Problem:
It turns out that it is illegal to cover your license plate with a bike rack. Our client wanted to create a license plate holder that could attach to many different bikes and bike racks, and easily lock onto them to prevent theft of the license plate. The license plate also needs to be illuminated by law.
Solution:
I created a ratcheting mechanism around a locking core that allows the user to easily attach the holder onto something as small as a bike tube, and as large as a bike rack frame. To attach to such a wide range of tube sizes, the ratchet strap is able to pivot around a dowel pin which ensures a snug fit no matter what size tube. Once attached to a tube, the license plate portion of the holder can rotate and tilt thanks to a ball joint mechanism that I included in the design, which gets tightened down via a thumb screw. The license plate is also secured in the holder via a locking core that rotates the top housing over the license plate so that the license plate can easily be secured and removed from the holder. Because the license plate must be illuminated, I worked with electrical engineers to spec out the location for a PCB board and create a housing that encapsulates 4 AA batteries. The PCB board allows the batteries to last longer as it is controlled by a light sensor that only turns the LEDs on when it is dark out. The PCB board is protected from the elements via a gasket seal around the main housing.
