JP2004161180A - Saddle type electric-powered vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep manufacturing costs low and allow notice of a travelable condition to an occupant by sound. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicle is equipped with a flasher lamp 13 that is turned on by a control signal sent from a CPU 22. The vehicle is equipped with a warning buzzer 28 that emits a warning sound corresponding to sound data sent from the CPU 22. The CPU 22 has a means for warning forgetting to turn off the flasher lamp, which sends first sound data to the warning buzzer 28 when the flasher lamp 13 is lighted. The CPU 22 has a travel warning means 46 for sending second sound data, which is different from the first sound data, to the warning buzzer 28 when a vehicle body is in the travelable condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a saddle-ride type electric vehicle that runs using a motor as a power source.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A scooter-type electric motorcycle is known as a conventional saddle-ride type electric vehicle of this type. Compared to a motorcycle equipped with an engine, this conventional electric motorcycle has a sound generated when the main switch for starting is turned ON and is stopped, in other words, when the engine is idling in the motorcycle, the vehicle body is turned off. There is no sound when stopped. For this reason, it is necessary to positively notify the occupant that the electric motorcycle is in a state in which traveling is possible in order to prevent sudden start.
[0003]
An example of an electric vehicle that can notify an occupant that the vehicle is in a runnable state is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-322403. The electric vehicle disclosed in this publication is a four-wheeled vehicle, and has a configuration in which a speaker provided in a vehicle cabin generates a sound to notify an occupant that the vehicle can travel.
In addition, the applicant has not found a prior art document closely related to the present invention by the time of filing, except for the prior art document specified by the prior art document information described in the present specification. .
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-7-322403
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the saddle-ride type electric vehicle requires not only a small space for mounting parts compared to a four-wheeled vehicle, but also a demand for further weight reduction, it is necessary to inform an occupant that the vehicle is exclusively in a runnable state. Speaker cannot be mounted. Although it is conceivable to use a buzzer relatively smaller than this speaker as a sound source, the increase in the number of components cannot be avoided.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and provides a saddle-ride type electric vehicle that has a simple configuration and can notify an occupant by sound that the vehicle is in a runnable state. With the goal.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, a saddle-ride type electric vehicle according to the present invention includes a flasher lamp that is turned on by a control signal sent from a microprocessor, and a buzzer that generates a warning sound corresponding to the signal sent from the microprocessor. The microprocessor comprises a flasher lamp forgetting to turn off warning means for sending out a first signal to the buzzer when the flasher lamp is lit, and the microprocessor is configured to output the signal when the vehicle body is in a runnable state. The vehicle further includes a traveling warning unit that sends a second signal different from the first signal to the buzzer.
[0008]
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when a crew member forgets to turn off a flasher lamp, it can notify a crew member that it is in a runnable state using the buzzer which emits a warning sound. Further, since the flasher lamp and the buzzer are controlled by the microprocessor, a flasher relay is not required.
[0009]
The saddle-ride type electric vehicle according to the second aspect of the present invention is the saddle-ride type electric vehicle according to the first aspect, wherein the travel warning means is provided when the vehicle body is stopped and the brake operation is performed. When the operation is being performed, the transmission of the signal is stopped.
According to the present invention, it is possible to stop the buzzer from generating a warning sound by performing a brake operation when the vehicle is stopped at an intersection or the like to wait for a traffic light.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a straddle-type electric vehicle according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. Here, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electric motorcycle will be described.
FIG. 1 is a side view of an electric motorcycle according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing a main switch mounting portion, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same, and FIG. It is painted. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing a display unit of the meter, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system having a microprocessor according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the traveling warning means. is there.
[0011]
In these figures, what is indicated by reference numeral 1 is a scooter-type electric motorcycle according to this embodiment. The electric motorcycle 1 includes a unit swing type power unit 3 at a rear portion of a vehicle body frame 2, and runs by driving a rear wheel 4 by the power unit 3. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 denotes a head pipe of the body frame 2, reference numeral 6 denotes a front fork rotatably supported by the head pipe 5, reference numeral 7 denotes a front wheel, reference numeral 8 denotes a steering handle, and reference numeral 9 denotes an occupant. A saddle-shaped seat to be seated, 10 is a battery, 11 is a headlight, 12 is a tail / brake lamp, and 13 is a flasher lamp.
[0012]
The battery 10 has an output voltage of 24 V, and is removably mounted on a battery case 15 provided below the seat 9. The battery case 15 is formed such that a battery door (not shown) is opened upward by opening the sheet 9 upward as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
[0013]
The power unit 3 includes a motor 16 located on the same axis as the rear wheel 4 and a vehicle controller 17 for controlling the output of the motor 16 provided in a unit housing 18. The rotation speed of the rear wheel 4 is configured to increase or decrease according to the rotation angle of a throttle grip (not shown). That is, the vehicle controller 17 controls the output of the motor 16 so as to correspond to the rotation angle of the throttle grip.
A meter unit indicated by reference numeral 21 in FIG. 1 is provided in the vicinity of the steering handle 8, and the electric components such as the headlight 11 and the flasher lamp 13 are provided by a CPU 22 provided in the meter unit 21. (See FIG. 5) to switch on and off.
