Wheel holder for a bicycle carrier

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10464499-B2
Application number	US-201815926747-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 20, 2018
Priority date	Jun 5, 2014
Publication date	Nov 5, 2019
Grant date	Nov 5, 2019

Abstract

A wheel holder for a bicycle carrier for a vehicle includes at least one body and at least one fastening member. The wheel holder is configured to receive and retain a wheel having a tread. The at least one body provides a first wheel receiving surface and a second wheel receiving surface. The first and second wheel receiving surfaces are separated by a distance in a first plane. The first plane is aligned with a rotation plane of the wheel of the bicycle after the wheel has been mounted to the wheel holder. A void is formed between the first and second wheel receiving surfaces. The void is configured to receive a portion of the wheel of the bicycle such that the first and second wheel receiving surfaces provide a first support point and a second support point on the tread of the wheel separated by the void.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A wheel holder for a bicycle carrier for a vehicle, the wheel holder having a length, a width, and a height and configured to receive and retain a wheel having a tread, the wheel holder comprising:
at least one body providing a first wheel receiving surface and a second wheel receiving surface, the first and second wheel receiving surfaces being separated a distance in a first plane, the first plane being aligned with a rotation plane of the wheel of the bicycle after the wheel has been mounted to the wheel holder, wherein the rotation plane is aligned along the length of the wheel holder; and
at least one fastening member configured to retain the wheel of the bicycle to the first and second wheel receiving surfaces of the body,
wherein a void is formed between the first and second wheel receiving surfaces, and configured to receive a portion of the wheel of the bicycle such that the first and second wheel receiving surfaces provide a first support point and a second support point on the tread of the wheel separated by the void when the fastening member retains the wheel of the bicycle to the body of the wheel holder.

2. The wheel holder according to claim 1 , wherein the void is at least partly formed by an aperture or recess in one body.

3. The wheel holder according to claim 1 , wherein the void is at least partly formed by a void formed between two separate bodies.

4. The wheel holder according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second receiving surfaces are each raised with respect to the at least one body.

5. The wheel holder according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one fastening member is configured to extend between the first and second support points.

6. The wheel holder according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second wheel receiving surfaces is displaceably arranged to the at least one body such that the distance between the first and second wheel receiving surfaces can be changed.

7. The wheel holder according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one body is a single body, and the first and second wheel receiving surfaces are integrally formed in one piece of material with the single body.

8. The bicycle carrier according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second wheel receiving surfaces are formed by a first ridge portion and a second ridge portion.

9. The bicycle carrier according to claim 8 , wherein the first ridge portion or the second ridge portion comprises at least one arc shaped ridge extending along the first plane.

10. The bicycle carrier according to claim 9 , wherein the at least one arc shaped ridge is partly arc shaped or symmetrically arc shaped.

11. The wheel holder according to claim 9 , wherein a height of at least one arc shaped ridge can be adjusted.

12. The wheel holder according to claim 8 , wherein the first ridge portion or the second ridge portion comprises at least two arc shaped ridges having different heights.

13. The wheel holder according to claim 12 , wherein the at least two arc shaped ridges have two opposing sides facing towards each other and two opposing sides facing away from each other, and the two opposing sides facing towards each other are vertical or the two opposing sides facing away from each other are angled with respect to a vertical axis.

14. The wheel holder according to claim 8 , wherein the first ridge portion or the second ridge portion comprises two ridges, and the two ridges are interspaced in a direction perpendicular to the first plane.

15. The wheel holder according to claim 1 , wherein the wheel has a rim with a hub and a tire, and the hub and a first portion of the tire is positioned on either side of a line drawn between the first and second wheel receiving surfaces.

16. The wheel holder according to claim 15 , wherein the first portion of the tire comprises a point on the tire which intersects a vertical axis extending through the hub of the wheel.

17. The wheel holder according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second wheel receiving surfaces each has an apex, and configured such that a line drawn between the apex of the first wheel receiving surface and the apex of the second wheel receiving surface is horizontal.

18. A bicycle carrier comprising at least one wheel holder according to claim 1 , wherein the wheel holder is slideably arranged to the bicycle carrier.

19. A bicycle carrier for a vehicle, comprising:
an elongate bar; and
a wheel holder coupled to the elongate bar and configured to receive and retain a bicycle wheel, the wheel holder comprising:
a body having a wheel receiving surface; and
a first plane perpendicular to a rotation axis of the bicycle wheel when the bicycle wheel is received on the wheel holder,
wherein the wheel receiving surface comprises a plurality of raised ridges extending along the first plane.

20. The wheel holder according to claim 19 , wherein at least one raised ridge of the plurality of raised ridges is an arc shape, a convex shape, or some combination thereof.

21. The bicycle carrier according to claim 19 , wherein the elongate bar comprises a groove configured to couple to the wheel holder.

22. The bicycle carrier according to claim 21 , wherein the wheel holder is configured to slideably adjust along the groove.

23. The bicycle carrier according to claim 19 , wherein a first raised ridge of the plurality of raised ridges is forward of the rotation axis and a second raised ridge of the plurality of raised ridges is rearward of the rotation axis.

Assignees

• Thule Sweden Ab

Inventors

• Arvidsson Andreas
• Lindholm Olof
• Lindell Morgan

Classifications

• B60R9/048 Primary

  Carriers characterised by article-gripping {, -covering,}-retaining, or -locking means · CPC title

• B60R9/10 Primary

  for cycles · CPC title

• B62H3/08

  involving recesses or channelled rails for embracing the bottom part of a wheel · CPC title

• B60Y2200/13

  Bicycles; Tricycles · CPC title