JPH10214501A - Battery lamp device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery lamp device in which sudden deterioration of a battery can be avoided by preventing over discharge of a rechargable battery. SOLUTION: In a battery lamp device 30 which lights a lamp 6 with a rechargable battery 26 as a power source, a voltage detecting circuit (power source voltage detecting means) 40 to detect a power source voltage of the rechargable battery 26 when the lamp 6 is lighted, a transistor switch (switching means) 34 to turn on and off the power source, and a lamp controller (control means) 35 to turn off the transistor switch 34 and switch off the lamp 6 when the power source voltage detected by the voltage detecting circuit 40 becomes not more than a preset value (final voltage) are provided. Since the power source voltage of the rechargable battery 26 is monitored by the control circuit 35 so that the lamp 6 is turned off if the power source voltage falls down to the preset value or less, over discharge and deep discharge of the rechargable battery 26 are prevented, and sudden deterioration of the battery 26 is also prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery-powered lamp device for lighting a lamp using a rechargeable battery as a power supply.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Examples of lamps that are lit by using a primary battery or a secondary battery (rechargeable battery) as a power source include a bicycle lamp and a portable lamp. There are also proposals for automatic lighting.

[0003] In an electric bicycle in which a driving force by human power is supplemented by an auxiliary power of an electric motor, a lamp is turned on using a rechargeable battery (battery) for driving the electric motor as a power source, and the lamp is controlled by a controller for controlling the electric motor. Has also been proposed (see JP-A-6-107061).

[0004]

However, in a lamp device using a primary battery as a power source, there is a problem that the running cost is increased because the primary battery, which is a consumable part, needs to be replaced.

[0005] In addition, in a lamp device using a secondary battery as a power source, the secondary battery needs to be attached and detached for charging, which is troublesome. In addition, over discharge may cause deterioration of the secondary battery. There is a problem that there is.

Further, in a lamp device which automatically detects a darkness and turns on automatically, the darkness detector consumes power even when the lamp is not lit, so that the battery is used for an auxiliary function of darkness detection. There is a problem of exhaustion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery-powered lamp device capable of preventing over-discharge of a rechargeable battery and preventing rapid deterioration of the battery. It is in.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a battery-operated lamp device that has a function of automatically turning on the light by detecting darkness and that can prevent battery consumption.

Further, an object of the present invention is to manage the voltage of the rechargeable battery by using a controller mounted on the electric bicycle, to prevent over-discharge and deep discharge of the rechargeable battery, and to control the rechargeable battery. An object of the present invention is to provide a battery-powered lamp device that can prevent rapid deterioration.

[0010]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery-operated lamp device for lighting a lamp using a rechargeable battery as a power source. A power supply voltage detecting means for detecting a power supply voltage, a switch means for turning on / off a power supply circuit, and when the power supply voltage detected by the power supply voltage detecting means falls below a set value, the switch means is turned off to turn off the lamp. A control means is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the power supply circuit is provided with an automatic switch that operates using a solar cell as a power supply.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, when the power supply voltage is an overvoltage,
A switch means for shutting off the supply of the power supply voltage to the lamp by pressing F is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second or third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a power unit including an electric motor driven by a rechargeable battery as a power supply and a controller, and the power unit generates auxiliary power. A battery-powered lamp device is provided on an electric bicycle that supplements the driving force.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, the controller performs a predetermined process when the power supply voltage of the rechargeable battery detected during the control becomes equal to or lower than a first set value. And after stopping the control, the control means turns off the switch means and turns off the lamp when the subsequently detected power supply voltage falls below a second set value lower than the first set value. It is characterized by.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the power supply voltage of the rechargeable battery is monitored by the control means, and when the power supply voltage falls below the set value (final voltage), the lamp is turned off. Overdischarge and deep discharge of the rechargeable battery are prevented, and rapid deterioration of the battery is prevented.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since an automatic switch using a solar cell as a power source is used, it is possible to prevent the battery from being consumed while having a function of detecting darkness and automatically turning on the light.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, supply of an overvoltage to the lamp and the power supply circuit is prevented, and the life of the lamp and the deterioration of the power supply circuit are prevented.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the rechargeable battery for driving the electric motor of the electric bicycle is also used for lighting the lamp, but the rechargeable battery is mainly consumed by the electric motor and the entire battery is used. The ratio of the amount of consumption for lamp lighting to the amount of consumption is very small, and therefore, if charging a rechargeable battery is considered as charging a secondary battery for driving an electric motor,
In particular, troublesome charging work only for the lamp is not required.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the voltage of the rechargeable battery is managed using the controller mounted on the electric bicycle, the rechargeable battery can be prevented from being over-discharged or deeply discharged. Abrupt deterioration of the battery can be prevented.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is an electric circuit diagram of a battery-powered lamp device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the battery-powered lamp device, and FIG. It is a side view of an electric bicycle.

