JP4043584B2 - Auxiliary powered vehicle - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to an auxiliary power vehicle in which wheels are driven by a resultant force of human power applied to a human power drive system and auxiliary power from an auxiliary power drive system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, an electric assist that supplies a current corresponding to the manpower applied to the manpower driving system from the battery to the electric motor and transmits the resultant force of the driving force (auxiliary power) of the electric motor and the pedal depression force to the wheels. Auxiliary powered vehicles such as bicycles or electric auxiliary wheelchairs have been put into practical use.
[0003]
As this type of battery-assisted bicycle, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 50-125438, it is detected by the human power detection means that the driving torque at the time of driving is higher than the set torque. There is one in which the drive torque by is promoted by the motor torque.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the conventional apparatus described in the above publication, the set torque needs to be set higher in order to prevent the motor from being erroneously driven when, for example, the pedal touches and rotates when the power is turned on. There is. For this reason, when the pedal depression force is small as in steady running on a flat road, there is a problem in that it is difficult to exceed the higher set torque and auxiliary power is not supplied.
[0005]
This invention is made | formed in view of the said problem, and makes it the subject to provide the auxiliary power type vehicle which can supply the auxiliary power according to a driving | running | working condition.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 has an auxiliary power vehicle in which a human power drive system and an auxiliary power drive system are provided in parallel, and the wheels are driven by the human power applied to the human power drive system and the auxiliary power from the auxiliary power drive system. , When the pedal depression force to the human power drive system exceeds a predetermined first threshold value, the presence of human power supply is detected, and the human power is determined to be below a second threshold value smaller than the first threshold value. Human power detection means for detecting the absence of supply, and supply of auxiliary power of a certain magnitude is started after a predetermined delay time has elapsed since the detection of human power supply by the human power detection means , and no human power supply is detected Auxiliary power control means for stopping the supply of auxiliary power at the time , and the auxiliary power control means substantially changes the first threshold value to the traveling condition by changing the delay time according to the traveling condition. It is changed in accordance It is characterized by a door.
[0008]
The invention according to claim 2, Oite to claim 1, said auxiliary power control means does not perform the supply of the auxiliary power when the absence manpower supply is detected by the human power detecting means before the delay time has elapsed It is characterized by.
[0009]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect , the vehicle includes a vehicle state detection unit that detects whether the vehicle is stopped or traveling, and the auxiliary power control unit includes the delay time while the vehicle is stopped. Is longer than the delay time during traveling.
[0010]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the vehicle includes a traveling speed detecting unit that detects a traveling speed of the vehicle, and the auxiliary power control unit sets the delay time during high-speed traveling at the time of low-speed traveling. It is characterized by being shorter than the delay time.
[0011]
A fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the fourth aspect , the auxiliary power control means makes the auxiliary power during high-speed traveling larger than the auxiliary power during low-speed traveling.
[0012]
A sixth aspect of the invention is characterized in that in any one of the first to fifth aspects, a delay time setting means for arbitrarily setting the delay time is provided.
[0013]
[Effects of the invention]
According to the auxiliary power vehicle according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the predetermined delay time is provided between the time when the supply of human power is detected and the start of the supply of auxiliary power, the auxiliary power vehicle is immediately assisted by detecting the presence of human power supply. Instead of generating power, whether or not auxiliary power can be supplied can be determined in combination with other signals and phenomena, so that auxiliary power can be supplied more appropriately.
[0014]
Further, the human power detection means of the present invention only needs to detect the presence or absence of supply of human power, and therefore has a simpler structure and lower cost than, for example, a conventional human power detection sensor that detects the magnitude of human power.
[0015]
Further, since the varied according to the running state the length of the delay time, it is possible to substantially change the first threshold manpower supply by human power detection means, which only detect the presence or absence of human power supply An effect equivalent to that of detecting the magnitude of human power itself while using the sensor can be obtained.
[0016]
According to the invention of claim 2 , when no human power supply is detected before the delay time elapses, auxiliary power is not supplied, so that human power is input within a range not exceeding the delay time. Or, if something touches the pedal and the pedal rotates and this is mistakenly detected as human power supply, input that does not require auxiliary power can be treated as if there was no input, preventing malfunction. it can.
[0017]
According to the third aspect of the invention, it is detected whether the vehicle is stopped or traveling, and the delay time while the vehicle is stopped is longer than the delay time while traveling. Thus, it is possible to more reliably prevent the auxiliary power from being generated against the will of the rider when the auxiliary power is not required, such as when something touches. In addition, since the delay time is shortened while the vehicle is running, the detection threshold of human power supply can be reduced equivalently, and there is not much delay in the generation of auxiliary power. When it is small, auxiliary power can be easily generated, and driving feeling can be enhanced.
