JPH11301547A - Tail lamp controller for bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tail lamp for bicycle which can ensure a permanent visibility during driving at night and in addition which allows the following vehicle to recognize the running state of the bicycle. SOLUTION: A tail lamp controller for bicycle, which lights a tail lamp by detecting illuminance below the predetermined value with an illuminance sensor 9, is configured so that a lighting pattern is changed according to the running speed of the bicycle detected by a speed sensor 17. In this case, when a controlling circuit 20 detects decrease in speed of the bicycle with the speed sensor 17, a driving circuit 30 allows the state of decreasing the speed of the bicycle to be recognized by the following vehicle such as by shortening the lightening interval of LED 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control device for a tail lamp for a bicycle which is lit at night, and more particularly to a control device for causing a following vehicle to recognize a traveling state, in particular, a deceleration state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a vehicle such as a car with a dark surroundings is dangerous and driving at night, a brake lamp or the like is illuminated in order to clearly inform the following vehicle of the deceleration state of the own vehicle. Is being done. An example of such a stop lamp for a vehicle such as an automobile is a first conventional example disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-26270. This system detects that the following vehicle has approached within a certain distance, and turns off or dims the stop lamp after a certain period of time, in order to reduce glare caused by the stop lamp continuing to light when the pedal is depressed. It is configured so that

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned stop lamp is for an automobile, and consumes a large amount of power for lighting, and only causes a following vehicle to recognize a brake operation by depressing a brake pedal. It had only a function, and it was extremely uneconomical to apply this as it is to a bicycle brake light. Therefore, as a tail lamp for a bicycle, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-317879 (Patent No. 2)
No. 714267) has been proposed. This device detects the illuminance below a predetermined value and detects the light of the following vehicle, or detects the braking operation and turns on the tail lamp, so that the recognition of bicycles that are difficult to see at night is recognized. It is intended to ensure safety.

[0004] However, the second prior art is also suitable for a bicycle because its power consumption is reduced by adopting a large number of light emitting diodes for a tail lamp or the like. For the purpose of turning on the light emitting diode, that is, the tail lamp only when necessary, such as at the time of a brake operation, not only the notification function but also the temporary recognition of the bicycle is required. It was the same as that of the conventional example. Therefore, the applicant of the present application has proposed a bicycle tail lamp disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-24370, which is constructed so that the vehicle can be permanently and visually recognized by another vehicle while the bicycle is running at night. This device blinks the light emitting diode during night driving and keeps the light emitting diode blinking for a certain period of time even after stopping. This eliminates the need for a blinking / stop switch, ensuring high visibility and ensuring safety. Was also higher.

According to the present invention, the bicycle tail lamp proposed by the applicant of the present invention is further improved, and in addition to ensuring permanent visibility during traveling at night, the traveling state of the bicycle is recognized by a following vehicle. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bicycle tail lamp control device that can be operated.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a bicycle tail lamp control device for lighting a tail lamp by detecting illuminance below a predetermined value, wherein the lighting pattern of the tail lamp is changed according to the running speed of the bicycle. It is characterized by having such a configuration. Further, the present invention is characterized in that when the speed detecting means in the control device detects the deceleration of the bicycle, the blinking interval of the tail lamp is changed. Further, according to the present invention, the tail lamp blinks in a drive mode having a long blinking interval within a first predetermined time after the speed detection signal is detected by the speed detecting means, and the flashing interval is changed within a second predetermined time thereafter. The tail lamp is turned on and off in a short stop mode, and the tail lamp is turned off after the lapse of the time, which is a means for solving the problem.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of a bicycle tail lamp control device according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a bicycle provided with the tail lamp control device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 (B) is a front view thereof, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the tail lamp control device, FIG. 4 is a control flowchart of the tail lamp control device, and FIG. 5 is a speed signal and blinking in the control device. It is a time chart of a mode.

