JP2000095181A - Derailleur system for bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a derailleur to be controlled without requiring cables by controlling the derailleur with an operating mode analyzed by a receiver. SOLUTION: A handlebar connected to a front fork of a front wheel is provided with a control unit 3 that selects an operating mode of a derailleur. An output from the control unit 3 is applied to a transmitter 4 in the next stage. The transmitter 4 transmits a code that corresponds to the operating mode selected by the control unit 3. The transmitted code or a signal transmitted by a light-emitting diode is received by a receiver 5. The receiver 5 receives and analyzes the code transmitted by the transmitter 4. The signal is detected by the receiver circuit and code is stored in and analyzed by a microprocessor which, in turn, outputs a signal indicating a particular gear selected to a derailleur system 6 in the next stage. The derailleur system 6 controls the derailleur according to the operating mode analyzed by the receiver 5. It comprises a drive circuit that amplifies electric power, a motor that is driven by this drive circuit, and a potentiometer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bicycle transmission system, and more particularly, to a remote-controlled transmission system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a transmission system used for a bicycle is known as an external type having a pantograph type derailleur or an internal type using a planetary gear.
Since it is necessary to operate these transmission systems arbitrarily, a structure is employed in which a transmission lever provided near the steering wheel and the transmission system are connected by wires. And
A fixed tension is applied to the wire, and the transmission is operated by pulling the wire with a shift lever.

[0003] Recently, there has been proposed a device in which a shift is performed by an electric signal. In such a device, an electric cord is provided along a frame instead of a wire, and a transmission lever is connected to the transmission. ing.

As described above, in the conventional bicycle transmission system, wires and electric cords are indispensable.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional device, not only the cost of wires is increased, but also the wires and the like may be cut. Also, in the design of the bicycle, wires and the like may become obstacles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a bicycle transmission system capable of controlling a transmission without requiring wires.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a transmission system for a bicycle, and is configured as follows to solve the above-mentioned technical problems.

That is, the transmission 2 provided on the bicycle 1
, An operation unit 3 for selecting an operation mode, a transmission unit 4 for transmitting a code corresponding to the operation mode selected by the operation unit 3, and a reception unit for receiving and analyzing the code transmitted from the transmission unit 4. And a transmission unit 6 connected to the receiving unit 5 and controlled in an operation mode analyzed by the receiving unit 5.

The transmission 2 is a concept that includes not only general internal transmissions and external transmissions but also transmissions using meshing gears. Further, it is preferable that the transmission performs a shifting operation by an external actuator such as an electric or hydraulic pressure.

The operating section 3 is preferably provided at a place where the driver can easily operate, such as near a steering wheel, and selects which gear (deceleration) to use in the transmission 2. As a method of selecting a gear, a method of providing a plurality of buttons and selecting by pressing any button,
Alternatively, a lever type that is selected at that angle or a grip type that is selected at that rotational angle can be exemplified.

The transmitting section 4 transmits a code corresponding to the operation mode selected by the operation section 3, and may transmit a code by a weak radio wave or an infrared pulse.
The code corresponding to the operation mode is, for example, PCM (PU
LSE CODE MODURATION), PTM
(PULSE TIME MODURATION), P
AM (PULSE AMPLITUDE MODURA
TION), FM (FREQENCY MODURAT)
ION) to convert a plurality of operation modes into codes.

For example, taking PCM as an example, if the number of transmission stages is low, middle, high, and auto,
The code is 00 when the low button is pressed, 01 when the middle button is pressed, 10 when the high button is pressed, and 11 when the auto button is pressed. Is converted. In practice, a common control code is added to a general bit stream.

The receiving section 5 receives the signal from the transmitting section 4 and has a concept including a decoder for the code. The receiving unit 5 includes a high-frequency amplifying unit, a selecting unit, a detecting unit, and the like. The decoder has a data storing function and a comparing function. The input code is compared with a code stored in advance. It is output as a stage number designation signal.

