Telescoping bicycle fender

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention pertains to bicycle fenders and, in particular, to a telescoping bicycle fender which can be rapidly installed and removed and which telescopes between a compact position and a fully extended position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Bicycle fenders, particularly those used on the rear wheel of the bicycle, provide useful protection to the rider against the tire spray that occurs in wet or muddy driving conditions. A full, permanently-mounted fender, where the fender extends around substantially 180 degrees of the wheel circumference, provides complete spray protection, but such a system restricts a bike in the type of terrain on which it can be used. For example, mud, sticks and rocks can easily damage and clog these fenders, making bikes having such a fender suitable only for use on roads and mild off-road trails. A rider's desire to reduce the weight and wind resistance of a bike, and simply the modern styling preference in bicycles, are other reasons to avoid full fenders.

Fenders which provide only partial spray protection to the rider are used on some bikes. Such partial fenders often extend generally horizontally over the rear wheel from behind the bicycle saddle. Partial fenders may be permanently installed or have a snap-on means of attachment so they can be quickly attached and removed. However, such fender systems do not provide complete rider protection from tire spray.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a bicycle fender which provides rider protection generally equivalent to that of a full, permanent fender but which can be easily and quickly mounted on and removed from the bicycle.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a telescoping bicycle fender which, when mounted on a bicycle frame, can be telescoped between a compact position in which the fender sections are nested together, and an extended position, in which the sections are telescoped out to extend around a substantial part of the wheel. The nesting of the telescoping sections permits the fender system to have a manageable length when the sections are nested, allowing it to be conveniently carried, for example, in a rider's backpack. Also, if desired, the fender system can be left in place on the bicycle in the nested position, forming a short, compact arc which does not significantly increase the wind resistance of the bicycle or detract from its sporty appearance.

According to the invention, there is provided a telescoping bicycle fender having three interconnecting, telescoping fender sections. The first, fixed, section has sleeves proximate each end which support and permit longitudinal sliding of the second and third sections to extend outward from each end of the first section. The three sections nest together when the second and third sections are not extended. The first section is attached at each of its ends to the frame of the bicycle. In addition, the second fender section, which slides over the front portion of the wheel, also attaches to the bicycle frame when it is extended fully forward.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1

is a perspective view of the telescoping bicycle fender of the invention mounted on a bicycle, with the sliding sections in their nested position;

FIG. 2

shows a partial bicycle frame with the telescoping bicycle fender attached thereto, with the sliding sections in their fully extended position;

FIG. 3

is a perspective view showing the fixed fender section and the two sliding fender sections in a disassembled condition;

FIG. 4

is a bottom plan view showing a portion of the fixed fender section and a sliding fender section connected together, with the sliding section fully extended.

FIG. 5

is a top plan view of a portion of the bicycle fender;

FIG. 6

is a cross-sectional view through the fixed fender section;

FIG. 7

is a side elevational view of the telescoping bicycle fender with the sliding sections in their nested position and with the rear bracket folded in a storage position; and

FIG. 8

is a cross-sectional view through a second embodiment of the telescoping bicycle fender, in which the fixed and sliding fender sections have longitudinal ribs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Throughout the following description, specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the invention. However, the invention may be practiced without these particulars. In other instances, well known elements have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative, rather than a restrictive, sense.

FIG. 1

shows bicycle

38

having a frame

40

with the telescoping bicycle fender

10

of the invention, here shown in its nested or unextended position, attached adjacent to rear wheel

39

of the bicycle. The telescoping bicycle fender

10

is shown in its extended position in FIG.

2

. For clarity of illustration, the only parts of the bicycle shown in

FIG. 2

are the rear parts of frame

40

to which the telescoping bicycle fender attaches, including the two seat stays

42

and the two chain stays

44

.

Referring particularly to

FIGS. 2 and 3

, the telescoping bicycle fender

10

comprises principally a fixed section

12

and two sliding sections

14

,

16

. Sliding section

14

, extends forward from fixed section

12

, and sliding section

16

extends rearward therefrom. The three sections have a large radius back portion

7

and transverse sides

9

thereof to extend partially around the bicycle tire. The fender sections can be made of any suitable material. Preferably they are made of a plastics material, such as ABS, by means of injection molding. The plastics material selected should be strong, lightweight, UV resistant, easily processed by injection molding and resistant to warping. It should also have high impact strength and good rigidity. A suitable thickness for the fixed section

12

is about 0.040 inches; a suitable thickness for the sliding sections is about 0.030 inches.

The sliding sections can be moved by hand by a sliding motion between the fully extended position shown in FIG.

