JP3682734B2 - Electric bicycle - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electric bicycle having a battery box and an electric motor accommodating the battery.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In addition to self-propelled electric bicycles, electric bicycles that supplement the driving force of human power with auxiliary power by electric motors have been proposed and are already in practical use, but in this type of electric bicycle, a battery must be mounted on the vehicle body Is essential.
[0003]
By the way, it is desirable that the battery has a structure that can be easily detached from the vehicle body in consideration of the convenience of charging, and should be disposed in a place that does not interfere with riders getting on and off.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the past, a configuration was adopted in which an outer box was disposed at the rear of the vehicle body of the seat tube of an electric bicycle, and the battery box was taken in and out of the outer box. In addition to the high cost of parts, there are problems that the degree of freedom in external design is limited.
[0005]
Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, there has also been proposed a method of attaching the battery box 125 onto the down tube 107 via the side cover 115. However, in an electric bicycle employing such a method, the battery box There is a problem that the battery box 125 cannot be easily attached and detached with one hand, in addition to the 125 being an obstacle to getting on and off the rider. That is, in order to mount the battery box 125, the bottom of the battery box 125 is fitted into the battery connector 135 protruding toward the side cover 115 as shown in FIG. 7 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 7 and the upper part thereof is pressed against the lever 141, and the lever 141 is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure against the urging force of the spring 142. The battery box 125 needs to be fixed by turning the key 143 of the main switch with the other hand so that the hook 139 protrudes while being pressed against the side cover 115 as shown in FIG.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is that the battery box does not interfere with riders' getting on and off, and the battery box can be securely fixed with minimum necessary parts, at least. it is to provide an electric bicycle which can improve the flexibility of the component costs and external design.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electric bicycle including a battery box containing a battery and an electric motor, and forming a V-shaped foot-through space opened upward by a down tube and a seat tube. ,
The down tube extends obliquely downward from the head pipe toward the rear of the vehicle body, changes in the substantially horizontal direction in the middle and further extends toward the rear, and the seat tube extends from the rear end to the rear of the vehicle body. Standing diagonally upward,
Long the battery box vertically and along the seat tube attached with its two sides is supported by the down tube and the seat tube, and allowed to recess-projection fitting the lower portion of the battery box to the vehicle body frame side In addition to positioning, the battery box is supported to be pivotable in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body around a part of the bottom part of the front lower part of the battery box, and a connector is provided behind the part of the bottom part to correspond to the connector . A male terminal is provided on the body frame side,
With the front rotation about a part of the bottom of the battery box, the connector and the male terminal are separated, and with the rear rotation about the part of the bottom of the battery box, the connector and the male terminal are in contact with each other, The upper part of the battery box is configured to be fixed to the seat tube by an auto-lock mechanism.
[0009]
Therefore, according to the present invention, the two sides of the battery box are supported by the down tube and the seat tube which are substantially orthogonal to the body frame, so that the battery box can be securely fixed with a minimum of parts without using extra parts. It is possible to reduce the number of parts and the cost of parts. And since the battery box constitutes the external parts as they are, and is compact and compact, the degree of freedom in the external design is increased, and the battery box is positioned in a position compared to fixing the battery box on the down tube. Will not get in the way of riders.
[0010]
Further, according to the present invention, the battery box is rotated around the lower part with one hand and the upper part is fixed to the seat tube by the auto-lock mechanism, or the battery box is fixed by the auto-lock mechanism with one hand. Therefore, the battery box can be easily detached with one hand.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0012]
1 is a side view of the electric bicycle, FIG. 2 is a cutaway side view of a battery box mounting portion of the electric bicycle, FIG. 3 is a broken sectional view in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional side view showing a state when the battery box is detached and attached, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an auto-lock mechanism part of the battery box.
[0013]
First, a schematic configuration of the electric bicycle 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0014]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a head pipe positioned in front of the vehicle body, and a handle stem 3 is rotatably inserted into the head pipe 2. A handle 4 is attached to the upper end of the handle stem 3, and a front fork 5 is attached to the lower end of the handle stem 3, and a front wheel 6 is rotatably attached to the lower end of the front fork 5. It is supported.