[0018]
According to the invention of claim 4, since the delay time at the time of high speed traveling is shorter than the delay time at the time of low speed traveling, the equivalent threshold value with human power detection depends on the rotation speed of the pedal that changes depending on the vehicle speed. It is possible to set the same value without doing so, and the driving feeling can be enhanced.
[0019]
According to the invention of claim 5 , since the auxiliary power at the time of high-speed driving is made larger than the auxiliary power at the time of low-speed driving, the increased driving resistance at the time of high-speed driving can be supplemented by the auxiliary power, and the burden on the rider is reduced. In addition, the driving feeling can be improved.
[0020]
According to the invention of claim 6 , since the delay time setting means for arbitrarily setting the delay time is provided, the rider can set the auxiliary power supply characteristic according to his / her physical strength and the like, for example, the pedaling force of the rider When the power is strong, the human power detection threshold value can be increased to suppress battery consumption, and variations in individual vehicles can be easily adjusted.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIGS. 1 to 9 are views for explaining a battery-assisted bicycle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view of the battery-assisted bicycle, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the bicycle auxiliary power supply apparatus. 3 and 4 are flowcharts for explaining the operation of the auxiliary power supply device, FIGS. 5 to 8 are time charts for explaining the operation of the auxiliary power supply device, and FIG. 9 is the auxiliary power supply. It is a vehicle speed-delay time characteristic figure of an apparatus.
[0022]
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an electrically assisted bicycle as an auxiliary power vehicle according to the present invention, and a body frame 2 of the body frame 2 includes a head pipe 3, a down tube 4 extending obliquely rearward and downward from the head pipe 3, and the down tube. 4 and a pair of left and right chain stays 6 extending substantially horizontally rearward from the rear end of the down tube 4 and rear end portions of the chain stays 6. And a pair of left and right seat stays 7 that join the upper ends of the seat tubes 5 and a horizontal tube 11 that extends horizontally from the head pipe 3.
[0023]
A front fork 8 is pivotally supported on the head pipe 3 so as to be rotatable left and right. A front wheel 9 is pivotally supported at the lower end of the front fork 8, and a steering handle 10 is fixed to the upper end. A saddle 12 is mounted on the upper end of the seat tube 5. Further, a rear wheel 13 is pivotally supported at the rear end of the chain stay 6.
[0024]
A power unit 15 is provided at the lower end of the vehicle body frame 2 and outputs a resultant force of a pedal depression force (manpower) applied to the crankshaft via the crank arm 16a and auxiliary power from the built-in electric motor 17 at the lower end of the vehicle body frame 2. Is installed. The output from the power unit 15 is transmitted to the rear wheel 13 through the chain 30.
[0025]
As described above, the battery-assisted bicycle 1 of the present embodiment includes the human power drive system and the auxiliary power drive system in parallel. When the main switch is turned on, the vehicle can travel with the combined force of the human power and the auxiliary power, and the main switch is turned off. When the battery is over-discharged, the vehicle can be driven only by the human power drive system.
[0026]
The power unit 15 includes the electric motor 17 described above, a speed reducer that decelerates the rotation of the electric motor 17, and a controller 22 that functions as auxiliary power control means for variably controlling auxiliary power from the electric motor 17. ing. Further, in the above power unit 15 it is also built vehicle speed sensor 18 for detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle from the rotational speed of the resultant force parts of the human power and the auxiliary power.
[0027]
Furthermore, a human power detection switch (human power detection means) 28 is also attached inside the power unit 15. The human power detection switch 28 is used to detect whether or not pedal pedal force (human power) is input to the pedal 16b, that is, whether or not human power is supplied, and is turned on when the pedal force exceeds a predetermined value a. It turns off when the value falls below a predetermined value b.
[0028]
A battery 21 serving as a power source for the electric motor 17 and the like has a configuration in which a large number of single cells are housed in a rectangular parallelepiped case, and the left and right seat stays 7 extend along the rear surface of the seat tube 5. , 7 so as to be sandwiched between them.
