JP2002145149A - Motor-assisted bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the attachment and detachment of a battery case while keeping a high crime preventing property. SOLUTION: A lever 33 extending to the rear of a body is vertically rockable on a seat tube 5 by a seat pin 32. A locking device 34 is provided between the lever 33 and a body frame 2. The battery case 21 is fixed in an on-vehicle position by vertically rocking the lever 33 to one side, and the rocking of the battery case 21 is allowed by rocking it to the other side. The head part 32a of the seat pin 32 is located on the removing side of the battery case 21, and a cover 21b extending to the sideward vicinity of the head part 32a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery-assisted bicycle in which a battery case is mounted between a seat tube and a rear wheel so as to be swingable and detachable in a vehicle width direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a conventional electric assisted bicycle of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2984905. In the battery-assisted bicycle disclosed in this publication, a box-shaped support member to which a lower end of a battery case fits is supported by a body frame so as to be swingable in the vehicle width direction. The battery case fitted to the support member is detachable by tilting in the vehicle width direction together with the support member, and is mounted on the vehicle (movable state) by standing up. In order to fix the battery case in a vehicle-mounted state, clamps are respectively engaged with the front, one side and the rear of the upper part of the battery case. Further, in this electric assist bicycle, the battery case is prevented from being stolen by a locking device having a structure in which the engaging element is engaged with the rear surface of the battery case.

[0003]

In the conventional electric assisted bicycle constructed as described above, the number of parts is large because a plurality of clamps and locking devices are used for fixing the battery case in a vehicle-mounted state. As a result, there is a problem that the operation for attaching and detaching the battery case becomes complicated. Therefore, there is a demand for a battery-assisted bicycle that can easily attach and detach a battery case while maintaining a high security function.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to meet the above-mentioned demands, and has as its object to provide an electric assist bicycle in which a battery case can be easily attached and detached while maintaining a high security function.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, an electric assist bicycle according to the present invention has a seat tube provided with a lever extending rearward of a vehicle body, which is swingable in a vertical direction by a support shaft. A locking device is provided between the lever and the body frame, and the battery case is fixed at the vehicle-mounted position by swinging the lever in one of the up and down directions, and the swing of the battery case is caused by swinging to the other. An allowable structure, wherein the support shaft is formed by bolts, and the head is mounted so that the head is located on the side to be removed from the battery case, and the battery case has a cover extending near the side of the head. It is.

According to the present invention, the battery case can be fixed and locked with one lever. Further, when the battery case is mounted on the vehicle body, the cover of the battery case blocks the escape path of the lever support shaft, so that the lever support shaft cannot be removed with the battery case mounted.

An electric assist bicycle according to a second aspect of the present invention is the electric assist bicycle according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the support shaft is formed by a seat pin. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the anti-theft structure and fixing structure of a battery case can be implement | achieved using the parts always provided in order to form a bicycle body frame.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of an electric assisted bicycle according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a part of an electric assisted bicycle according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing a battery case mounting portion, FIG. 3 is a plan view of a controller housing, and FIG. FIG.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the support member in an assembled state. A broken position in FIG. 3 is indicated by a line VI-VI in FIG. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 8 is a rear view of the controller housing, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the battery case holder, FIG. 11 is a side view of the battery case holder, and FIG.
2 is a front view of the battery case holder, and FIG. 13 is a rear view of the battery case holder. 14 is a sectional view taken along line XIV-XIV in FIG. 10, and FIG.
It is an XV line sectional view. 16 is a plan view around the support bracket, and FIG. 17 is an XV of the support bracket in FIG.
FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along line XVIII-XVI in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II. 19 is a side view of the lock device for the battery case, FIG. 20 is a plan view of the lock device for the battery case, and FIG. 21 is a front view for explaining the attachment / detachment operation of the battery case. The part and the lock device for the battery case are partially broken away. FIG. 22 is a side view showing a state where the battery case is viewed from the right side of the vehicle body.

In these figures, the reference numeral 1 designates an electric assisted bicycle according to this embodiment. The electrically assisted bicycle 1 is configured using a stuckard type bicycle body frame 2. The stackard type body frame is provided with two down tubes 3 arranged vertically, and is often used in a so-called women's bicycle.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 4 denotes a head pipe, 5 denotes a seat tube, 6 denotes a chain stay, 7 denotes a seat stay, 8 denotes a hanger pipe, and 9 denotes a pedal crankshaft. A front fork (not shown) is rotatably supported on the head pipe 4, and a steering wheel and a front wheel are attached to the front fork. The seat pillar tube 10a of the seat 10 is inserted and attached to the upper end of the seat tube. The chain stay 6 and the seat stay 7 are provided so as to form a pair in the vehicle width direction, and the rear wheels 12 are supported at the rear ends of the stays 6 and 7 via an end bracket 11.
The pedal crankshaft 9 is rotatably supported by the hanger pipe 8, and has a pedal crank (not shown) attached thereto. The lower end of the seat tube 5, the rear end of the lower down tube 3, and the front ends of the pair of left and right chain stays 6 are connected to each other by a lug hanger pipe 8.