[0015]
A down tube 7 extends obliquely downward from the head pipe 2 toward the rear of the vehicle body (to the right in FIG. 1), and a seat tube 8 extends from a rear end portion of the down tube 7 that extends substantially horizontally. Standing diagonally upward toward the rear of the vehicle body. A seat post 9 is fitted and held in the seat tube 8 so as to be movable up and down, and a seat 10 is supported on the upper end of the seat post 9.
[0016]
By the way, the power unit 11 is supported by the down tube 7 via a bracket (not shown) at a substantially central lower portion of the vehicle body. The power unit 11 is configured by arranging a drive system by human power and a drive system by an electric motor in parallel. A crankshaft 12 is rotatably supported by the power unit 11, and cranks 13 are attached to the left and right sides of the crankshaft 12. A pedal 14 is pivotally supported at the end of each crank 13. The periphery of the connecting portion between the down tube 7 and the seat tube 8, a bracket (not shown), and a part of the power unit 11 are covered with a resin side cover 15 supported by the down tube 7. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the side cover 15 is divided into left and right parts, which are attached to a bracket 16 welded to the upper half of the down tube 7 by bolts 17 and nuts 18. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 22 denotes a controller included in the power unit 11.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of left and right chain stays 19 extend from the bracket (not shown) toward the rear of the vehicle body, and the rear end portion of the chain stay 19 and the upper end portion of the seat tube 8 Are connected by a pair of left and right seat stays 20. A rear wheel 21 is rotatably supported at a connecting portion of the rear end of the chain stay 19 with the seat stay 20, and a wheel sprocket 23 is attached to the rear wheel 21. An endless chain 24 is wound between the wheel sprocket 23 and a drive sprocket (not shown) provided in the power unit 11.
[0018]
Thus, in the electric bicycle 1 according to the present embodiment, the battery box 25 is attached below the seat 10 with the two sides supported by the down tube 7 and the seat tube 8.
[0019]
Here, details of the mounting structure of the battery box 25 will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 4, the battery box 25 is formed into a box shape by joining and integrating resin molded products divided into left and right by screws 26, and a plurality of shrink packed D cells ( A battery 27 comprising a single battery 27a is housed. A handle 28 that can be raised and lowered is provided on the upper portion of the battery box 25 as shown in FIG.
[0021]
The handle 28 is pivotally attached to the battery box 25 by a shaft 29. In the state shown in FIG. 2, the charge receptacle 30 provided on the upper side of the battery box 25 is covered with the side wall. Incidentally, the opening 28a (see FIGS. 3 and 5) should insert the hand in the central portion of the handle 28 is formed, in a state in which the handle 28 is closed as shown in FIG. 2, the openings 28a Is closed by a convex portion 25 f protruding from the upper portion of the battery box 25.
[0022]
Further, the front surface of the battery box 25 is covered with a resin cover 31 in which the handle line 28 and the outer shape line are connected to conceal the left and right dividing lines. As shown, a bulging portion 25a bulging outward is formed. A recess 31a for inserting a finger is formed at the upper end of the cover 31.
[0023]
In the bulging portion 25 a of the battery box 25, a connector 33 electrically connected to the battery 27 by a lead wire 32 is housed. The connector 33 passes through the bottom surface of the battery box 25 and protrudes downward. When the battery box 25 is mounted, the connector 33 opens to the upper surface of the side cover 15 as shown in FIG. The two shutters 34 that close the opening 15a to be opened are pushed open to face the side cover 15 and connected to a plurality of male terminals 35 fixed inside the side cover 15. In this state, the power unit 11 is connected to the power unit 11 from the battery 27. Power supply to the controller (not shown) and the electric motor becomes possible. The shutter 34 is urged in a direction to close the opening 15a by a torsion spring (not shown).
