JP6228048B2 - Electric assist bicycle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power-assisted bicycle (hereinafter also referred to as “bicycle”), and more specifically, an electric motor equipped with an operation panel that can prevent a sense of incongruity caused by an operation unit of the operation panel and can prevent waste of a battery. Regarding assist bicycles.

  In recent years, the main driving force generated by a person's stepping force from a pedal is detected by torque measuring means such as a torque sensor, and an auxiliary driving force corresponding to the main driving force is generated by an electric motor such as an electric motor to assist the main driving force. 2. Description of the Related Art Electric assist bicycles that reduce the force that a driver steps on a pedal by applying a driving force are known.

  In general, a power-assisted bicycle has an information display unit that displays a remaining battery level, an assist mode, a headlight on / off state, an operation unit such as a power button for turning on / off the power, and the like. An operation panel is provided to control the turning on / off of the headlamp and the electric assist mode. Usually, the information display unit is provided with a backlight such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode) to improve the visibility, and this backlight is turned on when a power switch is operated or when any switch operation is performed. The operation panel is improved in visibility by turning it on.

  Such an operation panel is required to easily recognize information intuitively while displaying a large amount of information in a limited area. For example, in Patent Document 1, an illuminance sensor that detects whether or not the headlamp is lit is provided, and the lighting of the headlamp is automatically controlled according to the detection result of the illuminance sensor. An operation panel for bicycles has been proposed in which the backlight of the information display unit is turned on and off in conjunction with turning on and off.

JP 2005-350064 A

  However, in a commercially available bicycle operation panel, the backlight of the operation unit is always lit when the power is turned on. In such an operation panel, the backlight of the operation unit is not interlocked with the backlight of the information display unit or the headlamp, and the driver may feel uncomfortable. In addition, if the operation unit is always lit, the battery is wasted, which is not preferable.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electrically assisted bicycle including an operation panel that can prevent a sense of incongruity caused by an operation unit of the operation panel and can prevent battery waste.

  As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the present inventors have found that the above problems can be solved by setting the configuration of the operation panel as follows, and the present invention has been completed. .

That is, the electrically assisted bicycle according to the present invention includes an operation panel, an illuminance measuring unit that measures ambient illuminance, and an illuminance that determines a magnitude relationship by comparing the illuminance I measured by the illuminance measuring unit with a reference illuminance Is. An electrically assisted bicycle comprising:
The operation panel includes an information display unit, an operation unit, a backlight for the information display unit, and a backlight for the operation unit.
When the illuminance determination means determines that I ≦ Is, the backlight for the operation unit is turned on,
When the illuminance determining means determines that I> Is, the backlight for the operation unit is turned off,
In addition, the determination reference illuminance Is is set in a plurality of stages, and the luminance of the backlight for the information display unit is controlled according to the determination reference illuminance Is corresponding to the illuminance I. Is.

In the electrically assisted bicycle of the present invention, it is preferable that the illuminance measuring means is disposed on the back surface of the operation panel. In the electrically assisted bicycle according to the present invention, it is preferable that a wall portion is provided so that light of the backlight for the information display portion does not enter the operation portion. Furthermore, the electrically assisted bicycle according to the present invention preferably includes an illuminance measuring unit and a headlamp that turns on and off based on a measurement result of the illuminance measuring unit.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the electrically assisted bicycle provided with the operation panel which can prevent the discomfort which the operation part of an operation panel brings about, and can prevent the waste of a battery can be provided.

1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of an electrically assisted bicycle according to the present invention. It is a front view of one suitable embodiment of the operation panel of the electric assist bicycle of the present invention. It is a rear view of one suitable embodiment of the operation panel of the electric assist bicycle of the present invention. It is a back perspective view of one suitable embodiment of the operation panel of the electric assist bicycle of the present invention. It is a graph which shows the example of the relationship between ambient illumination intensity and the brightness | luminance of the backlight for information display parts of an operation panel, and an operation part.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The electric assist bicycle of the present invention includes an information display unit that displays various information such as the remaining battery level and the lighting condition of the headlight, and an operation unit that operates the electric assist system and the lighting operation of the headlamp. An operation panel. FIG. 1 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of the electrically assisted bicycle of the present invention.

