FR3091947A1 - Cargo bike securing - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of locking a cargo bike comprising sensing by a control interface of an engagement, by a user of the cargo bike, of a closing sequence of a first and a second electromagnetically controlled lock (210) of the cargo bike condemning respectively a first and a second mobile structures (2) of the cargo bike for the purpose of securing the cargo bike, then, in reaction to the detection of engagement, a transmission of an electric closing command to the first and second locks, the method then comprising state detection, by an electronic controller, for each of the locks, and depending on the result of said state detection, transmission of a signal to the user indicating whether all the locks are closed or if at least one of the locks requires additional intervention by the user on the associated mobile structure for the purpose of closing it. Figure 6

Description

Securing cargo bikes

The invention falls within the field of bicycles for transporting goods or other objects to be delivered, called cargo bicycles (or even freight bicycles).

The bicycle can be a two-wheeled or three-wheeled vehicle, or even four-wheeled, and operates in all cases with human propulsion using a crankset driving a wheel, a priori the rear wheel, by a chain or a transmission. gimbal, and possibly electrically assisted, thanks to the presence of a motor acting on at least one of the wheels and supplied with electricity by a rechargeable battery, for example a lithium battery.

For the purpose of transporting different contents, from the envelope or the packet of envelopes to parcels of various sizes, such a vehicle is provided with one or more bags, often rigid, to be positioned at the front or at the rear. of the vehicle, and each provided with at least one opening, typically a lid.

The vehicle, if it is used by a delivery person during his round, as a postman, is required to make short trips between two stops, and to be parked in the street at each stop, while the delivery person distributes the objects that he must bring to the different delivery points, which can be apartments in a building, or pavilions or shops in a street.

In this context we are interested in the ergonomics of securing both the bike itself, as well as that of the luggage, for example two luggage, one at the front and the other at the back, whose opening must be both easy for the deliverer and impossible for potential thieves.

It is possible, in the field of bicycles, to use electrical security, using electromagnetically operated locks, controlled using a user recognition system, based on a radio badge. identification (equipped with a transponder communicating with a reader) assigned to each user or on an intelligent telephone application (smartphone) using a short-distance communication channel such as the Bluetooth channel, and allowing in any event a referenced user to unlock the bike, and in some cases any luggage. The unlocking can be done by releasing mobile structures which are a wheel of the bicycle, for example the front wheel or even the rear wheel, and a luggage opening, such as a trunk lid.

On the other hand, it is noted that the ergonomics of the lock (when parking the bicycle and closing the luggage) is not satisfactory, because the user must manually act on each of the padlocks, wheel or luggage, to s ensure they are closed, with uncertainty about the effectiveness of the closure. For a wheel lock, this is explained by the fact that the locking of the wheel is carried out by the interposition in the wheel, between two spokes, of a locking bow, which must often be operated by hand to adjust by rotation the wheel, otherwise there is a risk that the arch will hit a spoke and that the lock cannot be closed, since the wheel is mobile and operable in rotation independently of the wheel lock, without electrical assistance for the purpose of closing this one. With regard to luggage padlocks, the opening of the luggage, with non-assisted manual operation, must be closed by the user, and if it is not closed to the end of its travel, the electric lock may also not be engaged correctly.

This implies a loss of time, and discomfort for an intensive user such as a delivery person, due to the uncertainties when, at certain stops, it is possible for him or her to doubt that each of the locks has been properly closed.

In this context, there is proposed a method for locking a cargo bike comprising detection, by a control interface, of an engagement, by a user of the cargo bike, of a sequence of closing a first and a second. a second electromagnetically controlled lock of the cargo bike condemning respectively a first and a second mobile structure of the cargo bike for the purposes of securing, against the theft of the bike or its cargo, the cargo bike, then, in reaction to the detection of engagement, a transmission of an electric closing command to the first and second locks.