[0024]
Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 5, convex portions 15 b and 15 c that are substantially semicircular and substantially triangular in a side view project from the center of the side cover 15 in the vehicle width direction. Are formed with recesses 25b and 25c to which the protrusions 15b and 15c on the side cover 15 side are to be fitted, respectively, and when the battery box 25 is mounted, Convex portions 15b and 15c of the side cover 15 are fitted into the concave portions 25b and 25c, respectively, and the battery box 25 is positioned front and rear and right and left with respect to the side cover 15.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 4, an elastic body 36 as a cushioning material is held on the rear surface side of the battery box 25. The battery box 25 is pressed toward the seat tube 8 and the elastic body 36 is compressed. It is attached in a state, and its upper part is fixed by an auto-lock mechanism 37. Note that the battery box 25 is prevented from being rattled in the vertical direction by the frictional resistance with the elastic body 36.
[0026]
The auto-lock mechanism 37 is fixed to the upper end portion of the seat tube 8 and, as shown in FIG. 6, a hook 39 that can be moved in and out faces a recess 38a formed in the main body 38 thereof. A key groove 40 into which a key (not shown) is to be inserted is opened on the side of the main body 38.
[0027]
On the other hand, a concave portion 25d is formed in the upper portion of the battery box 25 so that a side to which the main body 38 of the auto-lock mechanism 37 is to be fitted is formed. A convex portion 25e to be fitted into the concave portion 38a is formed. An engagement groove 25e-1 to be engaged with the hook 39 is formed in the convex portion 25e. The main body 38 is fitted into the recess 25d in the mounted state of the battery box 25, and the hook 39 engages with the engaging groove 25e-1, so that the battery box 25 moves upward and falls forward or left and right. To prevent.
[0028]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the battery box 25 is supported on its two sides by the down tube 7 and the seat tube 8 that are substantially orthogonal to each other in the body frame, so that the load including the battery 27 is excellent in strength. The tube 7 and the seat tube 8 can be dispersed and supported, and the down tube 7 and the seat tube 8 essential as a vehicle are directly used as support members, so that the battery box 25 can be reliably secured with the minimum necessary parts. The number of parts and the cost of parts can be reduced.
[0029]
Further, since the battery box 25 constitutes the external parts as they are, and is small and compact, the degree of freedom in the external design is increased, and the battery box is extended and fixed on the down tube (see FIGS. 7 and 7). Compared with FIG. 8), the space above the down tube 7 is widened, and the battery box 25 does not interfere with rider getting on and off. In the present embodiment, the battery 27 is configured by a large D cell (single battery) 27a. However, if the battery 27 is configured by a small C cell (single battery), the battery box 25 is further reduced in size. The battery box 25 is further less likely to obstruct riders.
[0030]
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the battery box 25 is disposed immediately below the saddle 10, the wiring from the battery 27 to the power unit 11 can be shortened, high power supply efficiency can be obtained, and the weight of the rider, the battery box 25, and the power unit 11 can be obtained. Since it acts on the center of the vehicle body, high steering stability can be obtained.
[0031]
By the way, in order to remove the battery box 25 in the mounted state as shown in FIG. 1, a key (not shown) is inserted into the key groove 40 of the auto-lock mechanism 37 and turned. Then, the hook 39 is sunk upward and the engagement between the hook 39 and the engagement groove 25e-1 on the battery box 25 side is released, so that the fixed state of the battery box 25 is released. At this time, the elastic body 36 in the compressed state is restored to the original state, so that the battery box 25 is slightly detached from the seat tube 8.
[0032]
As described above, when the battery box 25 is fixed by the auto-lock mechanism 37, the handle 28 is raised by placing a finger on the recess 31a formed in the front end of the handle 28 and the cover 31 below the handle 28. A hand is inserted into the formed opening 28a, and as shown in FIG. 5, the battery box 25 is positioned at a predetermined angle forward of the vehicle body (in the direction of solid arrow a in FIG. 5) around a part of the bottom surface (C portion in FIG. 5) After rotating the battery box 25, the user can easily remove the battery box 25 with one hand and store it in a comfortable posture by holding the handle 28 at the position shown by the chain line in FIG. 5 and lifting the battery box 25. The used battery 27 can be replaced with a new one, or the battery 27 can be charged indoors. Even when the battery box 25 is removed as described above, the electric bicycle 1 according to the present embodiment that directly uses the down tube 7 and the seat tube 8 for battery mounting is not different from a normal bicycle in terms of appearance. There is no sense of incongruity in design. When the battery box 25 is removed, the opening 15a that opens on the upper surface of the side cover 15 is closed by the shutter 34, whereby the male terminal 35 can be protected from rain, dust, or mischief. Note that in-vehicle charging of the battery 27 is also performed with the handle 28 held at the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5, and at this time, the charging receptacle 30 is exposed to the side of the battery box 25.
