JP3086340U - Bicycle mechanical pneumatic assist drive - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Modifications) [Problem] When climbing a relatively steep slope by bicycle, it is necessary to reduce the weight of the assist drive device, increase the output per weight, and improve the energy supply capacity per weight. . SOLUTION: The supply energy is limited to a temporary storage device to reduce the weight, and the device is configured to take in energy in real time and supply power based on the energy.
The temporary energy storage device is a mainspring 10 which releases the elastic energy stored therein to operate the mechanical-pneumatic actuator 30. By this operation, negative pressure and positive pressure of air are generated respectively, the negative pressure chamber is a pressure working chamber by natural energy using the atmosphere, and the positive pressure chamber is a pressure working chamber by elastic force from the mainspring. Air-mechanical actuators 41 and 42 are provided, and the operation of the actuators is provided to the rotation of the rear wheel of the bicycle via the crank 56. Energy is constantly dispensed from the rear wheels of the running bicycle, and energy is temporarily stored in the mainspring.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 This invention relates to a new bicycle drive assist system that can overcome large running resistance such as climbing and accelerating.Specifically, when encountering resistance exceeding the rider's drive force applied to the pedal by pedaling force, the lack of drive force The present invention relates to a bicycle assisted driving system for supplementing and supplementing the bicycle and maintaining comfortable running of the bicycle.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Conventional bicycles are equipped with a mechanism that selects the gear ratio by means of a transmission in order to obtain a driving force in accordance with the change in running resistance.However, since the selection range is limited, the range in which the running resistance changes is limited. It is not possible for the transmission to respond throughout. Therefore, when the running resistance is large, it is necessary to increase the pedaling power or reduce the pedaling pitch, which not only disturbs the pedaling rhythm of the rider and causes fatigue, but also causes a lack of driving force. There is a case where it is impossible to run and you have to get off.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

 When a bicycle runs on a flat road surface, a light pedaling force allows comfortable running at a constant pedaling pitch, but on steep hills and accelerated running, the required pedaling force is too large for human power. Therefore, a conventional drive device using only mechanical means cannot cope with the problem. In order to overcome this situation, a motor-assisted drive unit has been proposed and put into practical use, contributing to the improvement of the convenience of bicycles. However, due to the weight of the battery combined with the motor, it is difficult to push a bicycle equipped with a battery, and there is a limit to the amount of battery that can be recharged per battery. The distance is limited. Therefore, not only frequent charging work is required, but also battery replacement is required and periodic replacement is required. Therefore, while assisting the bicycle by reducing the weight of the assist drive device, it facilitates hand pushing, increasing the output / weight ratio to improve the output per unit weight, and further increasing the energy / weight ratio that can be continuously supplied. It is necessary to increase the energy supply per unit weight to increase.

[0004] Focusing on such a problem, the present invention provides a mechanism combining mechanical operating means and air differential pressure operating means, so that when running resistance exceeding the driving force of a bicycle rider is encountered. It is another object of the present invention to provide a drive assist device for a bicycle that can maintain the optimal pedaling pitch and maintain the required distance in this state with the assistance of the driving force against the excessive resistance.

[0005]

[Means for solving the invention]

 The object of the invention is achieved by providing a support drive having the following features. That is, one or more pairs of two mainsprings connected in series are provided, and one of the mainsprings of each pair is taken up as one of the driven mainsprings. A sine-wave drive mechanism that interlocks with a shaft and outputs its mechanical displacement in a sine-wave form by inputting its rotation, and a machine-air that generates a differential pressure of air by interlocking with a sine-wave drive mechanism via a connecting member. A pair of pneumatic-mechanical actuators, which operate with a predetermined phase difference from each other by the generated air differential pressure, are linked to the pair of pneumatic-mechanical actuators via connecting rods to assist the bicycle. And a crank that transmits rotational motion, and the driven spring's winding shaft is connected to the crankpin of the bicycle pedal or the output of the rear wheel of the bicycle. Mechanically mechanically interlocked to the shaft, characterized in that it is a structure that winds up the driven mainspring by utilizing respective dispensing power - air - a mechanical support driving device.

