JPH0761390A - Electrically driven auxiliary device for bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform simple modification of an existing bicycle to a motorcycle by a method wherein a drive unit to contain a detecting part, a control part, and a drive part in one case is removably installed to a rear wheel frame and a source unit is removably arranged in an opposite position thereto. CONSTITUTION:A drive auxiliary unit 1 is constituted such that a detecting part 3, a control part 4, and a drive part 5 are contained in a unit case 6, and removably installed on the installation side of the drive chain 31 of rear wheel frames 32 and 33 by means of a mounting jig 7. The source unit of a drive auxiliary unit 1 is removably installed to a mounting jig and in a position on the opposite side to a drive auxiliary unit 1 for rear wheel frames 32 and 33 by means of a mounting jig. The magnitude of the tension of the drive chain 31 is detected by the detecting part 3 and converted into an electric signal, which is outputted. An electric signal is processed by the control part 4, and when it is decided that drive auxiliary is needed, a control signal is outputted to a drive part 5 and the drive part 5 to receive the control signal is driven by a chain sprocket 35 to perform drive auxiliary.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric drive auxiliary device as an attachment which is applied to a bicycle having a normal structure as required.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electric drive bicycle (hereinafter, simply referred to as an electric bicycle) is well known and well known and widely described in, for example, JP-A-4-100790. A conventional electric bicycle has a structure in which the structure of the bicycle and an electric drive device are integrated to form an integral part. The electric drive device detects the load of the pedal drive system and controls the electric motor with a predetermined conversion characteristic with respect to the detected load size.

In the case of the conventional electric bicycle, the detecting portion, the control portion and the driving portion are designed as an integral part of the bicycle frame from the design stage. Therefore, it is almost impossible to use an existing bicycle as it is and convert it into an electric bicycle. In order to retrofit to an electric bicycle, the bicycle frame and drive system parts need to be extensively modified to install the detection unit.

[0004]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] When an electric bicycle is manufactured as a ready-made product as in the prior art and is used,
Since the drive assist is unnecessary, it is impossible to remove the drive assist portion even if one wants to temporarily reduce the weight of the drive assist device. On the other hand, when using an existing bicycle as an electric bicycle, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to install a drive assist device and convert the bicycle into an electric bicycle.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to modify the frame structure of a ready-made bicycle almost without remodeling, to easily perform driving assistance by remodeling it into an electric bicycle, or conversely, by removing an unnecessary driving assistance device, It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric drive assist device that is an attachment for a bicycle that can be easily restored to the bicycle.

[0006]

As a means for solving the above problems, an electric drive assist device for a bicycle according to the present invention is a unit case in which a detection part 3, a control part 4 and a drive part 5 are one unit case. 6 and the drive assisting unit 1 detachably installed on the drive chain installation side of the bicycle rear wheel frames 32 and 33 by the mounting jig 7, and the drive of the bicycle rear wheel frames 32 and 33. Auxiliary unit 1
The power supply unit 2 of the drive auxiliary unit 1 that is detachably installed by a mounting jig 16 at a position opposite to
It consists of a combination with.

The detection unit 3 of the drive assisting unit 1 is constructed so as to detect the magnitude of the tension of the drive chain 31 of the bicycle as the magnitude of the pedal rotation load of the occupant and convert it into an electric signal for output. Control unit 4 of the drive assisting unit 1
Is a configuration for determining whether or not there is a need for driving assistance to the pedal rotational force of the occupant based on an electric signal input from the detection unit 3 and outputting a driving assistance control signal.

The drive unit 5 of the drive assisting unit 1 is an electric motor that is automatically controlled based on the control signal output from the control unit 4. The output sprocket 12 of the electric motor and the chain sprocket of the rear wheel of the bicycle are used. 35 and 35 are connected by a chain 13 to assist driving of the rear wheels. Further, in the electric drive assist device for a bicycle according to the present invention, the detection unit 3 of the drive assist unit 1 is used.
Is configured such that the drive chain 31 is pressed by the free sprocket 9 at one end of the bell crank 8 and the other end of the bell crank 8 is brought into contact with the load cell 10, and the magnitude of the tension of the drive chain 31 is the bell crank. 8 to the load cell 10 and the load cell 10
Also converts the magnitude of the tension into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal to the control unit.