[0029]
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the controller 22 receives an MPU 50 to which a human power supply presence / absence signal from the human power detection switch 28 and a vehicle speed signal from the vehicle speed sensor 18 input via the I / F 51 are input. I have. The MPU 50 calculates the magnitude of the auxiliary power, the delay time until the auxiliary power supply is started after the magnitude of the auxiliary power is detected based on each input signal and the built-in map data, and the calculation result is A control signal for supplying a corresponding current from the battery 21 to the electric motor 17 is output to the motor driver 66. A setting volume (delay time setting means) 52 for manually setting an arbitrary delay time until the auxiliary power supply is started may be provided.
[0030]
The MPU 50 starts supplying auxiliary power when a human power supply is detected (start of human power supply), that is, when a predetermined delay time elapses from when the human power detection switch 28 is turned on. It functions as auxiliary power control means for stopping the supply of auxiliary power when the stop of human power supply is detected, that is, when the human power detection switch 28 is turned off.
[0031]
Further, the MPU 50 sets a delay time td corresponding to the traveling speed of the vehicle based on the map data shown in FIG. This delay time td is set to the longest when starting and traveling at a very low speed, and is set to be shorter as the vehicle speed increases from here, and is set to be constant at 20 km / h or higher.
[0032]
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the MPU 50 has a predetermined delay time from when the human power detection switch 28 detects the presence of human power supply because the pedal depression force exceeds a predetermined threshold value a. Supply of auxiliary power is started when (td1 or td2) has elapsed, and supply of auxiliary power is stopped when it is detected by the human power detection switch 28 that no pedal power has been supplied because the pedal depression force has fallen below a predetermined threshold value d. The electric motor 17 is controlled as described above.
[0033]
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the MPU 50 does not supply auxiliary power by stopping the measurement of the delay time when no human power supply is detected before the set delay time elapses. It is configured.
[0034]
7 to 9, the MPU 50 sets the delay time when the vehicle is stopped longer than the delay time during travel, and sets the delay time during high speed travel to the delay time during low speed travel. Set it shorter.
[0035]
Furthermore, the MPU 50 also functions as auxiliary power control means for controlling the magnitude of the auxiliary power from the electric motor 17 so that the auxiliary power during high-speed traveling is greater than the auxiliary power during low-speed running.
[0036]
Next, the auxiliary power supply control operation in the bicycle 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the current vehicle speed is detected by the vehicle speed sensor 18, and a delay time corresponding to the vehicle speed is set based on the characteristic diagram of FIG. 9 (steps S1 and S2).
[0037]
Then, whether or not human power is supplied at the present time is determined by turning on / off the human power detection switch 28, that is, whether or not human power is supplied (step S3). In step S4, it is determined whether or not the human power detection switch 28 is turned on (step S4).
[0038]
In step S4, when the human power detection switch is not turned on in the previous process, that is, when the supply of human power is started at the present time, the delay time starts to be counted (step S5).
[0039]
If the human power detection switch is turned on in the previous process, the delay time is continuously counted. When this count value exceeds the predetermined delay time set in step S2, FIG. As shown, the auxiliary power output flag is set to 1 (steps S6 and S7), and the auxiliary power output is started when the auxiliary power output flag = 1 is detected in step S21 of FIG.
[0040]
Further, when the human power detection switch 28 is not turned on at the present time in step S3, it is determined whether or not the human power detection switch is turned on in the previous processing, and if it is turned on, that is, the supply of human power is stopped at the present time. The count of the delay time is stopped, the count value is set to 0, and the auxiliary power output flag is set to 0.
[0041]
Then, when the auxiliary power output flag = 0 is detected in step S21 of FIG. 4, the output of auxiliary power is stopped (step S23). If the human power detection switch has not been turned on in the previous process in step S9, that is, if no human power supply continues, supply of auxiliary power is not started. Immediately after the power is turned on, the value of the output flag is set to 0 in a predetermined step of an initial setting flow (not shown), and auxiliary power is not output while the human power detection switch is off. Further, the above-described processing is repeatedly performed at a time interval sufficiently shorter than the rotation of the pedal 16.
[0042]
As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, when the pedal depression force exceeds a predetermined value a by the above-described control, measurement of the delay time is started, and a predetermined delay time (td1, td2, td3) set based on the vehicle speed or the like is started. , Td4), the supply of the auxiliary power is started, and the supply of the auxiliary power is stopped when the pedal depression force becomes smaller than a predetermined value d.
[0043]
As described above, in the battery-assisted bicycle 1 according to the present embodiment, the supply of auxiliary power is started after the elapse of a predetermined delay time from when the presence of human power supply is detected. This is equivalent to being able to arbitrarily select the presence / absence detection threshold, that is, the pedaling force at the start of auxiliary power supply.
