JPH0690502A - Motor-driven scooter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce transmission loss in a signal cable while keeping a high detecting accuracy by a potentiometer. CONSTITUTION:A potentiometer 35 is connected to a throttle grip through an operation wire 42. A controller for controlling a power unit is connected to the potentiometer 35. The potentiometer 35 is arranged at a site, near a head pipe 12 and surrounded by a front fender 44, a leg shield 45 and an inner fender 46. The short operation wire 42 can be used whereby the deterioration of accuracy can be restrained while the length of a signal cable is shortened by a value corresponding to the shortened value of the operation wire whereby transmission loss can be reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric scooter which runs using an electric motor as a drive source.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as a scooter, a structure in which a rear wheel is driven by an electric motor has been attracting attention. In this type of electric scooter, an electric motor is attached instead of the engine, and a plurality of batteries for supplying electric power to the electric motor are mounted on the vehicle body. In this type of electric scooter, the rotation speed of the electric motor is increased or decreased by rotating a throttle grip rotatably provided on the steering handle. A rotary position sensor such as a potentiometer is mainly used to convert the amount of rotation of the throttle grip into an electric signal.

[0003]

However, the mounting position of the potentiometer has been a problem in this type of electric scooter. This is because it is necessary to bring the potentiometer as close as possible to the throttle grip in order to transmit the turning movement of the throttle grip to the potentiometer with high accuracy, but the signal cable becomes longer as the mounting position approaches the throttle grip. This is because the transmission loss will increase.

Further, if the potentiometer is provided integrally with the throttle grip in order to maximize the detection accuracy of the potentiometer, the potentiometer must be covered with a cover so that the throttle grip is covered with the potentiometer. However, the structure of the potentiometer itself must be complicated and highly sealable.

[0005]

In the electric scooter according to the present invention, a rotary shaft of a potentiometer is connected to a throttle grip rotatably provided on a steering handle via an operation wire, and the rear wheel drive is connected to the potentiometer. A potentiometer is arranged in the vicinity of the head pipe of the vehicle body frame and is surrounded by a cover forming an outer shape of the vehicle body.

[0006]

The potentiometer and the throttle grip are connected via a relatively short operation wire, and the potentiometer signal cable is shortened by the operation wire as compared with the case where the potentiometer is attached to the throttle grip. Further, the cover forming the outer shape of the vehicle body serves as a substantially waterproof and dustproof cover of the potentiometer.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
It will be described in detail by. 1 is a side view of an electric scooter according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a vehicle body frame of an electric scooter according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a vehicle body frame and a battery box, and FIG. 4 is a battery in FIG. It is a IV-IV sectional view taken on the line of a box support part.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view showing the potentiometer mounting portion, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the potentiometer mounting portion, and FIG. 7 is a front view thereof. 8 is an enlarged side sectional view showing a head pipe portion of the electric scooter according to the present invention, FIG. 9 is an enlarged side sectional view showing a mudguard plate portion, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of the mudguard plate portion. FIG. 10 is a view on arrow A in FIG. 9. The broken portion in FIG. 9 shows a cross section taken along line IX-IX in FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the electric system of the electric scooter according to the present invention.

In these drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes an electric scooter according to the present invention. This electric scooter 1 has a low-foot rest portion 4 formed between a steering handle 2 and a seat 3.
A vehicle body cover 5 is provided below the seat 3, and a storage box 6 that opens upward is mounted in the vehicle body cover 5. A front end of the seat 3 is pivotally supported by the storage box 6, and the upper opening of the storage box 6 is exposed by lifting the rear portion upward from the state shown in FIG. 1 around the pivot portion. Is configured. Reference numeral 7 indicates a helmet stored in the storage box 6.

A locking device 8 for the seat 3 is supported and fixed to a rear seat receiver of a vehicle body frame, which will be described later, and a key insertion opening penetrates through the vehicle body cover 5 and is exposed to the left side of the vehicle body. .

Reference numeral 9 denotes a vehicle body frame of the electric scooter 1. The vehicle body frame 9 includes the steering wheel 2 and the front wheel 1.
A head pipe 12 that steerably supports a front fork 11 having 0, and one main pipe 13 that extends downward from the head pipe 12 and extends below the footrest 4 and below the seat 3. , Two left and right rear pipes 14 connected to the rear end of the main pipe 13,
It is composed of 14 etc.

A portion of the main pipe 13 below the footrest portion 4 is substantially horizontal, and is bent so that a rear side of the main pipe 13 rises rearward from a portion just below a front end portion of the seat 3. Then, the rear pipes 14 and 14 are connected to the rear end portion that is inclined rearward and upward via the connecting members 15 and 15.

