JP2001161003A - Electric motor coach - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric motor coach wherein running in manual mode can be safely handled. SOLUTION: In this electric motor coach, a mode changeover switch 29 switching a running mode wherein the coach is run by the driving of a motor 22 and a manual mode wherein manual mode drive is enabled by releasing a brake 26, and a speed changeover switch 34 switching the maximum speed in running time, and arranged. Both of the running mode and the manual mode are set by the speed changeover switch 34. The maximum speed in the manual mode is set lower than that in the running mode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric vehicle capable of switching between a traveling mode in which a vehicle travels by a motor and a manual pushing mode in which a brake is released to enable manual pushing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of electric vehicle, for example, an electric tricycle, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-172704 (B60)
As described in L7 / 24), there is known an electric tricycle circuit in which an electromagnetic brake release switch is provided, and when the electromagnetic brake release switch is operated, the electromagnetic brake and the power generation braking are released to enable manual pushing. Have been. That is, when the electromagnetic brake release switch is operated, the vehicle normally travels in the hand pushing mode, and when not operated, in the traveling mode.

However, with the above-described configuration, when the electromagnetic brake release switch is pressed, that is, when the manual pushing mode is selected, both the power generation braking and the electromagnetic brake are released, and the manual pushing can be performed. When the mode is switched to the hand pushing mode on a slope, there is a problem that the electric vehicle naturally rolls at the same time as the switching. That is,
When this switch is operated on a slope, the vehicle naturally rolls, and there is a problem that it cannot be stopped when trying to stop.

[0004] Even if the speed is limited to a predetermined speed, the speed is felt slow or fast depending on the state of the user, and the usability is poor.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electric vehicle which can be safely handled even when an operation of switching a traveling mode to a manual pushing mode is performed and which is easy to use.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an electric vehicle main body driven by a motor as a driving source, a brake for braking the electric vehicle main body, and a traveling driven by the motor are driven. A mode changeover switch that switches between a mode and a handing mode in which the brake is released to enable handing, and a speed changeover switch in which a plurality of maximum speeds in the traveling mode are set and each of which can be selected, the hand pressing is provided. A control circuit is provided in which the maximum speed is limited by the speed switch even when the mode is selected.

With the above configuration, the vehicle runs using the motor as a drive source when the mode changeover switch selects the running mode. Next, when the hand-push mode is selected by the mode changeover switch, the brake is released and the hand-pushable state is established. At this time, the maximum speed used in the hand pushing mode is set by the speed changeover switch that sets the maximum speed used in the driving mode, the upper limit speed is changed by the user's selection, and the speed is limited by the operation of the brake such as power generation braking By doing so, a convenient and safe electric vehicle can be provided.

Further, the maximum speed by the speed changeover switch is set smaller in the hand pushing mode than in the running mode selected by the mode changeover switch. By restricting the maximum speed in the slow manual pushing mode, the maximum speed suitable for the manual traveling can be set, and usability and safety can be improved.

Further, a traveling direction detecting means for detecting a traveling direction of the electric vehicle main body is provided, and the maximum speed in the manual pushing mode is higher when the electric vehicle main body is moving backward than when moving forward. By setting a small value, the maximum speed in the reverse direction, which is usually unfamiliar, can be set low, and safety is improved.

Further, the traveling direction detecting means is characterized in that the traveling direction is detected by an encoder which detects the rotation of the wheels, so that the traveling direction and the traveling speed can be detected with a simple configuration.

The maximum speed at the time of reversing in the hand-push mode is selected to be the lowest maximum speed when the electric vehicle body is moving forward, regardless of the selection of the speed changeover switch. Therefore, a low maximum speed is selected regardless of the user's selection, and safety is improved.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, taking an electric tricycle as an example.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the electric tricycle of the embodiment as viewed from the rear, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a changeover switch for switching between a traveling mode and a hand pushing mode, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the present embodiment. FIG.

