JP2000072070A - Electric bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a support structure to stably support a battery case storing a battery for supplying the power to an electric motor on a main frame. SOLUTION: A battery case 6 supported on two main pipes 12, 13 parallelly arranged in the width direction of a bicycle is provided with a first storage part 60a to store a battery B in a transverse direction and a second storage part 60b to store the battery B in a longitudinal direction, the second storage part 60b is passed between the main pipes 12, 13 and the first storage part 60a is placed on the main pipes 12, 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric bicycle having an electric motor for assisting running, and assisting human power running by pedaling force by the rotational force of the electric motor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electric bicycle, an electric motor is attached to a drive system of a rear wheel, which is a traveling wheel, and the rotational force of the electric motor is transmitted to a rear wheel hub via an appropriate transmission such as a belt or gear. In addition, the driving of the bicycle, which is performed by the driver seated on the saddle substantially in the center of the vehicle body frame by depressing the pedal, is assisted by the rotational force of the electric motor. In recent years, it has been in the limelight as a device capable of reducing the human load on the user and enabling light running.

In such an electric bicycle, it is necessary to mount a battery for supplying power to the electric motor. Since this battery is unavoidable to be bulky and heavy in order to enable power supply as long as possible, in order to maintain the balance of the vehicle body without hindering driving operation, It is attached to a part of the body frame.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-59244 (B62J 11/00, B62M 23/02) by the applicant of the present application discloses a vertical pipe (standing frame) at the center of a vehicle body for supporting a saddle and a front body for supporting a front wheel. An electric bicycle in which a battery is mounted on a main pipe (main frame) connecting a head pipe (head frame) of the electric bicycle is disclosed.

In this electric bicycle, since the battery mounted on the main pipe is located between the vertical pipe and the head pipe, the battery is seated on the saddle supported by the vertical pipe and mounted on the head pipe. The operation of the electric bicycle performed by operating the steering wheel does not hinder the operation. In addition, since the battery mounted on the main pipe is located near the front of the vehicle body, the transmission mechanism for the rear wheels and the electric motor for driving assistance arranged near the rear wheel hub together with the transmission assist mechanism provide an electric motor for the vehicle body. The weight balance in the front-rear direction is good, and stable running is possible.

Further, the battery is housed in a battery case made of a synthetic resin, and is detachably mounted together with the battery case. This makes it possible to enhance the design effect on the appearance and to easily charge the discharged battery and replace it with a new battery.

[0007]

As described above, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
The electric bicycle disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59244/1992 is an excellent one that proposes a rational arrangement of a battery which becomes a bulky and heavy object. However, the mounting of the battery case containing the battery is performed using a flat battery base fixed to the upper part of the main pipe by appropriate means such as welding, screwing, or the like. It is difficult to firmly fix the battery mount to the main pipe in which the material is used, and the center of gravity of the battery case fixed to be stacked on the base is located above the main pipe. There has been a problem that the support of the battery case is not stable, and "wobble" due to vibration during running is likely to occur.

In the electric bicycle disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-59244, a lower portion of a battery base serving as a base is covered with a lower case made of synthetic resin including a main pipe,
The lower case supports the battery case from both sides in the width direction to enhance the design effect on the appearance and stabilize the support of the battery case. However, this effect can hardly be expected.

In some electric bicycles, a stable battery is provided by using a battery having a cross-sectional shape which can be arranged so as to straddle the frame pipe. There is a problem that an expensive battery having a special shape is required, resulting in an increase in product cost. In electric bicycles, a battery case is generally used in which a plurality of cylindrical batteries mass-produced according to the same dimensional standard as a commercially available dry battery are stored in a row, and when such a battery case is used. As described above, there is an inconvenience that stable support is difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has a support structure capable of stably supporting, on a main frame, a battery case in which a plurality of cylindrical batteries are arranged in a row. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric bicycle that can be realized and can prevent the occurrence of wobble of a battery case due to vibration during traveling.

[0011]

An electric bicycle according to the present invention comprises a battery case accommodating a plurality of cylindrical batteries, which is connected to a vertical frame supporting a saddle and a head frame supporting a front wheel. An electric bicycle which is mounted on a frame and configured to transmit the rotational force of an electric motor driven by power supply from the battery to a rear wheel to assist in manual driving by pedaling force, wherein the main frame extends in a vehicle width direction. Two battery cases are arranged side by side, and the battery case is mounted and supported on two main frames,
The first to store a plurality of batteries arranged in a row horizontally
A storage portion, and a second storage portion extending downward from substantially the center of the first storage portion through the space between the two main frames, and configured to vertically store a plurality of batteries arranged in a row. It is characterized by having.