[0006]

[Embodiment of the invention]

 The drive or stop of the assist drive is performed by manual operation of a lever attached to the handle of the bicycle. The operation of the lever is transmitted to an operation mechanism that operates in conjunction with the control cable via a control cable provided along a known bicycle frame. In accordance with this, the operating mechanism operates so that the winding shaft of the driving spring in the spring device is loosened or tightened to drive or stop. The driven spring stores elastic energy by winding the winding shaft. Hoisting can be done in one of three ways: manually, by pedaling through the pedal crank pin of the bicycle, or by coaxial rotation through the output shaft of the rear wheel of the bicycle. Is done. The energy stored in the driven mainspring is supplied as power to the driving mainspring when the driven mainspring is activated by a relaxation operation from the control cable. The driving spring winds the mainspring from one end of the mainspring to be unwound from the winding shaft of the driven mainspring, and the winding shaft of the driving spring rotates accordingly. The sine-wave drive mechanism linked to the winding shaft rotates with this and outputs a linear displacement that reciprocates. This displacement is transmitted to the machine-pneumatic actuator, causing the piston to displace. The displacement of the piston changes the volume of each of the two spaces surrounded by the front and rear surfaces of the actuator cylinder and the piston, and changes the air pressure of each of the two spaces.

The operation so far is a pre-operation for generating the power of the assist driving device according to the present invention, and the mechanical-pneumatic actuator is a pilot element for generating the working air pressure difference. In a mechanical-pneumatic actuator, in a cylinder having a fixed space, the pressure in the expansion space drops and the pressure in the contraction space rises. Quasi-statically, the expansion space is lower than the atmospheric pressure, and the contraction space is higher than the atmospheric pressure. The expansion and contraction sides of the space reverse each time the piston reciprocates.

[0008] One end of each of the pair of pneumatic-mechanical actuators is coupled to an opening in the space of each of the mechanical-pneumatic actuators, and the other end of each is open to the atmosphere. Each actuator is composed of a cylinder and a piston, the piston on the side where the cylinder is connected to the expansion side space moves toward the same space, and the piston on the side where the cylinder is connected to the contraction side space is separated from the same space. Moving. This movement imparts rotational movement to the output crank which is connected through the connecting rod of the piston. This rotation is repeated in synchronization with the rotation of the sinusoidal drive mechanism.

[0009] A pair of pneumatic-mechanical actuators actuated by a differential air pressure generated by the mechanical-pneumatic actuator functions as a driving element of the assist drive device according to the present invention. As long as the mainspring device operates continuously, the mechanical-pneumatic actuator as a pilot element operates continuously to create both positive and negative pressures on the driving element, and presses one piston with the positive pressure while simultaneously applying negative pressure. Aspirates the other piston. As a result, the air-mechanical actuator as the driving element is continuously operated by drawing energy from the atmosphere, which is an infinite energy source, and generating power, in combination with the power supply from the mainspring device. The continuous operation of the driving element gives a continuous rotational movement to the output crank, which is transmitted to the output shaft of the rear wheel by a sprocket and a chain linked to the output crank.

[0010]