Reference numeral 1 denotes an electric vehicle main body provided with one front wheel (not shown) which is a free wheel and a rear wheel 2 which is a driving wheel which rotates by transmitting a driving force of a motor 22 described later. 1
Is provided with a handlebar 4 attached to the tip of a handle post 3 connected to the front wheel and capable of changing the direction of travel. A power switch 5 is provided at the center of the handlebar 4.
And a panel 6 for indicating a running state, for example, a switch for switching between a running speed, a remaining battery level, and a forward / backward movement.

Reference numeral 7 denotes an accelerator lever including a potentiometer and the like provided extending from the side of the panel 6. The user operates the vehicle while sitting on a seat 8 located behind the accelerator lever. The running speed changes in accordance with the operation amount of the control 7.

9 is a service brake provided on the front wheel,
That is, it is a brake lever that operates a drum brake (not shown) via a wire.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a main body cover that covers a motor, a gear, and a battery below the seat 8.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a mode changeover switch provided below the seat of the main body 8. The mode changeover switch 11 has a "running mode" and a "hand pushing mode". In this mode, the motor 22 is driven by an operation, and the traveling speed is changed according to the operation amount. The hand pushing mode is a mode in which the brakes such as the electric braking and the electromagnetic brake 26 are released, and the vehicle can be driven by hand pushing. The mode change switch 11 is a self-return type push switch, and the switches provided above and below the switch are LEDs that indicate which mode is currently in operation, and the upper part is lit in the manual push mode. The LED 12 for the hand-pressing mode, and the LED 13 for the driving mode, which is lit during the driving mode, are shown below.

In this embodiment, the mode changeover switch 11 is provided below the seat 8; however, the mode changeover switch 11 is not limited to this location, and may be provided on the entire surface of the panel 6. Further, in the present embodiment, a push switch is employed as the mode changeover switch 11. However, other non-self-returning switches such as a toggle switch may be used.

Next, the control circuit of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a battery housed under the seat 8 and using a lead storage battery.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a switch of the power switch 5.
The switch 15 is connected to the battery 14, and is also connected to a relay 16, and when the switch 15 is turned on,
A switch 17 different from the switch 15 is turned on.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a power supply circuit for lowering the voltage of the battery 14 and supplying power to the control circuit, that is, the microcomputer 19.

Reference numeral 20 denotes an accelerator input circuit for inputting an electric signal from a potentiometer 21 corresponding to the operation amount of the accelerator lever 7 to the microcomputer 19. The microcomputer 19 receives a signal from the microcomputer 19 based on the input signal of the accelerator input circuit 20. A PWM signal for driving the motor 22 is output, a switching circuit 24 is operated by a motor driving circuit 23, and the motor 22 is driven to rotate the rear wheel 2. In order to switch the motor 22 between the forward direction and the reverse direction, switching elements (not shown) having different energizing directions are provided, and the rotation direction of the motor 22 is made different by switching these switching elements. . The output shaft of the motor 22 is configured to rotate by rotating the rotation of the wheel, and the rear wheel 2 is a drive wheel. It can be rotated, and it is also possible to apply dynamic braking by turning on the switching element. By selecting a switching element to be turned on, it is possible to apply dynamic braking during either forward or reverse travel.

Reference numeral 25 denotes traveling direction detecting means for detecting the rotation speed and traveling direction of the rear wheel 2, that is, an encoder. A signal from the encoder 25 is input to the microcomputer 19. In this embodiment, the encoder 25 detects the rotation of the rear wheel 2, but may detect the rotation of the motor 22 or the front wheel.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a parking brake which brakes the rotation of the rear wheel 2 and operates when parking, that is, an electromagnetic brake.
The electromagnetic brake 26 is operated by a signal output from an electromagnetic brake drive circuit 27 when a signal from the microcomputer 19 is output. The electromagnetic brake 26 stops the wheel by pressing the disk or the like against the rear wheel 2 by the urging force of the spring. When no power is supplied, braking is applied by the force of the spring.

Numeral 28 denotes a brake switch comprising a push switch which operates in conjunction with the operation of the brake lever 9. A signal from the brake switch 28 inputs to the microcomputer 19 whether or not the brake lever 9 is operated. ing.