[0009]

[Operation] Mounting jig 7 for a ready-made bicycle frame
Or 16 is used, the drive assist unit 1 and the power supply unit 2 are respectively attached to the rear wheel frame 3 of the bicycle.
Can be easily attached to and detached from 2, 33. The detection unit 3 of the drive assisting unit 1 detects the magnitude of the tension of the drive chain 31 as the magnitude of the pedal rotation load, converts it into an electric signal, and outputs it. The control unit 4 of the drive assisting unit 1 processes the electric signal of the detecting unit 3 and outputs a control signal to the drive unit 5 when determining that drive assisting is necessary. The drive unit 5 of the drive assisting unit 1 is automatically controlled by the control signal of the control unit 4, and the chain sprocket 35 for the rear wheel of the bicycle or the auxiliary sprocket 17 provided on the rear wheel shaft 37 is driven by the chain to assist the drive of the bicycle. I do.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described below. FIG. 1 is a side view of an electric bicycle modified by applying an electric drive assist device as an attachment according to the present invention to a ready-made bicycle, and FIG. 2 is a view of the bicycle seen from the rear side. The electric drive auxiliary device is a drive auxiliary unit 1
The auxiliary drive unit 1 is installed on the drive chain 31 side, and the power supply unit 2 is installed on the opposite side.

As shown in FIG. 3, the drive assisting unit 1 has a structure in which the detection unit 3, the control unit 4, and the drive unit (electric motor) 5 are housed in one unit case 6. The unit case 6 is removably installed on the seat stay 32 and the chain stay 33, which are rear wheel frames of a ready-made bicycle, by a mounting jig 7 including bolts, nuts, plates, and the like. The mounting jig 7 can be prepared by changing the shape according to various frame structures of a ready-made bicycle, and even if the unit case 6 of the drive assisting unit 1 is one type, it can be mounted on all existing bicycles. To be done.

The detection unit 3 is configured such that one end of a bell crank 8 rotatably supported by a pin 8a presses a drive chain 31 via a free sprocket 9 and the other end contacts a load cell 10. It is said that. Therefore, the magnitude of the tension of the drive chain 31 can be detected as the magnitude of the pedal rotation load of the occupant, and the magnitude of the tension is converted into an electric signal by the load cell 10 and output. Although the load cell 10 is used as one of the pressure-electricity conversion elements in this embodiment, other piezoelectric elements or the like can be used as a matter of course. For example, a stroke detection method using a variable resistor or the like can be used.

The control unit 4 receives an electric signal according to the magnitude of the tension of the drive chain 31 output from the load cell 10, and based on the input electric signal, it is necessary to assist the driving of the pedal rotational force of the occupant. In this configuration, the presence or absence of sex is determined and a drive assist control signal is output. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the electric signal of the load cell 10 is amplified by the amplifier 4a, and the electric motor 5 as a drive unit is drive-controlled by the motor driver 4b. Although not shown in detail, the motor driver 4b of the control unit 4 has a program for limiting the generated torque of the electric motor 5 (for example, about 2 kg · m), or the detected value of the drive chain 31 is a predetermined value. A CPU and the like are stored in which a program for starting the electric motor 5 and assisting the drive in a predetermined mode is stored in advance only when the value exceeds. These control systems enable safe and proper torque control and driving assistance of the bicycle.

The drive unit is an electric motor 5 which is automatically controlled by a control signal from the control unit 4. The rotational power of the electric motor 5 is a multistage provided on the output sprocket 12 and the rear axle of the bicycle as shown in FIG. The lowest speed sprocket 35 of the transmission 34 is connected by the chain 13 and transmitted. In this embodiment, the electric motor 5 for assisting the driving of the bicycle
The specification is that the rated voltage is 12V DC and the maximum output is 300V.
It is about W (at 50A).