First, the schematic structure of the electric bicycle 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a head pipe located at an upper front part of the vehicle body, and a handle stem 3 is rotatably inserted through the head pipe 2. A handle 4 is attached to an upper end of the handle stem 3, and a front fork 5 is attached to a lower end of the handle stem 3.

A lamp 6 constituting a battery-operated lamp device 30 (see FIG. 1) according to the present invention is attached to a middle portion of the front fork 5 via a stay 7. A front wheel 8 is rotatably supported at the lower end of the shaft.

A down tube 9 extends obliquely downward from the head pipe 2 toward the rear of the vehicle body (to the right in FIG. 3), and a seat extends from a rear end of the down tube 9 which extends substantially horizontally. The tube 10 is erected diagonally upward toward the rear of the vehicle body. And the seat tube 10
A seat post (not shown) is fitted and held so that the vertical position can be adjusted.
Are rotatably supported.

Further, a power unit 12 is supported by the down tube 9 and the seat tube 10 via a mounting bracket 13 made of sheet metal substantially at the lower center of the vehicle body. The power unit 12 includes a drive system using human power and a drive system using an electric motor arranged side by side. The power unit 12 combines and outputs human power and auxiliary power. The power unit 12 includes an electric motor 14 that generates auxiliary power and a human power. An assist controller 15 for controlling the motor output according to the size of the motor is provided. A crankshaft 16 is rotatably supported by the power unit 12.
Cranks 17 are attached to the left and right of each
A pedal 18 is pivotally supported at an end of the pedal 7.

On the other hand, a pair of left and right chain stays 19 extend from the mounting bracket 13 welded to the down tube 9 and the seat tube 10 toward the rear of the vehicle body. The upper end of the seat tube 10 is a pair of left and right seat stays 2.
Linked by 0. And chainstay 1
9 A rear wheel 21 is provided at a connection portion of the rear end with the seat stay 20.
Are rotatably supported, and a part of the rear wheel 21 is covered by a rear fender 22. A wheel sprocket 23 is attached to the rear wheel 21, and an endless chain 24 is wound between the wheel sprocket 23 and a drive sprocket (not shown) provided on the power unit 12. .

Further, in the electric bicycle 1 according to the present embodiment, the seat tube 1 is provided below the seat 11.
A battery box 25 is removably mounted in a space surrounded by the rear fender 22 and the battery box 25. A Ni- battery including a plurality of shrink-packed rechargeable batteries (secondary batteries) is provided inside the battery box 25. Cd battery 2
6 (see FIG. 1).

A cup-shaped battery holder 27 having an open upper surface is attached to a portion of the upper surface of the mounting bracket 13 facing a space surrounded by the seat tube 10 and the rear fender 22. The battery holder 27 is integrally formed of resin, and the lower part of the battery box 25 is partially mounted on the battery holder 27. Although not shown, a discharge terminal is provided upright in the battery holder 27. When the battery box 25 is stored in the battery holder 27, the discharge terminal buried in the bottom surface of the battery box 25 is placed on the battery holder 27 side. Is automatically connected to the discharge terminal.