29, a driving mode in which the motor 22 is driven by a signal from the accelerator input circuit 20 to drive the vehicle, and a power generation braking by the electromagnetic brake 26 and the motor 22 are released, and the rear wheel 2 is released. The mode changeover switch 29 switches between two modes when a signal is input to the microcomputer 19.

Reference numeral 30 denotes L which indicates which mode is currently set by operating the mode changeover switch 29.
The LED drive circuit that drives the ED
Reference numeral 30 indicates that one of the LEDs is turned on by an output from the microcomputer 19.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a traveling direction switching circuit which inputs a signal from a traveling direction switching switch 32 for selecting a forward direction or a reverse direction in the traveling mode and outputs the signal to the microcomputer 19, and the traveling direction switching circuit 31 The microcomputer 19 is connected to the microcomputer 19 for signal input. The running direction switch 32 is provided on the panel 6 by a toggle switch or the like, and can be switched according to the user's request.

Reference numeral 34 denotes a speed changeover switch which is connected to the speed changeover circuit 35 and switches the maximum speed when the driving mode is selected. The speed changeover switch 34 can be switched in three stages, at a high speed of 6 km / h and at a medium speed. The speed is set to 4 km / h and the speed is set to 2 km / h at a low speed, and the speed selected by the maximum operation of the accelerator 21 is set. Also,
The selected speed of the speed changeover switch 34 is input to the microcomputer 19 also in the manual pushing mode when the power is turned on, and the maximum speed in the manual pushing mode is regulated according to the selected speed. The maximum speed at this time is set to, for example, a high speed of 4 km / h, a medium speed of 3 km / h, and a low speed of 2 km / h.

Next, a first embodiment of the operation in the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the microcomputer 19 detects whether or not the accelerator 7 is operating by inputting a signal from the accelerator 7, and if the accelerator 7 is operated, the process proceeds to the next step until the accelerator 7 is no longer operated. No (S1).

When the power switch 5 is turned on in the above state, the process proceeds to the next step (S2). When the power is turned on, the traveling or hand pushing mode is automatically set to the traveling mode. Next, it is detected whether or not there is an input from the mode changeover switch 29 (S3). If there is an input, if the current mode is the hand pushing mode, the running mode is set and switched from the hand pushing mode, and the electromagnetic brake 26 is operated. Then, the mode is switched to the running mode (S4). If there is a signal from the mode changeover switch 29 and the current traveling mode is set, the hand pushing mode is set and the mode is switched (S
5).

When the mode is switched to the manual pushing mode, a signal from the speed changeover switch 34 is input to determine whether or not the mode is the high speed mode (S6). If the mode is the high speed mode, the maximum speed is set to A (S7). , In the medium speed mode (S
8) The maximum speed is set to B smaller than A (S
9). If the speed is set to a low speed that is neither high speed nor medium speed (S8), the maximum speed is set to C, which is smaller than B (S10).

When the traveling is started in the manual pushing mode, the traveling direction and the traveling speed are manually determined by the encoder 25.
(S11), and it is determined whether the vehicle is moving forward (S12). If it is determined that the vehicle is moving forward, the speed is set in the microcomputer 19 based on the speed set in each of S7, S9, and S10. However, when the signal from the encoder 25 detects the backward movement, the maximum speed is changed to C. Is set (S13).

Then, based on the input of the traveling speed from the encoder 25, it is determined whether the traveling speed does not exceed the maximum speed set in the previous step (S14). When the speed exceeds the maximum speed, the brake by the operation of the power generation braking by the motor drive circuit 23 and the operation of the electromagnetic brake 26 and the like is operated to control the speed to be equal to or lower than the set maximum speed (S15).

As described above, since the maximum speed in the manual pushing mode is set based on the setting of the speed changeover switch used in the traveling mode, it is possible to set the maximum speed up to the speed desired by the user. It is possible to improve usability and safety in the hand-push mode. In addition, since the maximum speed set at that time is set lower than the maximum speed in the driving mode, the upper limit of the maximum speed in the manual pushing mode in which the normal traveling speed is reduced can be suppressed, improving usability and safety. The performance is improved.