The control interface provides the ergonomics and practicality expected by an intensive user. The closing sequence can be initiated by various means known in other fields such as the recognition of a radiofrequency recognition badge or a proximity key by a suitable reader possibly on board the bicycle, or even the use of a mobile phone application communicating directly or indirectly with the locks.

The method then comprises a state detection, by an electronic controller, for each of the locks, and depending on the result of said state detection, an emission of a signal intended for the user indicating whether all the locks are in the closed state or if the state of at least one of the locks requires additional intervention by the user on the associated mobile structure for the purpose of closing it.

The electronic controller can be embedded in the bike or present in a mobile device such as a smart phone, and the state can take on a binary aspect: closed or not closed. The signal can be emitted from the bicycle, and this is then advantageous, but can also be emitted from a mobile support. In any case, the user is warned of the correct locking of the cargo bike, at the level of the various locks, and can therefore have peace of mind during his multiple stops, during a delivery round. Conversely, he may have his attention drawn to the fact that additional intervention on his part is necessary for at least one of the locks.

Optionally and advantageously,

- the signal intended for the user comprises, for a lock, an activation of an indicator associated with the given lock from among distinct indicators each associated with one of the locks; the indicator can be luminous or audible, or a combination of both;

- when the signal is emitted, an indicator light may flash if a lock requires additional user intervention, and be fixed if the lock is closed; the indicator light is preferably associated by convention with one of the locks; colors can also be used instead of flashing – for example red for intervention required and green for lock closed – or vice versa;

– in one configuration, one of the moving structures is a wheel which requires, as additional user intervention, to be turned if a bow of the associated lock has not been passed through the wheel between two spokes to the end of its travel before the transmission of the electric control and another of the mobile structures is a luggage door which requires, as additional intervention of the user, a manual closing if the transmission of the electric control is carried out before the door has been driven to the end of its travel in the closing direction;

- in one configuration, one of the locks is placed at the front of the bicycle and another of the locks is placed at the rear of the bicycle, the signal comprising a centralized display on the cargo bicycle in front of the driver's station; This saves him from having to turn around;

- the signal may comprise a sound signal; this allows the user to obtain information, without having to look at a specific point.

There is also proposed a mobility system for transporting cargo including a bicycle comprising a first and a second electromagnetically controlled lock respectively condemning a first and a second mobile structures of the cargo bicycle for the purposes of securing the cargo bicycle, as well as means for the implementation of a method as mentioned, the bicycle comprising an administration system comprising a radio-identification badge reader and a memory, allowing in the event of presentation to the badge reader of a radio badge - identification for administration of the bicycle, to define and store a list of individual radio-identification badges authorized for the purposes of the user's commitment to said closing sequence by presenting an authorized badge to said reader constituting said control interface .

The system comprises the bicycle and the accessories, in particular the electronic accessories allowing the implementation of the method, in this case at least a batch of user badges and an administrator badge.

Advantageously and optionally,

- the bicycle may include luggage comprising a lid hinged to a box on a hinge, one of the electromagnetically controlled locks being placed inside the envelope of the luggage opposite the hinge, to retain the lid against the checkout ;

- the bicycle may have an electric pedaling assistance system using power supplied by an on-board power battery, an interruption, or respectively a resumption, of the electric pedaling assistance being controlled, for example by the controller electronic, when the state of the wheel lock is controlled, electrically or manually, towards closed, or respectively towards open;

- the bicycle may include a removable and replaceable battery for powering the electromagnetically controlled locks, the badge reader and the controller, and separate from a power battery for the electric pedal assistance.

The invention will be better understood, and other aims, characteristics, details and advantages thereof will appear more clearly in the explanatory description which will follow made with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawings given solely by way of example illustrating a mode of embodiment of the invention and in which:

FIG. 1 represents an embodiment of the vehicle (cargo bicycle) according to the invention.

FIG. 2 represents a contactless badge reader used according to the invention.

FIG. 3 represents contactless badges used in the invention.

