycle saddles of the known mentioned type have some drawbacks, although they are made with various shapes and sizes according to the kind of bicycle to which they are applied.

A first drawback consists in that their sitting comfort degree is very low in view of their shape. Indeed the rest zone at the groin is very narrow and consequently pressure exerted on the cyclist's body is rather high and creates discomfort and sometimes pain, especially when sitting on the saddle is extended for several hours such as for instance during sports contests.

Another drawback consists in that the seat geometry does not promote ventilation at the zone of contact with the cyclist's body. This causes high perspiration that in some cases may involve swelling, dermatitis and pimples that may prevent use of the bicycle even for several days. A last but not least drawback consists in that, as the seat is fixed in the registered position, the parts of the cyclist's body, more particularly the entire zone of glutei and groin when pedalling undergo rubbing against the seat surface. This contributes to worsen the sitting comfort, mainly when the thrust on the pedal is rather strong for instance when going uphill. In order to overcome the foregoing drawbacks, the same inventor of the present application carried out a saddle disclosed in Italian patent application VI98A000034 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, comprising a seat generally indicated with S, with an anatomic outline matching the outline of the cyclist's body improving its rest. In said saddle the seat is divided into separate and independent portions S1 , S2, symmetrically arranged relative to the longitudinal axis A defining the advancement direction of the bicycle.

Each of the two portions in turn comprises a fixed rear part A1 , A2 and a mobile front part B1 , B2, both supported by a support C connected to the bicycle frame, in which the mobile front part B1 , B2 can rotate around a pin P belonging to the support C.

Rotation of the mobile front part relative to the fixed rear part is made elastic by interposing springs M assisting return of the mobile front part during the pedalling return phase when the cyclist's leg rises. Moreover the seat parts have an anatomic concave shape matching the outline of the cyclist's glutei and legs, forming fixed reaction zones adapted to assist transfer to the pedals of the full thrust exerted by the legs when pedalling. In view of the special configuration of the above mentioned saddle, it is necessary that the saddle is supported by a support allowing to position it in such a way to give the maximum degree of freedom to rotation of the cyclist's legs, so that the zones of the saddle with anatomic outline match the outline of the cyclist's glutei and legs.

The prior art supports provide for fixing the seat to a slide coupled to a column in turn telescopically coupled to the central tube of the bicycle frame. These supports however are not adapted to position the saddle in such a proper way as to meet all the above mentioned conditions. Indeed biodynamic tests have shown that the cyclist in order to attain a maximum exploitation of the force developed when pedalling and at the same time the maximum sitting comfort level, must firstly position the saddle in such a way relative to the bicycle advancement direction, that the vertical direction at which the body weight rests on the seat, is displaced backward relative to the axis defining the direction of coupling the support column with the bicycle frame. Moreover it is also necessary to rotate the seat placing it inclined in the most suitable position so that its anatomic outline matches the outline of the cyclist's glutei and legs.

Finally it is necessary that the seat can be moved to or away relative to the vertical axis of the central rotation movement of the pedal cranks. The present invention aims at providing a support for bicycle saddles with anatomic outline allowing the user to carry out all the above mentioned adjustments.

More particularly a first object of the invention is to provide a bicycle saddle support allowing to position the cyclist's weight much more retracted relative to the central movement in comparison with the possibility given by the known supports. Another object of the support of the invention is to allow rotation of the seat arranging it in an optimal position for matching its outline to the contour of the cyclist's body.

The above mentioned objects are attained by carrying out a bicycle saddle support with anatomic seat characterized by comprising:

- an upper body supporting said seat;

- a lower body coupled to the bicycle frame;

- a central body arranged between said upper body to which it is connected through first adjustment means and said lower body to which is connected through second adjustment means, said adjustment means being adapted to modify the seat position for matching the cyclist's body and placing it in a retracted position relative to the junction of said lower body with said frame.