In response to this signal, the speed change section 6 operates the actuator to execute an actual speed change operation. As described above, since the transmission unit 6 can be wirelessly controlled, wires conventionally required are completely unnecessary.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a bicycle transmission system according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS.

FIG. 5 shows an external view of the bicycle 1, in which a frame 1a is provided with an equipment box 1b. A transmission 2 is provided on the rear wheel 12, and the transmission 2 and the equipment box 1b are connected by a wire 2a.

A handle 1c is connected to the front fork 11 of the front wheel 10, and the handle 1c is provided with an operation section 3 for selecting an operation mode of the transmission 2. As shown in FIG. 4, the operation unit 3 has a handle 1c.
Is provided at the base of the grip 1d attached to the distal end of the grip. Shift buttons 3a, 3b, 3c, 3
d are provided respectively. The shift button 3a is used to designate a low gear.
Designates a middle gear, the shift button 3c designates a high gear, and the shift button 3d designates an auto drive.

The output of the operation unit 3 is input to the transmission unit 4 at the next stage. The transmission section 4 transmits a code corresponding to the operation mode selected by the operation section 3, and as shown in FIG. 2, a code selection section 4a, a transmission circuit 4b, a transmission antenna 4c or a light emitting diode 4d, It consists of a power supply not shown. The code selector 4a converts the gear selection signal selected by the shift button into four types of digital codes. Note that only one of the transmitting antenna 4c and the light emitting diode 4d may be provided. That is, the transmission circuit 4b may be of any type of a radio wave oscillator or an infrared transmitter. In the case of a radio transmitter, the transmission antenna 4c may be used, and in the case of an infrared transmitter, the light emitting diode 4d may be used. .

In the case of using radio waves for signal transmission, an output of about 5 mw is sufficient, but it is desirable to add a code classified into several tens of types to a digital code in order to avoid malfunction with other vehicles. .

The signal transmitted by the transmitting antenna 4c or the light emitting diode 4d is received by the receiving unit 5.
The receiving unit 5 receives and analyzes the code transmitted from the transmitting unit 4, and is installed in the device box 1b.

As shown in FIG. 3, the receiving section 5 includes a receiving circuit 5a for receiving a signal detected by a receiving antenna 5e or a phototransistor 5f, a microcomputer 5b for analyzing a signal detected by the receiving circuit 5a, and And a decoder 5c. A speed sensor 5d for detecting magnetism from a magnet 5g provided on the rear wheel 12 is connected to the microcomputer 5b.

A code is stored in the decoder 5c in advance, and the signal detected by the receiving circuit 5a and the stored code are analyzed by the microcomputer 5b to determine which gear (deceleration) has been selected. It is transmitted to the transmission section 6 at the next stage.

The transmission section 6 controls the transmission 2 in the operation mode analyzed by the reception section 5, and includes a drive circuit 6a for amplifying power, a motor 6b driven by the drive circuit 6a, And a potentiometer 6c.

The drive circuit 6a includes a thyristor chopper or a DC power control circuit, and controls the rotation direction and the rotation speed of the motor 6b. The motor 6b operates the transmission 2 via the wire 2a. The transmission 2 is provided with a potentiometer 6c for detecting a gear position.
The output of c is fed back to the drive circuit 6a.

The operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S101, the operation unit 3 is operated to select a gear. Then, a code is selected in the transmission unit 4 (step S102),
It is transmitted in step S103. This signal is received by the receiving unit 5 (step S104), and is decoded in step S105.

Subsequently, in step S106, the gears of the transmission 2 are actually shifted. At this time, the actual gear position is detected by the potentiometer 6c (Step S).
107), if the designated gear position is different from the actual gear position, a feedback signal is sent to the transmission unit 6 to operate the transmission 2 until the designated gear position is reached (step S1).
06, step S107).

As described above, since the transmission unit 6 can be controlled wirelessly, wires conventionally required between the operation unit 3 and the transmission side are not required at all. When the automatic shift mode is selected by the operation unit 3, the speed sensor 5d
The automatic transmission is performed using the signal from the controller.

