JPH08127383A - Bicycle with automatic transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To perform both a manual speed change and automatic speed change by providing a manual speed change lever connected to a manually operating means to actuate a speed change rod, and providing an automatic speed change lever connected to a drive part driven by a command from a control part to actuate the speed change rod. CONSTITUTION: A base end part of a manual speed change lever 60 is connected to one end part of a manually speed changing cable 4, and a gear lever 9, which is a manually operating means connected to the other end part of the manually speed changing cable 4, is operated to actuate the speed change lever 60. On the other hand, an automatic speed change lever 70 is connected to a drive part 10 through an automatic speed changing cable 14. In this drive part 10, a motor 13 is driven by an indication signal from a control part 5. Drive force of this motor 13 is generated so as to wind up the automatic speed changing cable 14 or so as to wind back a rewinding drum 12, to actuate a speed change rod 50 with the automatic speed change lever 70 and the manual speed change lever 60. In this way, both a manual speed change and automatic speed change can be performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a transmission for a bicycle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, some bicycle transmissions are provided with a plurality of speed change gears, a derailleur for connecting the plurality of speed change gears to a chain, and a speed change wire connected to the derailleur. . In this device, the gear lever attached to the distal end of the gear shifting wire is manually operated to actuate the gear shifting wire in the longitudinal direction to select the gear position.

However, such a transmission has a drawback in that the deceleration and the gear shifting cannot be performed simultaneously because the brake lever is gripped during deceleration. Therefore, a device for automatically performing a shift operation has also been devised. For example, the actual Kaihei 2-1339
There is one described in No. 91. The automatic transmission for a bicycle is a device that pulls a shift wire in its length direction by a thrust of a solenoid generated according to the number of rotations of a bicycle tire to shift gears.

[0004]

However, such an automatic transmission requires a transmission dedicated to automatic transmission,
Since the equipment is significantly different from the conventional bicycle, the cost is inevitably high. Further, even if the existing bicycle is modified to install the automatic transmission, the large modification must be performed as described above, which requires a lot of labor and cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above matters, and an object thereof is to provide a bicycle with an automatic transmission having a simple structure. Moreover, it is a technical object to provide a bicycle with an automatic transmission that can perform both a manual shift and an automatic shift.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bicycle equipped with an automatic transmission that allows the automatic transmission to be installed without changing the components of the existing bicycle.

[0007]

The present invention adopts the following means in order to solve the above problems. <Summary of the Invention> The present invention relates to a bicycle gearbox, comprising a gearshift mechanism inside a hub body of a wheel, and the gearshift mechanism having a gearshift rod that moves in the axial direction of the wheel to shift gears. It is provided with a manual speed change lever and an automatic speed change lever for activating.

[Components] The speed change rod is slidably provided on the axial center of the speed change mechanism, and is biased toward the outside of the hub body by an elastic body provided inside the hub body. The gear position of the speed change mechanism is set to the lowest speed (first speed) at the outermost end position of the speed change rod, and the gear position is set to the highest speed at the innermost end position of the speed change rod.

The manual transmission lever is connected to a manual operation means via a manual transmission cable, and presses an outer end portion of the transmission rod by a predetermined amount to operate the transmission rod to perform a transmission. ing.

The automatic shift lever is connected to a drive unit driven by a command from a control unit via an automatic shift cable, and the shift lever is pressed to operate a shift rod to shift gears. It is like this.

In the above, the automatic transmission lever is located outside the manual transmission lever, but the automatic transmission lever may be located between the transmission rod and the manual transmission lever. In this case, in automatic shifting, only the automatic shifting lever operates the shifting rod, and in manual shifting, the manual shifting lever operates the shifting rod together with the automatic shifting lever.

The drive unit may include a motor driven by an instruction signal from the control unit, and a winding drum that winds or rewinds the automatic transmission cable by driving the motor.

The control unit is, for example, a central processing unit (C
A PU), a read / write memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), an input / output device (I / O), and a bus connecting these may be used.