[0044]
That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the delay time is td1, the substantial pedal effort at the start of auxiliary power supply is b, and when the delay time is td2, the substantial pedal effort is c. In other words, the detection threshold of human power supply can be changed equivalently. In this case, the human power detection means only needs to be turned on when the pedal depression force reaches a predetermined value and turned off when the pedal depression force falls below the predetermined value, so that the structure is compared with the case where the pedal depression force itself is detected. A simple and inexpensive pedal force sensor can be used, and the cost can be reduced.
[0045]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, when the pedaling force becomes smaller than d and the stop of the human power supply is detected before the set delay time elapses, the delay time measurement is stopped. Auxiliary power is not supplied, so if human power is input for a very short time or if the pedal hits something, the auxiliary power supply will not start and the place is crowded. Is easy to handle.
[0046]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, the delay time when the vehicle is stopped is set longer than that when the vehicle is traveling, so that the rider willing when there is no need for auxiliary power such as when something touches the pedal while the vehicle is stopped. On the other hand, it is possible to more reliably prevent the auxiliary power from being generated. In addition, since the delay time is shortened while the vehicle is running, the detection threshold of human power supply can be reduced equivalently, and there is not much delay in the generation of auxiliary power. When it is small, auxiliary power can be easily generated, and driving feeling can be enhanced.
[0047]
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, since the delay time td4 at the time of high speed traveling is set shorter than the delay time td3 at the time of low speed traveling, the equivalent threshold value with human power detection is set to the rotational speed of the pedal that varies depending on the vehicle speed. Can be set to the same value without depending on the driving feeling, and the driving feeling can be enhanced.
[0048]
Further, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 8, it is possible to set the magnitude of the auxiliary power at the time of high speed driving to be larger than that at the time of low speed driving, and in such a case, it increases as the vehicle speed increases. The running resistance can be compensated by increasing the auxiliary power, so that the burden on the rider can be reduced and the running feeling can be improved.
[0049]
Furthermore, as described above, the delay time can be arbitrarily set according to the rider's will by using the setting volume 52. In this case, assistance corresponding to the rider's preference and physical strength is possible. It is possible to select the generation timing of power, and to adjust the variation in characteristics among individual vehicles.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view of a battery-assisted bicycle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of the bicycle auxiliary power supply device.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the auxiliary power supply device.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the auxiliary power supply device.
FIG. 5 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the auxiliary power supply device.
FIG. 6 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the auxiliary power supply device.
FIG. 7 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the auxiliary power supply device.
FIG. 8 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the auxiliary power supply device.
FIG. 9 is a vehicle speed-delay time characteristic diagram of the auxiliary power supply device.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Electric auxiliary bicycle 13 Rear wheel 22 Controller (auxiliary power control means)
28 Human power detection switch (human power detection means)

Claims (6)

In an auxiliary power vehicle having a human power drive system and an auxiliary power drive system in parallel, the wheels are driven by human power applied to the human power drive system and auxiliary power from the auxiliary power drive system ,
The presence of human power supply is detected when the pedal force applied to the human power drive system exceeds a predetermined first threshold value, and no human power supply is detected when the pedal power is below a second threshold value smaller than the first threshold value. a human power detection means for detecting, starts the supply of the auxiliary power constant magnitude after a predetermined delay time from when there manpower supply is detected by the person force detecting means, when no human power supply is detected auxiliary Auxiliary power control means for stopping the supply of power, the auxiliary power control means substantially changing the first threshold value according to the driving situation by changing the delay time according to the driving situation. An auxiliary power vehicle characterized by being changed . 2. The auxiliary power vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary power control means does not supply auxiliary power when no human power supply is detected by the human power detection means before the delay time elapses. 3. The vehicle state detection unit according to claim 1, further comprising: a vehicle state detection unit that detects whether the vehicle is stopped or traveling, wherein the auxiliary power control unit includes the delay time during traveling when the vehicle is stopped. Auxiliary power vehicle characterized by being made larger. 4. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising travel speed detecting means for detecting a travel speed of the vehicle, wherein the auxiliary power control means makes the delay time at high speed travel shorter than the delay time at low speed travel. An auxiliary power vehicle characterized by the above. 5. The auxiliary power vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the auxiliary power control means makes auxiliary power at high speed traveling larger than auxiliary power at low speed traveling. 6. The auxiliary power vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising delay time setting means for arbitrarily setting the delay time.

Images