In the present invention, the upright frame and the head frame are connected by two main frames arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction, and the first storage portion mounted and supported on these main frames is provided. A second storage portion inserted between the main frames and extending downward, forming a battery case, wherein the plurality of batteries arranged in a row are vertically placed in the second storage portion, and the first storage portion is provided. And the battery case is restrained in the vehicle width direction by the second storage portion inserted between the main frames, and the battery case is stabilized. And support.

[0013] In addition, the two main frames are characterized in that the vertical dimension has a cross section longer than the horizontal dimension.

According to the present invention, a pipe member having a vertically long cross section, for example, an oval cross section, for example, an oval cross section is used as the two main frames to stably support the load of the heavy battery case. In addition, the expansion in the vehicle width direction is suppressed, so that various operations such as pedal pressure are not hindered.

The interval between the two main frames is set shorter than the length of the battery in the axial direction. The battery stored in the first storage portion is connected to the first storage portion via a bottom plate of the storage portion. It is characterized by being suspended horizontally between two main frames.

According to the present invention, each of the batteries horizontally disposed in the first storage portion is laid between the two main frames, and the strength of these batteries is used to assist the battery case. To support.

The battery case is formed integrally with the first housing portion and the second housing portion, and includes a lower case having an opening for mounting a battery on substantially the entire upper surface thereof. An upper case is attached to the upper part of the lower case so as to close the opening, and the upper case contacts the plurality of batteries housed in the first housing from above.

In the present invention, a battery case is constituted by a lower case having a first storage portion and a second storage portion, and an upper case for closing an opening provided on substantially the entire upper surface of the lower case. By mounting the upper case after storing the battery in the first and second storage portions of the lower case through the opening, initial assembly and replacement of the battery can be easily performed. The attached lower case abuts on the batteries placed horizontally in the first storage section from above, suppresses these batteries and the battery placed vertically in the second storage section, and positions them inside each other. I do.

Further, the plurality of batteries stored in the first and second storage portions are integrated in a state of being arranged in a row.

In the present invention, the cylindrical batteries housed in the battery case are integrated in advance in a state where they are arranged in rows in a row for each of the number of housings in the first and second housings. , By storing them separately in the second storage section.
This eliminates the need for storage for each book and facilitates initial assembly and battery replacement.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments. FIG. 1 is a side view showing the entire configuration of the electric bicycle according to the present invention. The electric bicycle includes a vehicle body frame 1 supported by front and rear wheels 2 and 3 at the front and rear thereof. The body frame 1 supports a seating saddle 4 at an upper part thereof and a standing pipe (standing frame) 10 provided with human-powered pedals 5 and 5 at a lower part thereof, and a head pipe (standing part) supporting a front wheel 2 at a lower part thereof. Two main pipes (main pipe frames) 12 and 13 (only one side is shown) arranged side by side with the head frame) 11 in the vehicle width direction
Are connected.

The front wheel 2 is attached to the lower end of a support fork 40 inserted and supported by the head pipe 11 so as to be rotatable about an axis. A handle 41 is fixed to the upper end of the support fork 40 extending above the head pipe 11 in a manner substantially perpendicular to the handle 41, and the front wheel 2 is steered by operating the handle 41.

The rear wheel 3 protrudes from the rear side of the upright pipe 10, and is supported from both sides in the vehicle width direction by a back fork 14 and a chain stay 15 framed in a triangular shape together with the upright pipe 10. . The driving assistance electric motor M is mounted on a hub plate 30 mounted coaxially with the rear wheel 3 at the rear ends of the back fork 14 and the chain stay 15, and inside the hub plate 30, a belt, It is connected to a hub shaft (not shown) serving as a rotation center of the rear wheel 3 through an appropriate transmission means such as a gear.

A rear gear (not shown) is attached to the end of the hub axle of the rear wheel 3 protruding from the side shown in FIG.
On the other hand, a front gear 50 that is paired with the rear gear is rotatably supported at the lower end of the standing pipe 10, and a chain C is stretched between the front gear 50 and the rear gear. . Front gear 50 protruding on both sides in the vehicle width direction
The pedals 5, 5 are attached to the ends of the rotary shafts via separate cranks 51, 51 having a phase difference of 180 °.

With the above configuration, the front gear 50 is
The user is seated on the saddle 4 and is rotated by the pedaling force of the pedals 5, 5, and this rotation is transmitted to the rear wheel 3 via the chain C and the rear gear, and the rear wheel 3 is rotated to perform manual driving. The electric motor M is driven by a driving force substantially equal to human power, and the rotational force of the electric motor M is transmitted to the rear wheel 3 via a transmission mechanism built in the hub plate 30, and the operation is performed as described above. Manual driving is assisted.