It is possible to provide a speed detecting means connected to the control section, and the control section controls the motor based on a signal from the speed detecting means. In this case, as the speed detecting means, a sensor that detects the number of rotations of a wheel or pedal per unit time can be exemplified. An example of such a sensor that detects the number of rotations is an electromagnetic pickup type rotation sensor.

A crank rotation detection sensor for detecting the rotation of the crank may be provided so that the drive section is operated only when the crank is rotating. The crank rotation detection sensor detects the rotation of the crank and outputs a signal. For example, a sensor that detects the rotation of the pedal, a sensor that detects the rotation of the crank shaft, and a sensor that detects the rotation of the crank itself are exemplified. it can.

[0016]

In manual shifting, the driver operates the manual operating means to pull or loosen the manual shifting cable, thereby actuating the manual shifting lever in the hub axis direction. The operation of the manual transmission lever moves the transmission rod in the axial direction to change the gear position of the transmission mechanism.

During automatic gear shifting, the control unit outputs an instruction signal to the drive unit, so that the drive unit pulls or loosens the cable for automatic gear shift, and operates the automatic gear shift lever in the axial direction of the hub. By the operation of this automatic speed change lever, the speed change rod moves in the axial direction to change the gear position of the speed change mechanism.

If the automatic speed change lever is positioned between the speed change rod speed change lever and the automatic speed change lever, the speed change lever and the automatic speed change lever operate integrally during the manual speed change, and only the automatic speed change lever operates during the automatic speed change. Works. If the shift lever is located between the shift rod and the automatic shift lever, only the shift lever operates during manual shifting, and the automatic shift lever and shift lever are integrated during automatic shifting. Works.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The bicycle with an automatic transmission according to this embodiment includes an internal transmission mechanism 32 having a transmission rod 50, a manual transmission lever 60 and an automatic transmission lever 70 for operating the transmission rod 50.

The internal transmission mechanism 32 is one in which the transmission mechanism 32 is incorporated in a hub body 53 provided on a rear wheel shaft, and the transmission is provided slidably on the axial center of the transmission mechanism 32. When the rod 50 moves in the axial direction, the gear position of the transmission mechanism 32 is changed. The speed change rod 50 is urged toward the outside of the hub body 53 by a spring provided in the hub body 53. The speed change mechanism is configured such that when the speed change rod 50 is pressed (moved inward), the gear position is raised, and when the speed change rod 50 is returned (moved outward), the gear position is decreased.

The manual transmission lever 60 is provided on the transmission rod 5
The base end portion of the manual speed change lever 60 is rotatably supported by a bracket 61 attached near 0, and the tip end of the manual speed change lever 60 is positioned so as to come into contact with the speed change rod 50. There is. Then, the manual transmission lever 60
The base end portion of is connected to one end of the manual transmission cable 4, and the manual transmission lever 60 is operated by operating the gear lever 9 which is a manual operation means connected to the other end of the manual transmission cable 4. Is configured to operate. The manual transmission cable 4 is covered with an outer cable 4a.

On the other hand, the automatic transmission lever 70 pivotally supports the proximal end portion of the automatic transmission lever 70 on an automatic transmission bracket 71 mounted at a different angle from the bracket 61 near the transmission rod 50. (73) (Fig. 2
~ See Figure 6). The tip of the automatic transmission lever 70 is positioned so as to abut the side portion of the manual transmission lever 60. The automatic transmission lever 70 is connected to the drive unit 10 via the automatic transmission cable 14. The drive unit 10 includes a motor 13 driven by an instruction signal from the control unit 5 described later, and a winding drum 12 that winds or rewinds the automatic transmission cable 14 by the driving force of the motor 13. When the motor 13 is driven, the automatic shift lever 70 operates the shift rod 50 together with the manual shift lever 60. The automatic transmission cable 14 is covered with an outer cable 14a. The drive unit 10 and the control unit 5 are housed in a box 80 attached to the seat stay 25. A power source for supplying electric power to the motor 13 and the control unit 5 is provided in the box 80. The automatic shift bracket 71 is provided with an opening 72, and the shift rod 5 of the existing bicycle without the automatic shift device shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the opening 72 can be fitted into the 0 portion.

