JP5658052B2 - Saddle riding vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a straddle-type vehicle, and more particularly to a straddle-type vehicle such as a power-assisted bicycle.

  An electric assist bicycle as an example of this type of prior art is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In the electrically assisted bicycle disclosed in Patent Document 1, a front fork is pivotally supported on a head pipe of a vehicle body frame so as to be rotatable left and right, and a steering handle is provided at an upper end of the front fork. An operation panel having an operation / display function is provided near the steering handle, and a controller for controlling an electric motor or the like is provided near the lower portion of the body frame. The plurality of switches and the plurality of LEDs on the operation panel are respectively connected to the controller via communication wires for transmitting information for operation and display.

JP 2010-13028 A

  However, the electrically assisted bicycle disclosed in Patent Document 1 is not preferable because the number of communication wirings is increased, the cost is increased, and a wiring state with good fit cannot be realized. The operation panel and the controller are provided apart from each other, so that it is even more so.

  Therefore, for example, a configuration as shown in FIG. 7 can be considered. In this configuration, the operation unit 1 and the control unit 2 include control units 3 and 4, respectively, and the control units 3 and 4 are connected to each other via two communication wires 5 and 6. And the battery voltage is always supplied to the operation unit 1, and the control part 3 of the operation unit 1 is always turned on with it. On the other hand, the control unit 4 of the control unit 2 is activated when the power switch 7 included in the operation unit 1 is turned on.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 7, the number of communication wires connecting the operation unit 1 and the control unit 2 can be reduced, but since voltage is always supplied to the operation unit 1, power consumption during standby is reduced. It gets bigger.

  Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a straddle-type vehicle that can reduce power consumption during standby while keeping the number of communication wires small.

  In order to achieve the above object, a saddle riding type vehicle according to claim 1 is a saddle riding type vehicle including a handle and a body frame, and has a power source, a first control unit, and in the vicinity of the handle. An operation unit provided on the vehicle body, a control unit having a second control unit, provided near the vehicle body frame and connected to a power source, and an operation unit for transmitting information from the first control unit to the second control unit, A first communication line for connecting the control unit, and a second communication line for connecting the control unit and the operation unit for transmitting information from the second control unit to the first control unit, the operation unit further comprising: The control unit further includes a voltage adjustment unit for adjusting a voltage connected to the second control unit and supplied from the power source, and an activation signal for activating the voltage adjustment unit. And an activation signal generator that is generated in response to an activation instruction from the instruction unit. When the voltage adjustment unit is activated, the first control unit and the second control unit are activated based on the output from the voltage adjustment unit. It is characterized by that.

  The saddle riding type vehicle according to claim 2 is the saddle riding type vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the activation instructing unit is connected to the activation signal generating unit via a dedicated line.

  The straddle-type vehicle according to claim 3 is the straddle-type vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the activation instructing unit is connected to the activation signal generating unit via the first communication wiring. .

  In the saddle riding type vehicle according to the first aspect, the operation unit has a first control unit, and the control unit has a second control unit. Therefore, transmission / reception of information between the operation unit and the control unit is performed in order to transmit information from the first control unit to the second control unit, and to transmit information from the control unit to the operation unit. Thus, the number of communication wires for connecting the control unit and the operation unit can be reduced. Further, when a start instruction is issued from the start instruction unit included in the operation unit, the start signal generating unit in the control unit generates a start signal, and the voltage adjusting unit is started based on the start signal. When the voltage adjustment unit is activated, the first control unit and the second control unit are activated based on the output from the voltage adjustment unit. By operating in this way, it is possible to suppress power consumption during standby before the activation instruction is given by the activation instruction unit.

  In the saddle riding type vehicle according to the second aspect, since the activation instruction unit is connected to the activation signal generation unit of the control unit via a dedicated line, power consumption during standby can be suppressed with a simple circuit configuration.

  In the saddle riding type vehicle according to claim 3, since the first communication wiring for information transmission from the first control unit to the second control unit is also used for connection between the activation instruction unit and the activation signal generation unit, The number of communication wires between the operation unit and the control unit can be further reduced.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a straddle-type vehicle that can reduce power consumption during standby while keeping the number of communication wires between the operation unit and the control unit small.