Figure 4 shows a wheel lock used in the invention.

Figure 5 shows electric locks used in the invention.

Figure 6 shows the location of some of the aforementioned elements at the front of the vehicle of Figure 1.

Figures 7 to 10 show the front luggage of the vehicle of Figure 1, in the open or partially closed position.

Figures 11 and 12 show the rear luggage of the vehicle of Figure 1 in the open position.

In Figure 1 there is shown a cargo bike 1 according to one embodiment of the invention. Such a bike is used for door-to-door deliveries.

The cargo bike 1 consists of a front wheel 2, a rear wheel 3, a frame 4, a saddle 5, a handlebar 6, a crankset 7 and kickstands 8.

It also comprises in an original way a front stabilizer 9 comprising a left wheel and a right wheel (of identical and small diameters compared to the front and rear wheels 2 and 3) on either side of the rear of the front wheel 2 and supporting a front bag 100. The front bag 100 is positioned above the front wheel 2 and in front of the handlebar 6. It takes the form of a rectangular parallelepiped made of rigid material provided with a cover on its upper face hinged to the rest of the box using a hinge, placed transversely to the longitudinal plane of the cargo bike 1 and at the front of the latter, at the front of the front luggage 100.

The cargo bike 1 also includes an electric assistance battery 10 placed vertically behind the saddle 5 and in front of the rear wheel 3, above the stands 8 and capable of powering an electric motor typically placed in the hub of one of the two main wheels.

Finally, the cargo bike 1 comprises rear luggage 110 placed and fixed above the rear wheel 3 straddling above the latter on a luggage rack conventionally placed above a mudguard of the wheel rear 3. The rear luggage 110 has the general shape of a rectangular parallelepiped having a lid on its upper face articulated by a hinge on the front side of the rear luggage 110. The rear luggage 110 further comprises in its lower part a central recess in which are placed the luggage rack of the cargo bike 1 and the top of the rear wheel 3.

In Figure 2 there is shown an electronic unit 200 for the contactless badge reader. This electronic box 200 is of flattened rectangular parallelepipedal shape, and on one of its large faces, intended to be accessible to the user of the cargo bike 1, it comprises means of contactless communication by the RFID standard (identification by radio frequency or radio frequency identification ). It is connected to other elements by various electric cables visible in the drawing. The other elements to which the electronic box 200 is connected by these electric cables are shown in the following figures. The electronic unit 200 is placed in an accessible manner on the cargo bike 1, in a location presented later in this text. It comprises a processor or controller and a memory, for example assembled in the form of an electronic card. Four light diodes D1 to D4 are present on its face and are associated by convention for the user with different functions of the cargo bike 1.

Diode D1 is associated with the power supply of the latch circuit.

Diodes D2 to D4 are each associated with one of the latches.

Diode D2 is associated with the wheel lock shown in Figure 4.

Diodes D3 and D4 are associated with luggage locks 100 and 110, shown in Figure 5. Diode D3 is associated with luggage lock 100, shown in Figures 7 and 8, and diode D4 is associated with luggage lock 110, presented in figures 9 to 11.

In FIG. 3, two contactless control badges of the RFID type are represented, used in connection with the electronic unit 200.

One of these badges is a user badge (USER), while the other badge is an administrator badge (ADMIN). There are generally, on delivery or during use, several user badges, and a very limited number of administrator badges.

The administrator badge makes it possible to open a configuration session of the electronic unit 200, by contactless communication between the electronic unit 200 and the administrator badge.

This session then makes it possible to define, using unique identifiers, user badges which will be distributed to authorized users, in a limited number. The configuration session also makes it possible to cancel any user badge, or a given user badge, which would have been previously defined, by deleting the identifier associated with the badge from the list of authorized user badges in the memory of the electronic box 200.

Thus, a list of authorized user card identifiers (badges) is defined in the memory of the electronic box 200, in a limited number.