Next, the battery-powered lamp device 30 according to the present invention will be described.
Will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, in addition to the lamp 6, a battery-operated lamp device 30 according to the present invention includes a manual switch 31, an automatic switch 32, a DC / DC converter 33, a transistor switch 34, It is configured to include a lamp controller 35 and the like, and these are electrically connected to a battery 26 housed in the battery box 25. The controller 15 and the main switch 36 are provided in the middle of the electrical connection path between the battery 26 and the battery-powered lamp device 30, and the controller 15 operates using the battery 26 as a power source to perform a predetermined control operation. At the same time, control information (assist control information) is provided to the lamp controller 35.

The automatic switch 32 is a transistor switch, which is driven by a driving circuit composed of a resistor 37, a diode 38 and a solar cell 39.
N / OFF, the diode 38 and the solar cell 39 constitute a light detection sensor.

Here, the automatic switch 32 operates as follows.

That is, in a bright daytime or the like, the solar cells 39
Is high, a predetermined level of current flows from the solar cell 39 via the diode 38 and the resistor 37 to the ground side, so that a high-level voltage acts on the automatic switch 32. At this time, the automatic switch 32 is turned off. Kept in state.

When the surroundings gradually darken toward the night, the output voltage of the solar cell 39 decreases accordingly, and the voltage applied to the automatic switch 32 becomes low level, so that the automatic switch 32 is turned on. . As described above, the automatic switch 32 detects darkness and automatically turns ON / O.
Although a FF is performed, a predetermined time constant (a time of about several seconds) is provided for the detection of darkness by the light detection sensor constituted by the diode 38 and the solar cell 39, and a change in brightness during that time is ignored.

The lamp controller 35 includes a voltage detection circuit 40 for detecting the power supply voltage V of the battery 26 and a timer circuit 41 for counting time. This is passed through the DC / DC converter 33. It is operated by the supplied driving power supply voltage Vcc.

Next, the battery-powered lamp device 30 according to the present invention will be described.
Will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In the electric bicycle 1, the main switch 36
Is turned on and at least one of the manual switch 31 and the automatic switch 32 is turned on, the power supply voltage V (24 V) of the battery 26 is reduced to a predetermined value (4.8 V or 3.8 V) by the DC / DC converter 33. Lamp 6
And the lamp controller 35 (step S
1 to S2).

When the power is supplied as described above, the power supply voltage V of the battery 26 is constantly detected by the voltage detection circuit 40 of the lamp controller 35 (step S3), and the lamp controller 35 assists. It is determined based on the control information provided from the controller 15 whether the vehicle is currently assisting (that is, whether the driving force is assisted by the auxiliary power generated by the power unit 12 (see FIG. 3)) (step S4). ). In the detection of the power supply voltage V by the voltage detection circuit 40, an average voltage value (not an instantaneous voltage value,
A relatively stable voltage value of about several seconds) is set as the voltage value at that time.

If assist is being performed, the transistor switch 34 is turned on to turn on the lamp 6 (steps S5 to S6). Then, it is determined whether the power supply voltage V of the battery 26 detected by the voltage detection circuit 40 is greater than the first end voltage V ₁ (step S
7) If the detected power supply voltage V is higher than the first end voltage V ₁ (V> V ₁ ), the power supply voltage V of the battery 26 is continuously detected while the lamp 6 is turned on. The middle until the stop of the assist, or until the power supply voltage V of the battery 26 decreases to a first end voltage V ₁ or less, the power supply voltage V is continued while the battery 26 to the lamp 6 is lit is detected, it determines whether or not large is made than the power supply voltage V is first termination voltage V ₁ (step S3 to S7). Here, the terminating voltage refers to the battery 26
Means the power supply voltage in a state where the discharge of the battery 26 needs to be stopped for the protection of the battery 26.

