JPH08113185A - Bicycle control device with auxiliary power - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To safely, effectively and efficiently control the auxiliary power by generating a control signal while its output time is being extended in proportion to the duration time of pedal footing force detected by a sensor, and providing a control means which can apply an auxiliary power in response to its pedal footing force. CONSTITUTION: In a pedal detection section 4, pedal footing force is detected by a sensor employing for example, a strain gauge and the like, and in a computation processing section 3, a control signal, is generated by extending its output time in proportion to the duration time of pedal footing force detected by the pedal detection section 4. Besides, a PWM control (pulse width control) section 1 outputs an output computed and processed by the computation processing section 3 as a control signal, adjusts a time interval at which voltage applied to an electric motor 2 from a power supply is turned on/off, and thereby controls the output of the electric motor 2. Since pedal footing force and its duration time are detected every time as mentioned above, and an output time to auxiliary power is extended in proportion to its duration time, response in proportion to a speed can thereby be automatically made only by means of pedal footing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bicycle control device with auxiliary power for applying auxiliary power according to the pedaling force of a pedal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Electric bicycles that assist human power with an electric motor have a high possibility of becoming popular as a non-polluting and convenient vehicle due to their increasing practicality due to the progress of secondary batteries and the practical use of power storage devices. It is becoming. The control of electric bicycles that have been used so far is roughly divided into two, which are in practical use: a method of traveling with power controlled by a throttle lever or a pedal, and a method of detecting pedal depression force and adding auxiliary power proportional to it. . The method is the same as for motorcycles, scooters, cars, etc., and generally requires a driver's license. On the other hand, the method of running is similar to riding a bicycle, and detects the force applied to the pedal and applies auxiliary power proportional to this, for example, assists the propulsive force of 80% of the pedal effort. Is the method. This method is practically equivalent to the weight of the bicycle becoming lighter, and because it does not require any special driving operation,
It is allowed to be used as a bicycle without a driver's license, with functions such as maximum speed limitation and automatic power disconnection during emergency braking.

[0003]

However, the bicycle control device with auxiliary power adopting the method of (1) is equipped with a battery as a power source. Therefore, except for the problems of battery life and charging time, for the time being. The problem of is the control method when climbing a slope. FIG. 6 is a view showing a part of a current waveform when a person weighing 80 kg rides on an electric bicycle (Yamaha PAS) on a slope of about 8 degrees, a power supply voltage of 22 V and a speed of 1
This is an example of 0 km / h. When riding on an electric bicycle and climbing, when the pedaling force of the pedal during actual traveling on a slope is detected, as shown in the example in FIG. 6, one stepping on the pedal causes a peak and a trough of force every half rotation of the crankshaft. Occurs.

When the road is relatively flat, the valleys in the figure pass by means of inertia and are averaged, so that the propulsive force is smooth and comfortable. However, when the runway reaches a slope of 6 degrees or more, especially about 8 degrees which is a standard steep slope of a normal bicycle road, if you run at a low speed, the inertia force obtained from the torque generated by one pedal , It cannot be maintained until the next pedal is reached after passing through the dead point of the pedal. As a result, the steeper the slope,
It is a rare phenomenon that requires a quick climb. With the conventional control characteristics, it is inevitable that the running style described above will be unavoidable, and as a result, it will certainly be possible to climb the slopes that could not be climbed until now, but it will create a situation such as being more tired than a normal bicycle It's a reality.

Still another problem is effective utilization of auxiliary power. Since auxiliary power is supplied with limited electric power onboard, we would like to use it as efficiently as possible, but in order to generate thrust with extreme peaks and valleys as shown in Fig. 6, electric power equivalent to its effective value is required. Therefore, it is not efficient. In order to maintain the exercise of the bicycle, if the thrust is the same, it is better to make it flat, and the propulsive force per power consumption will be larger. In order to flatten the propulsive force, it can be independent of the pedal or the average value can be used to drive the electric motor, but that would lead to the previous method.

As described above, when the function of the bicycle control device with auxiliary power adopting the method developed and manufactured so far is examined, another effective operation of the auxiliary power on the important slope is effective. It is not working, and the cause is that the auxiliary power also loses its power at the top dead center and the bottom dead center where no force is applied to the pedal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a bicycle control device with an auxiliary power, which has a function of safely and effectively controlling the auxiliary power effectively. Is.