The battery-assisted bicycle 1 has a battery case 21 mounted between the seat tube 5 of the body frame 2 and the rear wheel 12. This battery case 21
Power is supplied from a battery (not shown) in the inside to a motor in a hub (not shown) of the rear wheel 12, so that the vehicle runs by the combined force of the pedaling force (manpower) and the motor power. The pedaling force is
The power is transmitted from the pedal crankshaft 9 to the front chain sprocket 22 via a pedaling force detection mechanism (not shown) described later, and is transmitted to the hub via the chain 22a.

In this embodiment, the motor power is:
Control is performed by a controller to be described later so as to increase or decrease in accordance with the pedaling force. The pedaling force is detected by a pedaling force detection mechanism (not shown) interposed between the pedal crankshaft 9 and the front chain sprocket 22. As this pedaling force detecting mechanism, for example, a spring is elastically mounted between the pedal crankshaft 9 and the front chain sprocket 22, and a displacement amount of the spring or a physical amount corresponding to the displacement amount is detected by a sensor 23.
It is conceivable to adopt a configuration to detect the error.

The battery case 21 is formed in a vertically long box shape and has a battery cell (not shown) therein.
And a lower end portion thereof is supported by a later-described battery case support member 24 so as to be swingable and detachable in the vehicle width direction. Battery case 21 is supported by support member 24
In order to support the battery case 21 as described above, the supporting shaft 24 (see FIGS. 2 and 21) protruding from the front and rear surfaces of the lower end of the battery case 21 is engaged with the support member 24. .

A handle 21a projecting upward and a seat pin cover 21b projecting forward from the vehicle body are integrally formed on the left side of the vehicle body at the upper end of the battery case 21. The battery case 21 has a battery case lock device 31 (see FIGS. 19 to 21) engaged with the upper end thereof so as to be fixed in a vehicle-mounted state. The lock device 31 includes a lever 33 made of an aluminum alloy supported on a seat pin 32 at an upper end portion of the seat tube 5 so as to be vertically swingable.
And a locking device 34 that engages with the rear end of the lever 33 to prevent the lever 33 from swinging at the locking position.

As shown in FIG. 20, the seat pins 32 are formed by bolts, and the head 32a is positioned on the left side of the vehicle body (removal side of the battery case 21) and inserted through the fastening band 5a at the upper end of the seat tube. . By fastening a nut (not shown) to the seat pin 32, the fastening band 5a narrows the opening diameter of the upper end of the seat tube 5, and tightens the seat pillar tube 10a inserted here. When the battery case 21 is mounted on the vehicle body, as shown in FIGS.
The seat pin cover 21b covers the left side of the vehicle body and cannot be removed from the fastening band 5a even if the nut is removed.

If the seat pin 32 is temporarily fixed to the fastening band 5
a, even if it can be removed from
The upper and lower folded portions 5b are formed on the fastening band 5a so that the fastening band 5a is not removed. That is, the folded portion 5b is formed so as to overlap with the front end of the lever 33 in a plan view. When the front end of the lever 33 is lifted upward, the folded portion 5b blocks the movement path of the front end of the lever 33. ing.

The lever 33 is, as shown in FIG.
A hook 33a (see FIG. 19) is formed so as to extend rearward from the vehicle body from the seat tube 5 between the left and right seat stays 7 in plan view, and engages with the locking device 34 at the swinging end.
Handle) for gripping the lever 33.
And are integrally formed. A battery case 21 is provided below the lever 33 and at the center in the front-rear direction.
A stopper 36 which fits from above into a concave portion 35 (see FIGS. 20 and 21) formed at the upper end of the upper portion so as to open upward.

As shown in FIG. 21, the stopper 36 includes a holding piece 36a integrally formed at the lower end of the lever 33 so as to have a downward U-shaped cross section.
6a and a rubber 36b fixed to the outside. In this embodiment, the rubber 36b is elastically deformed by fitting the stopper 36 into the recess 35 and engaging the hook 33a of the lever 33 with the locking device 34, so that the lever 33 lowers the battery case 21. To be pressed. The lever 33 is aligned with the seat stay 7 in the vehicle width direction as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 19 in a state where the stopper 36 is fitted into the recess 35 and is in the locked position as described above. As shown in FIG. 20, it is configured to be close to the seat stay 7 in plan view.

