Sleeve for a vehicle accessory connector, and a vehicle accessory mounting kit

• US 10,343,720 B2
• Filed: 09/19/2017
• Issued: 07/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bombardier Recreational Products Incorporated (Bombardier Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Bombardier Recreational Products Incorporated (Bombardier Incorporated)
• Inventors: Savard, Laurent, Mathieu, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Kiran B
• Application Number:
  US15/708,899
• Publication Number:
  US 20190009823A1
• Time in Patent Office: 658 Days
• Field of Search: 296 107, 296 29
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 21/183 specially adapted for sports vehicles, e.g. race, dune buggies, go-karts tubular skeleton B62D23/005
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 23/005 with integrated chassis in the whole shell, e.g. meshwork, tubes, or the like B62D33/044 takes precedence

Abstract

A sleeve for a vehicle accessory connector for mounting a vehicle accessory to a tubular frame of a vehicle which comprises a tubular body having a first open end, a second open end and a body thickness, the body thickness being circumferentially eccentric, the tubular body comprising two connectable portions; and an open ended slot defined in the tubular body, the open ended slot extending from the first open end towards the second open end and being spaced from the second open end.

Claims

1. A vehicle accessory mounting kit comprising:

an accessory mounting member for mounting a vehicle accessory thereto;

a vehicle accessory connector for connecting the accessory mounting member to a tubular frame of a vehicle; and

a sleeve for insertion into a cylindrical passage defined in the vehicle accessory connector, the sleeve comprising;

a tubular body having a first open end, a second open end and a body thickness, the body thickness being circumferentially eccentric, the tubular body comprising two connectable portions; and

an open ended slot defined in the tubular body, the open ended slot extending from the first open end towards the second open end and being spaced from the second open end.

2. The vehicle accessory mounting kit of claim 1, wherein the body thickness of the tubular body of the sleeve decreases circumferentially in a uniform manner from a maximum thickness to a minimum thickness, a portion of the tubular body with the maximum thickness being opposite another portion of the tubular body with the minimum thickness.

3. The vehicle accessory mounting kit of claim 1, wherein the open ended slot extends from the first open end past a centre of the tubular body, the centre being midway between the first open end and the second open end of the tubular body.

4. The vehicle accessory mounting kit of claim 1, wherein the two connectable portions comprise two longitudinal portions which are connectable to form the tubular body.

5. The vehicle accessory mounting kit of claim 4, wherein the two longitudinal portions are two half portions comprising abutting walls, and further comprising a sleeve connector acting between the abutting walls to connect the two longitudinal portions together.

6. The vehicle accessory mounting kit of claim 1, wherein the open ended slot comprises a plurality of open ended slots defined in the tubular body and circumferentially spaced apart from one another, at least one of the plurality of open ended slots extending from the first open end towards the second open end and being spaced from the second open end, and at least one of the plurality of open ended slots extending from the second open end towards the first open end and being spaced from the first open end.

7. The vehicle accessory mounting kit of claim 1, wherein the open ended slot is substantially parallel to a cylindrical axis of the tubular body.

8. The vehicle accessory mounting kit of claim 1, wherein the tubular body defines an inner cylindrical surface having an inner cylindrical axis, and an outer cylindrical surface having an outer cylindrical axis, the inner and outer cylindrical axes being off-set.

9. The vehicle accessory mounting kit of claim 1, wherein the vehicle accessory connector is a clamp comprising a clamp body defining the cylindrical passage for receiving the sleeve and two open ends for allowing the tubular frame of the vehicle to extend therethrough, the clamp body defining a recess in an external surface for receiving the accessory mounting member.