According to a preferred embodiment the first adjustment means consist of a sliding block being part of the upper body, slidingly coupled in a guide housing of the central body. This arrangement allows to move the seat along a direction generally parallel to the bicycle advancement direction for moving the seat to or away from the vertical axis passing through the central movement, until the seat is arranged in the position at which the direction of the cyclist's weight resting on the seat, is displaced backwards relative to the junction point of the support with the bicycle frame, making reference to the bicycle advancement direction.

The second adjustment means consist of a rotation pin passing through coaxial holes belonging to the central body and the lower body. The rotation pin defines a rotation axis of the seat which is generally horizontal and perpendicular to the bicycle advancement axis.

The cooperation of the first and second adjustment means carries out the optimal position of the seat.

Suitable blocking means allow to fix the support elements in the obtained adjustment position. The seat S preferably but not necessarily consists of two separate portions, each portion comprising a fixed rear part and a mobile front part. Advantageously the support of the invention allows to obtain a customized seat adjustment allowing maximum pedalling exploitation thus achieving higher performances in comparison with those that can be obtained with bicycles provided with anatomic or non anatomic saddles supported by the prior art supports.

The above mentioned objects and advantages will be better understood by reading the following description making reference to the accompanying sheets of drawings in which: - Figs. 1 and 2 are two isometric views of a prior art saddle with seat divided in two portions;

- Fig. 3 is an isometric view of the support of the invention with applied seat;

- Fig. 4 is an isometric view of the support of Fig. 3 from a different observation point; - Fig. 5 is the view of Fig. 4 with disassembled part of the seat;

- Fig. 6 is a side view of the support with seat shown in Fig. 3;

- Fig. 7 is an isometric view on an enlarged scale of the support of the invention;

- Fig. 8 is an exploded view of the support of Fig. 7; - Fig. 9 is a side view of the support of Fig. 8;

- Fig. 10 is a rear view of the support of Fig. 9; and

- Fig. 11 shows the support of the invention coupled to a frame.

The support of the invention generally indicated with reference numeral 1 in Figs. 3 to 6, supports a bicycle saddle which is preferably of the kind described in the Italian patent application serial number VI98A000034 filed in the name of the same applicant of the present invention, provided with a seat S with anatomic outline, consisting of two separate portions S1 , S2, each portion being formed by a fixed rear part A1 , A2 and a mobile front part B1 , B2. The saddle might also be of a different kind, namely consisting of two separate portions each formed by a front part and a lower part fixed to one another. According to the invention the support comprises:

- an upper body 2 supporting said seat S;

- a lower body 3 coupled to a bicycle frame T;

- a central body 4 arranged between the upper body 2 to which is connected through first adjustment means generally indicated with numeral 5, and the lower body 3 to which is connected through second adjustment means 6, said adjustment means 5, 6 being adapted to modify the position of said seat S to fit to the cyclist's body and place it in a retracted position relative to the junction point of said lower body 3 with said frame T. As shown in greater detail in Figs. 7 to 10, the first adjustment means 5 comprise a sliding block 2a belonging to the upper body 2 slidingly coupled in a guide housing 4a of the central body 4.

The sliding block 2a and the guide housing 4a define a sliding direction X of the seat S generally parallel and preferably coincident with the bicycle advancement direction indicated by arrow A.

The sliding block 2a and its guide housing 4a preferably but not necessarily have a dovetail transversal outline allowing adjustment of the upper body 2 relative to the central body 4 only by sliding along the sliding direction X defined thereby. It is however to be understood that different coupling contours such as T shapes may also be properly used.

The sliding block 2a is provided with a plurality of holes 2b aligned along the sliding direction X, each hole being adapted to receive blocking means 13 such as screws that are arranged to pass through corresponding holes 4b made in the central body 4. With regard to the second adjustment means 6, they comprise rotation means 9 and blocking means 7 of the central body 4, that can be better seen in Figs. 6 and 9. In said Figs, one can see that the rotation means 9 comprise a screw 9a provided with a handling head 9b, coupled in a female screw 9c rotably coupled in a through hole 4c made in the central body 4. Access to head 9b of screw 9a is possible through a recess 4d made in the central body 4 while the end 9d of screw 9 is received in a dead housing 3c made in the lower body 3. As to the blocking means 7, they comprise a rotation pin 7a passing through coaxial holes 3a made in the lower body 3 and 4c made in the central body 4, respectively. The pin 7 is provided with a treaded end 7b receiving a nut 7c. The rotation pin 7a and the corresponding holes 3a, 4c define a rotation axis Y for the central body 4 which is generally orthogonal to the sliding direction X of the upper body 2 and therefore also to the bicycle advancement direction A. The lower body 3 has a cylindrical projection 3b coaxially coupled to the tubular element Tv of the frame T, to which it is fixed through blocking means known per se, such as a clamp with relevant bolt or similar means.