[0014]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the meter unit 21 includes an LCD display device 23, a warning lamp 24, a power switch 25, a set switch 26, a select switch 27, a warning buzzer 28, and the like. I have. The LCD display device 23 is shown in FIG. 4 in a state where all the liquid crystal segments are displayed. The LCD display device 23 has a lock display unit 31 that is displayed when an electronic lock is performed using a personal identification number, a RUN display unit 32 that is displayed when a vehicle can be driven, and a circle-type display. A display section 34 for displaying the remaining capacity of the battery 10, a character display section 35 for displaying a mileage and characters for operation guide, a vehicle speed display section 36 for displaying a vehicle speed, and the like. ing. The switches 25 to 27 provided in the meter unit 21 are used to input various data. The warning buzzer 28 uses a piezoelectric buzzer as a sound source in this embodiment, and generates a warning sound corresponding to a signal sent from a CPU 22 described later.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 5, the CPU 22 includes a main switch 41 (see FIGS. 1 to 3) and a rotational speed of the front wheel 7 or the rear wheel 4 in addition to the various electric components described above, as shown in FIG. A vehicle speed sensor 42 to be detected, a flasher lamp turning-off warning unit 45 and a traveling warning unit 46 to be described later are provided. These two means are constituted by a program stored in the CPU 22. The CPU 22 also has a control function of blinking the flasher lamps 13, and adopts a configuration in which all the flasher lamps 13 are turned on and off. Further, the CPU 22 is connected to the vehicle controller 17 via communication means 17a. The vehicle controller 17 is connected to a brake sensor 44 that detects whether or not a brake operation is being performed based on the operation positions of brake levers 43 (see FIG. 1) provided at both ends of the steering handle 8. ing.
[0016]
As the main switch 41, a switch equivalent to that used in a conventional motorcycle is used. A key (not shown) is inserted into a key insertion slot 41a (see FIG. 3) and rotated. On / off and handle lock can be switched. The lead wire 41b connected to the main switch 41 is wired inside an exterior cover 47 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) provided between the pair of left and right down tubes 2a, 2b of the body frame 2. 2 and 3, it is passed through a protective pipe 48 made of rigid PVC to prevent cutting by a third party.
[0017]
If the occupant forgets to return the flasher switch (not shown) to the neutral position after, for example, making a left or right turn, the flasher lamp turn-off warning means notifies the occupant of this by a warning sound. The first signal is sent to the warning buzzer 28 when the flasher lamp 13 is turned on.
[0018]
In this embodiment, the first signal corresponds to the pattern of the warning sound so that the time when the sound is generated from the warning buzzer 28 and the time when the sound is extinguished can be determined. It is set as follows. Note that the first signal may include data for determining the volume of the warning sound.
[0019]
The traveling warning means 46 is configured to send a second signal different from the first signal to the warning buzzer 28 when the vehicle body is in a state where the vehicle can travel. In the present embodiment, the second signal and the first signal are set so that the time during which the sound is generated from the warning buzzer 28 and the time during which the sound is muted are different from each other. I have. These first and second signals are stored in the memory 49 of the CPU 22 (see FIG. 5). This second signal can also include data for determining the volume of the warning sound.
[0020]
The above-mentioned “state in which the vehicle body can travel” means that the main switch 41 has been turned on and one of the switches 25 to 27 (start switch) of the meter unit 21 has been turned on. It means that two conditions are satisfied. It should be noted that the main stand 51 (see FIG. 1) can be added to the above condition in the housed state shown in FIG. In this case, the use state of the main stand 51 is detected by a sensor (not shown).
[0021]
When the above condition is satisfied, the traveling warning unit 46 sets the RUN display unit 32 and the circle display unit 33 of the LCD display device 23 to the display state. The circle-shaped display section 33 is formed by arranging a plurality of display segments 33a side by side so as to present an annular shape. In the above-described display state, the display segments in the display state are sequentially moved in a clockwise direction, for example. A configuration is adopted in which the display portion appears to be rotating. The traveling warning unit 46 sends a second signal to the warning buzzer 28 when the above condition is satisfied and the vehicle speed is 0 and the brake operation is not performed. As a result, at this time, a second warning sound corresponding to the second signal is generated from the warning buzzer 28. The second warning sound has a different sound pattern from the first warning sound generated when the flasher lamp 13 is forgotten to be turned off.
[0022]
The operation of the traveling warning means 46 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The travel warning means 46 first turns on the main switch 41 in step S1 and turns on the start switch (any one of the switches 25 to 27) in step S2. It is determined whether the vehicle is in a state in which it can travel. If the above-mentioned conditions are not satisfied, the traveling warning means 46 determines that the vehicle is not in a travelable state, and controls the LCD display device 23 and the warning buzzer 28 to maintain the current state in step S4. Before returning to step S2. In the step S4, the LCD display device 23 is controlled so that the circle-type display unit 33 maintains the non-display state, and the transmission of the second signal is performed so that the warning buzzer 28 does not generate a warning sound. Stop.