The locking device 34 is composed of a well-known cylinder lock, and can switch between locking and unlocking by inserting a key (not shown) into the key insertion opening 34a and turning it. I have. As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the locking device 34 is fixed to an upper bracket 37 laid across two seat stays 7 with fixing bolts 38.

When the locking device 34 is unlocked by a key and the lever 33 is removed from the locking device 34, the lever 33 can be turned up and down about the seat pin 32 as a fulcrum. When the lever 33 is rotated upward as shown in FIG.
Is attached to and detached from the support member 24.

As shown in FIG. 2, the support member 24 for supporting the battery case 21 is formed by integrally connecting a controller housing 42 and a battery case holder 43 on the controller housing 42. Is supported on the chase stay 6 via a support bracket 41 welded only to the chain stay 6. The controller housing 42 is made of an aluminum alloy in this embodiment, and
As shown in FIG. 6, two mounting pieces 44 projecting forward from the vehicle body and one mounting piece 45 projecting rearward are integrally formed at the lower end.

These mounting pieces 44, 45 are fixed to the support bracket 41 by fixing bolts 46 (see FIG. 2). Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the controller housing 42 is formed in a box shape in which a front half of the vehicle body is opened downward. Inside this box,
As shown in FIG. 6, a controller 47 for traveling control is accommodated. The controller 47 is formed by mounting an electronic component 47b and an FET 47c on a board 47a, and housed in a box-shaped portion of the controller housing 42. The box-shaped portion is filled with a sealing resin (not shown). There are three FETs 47c.
d indicates a partition wall 42f of the controller housing 42.
And firmly attached. A bolt hole through which a bolt 47d for fixing the three FETs 47c is inserted is indicated by a reference numeral 47e in FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the upper wall 42a of the controller housing 42 extends rearward from the box-shaped portion to form a support plate for supporting a battery case holder 43 described later. ing. The upper wall 42
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a reinforcing rib 42b extending to the rear mounting piece 45 is integrally formed below the rear end of the a and behind the box-shaped portion. The reinforcing rib 42b also has a function of a heat dissipating fin of the FET 47c.

The battery case holder 43 is formed of a synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS.
A bottom wall 51 facing the standing wall 42a of the controller housing 42, a right standing wall 52 extending upward from the bottom wall 51, a front standing wall 53 and a rear standing wall 54, and a right lower wall 55 extending downward from the bottom wall 51 and a lower front. The wall 56 is formed integrally. On the bottom wall 51 and the right standing wall 52, four motor-side receptacles 57 connected to the sliding contact type discharge terminals 21d provided on the discharge connector 21c (see FIG. 22) of the battery case 21 are provided. Is inserted and held in a state of being vertically penetrated.

The discharge connector 21c is provided at a corner from the right bottom surface to the side surface of the lower end of the battery case 21, and is disposed in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body with respect to the lower end (perpendicular to the connection direction of the discharge terminal 21d). In the direction). Also, the discharge terminal 21
As shown in FIG. 22, d is a leaf spring bent in a U-shape to form contact portions facing each other at its tip. The contact portions protrude into the slit 21f, and a receptacle is provided between the contacts. 57 are slidably inserted.

The four receptacles 57 are arranged at equal intervals in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, and the upper end of each receptacle 57 extends in the vehicle width direction as shown in FIGS. It is formed in a plate shape and the right end of the vehicle body is embedded in the right standing wall 52. Fig. 1
Reference numeral 57a in FIG. The discharge terminal 21d is formed so as to sandwich the plate-like portion 57a from the front-rear direction of the vehicle body when the battery case is mounted. The lower end of the receptacle 57 extends downward through an opening 42c (see FIGS. 3 and 5) formed in the upper wall 42a of the controller housing 42, and as shown in FIG. Soldered.

On the bottom wall 51 of the battery case holder 43, a positioning projection 58 that fits into a positioning recess 21e (see FIG. 22) formed in the discharge connector 21c is provided to project upward. are doing. Protrusion 58
Are integrally formed with the right standing wall 52 and the bottom wall 51 of the holder 43 so as to be connected thereto. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the projection 58 is formed in a plate shape extending in the vehicle width direction, and is formed so as to gradually become thinner upward. In order to correspond to the projection 58, the concave portion 21e is formed so that the opening width is gradually narrowed upward.