The rotational torque applied to the rear wheel 3 by the pedaling force of the pedals 5, 5 is detected by a torque sensor (not shown) built in the hub plate 30, and the electric motor M
Is controlled so as to obtain a rotation torque equal to the torque detected by the torque sensor, that is, a rotation torque substantially equal to the depression force of the pedals 5 and 5 by the user. As a result, not only during normal running, but also when running uphill, starting, etc.
The electric motor M is driven in a traveling state in which a large depressing force is applied to the pedals 5, 5, so that traveling by human power is assisted, and light traveling is possible.

The feature of the electric bicycle according to the present invention resides in a battery support structure for supplying power to the electric motor M driven as described above. This battery, as shown in FIG.
It is housed in a long box-shaped battery case 6 mounted on a pair of left and right main pipes 12 and 13 erected between a standing pipe 10 and a head pipe 11.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the vicinity of the mounting position of the battery case 6, and FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. As shown in FIG.
Is mounted and supported in a manner of bridging between two main pipes 12, 13 juxtaposed at appropriate intervals in the vehicle width direction, and in this state, a lower case 60 having an opening over the entire upper surface; A synthetic resin hollow container including an upper case 61 mounted so as to close the opening of the lower case 60, and providing a storage space for the battery B therebetween.

The battery B housed in the battery case 6 is a cylindrical battery (generally a storage battery) mass-produced according to a predetermined dimensional standard as shown in FIG. Are a plurality of batteries B arranged in a row,
Are arranged horizontally (with the axis oriented horizontally), and at the bottom of the upper case 60, a plurality of batteries B, B, which are also arranged in a row, are arranged vertically (with the axis oriented vertically).
Are located.

The lower case 60 has a width that allows the batteries B, B... To be placed horizontally, a first storage portion 60a having the opening formed on the entire surface of one side, and the batteries B, B. A second storage portion 60b having a width enabling the arrangement and being integrally connected to a substantially central portion of the bottom surface of the first storage portion 60a, and having a T-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. ing.

The outer width of the second storage portion 60b is set so as to correspond to the interval between the main pipes 12 and 13 which are the mounting portions of the battery case 6, and the lower case 60 is provided with the main pipes 12 and 13 The second storage portion 60b is inserted between the second storage portion 60b, and the outer bottom surface of the first storage portion 60a projecting to both sides of the second storage portion 60b is supported in a state of being in contact with the upper surfaces of the main pipes 12 and 13. The bottom of the first storage section 60a and the main pipe 12,
Cushion plates 62, 62 made of an elastic material such as rubber are interposed in a contact portion with the upper surface of the 13.

The interior of the lower case 60, which is mounted and supported as described above, can be seen through the opening of the first storage portion 60a. The batteries B, B,.
It is inserted into the storage part 60b, and is held in a state of being clamped from both sides by both side walls of the storage part 60b, and then inserted into the first storage part 60a with the axis oriented sideways, from both sides by the both side walls of the storage part 60a. It is stored while being held in the sandwiched mode,
Thereafter, the upper case 61 is put on the upper part of the lower case 60, and the battery case 6 is configured by integrating the upper case 61 into a form in which the opening is closed. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower case 60 and the upper case 61 are provided with engaging claws 63 protruding from the inner surface of the edge of the latter, and recesses formed at corresponding positions on the inner surface of the former peripheral wall.
The upper case 61 is integrated with the upper case 61 by being screwed from above.

At this time, the batteries B, B,... Disposed laterally in the first storage section 60a are vertically moved by the inner surface of the upper case 61 and the bottom surface of the first storage section 60a. Batteries B, B ... which are respectively sandwiched from the left and right sides by both side walls of the section 60a, and which are vertically disposed in the second storage section 60b.
Are arranged from above and below by the batteries B, B... Stored in the first storage portion 60a and the bottom surface of the second storage portion 60b.
It is restrained by being sandwiched from the left and right sides by both side walls of 60a, and is securely held in the battery case 6 without displacement. The batteries B, B,... Can be arranged in the lower case 60 at a stage before the upper case 61 is attached, and the batteries B, B,. It can be easily implemented by attaching the upper case 61 to the lower case 60.