The rear pipe 14 is composed of a straight-lined pipe body and is welded to the connecting member 15 so as to be inclined rearward and upward. The rear ends of the left and right rear pipes 14 are connected to each other by a cross member 16 as shown in FIG. In addition, these rear pipes 14
A front seat receiver 17, a rear seat receiver 18, and a bracket 19 for a carrier, which are formed in a substantially gate shape in a front view, are welded between them. The storage box 6 and the seat 3 include a front seat receiver 17 and a rear seat receiver 18
Supported by.

A power unit 20, which is a power source of the electric scooter 1, is connected to the rear pipe 14 so as to be vertically swingable. The power unit 20 has a unit swing structure in which a front upper part is pivotally supported by the rear pipe 14 via a horizontal support shaft 21 and a rear wheel 22 is rotatably cantilever-supported at a rear end portion. The spindle 21 is an engine bracket 23 of the left and right rear pipes 14.
It is laid over and supported by.

A rear cushion unit 24 is interposed between the rear portion of the power unit 20 and the left rear pipe 14. The upper end of the rear cushion unit 24 is pivotally supported by a mounting bracket 16a provided on the cross member 16.

The power unit 20 has almost the same structure as the unit swing type engine used in the conventional motorcycle except for the difference in the configuration of the engine and the electric motor, and the rear wheel 22 is rotatable. Transmission case 2 to support
0a and the electric motor 2 mounted in the transmission case 20a
0b and a V-belt type automatic transmission 20c and the like.

As shown in FIG. 11, the electric motor 20b is positioned approximately at the center in the vehicle width direction, and the rotary shaft that supports the rotor thereof is a so-called horizontal type that is oriented in the vehicle width direction. . The coil, which is the stator of the electric motor 20b, is supplied with power from a battery, which will be described later, through a controller. An encoder 20d for detecting the rotation speed of the electric motor 20b is attached to the shaft end portion of the electric motor 20b on the right side of the vehicle body.

A battery serving as a power source of the power unit 20 is mounted below the footrest section 4. A battery 25 is inserted in a battery box 26 supported by the main pipe 13.

The battery box 26 is integrally molded of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of left and right battery storage portions 26a, which are formed in a box shape that opens upward, are connected to each other via a plate-like connecting portion 26b. It is said that. The left and right battery storage portions 26a are formed to have a size to store the batteries 25 side by side,
Notches 26c for passing a battery cable (not shown) and electrical equipment cables are formed in front and rear wall portions.

The battery box 26 is
The main pipe 13 is provided between the left and right battery storage portions 26a.
Is placed on the box receiver 27 provided on the main pipe 13 and is bolted to the box receiver 27. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the box receiver 27 is formed in a plate shape extending in the vehicle width direction, and is fixed to the main pipe 13 via left and right stays 28 extending downward from the main pipe 13. The box receiver 27 and stay 28 are the battery box 26.
Two main pipes 13 are provided so as to support the front and rear parts.

That is, when the battery box 26 is used, the batteries 25 are mounted on the left and right sides of the main pipe 13 along the main pipe 13, and two batteries are provided on one side of the main pipe 13 in the front and rear, so that a total of 4 left and right. Can be installed individually.

The member designated by the reference numeral 29 located above the main pipe 13 in FIG. 4 is a footrest plate forming the floor of the footrest portion 4. The footrest plate 29 is supported on the main pipe 13 via gate-shaped stays 30 and 31 and a plate-shaped bracket 32. The stays 30 and 31 are arranged at positions corresponding to the stay 28 for supporting the battery box, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and project upward from the main pipe 13. Then, the plate-shaped bracket 32 is attached to the upper ends of the stays 30 and 31.
Are screwed together. Further, the plate bracket 32 is attached in the same manner as the box receiver 27 with its longitudinal direction oriented in the vehicle width direction.

A member 33, which is attached to the lower surface of the plate-shaped bracket 32, is a rubber pressing member that contacts the upper surface of the battery 25 and holds the battery 25 in the battery box 26.

34 is the electric motor 20 of the power unit 20.
It is a controller for controlling the rotation of b. The controller 34 is configured to control the amount of current supplied from the battery 25 to the electric motor 20b according to the amount of rotation of the steering handle 2 on the right throttle grip 2a. A potentiometer is used to convert the amount of rotation of the throttle grip 2a into an electric signal. The potentiometer is shown in the figure at 35.

The potentiometer 35 is formed as shown in FIGS. 5 to 9, and is attached to the front side of the head pipe 12 via a bracket 36. A rotary input unit 35a as a rotary shaft of the potentiometer 35 is connected to the right throttle grip 2a of the steering handle 2 via a wire drive mechanism 37.

