BOTTLE HOLDER FOR EXTERNAL BATTERY

Abstract

A bottle holder for an external battery which comprises a longitudinal base designed to be fitted to a tube of the frame of an electric bicycle. Where the bottle holder comprises a main body attached to the base and the main body and the base partially form a cavity intended to house an external battery or a water bottle.The main body is also capable of adapting the size of the cavity in such a way as to accommodate the external battery with a non-circular section and larger than the water bottle section, and furthermore, the main body comprises an adjustment mechanism for closing the cavity holder and preventing the external battery from moving around inside the holder. In this way, the invention allows the user to be able to house an external battery or a water bottle using one single holder without changing different holders.

Claims

1. Bottle holder (1) for an external battery (4), comprising a longitudinal base (2) intended to be fitted on a tube of the frame of an electric bicycle and a main body (3) attached to the base (2), where the base (2) and the main body (3) partially form a cavity (5) intended to house an external battery (4) or a water bottle (7), where the holder (1) is characterized by comprising: an adjustment mechanism (6) to adjust the size of the cavity (5) so that it can accommodate an external battery (4) with a non-circular section larger than the section of the water bottle (7), where the cavity (5) comprises a space (5a) delimited between the main body (3) and the water bottle (7) when the water bottle (7) is inserted into the cavity (5) of the holder (1), and where the space (5a) is at least partly occupied by the external battery (4) when the external battery (4) is inserted in the cavity (5).

2. Holder (1), according to claim 1, where the adjustment mechanism (6) comprises at least one flange (6a) on the base (2), at least one flange (6a) on the main body (3) and an elastic element (6b).

3. Holder (1), according to claim 1, where the base (2) comprises a flat surface (2a), at least one inclined side surface (2b), extending from each side of the flat surface (2a), an upper surface (2c) extending perpendicularly from surfaces (2a, 2b) at an upper end (1a) and a lower surface (2d) extending perpendicularly from surfaces (2a, 2b) at a lower end (1b).

4. Holder (1), according to claim 1, where the main body (3) is a partially circular body that extends from the inclined surface (2b) of the base (2) on a partly vertical surface (3a) to a free end (3c) at the end of a curved surface (3b).

5. Holder (1), according to claim 1, where the cavity (5) is partly delimited by the base (2) and the main body (3), where the free end (3c) of the main body (3) is located over the inclined surface (2b) opposite the start of the main body (3).

6. Holder (1), according to claim 2, where at least one flange (6a) is located at the free end (3c) of the main body (3) and at least one flange (6a) is located on the inclined surface (2b) under the free end (3c).

7. Holder (1), according to claim 2, where the elastic element (6b) is placed around the flanges (6a), allowing the size of the cavity (5) to be adjusted.

8. Holder (1), according to claim 3, where the flat surface (2a) of the base (2) comprises projections (8) along an entire lower area of the flat surface (2a), intended to serve as supports on the tube of the bicycle frame.

9. Holder (1), according to claim 3, where the upper surface (2c) comprises at least one protrusion (9) on a free side, where the protrusion (9) is intended to restrict the longitudinal movement of the external battery (4) or the water bottle (7).

10. Holder (1), according to claim 1, where the external battery (4) comprises an internal configuration of cells (15) that makes up a non-circular section.

11. Holder (1), according to claim 1, where the internal configuration of the external battery (4) comprises 20 cells (15), forming 10 longitudinal rows (16), placed partially forming an ellipse inside a casing (13) and providing the external battery (4) with a capacity of 250 W/h.

12. Holder (1), according to claim 11, where the casing (13) comprises some notches (14) on the side intended to be placed against the holder (1), the notches (14) being placed on the protrusions (9) to prevent longitudinal displacement of the external battery (4) inside the holder (1).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] The details of the invention are shown in the following figures, which do not intend to limit the scope of the invention:

[0017] FIG. 1 shows a perspective of an embodiment of the holder and external battery together according to the invention.

[0018] FIG. 2 shows a perspective of the holder in FIG. 1.

[0019] FIG. 3 shows an elevation view of the holder in FIG. 1.

