GB2393161A

GB2393161A - Manually operated bicycle pump

Info

Publication number: GB2393161A
Application number: GB0221580A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Edward Robinson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-09-17
Filing date: 2002-09-17
Publication date: 2004-03-24
Anticipated expiration: 2022-09-17
Also published as: GB0221580D0; GB2393161B

Abstract

The pump comprises two cylindrical members with a first cylindrical member 4 slidable within a second cylindrical member 3. One end of the first cylindrical member 4 is provided with a fitting 25 to receive a saddle while one end of said second cylindrical member 3 is provided with a foot stand assembly 54 which comprises a foldable foot stand and a retractable air hose. The pump is designed to be received in the seat post of the bicycle frame and the two cylindrical members are arranged to be releasably connected together in a closed position.

Description

PUMP This invention relates to a device for supplying air to a lyre of a

cycle.

More particularly, but not exclusively, this invention relates to a pump used to 5 supply air to a tyre of a cycle, eg a bicycle.

The popularity of cycling has increased significantly in recent years. In 1999, world production of bicycles exceed that of the motor car by three times, and with technological advances in the design of the bicycle together with changing social and environmental attitudes, people of all ages are increasingly 10 cycling as part of a personal or social agenda.

The performance and maintenance of the cycling equipment is important to most people within the cycling community. The maintenance is usually performed using cycling accessories which are well known in the art.

One such essential accessory required by a cyclist is a pump. There are 15 many different types of pumps available but each has its advantages and drawbacks. The single chamber pump is a large stroke pump which is usually detachably connected to the frame of a cycle. One major drawback is its exposure to potential thieves due to its large size so this kind of pump is not considered very 20 secure.

Another pump introduced to overcome this drawback is the "mini" air pump. This pump is usually of smaller stroke than the conventional single chamber pump which allows the user readily to detach the pump from the cycle and enable the pump to be carried with the user. This feature deals with the 25 problem of exposing the pump to potential thieves. However, the small size of the pump reduces the amount of air being delivered by the pump due to the shorter pumping strokes and smaller air barrel.

A pump used by many cycling enthusiasts is the floor standing or stirrup pump and this pump offers a solution to the limited pressure available from the mini-pump by providing a pump, which can handle increased pressures due to a longer swept volume. However, such pumps are not portable with the cycle due to 5 their size and weight and are usually expensive.

An object of the present invention is to provide a truly portable pump that can overcome the limitations of the prior art to arrive at a pump which is discreet,

when a cycle is left unattended, and efficient by providing high volumes of air on each stroke of the pumping action.

10 From one aspect, the present invention provides a manually operated pump comprising: two cylindrical members with a first cylindrical member slidable within a second cylindrical member, wherein one end of the first cylindrical member is provided with a fitting to receive a saddle; 15 said second cylindrical member is provided with an outlet for connection with an attachable adapter, the arrangement being such that said one end of the first cylindrical member is graspable by a user in order to reciprocate the cylindrical members with respect to each other.

From another aspect, the present invention is incorporated into a frame of a 20 cycle, the frame having a tubular section receiving a post mounting a saddle characterized in that the post forms a manually operated pump.

In use, said post which forms a manually operated pump is removed from said tubular section of said frame and a foot stand is folded down at one end of the post to allow operators foot to be placed onto it, to secure the second cylinder on 25 the ground during an inflation process. This end of the post is further provided with a retractable air hose which is stored within the pump and extends away from the post when required and retracts back to its storage position in the post when

the hose is no longer required. The saddle on the other end of the post may be used as a handle for the pump during the inflation process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

5 In order that the present invention be more readily understood, embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig 1 shows a perspective view of the pump; Fig 2 shows a partially crosssectioned view of the pump illustrating the 10 features of the pump; Fig 3 shows a detailed view of the lower end of the pump in the closed position; Fig 4 shows a detailed view of the lower end of the pump in the open position; and 15 Fig 5 shows a side view of the retractable air hose according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In Fig 1, a pair of rear wheel forks 51 and a cross bar 50 are provided to form part of a conventional cycle frame. A tubular section 15 for receiving a seat post is further provided to form part of the cycle frame. In use, the tubular section 20 15 receives the seat post 10, the seat post 10 forming a manually operated pump.

The height of the seat post 10 internal to the tubular section 15 can be varied by moving the seat post 10 further into the tubular section 15 or moving the seat post 10 further out of the tubular section 15. The tubular section 15 and the seat post 10 are provided with means well known in the art to hold the seat post 10 in a 25 required position with respect to the tubular section 15.

One end of the seat post 10 is provided with a clamping mechanism 20 to receive a saddle. The clamping mechanism 20 in this embodiment comprises a

member 22 to be received by an opening 25 in the seat post 10. Two further members 21 form part of the member 22 and are perpendicular to said member 22.

Two members 23 and 24 are to be received by a saddle so as to clamp the saddle .. In position.

5 In Fig 2, the seat post 10 comprises an outer cylinder 3, a middle cylinder 4, and an inner cylinder 2. In a preferred embodiment, the inner cylinder 2 is hollow and provides an air flow passage between the outer cylinder and middle cylinder.

