WO2016030549A1

WO2016030549A1 - Electric bicycle

Info

Publication number: WO2016030549A1
Application number: PCT/ES2014/070669
Authority: WO
Inventors: Juan Manuel CORCHADO RODRÍGUEZ; Javier BAJO PÉREZ; Juan Francisco De Paz Santana; Gabriel VILLARRUBIA GONZÁLEZ; Sara RodrÍguez González; Marco Antonio DE LA SERNA GONZALEZ; Jose Vicente FRANCO REVILLA; Sergio Ivan RUESGA PUERTA
Original assignee: Universidad De Salamanca; Stagemotion S.L.
Priority date: 2014-08-25
Filing date: 2014-08-25
Publication date: 2016-03-03

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electric bicycle (1) which solves the problems of the prior art, in that, using a low-cost solution, it enables the user to have information about both his surroundings and the operational data of the bicycle in a single display device (i.e., a human-machine interface). To this effect, the bicycle has a controller (71) associated with a motor and power supply means, and includes a communication module (70), said communication module (70) including a device communication sub-module (76) by means of which the communication module communicates with the controller (71), and an interface communication sub-module (77) by means of which the communication module (70) communicates with external devices.

Description

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OBJECT OF THE II VE CIIÓ The present invention discloses an electric bicycle. In particular, the present invention discloses an electric bicycle that has communication means, both with the bicycle electronics, and with an external device that has a man-machine interface. BACKGROUND OF THE ^ NVE QÓ

Various electric bicycles or EPACs (acronym for the English expression "Electric Power Assisted Cycles", electric power assisted bicycles) are known in which various measurements are made, including the user's pedaling power, the remaining energy in the electric battery, among others. Such measurements are useful for the user in order to determine the current state of the electric vehicle.

In the document of Spagnol P., There G., Spelta C, Lisanti P., Todeschini F., Savaresi SM, Morelli A called "A Ful! Hybrid Electric Bike: How to create Human Efficiency" published in the American Control Conference, 2012, pp. 2761-2786 a system is disclosed in which, in addition, the user's biometric measurements are used and the combination of these biometric measurements with EPAC data in order to give the user a greater amount of information.

On the other hand, the document of Speriich B, Zinner C, Hébert-Losier K, Born DP, Hoimberg HC called "Biomechanical, cardiorespiratory, metaboiic and perceived responses to eiectrically assisted cycling" published in Eur J Appl Physiol. 1 12 (12): 4015-25. 2012 unveils a mechanism for monitoring EPAC users. One of the problems presented by prior art developments is that, on the one hand, they are usually complicated and closed systems to a specific architecture or that prevents them from connecting to devices that are not previously configured and, on the other hand, do not They offer complete connectivity between the user, the machine and possible additional peripherals that the user may have.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION To solve the problems of the prior art, the present invention discloses, on the one hand, an electric bicycle of the type comprising:

® a bicycle body;

® a series of wheels attached to the body of the bicycle; ® a motor coupled to at least one of said wheels; ® means for feeding said motor; Y

® a controller associated with said motor and said feeding means

wherein said bicycle has a communication module comprising a device communication sub-module that communicates to the communication module with the controller and an interface communication sub-module that communicates to the communication module with external devices.

It is important to note that the fact that the motor is coupled to at least one of said wheels may represent an indirect coupling between both parts, for example, the motor may be coupled to an intermediate part such as a pinion or to the pedal assembly of Those that transfer movement to the wheel are transferred. Preferably, the communication between the device communication sub-module and the controller comprises wired communication means. Additionally, the interface communication sub-module may comprise wireless communication means with external devices. This allows the device to have the information of the motor, batteries, among others by means of wired media since they are devices that, regularly, are attached to the bicycle and the user interface, which can be understood as a remote display and that is external to the bicycle, it can be connected to the system by means of wireless means provided in the external device (for example, a mobile phone) and in the interface communication sub-module. These wireless media can be, for example, Bluetooth, WiFi, Zigbee or others known in the art.

