FR2675459A1 - Device for fitting a saddle to a bicycle frame - Google Patents

Abstract

Device for fitting a saddle (11) to a frame (2), particularly a bicycle frame, comprising at least one short connecting rod (16) extending downwards, the lower end of which is connected in an articulated manner to the said frame about a transverse axis (17); at least one longitudinal tie bar (18), the front end of which is connected in an articulated manner to the said frame about a transverse axis (30) and the rear end of which is connected to the upper end of the said short connecting rod (16) about a transverse axis (19); the saddle being mounted on the rear part (21) of the said tie rod; and the connection from the upper part of the said short connecting rod (16) to the said frame via the aforementioned tie rod (18) being adjustable so as to change the inclination of the said short connecting rod.

Description

SADDLE MOUNTING DEVICE
ON A BICYCLE FRAME
The present invention relates to a frame mounting device in particular for a bicycle.

 Various devices have already been proposed which make it possible to modify the position of the saddle relative to the frame of a bicycle, in particular to adapt the position of the cyclist to the effort which he must provide.

 Such devices are in particular described in patents FR-A-2491425, FR-A-1353452 and GB-A-216431.

 The drawbacks of the devices described in these documents, which are based on deformable parallelograms, are notably on the one hand their relative complexity and on the other hand the obligation to get off the bicycle to adjust since the elements which constitute them are arranged completely below the saddle.

 The object of the present invention is to provide a device for mounting a saddle on a frame, of very simple structure and easy to adjust without getting off the bicycle.

 The device for mounting a saddle on a frame, in particular a bicycle, according to the invention, comprises at least one connecting rod extending from top to bottom, the lower end of which is hingedly connected to said frame along a transverse axis; at least one longitudinal tie rod, the front end of which is hingedly connected to said frame along a transverse axis and the rear end of which is hingedly mounted on the upper end of said link along a transverse axis; the saddle being mounted on the rear part of said tie rod; and the connection of the upper part of said link to said frame by means of the aforementioned tie rod being adjustable so as to modify the inclination of said link.

 According to the invention, the saddle is preferably provided with a seat post slidably carried in the direction of its length by the rear part of the aforementioned tie rod, the latter being provided with means for blocking this seat post at its set position.

 According to the invention, the lower part of the aforementioned link can advantageously be mounted in an articulated manner on the upper end of a nozzle carried in a sliding manner in the direction of its length by said frame, the latter being provided with locking means. from this nozzle to its adjusted position.

 In an alternative embodiment, the aforementioned tie rod may comprise at least two movable parts one inside the other so as to be able to modify the distance separating its aforementioned articulations, means being provided for securing or blocking these movable parts in their position settled.

 The tie can advantageously include two telescopic parts.

 According to the invention, the front end of the aforementioned tie rod can advantageously be mounted in an articulated manner on a slide movable longitudinally relative to said frame, means being provided for securing or blocking this slide in its adjusted position.

 Said slide can alternatively be mounted directly on a longitudinal bar of said frame.

 In another variant, said slide can be mounted mobile on a longitudinal rod fixed to said frame.

 In one embodiment, said blocking means comprise means acting by pinching.

 In another embodiment, said locking means comprise at least one retractable connecting member, forming a stop acting in predetermined or indexed adjustment places.

 Said locking means can advantageously be provided with actuating means.

 According to the invention, return means acting in the direction which brings the saddle back and forth can be provided.

 According to the invention, means forming a stop making it possible to delimit the angular movement of the aforementioned link can also be provided.

 According to the invention, damping means acting in at least one of the end parts of displacement of the aforementioned link can also be provided.