In this embodiment of the present invention, a seal 7 acts as a minor piston and is slidably positioned in the major piston 12. As mentioned above, one end of the 10 seat post 10 is provided with the opening 25 to allow a saddle clamping mechanism 20 to be attached. The other end of the seat post 10 is provided with a foldable member 54 which folds about a pivot 58. Also provided is an outlet 30 for connection with an attachable adapter such as a conventional hose adapter.

The outlet 30 is located in the side wall of the pump body at a position above the IS level of the foldable member 54. It will be appreciated that the outlet 30 may also be permanently attached to an air hose which may form part of the lower end assembly. A detailed description of this assembly is described hereinafter. The

seat post 10 further comprises a plurality of seals to reduce unnecessary air leakage from the pump. A major piston external seal S is in the form of an "o" 20 ring seal. Two seals in the form of an "x" ring seal are provided to the pump; a major piston internal seal 7 and a minor piston seal 8. The "x" ring seals provide a greater surface area of contact with the pump barrel walls. Also provided are several non-return valves situated at points within the seal post 10 so residual volumes of air at the end of a pump stroke are minimised due to the major piston 25 12 or minor piston 8 ending up flush with a piston head.

In another embodiment, the inner cylinder 2 is modified so the seat post 10 acts as a conventional single barrel pump.

An alternative embodiment for the lower end of the seat post 10 will now be described in more detail with reference to Fig 3 and Fig 4.

The lower end of the seat post 10 is hereinafter referred to as the base section 55.

5 In the alternative embodiment the base section 55 of the pump comprises a retractable air hose 31 arranged to extend in a direction away from the base section when a tyre requires inflation and this constitutes to outlet 30 shown in Fig 2.

Once the inflation process is completed and the air hose is no longer required, the air hose is disconnected from the lyre and may be retracted back to its position 10 within the base section of the pump. The base section 55 further comprises a foldable member 54 which can function as a foot stand. When the base section is in a closed position, shown in Fig 3 the foldable member 54 is arranged so as to form part of the base section 55, in particular, the curvature of the outer surface of the foldable member is consistent with the curvature of the outer surface of the 15 base section so that the foldable member does not protrude from the base section when it is in the closed position. The air hose 31 is held within a recess in the base section 55 Furthermore, the pump may be provided with latching means to hold the pump in the closed position while the pump is stored in the frame of the cycle.

20 This may be in the form of a clip on the foldable member which enables the base section 55 to connect to the outer cylinder 3 of the pump to prevent unnecessary opening of the pump when it is stored within the frame of the cycle. Alternatively, the flexible member 32 may be provided with a clip to enable the pump to remain closed when stored in the frame of the cycle. It will be appreciated that any 25 latching mechanism may be used to prevent the unnecessary opening of the pump.

Fig 4 shows the base section 55 in an open position. The foldable member 54 folds open about a pivot point on the lower end of the base section to a position

which is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the base section. Additionally, the retractable air hose 31 is released from the base section by pulling on the flexible member 32 and extends away from the base section to be connected to a tyre for a cycle.

5 The air hose 31 will now be described in more detail with reference to Fig 5. The air hose 31 comprises a connecter 3 la and a hose 3 lb. The connector 31a is provided with a ribbed section 310a which allows the connector 31a to be attached or detached from the hose 31b when required. The hose 31b is stored 10 within the inner cylinder of the pump with the end of the hose closest to the connector being capable of extending through an aperture in the base section. The other end of the hose is provided with a seal 310b which seals with the inner cylinder. The overall arrangement of the base section 55 and outer cylinder 3 is such 15 that with the foldable member 54 folded and the air hose 31 fully retracted, no part of the base section protrudes beyond the cross- sectional area of the outer cylinder 3 which is itself a sliding fit in the tubular section 15 of the cycle frame.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A manually operated pump comprising: two cylindrical members with a first cylindrical member slidable within a 5 second cylindrical member; wherein one end of the first cylindrical member is provided with a fitting to receive a saddle; wherein one end of said second cylindrical member is provided with a foot stand assembly which comprises a foldable foot stand and a retractable air hose.

2. A manually operated pump according to claim 1, wherein said second cylindrical member slides within said first cylindrical member.

3. A manually operated pump according to claim 2, wherein the manually 15 graspable member is a saddle attached to the fitting on the first cylindrical member.

4. A manually operated pump according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first and second cylindrical members are releasably connected together in a 20 closed position.

5. A manually operated pump according to claim 4, wherein the foldable member is provided with a resilient portion engageable with the first cylindrical member to releasably connect the cylindrical member together.

6. A manually operated pump according any one of the preceding claims wherein a flexible hose is provided for connecting the pump to a tyre to be inflated. 5

7. A manually operated pump according to claim 6, wherein the air hose is retractable within the second cylindrical member when not in use.

8. A frame for a cycle comprising a tubular section receiving a seat post, the post being in the form of a pump, as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.