As mentioned above, in particular embodiments of the present invention, the external devices comprise a mobile telephone. In this way, a device with advanced features is used, such as internet connection, slow photography systems (GPS), processors, among others without the need to incorporate them exclusively for the electric bicycle, therefore, it is available of advanced functionalities giving use to existing external devices, which represents a cost saving. In any case, it is possible to use devices other than a mobile phone such as, for example, tables, smart watches and even simpler displays such as screens capable of communicating with the communication module.

A very relevant aspect of the present invention is the ability of two-way communication between the different devices, modules and sub-modules. In particular, the interface communication sub-module comprises means for acquiring signals from the external devices, for example, a GPS signal from the mobile phone so that data relating to the user's position can be stored in the communication module , distance traveled, etc. On the other hand, the communication module obtains, through the device communication sub-module, functional parameters related to the motor and the power supply means being able to send information regarding the status to the external devices (such as a mobile phone) current of the electric components of the bicycle. Specifically, said functional parameters related to the motor and the feeding means may be; energy remaining in the power supply, motor speed, power supply voltage, among others. With this objective, the communication module, by means of the sub-communication module of inferfaz, comprises means for communicating the functional parameters to at least one external device.

In the previous examples, a unidirectional communication has been described in which the external device is used as a merely visualized device, however, the present invention contemplates that the external device also serves as a device for entering data to the electric bicycle, for example, to modify configuration parameters of the electric motor that may be contained in the controller. Said configuration parameters may be, for example, the activation / deactivation of the engine and / or power to be delivered by the engine. Preferably, said configuration parameters are obtained by the communication module and, in particular, can be configured from a signal obtained by the interface sub-module.

In another aspect of the present invention, the interface communication sub-module may comprise power means to at least one of the external devices. This way you avoid e! Battery consumption of external devices and such devices are powered using the power means of the electric bicycle motor. On the other hand, the present invention conterniates that the same principles disclosed above for an electric bicycle designed for said communication between devices can be applied to an existing electric bicycle by the addition of a communications module. Consequently, the present invention discloses a communications module for electric bicycles comprising a motor and batteries characterized in that it comprises:

® a sub-module for device communication; Y

® a sub-module communication interface;

in which the device communication sub-module acquires, through communication means, functional parameters of the motor and / or batteries and the interface communication sub-module has means of communication with external devices.

As in the previous case, the functional parameters of the motor and / or the batteries can be: motor speed, battery voltage and charge (or energy) remaining in the batteries.

In addition, external devices may comprise a mobile phone.

Preferably, the interface communication sub-module has means for sending the functional parameters of the motor to at least one external device.

More preferably, the communication means have configuration means for the configuration parameters of the motor and / or the batteries, said configuration parameters being, for example, the activation / deactivation of the motor, the power to be delivered by the motor, etc.

Finally, for there to be a two-way communication, the configuration parameters can be communicated from an external device through the interface communication sub-module. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the present description and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the present invention, according to a preferred example of practical implementation thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description. For illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented: Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of an electric bicycle according to the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a schematic view of the electrical and electronic components of the bicycle of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a communication diagram between some of the modules and devices of a bicycle according to the present invention.

Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram showing several components of some modules and devices of the present invention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Figure 1 shows an electric bicycle (1) having a body (6) a handlebar (2) a front wheel (3) a rear wheel (4) a mechanical driving means (5) of at least one of the wheels which, in particular, comprise a pair of pedals, bearings, gears, among others. As regards the electrical part, the bicycle (1) has electric drive means (7) which, in particular, comprise a motor, a battery and, preferably, a controller of said motor and battery. In addition, said electric drive means are connected by means of coupling (9) to one of the wheels. It is important to note that, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, it has been represented that the drive means

(7) are in the same area as the pedals, said drive means can be arranged in any other place of the bicycle provided that they fulfill the objective for which they have been conceived, that is, transmit a rotational movement to a wheel.

Preferably, the user can select in the controller if he wishes to use the mechanical drive means (5), the electric drive means (7) or use a hybrid between them. Said selection can be made, either directly on the controller, or by means of display means arranged, preferably, on the bicycle handle, said display means being able to be, for example, a mobile telephone

(8).

