JPS6127231B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a vehicle that is equipped with an engine and pedals for driving the vehicle, and that transmits the output of the engine to the wheels via a manual clutch, in which the speed of the vehicle is controlled. This invention relates to a speed control device.

(Background of the Invention) Some conventional engine-equipped bicycles use a manual clutch to selectively change between engine drive and pedal drive according to the driver's will. Therefore, when the vehicle is driven by the engine, the speed must be changed by operating the accelerator lever provided on the steering wheel, etc., which is cumbersome to operate with the hands and fingers, but wastes time on the feet. It is not efficient.

Also, when driving near houses or hospitals early in the morning or late at night, or when going down a slope, the manual clutch may be disengaged to stop the engine while driving. In this case, in order to run smoothly, it is desirable to disengage the manual clutch first and then stop the engine. However, when the manual clutch is disengaged, the engine suddenly becomes unloaded, resulting in a sudden increase in engine speed, which can cause damage to the engine.

(Objective of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it eliminates the need to operate the accelerator lever with fingers to control engine output even when driving in cooperation with the engine and pedals. To provide a speed control device for a vehicle that facilitates driving and does not cause problems such as overspeeding of the engine and damage to the engine even if a manual clutch is disengaged during running.

(Structure of the Invention) According to the invention, this object comprises a first drive means for driving the wheels by rotation of a foot pedal, and a second drive means for driving the wheels by an engine via a manual clutch, In a vehicle in which both drive means cooperate to run when the manual clutch is connected, a vehicle speed detection means detects the actual vehicle speed from the rotational speed of the engine, and a wheel rotational speed is detected by the manual clutch and the foot pedal. vehicle speed command means for detecting a desired vehicle speed set higher than the actual vehicle speed from the rotational state of the foot pedal in a state where the vehicle speed is higher than the wheel rotation speed caused by the engine; and electrically comparing the actual vehicle speed and the desired vehicle speed. and engine output control means that electrically controls the output of the engine so that the actual vehicle speed approaches the desired vehicle speed based on the comparison result. This is achieved by

(Example) Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a bicycle with an engine to which the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a mode of control by the device of the embodiment. FIG.

First, an outline of a bicycle with an engine will be explained with reference to FIG.

In the figure, 1 is the body of the bicycle, 2 is the front wheel, 3 is the rear wheel, 4 is the foot pedal, 5 is the pedal crank,
Reference numeral 6 denotes a chain case, which has the same structure as a known bicycle, and has a first drive means for driving the rear wheel 3 by rotation of the foot pedal 4. An engine 9 is attached to a down tube 7 constituting the vehicle body 1 via a bracket 8, and the engine 9 is attached to the bracket 8 via a pivot 10 so as to be swingable. 2
4 is a vaporizer. Note that the engine 9 is always urged to rotate in one direction via the coil spring 11. A drive pulley 13 is connected to the crankshaft 34 of the engine 9.
Opposed to and behind it is a driven pulley 1 that constitutes a manual clutch together with a friction roller 21, etc., which will be described later.
4 is placed. The driven pulley 14 is pivotally supported by a support arm 15, and this support arm 15 is rotatably attached via a pivot 18 to a bracket 17 attached to a chain stay 16 that constitutes the vehicle body 1. . A control lever 19 is integrally connected to the support arm 15, and when the control lever 19 is rotated, the support arm 15 is rotated together with the control lever 19, thereby rotationally displacing the driven pulley 14 about the pivot 18. It is becoming more and more common. The above driving pulley 13 and driven pulley 1
4, a V-belt 20 is wound around it. Further, a centrifugal clutch (not shown) is attached to the driven pulley 14, and a friction roller 21 is coaxially attached via this centrifugal clutch. The friction roller 21 is brought into contact with and separated from the rear tire 22 by an operating lever 19, and when pressed, transmits the power from the engine 9 to the rear wheel 3 by friction rolling, and when separated, the power transmission is cut off. That is, engine 9
This forms a second drive means for driving the rear wheels via the manual clutch. Although not shown in the figure, there is a brake mechanism that can be operated by hand like a normal bicycle.

In the case of a bicycle having such a configuration, when the operating lever 19 is moved down and locked to the lower end of the locking plate 23, the support arm 21 is rotationally displaced in the direction of arrow A, so that the friction roller 21 is The manual clutch is disengaged away from the rear tire 22, and in this state, the first driving means using the pedals 4 allows the bicycle to be driven manually in the same way as a normal bicycle.

Furthermore, when the operating lever 19 is pulled up, the support arm 15 is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction of arrow A.
The friction roller 21 is pressed against the rear tire 22 and the manual clutch is connected. Yotsute engine 9
The power is transmitted to the drive pulley 13 and the V-belt 2.
0 is transmitted to the friction roller 21 via the driven pulley 14 and the centrifugal clutch, and this friction roller 21
rotates rear wheel 3. That is, engine-driven traveling can be performed by the second drive means. It is possible to press the pedal 4 even during this engine-driven running. At this time, the driving force from the engine and the driving force from the pedals act on the rear wheels simultaneously.

Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

30 is means for detecting the desired vehicle speed from the rotational speed of the pedal 4 (hereinafter referred to as vehicle speed command means),
For example, the pedal speed is detected from a proximity sensor provided close to the teeth of a drive side chain sprocket (not shown) to which the pedal crank 5 is coupled. Various known sensors can be used as this proximity sensor, but for example, when a chain sprocket tooth comes close to two electromagnetically coupled coils, the degree of coupling between the two coils changes and the coil is set to oscillate. A proximity sensor is used. Since this oscillation occurs only when the teeth of the chain sprocket are close to each other, by shaping the waveform of this oscillation, a pulse train signal with a frequency proportional to the rotational speed of the pedal can be obtained.

31 is a detection means (hereinafter referred to as brake detection means) for detecting the presence or absence of brake operation, and for example, a micro switch (not shown) may be turned on by operating a brake operating lever (not shown). . 32 is means for detecting the actual vehicle speed (actual vehicle speed) from the rotational speed of the engine 9 (hereinafter referred to as vehicle speed detection means); for example, by picking up ignition-related pulses and shaping them into a waveform, a frequency proportional to the engine rotational speed can be obtained. A pulse train signal is obtained.

33 is a control means for controlling the rotational speed of the engine 9. This control means 33 consists of a signal processing device 34 constituted by an electronic circuit, and a pulse motor 35 which rotates in response to instructions from the signal processing device 34. The signal processing device 34 includes comparison calculation means for comparing the actual vehicle speed detected from the engine 9 by the vehicle speed detection means 32 and the desired vehicle speed detected from the pedal 4 by the vehicle speed command means 30. The pulse motor 35 constitutes an engine output control means that controls the output of the engine 9 so that the actual vehicle speed approaches the desired vehicle speed based on the comparison result. Note that the desired vehicle speed is set to be greater than the actual vehicle speed in a state where the wheel rotation speed caused by the pedal 4 is higher than the wheel rotation speed caused by the engine 9.

The pulse motor 35 is capable of forward and reverse rotation, and is set to rotate accurately by an amount determined by a command from the signal processing device 34. 36
is the carburetor 2 driven by the pulse motor 35
4 throttle valve. Reference numeral 37 denotes a main switch-on detection device that detects the turning-on of a main switch (not shown) and inputs a detection signal to the signal processing device 34.

Next, the operation of the speed control device configured as above will be explained. It is assumed that the manual clutch is connected so that both the engine drive and the input drive operate together.

When the main switch is turned on, the main switch-on detection device 37 inputs the above signal to the signal processing device 34 . As a result, the signal processing device 34 gives an initial state setting command to the pulse motor 35, and the pulse motor 35 rotates for a predetermined period of time, so that the throttle valve 36 is fully closed. and engine 9
When the engine is started, engine signal pulses indicating the actual vehicle speed having a frequency proportional to the engine speed are sequentially inputted from the vehicle speed detection means 32 to the signal processing device 34. On the other hand, when the pedal 4 is depressed, pedal signal pulses indicating the desired vehicle speed having a frequency proportional to the number of rotations of the pedal 4 are sequentially inputted from the vehicle speed command means 30 to the signal processing device 34.

Note that if there is no slippage between the grinding roller 21 and the rear wheel 3, the engine rotation speed is proportional to the vehicle speed. In FIG. 3, the solid line indicates the vehicle speed detected from the engine rotation speed, and the broken line indicates the vehicle speed desired by the driver (desired vehicle speed) determined from the pedal rotation speed. In this way, the desired vehicle speed determined from the pedal is the actual vehicle speed determined from the engine rotation speed (solid line in Figure 3).
is set larger than . That is, for the same vehicle speed, the signal processing device 34 processes the signal so that the desired vehicle speed is greater than the actual vehicle speed determined from the engine. And this signal processing device 34
The desired vehicle speed determined from the pedal signal pulse is compared with the actual vehicle speed determined from the engine signal pulse to determine which one is faster. If it is determined that the desired vehicle speed is higher, the signal processing device 34 gives a rotation command to the pulse motor 35. This command drives the pulse motor 35 in the direction of opening the throttle valve 36 of the carburetor 24. Therefore, the rotational speed of the engine 9 increases. An increase in the engine rotational speed immediately changes the frequency of the engine signal from the vehicle speed detection means 32. The actual vehicle speed determined from the engine signal after this change is compared with the desired vehicle speed determined from the pedal signal as described above. Then, the rotational speed of the pedal 4 is lowered, and the above operation is repeated until the actual vehicle speed determined from the engine signal and the desired vehicle speed determined from the pedal signal match, and at the point when the two match, the engine rotational speed increases to that value. is maintained.

