TWI391270B - Power controlling system and method for bicycle - Google Patents

Description

Bicycle power management system and method

The present invention relates to a bicycle power management system and method, and more particularly to a bicycle power management system and method for integrating a brake system for power storage management.

As the theme of green environmental protection has become more and more internationally valued, and the trend of people's leisure sports is becoming more and more popular, the bicycle industry has set off a wave of enthusiasm and become a tool for people to exercise and travel. Not only allows users to save energy, but also effectively achieve the effect of exercise.

As the surrounding area of the bicycle is more and more diverse and rich, for example, lighting devices, communication devices and even audio media playing devices need to rely on external power supply to operate, the user must carry a power supply system on the bicycle to do For power supply. In this regard, how to charge the storage battery in the power supply system is the goal of many industry research and development.

The early design was that when the storage battery needs to be recharged, the user must connect to the mains through the power cord to charge, and then fully charge the battery to be used on the bicycle. However, this not only causes inconvenience to the user in overall use, but also consumes the mains power supply and does not meet the environmental protection requirements.

With the development of technology, more and more designs have been designed to charge storage batteries with solar energy to better meet the requirements of green energy conservation. However, charging through solar energy is convenient and environmentally friendly, but the problem it faces is that it cannot be charged around the clock, especially when the user needs to illuminate at night, the solar charging module cannot effectively charge the battery. .

Therefore, in the design of the bicycle power supply system, how to provide all-weather charging function to allow users to enjoy sufficient power anytime and anywhere is a topic worth exploring.

In view of the above, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a contact type charging, and to improve the structure of the braking device, so as to be able to be fixedly maintained at a fixed position, so that the user can be enabled without affecting the driving state. Easily and smoothly control contact charging for stable charging operation.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a power management system for a bicycle includes: a power storage unit, a friction power generation module, a control unit, and a brake device. Wherein, the friction power generation module is to rub a wheel of the bicycle to generate a first electric energy. The control unit is electrically connected to the power storage unit and the friction power generation module, and uses the first power to charge the power storage unit, and controls the power storage unit to supply power to the at least one load device. The brake device further includes a brake lever, a limit mechanism and a brake device, and when the brake lever pivots a second distance from the initial position, the brake lever system drives the brake device to perform braking, wherein The second distance is greater than the first distance. When the brake lever pivots a first distance from an initial position, the brake lever will drive the friction power generating module to perform the friction operation, and the limiting mechanism can be used to fix the brake lever to maintain the first distance.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a bicycle power management method is provided. The bicycle system includes a friction power generation module and a brake device. The power management method includes: pivoting a brake lever of the brake device to When a first distance is reached from an initial position, the friction generating mode is driven Grouping a wheel of the bicycle to generate a first electric energy; when the brake lever pivots a second distance from the initial position, the brake lever further drives a brake device for braking, wherein the second distance The system is greater than the first distance. The first electrical energy is then used to charge an electrical storage unit, and the fixed braking mechanism is maintained at the first distance by a limiting mechanism.

In addition, the embodiments of the present invention can further integrate the two types of charging methods of solar charging and contact charging, and the user can control the weather condition or personal preference when riding the bicycle through the control of the designed charging management mechanism. The demand determines the charging method of the storage unit.

Therefore, the efficiencies of the present invention are that it can be free from weather and time constraints, and can be charged at any time according to the user's use requirements. Moreover, the power management system of the present invention can effectively and stably serve as a power supply for the user on the bicycle under the full compliance with the green environmental protection regulations.

The above summary, the following detailed description and the annexed drawings are intended to further illustrate the manner, the Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be described in the following description and drawings.

The bicycle power management system and method provide a contact charging method, and the structure of the braking device is improved, so as to be fixedly maintained at a fixed position during contact charging, so as not to affect the user's driving. In the state, the contact charging is controlled to perform a stable charging operation. In addition, the invention can integrate two charging modes of solar charging and contact charging, and is further matched with the control of the charging management mechanism, so that the user can decide at any time according to the weather condition or personal preference. Set the charging mode of the power storage unit on the bicycle.

For the sake of complete explanation, the embodiments described below are described in terms of the bicycle having both solar charging and contact charging. However, the actual bicycle power management system is based on the scope defined by the scope of patent application.