In the present invention, the display means is an external device (ie it is not an exclusive device for the electric bicycle). Said external device may additionally be a display screen, a tablet, among others.

Figure 2 shows a scheme illustrating the interrelation between some of the modules and devices contemplated by the present invention.

In particular, the electric drive means (7) comprise, on the one hand, a controller (71) which is associated with both the motor and the battery of the electric bicycle as well as different sensors associated therewith, such as sensors of speed, voltage, current, among others. Additionally, said drive means comprise a communication module (70) that acts as a gateway that has means for acquiring data from the controller (71) said data may contain information relating to the configuration parameters of the electrical mechanisms ( such as, power to be delivered by the motor, motor activation / deactivation, nominal voltage of the batteries, etc.) or information related to functional parameters of the electrical mechanisms (such as, current motor speed, motor temperature, remaining voltage in batteries, etc.).

Preferably, said communication module (70) also has means for sending information to the controller (71) so that, by means of the communication module (70) it is possible, for example, to modify the motor configuration parameters and / or of the batteries.

As for the type of connection used between e! communication module (70) and the controller (71), this connection is preferably a wired connection (73) since both are fixed on the electric bicycle. The communication between this communication module (70) and the controller (71) will be considered, for ease of understanding of the present invention, which is carried out by means of a device communication sub-module, said device communication sub-module being able to comprise , preferably, means of translating the protocol used by the controller (and which is defined by its manufacturer) into a new standard protocol that can be used by other external devices.

On the other hand, the communication module (70) has communication means (70) with external devices. In the example of figure 2, the communication module (70) has means for communicating with a mobile phone (8) and with a heart rate monitor (10). This connection is made via an interface communication sub-module and is preferably a wireless connection using protocols such as Bluetooth, WiFi, Zigbee, etc.

This feature allows, with a low processing capacity to have information of the environment, through applications arranged in the mobile phone (8) (such as, for example, positioning, weather data, road situation) as well as information from other external devices such as, for example, pulsometers or external speed sensors.

Consequently, thanks to the communication module (70), the bicycle has an advantage of the high processing capabilities of external devices such as mobile phones (8). Since such devices are able to collect information from! means, the bicycle object of the present invention has the ability to receive the electrical information of the electric drive means (7) and combine it with the information that comes from external sources such as GPS signals, weather forecasting services or wind, altimetry and terrain maps, route guidance systems, information from other external devices such as cardiac sensors. In this way, the external device (8) is able to calculate optimal routes, adapt the level of assistance to the pilot's instantaneous physical characteristics or the terrain and send that information to! communication module (70) so that it sends commands to the controller (71).

On the other hand, the communication module (70) can send information to the external device (8), both of the values of the electric drive means (7), and of the values collected from the external devices (8), as well as in the event of failures in the controller (70), the fault data, as well as user tracking data, can be sent to other users of the same system for joint viewing or monitoring exchanges through external devices (8). Since the communication with the external devices is bi-directional, the communication module (70) can obtain, through the interface communication sub-module, controller configuration parameters (71) and proceed to configure different operating modes according to The user selection on the mobile phone (8). Additionally, the communication module may have other means for acquiring user information, such as by means of a command (72),

Figure 3 shows a simplified scheme to explain the communications between modules and devices.

This figure shows how the controller (71) communicates with the communications module (70) via a wired connection, said connection being preferably bidirectional so that the communication module can access the controller information (71) and Send you information to modify your configuration parameters. Additionally, the connection module has wireless connection means for sending / receiving data (1 1) from the mobile phone (8).

Figure 4 shows a more complete communications scheme including other elements of the electric bicycle. Specifically, Figure 4 shows that the controller (71) has configuration information from the motor (74) and the power system (75) of said motor, that is, its batteries. Additionally, information from sensors of the electric bicycle can be included.

Said information is preferably sent via a wired connection (73) to the communication module (70).