As shown in FIG. 1, a bicycle provided with a tail lamp control device according to the present invention has a magnet 1 fixed to an appropriate position of a rear wheel spoke, and a rear hawk which is close to the rotation locus of the magnet 1. And a tail lamp body 2 that is attached and faces rearward. As will be described later, a reed switch section 7 is provided inside the tail lamp body 2, and the magnet 1 and the reed switch section 7 constitute a speed sensor (17). One pulse of the speed signal is generated for each rotation of the rear wheel, and when the speed of the bicycle increases, the interval between the pulses becomes shorter and it is detected that the speed has increased. The acceleration / deceleration of the bicycle is also detected by measuring the change in the pulse interval. Also, the tail lamp body 2 includes:
As will be described later, the photodiode 9 is installed at a position or in a form that is less susceptible to the headlights of the following vehicle. The tail lamp can be turned on. The present invention is characterized in that the lighting pattern of the tail lamp is changed according to the running speed of the bicycle detected by the speed sensor 17.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tail lamp control device of the present invention comprises a control circuit (20) in a microcomputer (not shown) mounted on the battery 5 side of a circuit board 10 disposed inside the tail lamp body 2. And LED drive circuit (3
0). The tail lamp body 2 includes a case 4 attached to the rear fork of the bicycle by a mounting bracket 3, and a transparent cover 6 mounted on the opposite side of the mounting bracket 3, and a circuit board 10 and a circuit board 10 disposed therebetween. Battery 5 housed in case 4 and reed switch portion 7 protruding from the side of case 4
And As the battery 5, in addition to a normal battery, a generator using wheel rotation may be used as a power source, or a secondary battery that is charged from the generator or a solar cell may be used. On the circuit board 10, a photodiode 9 is installed at a position or in a form that is not easily affected by headlights of a following vehicle, and a plurality of LEDs 8 and the like constituting a tail lamp are installed. The lower part of the transparent cover 6 is formed in a reflector part 11. Note that CdS, a phototransistor, or the solar cell may be used instead of the photodiode 9 as the illuminance sensor.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a tail lamp control device according to the present invention. The power is supplied from the battery 5 and the tail lamp control device is controlled as follows. As described above, the illuminance sensor 9 including the photodiode 9 detects the illuminance equal to or less than a predetermined surrounding value, receives the speed signal from the speed sensor 17 including the magnet 1 and the reed switch unit 7, and In order to change the lighting pattern of the LED 8 constituting the tail lamp in accordance with the running speed of the bicycle, specifically, when the speed detecting means detects the deceleration of the bicycle, the blinking interval of the LED 8 is reduced, for example. , And sends a drive signal to the drive circuit 30.

FIG. 4 is a control flowchart of the tail lamp control device, and FIG. 5 is a time chart of the speed signal and the blinking mode in the control device. The control of the tail lamp control device of the present invention will be described with reference to these drawings. In step S1, the surroundings become dark and the illuminance sensor 9
When (FIG. 3) detects an illuminance equal to or less than a predetermined value and turns on, a state is reached in which the tail lamp can be turned on. When the bicycle starts running at time t0, a speed detection signal pulse is generated at time t1 in the speed sensor 17 (FIG. 3), which is a speed detecting means including the magnet 1 and the reed switch unit 7 installed on the rear wheel spokes. I do. In step S2, the input of the speed sensor ON signal is determined. Since the vehicle is in the traveling start state, the time from when the first pulse is generated at time t1 to when the second pulse is generated at time t3. The interval time T is relatively long, and in step S4, during the first predetermined time T1 (the flashing mode in FIG. 5), the tail lamp or L in the drive mode D having a long flashing interval.
Blink ED. In step S3, it is determined whether the surrounding area is bright or the LED as a tail lamp is blinking while the vehicle is stopped, and if the LED is off, RETURN is performed.
The process proceeds to step 5 if the LED is blinking.

During the blinking of the LED in the drive mode D having a long blinking interval driven in step 4, the first pulse is generated by the time t3 at which the second pulse from the speed sensor is generated in step 5. It is determined whether or not the predetermined time T1 has elapsed, and if it has elapsed, the second predetermined time (T2-T1) (T2 is the time t7 to t9 in FIG. 5)
reference. ) That is, from time t2 to t3, the tail lamp blinks in the stop mode S having a short blinking interval (S6). If it is determined in step S5 that the first predetermined time T1 has not elapsed by the time t3 when the second pulse from the speed sensor is generated, the process returns to step S4 and the blinking interval Of the LED in the long drive mode D is continued. This is from time t4
In normal to high speed running until t5, since the interval between each pulse is smaller than the first predetermined time T1, the drive mode D with a long flashing interval is continued without entering the stop mode S with a short flashing interval. Behavior.