[0023]
If the result of the determination in step S3 is YES, that is, if the vehicle is in a runnable state, the traveling warning unit 46 sets the circle-type display unit 33 to the display state as shown in step S5. At this time, the traveling warning unit 46 also sets the RUN display unit 32 to the display state. Thereafter, in step S6, the traveling warning unit 46 determines whether or not the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 42 is 0 and the brake sensor 44 detects that the brake operation is not performed. If the result of the determination in step S6 is NO, that is, if the vehicle speed is not 0 or the occupant is performing a brake operation, the traveling warning means 46 proceeds to step S7, where the circle display unit 33 controls the LCD display device 23 so as to maintain the display state.
[0024]
That is, at this time, only the circle display unit 33 and the RUN display unit 32 enter the display state, and the second buzzer does not generate the second buzzer sound. For this reason, the second warning sound is not generated unnecessarily during running, and the second warning sound is stopped by performing the brake operation even when the vehicle is stopped at a traffic light or the like. Therefore, the advantage that the electric motorcycle has less noise is not impaired by the second warning sound.
[0025]
If the determination result in step S6 is YES, the traveling warning unit 46 sends a second signal to the warning buzzer 28 in step S8. As a result, a second warning sound is generated from the warning buzzer 28 in a pattern corresponding to the second signal. That is, at this time, the second warning sound is generated in a different pattern from the first warning sound that occurs when the flasher lamp 13 is forgotten to be turned off, and the second warning sound indicates that the vehicle is ready to travel. Can be informed. That is, even if the user does not notice that the RUN display unit 32 or the circle display unit 33 displayed on the LCD display device 23 of the meter unit 21 is in the display state, the vehicle is in a state where the vehicle can travel. The occupant can be notified of the start by operating the throttle grip by a second warning sound.
[0026]
Therefore, in the electric motorcycle according to the present embodiment, when the occupant forgets to turn off the flasher lamp 13, the occupant is notified that the vehicle is ready to travel by using the warning buzzer 28 that generates the first warning sound. be able to. Further, in this electric motorcycle, since the flasher lamp 13 and the warning buzzer 28 are controlled by the CPU 22 (microprocessor), a flasher relay is unnecessary.
[0027]
Since the electric bicycle according to the present embodiment employs a configuration in which the flasher lamp 13 and the warning buzzer 28 are controlled by the CPU 22, the production cost can be reduced. This is because the power supply of the saddle-ride type electric vehicle is 24V. That is, a relay for 24 V is more expensive than a relay for 12 V widely used in automobiles and motorcycles. Even if an inexpensive 24V relay is used, this relay is formed separately from the meter 21 and connected to the meter 21 by wiring, so that the number of parts increases and the cost increases. That is, in order to generate a warning sound from the warning buzzer 28 so as to correspond to the operation of the flasher lamp 13, the operation of the relay must be detected and sent to the CPU 22 of the meter 21. It is necessary.
[0028]
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to an electric motorcycle is described. However, the present invention is not limited to such a limitation, and may be applied to, for example, a saddle-ride type electric three-wheeled vehicle or an electric four-wheeled vehicle. Can be.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to notify the occupant that the vehicle is ready to travel using a buzzer for generating a warning sound when the occupant forgets to turn off the flasher lamp. Therefore, there is no need to equip the occupant with a buzzer to notify the occupant that the vehicle is ready to run, and a function to notify that the user has forgotten to turn off the flasher lamp and a notification that the vehicle is ready to run. Functions can be realized with one buzzer. Further, since the flasher lamp and the buzzer are controlled by the microprocessor, a flasher relay is not required.
Therefore, the straddle-type electric vehicle according to the present invention sounds to the occupant that the vehicle is in a runnable state by realizing the above two functions with one buzzer and eliminating the need for a flasher relay. , The configuration is simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be kept low.
[0030]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to stop the generation of the warning sound from the buzzer by performing the brake operation when the vehicle is stopped at an intersection or the like to wait for a traffic light. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a warning sound from being generated from the buzzer when it is unnecessary, so that it is possible to provide a saddle-ride type electric vehicle that is easy to handle.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view of an electric motorcycle according to this embodiment.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing a main switch mounting portion.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing a main switch mounting portion.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing a display unit of the meter.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system having a microprocessor according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the traveling warning means.
[Explanation of symbols]
9: sheet, 16: motor, 13: flasher lamp, 22: CPU, 28: buzzer for warning, 45: warning means for forgetting to turn off the flasher lamp, 46: running warning means.

Claims (2)

In a saddle-ride type electric vehicle in which an occupant is seated on a saddle-type seat and travels using a motor as a power source, a flasher lamp that is turned on by a control signal sent from a microprocessor corresponds to a signal sent from the microprocessor. A buzzer that generates a warning sound, the microprocessor includes a flasher lamp forgetting-off warning unit that sends a first signal to the buzzer when the flasher lamp is lit, and the vehicle body can run. A straddle-type electric vehicle, further comprising a traveling warning unit that sends a second signal different from the first signal to the buzzer when the vehicle is in a state. 2. The straddle-type electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the traveling warning unit stops transmitting a signal when the vehicle body is stopped and a brake operation is being performed. vehicle.

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