The control unit 5 includes a central processing unit (CP
U), read / write memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), input / output device (I / O),
These are connected by a bus. The I / O of the control unit 5 is the speed sensor 20 attached to the vehicle.
And a crank rotation detection sensor 90 for detecting the rotation of the crank 43, and the motor 13.

The RAM stores set values for each gear position shown in FIG. Note that this set value changes depending on the specifications of the bicycle used and the speed change range desired by the driver.
Adjustment is possible. Alternatively, in addition to the reference set value, a new set value may be read into the RAM. Note that FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the gear position and the wheel speed.

An execution program, which will be described later, is stored in the ROM. The speed sensor 20 is composed of a magnetic detector 21 attached to the seat stay 25 and a ferromagnetic body 22 attached to the spokes on the rear wheel side. Then, as the rear wheel 3 rotates, the ferromagnetic material 2
Each time 2 approaches the magnetic detection unit 21 (that is, every time the wheel makes one rotation), the magnetic detection unit 21 emits a pulse signal.

The crank rotation detecting sensor 90 is composed of a photo interrupter for detecting the rotation of the crank 43. The photo interrupter is a crank 4
3 is equipped with a reflector, and a light emitting diode and a phototransistor facing the reflector.
Two sets of this photo interrupter are provided so that the rotations of the left and right cranks can be detected respectively.

Next, the operation process in the control section 5, which is the automatic shift control, will be described. FIG. 7 is a flow of the execution program in the control unit 5. When the power is turned on by the driver's operation, initial settings are made in step 101, and then, in step 102, it is determined from the signal from the crank rotation detection sensor 90 whether or not the crank 43 is rotating. Crank 43 rotates and chain 8
If the crank 4 is rotating, the process proceeds to step 103, the motor 13 is rotated in the reverse direction to lower the gear position, and the crank 4
When 3 does not rotate and the chain 8 is stopped, the circulation routine of step 102 is performed.

At step 104, it is judged if the reverse rotation of the motor 13 is less than 2 seconds. If reverse rotation of the motor 13 does not reach to 2 seconds, it becomes circulation routine of step 103, if the motor 13 is reversed more than two seconds memory that the gear position shifts to step 105 (P _G) is first speed To be done. In this embodiment, when the motor 13 reverses for 2 seconds, the gear position is lowered from the top state to the first speed state.

Next, at step 106, each set value corresponding to the gear position (first gear in this case) is called. That is, when the gear position (P _G) is the first speed, Giyaappu threshold value (V _UP) is 5km / h, Giyadaun threshold value (V _DOWN) is 0 km / h. The gear-up motor drive time set value (T _UP ) is 0.3 sec, and the gear-down motor drive time set value (T _DOWN ) is 0 sec (see FIG. 8).

Then, in step 107, the speed (V) of the bicycle is set to 1 based on the information from the speed sensor 20.
It is determined whether the speed is faster than the threshold value for gear up of 5 km / h. If the speed of the bicycle is faster than 5 km / h, the process proceeds to step 108, and if it is slower than 5 km / h, the process proceeds to step 112. In step 108, it is determined whether or not the crank 43 is rotating. If not rotating, the circulation routine of step 108 is performed. If the crank 43 is rotating, the process proceeds to step 109 and the motor 13 is rotated normally. Then, the automatic transmission lever 70 is operated and the transmission rod 50 is pressed to raise the gear position. Then, at step 110, it is judged if the drive time (T _M ) of the motor 13 is shorter than the gear drive motor drive time set value of 0.3 sec. Wherein when the motor 13 of the drive time (T _M) is less than 0.3sec becomes circulation routine of step 109, if it came to 0.3sec stops the driving of the motor 13, step 111
Then, it is stored that the second gear position is a new gear position obtained by adding 1 to the original gear position of the first gear position.