The administrator card (badge) is on the other hand unique, in a standard use, or else there is a very limited number of such cards, for example two administrator cards.

In Figure 4 there is shown an electrically controlled wheel lock. The wheel lock 210 comprises a removable bar or hoop to pass through the wheel between two spokes, and closing the lock which has the general shape of a circle or bit, the closing bar or hoop being retractable inside the jaw and the latter being fixed to the frame of the bicycle by its angular sector opposite to the retractable bar or hoop, inside which is also installed the electromagnetic mechanism of the lock.

Figure 5 shows the front luggage locks 220 and rear luggage 230. These front luggage locks 220 and rear 230 are electrically controlled using electric cables visible in the figure, and include an internal electromagnetic mechanism which allows to lock or unlock. Each of these locks interacts with a complementary closure element fixed to the opposite part of the piece of luggage concerned, which will be described in relation to the following figures.

In Figure 6, the positioning of the electronic elements is shown on the front part of the cargo bike 1. We recognize the front wheel 2 and the handlebar 6, as well as the stabilizer 9. The front luggage 100 is visible and on its rear face, transverse to the direction of the cargo bike 1 and facing the user cyclist seated on the saddle (not visible), is placed the electronic box 200 screwed or fixed according to any fixing method vertically along the wall. The four diodes D1 to D4 are easily visible to the cyclist when he is sitting on the saddle, or when he is getting off the bike.

The wheel lock 210 is for its part present close to the front wheel 2, at the rear of the fork.

In FIGS. 7 to 10, the front bag 100 has been shown, open. The front luggage 100 comprises a hinge 101 (visible in FIGS. 9 and 10) allowing the articulation of the lid 102 which is rectangular, and which carries a closing element 103 (visible in FIG. 7) complementary to the electric lock 220 (visible in figures 8 to 10), opposite the hinge 101.

The electric lock 220 is placed fixed against the vertical wall facing the driving cyclist, inside the front luggage 100, so as to interact when the lid 102 is closed with the closure element 103 so as to lock the front luggage 100. A dry battery 240 (visible in FIGS. 8 to 10) is also placed fixed against this same vertical wall inside the front luggage 100 and it powers the entire circuit and electrical locking devices, when they are not not powered by the electric assist battery 10.

The diode D1, visible in FIGS. 2 and 6, indicates, by its color, how the electronic box 200 is supplied. A green color indicates a supply by the main battery of the bicycle, namely the electric assistance battery 10, and a orange color indicates power supplied by a dry battery type emergency battery, presented in figure 8.

Various storage and sealing elements are present in the front piece of luggage 100. This is in particular a hinged compartment 104, a sealing covering plastic sheet 105 and a zippered storage pocket 106. These are positioned in the upper part of the front piece of luggage 100, without blocking the closure operated using the electric lock 220 and the complementary closure element 103.

In Figures 11 and 12 there is shown the rear luggage 110, which comprises a hinge 111 and a cover 112 hinged to the box of the rear luggage 110 by the hinge 111. On the inner face of the rear wall of the luggage 110 is placed the electric lock 230 which interacts with a closure element 113 placed on the cover 112. It is specified that the hinge 111 is located at the front of the rear luggage 110, behind the saddle, behind the driver's back.

The padlocks and electronic locks are connected and controlled by the controller or processor of the electronic box 200.

The user can easily unlock the bicycle, using the wheel lock 210 and the luggage using the luggage locks 220 and 230, by the centralized interface constituted by the electronic unit 200, which sends a command to unlocks at the three locks when an authorized user ID badge is recognized by the RFID reader.

He can also lock them with centralized assistance, at the level of the electronic unit 200.

The user can view the status of the various locks at any time: open or closed, thanks to diodes D2 to D4 which are independently on or off depending on this status. If a manual closing of one of the locks is necessary in the moments following the centralized closing command carried out by presentation of an authorized user RFID badge (before the end of a time delay), the associated diode flashes, and an audible signal is issued.

