The invention relates, moreover, to a method for making a spoked wheel protecting device.

As is known, prior spoked wheels, while being broadly diffused in vehicles such as bicycles, motorcycles, mountainbikes and the like, are affected by some drawbacks.

At first, parts of clothes or transported articles could be jammed in the gaps of the wheel spokes, thereby said articles could be damaged and cause dangerous fallings.

Moreover, parts of the vehicle user or passengers such as fingers, hands, feet and the like, could enter the spoke gaps with consequent possible serious personal damages.

Such an event could occur, for example, in consequence of an accidental falling or could in turn cause dangerous fallings.

In this connection it should be also pointed out that the above mentioned risks would be very serious as children are transported on a bicycle.

Other articles, for example wood pieces, stones, grass and the like could enter the gaps of the wheel spokes, such as in a off-road use of a

mountainbike, with possible deleterious fallings of the bicycle user or passengers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the aim of the present invention is to provide a protecting device for protecting spoked wheels allowing to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks.

The above aim is achieved, according to one aspect of the present invention, by a protecting device for a spoked wheel, characterized in that said protecting device comprises two flaps, each of which is adapted to cover a major portion of the side surface of a respective side of said spoked wheel, with said flaps connecting means being operatively associated for providing connection with said spokes.

The present invention relates, moreover, to a method for making a device for protecting spoked wheels, characterized in that said method comprises the following steps: heat sealing to each said flap a respective flange; fitting each said flap on a respective side of said spoked wheel; securing each said flange to a pair of spokes near a crossing point thereof; and clamping peripheral portions of each said flap to the spokes of said spoked wheel.

The invention provides several advantages with respect to the prior art.

At first, the provision of flaps encompassing the two sides of the spoked wheel will prevent objects from penetrating said spokes, thereby preventing in turn dangerous fallings from occurring.

A second important advantage of. the

invention is that the inventive protecting device is so designed as to increase the exposed to the view part of the side surface of the bicycle or vehicle the device is applied to, which would be very useful in crossing roads (especially under poor visibility conditions), while obviating the use of light reflecting elements on the spokes.

Actually, it would be possible to easily provide any reflecting pattern on the surface of the mentioned flaps.

The provision of said surfaces, moreover, provides a possibility of customizing the vehicle by printing or forming on said flaps several patterns either colored or not or applying on the surfaces of said flaps self adhering labels and the like.

Another main advantage of the invention is the possibility of using the spoked wheel vehicle as an advertising vehicle: in fact, the large surface, corresponding to about 1.5 m2, of the four vehicle sides, would allow to expose to the view trademarks, wordings, photos, ornamental patterns and so on, providing very efficient advertising means.

Moreover, it would be also possible to provide, owing to the rotary movement of the spoked wheels, several pleasant visual effects, by providing on the wheel protective surfaces with suitable patterns and/or colored figures, specifically designed for advertising purposes or for TV recording sport events and so on.

Thus, by simply using a bicycle for a conventional intended use, the advertising information carried thereby will be displayed to a

lot of persons.

The protecting device according to the invention also improves the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle: in fact by closing the spaces between the wheel spokes, any turbulent and propeller effects due to the air displacement caused by the spoke movement would be overcome, thereby reducing the power consume and providing a very good aerodynamic penetration and a consequent greater speed, the driving power being the same, or with a smaller power requirement or less fatiguing, the traveling speed being the same.

In this connection it should be moreover pointed out that the inventive clamping system would allow to also apply very thin films, i. e. of very flexible nature, which could also be used in sport events, since they would provide a very light wheel assembly, having a performance very similar to that of a so-called lens wheel, and this in a very constructional strong spoked wheel.

Yet another advantage of the invention is that the inventive protecting device also allows to protect the wheel spokes from atmospheric agents or from dirt and mud during the normal operation of the vehicle, while protecting the metal parts of the spoked wheel against oxidation; furthermore, the device simplifies the cleaning operations on the spoked wheels, since the surfaces of the device are smooth and can easily be washed, differently from a conventional spoked wheel the individual spokes of which must be accurately cleaned by long and fatiguing cleaning operations.