Please refer to the first figure, which is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a power management system for a bicycle of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the present embodiment provides a bicycle power management system 1 including: a power storage unit 10, a friction power generation module 11, a solar module 12, a switching unit 13, a control unit 14, and a Brake device 15.

In the preset state, the friction power generation module 11 does not contact a wheel rim (not shown) of the bicycle, and when it is operated by being driven, it will contact the rim to generate a first electric energy P1 by friction. The solar module 12 is used to convert solar energy to generate a second electric energy P2. In this embodiment, the switching unit 13 includes two input ports and one output port, wherein two input ports are electrically connected to the friction power generation module 11 and the solar module 12, respectively, and the output port is electrically connected. Unit 14. In design, the transmission path of the switching unit 13 is preset to switch to output the second power P2, and is switched to output the first power P1 according to a trigger signal T.

The control unit 14 is electrically connected to the power storage unit 10, and charges the power storage unit 10 with the first power P1 or the second power P2 output by the switching unit 13. Further, the control unit 14 further controls the power storage unit 10 to supply power to at least one load device L. The load device L can be, for example, a device that the user uses when riding a bicycle, such as a lighting device, a communication device, an audio media player, and the like.

More specifically, the control unit 14 includes: a charging circuit design Circuit 141 and a discharge circuit 142. The charging circuit 141 is electrically connected to the output port of the switching unit 13, and is controlled to receive the first electric energy P1 or the second electric energy P2, thereby charging the electric storage unit 10. The discharge circuit 142 is electrically connected to the power storage unit 10 and the load device L for controlling the power storage unit 10 to supply power to the load device L. Moreover, those skilled in the art can understand that the so-called charging circuit 141 further includes any circuit or combination of overvoltage, overcurrent, and overtemperature protection for the power storage unit 10; and the discharge circuit 142 can further It is a circuit that includes any or a combination of regulation, overvoltage, overcurrent, boost, and buck. This is not a limitation of the invention.

It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the switching unit 13 is described independently of the design of the control unit 14 for convenience of explanation. However, in actual design and application, the switching unit 13 can be integrated into the control unit 14 to form a single wafer, thereby saving space and cost, and reducing the trouble of the circuit board during circuit wiring.

Next, the brake device 15 includes: a brake lever, a brake, a limit mechanism, and a micro switch 151. The embodiment of the first figure is only labeled for the micro switch 151 belonging to the circuit function, and the rest of the brake lever, the brake device and the limit mechanism belonging to the mechanism component will be further marked in the subsequent structure diagram. Description.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that the operating principle of the brake lever and the brake device is generally known to the public, and the friction power generation module 11 of the present invention is also designed using this principle to be controlled by the brake lever. In other words, the same brake lever in the present invention connects two wires, one of which is a brake wire for driving the brake device, and the other is used to drive the friction power generation module 11. And the wire that drives the friction power generation module 11 will be compared. Shorter than the brake line.

In this way, in the embodiment, when the brake lever pivots by a first distance from an initial position, the brake lever rod drives the friction power generation module 11 to operate. In other words, when the user presses the brake lever so that the initial position of the brake lever from the original return state only exceeds the first distance, the brake lever will bring the friction power generating module 11 into contact with the bicycle rim to The friction generates a first electrical energy P1. At this time, the limit mechanism designed by the present invention can be used to fix the brake rod so that the user can maintain the brake rod fixed at the first distance from the initial position without continuously pressing the brake rod. . Thereby, the friction power generating module 11 can continuously and stably generate the first electric energy P1, and also does not affect the user's concentration when riding the bicycle.

In addition, when the brake lever is further pivoted, that is, when the user further presses the brake lever and the brake lever is at a second distance from the initial position, the brake lever will drive the brake device to perform the brake. And this operating state is the behavior of the user when the vehicle is generally braking. Thereby, the braking device 15 designed in the embodiment can have a segmented manipulation mechanism. Of course, if the user does not need to use contact power generation at present, the brake pedal can be directly pressed to the second distance according to the original riding habit, and the vehicle can be braked. The invention does not affect the user's original riding habits.