The wire drive mechanism 37 is constructed by rotatably supporting a support shaft 39 on the bracket 36, and connecting an operating lever 40 and a connecting member 41 to the support shaft 39. The operation lever 40 is engaged with an operation wire 42 that is pulled or loosened according to the turning operation of the throttle grip 2a, and the connecting member 41 is connected to the turning input portion 35a of the potentiometer 35 via the claw piece 41a. Engaged. Reference numeral 43 is an outer stopper to which an outer (not shown) of the operation wire 42 is hooked, which is formed integrally with the bracket 36. Further, since the connecting structure between the throttle grip 2a and the operation wire 42 is configured to be the same as that used in the conventional engine-driven scooter, detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

That is, when the throttle grip 2a is rotated, the operation lever 40 and the connecting member 41 are moved to the support shaft 3.
9, the claw piece 41a of the connecting member 41 rotates the rotation input portion 35a of the potentiometer 35. Therefore, since a signal corresponding to the amount of rotation of the throttle grip 2a is output from the potentiometer 35 to the controller 34, operating the throttle grip 2a changes the rotation speed of the electric motor 20b.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 44 is a front fender, 45 is a leg shield, and 46 is an inner fender. The front fender 44 and the leg shield 45 are connected to each other and are formed so as to surround the head pipe 12 portion of the vehicle body. The inner fender 46 is placed in the lower opening of the space surrounded by them.
Is positioned.

That is, the potentiometer 35 is in the vicinity of the head pipe 12 and the front fender 4
4, leg shield 45 and inner fender 46
Etc. are arranged in a portion surrounded by a cover that forms the outer shape of the vehicle body.

As shown in FIG. 9, a heat sink 47 is attached to the lower portion of the controller 34, and is fixed to the vehicle body frame 9 via the heat sink 47. The heat sink 47 has cooling fins (not shown), and its front portion is screwed to the stay 48 of the rear sheet receiver 18. The rear portion is screwed to a controller bracket 49 which is installed at the rear ends of the left and right rear pipes 14 so as to connect the rear pipes 14 to each other.

By contacting and fixing the heat sink 47 to the metal member of the vehicle body frame 9 in this manner, the heat generated by the controller 34 can be conducted to the vehicle body frame 9 via the heat sink 47, and the controller 34 can be efficiently operated. Be able to cool. Although the heat sink 47 is surrounded by the vehicle body cover 5,
The vehicle body cover 5 is provided with air guide louvers 5a and 5b so that the inside of the vehicle body cover 5 is easily ventilated. When the cooling efficiency of the controller 34 increases, a small heat sink can be used and the durability of the controller 34 itself increases.

Further, in controlling the electric motor 20b of the power unit 20 by the controller 34, the electric motor 20
Although the tuning adjustment with the encoder 20d of b is necessary, this controller 34 can perform the adjustment by inserting a driver from the adjustment hole (not shown) of the storage box 6 with the seat 3 opened. Is configured.

Here, the configuration of the electric system of the electric scooter 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The controller 34 is connected to a power relay 50 as a power switch in addition to the power unit 20 and the potentiometer 35 described above, and is connected to the battery 25 via the power relay 50 and the fuse 51. The reference numeral 52 connected to the power relay 50 is a start indicator for switching the power relay 50 between ON and OFF.

Reference numeral 53 is a charger for charging the battery 25. The charger 53 is a power outlet (not shown).
The connection plug 53a is connected to the vehicle body frame 9 and is supported and fixed to the connecting member 15 of the vehicle body frame 9 as shown in FIG. The connection plug 53a is configured to be pulled out of the vehicle body cover by opening a lid (not shown) of the vehicle body cover 5.

Further, in the electric scooter 1, since the operating voltage of the power unit 20 and the operating voltage of electric parts such as a head lamp and a flasher lamp are different, a DC-DC converter 54 is provided between these electric parts and the battery 25. Is installed. The DC-DC converter 5
4 and the battery 25 between the main switch 55,
The fuse 56 is interposed, and the DC-DC converter 54
A fuse 57 is interposed between the electric component and the electric component. 58 is a headlamp, 59 is a dimmer switch, 6
0 is a tail / stop lamp, 61 is a stop switch, 62 is a horn, 63 is a horn switch, 64 is a flasher lamp, 65 is a flasher relay, 66 is an audio pilot, and 67 is a speedometer lamp.

The electrical components such as the power relay 50, the DC-DC converter 54, and the fuses 51, 57 are arranged centrally in a portion between the left and right rear pipes 14 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. . A mudguard plate 68 is attached to the rear wheel 22 side of the left and right rear pipes 14, and the electrical components are fixed on the mudguard plate 68. The mudguard plate 68 is formed so as to be bridged between the left and right rear pipes 14, the front portion is screwed to the connecting member 15 of the vehicle body frame 9, and the rear portion is screwed to the cross member 16.