A further advantage of the invention is that the provision of the mentioned flaps on the spoked wheel will provide, because of the rotary flap mass, a great gyroscopic effect on the wheel facilitating the control of the vehicle by the user, in particular on uneven roads or the like.

The protecting device according to the invention improves moreover the aesthetic aspect of the vehicle it is applied to, since it will provide a <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> "solid"aspect of the wheels similar to that of modern motorcycles including light alloy solid wheels.

Moreover, the protecting device according to the invention has a comparatively small weight and a high time duration.

Finally, the subject protecting device can be applied by few and simple operations owing to its specifically designed securing and clamping features.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become more apparent hereinafter from the following detailed disclosure, given by way of an illustrative but not limitative example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, where: Figure 1 is a side view of a spoked wheel including a protecting device according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view, substantially taken along a plane perpendicular to the wheel plane and passing through the hub of. said

wheel, clearly illustrating the procedure for securing the device of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view through a plane perpendicular to the wheel plane and passing through a peripheral connecting element, and clearly illustrating said peripheral connecting element; Figure 4 is an exploded view of the main elements forming the protecting device for spoked wheels according to the present invention; and Figure 5 is a schematic view of a detail of a central connection element of the protecting device according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following disclosure reference will be made to some preferred embodiments of the invention, which have been illustrated by way of an exemplary not limitative example of several possible variations of the invention.

In order to better understand the objects and operation of the present invention it should be pointed out, at first, that the connecting system for connecting to the spokes of a spoked wheel the protecting device according to the present invention is based on some concepts deriving from the configuration and constructional geometry of existing spoked wheels, with specific reference to the slanting arrangements of the spokes, which, in turn, depend on several size parameters, such as, for example, the size of the wheel tire, imposed by structural standards, to properly apply the subject protecting device to the most part of. the

commercially available spoked wheels.

In Figure 1, the protecting device for spoked wheels according to the present invention has been generally indicated by the reference number 1.

As shown, the device 1 comprises two flaps 2, each designed for covering the major portion of the side surface of a side of the spoked wheel 22 the device must be applied to.

Each said flap 2 has a substantially circular configuration, with a central hole 20, and is provided with a slot 10 extending from the outer circumference of the flap 2 to the central hole 20; the slot 10, in particular, would allow the flap 2 to be easily assembled, even in the presence of the pinions 17 of the transmission of a bicycle, by fitting the flap 2 between the pinions 17 and the hub 18 and then reclosing the flap 2 to connect the two end portions of the slot 10.

Because of the specifically designed geometrical configuration of the most part of prior bicycle wheel spokes, with the protective device 1 in its assembled condition, the end portions of the slots 10 will overlap one another and connected to one of the spokes 9: thus, the provision of the mentioned slot 10 would not alter the aesthetic configuration of the protecting cover formed by the flap 2.

As shown, to each said flap 2 a flange 3 is rigidly connected.

More specifically, each flange 3 is made rigid with its respective flap 2 by a thermosealing operation, the thermosealing zones 15 providing

connection of the flap 2 and flange 3 being clearly visible.

Each said flange 3 comprises at least three radially extending elements 4, having a cross band 5 coupled to preset spokes 9 of the spoked wheel 22; moreover, each said cross band 5 of the flange 3 is provided with cut-outs 6 cooperating to provide the disclosed connecting system.

Actually, each cross band 5 can be easily deformed to provide a first eyelet 7 encompassing a pair of adjoining spokes 9, as shown in Figure 5, the connection being further facilitated by a mutual engagement of the cut-outs 6 to provide the first eyelet 7 of the cross band 5; moreover, for improving said connection, a second eyelet 8 of the cross band 5 is likewise formed by engaging yet other cut-outs 6.