Also, the batteries B, B
Can be easily implemented through an opening over the entire surface of the upper case 61. The arrangement of the batteries B, B,... Performed in this manner may be performed by the procedure of inserting the cylindrical batteries B one by one as described above.
As shown in the figure, by using batteries B, B... Integrated in a state of being arranged in a row for each of the number of batteries mounted in the first storage portion 60a and the second storage portion 60b, the labor required for the arrangement is greatly reduced. Can be reduced. In FIG. 4, the required number of batteries B, B,... Are arranged in a row, and the batteries B are integrated by winding a resin belt 7 around an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction. Not limited to this,
It goes without saying that other methods, such as integration with a resin having heat shrinkability, can be appropriately adopted.

The battery case 6 assembled as described above is pushed in from above the main pipes 12 and 13 while inserting the second housing portion 60b projecting from the lower case 60 between the main pipes 12 and 13. As shown in (1), the lower surface of the first storage portion 60a is abutted on the main pipes 12 and 13, and is mounted on the main pipes 12 and 13 in a state of being supported on the main pipes 12 and 13.

The battery case 6 thus mounted
As shown in FIG. 3, the main pipes 12 and 13 that support the lower part have an oval cross section that is longer in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction, and have a shape that increases strength against vertical forces. The battery case 6, which is a heavy object, can be firmly supported by accommodating a large number of batteries B as described above. Battery case 6 and main pipe 1
Cushion plates 62, 62 are interposed between the wheels 2 and 13, so that the collision between the two due to vibration during traveling is buffered, and stable support is provided.

The second storage portion 60b of the lower case 60 is inserted between the main pipes 12 and 13. The batteries B are stored in the second storage portion 60b. The center of gravity of the battery case 6 can be positioned above the main pipes 12 and 13 serving as support portions without leaving a large distance, and the occurrence of wobble due to vibration during traveling can be suppressed, and stable support can be achieved. .

Also, since the batteries B, B,... Are vertically arranged inside the second storage portion 60b inserted between the main pipes 12, 13, the interval between the main pipes 12, 13 is excessively wide. The above-mentioned support is possible without performing, and the pressing force of the pedals 5, 5 performed while sitting on the saddle 4,
The wide main pipes 12 and 13 and the battery case 6 above the wide main pipes 12 and 13 do not cause any trouble.

The interval between the main pipes 12 and 13 is sufficiently small, and is shorter than the axial length of the battery B disposed horizontally in the first storage portion 60a as shown in FIG. As a result, the battery B in the first storage section 60a is
The main pipes 12 and 13 are horizontally laid between the main pipes 12 and 13 via the bottom plate 60a, and bear a part of the supporting load of the battery case 6. That is, the batteries B, B,... In the first storage section 60a function as supporting members for supporting their weight and the weight of the batteries B, B,. It is not necessary to make the strength sufficiently high, and the thickness and weight of the battery case 6 can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 2, a mounting bracket 8 is fixed to the front of the main pipes 12 and 13, including the intersection with the head pipe 11. At the lower part on the inside of the mounting bracket 8, rod-shaped power supply terminals 80, 80 are projected substantially vertically, and correspond to the lower surface of the front part of the battery case 6 when the battery case 6 is mounted as described above. The battery case 6 penetrates into the battery case 6 through the hole formed at the position, and elastically contacts the output terminal (not shown) formed using a leaf spring or the like inside the battery case 6 so as to be conductively connected. is there.

A lock plate 81 is provided inside the mounting bracket 8 so as to be rotatable by a key 9 inserted from the upper surface thereof. With this operation, the lock plate 81 is
The projection protrudes toward the front outer surface of the battery case 6 attached as described above, and is engaged with the recess 66 formed at the corresponding position to restrain the front of the battery case 6 from being removed upward. Make Further, a convex portion 67 having an appropriate form is protruded from a rear outer surface of the battery case 6. The rear portion of the battery case 6 is formed by connecting the convex portion 67 to the main pipe 12.
By being engaged with a rear bracket 68 erected between the members 13, it is restrained from being removed upward.

That is, in the above-described mounting of the battery case 6, first, the convex portion 67 on the rear outer surface is fitted into the engaging hole of the rear bracket 68, and in this state, the second storage portion of the lower case 60 is
The front portion of the battery case 6 is gradually lowered while the front end of the battery case 6 is opposed to the mounting bracket 8, and the lock plate is operated by operating the key 9.
Then, the front portion of the battery case 6 is restrained by engaging the recess 81 with the recess 66 to complete the operation.