[0008]

To this end, the present invention provides a sensor for detecting the pedaling force of a pedal in a bicycle control device with auxiliary power by applying an auxiliary power according to the pedaling force of the pedal, and a pedaling force detected by the sensor. Control signal generating means for extending the output time in proportion to the duration of the control signal to generate a control signal, and control means for applying auxiliary power according to the pedaling force of the pedal by the extended control signal. It is what

[0009]

In the bicycle controller with auxiliary power of the present invention, the sensor for detecting the pedaling force of the pedal and the control signal for generating the control signal by extending the output time in proportion to the duration of the pedaling force detected by the sensor. When the pedal reaches the top dead center or the bottom dead center and no force is applied, since the generating means and the control means for applying the auxiliary power according to the pedaling force of the pedal by the extended control signal are provided. Also, the auxiliary power can be continuously applied in proportion to the duration of the pedaling force as before. Therefore, even if the speed changes, it is possible to control the time during which the auxiliary power is continuously applied so as not to affect the next pedal cycle according to the speed.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a bicycle control device with auxiliary power of the present invention, where 1 is a PWM control unit, 2 is an electric motor, 3 is a calculation processing unit, and 4 is a pedal detection unit.

In FIG. 1, a pedal detecting section 4 detects the pedaling force of a pedal by a pedal sensor using, for example, a strain gauge. Calculation processing unit 3
Is to extend the output time in proportion to the duration of the pedal effort detected by the pedal detector 4 to generate a control signal. For example, the signal voltage waveform of the pedal effort detected by the pedal detector 4 is Calculation processing such as multiplication of a proportional constant is performed. PWM control (pulse width control) unit 1
Is to control the output of the electric motor 2 by a method of inputting the output calculated by the calculation processing unit 3 as a control signal and adjusting the time width for turning on / off the voltage applied to the electric motor 2 from the power supply. Of course, many other control signals such as an emergency stop and the state of the power supply may be added, but they are omitted because they are not directly related to the gist of the present invention.

For example, a method in which the pedaling force of the pedal is detected and left behind for a certain period of time cannot provide a response proportional to the speed, and a method of maintaining it until the next pedal cycle arrives causes a flatness. Although it is possible to make a response that is proportional to the speed, it does not stop unless the pedal is stopped and the brake is applied.However, in the present invention, as described above, the pedal effort and the duration are detected each time, and it is proportional to the duration. Since the output time for the auxiliary power is extended, it is possible to automatically control the response in proportion to the speed only by how the pedal is depressed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a detailed circuit configuration of the bicycle controller with auxiliary power of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing operation waveforms of the circuit shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, the signal voltage waveform VS detected by the pedal sensor of the pedal detecting section 4 is shown in FIG.
After being adjusted to a maximum amplitude of about 8 V as a voltage signal of such a form, it is applied to the node. This signal voltage waveform VS is an exponential waveform shown as V (1) in FIG. 3 so that it can be inferred from the actual waveform in FIG. Present. In other words, this signal voltage waveform has a peak value determined by the pedaling force applied to the pedal and a pulse width determined by the speed at which the pedal is turned, and both of them greatly change depending on the running state. The OP amplifier (operational amplifier) U1 inputs a signal voltage waveform VS obtained by detecting the pedaling force of a pedal from a node, and a capacitor C charged and discharged through a resistor R1 by the voltage of an output node.
The charging voltage of 1 is input from the node. The OP amplifier U2 has a node signal voltage waveform VS and a capacitor C1.
The sum of the charging voltage of is compared with 0V. The node is an output terminal, and the diode D4 in the forward direction from the node
The diode D3 in the reverse direction is connected in series, the diode D2 is connected in the forward direction from the node, and the resistor R5 is connected between the series connection point of the diodes D4 and D3 and the input side of the diode D2 and the node. Has been done.

Next, the operation will be described. First, if the electric charge of the capacitor C1 is zero, the output of the OP amplifier (operational amplifier) U1 at the node rises to around + power supply voltage, in this case, 12V at the moment when the signal voltage waveform VS becomes positive. This causes the capacitor C1 to start charging in the positive direction via the resistor R1. In this state, since the signal voltage waveform VS is positive and the capacitor C1 is also positively charged, the output of the OP amplifier U2 at the node is + 12V. Therefore, the diode D3 is reverse-biased and turned off, and the output terminal of the node V
As shown as (7), the input waveform V of the node
A waveform almost equal to the first half of (1) appears.

