GB2630799A

GB2630799A - Two-legged kickstand assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2630799A
Application number: GB2308573.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Thorpe Richard
Original assignee: Karbon Kinetics Ltd
Current assignee: Karbon Kinetics Ltd
Priority date: 2023-06-08
Filing date: 2023-06-08
Publication date: 2024-12-11
Also published as: GB202308573D0

Abstract

A kickstand assembly for a two-wheeled vehicle comprises: a body 5, first and second legs 11, each leg 11 coupled to the body 5, rotatable relative to the body 5 between a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration about respective first and second axes extending non-parallel relative to one another, and having a bevel gear (6, figure 3) configured to mesh with the bevel gear 6 of the other leg 11 such that a rotation of either leg 11 causes a corresponding rotation of the other leg 11.

Description

Two-Legged Kickstand Assembly

BACKGROUND

Kickstands are an accessory for bicycles and other two-wheeled vehicles such as motorcycles and scooters (including motorised and non-motorised scooters), providing stability and convenience when parking or temporarily storing the vehicle. In the market, kickstands can be broadly categorized into two main variants: one-legged kickstands and two-legged kickstands.

From here on, references to a 'bike' are to be understood as applicable all two-wheeled vehicles (including at least motorcycles, motorised scooters and non-motorised scooters in addition to pedal bicycles). On the other hand, references to a 'pedal bicycle' may be considered as specific to a two-wheeled vehicle that may be, at least partially, pedal-powered.

One-legged kickstands are the most common type and feature a single leg that extends downward from a bike frame. In pedal bicycles, these kickstands typically attach near the rear wheel dropout or chain stay of the pedal bicycle. When deployed, the kickstand provides support by resting the bike at a slight angle, usually leaning against the non-drive side of the frame. One-legged kickstands are lightweight, simple to use, and suitable for most standard pedal bicycles as well as many other two-wheeled vehicles. However, one-legged kickstands may not offer as much stability when the bike is loaded with heavy cargo or parked on uneven surfaces.

Two-legged kickstands, also known as double-legged or centre stands, provide enhanced stability by offering support from both sides of the bike. They typically feature two legs that extend downward and connect near the centre of the bike frame.

Two-legged kickstands provide a wider base and distribute the weight more evenly tan one-legged kickstands. The provision of greater stability means that two-legged kickstand are preferred for heavier cargo-laden bicycles, motorcycles or motorised scooters.

However, a drawback of two-legged kickstands is that they are not slim and compact when stowed and they can obstruct a rider's foot, when pedalling for example.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a kickstand assembly for a two-wheeled vehicle, the kickstand assembly comprising: a body; and, first and second legs, each leg coupled to the body, rotatable relative to the body between a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration about respective first and second axes extending non-parallel relative to one another, and having a bevel gear configured to mesh with the bevel gear of the other leg such that a rotation of either leg causes a corresponding rotation of the other leg.

As such, the kickstand assembly provides a solution to the problem of creating a two-legged kickstand with both a wide deployed configuration and a compact, 'legs-together' stowed configuration by incorporating a bevel geared leg coupling arrangement for legs pivotable about non-parallel axes.

The two legs in the wide stance of the deployed configuration offer increased stability, even on uneven surfaces, making the kickstand assembly ideal for heavier or cargo-laden bicycles, motorcycles or motorised scooters, for example. Meanwhile, in the compact stowed configuration, the legs may be substantially hidden under the frame of the bike and unlikely to obstruct movement of a user's feet while riding.

In some embodiments, the bevel gears may mesh with one another along an interface axis substantially bisecting the first and second axes. Further, the bevel gears may be configured such that the interface axis aligns, in use, with a central plane of the two-wheeled vehicle.

In one or more embodiments, the first and second axes may intersect one another.

Intersecting first and second axes that are non-parallel enable the two legs to deploy in a wide and sturdy stance as well as stow in a compact, legs-together position. This angle of leg pivot axis can vary from 90 degree, although selecting an angle 90 degrees may improve the options and availability of the bevel gear to be used.