It is a right view which shows the electrically assisted bicycle of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the main components of the electrically assisted bicycle shown in FIG. It is a circuit diagram which shows an example of a structure of the operation unit and control unit which are contained in the electrically assisted bicycle shown in FIG. It is a wave form diagram which shows the sequence at the time of starting of an operation unit and a control unit. It is a wave form diagram which shows the sequence at the time of a stop of an operation unit and a control unit. It is a circuit diagram which shows the other example of a structure of an operation unit and a control unit. It is a circuit diagram which shows an example of a structure of an operation unit and a control unit.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the left, right, front, back, and top and bottom mean the left, right, front, back, and top, based on the state where the driver is seated on the seat 36 of the electric assist bicycle 10 toward the handle 32.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an electrically assisted bicycle 10 as a saddle riding type vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a body frame 12. The vehicle body frame 12 includes a head pipe 14, a down tube 16 that extends obliquely downward and rearward from the head pipe 14, a seat tube 18 that extends obliquely upward and backward from the rear end of the down tube 16, and a rearward position from the vicinity of the lower end of the seat tube 18. A pair of left and right chain stays 20 extending substantially horizontally, and a pair of left and right seat stays 22 connecting the rear ends of both chain stays 20 and the upper portion of the seat tube 18 are included.

  A handle stem 24 is pivotally supported on the head pipe 14 so as to be able to turn left and right. A front fork 26 is provided at the lower end of the handle stem 24, and a front wheel 28 is rotatably supported at the lower end of the front fork 26. A headlight 30 is supported by the front fork 26. A handle 32 is provided at the upper end of the handle stem 24, and an operation unit 34 is provided on the handle 32. A seat 36 is attached to the upper end of the seat tube 18. A rear wheel 38 is rotatably supported at the rear end of the chain stay 20.

  The electrically assisted bicycle 10 includes a human power drive system 40 and an assist power drive system 42.

  The human-powered drive system 40 includes a crank arm 44, a pedal 46 provided at one end of the crank arm 44, a crankshaft 48 attached to the other end of the crankarm 46, and a drive sprocket 50 attached to the crankshaft 48. . The pedal depression force (torque) applied to the crankshaft 48 from the pedal 46 by the driver via the crank arm 44 is supplied to the chain 52 via the drive sprocket 50.

  The assist force drive system 42 includes a battery 54 provided between the seat tube 18 and the front edge of the rear wheel 38, and a drive unit 56. The drive unit 56 is given to the crankshaft 48 by an electric motor 58, a control unit 62 having a motor drive circuit 60 for driving the electric motor 58, an auxiliary sprocket 64 attached to the electric motor 58, and the driver. A pedaling force detection sensor 66 for detecting the pedaling force. The drive unit 56 and the control unit 62 are attached to the vehicle body frame 12. The electric motor 58 is provided on the rear side of the crankshaft 48. The auxiliary sprocket 64 is meshed with the chain 52. The treading force detection sensor 66 is provided between the crankshaft 48 and the drive sprocket 50. The assist force by the electric motor 58 corresponding to the magnitude of the pedal effort is supplied to the chain 52 via the auxiliary sprocket 64.

  The chain 52 is wound around a drive sprocket 50 mounted on the crankshaft 48 and a driven sprocket 68 provided on the rear wheel 38. The resultant force of the pedal depression force and the assist force transmitted to the chain 52 is transmitted to the rear wheel 38 via the driven sprocket 68, and the rear wheel 38 is rotated.

Here, an example of the configuration of the control unit 62 and the operation unit 34 will be described with reference to FIG.
Control unit 62 further includes a control unit 70, a voltage adjustment unit 75 including voltage adjustment circuits 72 and 74, an activation signal generation circuit 76, and a switching circuit 78.

  The control unit 70 controls the motor drive circuit 60 and transmits / receives a signal to / from a control unit 80 (described later) of the operation unit 34. The voltage adjustment circuit 72 steps down the voltage from the battery 54 and supplies it to the voltage adjustment circuit 74. The voltage adjustment circuit 74 steps down the voltage from the voltage adjustment circuit 72 and supplies it to the control unit 70. The control unit 70 is turned on when the predetermined voltage that is stepped down from the voltage adjustment circuit 74 is supplied. For example, the voltage adjustment circuit 72 steps down the supplied voltage from 24V to 12V, and the voltage adjustment circuit 74 steps down the supplied voltage from 12V to 5V, and supplies the stepped down voltage to the control unit 70. The activation signal generation circuit 76 includes a transistor Tr1, and the switching circuit 78 performs electrical connection / disconnection between the battery 54 and the voltage adjustment circuit 72, and includes transistors Tr2, Tr3, and Tr4. A transistor Tr5 is connected between the control unit 70 and the transistor Tr1, transistors Tr6 and Tr7 are connected to the reception port RX1 of the control unit 70, and transistors Tr8 and Tr7 are connected to the transmission port TX1 of the control unit 70. Tr9 is connected.