When the bicycle decelerates, the interval between the pulse signals from the speed sensor increases, and at times t5 to t6 to t7, the LEDs in the stop mode S with a short flashing interval after the drive mode D with a long flashing interval are turned on. After the blinking is repeated, when the bicycle stops at time t7, it blinks in drive mode D having a long blinking interval until time t8, and then LE in drive mode S having a short blinking interval until time t9.
D blinks. In step S7, it is determined whether or not the second predetermined time T2 has elapsed since the bicycle was stopped, that is, since the last generation of the speed sensor ON signal.
In 8, the LED is turned off after the second predetermined time T2 has elapsed after the bicycle has stopped.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, within the scope of the present invention, the type of battery, the type of speed sensor as speed detecting means, the type of tail lamp such as LED, the type of illuminance sensor, It is also possible to change the brightness or color of the tail lamp in addition to changing the lighting pattern of the tail lamp such as an LED, for example, changing the interval of blinking. Further, the lighting pattern of the tail lamp can be changed by a complicated calculation based on the detection of acceleration / deceleration by the speed sensor. Further, the control device of the present invention can be applied not only to tail lamps but also to other lamps.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a bicycle tail lamp control device for detecting the illuminance below a predetermined value and lighting the tail lamp, the lighting pattern of the tail lamp is changed according to the running speed of the bicycle. Because it is configured to change, the permanent visibility of the vehicle during traveling at night is ensured, and the running condition of the bicycle can be finely recognized by the following vehicle, which is highly safe. became. When the speed detecting means in the control device detects deceleration of the bicycle, the blinking interval of the tail lamp is configured to be small, for example, so that at the time of acceleration immediately after the start of running the bicycle or immediately after the start of deceleration,
As the tail lamp repeats the blinking with a long blinking interval and the blinking with a short blinking interval, the following vehicle is alerted. And the tail lamp becomes a blinking operation with a short blinking interval immediately before or immediately after the stop due to the braking operation,
The following vehicle can effectively avoid the danger in advance. In addition, when the bicycle is traveling at a medium speed or a high speed in a stable manner, the tail lamp performs a blinking operation with a long blinking interval, and the following vehicle can follow and follow the following distance with ease. Thus, according to the present invention, there is provided a bicycle tail lamp control device capable of causing a following vehicle to recognize a traveling state of a bicycle, in addition to ensuring permanent visibility during traveling at night.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a bicycle provided with a tail lamp control device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a bicycle tail lamp control device according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 2 (A) is a side view in which a part of the tail lamp is cut away, and FIG. 2 (B) is a front view thereof. .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a tail lamp control device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a control flowchart showing one embodiment of the bicycle tail lamp control device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a time chart of a speed signal and a blinking mode in the control device, showing one embodiment of the bicycle tail lamp control device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Magnet 2 Tail lamp body 3 Mounting bracket 4 Case 5 Battery 6 Transparent cover 7 Reed switch part 8 LED 9 Photodiode 10 Circuit board 11 Reflector part D Drive mode with long flashing interval S Stop mode with short flashing interval T1 First predetermined time T2 Second predetermined time

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A bicycle tail lamp control device for detecting an illuminance equal to or less than a predetermined value and lighting a tail lamp, wherein a lighting pattern of the tail lamp is changed according to a running speed of the bicycle. Tail lamp control device. 2. The tail lamp control device for a bicycle according to claim 1, wherein when the speed detection means in the control device detects the deceleration of the bicycle, the blinking interval of the tail lamp is changed. 3. A tail lamp is flashed in a drive mode having a long flashing interval within a first predetermined time after the speed detection signal is detected by the speed detection means, and a flashing interval is set within a second predetermined time thereafter. 3. The bicycle tail lamp control device according to claim 1, wherein the tail lamp blinks in a short stop mode, and the tail lamp is turned off after a lapse of the time.