For its part, the communications module (70) has a communication submodule with devices (78) that obtains and sends information to the controller (71) and an interface communication submodule (77) that is It handles communications with external devices on a bicycle, such as a mobile phone (8), a heart rate monitor (10) or any other external device. Additionally, the communications module (70) has a memory (78) in which data obtained by the controller (71), data obtained from mobile phone (8) or a combination of data received from both parties by means of the Processing of such information. In particular, data such as total kilometers traveled, installed engine model, system error codes, engine map information, battery control codes, etc. can be stored in the memona (78).

Claims

one . Electric bicycle (1) of the type comprising:

® a body (6) of the bicycle;

® a series of wheels (3, 4) attached to the body (6) of the bicycle; ® a motor (74) coupled to at least one of said wheels (3, 4); ® supply means (75) to said motor (74); Y

® a controller (71) associated with said motor and said feeding means;

characterized in that it comprises a communication module (70) said communication module (70) comprising a device communication sub-module (76) that communicates the communication module with the controller (71) and a communication sub-module of interface (77) that communicates to the communication module (70) with external devices,

2. Electric bicycle (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication between the device communication sub-module (76) and the controller (71) comprises wired communication means.

3. Electric bicycle (1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the interface communication sub-module (77) comprises wireless communication means with the external devices.

4. Electric bicycle (1), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the external devices comprise a mobile telephone (8).

5. Electric bicycle (1). according to claim 4, characterized in that the interface communication sub-module (77) comprises means for acquiring a GPS signal from the mobile phone (8).

6. Electric bicycle (1). according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication module (70) obtains, by means of the device communication sub-module (76). functional parameters related to the motor (74) and ios feeding means (75).

7. Electric bicycle (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the functional parameters related to the motor (74) and the feeding means (75) comprise at least one of the following functional parameters: power remaining in the means of power, motor speed and voltage of the power media.

8. Electric bicycle (1). according to any one of claims 6 or 7, characterized in that the communication module (70), by means of the interface communication sub-module (77), comprises means for communicating the functional parameters to at least one external device.

9. Electric bicycle (1) according to claim 1, characterized by the controlled- (71) has configuration parameters of the electric motor.

10. Electric bicycle (1) according to claim 9, characterized in that said configuration parameters comprise at least one of the following configuration parameters: motor activation / deactivation (74) and power to be delivered.

1 1. Electric bicycle (1) according to any of claims 9 or 10, characterized in that said configuration parameters are obtained by means of the communication module (70).

12. Electric bicycle (1), according to claim 1, characterized in that said configuration parameters are configured from a signal obtained by the interface sub-module (77).

13. Electric bicycle (1). according to claim 1, characterized in that the interface communication sub-module (77) comprises means for supplying at least one of the external devices.

14. Communications module (70) for electric bicycles (1) comprising a motor (74) and a series of batteries (75) characterized in that it comprises:

® a device communication sub-module (76); and ® an interface communication sub-module (77);

in which the device communication sub-module (76) acquires, by means of communication, functional parameters of the motor (74) and / or of the batteries (75) and the interface communication sub-module (77) has of media with external devices.

15. Communications module (70) for electric bicycles (1), according to claim 14, characterized in that the functional parameters of the motor (74) and / or batteries (75) comprise at least one selected from : motor speed (74), battery voltage (75) and remaining power in batteries (75),

16. Communications module (70) for electric bicycles (1), according to claim 14, characterized in that the external devices comprise a mobile telephone (8).

17. Communications module (70) for electric bicycles (1), according to claim 14, characterized in that the interface communication sub-module (77) has means for sending the functional parameters of the motor (74) to At least one external device.

18. Communications module (70) for electric bicycles (1) according to claim 14, characterized in that it has means for configuring configuration parameters of the motor and / or batteries.

19. Communications module (70) for electric bicycles (1), according to claim 18, characterized in that the configuration parameters comprise at least one of the parameters selected from: motor activation / deactivation (74) and power to be delivered .

20. Communications module (70) for electric bicycles (1) according to claim 17, characterized in that the configuration parameters are communicated from an external device through the interface communication sub-node (77).