[0020] FIG. 4 shows a profile view of the holder in FIG. 1.

[0021] FIG. 5 shows perspective views of the holder in FIG. 1 with a water bottle (on the left) and an external battery (on the right) compatible with the holder of the invention.

[0022] FIG. 6 shows views from below of the holder in FIG. 1 with a water bottle (on the left) and an external battery (on the right) compatible with the holder of the invention.

[0023] FIG. 7 shows a perspective of the internal configuration of the external battery in FIG. 1.

[0024] FIG. 8 shows the cell configuration of the external battery in FIG. 7.

[0025] FIG. 9 shows an elevation view of an embodiment of the external battery compatible with the holder of the invention in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] The invention relates to a bottle holder (1) for an external battery (4) intended to be placed on the frame of an electric bicycle. Specifically, on the down tube of the electric bicycle frame. This bottle holder (1) includes the capacity to house a water bottle (7) or an external battery (4) compatible with the holder (1) of the invention.

[0027] The illustration in FIG. 1 shows a perspective of the holder (1) with the battery (4) inserted in the holder (1). As can be seen, the holder (1) comprises a longitudinal base (2), which is designed to be fixed to the down tube of the frame of an electric bicycle and a main body (3) attached to the base (2), which surrounds the external battery (4). Therefore, the base (2) and the main body (3) partially form a cavity (5) intended to house an external battery (4) or a water bottle (7).

[0028] On the one hand, the base (2) of the holder (1) is a longitudinal body comprising a flat surface (2a), at least one inclined side surface (2b), an upper surface (2c) and a lower surface (2d). The inclined surface (2b) extends from each side of the flat surface (2a), while the upper surface (2c) extends perpendicularly from the surfaces (2a, 2b) at an upper end (1a) of the holder (1) and the lower surface (2d) that extends perpendicularly from the surfaces (2a, 2b) at a lower end (1b) of the holder (1), as can be seen in FIG. 2. The upper surface (2c) comprises an upper height (h) smaller than a lower height (H) of the lower surface (2d) shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In this way, the lower surface (2d) is intended to be the lower stop on which the external battery (4) or the water bottle (7) rests, while the upper surface (2c) is intended to hold the external battery (4) or the water bottle (7). On the other hand, FIGS. 2 to 4, also show the main body (3) of the holder (1), which is a partly circular body that extends from the inclined surface (2b) of the base (2) on a partly vertical surface (3a) to a free end (3c) at the end of a curved surface (3b). In FIGS. 2 to 4, it can also be seen that the cavity (5) is partially delimited by the base (2) and the main body (3), where the free end (3c) of the main body (3) is located over the inclined surface (2b) opposite the beginning of the main body (3).

[0029] The holder (1) is characterized by the fact that it comprises an adjustment mechanism (6) to increase or decrease the size of the cavity (5), so as to allow it to house an external battery (4) with a non-circular section which is larger than the section of the water bottle (7) or can be adjusted to the section of the water bottle (7). The adjustment mechanism (6) comprises at least one flange (6a) on the base (2), at least one flange (6a) on the main body (3) and an elastic element (6b), as shown in FIG. 1. Specifically, the flanges (6a) are located on the free end (3c) of the main body (3) and on the inclined surface (2b) under the free end (3c). While the elastic element (6b) is placed around the flanges (6a), allowing the size of the cavity (5) to be adjusted.

[0030] In addition, the holder (1) is also characterized in that the cavity (5) comprises a space (5a) delimited between the main body (3) and the water bottle (7) when the water bottle (7) is inserted into the cavity (5) of the holder (1), while the space (5a) is at least partly occupied by the external battery (4) when the external battery (4) is inserted into the cavity (5) as shown in FIG. 6.