On the other hand, when the power supply voltage V of the battery 26 decreases to the _first end voltage V ₁ or less, for example, the assist controller 15 changes the assist ratio (auxiliary power / manpower) every 5 seconds or every 10 m. A predetermined process such as stepwise lowering is performed (step S8), and then the assist by the auxiliary power is stopped (step S9).
Is kept on, the power supply voltage V of the battery 26 is continuously detected (step S4), and then the power supply voltage V detected by the voltage detection circuit 40 is smaller than the _first termination voltage V1. It is determined whether the voltage is greater than V ₂ (<V ₁ ) (step 10). If the power supply voltage V is greater than the second end voltage V ₂ (V> V ₂ ), the lamp 6 is turned on. remains (step S11～S12) supply voltage V is continuously detected (Suippu S3), the detected power supply voltage V whether greater than a second end voltage V ₂ is determined (step S10) .

The power supply voltage V of the battery 26 is
When drops of final voltage V ₂ or less, the lamp controller 35 to turn OFF the power circuit to turn OFF the transistor switch 34 (step S13), and turns off the lamp 6 (OF
F) (Step S14), and a series of processing ends (Step S15).

It should be noted that even if the assist is in progress and the power supply voltage V of the battery 26 is higher than the first end voltage V ₁ , if the assist is stopped, the power supply voltage V becomes the second power supply voltage V. whether greater than end voltage V ₂ of the determination (step S10), and the same processing as described above is performed.
Further, even when from the beginning not subjected to assist, power supply voltage V whether greater than a second end voltage V ₂ is determined (step S10), and the same processing is performed.

On the other hand, the manual switch 31 and the automatic switch 3
When both of them are in the OFF state, the power supply circuit is kept in the OFF state and the lamp 6 keeps the light-off state.

In the above, in this embodiment, the power supply voltage V of the battery 26 is monitored by the lamp controller 35, and the lamp 6 is turned off when the power supply voltage V falls below the second end voltage V ₂ . Battery 26
Over-discharge and deep-discharge of the battery 26 are prevented, and rapid deterioration of the battery 26 is prevented.

Further, in this embodiment, since the automatic switch 32 using the solar cell 39 as a power source is used as the switch means, it is possible to prevent the consumption of the battery 26 while providing a function of detecting darkness and automatically turning on the light. it can.

In this embodiment, the main switch 36
Serves both as an ON / OFF switch for the assist controller 15 and an ON / OFF switch for the lamp 6, so that there is no need to provide a dedicated main switch in the battery-powered lamp device, and the original function of the assist controller 15 is also impaired. Nothing. Incidentally, the user habitually starts the operation of the assist controller 15 when the electric bicycle 1 starts running.
Since the N / OFF switch is turned on and turned off at the end of traveling, it is unlikely that forgetting to turn off the lamp 6 will occur even if the dedicated switch for turning on / off the lamp 6 is omitted as described above. Seem.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is an electric circuit diagram of the battery-powered lamp device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the battery-powered lamp device.
The same elements as those shown in FIG.
A description of them will be omitted.

When a rechargeable battery (secondary battery) is used as a power source, there is a possibility that the rechargeable battery is charged by an external charger while a power supply line for supplying power to the lamp is electrically connected to the rechargeable battery. However, in such a case, since a high voltage is directly applied to a circuit including the lamp bulb, there is a possibility that the life of the bulb or the circuit may be deteriorated.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the decrease in the power supply voltage is monitored, and at the same time, the increase in the power supply voltage is monitored so that the above-mentioned problem does not occur. When the power supply voltage exceeds a predetermined value, the power supply voltage is detected. The supply of electric power to the section and after is stopped.

That is, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, an overvoltage detection circuit 42 for detecting an overvoltage of the battery 26 and a transistor switch 43 are added to the battery-powered lamp device 30, and a manual switch is provided. The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment (see FIG. 1).