The present invention will be better understood from the study of devices for mounting a saddle on a bicycle frame, described by way of nonlimiting examples and illustrated by the drawing in which:
- Figure 1 shows an external side view of a bicycle equipped with a first saddle mounting device according to the present invention
- Figure 2 shows an enlarged side view of the saddle mounting device of Figure 1
- Figure 3 shows a cross section along III
III of the mounting device shown in Figure 2
- Figure 4 shows a cross section along
IV - IV of the mounting device shown in Figure 2;
- Figure 5 shows a cross section along V - V of the mounting device shown in Figure 2 ;;
- Figure 6 shows a side view corresponding to Figure 2 of a second saddle mounting device according to the invention;
- Figure 7 shows a cross section along
VII - VII of the mounting device shown in Figure 6
- Figure 8 shows a side view corresponding to Figure 2 of a third saddle mounting device according to the invention;
- Figure 9 shows a horizontal section along IX - IX of the mounting device shown in Figure 8
- Figure 10 shows a cross section along
X - X of the mounting device shown in Figure 8
- Figure 11 shows a half cross-section along XI - XI of the mounting device shown in Figure 8
- Figure 12 shows a side view corresponding to Figure 2 of a fourth saddle mounting device according to the present invention;
FIG. 13 represents a cross section along XIII-XIII of the mounting device shown in FIG. 12.

 We see in Figure 1 that there is shown a bicycle generally identified by the reference 1 which has a tubular frame generally identified by the reference 2 which conventionally comprises a triangular central part composed of an upper longitudinal tube 3 slightly inclined towards the rear, a substantially vertical tube 4 whose upper end is open and an inclined tube 5 whose lower end is connected to the lower end of the tube 4 on the hub 6 of a crankset 7 and the front end of which is connected to the front end of the tube 3 on the hub 8 of a front fork 9 carrying a handlebar 10.

 The bicycle 1 is equipped with a saddle 11 carried by the frame 2 by means of a mounting device generally identified by the reference 12 which will now be described in more detail with reference to the figures 2 to 5.

 The mounting device 12 comprises a tubular end piece 13 which is engaged in the upper part of the vertical tube 4 of the frame 2 and which is adjustable in height. Conventionally, the upper part of this tube 4 is split and carries a tightening bolt 14 provided with an actuating lever 15, which makes it possible to pinch the end piece 13 in its adjusted position.

 The mounting device 12 also comprises two parallel rods 16 which extend upwards and whose inner ends are hingedly mounted on the upper part of the end piece 13, on either side of the latter, by l intermediary of pivots 17 arranged transversely to frame 2 and the upper ends of which are hingedly mounted on the rear part of a longitudinal tie rod 18 by means of pivots 19 which also extend transversely to frame 2.

 The tie rod 18 comprises a longitudinal tube 20 which extends above and at a distance from the longitudinal tube 3 of the frame 2 and a substantially vertical tube 21 carried by the rear end of the longitudinal tube 20 and on which the pivots 19 are fixed, from either side.

 In the vertical tube 21 open at its two ends of the tie rod 19 is engaged a cylindrical rod 22 which carries on its upper end the saddle 11. The upper part of the tube 21 of the tie rod 18 is split and carries a tightening bolt 23 provided with an actuating lever 24 in order to block by pinching, in a conventional manner, the seatpost 22 in the tube 21 of the tie rod 18 in its adjusted position.

 The front end of the tube 20 of the longitudinal tie rod 18 is connected to the longitudinal tube 3 of the frame 2 in the following manner.

 The ends of a longitudinal bar 25 which extends parallel, above and at a distance from the tube 3 of the frame 2, are fixed to this tube 3 by means of collars 26 in two parts connected by a clamping screw 27, which pinch between them the tube 3 and the bar 25.

 On the longitudinal bar 25 is slidably mounted a slider 28 which has on its rear upper part a projecting part 29 on which is articulated by means of a transverse axis 30 the front end formed in yoke of the tube 20 from the tie 18.

 The front part of the slide 26 is split and carries a transverse tightening bolt 31 provided with an actuating lever 32 which allows by clamping to block the slide 28 in its adjusted position along the bar 25, between the stops constituted by the two necklaces 26.

 The mounting device 12 which has just been described constitutes a triangular structure adjustable or deformable in the following manner.

 The saddle 11 can be adjusted in height by moving the end piece 13 relative to the tube 4 of the frame 2 and / or the seatpost 22 relative to the rear tube 21 of the tie rod 18 in the direction of their length.

 The position of the saddle 11 can be adjusted by moving the bucket grout 28 along the longitudinal bar 25 carried by the longitudinal tube 3 of the frame 2.