[0033]
Next, to reattach the battery box 25 removed as described above, the handle 28 is held with one hand, the battery box 25 is set as shown in FIG. 5, and the battery box 25 is partially attached to the bottom. When the rear surface is pressed against the seat tube 8 around the vehicle body (C section in FIG. 5) and the rear surface is pressed against the seat tube 8, the auto-lock mechanism 37 automatically Since it is locked (that is, the hook 39 of the auto-lock mechanism 37 is engaged with the engagement groove 25e-1 of the battery box 25), the user can easily hold the battery box 25 with one hand in a comfortable posture. Can be installed.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the battery box is supported at its two sides by the down tube and the seat tube which are substantially orthogonal to the body frame, so that the minimum number of parts can be used without using extra parts. Thus, the battery box can be securely fixed, and the number of parts and the cost of parts can be reduced. And since the battery box constitutes the external parts as they are, and is compact and compact, the degree of freedom in the external design is increased, and the battery box is positioned in a position compared to fixing the battery box on the down tube. Will not get in the way of riders.
[0035]
Further, according to the present invention, the battery box is rotated around the lower part with one hand and the upper part is fixed to the seat tube by the auto-lock mechanism, or the battery box is fixed by the auto-lock mechanism with one hand. Therefore, the effect that the battery box can be easily detached with one hand is obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is a side view of the engagement Ru electrodeposition dynamic bicycle to the present invention.
2 is a cutaway side view of the battery box mounting portion of the engaging Ru electrodeposition dynamic bicycle to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a broken sectional view in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2;
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a cutaway side view showing a state when the battery box is attached and detached.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an auto-lock mechanism portion of the battery box.
FIG. 7 is a side view showing a battery box mounting structure of a conventional electric bicycle.
FIG. 8 is a side view showing a battery box mounting structure of a conventional electric bicycle.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric bicycle 7 Down tube 8 Seat tube 10 Seat 25 Battery box 27 Battery 37 Auto-lock mechanism

Claims (4)

In an electric bicycle comprising a battery box containing a battery and an electric motor, and forming a V-shaped foot-through space with the down tube and seat tube open at the top,
The down tube extends obliquely downward from the head pipe toward the rear of the vehicle body, changes in the substantially horizontal direction in the middle and further extends toward the rear, and the seat tube extends from the rear end to the rear of the vehicle body. Standing diagonally upward,
Long the battery box vertically and along the seat tube attached with its two sides is supported by the down tube and the seat tube, and allowed to recess-projection fitting the lower portion of the battery box to the vehicle body frame side In addition to positioning, the battery box is supported to be pivotable in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body around a part of the bottom part of the front lower part of the battery box, and a connector is provided behind the part of the bottom part to correspond to the connector A male terminal is provided on the body frame side,
With the front rotation about a part of the bottom of the battery box, the connector and the male terminal are separated, and with the rear rotation about the part of the bottom of the battery box, the connector and the male terminal are in contact with each other, An electric bicycle characterized in that an upper portion of the battery box is fixed to the seat tube by an automatic lock mechanism. The allowed hold the elastic body rear side of the battery box, the electric bicycle according to claim 1 Symbol mounting, characterized in that mounted in a state of compressing the elastic body presses the battery box to the seat tube side.   The auto-lock mechanism is fixed to the upper portion of the seat tube, and a hook that can be protruded and retracted is faced in a recess formed in the main body of the auto-lock mechanism. 2. The electric bicycle according to claim 1, wherein a convex portion that automatically engages with the hook when the upper portion is fitted into the concave portion of the auto-lock mechanism is provided at an upper portion of the box. The electric bicycle according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein a handle that can be raised and lowered is provided at an upper portion of the battery box, and the charging receptacle is opened and closed by raising and lowering the handle.

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