【Example】

 Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1A, a plurality of mainspring devices 101 to 101n are provided in parallel in a mainspring system 10, and a winding shaft 111 of a driven mainspring 11 is manually wound by a manual handle 17 via an engagement clutch 16. This is a method of storing elastic energy. A second embodiment shown in FIG. 1B is a mechanical structure in which a winding shaft 11 ′ of a driven spring 11 ′ of a spring device 10 ′ is mechanically connected to a crank pin 61 of a bicycle pedal device 60 via a slip clutch 63. This is a method in which the winding shaft 111 'is wound up by using the rotation drive of 62 to store elastic energy. In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 1c, the winding 111 of the driven mainspring 11 "of the mainspring device 10" is mechanically connected to the output shaft 91 of the rear wheel of the bicycle, and the rotational motion of the rear wheel output shaft 91 is changed. In this method, the winding shaft 111 "is wound up to store elastic energy. As shown in FIGS. 2B and 1C, the rotation of the rear wheel is transmitted to a sprocket 73 via a chain 72 via a sprocket 92 directly connected to an output shaft 91. This rotational power is supplied to the winding shaft 111 "of the driven spring 11" of the spring device 10 "via the slip clutch 64. The output crank 51 of the assist drive device 1 is connected to a sprocket 81 as shown in each drawing. The assisting power is supplied to the rear wheel-side freewheel 83 of the bicycle via the shaft 82 and the chain 82. Therefore, the output shaft 91 of the rear wheel of the bicycle outputs human power obtained from the pedal depression force to the sprocket 95 and the chain 94. , And via the freewheel 93, and also receives the support power in parallel from the freewheel 83. Fig. 3 shows the mounting state of the support drive device 1 on the bicycle 9 from the generation of the support power to the output. Fig. 4 is an enlarged explanatory view of Fig. 3. In Fig. 3, the assist driving device 1 is mounted on a frame 97 projecting from a rear wheel 99 of the bicycle 9, and is connected to a front wheel 98. 4, a crank pin 71 of the bicycle pedal device passes through the assist drive device 1. In Fig. 4, the crank pin 71 of the bicycle pedal device is assembled to the output crank 51 of the assist drive device 1. 2b engages with a bevel gear 53 shown in Fig. 2b and couples to a sprocket 73 via a gear train (not shown), and the pilot element 30 is connected to each of the driving elements 41 and 42 in Figs. 1b and 1c are connected.

The description will be made individually with reference to the drawings. When the mainspring 12, 12 'or 12 "of the mainspring device 10, 10' or 10" operates to rotate the winding shaft 111, 111 'or 111 "of the driven mainspring 11, 11' or 11", it is linked to this. The disk 21 of the sine wave drive mechanism 20 rotates in response to this, and the scotch yoke 22 connected thereto makes a direct displacement corresponding to a sine value corresponding to the rotation angle of the disk 21. Thereby, the connecting member 221 constituting the output end of the scotch yoke 22 is displaced. Since the connecting member 221 is directly connected to the mechanical-pneumatic actuator, that is, the piston rod of the pilot element 30, this displacement is simultaneously transmitted to the piston 31. As a result, the volumes of the two spaces 331 and 332 surrounded by the cylinder 32 having the fixed space and the front and rear surfaces 311 and 312 of the piston 31 change, and the air pressure fluctuates. That is, when the piston 31 of the pilot element 30 moves in the direction of the arrow (see FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C), the air pressure in the expansion space 331 decreases and the air pressure in the contraction space 332 increases. As a result, the pneumatic-mechanical actuator that is connected to the expansion space 331, that is, the piston 411 of the driving element 41 is moved toward the space 331 by being pushed by the atmospheric pressure applied to the rear surface, and the driving element that is connected to the contraction space 332 is driven. The piston 412 of the element 42 moves in a direction away from the space 332 by being pushed by the positive pressure of the air generated in the contraction space 332. This movement imparts rotational movement to the output crank 51 via the connecting rods 413 and 414 of the respective pistons 411 and 412. Therefore, when the mainspring device 10 is continuously operated, the sinusoidal drive mechanism 20 is continuously cycled, and the output crank 51 is repeatedly rotated in a cycle corresponding thereto.

Next, the performance of the present invention will be described for an example. When the bicycle load, that is, the total weight of the rider and the bicycle is 75 kgf, when climbing a 3 ° slope, a running resistance of about 4 kgf is generated. The running resistance when traveling on a flat road is about 1 kgf, and its speed is generally known to be 20 km / h or less, so its output is about 55 watts or less. Therefore, if the speed when climbing a 3 ° slope is 10 to 20 km / h, the output is approximately 110 to 220 w. Therefore, the required support power is derived from this output by the driving power of a flat road, that is, by human power. A value obtained by subtracting the power 55w is about 55 to 165w.