It is further illustrated that the present embodiment is designed to control the operation of the switching unit 13 by using the micro switch 151. The micro switch 151 is physically disposed on the brake lever, and is electrically connected to the switching unit 13 for detecting the displacement of the brake lever to the first distance, and generating a trigger signal T to the switching unit 13. Technically, that is, the micro switch 151 determines the displacement distance of the brake lever itself by obtaining the actual potential energy change. In addition In the specification of the micro switch 151 of the embodiment, it is necessary to select a specification that generates the trigger signal T when the displacement reaches the first distance.

In this way, when the user presses the brake lever to displace the brake lever to the first distance, the brake lever will drive the friction power generation module 11 to generate the first electric energy P1, and the micro switch 151 on the brake lever is A trigger signal T is generated to control the switching unit 13 to switch to output the first power P1. Of course, if the brake lever is less than the first distance from the initial position, the micro switch 151 does not generate the trigger signal T, and the switching unit 13 switches to the preset state to switch the transmission path of the output second power P2. Thereby, the user can smoothly select one of the friction power generation module 11 and the solar module 12 to perform charging.

In practical applications, the operation of the friction power generation module 11 by pivoting the first distance of the brake lever is a structural operation principle (using a wire to drive). In order to avoid the first distance that causes the brake lever to actually pivot due to the long time and the change of the potential energy detected by the micro switch 151, an error occurs. The invention is further designed to illustrate another embodiment. Please refer to the second figure, which is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the bicycle power management system of the present invention.

As shown in the second figure, the power management system 2 for a bicycle provided in this embodiment includes: a power storage unit 20, a friction power generation module 21, a solar module 22, a switching unit 23, a control unit 24, and a Brake device 25. The control unit 24 further includes a charging circuit 241 and a discharging circuit 242. The present embodiment is substantially the same in concept, architecture, and operation principle as the first embodiment. The main difference is the difference in the manner in which the trigger signal T' is generated.

In this embodiment, a sensing component 211 is added to the output end of the friction power generating module 21, and the sensing component 211 is an electrical connection switching unit 23, When the first electric power P1 is generated by the sensing friction power generation module 21, a trigger signal T' is generated to the switching unit 23. In this way, the switching unit 23 can switch the transmission path to output the first electric energy P1 when the friction power generation module 21 does generate the first electric energy P1. Thereby, switching control between the friction power generation module 21 and the solar module 22 is performed more accurately.

In addition, in the braking device 25, the embodiment does not need to additionally add the design of the micro switch 151 in the first embodiment to the brake lever, so that the power management system 2 of the bicycle is more convenient to install.

Next, the above-described limit mechanisms of the brake devices 15, 25 and corresponding operating principles will be described. Please refer to the third to third C diagrams for the operation state of the brake device of the present invention. The brake device 3 disclosed therein includes a brake lever 30, a limiting mechanism 31 and a base 32. The brake lever 30 is pivotally connected to the base 32 and further provided with a guide slot 301.

The limiting mechanism 31 further includes a cover 311 and a reset element 312. The cover 311 is also pivotally connected to the base 32 and has a brake member 3110. The two ends of the reset element 312 (exemplified by a spring in this embodiment) are respectively fixed to the base 32 and the cover 311. Thereby, the fixing point (unmarked) of the resetting member 312 on the cover body 311 and the braking member 3110 are respectively formed on both sides of the pivoting point (not labeled) of the cover body 311 and the base 32.

First, the third A diagram is for explaining the situation in which the brake lever 30 and the cover 311 are in the initial state. At this time, the brake lever 30 is at the initial position mentioned above, and the user can normally press the brake lever.

The third B is used to illustrate that when the user presses the brake lever 30 to pivot the brake lever 30 to a first distance D1 from the original initial position, the brake member 3110 on the cover 311 can be correspondingly engaged. Guide of the brake lever 30 Inside the slot 301. At this time, even if the user releases the brake lever 30, the stopper mechanism 31 can fix the brake lever 30 at the first distance D1 from the initial position. Further, due to the pivoting of the cover 311, the reset member 312 is formed to be stretched compared to the original state.

It should be noted that the cover 311 of the present embodiment is designed by means of a hand-pushing member, that is, when the user presses the brake lever 30 to the first distance D1, the user further dials the cover 311. The brake lever 30 is brought close to the brake lever 3110 so that the brake member 3110 can be engaged with the guide groove 301 to fix the brake lever 30. Of course, in actual design, it is not limited to this design. More specifically, the change of the mechanism, for example, the cover body 311 and the brake lever 30 are the same pivot design, and the design of the gears allows the brake lever 30 to pivot the cover body 311 at the same time to pivot. The effect of automatic snapping.