Further, the mudguard plate 68 is formed with an opening 70 through which a connection cable 69 for connecting the controller 34 to the power unit 20 is inserted, at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction. The openings 70 are formed at two places on the left and right as shown in FIG.

Electric scooter 1 constructed as described above
Then, when the main switch 55 is operated to turn on the start indicator 52 to rotate the throttle grip 2a, a current corresponding to the amount of rotation of the throttle grip 2a is supplied to the electric motor 20b of the power unit 20. When the output shaft of the electric motor 20b rotates, the rotational force is transmitted to the rear wheels 22 via the V-belt type automatic transmission 20c, and the electric vehicle 20 travels. The charging operation of the battery 25 is performed by inserting the connection plug 53a of the charger 53 into a power outlet (not shown).

Furthermore, to attach and detach the battery 25,
This is performed with the footrest plate 29 and the plate-shaped bracket 32 removed. That is, the footrest plate 29 and the plate-shaped bracket 32 are removed to expose the upper opening of the battery box 26. When the battery 25 is mounted, it is inserted from above into the battery storage portion 26a, and when it is taken out, the battery is reversed. 25 is lifted up from the battery storage portion 26a.

Therefore, the electric scooter 1 according to the present invention
Since the potentiometer 35 is supported by the head pipe 12 and is connected to the throttle grip 2a via the operation wire 42, the potentiometer 35 and the throttle grip 2a are connected via the operation wire 42 which is relatively short and connected to the potentiometer 35. The signal cable is shortened by the operation wire 42 as compared with the case where the potentiometer 35 is attached to the throttle grip.

Further, since the potentiometer 35 is arranged in a portion surrounded by the cover forming the vehicle body outline such as the front fender 44, the leg shield 45 and the inner fender 46, these covers serve as a substantially waterproof cover of the potentiometer 35.

As shown in this embodiment, the controller 34
Is disposed inside the vehicle body cover 5 behind the seat 3, the controller 34 is surrounded by the seat 3, the vehicle body cover 5 and the mudguard plate 68, so that the waterproof effect and the dustproof effect are enhanced.

[0043]

As described above, in the electric scooter according to the present invention, the rotary shaft of the potentiometer is connected to the throttle grip rotatably provided on the steering handle through the operation wire, and the rear wheel is connected to the potentiometer. The potentiometer is arranged near the head pipe of the vehicle body frame and surrounded by the cover that forms the outer shape of the vehicle body so that the potentiometer and the throttle grip are compared. The signal cable for the potentiometer is shorter than the case where the potentiometer is attached to the throttle grip by the amount of the operation wire, because the potentiometer signal cable is connected through the operation wire.

Therefore, the decrease in accuracy caused by using the operation wire is suppressed as small as possible, and
The signal cable can be shortened to reduce power transmission loss.

Further, since the cover forming the outer shape of the vehicle body serves as a substantially waterproof and dustproof cover of the potentiometer, a high waterproof and dustproof effect can be obtained without enhancing the sealing property of the potentiometer itself. Therefore, an inexpensive off-the-shelf product can be used as the potentiometer, and the manufacturing cost can be kept low. Moreover, the parts of the throttle grip part can be diverted from those of the conventional engine type scooter, which is economical.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an electric scooter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a vehicle body frame of the electric scooter according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a vehicle body frame and a battery box of the electric scooter according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an IV- of the battery box support portion in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view showing a potentiometer mounting portion.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a potentiometer mounting portion.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a potentiometer mounting portion.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing an enlarged head pipe portion of the electric scooter according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view showing an enlarged portion of the mudguard plate.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a mudguard plate portion.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electric system of the electric scooter according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Electric Scooter 2a Throttle Grip 9 Body Frame 12 Head Pipe 13 Main Pipe 14 Rear Pipe 20 Power Unit 20b Electric Motor 20c V Belt Type Automatic Transmission 22 Rear Wheel 24 Rear Cushion Unit 25 Battery 34 Controller 35 Potentiometer 35a Rotation Input 37 Wire Drive mechanism 42 Operation wire 44 Front fender 45 Leg shield 46 Inner fender

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A throttle grip rotatably provided on a steering handle is connected to a rotary shaft of a potentiometer through an operation wire, and a potentiometer is connected to a control device for controlling a rear wheel drive electric power unit. An electric scooter characterized in that the potentiometer is arranged in the vicinity of a head pipe of a vehicle body frame and in a portion surrounded by a cover forming an outer shape of the vehicle body.