That is, the speed sensor 5d is connected to the rear wheel 12
It senses the magnetism of the magnet 5g provided in the
A rotation speed signal of the rear wheel 12 is obtained. For example, based on the rotation speed signal of the rear wheel 12,
When the speed is less than / h, the microcomputer 5b selects a low gear (L). In addition, bicycle is 8k
When the speed is not less than m / h and less than 15 km / h, the microcomputer 5b selects the middle gear (M). Similarly, when the bicycle has a speed of 15 km / h or more, the microcomputer 5b selects a high gear (H).

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the receiving section 5 and the transmission section 6 can be provided integrally, for example, near the hub of the rear wheel 12. In this case, the transmission 2 is desirably provided inside a hub provided on the rear wheel axle, and the transmission rod slidably provided on the axial center portion of the transmission 2 moves in the axial direction, so that the transmission 2 Set to change the gear position of No. 2. The speed change rod is urged outward from the hub body by a spring provided in the hub body. When the transmission rod is pressed (moved inward) by the driving force of the motor 6b, the gear position is lowered, and the transmission rod is returned by the operation of the motor 6b (moved outward).
The transmission 2 is configured such that the gear position rises.

The receiving unit 5 receives the code transmitted from the transmitting unit 4 and controls the transmitting unit 6, similarly to the example in which the receiving unit and the transmission unit are provided separately. As described above, in the mode in which the receiving unit 5 and the transmission unit 6 are provided integrally, the wire work can be further reduced because the wires 2a and the like are not required.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the gear change can be performed wirelessly, it is possible to reduce the amount of wire work which has conventionally been unsightly. Moreover, since the operation unit 3 is completely independent, it can be easily relocated.
For example, it can be attached to either the left or right position according to the dominant arm.

Since the operation of the operation unit 3 is performed only by button operation, the driver does not need to apply force as compared with a conventional transmission that operates a wire, so that operability is improved and The stability of the driving posture is improved, and the safety is improved.

It is also possible to use a wristwatch type, add a lock button, and lock the bicycle when leaving the bicycle. In this case, it is necessary to take safety measures such as not being locked while the wheels are rotating, but there is an advantage that the lock and unlock can be remotely controlled so that the vehicle can immediately start over a parked bicycle.

[0034]

According to the present invention, since the transmission of a bicycle is controlled by wireless transmission, wires conventionally required are completely eliminated. Therefore, not only the cost of the wires can be reduced, but also there is no fear of the wires being cut or elongated, and the failure caused by the wires can be reduced. In addition, there is an effect that obstacles in the design of the bicycle are eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a periphery of a transmission unit and a periphery of a reception unit of a bicycle transmission system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an operation unit and a transmission unit of the bicycle transmission system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the vicinity of a receiving unit and a transmission unit of the bicycle transmission system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an operation unit of the bicycle transmission system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which the bicycle transmission system according to the embodiment of the present invention is mounted on the bicycle.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the bicycle transmission system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the vicinity of the rear wheel of the bicycle, showing a mode in which the receiving section and the transmission section are integrated in the bicycle transmission system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the vicinity of the rear wheel of the bicycle, showing a mode in which the receiving unit and the transmission unit are integrated in the bicycle transmission system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 bicycle 2 transmission 3 operation unit 4 transmission unit 5 reception unit 6 transmission unit 4a code selection unit 4b transmission circuit 4c transmission antenna 4d light emitting diode 5a reception circuit 5b microcomputer 5c decoder 5d (magnet type) speed sensor 5e reception antenna 5f photo Transistor 5g Magnet 6a Drive circuit 6b Motor 6c Potentiometer 10 Front wheel 12 Rear wheel

Claims (1)

[Claims] An operation section for selecting an operation mode of a transmission provided on a bicycle, a transmission section for transmitting a code corresponding to the operation mode selected by the operation section, and a transmission section for transmitting a code corresponding to the operation mode. A transmission system for a bicycle, comprising: a reception unit for receiving and analyzing a code; and a transmission unit connected to the reception unit and controlled in an operation mode analyzed by the reception unit.