When the power running portion of the pedal ends and no force is applied to the pedal, the input waveform V (1) of the node shifts to the downward direction. When this input signal V (1) is below the level charged in the capacitor C1, the output of the OP amplifier U1 at the node is inverted to -12V, and the capacitor C1 is now set to -12V.
Start discharging slowly toward V.

However, even if the voltage V (3) at the node is inverted, the capacitor C1 has a charge, so that the voltage V (2) at the node is apparent from the trace of V (2) * 10-11 in FIG. Then, the battery is slowly discharged with almost the same gradient as when charging. When this voltage drops to the same level as the beginning, the voltage V (9) at the node turns to -12V and is pulled by the input signal V (1) at the node which is already at a low potential to turn on the diode D3. , The voltage V (7) at the node drops and the pulse width is truncated.

Thus, the voltage V is applied to the output terminal of the node.
As in (7), it is possible to obtain a waveform in which the pulse width is doubled to the rear with the same peak value as that of the input signal V (1). In FIG. 3, two types of waveforms of the input signal V (1), about 180 ms and 200 ms, are added, and it is shown that the above relationship is maintained by each voltage V (7) at the output terminal of the node. There is.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications can be made. For example, although an analog circuit is shown in the above embodiment, it may be realized by a digital circuit using a microcomputer instead of the analog circuit. In this case, the comparator detects the leading edge of the input signal V (1) to start the timer, and when the trailing edge is detected, the timer is stopped and the pulse is extended. The extended time is
The timer is subtracted and the pulse ends when the timer reaches zero. Further, in the embodiment, the voltage waveform proportional to the pedaling force of the pedal is used as the control signal, and the peak value is extended backward by half a cycle, but the waveform is not limited to this, and the portion extending backward is flat. Instead, it may be configured to gradually decrease or change the ratio to the peak value. In the case of the stretched waveform, not only the waveform but also the stretched time may be set to a ratio of the duration time of 1 or more or 1 or less with respect to the preceding pedal half cycle. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a circuit in which the duration ratio is expanded to 1 or more, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing operation waveforms of the circuit in FIG. 4 in which the duration ratio is expanded. In FIG. Is connected in parallel with a series circuit of a diode D5 and a resistor R2.

[0020]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, even when the pedal reaches the top dead center or the bottom dead center and the force is not applied, the pedal is operated at the time when the force is applied. The power assist works as before, so you don't have to accelerate on the slope. That is, since the auxiliary power works uniformly as in the control system independent of the pedal, it is possible to improve the driving comfort. Moreover, since the power assist according to the present invention only covers the dead point and does not affect the next pedal cycle, it will stop immediately if the pedal is not pressed, and the upper and lower dead points will be reached even while the pedal is being pressed. If the emergency brake is applied in the same manner as above, safety will not be impaired by the assistance of the present invention. In addition, the precious power consumption of the electric bicycle can be reduced. That is, the power consumption is proportional to the effective value of the current consumption when the power supply voltage is constant, and the real number changes depending on the signal waveform and the running pattern.
Since the effective value decreases when leveled, it is possible to improve power efficiency.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a bicycle control device with auxiliary power of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a detailed circuit configuration of the bicycle controller with auxiliary power of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing operation waveforms of the circuit shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a circuit in which a duration ratio is expanded to 1 or more.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing operation waveforms of the circuit of FIG. 4 in which the duration ratio is enlarged.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a part of a current waveform when a person weighing 80 kg rides on an electric bicycle on a slope of about 8 degrees.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... PWM control unit, 2 ... electric motor, 3 ... calculation processing unit, 4 ...
Pedal detector

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masaaki Yamagishi 2-5 Taimachi, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture Power Systems Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A bicycle control device with auxiliary power for applying auxiliary power in accordance with pedaling force of a pedal, wherein a sensor for detecting the pedaling force of the pedal and an output time is extended in proportion to the duration of the pedaling force detected by the sensor. And a control signal generating means for generating a control signal, and a control means for applying auxiliary power in accordance with the pedaling force of the pedal by the extended control signal.