Further, the protrusion 58 is formed so that the protrusion dimension from the bottom wall 51 is longer than the four receptacles 57. Among the four receptacles 57, the receptacle 57 located on the leftmost side in FIG. 14 has the longest protrusion dimension, the receptacle 57 located on the rightmost side has a long length, and the two inner receptacles 5
7 is formed to be the shortest. The reason why the protrusion dimensions are changed in this way is that when the battery case 21 is mounted on the holder 43, the projection 58 is first fitted into the recess 21e of the discharge connector 21c, and then the receptacle 57 is connected one by one to the discharge terminal 21d. This is to connect to.

That is, when the projection 58 first fits into the concave portion 21e, the discharge connector 21c slightly moves in the battery case 21 and the slit 21f
And the discharge terminal 21 d inside thereof is positioned at a position facing the receptacle 57. Then, since the connection is made to the discharge terminal 21d in order from the receptacle 57 having the longer protrusion dimension, the terminal can be connected with a small force.

The holder 43 formed as described above is integrated with the controller housing 42 by fixing the bottom wall 51 to the upper wall 42a of the controller housing 42 with fixing bolts 59 (see FIG. 2). ing. The four fixing bolts 59 are used, and the bolt holes 42e of the controller housing 42 (FIGS. 3 to 5) are used.
Reference). That is, the bottom wall 51 is
When the receptacle 57 is fixed to the upper wall 42a of the controller housing 42 by a fixing bolt 59 (see FIG. 2), the receptacle 57 is connected to the controller housing 4 shown in FIG.
It projects through a second opening 42c into a box-shaped portion formed in the controller housing 42. In this state, the board 47a is assembled.

The board 47a is mounted with the battery case holder 43 mounted on the controller housing 42 and the FET 47c fixed. More specifically, the end of the receptacle 57 and the lead of the FET 47c are inserted into the board 47a, and the board 47a is fixed to the controller housing 42 from below by three fixing bolts (not shown). Do. The other electronic components 47b are mounted on the board 47a in advance. After soldering as described above, the sealing resin is filled. A bolt hole into which the board fixing bolt is screwed is indicated by reference numeral 42d in FIG. As described above, the controller housing 42 and the battery case holder 43 are sub-assembled and integrated to form the support member 24.

The front wall 53 and the rear wall 54 are formed with an engagement groove 61 for engaging the pivot 25 of the battery case 21.
(See FIGS. 12 and 13) and a locking piece 63 (see FIGS. 10 and 11) for attaching a side cover indicated by reference numeral 62 in FIG. The engagement groove 61
Is formed so as to open toward the left side of the vehicle body, and the lower (left side of the vehicle body) groove wall 61a is formed so as to gradually extend downward from the opening portion toward the inside of the vehicle body. As shown in FIG. 21, the lower end of the lower groove wall 61a and the upper (right side of the vehicle body) groove wall 61b are formed in an elliptical shape when viewed from the front-rear direction of the vehicle body.
Are formed in a shape that can be fitted.

That is, with the pivot shaft 25 fitted in the engagement groove 61, the battery case 21 can be swung in the vehicle width direction with the pivot shaft 25 as a fulcrum. Then, the battery case 21 is lifted upward, so that the battery case 21 is
3 can be removed. The battery case 21
Can be mounted by a procedure reverse to the above. In this embodiment, the load of the battery case 21 is distributed to the bottom wall 51, the front wall 53, and the rear wall 54 in a state where the battery case 21 is mounted on the holder 43 and raised.

The support member 24 described above is connected to the chain stay 6.
2 and 16 to 18, the support bracket 41 is formed by pressing a steel plate into a predetermined shape. And 12 between them.
In this embodiment, the support bracket 41 is formed to cover the front ends of the two chain stays 6 from above,
Side plates 4 formed at both ends in the vehicle width direction so as to extend downward.
The lower end of 1 a is welded to the outer portion of the chain stay 6.

The support bracket 41 is provided with a controller housing 42 for supporting the support member 24 by inclining backward as shown in FIGS.
The supporting portion 41b on which the mounting pieces 44 and 45 are overlapped is formed so as to be inclined backward and downward. A nut 64 for tightening the fixing bolt 46 is provided on the back surface of the support portion 41b.
Is welding. The front end of the support portion 41b is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a semicircular notch 41c is formed, and the seat tube 5 is exposed through a space here. A fixing bolt 46 and a nut 6 are provided on both sides of the seat tube 5.
4 is located. At this time, the front end of the support portion 41b is not welded to the seat tube 5.