The third C diagram is to illustrate that the user further presses the brake lever 30 to pivot the brake lever 30 to a release distance D _R from the initial position, and the guide groove 301 on the brake lever 30 is opposite to the brake member 3110 of the cover 311. In other words, a release angle is formed such that the brake member 3110 can be disengaged from the guide groove 301, and the cover body 311 can be reset by the reset member 312. Wherein, the release distance D _R is greater than the first distance D1 and less than or equal to the second distance (not shown). Thereby, the brake device 3 has a mechanism of segmented manipulation.

As described above, the limiting mechanism 31 shown in the embodiments of the third to third embodiments is only one of the aspects that can be implemented by the present invention. Any design that achieves the position of the present invention for securing the brake lever 30 can be included within the scope of the present invention.

Please continue to refer to the fourth and fifth figures, respectively, the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the contact relationship between the friction power generating module and the bicycle rim of the present invention. schematic diagram. It should be noted that the fourth and fifth figures are mainly used to illustrate the contact relationship between a friction power generating module (40, 50) and a rim 61, respectively, so only the tire 60 is drawn for simplicity and clarity. The relationship between the rim 61 and the friction generating module (40, 50) is not drawn together with the original clip-on brake of the bicycle.

The friction power generating module 40 shown in the embodiment of the fourth figure is of the same design as the clip type brake device of the bicycle, and is disposed at a position corresponding to the side wall 611 of the rim, and is also in contact during operation. The rim side wall 611 is used for friction.

The friction power generation module 50 shown in the fifth embodiment is modified to be placed at a suitable location on the inner edge 612 of the rim to operationally contact the rim inner edge 612 for friction.

Finally, the power management system for bicycles is described in the overall operational flow. Please refer to the sixth figure, which is a flowchart of an embodiment of a power management method for a bicycle according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the embodiment provides a power management method for a bicycle. The bicycle of the embodiment is also designed to include a friction power generation module, a solar module and a brake device.

The step of the power management method includes: preset receiving power generated by the solar module to convert solar energy to charge a power storage unit (S601). Next, it is determined whether a trigger signal is received (S603) for determining whether to change the source of the currently charged power.

If the result of the determination in the step (S603) is NO, it means that the preset solar module is still used as the charging source of the power storage unit, so that the step (S601) and the subsequent steps are repeated. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in the step (S603) is YES, it means that the user may have to change the source of the electric energy to be charged in response to the current time or the weather condition. Then, according to the trigger signal, switching to the connection The friction generating power module rubs the electric energy generated by the rim of the bicycle to charge the electric storage unit (S605). Wherein, the friction power generation module starts the friction operation when the one of the brake levers pivots a first distance from an initial position, that is, is driven.

Through the design of the present invention, after the step (S605), the brake lever can be further fixed by a limiting mechanism to maintain the first distance of the brake lever from the initial position (S607). Incidentally, when the brake lever pivots to a second distance from the initial position (the second distance is greater than the first distance), the brake lever further drives a brake to perform the brake.

In summary, the power management system and method of the bicycle of the present invention allows the user to charge the power storage unit on the bicycle without being limited by the weather and time, but to charge the power storage unit according to the user's use requirements. It is capable of receiving charging power stably. Moreover, the power management system provided by the present invention can efficiently provide the power source that the user needs to use when riding a bicycle under the full compliance with the green environmental protection specifications. Furthermore, the user can simply and directly use the bicycle without designing or modifying the original bicycle.

However, the above description is only for the purpose of illustration and illustration of the embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Variations or modifications that may be readily conceived within the scope of the invention may be covered by the scope of the invention as defined in the following.

