JP3588928B2 - Electric bicycle - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is related to an electric bicycle that adds a rotational force by the electric motor as an auxiliary driving force to the driving force by man power.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, an auxiliary driving means driven by an electric motor is provided in parallel with a human driving means driven by human power, and when the driver operates the human driving means by depressing a pedal, the pedaling force is detected and the auxiliary driving means is detected. Electric bicycles, which generate auxiliary driving force proportional to the treading force by the driving means, have come into wide use because of the advantage that they can be easily used even by a driver with weak leg strength, uphill or headwind. Have been.
[0003]
Hereinafter, a conventional electric bicycle will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, a pedal 11 rotates the sprocket 12 when the driver steps on the pedal, and the rotational force is transmitted to the rear wheel 14 via the chain 13 to propel the bicycle. Reference numeral 3 denotes an electric motor whose output shaft is connected to the speed reducer 6 so as to transmit a rotational force to the sprocket 12. Numeral 5 denotes a case in which the electric motor and the speed reducer are stored in a waterproof manner, and a torque detecting means 7 for detecting a pedaling force applied to the sprocket 12 by the driver is also stored in the case 5. Reference numeral 2 denotes a rechargeable battery for driving the motor, which supplies current to the motor via the control circuit 4. The control circuit 4 controls the electric motor to generate an appropriate auxiliary driving force based on the pedaling force detected by the torque detecting means 7.
[0004]
The most serious problem with such an electric bicycle is that it is not possible to obtain a rechargeable battery that is lightweight and has a sufficient capacity. In addition, charging is performed during operation by mounting a regenerative brake or performing regenerative braking, and the ratio of the auxiliary driving force at a high speed is suppressed low to suppress battery consumption. In addition, measures are taken to prevent a sudden battery exhaustion on the road by warning the driver by blinking an LED or the like when the battery is exhausted.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Even with the above ingenuity, electric bicycles require a fairly large capacity of rechargeable batteries in order to ensure a practical mileage per charge, which makes the bicycle extremely heavy, and the auxiliary driving power Riding without it requires considerable leg strength. Therefore, if the driver does not notice the blinking of the LED for warning of the consumption of the rechargeable battery or the like, the auxiliary driving force suddenly stops working on the road (for the driver), and the heavy bicycle is struggling. There was a drawback that it had to be moved to a place where it could be charged. Such a drawback is fatal to a driver who has weak leg strength or a driver who uses the vehicle on a hill.
[0006]
The present invention solves such a problem of the conventional electric bicycle, and provides an electric bicycle that can be safely driven by avoiding a situation in which the auxiliary driving force does not work suddenly on the road due to consumption of a rechargeable battery. It is aimed at.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention in order to solve this problem, it configured to limit the ratio driving force by man power the auxiliary driving force when the remaining charge of the rechargeable battery is equal to or less than a predetermined value.
[0008]
As a result, before the rechargeable battery is exhausted, a time is provided for performing auxiliary driving that is slightly heavier than normal driving but can be sufficiently driven even for a driver with weak leg strength, so that a place where charging is possible is provided. An electric bicycle which can give a driver enough room to move can be obtained.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
This onset Ming, and human driving means driven by human power, a drive wheel which is connected to the human drive unit, a torque detection means for detecting a driving force by the human power, an electric motor driven by a rechargeable battery A speed reducer coupled to an output shaft of the electric motor and transmitting torque as an auxiliary driving force to the driving wheels; a battery remaining amount measuring unit for measuring a battery remaining amount of the rechargeable battery; and a torque remaining unit. A control circuit for controlling the output of the electric motor based on the output signal and the output signal of the battery remaining amount measuring means, and by changing the auxiliary driving rate according to the battery remaining amount of the rechargeable battery. This has the effect that the energy for one charge of the rechargeable battery can be freely distributed within the discharge period.
[0010]
Further, the present invention is, upon detecting that you battery level is below a predetermined value by the remaining battery level measuring section, gradually decreases the ratio of driving force by man power the auxiliary driving force by the electric motor corresponding to the battery remaining amounts As described above, the control circuit for controlling the motor output is provided, and when the battery remaining amount of the rechargeable battery is below a certain value, the energy consumption decreases as the battery remaining amount decreases, so the rechargeable battery gradually wears out. . For this reason, since the time at the end of discharging of the rechargeable battery can be lengthened, there is an effect that the time until the driver moves to a place where the electric bicycle can be charged can be secured.
[0011]
Also, the present invention provides a method in which the ratio of the auxiliary driving force of the electric motor to the driving force of human power is determined in at least one step when the remaining battery level is detected by the remaining battery level measuring means. The control circuit controls the motor output so as to reduce the electric power, so that even if the driver misses another warning message (for example, blinking LED) that warns of battery exhaustion, the weight of the pedal suddenly increases. It can be noticed that the battery is almost exhausted by becoming heavier, and the auxiliary driving rate is kept constant for a while, so that the electric bicycle can be moved to a place where it can be charged in the meantime Has an action.
[0012]
In addition, the present invention includes a release unit that temporarily releases the control of the auxiliary driving force based on the output of the battery remaining amount measurement unit , so that the driver can charge the electric bicycle when the battery is almost exhausted. When moving to a place where it is necessary to temporarily pass a place that requires large auxiliary driving force, such as a short and steep slope, or when the distance is short, it saves battery especially When it is not necessary to reach the position, for example, it is possible to obtain a large auxiliary driving force by setting the normal mode by holding down the button.
[0013]
【Example】
It will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 for the electric bicycle of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the same parts as those in the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 5, and the description is omitted.
[0014]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the electric bicycle of the present invention. Reference numeral 8 denotes a battery remaining amount measuring means for measuring the remaining amount of the battery of the rechargeable battery. By monitoring the charging current value and charging time at the time, and the number of times of charging since the battery was replaced, the remaining amount of the rechargeable battery is accurately grasped, and a signal is output to the control circuit 4. The control circuit 4 controls the motor 3 so that the auxiliary driving rate is set based on a signal from the torque detecting means 7 when the remaining battery power is sufficient. The electric motor 3 is controlled based on signals from the remaining amount measuring means 8 and the torque detecting means 7 while gradually reducing the auxiliary driving rate according to the remaining amount of the battery.
[0015]
FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of an electric bicycle according to an embodiment of the present invention. The size of the human driving means 1 generated by the driver depressing the pedal is measured by the torque detecting means 7 and at the same time is transmitted to the rear wheel 14 as a driving wheel via a sprocket and a chain. On the other hand, current is supplied from the rechargeable battery 2 to the control circuit 4 through the battery remaining amount measuring means 8. The control circuit 4 controls a current supplied to the electric motor 3 using signals from the torque detecting means 7 and the battery remaining amount measuring means 8.
[0016]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing characteristics of the auxiliary driving ratio with respect to the remaining battery level in one embodiment of the electric bicycle of the present invention. When the remaining battery level is equal to or higher than a certain value, control is performed in accordance with the output from the torque detector so that a constant auxiliary driving rate (for example, 50%) is obtained. The auxiliary drive rate is controlled so as to gradually decrease in accordance with the amount.
[0017]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing characteristics of the auxiliary driving ratio with respect to the remaining battery level in another embodiment of the electric bicycle of the present invention. When the remaining battery level is equal to or higher than a certain value, control is performed in accordance with the output from the torque detector so that a constant auxiliary driving rate (for example, 50%) is obtained. The auxiliary drive ratio is controlled so as to be reduced stepwise according to the amount. When a large auxiliary driving force is temporarily required, the normal auxiliary driving ratio can be restored by continuously pressing the release button.
[0018]
The release unit 15 shown in FIG. 1 transmits a signal to the control circuit 4 so as to temporarily release the function of reducing the auxiliary drive rate according to the remaining battery level.
[0019]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when the remaining battery level of the rechargeable battery is low, the auxiliary driving rate is automatically limited by the signal sent from the remaining battery level measuring means to the control circuit. Battery consumption can be suppressed. This not only prevents sudden running out of the battery on the road, but also extends the traveling distance per charge and reduces the number of times of charging, thereby extending the battery life.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of an electric bicycle according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an electric bicycle according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is an auxiliary driving ratio characteristic diagram with respect to the remaining amount of the battery of the electric bicycle according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of the electric bicycle in the conventional example.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 human driving means 2 rechargeable battery 3 motor 4 control circuit 5 case 6 reduction gear 7 torque detecting means 8 battery remaining amount measuring means 11 pedal 12 sprocket 13 chain 14 driving wheel (rear wheel)
15 Release means