[0031] In other words, the adjustment mechanism (6) allows the cavity (5) to be adjusted when the external battery (4) is inserted, and subsequently, once the external battery (4) has been inserted, the elastic element (6b) of the adjustment mechanism (6) exerts a compression force on the flanges (6a), specifically, the elastic element (6b) aims to bring the flange (6a) of the free end (3c) of the main body (3) closer to the flange (6a) of the inclined surface (2b) of the base (2). In this way, the adjustment mechanism (6) is able to adjust the size of the cavity (5) of the holder (1) to the size of the external battery (4). Meanwhile, the main body (3) of the holder (1) allows the cavity (5) to be enlarged to put the water bottle (7) inside. In other words, the curved surface (3b) and the free end (3c) of the main body (3) are able to move away partially from the base (2) so that the water bottle (7) can be inserted into the holder (1). Once the water bottle (7) has been introduced into the cavity (5), it is held by the compression force exerted by the main body (3) on the water bottle (7) due to the fact that the curved surface (3b) and the free end (3c) tend to return to the initial position. In this way, the holder (1) is able to prevent the external battery (4) or the water bottle (7) from moving or coming out of the holder (1), by means of a quick, easy adjustment.

[0032] Optionally, the holder (1) also comprises at least one protrusion (9) on a free end of the surface of the upper surface (2c) as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. Preferably, the holder (1) comprises three protrusions (9) destined to restrict the longitudinal movement of the external battery (4) or the water bottle (7).

[0033] FIGS. 3 and 4 show that the flat surface (2a) of the base (2) comprises projections (8) along an entire lower area of the flat surface (2a) intended to be used as supports. Specifically, as seen in the Figures, the holder (1) comprises two rows with three projections (8) each, where each row of projections (8) is intended to serve as support on each side of the tube of the bicycle frame, keeping the holder (1) parallel to the tube of the electric bicycle. Furthermore, the holder (1) comprises at least one hole (12) in the flat surface (2a) intended to house at least one screw to fix the holder (1) in a fixed position on the tube of the electric bicycle frame.

[0034] Optionally, in FIG. 2 it is observed that the holder (1) comprises at least one space (10) in at least one surface of the base (2). Specifically, the flat surface (2a) and the inclined surfaces (2b) comprise two spaces (10) and the lower surface (2d), defined as a stop, comprises one space (10). In addition, in the embodiment of the figures, the main body (3) comprises at least one gap (11) that extends from the partly vertical surface (3a) towards the curved surface (3b). These spaces (10) and the gap (11) are designed to reduce weight and give an aesthetic appearance to the holder (1).

[0035] Additionally, the external battery (4) of the embodiment of the invention is intended to be housed in the cavity (5) of the holder (1) and comprises an internal configuration of cells (15) that make up a non-circular section compatible with the holder (1) of the invention as seen in FIG. 1, without the need to use a specific holder for the external battery (4) or complex tools for installation. The internal configuration of cells (15) of the external battery (4) comprises twenty cells (15), forming ten longitudinal rows (16), placed partially forming an ellipse inside a casing (13), where each row (16) is formed of two cells (15) as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The ellipse formed by the cell (15) configuration has a small axis equal to the diameter of the water bottle (7) where the diameter of a bottle of water is normally between 68-76 mm.

[0036] Furthermore, this configuration with twenty cells (15) provides the external battery (4) with a capacity of 250 W/h, which means a capacity and autonomy superior to existing batteries intended to be inserted in known bottle holders.

[0037] In FIG. 7 it is also observed that the external battery (4) together with the internal configuration of cells (15) comprises a casing (13), an electronic part (17) and a connection system (18) to recharge the external battery (4) connecting it to the electrical network. The casing (13) is rigid and is intended to house inside the internal configuration of cells (15) and the electronic part (17) as shown in FIG. 9. In this FIG. 9, the casing (13) also comprises at least one notch (14) on the side intended to be placed against the holder (1). So that the notches (14) are placed on the protrusions (9) of the base (2) of the holder (1), to avoid longitudinal displacement of the external battery (4) in the holder (1) when the external battery (4) is inserted in the cavity (5) of the holder (1).

[0038] For all the above reasons, thanks to the holder (1) and the external battery (4) compatible with the holder (1) of the invention, there is no need to change the holder when you want to exchange the external battery (4) for the water bottle (7) or vice versa, saving changeover time and obtaining an external battery (4) with greater autonomy.