1,2‧‧‧Bike power management system

10,20‧‧‧Power storage unit

11,21,40,50‧‧‧Drying power generation module

211‧‧‧Sensor components

12,22‧‧‧ solar modules

13,23‧‧‧Switch unit

14,24‧‧‧Control unit

141,241‧‧‧Charging circuit

142,242‧‧‧discharge circuit

15,25,3‧‧‧ brake device

151‧‧‧Micro Switch

30‧‧‧煞车杆

301‧‧

31‧‧‧Limited institutions

311‧‧‧ Cover

3110‧‧‧Brakes

312‧‧‧Reset components

32‧‧‧Base

60‧‧‧ tires

61‧‧‧ rims

611‧‧‧Rock side wall

612‧‧‧Rim inner edge

D1‧‧‧First distance

D _R ‧‧‧Release distance

L‧‧‧ load device

P1‧‧‧First electric energy

P2‧‧‧second electric energy

T, T’‧‧‧ trigger signal

S601 to S607‧‧‧ Flowchart Step Description

The first figure is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a power management system for a bicycle of the present invention; the second figure is a second embodiment of a power management system for a bicycle of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the operation state of the brake device of the present invention; and FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the first embodiment of the contact relationship between the friction power generation module and the bicycle rim of the present invention; A schematic diagram of a second embodiment of a contact relationship between a friction power generating module and a bicycle rim; and a sixth embodiment is a flow chart of an embodiment of a power management method for a bicycle of the present invention.

1. . . Bicycle power management system

10. . . Power storage unit

11. . . Friction power module

12. . . Solar module

13. . . Switching unit

14. . . control unit

141. . . Charging circuit

142. . . Discharge circuit

15. . . Brake device

151. . . Micro Switch

L. . . Load device

P1. . . First electric energy

P2. . . Second electrical energy

T. . . Trigger signal

Claims (8)

A bicycle power management system includes: a power storage unit; a friction power generation module that rubs a wheel of the bicycle to generate a first electric energy; and a control unit electrically connects the power storage unit and the friction power generation module Using the first electric energy to charge the electric storage unit, and controlling the electric storage unit to supply power to at least one load device; and a brake device comprising a brake lever, a limiting mechanism and a brake device, and pivoting when the brake lever When the distance from the initial position reaches a second distance, the brake rod is driven to brake the vehicle, wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance, wherein the brake lever pivots by an initial distance from the initial position At the first distance, the brake lever system drives the friction power generating module to perform a friction operation, and the limiting mechanism fixes the brake lever to maintain the first distance. The bicycle power management system of claim 1, wherein the brake lever is pivotally connected to a base of the brake device, and the brake lever is further provided with a guide groove. The bicycle power management system according to claim 2, wherein the limiting mechanism further comprises: a cover body having a brake member, which is pivotally connected to the base when the brake lever is engaged, when the brake lever When the pivoting is at the first distance from the initial position, the braking member is engaged with the guiding groove; and a resetting member, the two ends of the resetting member are respectively fixed to the base and the cover; Wherein, when the brake lever pivots to a release distance from the initial position, the resetting member resets the cover to disengage the brake member from the guide slot, wherein the release distance is greater than the first distance and less than Or equal to the second distance. The bicycle power management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a solar module that converts solar energy to generate a second electric energy; and a switching unit electrically connects the solar module and the friction The power generation module, the transmission path of the switching unit is preset to switch to output the second power, and is switched to output the first power according to a trigger signal. The bicycle power management system of claim 4, wherein the brake device further comprises: a micro switch disposed on the brake lever and electrically connected to the switch unit for detecting the brake lever The trigger signal is generated when the displacement reaches the first distance. The power management system for a bicycle according to claim 4, wherein the friction power generation module further comprises: a sensing component disposed at an output end of the friction power generation module, and electrically connected to the switching unit And for sensing the output of the first electrical energy to generate the trigger signal. A bicycle power management method, the bicycle system comprising a friction power generation module and a brake device, the power management method comprising: when a brake lever of the brake device pivots by a first distance from an initial position Driving the friction power generation module to rub a wheel of the bicycle to generate a first electric energy; when the brake lever pivots a second distance from the initial position, the brake lever further drives a brake rod The brake device is configured to perform braking, wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance; the first electrical energy is used to charge a power storage unit; and the brake lever is fixed to the first distance by a limiting mechanism. The bicycle power management method according to claim 7, wherein the bicycle further comprises a solar module, and the power management method further comprises: receiving a second electric energy generated by the solar module to convert the solar energy. And charging the power storage unit; and switching to receiving the first power according to a trigger signal.