Supports: racks – Article locking – Velocipede type
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-02
2002-09-10
Johnson, Blair M. (Department: 3634)
Supports: racks
Article locking
Velocipede type
C248S551000, C248S303000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06446816
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of storing vehicles and equipment when they are not in use and, more particularly, to securely storing such items in a manner that reduces the risk of theft of same.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The bicycle, of course, is not a new invention. Remarkably, though, it retains extraordinary utility and remains an important device around the world despite its mechanical simplicity. Notwithstanding the dominance the automobile has achieved during the last half century as the major mode of transportation on American highways, the bicycle continues to provide transportation, entertainment, and exercise for millions of Americans. In many other countries, the bicycle is the dominant source of affordable transportation, and in a world growing ever more concerned about the detrimental effect the automobile has on the environment, the bicycle along with public transportation is seen as a socially valuable alternative to the automobile. Moreover, the bicycle is a valuable exercise tool for increasingly health conscious American adults, and, of course, for the foreseeable future the bicycle will remain a ubiquitous feature of childhood for millions of America's youth.
Nonetheless, many of the features that make the bicycle such a useful device—lightweight and highly mobile—also ensure that the bicycle is an easy target for theft. According to national crime statistics, every year an estimated 5.6 million bicycles are stolen. (Source: NBC Dateline, Sep. 30, 1997.) Indeed, the resale market for stolen bicycles is a billion dollar-a-year industry, according to these same statistics. The same risk pertains to many useful devices found in the garage of the average American home, including other lightweight vehicles such as mopeds, and yard equipment such as mechanical hedgers, electric clippers, and even lawnmowers. Such devices, like the bicycle, are valuable because they are handy and easy to move, but this is also what makes such devices so vulnerable to a would-be thief going past an open door to a garage where these devices are invariably stored.
Over the years, a number of bicycle storing devices have been proposed in an attempt to provide convenience or anti-theft benefits. Some existing devices attempt to combine such features. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,936, issued to Hoenig and titled Bicycle Hanger, describes a vertical, wall-mountable device for holding a two-wheeled bicycle in a vertical position with one bicycle tire held on a narrow hook at the top of the device and the second tire resting within a near-floor level ring along with a second ring near the first to hold a lock and chain. U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,461, issued to Heffley and titled Bicycle Locking Device, describes a device mounted to a wall or other surface and having at its base a support arm attached to a locking arm, both of which can pivot upwardly or remain locked in place in a horizontal position. At the end of the locking arm, a “jaw-like” fastener capable of holding a bicycle crossbar is attached.
The Hoenig device requires a plurality of spaced-apart connections holding it to a vertical wall surface if it is to have “vertical stability.” In contrast, the base of the Heffley device could be attached, for example, to a ceiling surface. Both devices, however, exhibit the same limitation with respect to bicycle theft deterrence: the portions designed to hold separate locking members are within easy reach for a would-be thief. Heffley suggests placing a padlock through a narrow hole in a lip at the end of the crossbar fastener, but to easily store the bike the fastener must be in easy reach so that one can lift the entire bicycle vertically upward so as to place the crossbar in the vise-like grip positioned at the end of the locking arm. This ensures, though, that the padlock will be just as easy to reach as the locking arm and grip. Accordingly, the lock will be an easy reach for a potential thief as well.
Although the chain-accommodating ring in Hoenig provides a mechanism for securing a bicycle with a heavier, more secure lock as compared to the simple padlocks utilizable in devices like that of Heffley, the position of the ring is nonetheless like the locking lip shown in Heffley, for example, which is easy to reach for would-be thieves. Indeed, a loop, positioned as in Hoenig, is even more theft-amenable in that it is positioned near the bottom of the device near the ring in which a tire rests. A would-be thief crouched in a corner of an open garage would be able to easily attack the lock and chain extending through the ring. Thus, while the ring accommodates a more secure locking device as compared to a Heffley-style padlock, the position of the ring allows a thief to have easy access to the locking device while keeping a low-profile so as to reduce the chance of being seen while undoing the lock.
Other devices similarly fail to provide an apparatus that not only allows one to easily position a bicycle for storing, yet also includes a locking mechanism or place to attach a separate lock that is not within easy reach of a would-be bicycle thief. U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,007, issued to Fritz, et al. and titled Rack Especially Adapted for Use with Bicycles, for example, describes an L-shaped rack that basically provides a wheel well mounted to a wall; one bicycle tire rests on the ground while the other is positioned in the well-founded well and locked in place. A chain or bar lock can be positioned through and within spaced-apart holes in the wall-mounted rack, but it is placed around the wheel which must be restrained lest it slide out of the sloping well that is the interior of the rack.
The disadvantages of such devices are multifold. First one must hold the bicycle in place without its slipping out of the wheel well while the locking member is threaded into place. This can be cumbersome. Secondly, while it is certainly cumbersome to hold a bicycle in place while threading a lock so as to keep it in place, the lock will be left at a level height that would be convenient for a potential thief to access. Placing the lock higher would force a thief to reach up, making disengagement difficult while also making the would-be thief easier to detect, but, placing the lock higher, would make mounting the bicycle in the well and holding it there long enough to thread a lock that much more difficult for the bicycle owner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,009, issued to Smith and titled Bicycle Rack, describes a device that can be attached to almost any surface, provided multiple connection points are utilized to adequately secure the device to the chosen surface. Specifically, Smith describes an elongated channel having a stepped base and right-angled wall member with spaced-apart holes to facilitate fasteners that can be threaded through the spokes of a bicycle to hold a bicycle tire to the channel member. Smith does permit one to place a bicycle out of easy reach of a potential thief. Doing so, however, entails mounting the rack to an upper wall portion or ceiling of a structure and then attaching the bicycle by securing its tires to the device with securing pins. This might be acceptable in cases where a bicycle owner wanted to store the bicycle for an extended period, but it would it be an unduly burdensome task to perform on a daily basis. Thus, whatever advantages would be gained by securing the rack to an upper surface so as to reduce access for a would be thief, would accordingly make it commensurately difficult for the bicycle owner to position the bicycle for storing it. Like the other devices, however, placing the rack in a lower, easier to reach position could be an invitation to a bicycle thief, especially given that a well-known method of stealing a bicycle having a lock around tire is simply to separate the tire and the bicycle frame.
Indeed, while failing to recognize the essential problem of preventing easy access to the locking member, conventional devices in fact provide little in the way of easy mounting of the bicycle to be stored. Both Smith-sty
Bracewell & Patterson LLP
Harris Erica B.
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