Regarding the pilot element 30 and the driving elements 41 and 42, in the two spaces 331 and 332 defined by the cylinder and the piston, the expansion space 331 is located in the expansion space 331 based on the atmospheric pressure of zero gauge pressure. A negative pressure is generated statically, and a positive pressure is generated quasi-statically in the contraction side space 332. This value corresponds to the ratio of the unswept volume to the swept volume of cylinder 32. This relationship is shown in FIG. One specific example will be described with reference to this figure. The diameter of the piston 31 of the pilot element 30 is set to 40 mm, the stroke is set to 15 mm, and a value obtained by multiplying the pressure receiving area of the piston 31 by 1256 mm ² by the reciprocating stroke of 30 mm is multiplied by the space pressure p to make the piston 31 per cycle. The generation power is obtained. The bicycle speed is usually 10 to 20 km / h, in which case the number of pedal revolutions corresponds to 20 to 70 revolutions per minute. A power is generated in which the number of cycles of the pilot element 30 is set to the average value of the number of revolutions, that is, 45 cycles per minute, that is, 4.7 radians per second. The driving element 41 or 42 operates by receiving the power. As described in paragraph 0012, the required support power is about 55 to 165 W, and the driving elements 41 and 42 share this power, and each of the driving elements 41 and 42 receives half of the supporting power. Since the piston 411 operates with the power obtained from the atmospheric pressure and the piston 412 operates with the power generated by the positive pressure in the contraction space 332, each of the driving elements 41 and 42 has a half of the required power of 55 to 165W. Share about 28-83W. A value obtained by multiplying the outputs of the driving elements 41 and 42 by the mechanical efficiency is obtained as the support output. FIG. . Therefore, it can be seen from FIG. 6 that the pressure generated in the corresponding space is about 0.15 to 0.45 MPa, and from FIG. can get.

Next, the performance of the mainspring devices 10, 10 'and 10 "will be described. The mainsprings 11, 12, 11', 12 ', 11" and 12 "are made of carbon tool steel and have a thickness of 1.2 mm. Fig. 7 shows the relationship between the number of windings and the generated torque, and the practical range of the torque is 11 to 16 Nm. When the average support power 56w is output from the drive spring 12, 12 'or 12 ", the angular velocity required for the winding shaft 121, 121' or 121" of the drive spring is obtained by dividing the support power 56w by the torque 13Nm. This value is obtained as 4.3 radians per second, which is converted into a rotational speed of 0.68 revolutions per second, so that the winding shaft 111, 111 'or 11 in the wound state is obtained. For 1 ", 1.47 seconds per rotation corresponding to this reciprocal are obtained as the required time. Therefore, in FIG. 1a, if n = 6 in the mainspring device 10 and the mainspring devices 101 to 106 are provided in parallel, the required torque per spring device may be approximately 2Nm, which is one sixth of 13Nm, and the number of rotations can be simultaneously increased. The speed can be reduced to one-sixth, and the time required for one rotation of the spring winding shaft is increased by six times to approximately 9 seconds. The operation time of the mainspring is approximately 4 turns having 7 to 11 turns, and extends for 30 seconds or more per 4 turns of the spring winding shaft. In FIG. 1A, the manual handle 17 is rotated, and the winding shaft 111 of the driven spring 11 is rotated via the meshing clutch 16 to wind up the mainspring and to sequentially store elastic energy.

In FIG. 1B, when the crank 62 of the bicycle pedal device 60 rotates, the rotational movement of the crank pin 61 is transmitted to the driven spring 11 ′ via the slip clutch 63, and the winding shaft 111 ′ is wound up. The required power when the bicycle 9 travels on a normal flat surface is about 55 watts. In this case, about 28 watts of power only needs to be distributed from the pedal device, and is stored as elastic energy in the driven mainspring. Therefore, only about 83 watts of human power is required even when the pedal is driven. Since the maximum output by human power is possible up to about 200 watts in the case of a daily life car, there is no difficulty in distributing the power of 28 watts to the support power unit 1 in the normal running.

In FIG. 1C, a sliding clutch is connected to a winding shaft 111 ″ of a driven mainspring 11 ″ of a mainspring device 10 ″ from an output shaft 91 directly connected to a rear wheel 99 of the bicycle 9 via a sprocket 92, a chain 72 and a sprocket 73. Rotational power is transmitted via 64, and as a result, the winding shaft 111 "is wound up. With such a configuration, power can be supplied to the driven mainspring 11 ″ at all times while the bicycle 9 is running, that is, while the rear wheel 99 is rotating. As described in paragraph 0015, the driven mainspring 11 ″ runs on a flat surface. In this case, the supporting power required may be about 28 watts. Particularly, when traveling downhill or coasting on a flat surface, the power supply to the support power unit 1 is automatically performed without requiring human power. And the benefit and practicality of the assistive power unit 1 are shown.