The traveling direction in the hand pushing mode is set so that the maximum speed is different between forward traveling and reverse traveling based on the detection value from the encoder 25,
Furthermore, since the maximum speed at the time of backward movement is set to be smaller than the maximum speed at the time of forward movement, there is an effect that safety is improved.

Further, since the minimum speed in the running mode is set as the maximum speed during the backward pushing by hand, even if the speed changeover switch is not selected at the time of pushing manually, only the pushing at the lowest speed can be performed. Is improved.

[0041]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric vehicle main body which runs by using a motor as a drive source, a brake for braking the electric vehicle main body, a driving mode in which the electric motor runs by driving the motor, A mode changeover switch that switches between a hand-pressing mode in which a brake is released and hand-pressing is enabled, and a speed change-over switch in which a plurality of maximum speeds in the traveling mode are set and each can be selected. Also provided with a control circuit in which the maximum speed is limited by the speed changeover switch, the speed changeover switch that sets the maximum speed used in the traveling mode sets the maximum speed in the hand pushing mode, and is selected by the user. Since you can change the upper limit speed,
It is possible to perform manual pushing at the upper limit speed desired by the user, and it is advantageous in that it is easy to use and improves safety.

According to the second aspect, the maximum speed of the speed change switch is set smaller in the manual pushing mode than in the running mode selected by the mode change switch. By regulating the maximum speed in the slow manual pushing mode, it is possible to set the maximum speed suitable for the manual traveling, and to achieve effects such as improvement in usability and safety.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a traveling direction detecting means for detecting a traveling direction of the electric vehicle main body, wherein the maximum traveling speed in the manual pushing mode is set to a reverse direction when the electric vehicle main body is moving forward. By setting a smaller value when the vehicle is running, the maximum speed in the reverse direction, which is usually unfamiliar, can be set lower, and effects such as improved safety can be obtained.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the traveling direction detecting means is characterized in that the traveling direction and traveling speed can be detected by a simple configuration because the traveling direction detecting means detects the rotation of the wheels by an encoder. Has the effect of

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the maximum traveling speed at the time of reverse traveling in the manual pushing mode is selected from the lowest maximum speed when the electric vehicle body is moving forward, regardless of the selection of the speed changeover switch. Therefore, the maximum low speed is selected irrespective of the user's selection, and there is an effect that safety is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an electric tricycle showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the mode change switch.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the control circuit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the control circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 22 Motor 1 Main body 26 Electromagnetic brake (parking brake) 29 Mode changeover switch 34 Speed changeover switch 19 Microcomputer (control circuit) 25 Encoder (running direction detecting means)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An electric vehicle main body which runs by using a motor as a drive source, a brake for braking the electric vehicle main body, a driving mode in which the electric vehicle runs by driving the motor, and the brake is released to enable manual pushing. A mode changeover switch for switching between the hand-pressing mode, and a speed change-over switch in which a plurality of maximum speeds in the traveling mode are set and selectable, and even when the hand-pressing mode is selected, the maximum speed is set by the speed changeover switch. An electric vehicle comprising a limited control circuit. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the maximum speed set by the speed change switch is set smaller in the hand pushing mode than in the running mode selected by the mode change switch. Electric car. 3. A traveling direction detecting means for detecting a traveling direction of the electric vehicle main body, wherein a maximum speed in the hand pushing mode is set to a maximum value when the electric vehicle main body is moving backward when compared to when the electric vehicle main body is moving forward. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein is set smaller. 4. The electric vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the traveling direction detecting means detects the rotation of the wheel by an encoder. 5. The maximum speed at the time of reversing in the manual pushing mode is selected as the lowest maximum speed when the electric vehicle body is moving forward, regardless of the selection of the speed changeover switch. The electric vehicle according to claim 2, wherein