  On the other hand, the operation unit 34 includes a control unit 80, a voltage adjustment circuit 82, a power switch 84 that the driver performs on / off operations, an assist level changeover switch 86, and a lamp switch 88 that turns on and off the headlight 30. A remaining amount display LED 90 that displays the remaining battery capacity, a power on LED 92 that is lit when the power is on, and an assist level LED 94 that displays whether the assist level is high or low. Transistors Tr10, Tr11, and Tr12 are connected to the remaining amount display LED 90, the power-on LED 92, and the assist level LED 94, respectively. The assist level changeover switch 86, the lamp switch 88, and the transistors Tr10 to Tr12 are connected to the control unit 80.

  The voltage adjustment circuit 82 steps down the voltage supplied from the voltage adjustment circuit 72 included in the control unit 62 and supplies the voltage to the control unit 80, whereby the control unit 80 is activated and the power-on LED 92 is turned on. Further, when the assist level changeover switch 86 is operated, the assist level is displayed by the assist level LED 94.

  The power switch 84 is connected to the activation signal generator 76 via a dedicated line 96. Transistors Tr13 and Tr14 are connected to the transmission port TX2 of the control unit 80, and transistors Tr15 and Tr16 are connected to the reception port RX2 of the control unit 80. The transistors Tr7 and Tr14 are connected by a communication line 98, and the transistors Tr9 and Tr16 are connected by a communication line 100.

  The control unit 70 controls the operation of the motor drive circuit 60. The control unit 70 receives a pedaling force detection signal from the pedaling force detection sensor 66 and a signal from the assist level changeover switch 86. The control unit 70 calculates an assist force based on the input signal and a built-in control map, and outputs a motor control signal (PWM output) corresponding to the calculated assist force to the motor drive circuit 60. The motor drive circuit 60 controls the drive motor 58 based on the motor control signal.

  In this embodiment, the battery 54 corresponds to a power source. The control unit 80 corresponds to the first control unit, and the operation unit 70 corresponds to the second control unit. The communication wiring 98 corresponds to the first communication wiring, and the communication wiring 100 corresponds to the second communication wiring. The power switch 84 corresponds to the activation instruction unit.

With reference to FIG. 3, the operation of the control unit 62 and the operation unit 34 when the power switch 84 is turned on will be described.
3, 6, and 7, the lower triangle “▽”, the upper triangle “△”, the square “□”, and the rhombus “◇” are shown. Indicates the same potential.

  Referring to FIG. 3, when power switch 84 is turned on while control unit 62 and operation unit 34 are on standby, transistor Tr <b> 1 is turned on and a start signal is output from start signal generator 76. Thereby, the transistors Tr3 and Tr2 are turned on, the battery 54 and the voltage adjustment circuit 72 are electrically connected, a predetermined voltage from the battery 54 is supplied to the voltage adjustment circuit 72, and the voltage adjustment circuit supply 72 is activated. The voltage adjustment circuit 72 steps down the supplied voltage and supplies it to the voltage adjustment circuits 74 and 82. In this embodiment, the voltage adjustment circuit 72 steps down 24V to 12V.

  The voltage adjustment circuit 74 steps down the supplied voltage and supplies it to the control unit 70, whereby the control unit 70 is activated. In this embodiment, the voltage adjustment circuit 72 steps down 12V to 5V. Then, the control unit 70 continues to supply the holding signal to the transistor Tr4, whereby the transistors Tr4 and Tr2 are always turned on, and the voltage from the battery 54 continues to be supplied to the voltage adjustment circuit 72. On the other hand, the voltage adjustment circuit 82 of the operation unit 34 steps down the supplied voltage and supplies it to the control unit 80, whereby the control unit 80 is activated. In this embodiment, the voltage adjustment circuit 82 steps down 12V to 5V. Thus, when the power switch 84 is turned on, the voltage adjustment circuits 72 and 74, that is, the voltage adjustment unit 75 and the voltage adjustment circuit 82 are activated, and the control units 70 and 80 are activated.