 This longitudinal adjustment of the saddle 11 is obtained, as can be seen in particular in FIG. 1, by longitudinal displacement of the slide 28 along the bar 25 and consequently of the tie rod 18, this displacement modifying the inclination of the rods 16 by pivoting of the latter on the pivots 17 carried by the endpiece 13.

 In the example shown, when the slide 28 is in its most advanced position, the links 16 are slightly inclined towards the front and, in its most rear position, the links 16 are slightly inclined towards the rear. Between these extreme positions, the saddle 11 undergoes only a slight vertical displacement and its orientation in the plane of the frame 2 varies little, the saddle Il being slightly more inclined towards the front when it is in its extreme front position.

 As the means for adjusting the longitudinal position of the saddle 11 relative to the frame 2, which consist in particular of the bar 25 and of the slide 28, are arranged in the vicinity of the middle part of the longitudinal tube 3 of the frame 2, they are immediately accessible by the cyclist and can be adjusted without having to get off his bicycle because he can easily actuate the unlocking and locking lever 32 and move the slide 28 without difficulty.

 I1 is also possible to modify the longitudinal position of the bar 35 relative to the longitudinal tube 3 of the frame 2 by moving the locking collars 26 which form stops along this tube 3. It is thus possible to carry out a preliminary adjustment. extreme front and rear positions of the saddle 11.

 In addition, between the slide 28 and the rear collar 26 is provided a spring 33 arranged around the longitudinal bar 25, this spring serving as a shock absorber when the slide 28 is moved towards the rear extreme position.

 Referring now to Figures 6 and 7, we see that there is shown a mounting device, generally identified by the reference 34, of the saddle 11 on the frame 2 which is not different from the mounting device 12 only by the fact that its slide 35 connected in an articulated manner to the front end of the tie rod 18, is slidably mounted directly on the longitudinal tube 3 of the frame 2, between two stops constituted by collars 36 of conventional structure, in two parts, attached to this tube 3.

 In order to allow its mounting, the slider 35 is formed of two opposite parts which encircle the longitudinal tube 3, these parts being fixed by bolts 37 and being provided, like the slider 28, with a rear projecting part 38 on which is mounted the front end of the tie rod 18 and a tightening bolt 39 provided with an operating lever 40.

 Referring now to Figures 8 to 11, we see that there is shown a mounting device generally identified by the reference 41 of a saddle 42 on a frame 43 of a bicycle, which differs from the mounting devices previously described by the following characteristics.

 The lower ends of its connecting rods 44 are mounted in an articulated manner directly on the frame 43 by means of transverse pivots 45, fixed laterally on the connection zone of the longitudinal bar 46 and the vertical bar 47 of the frame 43.

 The longitudinal part of its tie rod 48 comprises two tubes 49 and 50 mounted one inside the other telescopically, the front end of the tube 50 being hingedly mounted on a projecting part 51 formed on the longitudinal tube 46 of the frame 43 by means of a transverse axis 52.

 The outer tube 50 of the tie rod 48 carries a stop member 53 which is radially movable in a projecting part 54 of this tube 50. This member 53 of cylindrical section is biased by a spring 55 inwards and can be moved towards the by compressing this spring 55 with a cable 56 connected to a handle 57 for example mounted longitudinally on the front part of the longitudinal tube 46 of the frame 43 or on the handlebars of the bicycle in the vicinity of one of its handles, cable 56 being, between the tube 50 and the handle 57, in a sheath 58.

 The inner tube 49 has in the example three aligned radial indexing passages 59 which are spaced in the longitudinal direction, which are dimensioned so as to be able to receive the internal end of the member forming a stop 53. These three passages 59 correspond with three adjustment positions relative to each other of the tubes 49 and 50 of the tie rod 48, to which correspond three predetermined adjustment positions in the longitudinal direction of the saddle 42.

 To pass from one of the adjustment positions to the other, the handle 57 is actuated so as to release the stop member 53, the tubes 49 and 50 are made to slide relative to each other so as to come and engage the stop forming member 53 in another passage 59, after having released the handle 57.