In Figs. 6 and 11 one can see that the rotation axis Y of the central body 4 is retracted by the distance D1 relative to the vertical axis V passing through the central movement C of the bicycle and is aligned on the vertical direction U where the central point of a standard known saddle would be arranged, when supported by a standard known support shown with dash lines in Fig. 6. Therefore a known saddle is substantially retracted by the distance D1 relative to the central movement C.

On the contrary the support of the invention allows to retract further the seat S relative to the vertical direction V defining the position of the central movement C. More particularly the point indicated with K defining on the seat S the position where the thigh-bone head of the cyclist is arranged, is retracted by an additional distance D2 depending from the length of the sliding block 2a.

According to a preferred embodiment distance D2 may be varied from a minimum of 50 mm to a maximum of 150 mm. Therefore the vertical direction P according to which the cyclist's weight rests on the seat S, is retracted relative to the vertical direction V passing through the central movement C by a total quantity D = D1+D2 where quantity D1 is fixed while quantity D2 can be varied by registering the projection of the sliding block 2a relative to the central body 4. With regard now to said central body 4, the possibility of rotating it around the axis Y and to move the upper body 2 relative thereto, allows to fit the outline of the seat S to the cyclist's body and to adjust its distance from the pedals, respectively.

As to the previously described upper body 2, it is provided with a bilaterally projecting pin 8 consisting of two parts 8a, 8b symmetrically and orthogonally arranged relative to the sliding axis X of the upper body 2, each part being rotably coupled in corresponding holes made in the rear parts A1, A2 and front parts B1 , B2 of the anatomic seat S.

More particularly the bilaterally projecting pin 8 defines a rotation axis Z for each front part B1 , B2 which is rotably coupled to the pin preferably by interposition of elastic means M for making the rotation elastically yielding.

Said bilaterally projecting pin 8 on the contrary has only a support function for the rear parts A1 , A2, each of them being fixed by clasping means generally indicated with numeral 10, connecting said parts to the upper body 2 of the support.

More particularly said clasping means 10 comprise a housing 11 made in each rear part A1 , A2, in which a projecting element 12 made in the upper body 2 is inserted.

In operation in order to adjust the position of the seat S to the cyclist's body, the user acts on the first adjustment means 5 and on the second adjustment means 6 for effecting combined adjustments.

By placing the seat S retracted by the desired quantity relative to the junction point of the lower body 3 with the frame T, an easy rotation of the cyclist's leg during the pedalling action is obtained, assisted by the rotation of each front part B1 , B2 of the seat around the bilaterally projecting pin 8.

By acting on the first adjustment means 5, that is substantially moving the sliding block 2a along the guide housing 4a, the seat is moved to or away relative to the vertical axis passing through the central movement C. By acting on the second adjustment means 6 rotation of the central body 4 relative to the lower body 3 is obtained, allowing to raise or lower the seat S, bringing its contour to match the outline of the cyclist's body by varying the inclination.

More particularly in order to rotate the central body 4 relative to the lower body 3, the nut 7c is loosened so as to leave the rotation pin 7a free to rotate in the corresponding housing and the screw 9a is actuated, whose end 9d forcing against the receiving housing 3c, allows the clockwise or anticlockwise rotation of the central body 4 around the rotation pin 7.

When the desired adjustment position is reached, nut 7c is again tightened thus stopping the possibility of rotation of the central body 4. Obviously by drawing out the cylindrical projection 3b from the tubular element Tv of frame T, also the height of the seat S can be adjusted. Clearly these adjustments must be carried out with a trial method according to parameters supplied by the saddle manufacturer, searching their optimal combination giving to the cyclist the maximum pedalling comfort and development of the maximum pedalling power.