Thus, as disclosed, the protecting device 1 can be easily connected to the central region of the spoked wheel 22 at a pair of spokes 9 thereof.

The spoked wheel protecting device according to the invention comprises moreover, for each said flap 2, a plurality of adhesive round elements 13, arranged on said flap, at a peripheral position with respect to the center of the spoked wheel 22, and adapted to provide the peripheral connecting elements 16 of the protecting device 1.

Each said adhesive round element 13 is associated with a corresponding spoke 9 to connect to the latter a portion of one of the flaps 2.

As shown, between the flap 2 and its respective spoke 9 a two-side adhesive element 11 is

preferably arranged and, between the two-side adhesive elements 11 and the adhesive round element 13 a reinforcement rod element 12 is further arranged, to provide the peripheral connection element 16 as shown in Figure 3.

The protecting device 1 further comprises an opening 14 allowing the valve 19 to be easily accessed, said opening 14 being further improved by applying an adhesive to hold the two flaps 2 connected at this point.

Finally, it is preferred to connect, for example by adhesive elements, the flaps 2 of opposite sides of the same spoked wheel 22, at a plurality of peripheral points or spots, thereby preventing air from entering the space between the two flaps 2, for preventing any undesired swelling of said flaps 2.

This provision would be particularly useful as a bicycle is transported on the roof of a car, in which case a high speed of the car would cause a possible detachment of one or both said flaps 2.

The present invention, as stated, further relates to a method for making a spoked wheel protecting device.

At first, according to the inventive method, for each side of a spoked wheel 22 a flap 2 will be provided, said flap including a flange 3, thermosealed to said flap at preset spots, in particular at thermosealing areas 15.

Then, a peripheral connection element 16 will be provided and coupled (such an operation being preferably carried out as a preliminary operation, even if this would not be strictly necessary).

Then, the flap 2 will be fitted to the spoked wheel 22, and, if a pinion would be present, then it will easily pass through the slot 10, the eyelets 7, formed by engaging the cut-outs 6 being in turn fitted to a pair of spokes 9 near the crossing point thereof, while the flap 2 will be affixed by the peripheral connection elements 16, coupling the peripheral portions of said flap 2 to the spokes 9 of the spoked wheel 22 by the mentioned adhesive elements 13.

Then, the flap 2 will be reclosed so as to arrange the slot 10, upon reclosing, at a wheel spoke 9, while forming the opening 14 for the valve 19 and applying to said opening an adhesive will hold the two flaps 2 connected at this region.

Finally, as mentioned, by applying adhesive elements, the flaps 2 pertaining to the opposite sides of the same spoked wheel 22 will be preferably connected and this connection operation will be repeated at a plurality of peripheral zones between the individual spokes of the wheel.

The central connection of the flat 2, by the flange 3, will prevent the spoked wheel 22 from axially rotating, thereby in turn preventing the flap 2 from moving outward of the spoked wheel (either rightwardly or leftwardly), while providing an axial/radial connection hindering the flap 2 from moving toward the peripheral portion of the wheel and providing an angular/radial connection, with respect to the wheel spokes 9, allowing the opening of the flap overlaying a spoke 9 to be properly sealed.

On the other hand, the peripheral

connection of the flap by the peripheral connecting elements 16 applied to the spokes 9 will prevent any outward detachment.

The disclosed method further provides to engage the flap 2 under the pinions 17 of the rear spoked wheel, while allowing the flaps 2 to be independently mounted either on the right or on the left portion, thereby protecting device 1 can be easily assembled without disassembling the spoked wheel 22.

Thus, the aim and objects of the invention have been achieved by a protecting device which can be easily rigidly applied to a spoked wheel, said device having a comparatively small weight and a long life or duration.

Prototype protecting devices have been made by using a PVC film (as properly calendered) having a thickness of 0.3 mm, which has been found suitable to provide a very high mechanical strength and stiffness; however it should be apparent that the subject protecting device 1 can be also made by using other materials and thicknesses for fitting other desired features, according to requirements.