  A vehicle body frame 2 of the illustrated electrically assisted bicycle 1 includes a head tube 3, a down tube 4 extending obliquely downward and rearward from the head tube 3, a seat tube 5 extending obliquely upward and backward from a rear end of the down tube 4, and a seat tube A pair of left and right chain stays 6 extending rearward from the vicinity of the lower end of 5, and a pair of left and right seat stays 7 connecting the rear ends of both chain stays 6 and the upper part of the seat tube 5 are provided. At the lower end of the head tube 3, there is a front fork 8 that extends obliquely downward and forward, and a front wheel 9 is rotatably attached to the lower end portion of the front fork 8. A handle 10 is attached to the upper end of the head tube 3, and a saddle 11 is attached to the upper end of the seat tube 5. Further, a rear wheel 12 is rotatably attached to the rear end portion of the chain stay 6.

  In the illustrated bicycle, the main driving force (torque due to the pedaling force) is transmitted to the chain 14 when the driver steps the pedal 13 with his / her foot and rotates the same as in the conventional electric assist bicycle, and the driving force is transmitted to the rear wheel 12. And the rear wheel 12 is configured to be driven. In the illustrated bicycle 1, the electric motor 15 is mounted in the vicinity of the crankshaft 16, and a battery 17 that supplies electric power to the electric motor 15 is detachably attached to the rear of the seat tube 5. Further, an electric motor that supplies auxiliary driving force to the rear wheel 12 is provided inside the electric motor 15. An operation panel 100 for turning on / off the power of these electric assist systems, displaying various information, turning on / off the headlamp 18 and the like is attached to the handle 10.

  FIG. 2 is a front view of a preferred embodiment of the operation panel of the electrically assisted bicycle of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a rear view of the preferred embodiment of the operation panel of the electrically assisted bicycle of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of one preferred embodiment of the operation panel of the electrically assisted bicycle according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, an operation panel 100 according to the bicycle of the present invention includes an information display unit 101 that displays various types of information, and an operation unit 102 that controls a power source, an assist mode, and the like. Further, inside the operation panel 100, in order to improve the visibility of the information display unit 101 and the operation unit 102, a backlight for the information display unit 101 made of a light emitter such as an LED, and an operation unit 102 And a backlight.

  In the illustrated operation panel 100, a battery remaining amount display 101a is disposed at the top as the information display unit 101. A mode display 101b for displaying an assist mode and a headlamp are displayed below the remaining battery amount display 101a. A light display 101c indicating 18 on / off states is arranged. Further, in the illustrated operation panel 100, as an operation unit 102, a power switch 102a for operating power on / off and assist mode switching is provided at a lower portion, and a headlight switch 102b for operating headlamp on / off. Is arranged.

  The bicycle 1 of the present invention further includes an illuminance measuring unit that measures ambient illuminance such as an illuminance sensor, and an illuminance that determines a magnitude relationship by comparing the illuminance I measured by the illuminance measuring unit with a determination reference illuminance Is. Determination means. In the illustrated example, the illuminance measuring means (illuminance sensor in the illustrated example) 103 is attached to the back surface of the operation panel 100. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the illuminance measuring means may be attached to the headlamp 18. Good. Also, the attachment position of the illuminance determination device is not particularly limited and may be attached to the operation panel 100, but may be attached to another position.

  In the bicycle 1 of the present invention, when the illuminance determining means determines that I ≦ Is, the backlight for the operation unit 102 is turned on, and when the illuminance determining means determines that I> Is, The backlight turns off. That is, in the operation panel 100 according to the present invention, the operation unit 102 is turned off when the surrounding is bright, and the operation unit 102 is turned on when the surrounding is dark. As a result, when the surroundings are bright, the operation unit 102 is turned off, so that the battery can be prevented from being wasted. When the surroundings become dark, the operation unit 102 is turned on and the visibility can be improved. it can. As will be described later, the backlight for the operation unit 102 can be turned on and off in accordance with the ambient illuminance, so that the information display unit and the headlamp can be linked.

