Bicycle seat

Details Bicycle seat Bicycle seat

2002-04-22

2003-08-26

Cuomo, Peter M. (Department: 3636)

Chairs and seats

Straddle seat

Sectional or split relatively movable supporting surface

C297S195100, C297S215130, C297S208000, C297S312000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06609751

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a seat for a bicycle.
BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to a bicycle seat. Although the seat is especially suited for bicycles, it is basically possible to put the seat to advantageous use in other pedal-propelled vehicles, for instance, in exercise or fitness devices provided with pedals.
A conventional bicycle saddle entails considerable disadvantages, especially for those riders who cycle only occasionally. A small saddle, which is often used in racing bicycles or mountain bikes, strongly squeezes the soft tissue just below the pubic bone, which can cause severe pain if the rider is not accustomed to cycling. Although a larger saddle may reduce such painful accompanying phenomena during pedaling, such a saddle has the disadvantage that the rider slips constantly back and forth on the saddle with his buttocks while pedaling. If the rider is not accustomed to such movements, this motion will cause the buttocks to gradually get sore. To relieve the discomfort some riders stand while pedaling. However, standing while pedaling a bicycle is not very efficient and promotes back and leg discomfort. The neck, shoulders and other parts of the body can also be affected by the manner in which the rider is supported on the bicycle.
It has also been reported that bicycling can cause injury to the penial artery and cause male erection problems. Many bicycle seats press against the blood vessels in the groin restricting blood flow in that area. Consequently, there is a need for a bicycle seat. that exerts less pressure on the perineal region of the body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,559 discloses a bicycle seat comprising two movable seat halves that are supported to pivot in opposite directions. Another bicycle seat having two halves is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,754. These halves each have an arc shaped bottom that rides on rollers. Each half can move independently from the other half. Another type of pivoting bicycle seat disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,562 has trough members pivotably attached to the top of a pair of arms extending from the bicycle frame. These seats and many others were designed to relieve pressure in the perineal region of the human body of the rider. However, the seats developed prior to the present invention either did not solve the problem or could not be easily manufactured. Therefore, there is a need for a bicycle seat which relieves pressure in the perineal region and that can be easily manufactured, and more importantly solve the problem of sustaining comfortable seat pad positions and maximizing leg motion efficiency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
I provide a bicycle seat in which an elongated support has a pulley, or other low friction guide to reverse direction of a tension cable or strap attached to the center of the support and wings attached to each end. A guide rail is carried by the each wing. The guide rails are attached in a manner to permit movement of the first guide rail over the first wing along a first path, and movement the second guide rail over the second wing along a second path, such that the second path is substantially parallel to the first path. I prefer to provide a pair of wheels on each of the wings on which the guide rails ride. Seat pads are pivotably attached to the front end of each of the guide rails. There is a plane intersecting the first path and the second path through which plane the seat pads pass when the first and second guide rails move along their respective paths. The seat pads on the end of each guide rail may be saddle shaped. I also may attach a bicycle seat to the mounting bracket. This seat may include a horn.
At least one strap passes over the pulley, has one end attached to the rear end of the first guide rail and an opposite end attached to the rear end of the second guide rail. A pair offsprings is attached between the elongated support and each of the first guide rail or the second guide rail. If desired one spring could be used, but the system would not be balanced.
A second present preferred embodiment is similar to the first embodiment but the strap is attached to the front ends of the guide rails rather than the rear ends. Yet, another embodiment has two straps. One strap is connected to the front ends of the guide rails and the second strap is attached to the rear ends of the guide rails. In all cases, the straps are kept in tension.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a description of the present preferred embodiments shown in the drawings.


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