Claims (3)

And human driving means driven by human power, and has been driven wheels connected to said human drive unit, a torque detection means for detecting a driving force by the human power, an electric motor driven by a rechargeable battery, the electric motor A speed reducer connected to an output shaft and transmitting torque to the drive wheels as an auxiliary driving force, a battery remaining amount measuring unit for measuring a battery remaining amount of the rechargeable battery, an output signal of the torque detecting unit, in the electric bicycle and a control circuit for controlling the output of the electric motor based on the output signal of the battery level measuring means, upon detecting that the remaining battery level is below a predetermined value by the remaining battery level measuring means And a control circuit for controlling the motor output so as to gradually reduce the ratio of the auxiliary driving force of the motor to the driving force of human power according to the remaining battery power. Bicycle, characterized in that it comprises a release means for temporarily releasing the control of the auxiliary driving force. Human driving means driven by human power, driving wheels connected to the human driving means, torque detecting means for detecting driving power by the human power, an electric motor driven by a rechargeable battery, A speed reducer connected to an output shaft and transmitting torque to the drive wheels as an auxiliary driving force, a battery remaining amount measuring unit for measuring a battery remaining amount of the rechargeable battery, an output signal of the torque detecting unit, A control circuit for controlling the output of the electric motor based on the output signal of the battery remaining amount measuring means, when the battery remaining amount measuring means detects that the battery remaining amount has become a certain value or less. , a control circuit for controlling the motor output so as stepwise decrease in at least one or more steps the ratio driving force by man power the auxiliary driving force by the electric motor, further battery Bicycle, characterized in that it comprises a release means for temporarily releasing the control of the auxiliary driving force based on the amount measuring means output. 3. The electric bicycle according to claim 1, further comprising a release button, and when a large auxiliary driving force is temporarily required, the release button is kept pressed to release the signal of the release means. Is input to the control circuit, and the control of the auxiliary driving force based on the output of the battery remaining amount measuring means of the control circuit is temporarily released, and the auxiliary driving rate of the electric bicycle returns to the normal auxiliary driving rate An electric bicycle characterized by being performed .

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