Furthermore, as the pivot axis angle is reduced below 90 degrees, an increasingly high stress is placed on the legs and pivot structure, making them prone to lower reliability and robustness. However, the larger that the pivot axis angle is, the longer the legs need to be in order to make stable contact with the ground. This can make the legs more prone to bending or breaking under high loads and may also have an adverse effect on the compactness of the legs when in the stowed configuration.

Accordingly, the first and second axes may extend at an angle relative to one another of between 60° and 120°; preferably, between 80° and 100°; more preferably, about 90°.

In some embodiments, the bevel gears may be configured such that movement of one leg causes movement of the other leg with substantially the same angular velocity.

The bevel gears enable the legs to be fully coupled in a consistent manner throughout their range of angle, during stowing and deployment, such that moving one leg creates a similar movement in the other leg. The user can therefore use an intuitive way of stowing the kickstand which is to move either one of the two legs with the user's foot -the so called "kick" of kickstand. If the legs of a two-legged kickstand are not coupled, when the user moves to stow the kickstand, one leg will stay in the deploy position.

In some embodiments, each leg may be rotatable through a transition configuration in between the stowed configuration and the deployed configuration. The kickstand assembly may further comprise a biasing element extending from the body to the first leg and configured to bias the first leg towards the stowed configuration when the first leg is between the transition configuration and the stowed configuration, and bias the first leg towards the deployed configuration when the first leg is between the transition configuration and the deployed configuration.

In some such embodiments, the biasing element may additionally extend from the body to the second leg and be configured to bias the second leg towards the stowed configuration when the second leg is between the transition configuration and the stowed configuration, and bias the second leg towards the deployed configuration when the second leg is between the transition configuration and the deployed configuration.

In further embodiments, the biasing element may comprise at least one gas strut, coil spring or electrically driven lead screw.

In some embodiments, the first and second legs may be made from a material that is or comprises at least one of aluminium, carbon fibre and steel. Meanwhile, the body may be made from a material that is or comprises at least one of carbon fibre and a metal material. Furthermore, each bevel gear may be made from a material that is or comprises a hardened steel.

In some embodiments, the body may be affixable to a two-wheeled vehicle frame or integrally formed with a frame of a two-wheeled vehicle.

In further embodiments, each bevel gear may be removably fixed to the respective leg or integrally formed with the respective leg.

According to another aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a two-wheeled vehicle comprising a kickstand assembly according to the aspect described above, or any one of its embodiments.

The features and advantages of the aforementioned aspect of the disclosure and its embodiments apply mutatis mutandis to this aspect of the disclosure and its em bodiments.

In some embodiments, the two-wheeled vehicle may be a pedal bicycle; optionally, a folding pedal bicycle; preferably, a folding pedal bicycle with at least one side-mounted wheel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Examples of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a kickstand assembly, with legs deployed; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the kickstand assembly shown in Figure 1, with legs stowed; Figure 3 is a cross section of the kickstand assembly shown Figure 1; Figure 4 is a cross section of a leg of the kickstand assembly, when stowed; Figure 5 is a cross section of the leg shown in Figure 4, when deployed; Figure 6 is a cross section of a bevel gear of the leg shown in Figure 4; Figure 7 shows a side view of a bicycle with the kickstand assembly of Figure 1 fitted thereto; and, Figure 8 shows a side view of a bicycle with the kickstand assembly Figure 2 fitted thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figures 1 and 2 show an example of a kickstand assembly 1 comprising first and second legs 2 rotatably coupled to a body 5. In this example, each leg 2 is connected to the body 5 by a pivot pin 4 (visible in Figure 2) to provide the rotatable connection.

Figure 1 shows the kickstand assembly 1 with the legs 2 in a deployed configuration while Figure 2 shows the kickstand assembly 1 with the legs 2 in a stowed configuration.

The legs 2 could be manufactured from a material that is or includes aluminium, for example using a CNC machining process, a forging process, a forming process, or a die casting process. The legs could also be manufactured from carbon fibre, using a moulding process for example; or from steel, using a hollow steel tube construction for example.

Each leg 2 has a foot 11 at one end. Each foot may be a rubber type material that is replaceable if worn out, such as by screw fixing to the respective leg 2. In this example, the foot 11 of the first leg 2 abuts against the foot 11 of the second leg 2 when the legs 2 are in the stowed configuration. This interaction acts as an end stop of the stowed configuration for the legs 2. In other embodiments, the end stop of the stowed configuration could be an interface between the legs and the kickstand body or between the legs and a bike frame to which the kickstand assembly is mounted.