  Thereafter, information is transmitted from the operation unit 34 to the control unit 62 by transmitting a signal from the control unit 80 to the control unit 70 via the transistors Tr13, Tr14, Tr7, and Tr6. On the other hand, information is transmitted from the control unit 62 to the operation unit 34 by transmitting a signal from the control unit 70 to the control unit 80 via the transistors Tr8, Tr9, Tr16, and Tr15.

  If the power switch 84 is turned on during the operation of the control unit 62 and the operation unit 34, the transistor Tr5 is turned on and a stop signal is supplied to the control unit 70. In response to this, the output of the holding signal from the control unit 70 to the transistor Tr4 is stopped, the switching circuit 78 is turned off, and the supply of the voltage from the battery 54 to the voltage adjustment circuit 72 is stopped. As a result, the voltage adjustment circuits 72 and 74, that is, the voltage adjustment unit 75 and the voltage adjustment circuit 82 are stopped, and the control units 70 and 80 are also stopped.

  Here, FIG. 4 shows a sequence (power start-up sequence) when the control unit 62 and the operation unit 34 are activated.

  When the power switch 84 is turned on in the standby state of the control unit 62 and the operation unit 34 and the signal shown in FIG. 4A is output, the start signal shown in FIG. 4B is output from the start signal generator 76. The Then, the voltage shown in FIG. 4C is output from the voltage adjustment circuit 72, the voltage adjustment circuit 72 is activated, and the voltage shown in FIG. 4D is output from the voltage adjustment circuits 74 and 82, thereby adjusting the voltage. Circuits 74 and 82 are activated. After that, the holding signal shown in FIG. 4E is output from the control unit 70, and the voltage adjustment circuits 72, 74, and 82 are kept on. At this time, signals as shown in FIGS. 4F and 4G are given to the reception port RX1 and the transmission port of the control unit 70, respectively.

  FIG. 5 shows a sequence (power supply falling sequence) when the control unit 62 and the operation unit 34 are stopped.

  When the power switch 84 is turned on in the operating state of the control unit 62 and the operation unit 34 and the signal shown in FIG. 5A is output, the activation signal from the activation signal generator 76 is as shown in FIG. It decreases to. When a stop signal is output from the transistor Tr5 to the control unit 70, the holding signal is not output as shown in FIG. As a result, the output voltage from the voltage adjustment circuit 72 becomes zero as shown in FIG. 5C, the voltage adjustment circuit 72 is stopped, and the output voltages from the voltage adjustment circuits 74 and 82 are the same as those shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the voltage adjustment circuits 74 and 82 are stopped. Thus, when voltage adjustment circuits 72, 74, and 82 are turned off, control units 70 and 80 are also stopped as shown in FIGS. 5 (f) and 5 (g).

  According to such a power-assisted bicycle 10, the operation unit 34 has the control unit 80, and the control unit 62 has the control unit 70. Therefore, in the transmission and reception of information between the operation unit 34 and the control unit 62, the communication wiring 98 for transmitting information from the control unit 80 to the control unit 70 and the information from the control unit 62 to the operation unit 34 are transmitted. Therefore, the number of communication wires for connecting the control unit 62 and the operation unit 34 can be reduced.

  When the power switch 84 included in the operation unit 34 is turned on, the activation signal generator 76 in the control unit 62 generates an activation signal, and the voltage adjustment circuits 72, 74, and 82 are activated based on the activation signal. When the voltage adjustment circuits 72, 74, and 82 are activated, the control unit 70 is activated based on the output from the voltage adjustment circuit 74, and the control unit 80 is activated based on the output from the voltage adjustment circuit 82. . By operating in this way, power consumption during standby before the power switch 84 is turned on can be suppressed.

  Since the power switch 84 is connected to the activation signal generator 76 of the control unit 62 via the dedicated line 96, standby power can be suppressed with a simple circuit configuration.

  Further, as the control unit and the operation unit, a control unit 62a and an operation unit 34a as shown in FIG. 6 may be used.

  The control unit 62a is obtained by removing the transistor Tr5 from the control unit 62 shown in FIG. In the control unit 62a, the voltage from the battery 54 is always supplied to the collector side of the transistor Tr9. Further, the configuration shown in FIG. 6 does not include the dedicated line 96 unlike the configuration shown in FIG. In the operation unit 34 a, the power switch 84 is provided between the communication wiring dedicated lines 98 and 100. Transistors Tr17 and Tr18 are provided between the power switch 84 and the communication wiring 98. A transistor Tr19 is provided between the communication switch 98 side of the power switch 84 and the control unit 80. A Zener diode Dz is connected to the collector side of the transistor Tr13. In the control unit 62a and the operation unit 34a, the same components as those in the control unit 62 and the operation unit 34 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof is omitted.