As is clear from this explanation, the driver's desired travel speed is detected from the pedal signal, and pressing the pedal 4 is the same as the conventional operation of the accelerator lever with fingers. In other words, the vehicle speed can be controlled according to the speed at which the pedal 4 is depressed. This situation is shown in Figure 3a.

From the above, the speed at which pedal 4 is pressed is constant,
If the desired vehicle speed matches the vehicle speed determined from the engine, the vehicle speed will remain constant not only on flat roads but also on slopes. This situation is shown in Figure 3b. Also, as shown in FIG. 3c, the pedal 4
If you slow down the speed, the vehicle speed will decrease accordingly.

By the way, the signal processing device 34 has a function added that, when the pedal 4 is suddenly stopped while the vehicle is running, gives a command to the pulse motor 35 to maintain the current state, indicating that coasting at a constant speed is desired. . Therefore, the throttle valve 36 is maintained at its current opening degree, the engine rotation does not change, and the vehicle speed is kept constant. This situation is shown in Figure 3d.

When you start depressing the pedal 4 again from this state, the desired speed starts to increase, but when the speed reaches the speed when you stopped depressing the pedal 4, the signal processing device 3
4 cancels the current maintenance command given to the pulse motor 35. Therefore, if the pressure on the pedal 4 is further increased, the vehicle speed will be controlled in the same way as shown in FIG. 3a in accordance with the increased speed. This state is shown in Figure 3e.
is shown.

If the brake is operated on the way, a brake signal is input from the brake detection means 31 to the signal processing device 34, and the signal processing device 34 gives a deceleration command to the pulse motor 35. This deceleration command is continuously given while the brake is in operation. Therefore, the throttle valve 36 is rotated and closed by the pulse motor 35, and is held at the opening degree at the time when the brake operation stops. Therefore, if there is no pedal pressure at this time, the reduced vehicle speed will be maintained. This situation is shown in Figure 3f. Note that the dashed line indicates the brake operation time.

As is clear from the above explanation, when pedal 4 is pressed during acceleration, which places the greatest burden on the engine or human power, the engine speed will surely rise to that speed, and only a small amount of pedal effort is required to further increase the speed. I don't. On the other hand, since there is no need for the engine 9 to increase the vehicle speed to a constant speed by itself, the burden on the engine 9 is significantly reduced. If the speed of the pedal 4 is lowered and the desired vehicle speed matches the vehicle speed determined from the engine, the vehicle will be almost driven only by the engine 9, but at this time it is not accelerating and if the road is flat, the running resistance will be small. It can also run with the engine's output. If the vehicle enters an uphill road and the running resistance increases, the vehicle speed determined by the engine decreases, and the difference between the vehicle speed and the desired vehicle speed increases again, so the throttle valve 36 is automatically opened to increase the engine output. .

Further, as soon as the pedal 4 is depressed, the rotational speed of the engine 9 reaches the desired value, so there is no need for manual operation at all, which eliminates complication and does not impair the so-called bicycle-like feeling.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the vehicle speed can also be controlled by brake operation, more detailed control is possible.

In this embodiment, the throttle valve is set to be fully closed when the engine is started, but it may be set to be fully open and then gradually closed in accordance with the pedal speed.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the opening degree of the throttle valve can be controlled by operating the pedal.
No manual operation is required. In addition, even during acceleration, which is the most taxing process, pressing the pedal will increase the engine speed to the desired speed, allowing you to increase the vehicle speed with a small amount of force.On the other hand, the engine may increase the vehicle speed to a predetermined speed on its own. . In other words, the driving force of one can compensate for the driving force of the other.

In addition, the actual vehicle speed is detected from the engine rotation speed, and this actual vehicle speed is always controlled to match the desired vehicle speed, so even if the engine is suddenly unloaded by disengaging the manual clutch while driving, the engine will not speed up excessively. There is no possibility of damaging the engine.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a bicycle with an engine to which the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a mode of control by the device of the embodiment. . 30...Vehicle speed command means, 32...Vehicle speed detection means, 3
3...control means, 34...signal processing device including comparison calculation means, 35...pulse motor as engine output control means, 36...throttle valve.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A first drive means for driving the wheels by rotation of a foot pedal, and a second drive means for driving the wheels by an engine via a manual clutch, wherein when the manual clutch is connected, In a vehicle in which both drive means operate in cooperation with each other, the vehicle speed detection means for detecting the actual vehicle speed from the rotational speed of the engine is connected to the manual clutch, and the wheel rotational speed caused by the foot pedal is the same as the wheel rotational speed caused by the engine. vehicle speed command means for detecting a desired vehicle speed set higher than the actual vehicle speed from the rotational state of the foot pedal; and a comparison calculation means for electrically comparing the actual vehicle speed and the desired vehicle speed; A speed control device for a vehicle, comprising: engine output control means for electrically controlling the output of the engine so as to bring the actual vehicle speed closer to a desired vehicle speed based on a comparison calculation result.