In this example, the kickstand body 5 is formed to have a shape compatible to affix to a pedal bicycle frame using adhesive, double-sided tape, bolts and/or screws for example. The kickstand body 5 may be made from carbon fibre using a moulding process for example; or from a metal material, using gravity casting, die casting or any other suitable process for forming a metal.

The kickstand assembly 1 further comprises a biasing element extending from the body to the each leg 2. More specifically, in this example, the biasing element comprises gas struts 3 (visible in Figure 1) extending from the body 5 to each leg 2. Each leg 2 is formed to receive a fixing bolt 10 located at one end of the respective gas strut 3, the other end of the gas strut being fixed to the body 5 with a further fixing bolt 10.

The nature of the biasing element will be described in more detail below with reference to Figures 4 and 5.

Figure 3 is a cross section of the invention through a plane formed by first and second axes 2a about which the first and second legs 2 are rotatable. The kickstand body 5 is shown to receive the pivot pins 4 to rotatably secure each leg 2 through the interface of a pair of pivot bush 8. Each pivot pin 4 may be a steel fastener with a threaded end for securing in a matching thread in the body 5. Each pivot bush 8 may be of a typical and well-known variety of polymer or metal plain flanged bushing to provide robust stiffness in the connection of the leg 2 with the body 5 whilst providing low friction for easy rotation of the leg 2 with respect to the body 5.

Rigidly secured to each leg 2 is a bevel gear 6 configured to mesh with the bevel gear 6 of the other leg 2 via a bevel interface 12.

In this example, the kickstand assembly 1 is configured such that the first and second axes intersect one another and extend at an angle relative to one another of about 90 degrees. Further, the bevel gears 6 are configured such that the bevel interface 12 extends along an interface axis (not shown) that substantially bisects the first and second axes, i.e., the interface axis evenly divides the angle between the first and second axes 2a. The interface axis also aligns, in use, with a central plane of the two-wheeled vehicle to which it would be fitted. Any movement in one leg 2 will result in a similar movement in the other leg 2.

The bevel gears 6 may be made from high strength and hardened steel.

Figure 4 shows a cross section of a leg 2 and respective gas strut 3 when the leg 2 is the stowed configuration. Also shown is a central axis 3a of the gas strut 3 and a centreline 13 extending through a central axis of the pivot pin 4 (about which the leg 2 rotates) and a central axis of the fixing bolt 10 that couples the gas strut 3 to the body 5.

The gas strut 3 is configured to provide a positive force extending the strut as well as damping to slow the struts' movement. The gas strut 3 is fixed to the leg 2 with an 'over-centre' arrangement such that the force extending the gas strut 3 acts on the leg 2 in order that the leg 2 is brought into the stowed configuration via rotation about the pivot pin 4. This biasing of the leg 2 towards the stowed configuration exists until the leg 2 is rotated such that the central axis 3a of the gas strut 3 rotates beyond the centreline 13, at which point, the gas strut 3 biases the leg 2 towards the deployed configuration.

Figure 5 shows the same cross-sectional view as Figure 4, except the leg 2 is now in the deployed configuration. As can be seen, the central axis 3a of the gas strut 3 is rotated beyond the centreline 13. Thus, the force extending the gas strut 3 now acts on the leg 2 in order that the leg 2 is held in the deployed configuration. Indeed, as soon as the central axis of the gas strut 3 rotates beyond the centreline 13, due to the kick' of a user for example, the force extending the gas strut 3 will bias the leg 2 towards the deployed configuration.

Considered in more general terms, the biasing element is configured to bias each leg 2 towards the deployed configuration when each leg 2 is between a transition configuration (wherein the central axis 3a of the gas strut 3 is aligned with the centreline 13) and the deployed configuration, and bias each leg 2 towards the stowed configuration when each leg is between the transition configuration and the stowed configuration.

One or both of the gas struts 3 could alternatively be a coil spring variant of strut or even an electrically driven lead screw type of strut.