The power supply unit 2 is, as shown in FIG.
The storage battery 14 is housed in a unit case 15, and the unit case 15 is detachably installed on a seat stay 32 and a chain stay 33, which are rear wheel frames, by a mounting jig 16 such as a band, bolts / nuts, and plates. The mounting jig 16 is also prepared corresponding to the frame of various ready-made bicycles like the mounting jig 7 of the drive assisting unit 1 described above. The power supply unit 2 is connected to the drive auxiliary unit 1 by a wiring 11 with a connector.
The ordinary means for charging the storage battery 14 is adopted by removing it from the unit case 15 or inserting the charging socket extended from the charger in the state of being set in the unit case 15.

[0016]

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment described above, the multi-stage transmission 34 is used.
The case where the ready-made bicycle of the sports type having is modified to the electric bicycle has been described, but the embodiment shown in FIG.
This is a case where the present invention is applied to an ordinary vehicle equipped with one rear sprocket 36. An auxiliary sprocket 17 is separately added to the rear wheel shaft 37, and is connected to the output sprocket 12 of the electric motor 5 by the chain 13. The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment described above.

[0017]

Third Embodiment FIG. 8 shows an embodiment applied to a bicycle in which a chain sprocket 40 (free wheel) is provided on the shaft of a pedal crank 38 via a one-way clutch 39. In this type of bicycle, the drive chain 31 keeps moving together with the sprocket 41 of the rear wheel even when the pedal is not pedaled during traveling, so that the electric motor 5 is also rotated through the chain 13. Therefore, the drive assist unit 1 not only charges the storage battery 14 by regenerative braking by configuring the control unit to cause the electric motor 5 to act as a generator during inertial traveling (such as traveling on a downhill road). It is possible to supply effective braking force to the bicycle.

[0018]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION The use of the electric drive assist device for a bicycle according to the present invention allows the drive assist device to be easily attached and detached without modifying the frame structure of a ready-made bicycle, so that it can be used as an electric bicycle. It can be modified to meet the needs of bicycle users. Of course, it is convenient for a person who does not need the driving assistance to remove the driving assistance device and restore the bicycle to an ordinary bicycle that does not apply a heavy load, and can enjoy the use of the bicycle even after it is electrically operated.

Further, in the bicycle using the one-way clutch on the pedal / crank shaft, the drive assist unit can be used for regenerative braking.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an electric bicycle equipped with a drive assist device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the bicycle of the above.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view of a state where the drive assist unit is applied.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a power supply unit.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control system including a control unit.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a drive unit of a bicycle with a multi-stage transmission.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a drive unit of a normal bicycle.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a regenerative braking state of a bicycle using a one-way clutch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Drive Auxiliary Unit 3 Detection Section 8 Bell Crank 10 Load Cell 4 Control Section 5 Drive Section (Electric Motor) 13 Chain 6 Case 7, 16 Mounting Jig 2 Power Supply Unit 14 Storage Battery 15 Case 31 Drive Chain 32 Seat Stay (Rear Wheel Frame) ) 33 Chain stay (rear wheel frame)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A drive auxiliary unit in which a detection unit, a control unit and a drive unit are housed in one unit case, and which is detachably installed by a mounting jig on the installation side of the drive chain of the rear frame of the bicycle. , Mounted on the rear wheel frame of the bicycle on the opposite side of the drive assisting unit by a mounting jig so as to be removable.
The driving auxiliary unit is combined with a power supply unit, and the detection unit of the driving auxiliary unit detects the magnitude of the tension of the drive chain of the bicycle as the magnitude of the pedal rotation load of the occupant and converts it into an electric signal. The control unit of the drive assist unit determines whether or not there is a need for drive assist to the pedal rotation force of the occupant based on the electric signal input from the detection unit, and the drive assist control signal is output. The drive unit of the drive assist unit is an electric motor that is automatically controlled based on the control signal output by the control unit, and the output sprocket of the electric motor and the chain sprocket of the rear wheel of the bicycle are output. An electric drive assist device for a bicycle, characterized in that and are connected by a chain to assist the drive of the rear wheels. 2. The detection unit of the drive assisting unit is configured such that a free sprocket at one end of a bell crank presses the drive chain and the other end of the bell crank is brought into contact with a load cell. 2. The bicycle according to claim 1, wherein the magnitude is transmitted to the load cell through the bell crank, and the load cell converts the magnitude of the tension into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal to a control unit. Electric drive assist device.