[0017]

[Effect of the invention]

 As is clear from the above description, first of all, according to the present invention, half of the required support power uses the natural energy obtained from the atmospheric pressure, which makes it easier and economical than ever before. And it is very easy to generate power. Secondly, half of the required support power can be stored in a spring device that has an energy storage function continuously while riding a bicycle, and is flexible enough to be used when needed. There is a feature in the configuration. Thirdly, since the support power is obtained from the natural energy and the stored energy of the mainspring device, it has a feature that it can provide a new function that does not require the conditions and time for preparation for storing the energy in advance. Fourth, since there is no need to install an energy storage device to provide the required power, and the power is generated and consumed while the bicycle is running, the power supply capacity is infinite, and In addition to being equivalent to an infinite storage capacity, the required power can be obtained in real time.

As shown in FIG. 3, the device 1 of the present invention installed in an extreme space between the front wheel 98 and the rear wheel 99 of the bicycle includes an actuator for storing working air having a pressure near the atmospheric pressure. The weight of the mainspring together with its peripheral parts is less than 1 kgf, and one pair of the mainspring device is composed of a little less than 0.4 kgf. Then, a maximum weight efficiency of about 118 w / kgf is obtained. Bicycle weight reduction and weight efficiency of power output are important indicators, and these figures represent high levels that have not been obtained before. As shown in FIG. 6, the generated pressure is proportional to the support output, and a higher level of generated pressure is obtained by adjusting the non-sweep volume / sweep volume of the pilot element as shown in FIG. Therefore, the output can be freely increased by selecting the design of the pilot element. Therefore, by providing multiple pairs of mainspring devices and having the potential to increase the support output in proportion to the increased weight, it is possible to obtain a high level of weight output efficiency that could not be obtained conventionally. Can be demonstrated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1a is a layout diagram of a first example showing the configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 1b is a layout diagram of a second example showing the configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 1c is a layout diagram of a third example showing the configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2a is a top view showing the mounting of the present invention on a bicycle.

FIG. 2b is an explanatory view of a part of the mounting portion of the present invention on a bicycle.

FIG. 3A is a view showing the mounting of the present invention on a bicycle;
A sectional view

FIG. 4 is an enlarged explanatory view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the performance of a mechanical-pneumatic actuator (pilot element).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the performance of an air-mechanical actuator (drive element).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the performance of a mainspring device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Support drive device 10: Spring system 10 ', 10 ", 101 to 101n: Spring device 11, 11', 11": Driven spring device 12, 12 ', 12 ": Drive spring device 20: Sine wave drive mechanism 21: Disc 22: Scotch yoke 30: Mechanical-pneumatic actuator (pilot element) 41, 42: Pneumatic-mechanical actuator (drive element) 51: Output crank 52, 53: Bevel gear

Claims (3)

[Utility model registration claims] 1. A bicycle assisting driving machine which uses a spring and an atmospheric pressure as power sources to provide a driving force against running resistance exceeding a driving force of a bicycle rider.
A mechanical support driving device, comprising one or more pairs of two mainsprings connected in series, one of each pair of mainsprings being a driven driven mainspring, and a mainspring taking out one end thereof as a driving mainspring. Device, the mainspring device is driven in synchronization with the winding shaft of the mainspring, the sine-wave drive mechanism that inputs the rotation and outputs the mechanical displacement in a sine-wave shape, the sine-wave drive mechanism is connected via the connecting member, and the air A pair of pneumatic-mechanical actuators, which operate with a predetermined phase difference from each other by the generated pneumatic differential pressure, and a pair of pneumatic-mechanical actuators via a connecting rod. And a crank that transmits rotational motion as assistive power to the bicycle.
Mechanical assist drive. 2. The assist driving device according to claim 1, wherein
Bicycle machine-pneumatic-mechanical support drive, characterized in that the winding shaft of the driven spring is mechanically linked to the pin of the pedal crank of the bicycle. 3. The assist driving device according to claim 1, wherein
A bicycle-pneumatic-mechanical assist drive device for a bicycle, wherein a winding shaft of a driven spring is mechanically linked to an output shaft of a rear wheel of the bicycle.