For luggage, the locks are not visible when the cover is at the end of its travel, or almost at the end of its travel towards closing, and it is therefore useful for the user to be able to know the state of the lock without being obliged to test the condition of the luggage by trying to open it.

Furthermore, when a locking command is addressed to the wheel lock 210, the pedaling assistance is suppressed (interrupted), by reversible substitution of a command determined at the level of the electronic controller of the electronic unit 200 for a command determined at the level of the electric assistance battery 10. It is restored when an unlocking command is sent to this same lock.

Claims (10)

A method of locking a cargo bike (1) comprising a detection by a control interface (200) of an engagement, by a user of the cargo bike (1), of a closing sequence of a first and of a second locks (210, 220, 230) with electromagnetic control of the cargo bike condemning respectively a first and a second mobile structures (2, 102, 112) of the cargo bike for the purposes of securing the cargo bike, then, in reaction to the engagement detection, a transmission of an electric closing command to the first and second locks (210, 220, 230), characterized in that the method then comprises a state detection, by an electronic controller, for each of the locks (210, 220, 230), and depending on the result of said state detection, sending a signal to the user indicating whether all the locks are closed or whether at least one of the locks (210, 220 , 230) requires additional intervention on the associated mobile structure (2, 102, 112) for the purpose of its closure. Method for locking a cargo bike (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the signal to the user comprises, for a lock (210, 220, 230), an activation of an indicator (D2, D3, D4) associated with the given lock from among distinct indicators each associated with one of the locks. Method of locking a cargo bicycle (1) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that, when the signal is transmitted, a light indicator (D2, D3, D4) flashes if a lock (210, 220, 230) requires additional user intervention. Method of locking a cargo bike (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that one of the mobile structures (2, 102, 112) is a wheel (2) which requires which needs to be rotated if a hoop of the associated lock (210) has not been passed through the wheel to the end of its travel before the transmission of the electrical control and another of the movable structures (2, 102, 112) is a luggage opening (102, 112) which requires manual closing if the transmission of the electric control is carried out before the opening has been driven to the end of its travel. Method of locking a cargo bicycle (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that one of the locks (210, 220) is placed at the front of the bicycle and another of the locks (230) is placed at the rear of the bicycle, the signal comprising a centralized display (D2, D3, D4) on the cargo bicycle in front of the driver's station. Method for locking a cargo bike (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the signal comprises an audible signal. Mobility system for transporting cargo including a cargo bike comprising a first and a second electromagnetically controlled locks (210, 220, 230) respectively locking a first and a second mobile structures (2, 102, 112) of the cargo bike for the purpose of securing the cargo bicycle, as well as means for implementing a method according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the bicycle comprises an administration system (200) comprising a badge reader radio-identification and a memory, allowing, in case of presentation to the badge reader of a radio-identification badge for bicycle administration (ADMIN), to define and memorize a list of authorized individual radio-identification badges (USER) to the purposes of the user engaging said closing sequence by presenting an authorized badge (USER) to said reader (200) constituting said control interface. Mobility system for transporting cargo according to claim 7, characterized in that the bicycle comprises a piece of luggage (100, 110) comprising a cover (102, 112) hinged to a body on a hinge, one of the electromagnetically controlled locks (220 , 230) being placed inside the baggage envelope opposite the hinge, to retain the cover (102, 112) against the crate. A mobility system for transporting cargo according to claim 7 or claim 8, characterized in that the bicycle has an electric pedaling assistance system using power supplied by an on-board power battery (10), an interruption , or respectively a resumption, of the electric pedaling assistance being controlled, by the electronic controller, when the state of the wheel lock (210) is commanded towards closed, or respectively towards open. Mobility system for transporting cargo according to one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the bicycle comprises a removable and replaceable battery (240) for the power supply of the electromagnetically controlled locks, the badge reader and the controller .