Further, in step 112, the speed (V) of the bicycle is 0 km / h which is a threshold value for gear down of the first speed.
Is determined later. Since the speed cannot be slower than 0 km / h, in the case of the first speed, the process proceeds from step 112 to step 117. In step 117, it is determined whether or not the speed (V) is 0 km / h. If the speed is 0 and the bicycle is stopped, the process proceeds to step 118, and if the bicycle is stopped for more than 3 minutes, the automatic operation is performed. Then the entire device is powered off. The negative branch of steps 117 and 118 is the circulation routine of step 107.

From step 111 to step 106
In step 106, each set value corresponding to the second speed is called, and the operation of each step is performed in the same manner as described above.

When the step 112 is reached in the gear position of the second speed or higher, if the bicycle speed (V) is slower than the gear down threshold value (V _DOWN ), the step 11
In step 3, it is determined whether the crank 43 is rotating. When the crank 43 is not rotating, the circulation routine of step 113 is performed. When the crank 43 is rotating and the chain 8 is rotating, the motor 13 is reversely rotated in step 114, and then the motor drive time (T _M ) Is less than the gear-down motor drive time setting value of 0.5 sec. And step 115
The affirmative branch of step No. becomes the circulation routine of step 114, and the negative branch moves to step 116 to store a new gear position (P _G ) obtained by subtracting 1 from the original gear position, and step 106
It becomes the circulation routine of.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the automatic transmission can be attached without changing the components of the existing bicycle. Therefore, a bicycle with an automatic transmission can be easily provided at low cost. can do.

[0035]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a bicycle with an automatic transmission having a simple structure.

Further, it is possible to provide a bicycle with an automatic transmission capable of both manual and automatic shifting. Further, it is possible to provide a bicycle with an automatic transmission in which the automatic transmission can be mounted without changing the components of the existing bicycle.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bicycle with an automatic transmission according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view around a speed change rod in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a left side view of the automatic transmission lever according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the automatic transmission lever according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a right side view of the automatic transmission lever according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the automatic transmission lever according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an execution program of a control unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing set values for each transmission gear in the control unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a relationship between rising and falling of each transmission gear in the control unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the speed change rod without an automatic speed change lever attached.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 ・ ・ Rear wheel 4 ・ ・ Cable for manual shifting 4a ・ ・ Outer cable 5 ・ ・ Control unit (ECU) 8 ・ ・ Chain 9 ・ ・ Manual operation means (gear lever) 10 ・ ・ Driving unit 12 ・ ・ Winding drum 13・ ・ Motor 14 ・ ・ Cable for automatic shifting 14a ・ ・ Outer cable 20 ・ ・ Speed sensor 21 ・ ・ Magnetic detector 22 ・ ・ Ferromagnetic material 25 ・ ・ Seat stay 32 ・ ・ Gearbox 41 ・ ・ Crankshaft 43 ・ ・Crank 44 · · Pedal 50 · · Shift rod 53 · · Hub body 60 · · Manual shift lever 61 · · Bracket 70 · · Automatic shift lever 71 · · Automatic shift bracket 72 · · Opening 73 · · Shaft 80 · · Box 90 ... Crank rotation detection sensor

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Toshifumi Maehara 5-4-71 Higashi, Hanyu City, Saitama Akebono Brake Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A bicycle transmission having a gearbox inside a hub body of a wheel, the gearbox having a gearshift rod for shifting by moving in the axial direction of the wheel, wherein a manual gearshift cable is used. A manual speed change lever, which is connected to an operating means and operates the speed change rod, and an automatic speed change lever, which is connected to a drive unit driven by a command from a control unit via an automatic speed change cable and operates the speed change rod. A bicycle with an automatic transmission characterized by being provided. 2. The bicycle with an automatic transmission according to claim 1, wherein the automatic transmission lever is located between the transmission rod and the manual transmission lever. 3. The bicycle with an automatic transmission according to claim 1, wherein the automatic transmission lever has the manual transmission lever interposed between the automatic transmission lever and the transmission rod.