  In the operation panel 100 according to the bicycle of the present invention, the determination reference illuminance Is is set in a plurality of stages (determination reference illuminance Isn: n = 1, 2, 3,...), And the surrounding illuminance I is set. It is preferable to control the luminance of the backlight for the information display unit 101 according to the corresponding determination reference illuminance Isn. In the evening when the surroundings are relatively bright or when traveling in urban areas, there is no particular problem even if the backlight for the information display unit 101 is bright. However, when the surroundings are dark, such as when driving at night or in a dark place, when the backlight for the information display unit 101 is bright, the driver may feel dazzling, rather the visibility of the operation panel 100 is reduced, Difficult to operate. Therefore, the determination reference illuminance Is is divided into a plurality of steps, it is determined which determination reference illuminance Isn corresponds to the surrounding illuminance I, and the luminance of the information display unit 101 is controlled according to the result, The driving state of the electrically assisted bicycle at night or in a dark place can be accurately grasped, and in addition, the visibility and operability of the operation unit 102 can be improved.

  FIG. 5 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between ambient illuminance and the brightness of the backlight for the information display unit and the operation unit of the operation panel. In the illustrated example, the determination reference illuminance Isn is set at four points Is1 to Is4. In the illustrated example, when the surrounding illuminance I decreases to the determination reference illuminance Is1, the backlight of the operation unit 102 is turned on. In addition, the information display unit 101 gradually decreases in brightness as the surroundings gradually darken and the illuminance I decreases and the illuminance I decreases to the determination reference illuminances Is1, Is2, Is3, and Is4. In the bicycle according to the present invention, it is preferable that the backlights of the information display unit 101 and the operation unit 102 have a range in the determination reference illuminance Is for turning off. By providing play to the determination reference illuminance Is, it is possible to prevent continuous lighting and extinction due to a slight change in illuminance.

  In the operation panel 100 according to the bicycle 1 of the present invention, as shown in the drawing, the illuminance measuring means 103 (illuminance sensor in the illustrated example) is preferably provided on the back surface of the operation panel 100. By disposing the illuminance measuring means 103 on the back surface of the operation panel 100, the operation panel 100 can be reduced in size, and contamination of the illuminance measuring means 103 due to water droplets or dust can be prevented. Further, it is possible to prevent the illuminance measuring unit 103 from detecting the light of the backlight for the information display unit 101. Furthermore, by arranging the illuminance measuring means 103 on the back surface of the operation panel 100, the illuminance measuring means 103 is directed to the road surface, and it is possible to obtain an effect that the light from the headlamp such as an oncoming vehicle is not directly detected. Can do. In the illustrated example, a recess 104 is provided on the back surface of the operation panel 100, and an illuminance measuring means 103 is provided at the bottom of the recess 104. By adopting such a structure, the above effects can be obtained satisfactorily.

  In the bicycle 1 of the present invention, it is preferable that a wall is provided so that the light of the backlight for the information display unit 101 does not enter the operation unit 102. For example, a wall portion may be provided between the information display portion 101 and the operation portion 102, or a wall portion may be provided so as to surround each backlight for the information display portion 101. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the light of the backlight for the information display unit 101 from leaking to the operation unit 102 and to prevent the visibility of the operation unit 102 from being lowered.

  The bicycle 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a headlamp 18, but the bicycle 1 of the present invention includes an illuminance measuring unit as the headlamp 18, and based on the measurement result of the illuminance measuring unit. A so-called auto light that turns on and off can be used. In this case, the headlamp 18 is also operated with the headlamp 18 so that it is turned on when the above-described illuminance determining means determines that I ≦ Is, and is turned off when the illuminance determining means determines that I> Is. The unit 102 may be turned on / off in conjunction with the unit 102. In general, general autolights are provided with vibration detection means, and when the vibration detection means detects vibration, it is determined that the bicycle is running and the autolight is turned on and off. However, in the case of an electric bicycle, it is possible to determine whether the bicycle is running by turning on / off the power supply of the operation panel 100. Therefore, the vibration detection means is not necessarily required.