Figures 4 and 5 also show that, in this example, the bevel gear 6 is affixed to the leg 2 with one or more gear fixing bolts 7. (To simplify the illustrations of Figures 4 and 5, the teeth of the bevel gear are not shown.) Figure 6 shows a cross section of a leg 2 and respective bevel gear 6 through an axis 2a about which the leg 2 rotates. The axis 2a is also a central axis of the pivot pin 4.

As mentioned above, the leg 2 is rotatably mounted to the pivot pin 4 via a pair of pivot bush 8.

In this example, the leg 2 is formed to receive the bevel gear 6 by mutual surface shape and the bevel gear 6 is held in place with one or more gear coupler fixing bolts 7. The interface between the leg 2 and the bevel gear 6 could be bonded with adhesive in addition to mechanical fastening with the one or more gear coupler fixing bolts 7. Alternatively, the bevel gear 6 could be integrally formed with the leg 2.

Figure 7 shows a side view of the kickstand assembly 1 fitted to a pedal bicycle 14, the legs 2 in the deployed configuration. The kickstand assembly 1 may be separate to the pedal bicycle 14 and fitted to the pedal bicycle 14 by way of the body 5 using adhesive, double-sided tape, bolts and/or screws. Alternatively, the kickstand assembly 1, specifically the body 5, may be integrally formed with the pedal bicycle 14. As a result of the legs 2 being deployed, a wheel of the pedal bicycle 14 may be lifted from the ground slightly, as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 8 shows the same side view as Figure 7 except the legs 2 are in the stowed configuration. It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the kickstand assembly 1 may also be fitted to the bicycle in the opposite orientation, so that the legs 2 project forwards from the body 5 when in the stowed configuration, and still perform the same functionality.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A kickstand assembly for a two-wheeled vehicle, the kickstand assembly comprising: a body; and, first and second legs, each leg coupled to the body, rotatable relative to the body between a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration about respective first and second axes extending non-parallel relative to one another, and having a bevel gear configured to mesh with the bevel gear of the other leg such that a rotation of either leg causes a corresponding rotation of the other leg.
2. A kickstand assembly according to claim 1, wherein the bevel gears mesh with one another along an interface axis substantially bisecting the first and second axes.
3. A kickstand assembly according to claim 2, wherein the bevel gears are configured such that the interface axis aligns, in use, with a central plane of the two-wheeled vehicle.
4. A kickstand assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the first and second axes intersect one another.
5. A kickstand assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the first and second axes extend at an angle relative to one another of between 60° and 120°; preferably, between 80° and 100°; more preferably, about 90°.
6. A kickstand assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the bevel gears are configured such that movement of one leg causes movement of the other leg with substantially the same angular velocity.
7. A kickstand assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein: each leg is rotatable through a transition configuration in between the stowed configuration and the deployed configuration; and, the kickstand assembly further comprises a biasing element extending from the body to the first leg and configured to bias the first leg towards the stowed configuration when the first leg is between the transition configuration and the stowed configuration, and bias the first leg towards the deployed configuration when the first leg is between the transition configuration and the deployed configuration.
8. A kickstand assembly according to claim 7, wherein the biasing element additionally extends from the body to the second leg and is configured to bias the second leg towards the stowed configuration when the second leg is between the transition configuration and the stowed configuration, and bias the second leg towards the deployed configuration when the second leg is between the transition configuration and the deployed configuration.
9. A kickstand assembly according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the biasing element comprises at least one gas strut, coil spring or electrically driven lead screw.
10. A kickstand assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the first and second legs are made from a material that is or comprises at least one of aluminium, carbon fibre and steel.
11. A kickstand assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the body is made from a material that is or comprises at least one of carbon fibre and a metal material.
12. A kickstand assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein each bevel gear is made from a material that is or comprises a hardened steel.
13. A kickstand assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the body is affixable to a two-wheeled vehicle frame or integrally formed with a frame of a two-wheeled vehicle.
14. A kickstand assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein each bevel gear is removably fixed to the respective leg or integrally formed with the respective leg.
15. A two-wheeled vehicle comprising a kickstand assembly according to any preceding claim.
16. A two-wheeled vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the two-wheeled vehicle is a pedal bicycle; optionally, a folding pedal bicycle; preferably, a folding pedal bicycle with at least one side-mounted wheel.