It is clear that the support of the invention in the implementing stage may be carried out according to contours and shapes other than those illustrated hereinbefore.

It is however to be understood that different embodiments when falling within the scope of the appended claims, should be considered protected by the present patent.

Claims

1) A bicycle saddle support (1) with anatomic seat (S) characterized by comprising:

- an upper body (2) supporting said seat (S); - a lower body (3) coupled to the bicycle frame (T);

- a central body (4) arranged between said upper body (2) to which it is connected through first adjustment means (5) and said lower body (3) to which it is connected through second adjustment means (6), said adjustment means (5, 6) being adapted to modify the position of said seat (S) to fit to the cyclist's body and to arrange it in a retracted position relative to the junction point of said lower body (3) with said frame (T) and along the bicycle advancement direction (A).

2) The support (1 ) according to claim 1) characterized in that said first adjustment means (5) comprise a sliding block (2a) belonging to said upper body (2) slidingly coupled in a guide housing (4a) of said central body (4), said sliding block (2a) and said guide housing (4a) being adapted to define a sliding direction (X) of said sliding block (2a) substantially parallel to the bicycle advancement direction (A).

3) The support (1) according to claim 2) characterized in that said sliding block (2a) and said guide housing (4a) have a dovetail transversal contour.

4) The support (1 ) according to claim 1 ) characterized in that said second adjustment means (6) comprise rotation means (9) and blocking means (7) for said central body (4). 5) The support (1 ) according to claim 4) characterized in that said rotation means (9) comprise a screw (9a) provided with a handling head (9b) coupled to a female screw (9c) rotably connected in a hole (4c) made in said central body (4), said screw (9a) having an end (9d)cooperating with a corresponding housing (3c) made in said lower body (3). 6) The support (1 ) according to claim 4) characterized in that said blocking means (7) comprise a rotation pin (7a) passing through coaxial holes (4c, 3a) being part of said central body (4) and said lower body (3) respectively, said rotation pin (7a) being provided with a threaded end (7b) coupled to a nut (7c). 7) The support (1 ) according to claim 6) characterized in that said holes (4c, 3a) define a rotation axis (Y) of said central body (4), said rotation axis (Y) being arranged generally orthogonal to the bicycle advancement direction (A).

8) The support (1 ) according to claim 2) characterized in that said sliding block (2a) is provided with a plurality of holes (2b) aligned along said sliding direction (X), each hole (2b) being adapted to receive blocking means (9) arranged passing through corresponding holes (4b) made in said central body (4).

9) The support (1 ) according to claim 1 ) or 2) or 3) characterized in that said lower body (3) is provided with a cylindrical projection (3b) adapted to be coaxially coupled to a tubular element (Tv) being part of said bicycle frame

(T).

10) The support (1) according to claim 1) characterized in that said anatomic seat (S) consists of two separate portions (S1 , S2) each of them comprising a rear part (A1 , A2) and at least a front part (B1 , B2), both supported by a projecting pin (8) belonging to said upper body (2), said pin (8) being arranged symmetrically and orthogonally relative to said bicycle advancement direction (A).

11) The support (1) according to claim 10) characterized in that said bilaterally projecting pin (8) is coupled to holes made in said rear parts (A1 , A2) and front parts (B1 , B2) constituting said seat (S).

12) The support (1 ) according to claim 10) characterized in that said upper body (2) and each of said rear parts (A1 , A2) of said seat (S) is made fixed to said upper body (2) through clasping means (10). 13) The support (1 ) according to claim 12) characterized in that said clasping means (10) comprise a housing (1 1 ) made in each rear part (A1 , A2) of said seat (S), a projecting element (12) made in said upper body (2) being inserted in said housing (1 1 ).

14) The support (1 ) according to claim 10) characterized in that said front part (B1 , B2) of said seat (S) is rotably coupled to said bilaterally projecting pin (8) by interposition of elastic means (M).