Thus, in this embodiment, the electric bicycle 1
When the main switch 36 is turned on, first, the power supply voltage V of the battery 26 is detected by the overvoltage detection circuit 42 (step S1 in FIG. 5), and it is determined whether or not the detected power supply voltage V is an overvoltage. It is determined whether or not the power supply voltage V exceeds a predetermined value Vmax (Step S).
2) If the power supply voltage V exceeds the predetermined value Vmax, the transistor switch 43 is turned off to cut off the supply of power to the lamp (step S3). As described above, first, it is determined whether or not the power supply voltage V of the battery 26 is an overvoltage. If the power supply voltage V is the overvoltage, the supply of power to the subsequent circuits is interrupted, so Is not supplied as it is, and the life of the bulb and the deterioration of the circuit are prevented.

On the other hand, when the automatic switch 32 is turned on when the power supply voltage V of the battery 26 is smaller than the predetermined value Vmax and it is determined that the power supply voltage V is not an overvoltage,
Thereafter, the same processing as in the first embodiment (steps S4 to S4)
Step S18) is performed.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a battery-powered lamp device provided in an electric bicycle. However, the present invention is not limited to any other battery-powered battery powered by a rechargeable battery. The same can be applied to a lamp device.

[0055]

As is apparent from the above description, claim 1
According to the invention described in the above, the power supply voltage of the rechargeable battery is monitored by the control means, and the lamp is turned off when the power supply voltage falls below the set value (final voltage). The effect is obtained that discharge is prevented and rapid deterioration of the battery is prevented.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since an automatic switch using a solar cell as a power source is used, the function of detecting darkness and automatically turning on the light can be provided, and the battery can be prevented from being consumed. can get.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the supply of overvoltage to the lamp and the power supply circuit is prevented, so that the effect of preventing the lamp life from being shortened and the power supply circuit from deteriorating can be prevented.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the rechargeable battery for driving the electric motor of the electric bicycle is also used for lighting the lamp, but the rechargeable battery is mainly consumed by the electric motor and the entire battery is used. The ratio of the amount of consumption for lamp lighting to the amount of consumption is very small, and therefore, if charging a rechargeable battery is considered as charging a secondary battery for driving an electric motor,
In particular, an effect is obtained that a cumbersome charging operation only for the lamp is not required.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the voltage of the rechargeable battery is managed by using the controller mounted on the electric bicycle, the rechargeable battery can be prevented from being over-discharged or deeply discharged. The effect is obtained that rapid deterioration of the battery can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an electric circuit diagram of a battery-operated lamp device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the battery-operated lamp device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the electric bicycle including the battery-powered lamp device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an electric circuit diagram of a battery-operated lamp device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the battery-operated lamp device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 1 Electric bicycle 6 Lamp 12 Power unit 14 Electric motor 15 Assist controller (Controller) 26 Rechargeable battery (Rechargeable battery) 30 Battery-powered lamp device 34 Transistor switch (Switch means) 35 Lamp controller (Control means) 39 Solar cell 40 Voltage detection circuit (power supply voltage detection means) 43 Transistor switch (switch means)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A battery-operated lamp device for lighting a lamp using a rechargeable battery as a power supply, a power supply voltage detecting means for detecting a power supply voltage of the rechargeable battery when the lamp is turned on, and a switch for turning on / off a power supply circuit. And a control means for turning off the switch means to turn off the lamp when the power supply voltage detected by the power supply voltage detection means falls below a set value. 2. The battery-powered lamp device according to claim 1, wherein an automatic switch that operates using a solar cell as a power supply is provided in the power supply circuit. 3. The battery-operated lamp device according to claim 1, further comprising switch means for turning off the power supply voltage when the power supply voltage is overvoltage and interrupting the supply of the power supply voltage to the lamp. 4. A power unit including an electric motor driven by a rechargeable battery as a power supply and a controller,
The battery-powered lamp device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the battery-powered lamp device is provided in an electric bicycle that supplements a driving force by an auxiliary power generated by the power unit. 5. The controller stops a control after performing a predetermined process when a power supply voltage of the rechargeable battery detected during the control becomes equal to or lower than a first set value. When the supplied power supply voltage falls below a second set value lower than the first set value, the switch means is turned off.
5. The battery-powered lamp device according to claim 4, wherein the lamp is turned off.