On the other hand, when removing the battery case 6, the lock plate 81 is retracted by operating the key 9 to release the restraint of the front part of the battery case 6, and then the front part of the battery case 6 is pulled up. It is performed by This pulling is performed by gripping a handle 69 attached to the front upper portion of the battery case 6. The handle 69 is pivotally supported in the vicinity of the front end of the upper case 61 so as to be swingable about an axis in the vehicle width direction. When the battery case 6 is mounted, as shown in FIG. Stored in the recess provided in
When the battery case 6 is pulled up, the battery case 6 is turned upright as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

Power supply terminal at the lower inside of the mounting bracket 8
80 and 80 are main pipes 12 (or 13) as shown in FIG.
In addition, the power supply cord 16 extended rearward along the back fork 14 guides the inside of a hub plate 30 attached to the rear wheel 3 and is connected to an electric motor M for driving assistance via a drive circuit (not shown). ing. Thereby, the electric motor M is driven to rotate by the power supply from the batteries B inside the battery case 6 via the output terminals (not shown) inside the battery case 6, the power supply terminals 80, 80 and the power supply cord 16, The rotation of the electric motor M assists the manual driving as described above.

[0045]

As described above in detail, in the electric bicycle according to the present invention, the two main frames forming a part of the body frame are used, and the battery case mounted and supported on these main frames is provided inside the cylindrical shape. The first battery is placed horizontally
The battery case includes a storage portion and a second storage portion which is inserted between the main frames and extends downward and has a cylindrical battery arranged vertically, so that the center of gravity of the battery case is vertically aligned. The battery case can be reliably restrained in the vehicle width direction by the second storage portion which is close to the main frame and is inserted between the main frames, suppresses the occurrence of wobble due to vibration during traveling, and secures the battery case. It becomes possible to support stably.

Further, since a member having a cross section longer in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction is used as the main frame for supporting the battery case, the strength in the vertical direction can be increased.
The load of the heavy battery case can be reliably supported, and the battery case can be supported while suppressing the spread in the vehicle width direction, which hinders the operation for traveling such as the pedal pressure. Nothing.

Further, since the juxtaposition interval between the two main frames supporting the battery case is set shorter than the axial length of the batteries, the plurality of batteries accommodated in the first accommodating portion are arranged in two main frames. The battery case is horizontally laid between the frames and serves as a reinforcing member for the battery case, so that the battery case can be made thinner and lighter.

Also, the battery case is constituted by a lower case integrally formed including the first storage portion and the second storage portion, and an upper case for closing an upper opening of the lower case. After the batteries are stored in the first and second storage portions of the lower case, the upper case is attached, and the upper case is brought into contact with the batteries placed horizontally in the first storage portion from above, so that these batteries and the second storage portion The vertically arranged battery can be held down, and the battery can be reliably positioned, so that initial assembly and replacement of the battery can be easily performed.

Further, since the plurality of batteries stored in the first and second storage sections are integrated in advance in a state of being arranged in a row, it is necessary to store the batteries in the first and second storage sections one by one. Therefore, the initial assembly and the replacement of the battery can be performed reliably and easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the entire configuration of an electric bicycle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view near a mounting position of a battery case.

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of an integrated battery.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Body frame 2 Front wheel 3 Rear wheel 4 Saddle 5 Pedal 6 Battery case 10 Vertical pipe 11 Head pipe 12 Main pipe 13 Main pipe 60 Lower case 60a First storage part 60b Second storage part 61 Upper case B Battery M Electric motor

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A battery case accommodating a plurality of cylindrical batteries is mounted on a main frame connecting a vertical frame supporting a saddle and a head frame supporting a front wheel, and driven by power supply from the battery. In the electric bicycle configured to transmit the rotational force of the electric motor to the rear wheels to assist the manual driving by the pedaling force, the two main frames are arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction,
The battery case is mounted and supported on two main frames, and has a first storage portion for horizontally storing a plurality of batteries arranged in a horizontal row.
Extending downward through the space between the main frames of the book,
A second type of vertically storing a plurality of batteries arranged in rows
An electric bicycle comprising a storage section. 2. The electric bicycle according to claim 1, wherein the two main frames have a cross section whose vertical dimension is longer than horizontal dimension. 3. The space between the two main frames is set shorter than the length of the battery in the axial direction, and the battery stored in the first storage portion passes through a bottom plate of the storage portion. The electric bicycle according to claim 1, wherein the electric bicycle is suspended between two main frames. 4. A lower case which is integrally formed including the first storage portion and the second storage portion and has an opening for mounting a battery on substantially the entire upper portion thereof, and an upper portion of the lower case. Attached to close the opening,
The electric bicycle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: an upper case that contacts the plurality of batteries stored in the first storage unit from above. 5. The electric bicycle according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of batteries stored in the first and second storage sections are integrated in a state of being arranged in a row.