 The outer tube 50 carries radially a screw 50a, the end of which penetrates into an oblong longitudinal passage 49a of the inner tube 49, producing extreme stops limiting the sliding of the tubes 49 and 50 relative to each other.

 As can be seen in FIG. 11, the mounting device 41 is equipped, in the example, with a spiral spring 60 mounted on the pivots 45, between the frame 43 and the links 44, these springs acting in the direction which brings the saddle 42 back to its front position. This spring 60 allows the cyclist to facilitate the adjustment of the saddle.

 Referring now to Figures 12 and 13 we see that there is shown a mounting device, generally identified by the reference 61, of a saddle 62 on a frame 63 which, as in the previous example, comprises rods 64 whose inner ends are directly mounted in an articulated manner transversely on the frame 63 and which, as in the second example, comprises a tie rod 65 whose front end is mounted in an articulated manner transversely on a slide 66 mounted sliding directly on the longitudinal tube 67 of the frame 63.

 For this example, the longitudinal tube 67 of the frame 63 is of rectangular section and the slider 66 is of L-shaped section and covers the upper face of the tube 67 and partly one of its lateral faces. The tube 67 has longitudinal oblong passages 67a. Retaining screws 68 fixed extend through these oblong passages and connect the slide 66 to a plate 66a mounted in the tube 67, without tightening the wall of this tube 67. The lateral part of the bucket grout 66 has three passageways presetting or indexing 69 spaced apart longitudinally, into which can engage the end of a stop member 70 mounted sliding transversely in a part 71 fixed through the longitudinal tube 67, this member 70 being subjected to a spring 72 and to an actuating cable 73, this stop member 70 being movable in the same way as the stop member 53 of the previous example and allowing adjustment of the slide 66 along the longitudinal bar 67 of the frame 63 in three predetermined positions.

 The present invention is not limited to the examples described above. Of course, the different parts of the described mounting devices can be combined differently. They can also be adapted, in particular in length and arrangement, so that the saddle can be moved horizontally and / or vertically according to any desired amplitude.

Claims (14)

 1. Device for mounting a saddle (11) on a frame (2) in particular of a bicycle, characterized in that it comprises at least one link (16) extending from top to bottom, the lower end of which is hingedly connected to said frame along a transverse axis (17); at least one longitudinal tie rod (18), the front end of which is hingedly connected to said frame along a transverse axis (30) and the rear end of which is hingedly mounted on the upper end of said link (16 ) along a transverse axis (19); the saddle being mounted on the rear part of said tie rod; and the connection of the upper part of said link to said frame by means of the aforementioned tie rod being adjustable so as to modify the inclination of said link.  2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the saddle is provided with a seat post (22) carried in a sliding manner in the direction of its length by the rear part (21) of the aforementioned tie rod (18), the latter being provided with means for blocking this seatpost in its adjusted position.  3. Device according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the lower part of the aforementioned link (16) is hingedly mounted on the upper end of a nozzle (13) carried slidingly in the direction of its length by said frame, the latter being provided with means for locking this endpiece in its adjusted position;  4. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the aforementioned tie rod (48) comprises at least two parts (49, 50) movable one inside the other so as to be able to modify the distance separating its aforementioned joints, means being provided for securing or blocking these moving parts in their adjusted position;  5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the aforementioned tie rod comprises two telescopic parts (49, 50).  6. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the front end of the aforementioned tie rod is articulated on a slide (28) movable longitudinally relative to said frame, means being provided for securing or blocking this slide in its adjusted position.  7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that said slide (35) is mounted directly on a longitudinal bar (3) of said frame.  8. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that said slide (28) is movably mounted on a longitudinal rod fixed (25) to said frame.  9. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said blocking means comprise means acting by pinching.  10. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said locking means comprise at least one retractable connecting member (53), forming a stop acting in predetermined adjustment places.  11. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said blocking means are provided with actuating means (56).  12. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises return means (60) acting in the direction which brings the saddle from back to front.  13. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises means forming a stop (26) making it possible to delimit the angular movement of the aforementioned link.  14. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises damping means (33) acting in at least one of the end parts of displacement of the aforementioned link.