By adopting this structure, the support member 24
The portion where the battery case 21 fits can be brought close to the seat tube 5. The support plate 41
The rear end of b is formed so as to face between the two chain stays 6, and a nut 64 for fastening the fixing bolt 46 is welded to the rear end of the chain stay 6, so that the dead space between the chain stays 6 is used. Then, the rear fixing bolt 46 can be disposed.

The mounting position of the support bracket 41 depends on the dimension in the height direction from the axis of the hanger pipe 8 along the seat tube 5 and the dimension from the rear surface of the seat tube 5 to the nut 64 on the rear side of the support bracket 41. It is determined by matching the design value. The position of the upper bracket 37 is set based on the support bracket 41.

The electric assisted bicycle 1 configured as described above
According to the above, the stopper 36 of the lever 33 slidably provided at the upper end of the seat tube 5 is attached to the battery case 21.
The battery case 21 can be prevented from swinging in the vehicle width direction by being fitted into the concave portion 35, and the lever 33 can be fixed by the locking device 34 in the above-described state. For this reason, the fixing and locking of the battery case 21 can be performed by one lever 33, so that the operation for attaching and detaching the battery case 21 becomes easy. When the battery case 21 is mounted on the vehicle body, the cover 21b of the battery case 21
Blocks the escape path of the seat pin 32, so that the seat pin 32 cannot be removed.

Further, since the seat pin 32 is used as the support shaft of the lever 33, it is possible to realize the anti-theft structure and the fixing structure of the battery case 21 by using the components provided for forming the bicycle body frame 2. it can.
For this reason, parts can be shared and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the seat pin 32 is used as a support shaft of the lever 33. However, a support shaft different from the seat pin 32 is provided on the seat tube 5, and the lever 33 is pivoted on this support shaft. May be supported. The lever 33 is formed so as to extend in the front-rear direction on the left side (removal side) of the battery case 21 in addition to the structure that engages with the upper end portion of the battery case 21, and engages with the side surface of the battery case 21. A structure can also be adopted.

In each of the above embodiments,
The structure for detachably supporting the battery case 21 may adopt a structure in which the lower part of the battery case 21 is slidably fitted in the battery case holder 43 in the up-down direction and supported. Further, the chain stay of the vehicle body frame may be a cantilever type with one wheel on each side.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, the fixing and locking of the battery case can be performed by one lever, so that the number of parts is reduced and the operability when attaching and detaching the battery is improved. it can. In addition, when the battery case is mounted on the vehicle body, the cover of the battery case blocks the removal path of the support shaft of the lever, so that the support shaft of the lever cannot be removed.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lever from being detached by a third party. Therefore, it is possible to provide an electric assist bicycle in which the battery case can be easily attached and detached while maintaining a high security function.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the anti-theft structure and the fixing structure of the battery case can be realized by using the parts provided for forming the bicycle body frame, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing a battery case mounting portion.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a controller housing.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the controller housing.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a rear view of the controller housing.

9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a battery case holder.

FIG. 11 is a side view of a battery case holder.

FIG. 12 is a rear view of the battery case holder.

FIG. 13 is a front view of a battery case holder.

14 is a sectional view taken along line XIV-XIV in FIG.

15 is a sectional view taken along line XV-XV in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a bracket.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along line XVII-XVII in FIG. 16;

18 is a sectional view taken along line XVIII-XVIII in FIG.

19 is a side view of the battery case stopper 36. FIG.

20 is a plan view of a battery case stopper 36. FIG.

FIG. 21 is a front view for explaining the attachment / detachment operation of the battery case.

FIG. 22 is a side view showing a state where the battery case is viewed from the right side of the vehicle body.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Body frame, 5 Seat tube, 7 Seat stay, 21 Battery case, 21b Cover, 31
... Locker for battery case, 32 ... Seat pin,
32a ... head, 33 ... lever, 34 ... locking device, 35 ...
Recessed part, 36 ... stopper.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electric assist bicycle in which a battery case is mounted between a seat tube and a rear wheel so as to be swingable and detachable in a vehicle width direction, and a lever extending rearward of a vehicle body is vertically attached to the seat tube by a support shaft. And a locking device is provided between the lever and the vehicle body frame, and the lever is swung in one of the up and down directions so that the battery case is fixed at the in-vehicle position and swung to the other. The battery case is allowed to swing by being moved, the support shaft is formed by bolts, and the head is mounted so that the head is located on the side where the battery case is removed. A battery-assisted bicycle characterized by forming a cover extending near the side. 2. The battery-assisted bicycle according to claim 1, wherein the support shaft is constituted by a seat pin.