2

and the nested position of

FIG. 1

, in which the two sliding sections are nested within fixed section

12

. The fixed section

12

has two sleeves

18

,

20

configured near its longitudinal ends, permitting sliding sections

14

,

16

, respectively to connect to the fixed section

12

and slide relative thereto. Sleeves

18

and

20

are identical to each other in configuration. Sleeve

18

comprises transverse slots

22

,

26

with a segment

30

of the fixed section

12

between the slots. Segment

30

is positioned radially inward of the rest of the fixed section

12

. A radially-extending space

15

, best seen in

FIG. 6

, is accordingly present between the radially outer surface

17

of segment

30

and the inner surface

19

of the adjacent parts of the fixed section

12

. Sliding section

14

fits in this space

15

, held therein between the inner surface

19

of the fixed section

12

(i.e. the inner surface of the longitudinal end portion

34

of the fixed section and the portion of the fixed section on the opposite side of slot

26

) and the outer surface

17

of segment

30

. Similarly, the sleeve

20

comprises slots

24

and

28

and segment

32

therebetween. Sliding fender section

16

is positioned to slide through the slots and over the segment

32

, held in place between the radially outer surface of segment

32

and the inner surface of the adjacent fixed section

12

, at end

36

thereof and the portion of the fixed section on the opposite side of slot

28

. The dimensions and configuration of the slots are such as to give a snug but sliding fit of the sliding sections

14

and

16

in their respective sleeves. When both of the sliding sections are moved to their nesting position, both sliding sections are nested within fixed section

12

and accordingly, one of sliding sections

14

,

16

is nested within the other sliding section.

Although it is preferred that the sliding sections nest fully within the fixed section, such full nesting is not necessary for the invention as it is acceptable for a portion of each sliding section to protrude from the fixed section when the sliding sections are in the nesting position. In this specification, therefore, references to “nested” includes both full and partial nesting of the sliding sections in the fixed section.

Referring to

FIGS. 1

,

2

and

6

, the telescoping bicycle fender

10

is attached to the bicycle frame at three points when in the nested position and at four points when extended.

First, the fixed section

12

is attached by bracket

50

to the bicycle frame, preferably to a frame member

51

extending between the two seat stay members

42

. Bracket

50

is preferably an L-shaped member having a first arm

52

which fastens to frame member

51

, and a second arm

54

which fits in slot

26

under a slightly raised portion

58

of the fixed section

12

, which is configured to accommodate the bracket without interfering with the movement of sliding section

14

in space

15

. Raised portion

58

has a set of three downwardly-extending dimples

60

and arm

54

of bracket

50

has a set of three openings

56

configured to engage the dimples

60

when the bracket

50

is placed in position in slot

26

. This releasably holds the front end of fixed section

12

in place, permitting rapid removal and reinstallation by hand without the use of tools. Bracket

50

is intended to be permanently affixed to frame member

51

by means of a bolt through bore

55

of arm

54

.

Second, the rearward end of the fixed section

12

is attached to the bicycle frame by means of a rear bracket comprising a flexible metal U-shaped bracket

66

which is pivotally mounted through bracket

62

on end

36

of the fixed section

12

. Bracket

66

has free ends with loops

67

which fit over projections on mounting brackets

68

on the inner side of the bottom end of the seat stay members of the frame. The bracket

66

can be detached from the bicycle frame by hand, without tools, by squeezing the free ends of the bracket

66

together, thus sliding the loops

67

off the mounting brackets

68

. When the telescoping bicycle fender

10

is removed from the bicycle frame, the pivotal attachment of the U-shaped bracket permits it to fold into a relatively compact position against the fixed section

12

, as shown in FIG.

7

.

Third, the telescoping bicycle fender

10

also attaches to the bicycle frame at a fourth point, when the sliding section

14

is fully extended. As best seen in

FIGS. 2 and 3

, free end

70

of sliding section

14

integrally includes clip

72

, which can be releasably attached to the bicycle frame member

73

which extends between chain stays

44

. This attachment stabilizes the front end of the bicycle fender when in the extended position. In order to retract the sliding section

14

, the section is simply slid by hand towards the fixed section

12

, pulling clip

72

off frame member

73

.

The sliding sections include a stop

74

, shown in

FIG. 4

, which abuts against segment

30

or

32

to define a maximum extension of the sliding sections. When fully extended, the sections extend around a substantial part of the bicycle wheel, preferably about 180 degrees.

According to a second preferred embodiment of the invention, the fixed and sliding sections of the bicycle fender may have a plurality of small longitudinal ribs.

FIG. 8

illustrates this embodiment, which differs from the embodiment of

FIGS. 1-7

only in that both the fixed section

12

and sliding sections have longitudinal ribs

81

on their concave side and the sliding sections

14

,

16

have longitudinal ribs

83

on their convex side. Channels

85

are formed on the side of the fender sections opposite to the ribs. Ribs

87

are provided on the concave side of segments

30

and

32

. These ribs and channels serve both to increase the rigidity of the fender sections and to minimize the surface to surface contact area between them. Dirt on the surfaces tends to be pushed into the channels as the sliding sections are moved, thus minimizing the interference caused by dirt in the movement of the sliding fender sections.

Although the invention has been described in terms of various embodiments, it is not intended that the invention is limited to these embodiments. Various embodiments within the scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, various configurations of connector may be provided for attaching the fender sections to the bicycle frame, such as various snap-on type brackets and other fittings which permit easy removal of the fender from the frame.