  In the bicycle 1 according to the present invention, the headlamp 18 may be configured to be forcibly turned on / off by the headlamp switch 102b of the operation panel 100. The backlight for the light switch 102b is also preferably turned on and off in conjunction with the headlamp 18. In the bicycle 1 of the present invention, as described above, it is preferable that the battery remaining amount display 101a changes in luminance according to ambient illuminance. Further, the mode display 101b may be turned off when the assist mode is off. However, when the assist mode is on, it is preferable that the luminance changes according to the ambient illuminance. The light display 101c may be turned on when the headlamp 18 is turned on.

  In the electrically assisted bicycle 1 of the present invention, the operation unit 102 of the operation panel 100 is only turned on / off according to the illuminance detected by the illuminance measuring means 103 (illuminance sensor in the illustrated example) provided on the operation panel 100. It is important, and a configuration of a known electric assist bicycle can be adopted for other configurations. For example, a well-known illuminance sensor can be used for the illuminance measuring means 103, and a well-known one can be used for the autolight used for the headlamp 18. Furthermore, although the illustrated bicycle 1 is a center mount system having an electric motor in the vicinity of the pedal crankshaft, it may be an in-wheel motor having an electric motor on the rear wheel 12, and the front wheel 9 may be electrically driven. It may be a type equipped with a motor.

  Further, in the illustrated electrically assisted bicycle 1 of the present invention, the operation panel 100 is attached to the handle 10 and the headlamp 18 is attached to the front fork 8, but the operation panel 100 and the headlamp 18 are also included. Also, the mounting position is not limited to this. The illustrated operation panel 100 is provided with a gripping portion 105 made of resin on the back surface. The gripping portion 105 grips the handle 10, and the gripping portion 105 is fixed to the handle 10 with a screw. The fixing method of the operation panel 100 is not limited to this.

  Further, in the example shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, as the information display unit 101, a battery remaining amount display 101 a, a mode display 101 b, and a light display 101 c indicating the lighting / extinguishing state of the headlamp 18 are shown. In the operation panel 100 according to the present invention, the operation panel 100 may display an average speed, an accumulated travel distance, time, weather conditions (air temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity), and the like. Furthermore, the operation panel 100 according to the present invention may have a function of automatically turning off the power when the main driving force is not input for a certain time. Furthermore, as shown in the drawing, as the assist mode, a plurality of assist modes may be provided so that the degree of assist can be selected according to the situation and the physical strength of the driver. Note that power for the operation panel 100 may be supplied from the battery 17 via the power cable 106.

1 Electric assist bicycle (bicycle)
2 Body frame 3 Head tube 4 Down tube 5 Seat tube 6 Chain stay 7 Seat stay 8 Front fork 9 Front wheel 10 Handle 11 Saddle 12 Rear wheel 13 Pedal 14 Chain 15 Motor 16 Crankshaft 17 Battery 18 Headlight 100 Operation panel 101 Information Display unit 101a Battery level display 101b Mode display 101c Light display 102 Operation unit 102a Power switch 102b Headlight switch 103 Illuminance measuring means 104 Recess 105 Holding unit 106 Power cable

Claims (4)

An electrically assisted bicycle comprising an operation panel, illuminance measuring means for measuring ambient illuminance, and illuminance determining means for comparing the illuminance I measured by the illuminance measuring means with a determination reference illuminance Is to determine a magnitude relationship Because
The operation panel includes an information display unit, an operation unit, a backlight for the information display unit, and a backlight for the operation unit.
When the illuminance determination means determines that I ≦ Is, the backlight for the operation unit is turned on,
When the illuminance determining means determines that I> Is, the backlight for the operation unit is turned off ,
In addition, the determination reference illuminance Is is set in a plurality of stages, and the luminance of the backlight for the information display unit is controlled according to the determination reference illuminance Is corresponding to the illuminance I. Electric assist bicycle.   The electrically assisted bicycle according to claim 1, wherein the illuminance measuring means is disposed on a back surface of the operation panel. Power-assisted bicycle according to claim 1 or 2 wherein light from the backlight for the information display unit is wall is provided so as not to enter into the operation portion. The electrically assisted bicycle according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising a headlamp that includes an illuminance measuring unit and is turned on and off based on a measurement result of the illuminance measuring unit.

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