Operations in the control unit 62a and the operation unit 34a will be described.
When the power switch 84 is turned on while the control unit 62a and the operation unit 34 are on standby, the transistor Tr17 is turned on, whereby the transistor Tr1 is turned on, and an activation signal is output from the activation signal generator 76. Thereafter, the operation is performed in the same manner as the configuration shown in FIG. After the activation, information is transmitted and received between the control unit 62a and the operation unit 34a by transmitting and receiving signals between the control units 70 and 80, as in the configuration shown in FIG.

  When the power switch 84 is turned on during the operation of the control unit 62a and the operation unit 34a, the transistors Tr18 and Tr19 are turned on, and a stop signal of the control unit 80 is supplied to the control unit 80. Then, a stop signal is supplied from the transmission port TX2 of the control unit 80 to the reception port RX1 of the control unit 70 via the transistors Tr13, Tr14, Tr7, and Tr6. Accordingly, the output of the holding signal from the control unit 70 to the transistor Tr4 is also stopped, and the supply of voltage from the switching circuit 78 to the voltage adjustment circuit 72 is stopped. As a result, the voltage adjustment circuits 72 and 74, that is, the voltage adjustment unit 75 and the voltage adjustment circuit 82 are stopped, and the control units 70 and 80 are also stopped.

  The sequence at the time of starting and stopping in the control unit 62a and the operation unit 34a is also as shown in FIGS.

  Even when such a control unit 62a and operation unit 34a are used, standby power before the power switch 84 is turned on can be suppressed as in the case of using the control unit 62 and operation unit 34.

  In this case, since the dedicated line 96 is not used, the number of wirings can be further reduced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the operation unit is provided on the handle 32 and the control unit is provided on the vehicle body frame 12 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The operation unit may be provided in the vicinity of the handle 32 and may be provided in the handle stem 24, for example. The control unit only needs to be provided in the vicinity of the vehicle body frame 12. For example, when a rear carrier is provided above the rear wheel 38, the control unit may be provided on the rear carrier.

  In the control unit 62 shown in FIG. 3, the voltage adjustment circuit 72 is activated by turning on the switching circuit 78 with the activation signal from the activation signal generator 76, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the voltage adjustment circuit 72 may be activated by directly inputting the activation signal from the activation signal generator 76 to the voltage adjustment circuit 72. The same applies to the control unit 62a shown in FIG.

  In the above-described embodiment, the voltage adjustment unit 75 includes the voltage adjustment circuits 72 and 74, but is not limited thereto. The present invention can also be applied to the case where the voltage adjustment unit 75 is composed of one voltage adjustment circuit, or the case where the operation unit does not include a voltage adjustment circuit.

  The activation instructing unit is not limited to the power switch 84, and may be, for example, a light receiving unit such as a phototransistor or a photodiode that receives light such as infrared rays from a remote controller.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a power-assisted bicycle has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be applied to any straddle-type vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electric assist bicycle 12 Body frame 32 Handle 34, 34a Operation unit 54 Battery 62, 62a Control unit 70, 80 Control part 72, 74, 82 Voltage adjustment circuit 75 Voltage adjustment part 76 Starting signal generation circuit 78 Switching circuit 84 Power switch 96 Dedicated line 98,100 Communication line Tr1 to Tr19 Transistor

Claims (3)

A straddle-type vehicle including a handle and a body frame,
Power supply,
An operation unit having a first control unit and provided in the vicinity of the handle;
A control unit having a second control unit, provided near the vehicle body frame and connected to the power source;
A first communication wiring for connecting the operation unit and the control unit for information transmission from the first control unit to the second control unit;
A second communication wiring for connecting the control unit and the operation unit for information transmission from the second control unit to the first control unit;
The operation unit further includes a start instruction unit,
The control unit is further connected to the second control unit and adjusts a voltage supplied from the power source, and an activation signal for activating the voltage adjustment unit from the activation instruction unit. Including a start signal generator that generates in response to a start instruction,
A straddle-type vehicle in which when the voltage adjustment unit is activated, the first control unit and the second control unit are activated based on an output from the voltage adjustment unit.   The straddle-type vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the activation instruction unit is connected to the activation signal generation unit via a dedicated line.   The straddle-type vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the activation instruction unit is connected to the activation signal generation unit via the first communication wiring.

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